Chapter 1173
Both Sekerian and the Athens Navy generals breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they raised their guard against the enemy's fleet. After all, it was not easy for so many warships to stop in a short period of time after receiving an order. This meant that the navy of this country had a complete command system and was well-trained.
After a while, a fast ship sailed out of the Athens Navy fleet and headed straight for the Dionysian fleet. As it approached the Diónia warship, someone on the ship shouted, "The envoy from Athens wants to see the commander of the Dionysian fleet!"
Twenty minutes later, the envoy from Athens Navy boarded the flagship of the First Fleet of Diónia.
"I'm Sekerian, the commander of the First Fleet of Diónia." Sekerian spoke loudly while sizing up the newcomer. He had a square face, a high nose, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a beard, a wide forehead, a medium build, not fat nor thin. Although his hair was a little white and he looked like he was about 50 years old, he had a dignified appearance and looked particularly energetic.
"Chief General of the Athens Navy, Calistratus!" The envoy stared at Sekerian with a sharp gaze. His voice was deep and magnetic, but his words were sharp. "The 300,000 people of Athens have entrusted me to ask the general, is Diónia declaring war on Athens?"
Sekerian did not expect the other party to ask so directly. He quickly explained in a serious manner, "You've misunderstood. Diónia has no ill intentions towards Athens! We're just chasing after a fleet that was transporting food to Sparta. We had no choice but to come to this bay. To avoid misunderstanding, our warships deliberately avoided the waters of Athens. "
"No ill intentions?" Calistratus sneered. "If the fleet of Athens sailed in the bay of Taranto, would the people of Diónia think that this fleet came with good intentions? Would you warmly open the port of Turií and invite them in?"
Sekerian was speechless. Before he could think of a response, the envoy continued, "I think you're a Greek. Then you should know that the survival of the Greeks depends mainly on trade. For the past few decades, Greece has been at war. Who knows how many naval battles have taken place, but the sea trade of the city-states still continues. Few warships take the initiative to attack merchant ships, because the sailors of every city-state know that attacking merchant ships is to dig at the roots of the Greeks! Corinth is just doing what every city-state should do in the sea trade, and those ships that were built for Sparta are just abiding by the trade contract. The sailors are just making some money for the livelihood of their families, but now you … "
Calistratus's eloquent accusation made Sekerian feel wronged. He quickly coughed and interrupted the envoy impatiently, "Please don't talk about these irrelevant things anymore. Just tell me why you're here!"
A trace of contempt flashed in Calistratus's eyes. He looked calm, but his tone was forceful. "After the war between Diónia and Sparta, Sparta once asked Athens for help. The people of Athens considered the relationship between Sparta and Turií, so they did not agree to the request of the Spartans. I also hope that Diónia can take into account the friendly relations between Athens and Athens, and not let the flames of war affect Athens, and promise that before this war is over, your warships will not appear in the Aegean Sea again! "
Calistratus's words were full of threats, but Sekerian was not one to be threatened. He raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "Our warships will leave immediately, but if there are still fleets to transport troops and food for Sparta, we will come again!"
Both sides parted on bad terms.
After Calistratus left on his ship, a majestic bugle sounded from the Diónia fleet. The warships at the front of the Dionysian fleet turned south one after another, and the warships at the back turned north one after another, and then began to move forward. Not long after, the originally stacked fleet formed two long columns again, drawing a large circle in front of the Athens fleet, and then returned to their original route.
The sailors of Athens listened to the impassioned bugle sounds coming from the front, and watched as the Diónia warships turned their hulls to face the bow of the Athens fleet, and swaggered past them. They were surprised by the boldness of the Diónia people, and at the same time, a little angry.
"The Diónia people are demonstrating to us!" Cabrias, the temporarily appointed commander of the Athens fleet, looked at the sea in front of him, and said with a solemn expression, "But the Dionysian fleet can change their formation so quickly even with so many warships. If we go to war with Diónia in the future, their navy will be a huge threat to Athens!"
At this point, he turned to look at Calistratus beside him, and with a solemn expression, he asked in a low but powerful voice, "Now is the best time to defeat this fleet. Should we launch an attack?!"
Calistratus shook his head, "Athens has not declared war on Diónia, and the citizens are not ready. Let's wait."
Only when the entire fleet sailed out of Sarons Bay did Sekerian loosen his clenched fist. He took a deep breath and said loudly, "Order the fleet to sail east, pass through Kisnos Island, and after reaching the vicinity of Delos Island, go straight south, and only return to the station when they see Crete."
"Yes!"
… …
While the Dionysian Army was still building their camp in the territory of Megalopolis, Archidamus, who received the news, immediately lifted the siege on Mandinia and led the army south, bypassing the city of Tegea. He also began building camps at the southern border with Sparta, and began to confront the Dionysian Army in the west.
Knowing that the siege of Mandinia had been lifted, under the advice of Printos, Cloto Catax was not in a hurry to lead the army east. Instead, he patiently continued to let the soldiers fortify the camp.
Although the main forces of both sides did not move, the two camps were not peaceful. Battles between scouts from both sides occurred every day, including cavalry and infantry scouts. Of course, the more professional and well-trained Diónia side had the upper hand, especially when a small team of scouts from the Mountain Ridge ambushed a group of about 20 Sparta mercenaries to search for food. They killed six people, killed four, captured two, and did not suffer any casualties themselves … All of this put a lot of pressure on the Sparta mercenaries.
A few days later, the king of Sparta, Agesilaus, led 7,000 soldiers out of the northern part of Sparta and entered the territory of Tegea to meet up with the Sparta mercenaries.
"Father, you're finally here!" Archidamus personally came out of the camp to greet him. His face, which had been covered with gloom for the past few days, finally relaxed and revealed a smile.
Although Agesilaus was leaning on his cane and looked a little tired, his smile was even more cheerful. "You've worked hard, Archidamus! In order to satisfy your request, I brought all the brave warriors of Sparta. Before I left, I specially went to the Temple of Nina in Athens to offer sacrifices. The oracle I received was a good omen! (Usually, before the war, the two kings of Sparta who had the right to offer sacrifices would send people to Delphi to ask for an oracle. However, now that the war is happening in the northern border, it is very dangerous to go to Delphi. Moreover, there is not enough time, so we can only offer sacrifices in the citadel of Sparta.)
"That's great!" Archidamus looked relieved.
Agesilaus looked around at the mercenary generals standing behind Archidamus and said confidently, "Actually, even without the oracle, I believe that Sparta will win this time! In the past, we, Sparta, only needed to send a few hundred warriors to join up with the Allied Army, and we would be able to dominate Greece! Now, not only have we, Sparta, sent out all our elites, but the army that you, Archidamus, lead is also made up of the most elite soldiers from various city-states. With the two combined, this is the largest and most powerful army that I've led in all these years. I believe that no one can match it! "
"That's right, King Agesilaus is right!" The mercenary generals shouted excitedly.
Then, Archidamus introduced these mercenary generals to his father one by one. Agesilaus chatted with them warmly. Some of them were people that he knew. After all, he had fought in Asia Minor for many years 20 years ago, so he was very familiar with the situation there. Therefore, he knew every mercenary general's home country like the back of his hand. He talked about them with great familiarity, which made the generals feel close to him.
To these mercenary generals, Agesilaus was a living legend. He fought in the territory of Persia all by himself, causing the people of Persia to be in an awkward situation. They had taken the initiative to ask for peace several times, and his charm had made many Greek city-states in Asia Minor willing to support him. Until now, many of his stories were still circulating in Asia Minor.
Therefore, the mercenary generals rushed to salute Agesilaus. It was an honor to be able to talk to him, and the atmosphere was very warm.
After a long time, Agesilaus said goodbye to them with the reason that he was "a little tired and needed to rest", and followed Archidamus into the central tent.
After entering the tent, Agesilaus threw away his wooden staff and leaned against a wooden chair with the help of his servants. The smile on his face had disappeared, and his expression became serious. "What's the situation now?"
"Father." Archidamus' expression was equally serious. "A small amount of food was shipped from the port of Corinth the day before yesterday, but no more food was shipped from the north yesterday! The people of Persia told me that the fleet of Diónia is patrolling the Aegean Sea every day. Any fleet that enters Sarons Bay will be intercepted and interrogated. Several of their fleets have been captured, and the people of Persia have to temporarily stop the food shipments. "
Apex
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