Chapter 1175
So even though Pausanias was exiled due to his crimes, the Tegeans still treated him as a VIP. In the next ten years or so, Pausanias did not waste his time. He worked hard to become a bridge between Tegea and Sparta, and actively integrated into Tegea society. Not only did he befriend many Tegea councilors, but he was also elected to the Tegea Noble Council.
However, due to the prolonged war with the Thebes, even the Tegea Alliance, which had a close relationship with Sparta, had to provide a large amount of military rations every year. They also had to send their citizens to assist in the war. Even with Pausanias' efforts to mend the gap, the Tegeans who were dissatisfied with Sparta continued to grow. So when the Sparta army suffered a crushing defeat in Leuctra, the Arcadians wanted to form an alliance and seek to break away from Sparta. Under such circumstances, many Tegeans were motivated. In the end, the anti-Sparta faction gained the upper hand in the council, and Tegea joined the Arcadia Union.
The pro-Sparta faction secretly informed Sparta of this news, and that was how "Sparta warned the Arcadians to immediately cancel the alliance, or else war would come."
The Arcadia Union, led by Mandinia, refused. Even though a conflict broke out in Tegea, Tegea still decided to follow the Arcadia Union and fight against Sparta. Seeing that the dark clouds of war were about to envelop Tegea, the Tegeans began to panic. Pausanias wanted to take this opportunity to persuade the Tegeans to return to Sparta's embrace. But in the end, the Diónia suddenly invaded Mersenia, and the entire situation changed.
Diónia … Pausanias vaguely remembered that it was a newly established city-state in Great Greece. When Phoebidas returned from his diplomatic mission to Great Greece, he spoke ill of this city-state, and was ridiculed by many. As the overlord of Greece, Sparta did not even pay attention to this little colonial city-state.
After Pausanias went into seclusion in Tegea, news became even more isolated, and he occasionally heard rumors. "Diónia won the war with Syracuse … Diónia won the war with Carthage …" At that time, he could only sigh. "This city-state is quite warlike!" After that, he threw it to the back of his mind and did not pay much attention to this city-state. After all, the affairs of the Western Mediterranean were still too far away for a landlocked city-state like Tegea. Pausanias was more concerned about the affairs of Peloponnesus.
Now, the Kingdom of the Western Mediterranean had sent an army across the sea to attack Sparta, and they struck a fatal blow to Sparta. Messenia was seized, and Sparta suffered heavy losses. Then, the Arcadia Union and Diónia formed an alliance, and the anti- Sparta faction in Tegea completely gained the upper hand … Pausanias saw this, and his heart ached. At one point, he even thought of leaving Tegea, but where could he go?!
These days, he had locked himself in his house. On one hand, it was to prevent himself from being attacked by the anti- Sparta faction, and on the other hand, he did not want to see the terrible situation and worry himself.
One night, after dinner, Pausanias was taking a stroll in the courtyard to digest his food. A servant rushed to him and reported, "Master, there is someone outside asking to see you."
"Who is it?"
"He said he is an old friend of yours, but his attire is a little mysterious."
Puzzled, Pausanias personally came to the door.
There were two people standing outside the door: a slave was supporting another hooded man.
"What do you want?" Pausanias asked coldly, his eyes widened as he tried to see the face of the hooded man.
The man said, "Pausanias, I haven't seen you for more than ten years. You have grown old!"
"You are?" The voice was both familiar and strange, and Pausanias could not remember who it was.
The man suddenly lifted his hood, and Pausanias was shocked. "Agesilaus, why are you here?!"
"If you shout any louder, my life will be over," Agesilaus reminded half-jokingly.
Pausanias immediately came to his senses and quickly looked at the street outside the door. Fortunately, it was quiet and no one was around. He quickly welcomed the two into the house, closed the door, and said in a low voice, "Agesilaus, you are the king of Sparta, the commander of the Sparta army. During the war, you ignored the army and risked your life to sneak here. Do you think Tegea is still the Tegea of the past?! It is very dangerous here! If you are discovered and captured, it will be a huge blow to the Sparta army! Can they still win against the Diónia people?! … "
Pausanias looked distressed. His words were full of reprimand, as if he was still the king of Sparta.
Agesilaus, however, laughed. "Although you have left Sparta for more than ten years, you are still a citizen of Sparta."
"I don't have time to chat with you now," Pausanias said with a serious expression. "Get out of the city now! If the people who arranged for you to enter the city dare not help anymore, I will arrange it for you. "
Agesilaus stopped smiling and looked at the old king. With an extremely solemn expression, he replied in a low voice, "I sneaked into Tegea to save Sparta! Only by making Tegea completely under Sparta's control can we have a chance to win against the Dionysian Army. Otherwise, Sparta will cease to exist! "
Pausanias was stunned, and then asked with concern, "Is the situation in Sparta serious now?"
"Very serious!" Agesilaus immediately told him the difficulties and dangers faced by the Sparta army.
Pausanias was stunned for a long time. When worry crawled all over his wrinkled face, he let out a long sigh. "Now that the anti- Sparta faction in Tegea has a clear upper hand, it will be difficult to make Tegea become an ally of Sparta in a short period of time!"
"As long as we have your help, we can do it!" Agesilaus answered confidently, and then he revealed his plan.
After listening, Pausanias's expression changed. He thought of the disaster that the Tegeans who had a good relationship with him were about to face, and could not help but say, "Isn't this too cruel?"
"If we don't do this, the fate that Sparta will face will be even more tragic than this!" Agesilaus said in a heavy tone.
Pausanias was silent for a moment, then said with a determined expression, "You wait here. I will now hurry up and contact all the most trustworthy Tegea councilors who are closest to Sparta …"
"Pausanias!" Agesilaus stopped him and said with a solemn expression, "I believe that after we defeat the Dionysian Army, the council of elders, the censors, and the people will forgive the mistakes you have committed!"
At that moment, the 70-year-old former king of Sparta suddenly seemed to have tears in his eyes. He sniffed and said emotionally, "Agesilaus, you are also old! I didn't expect that today's Sparta … will be saved by us two old fellows who are about to die! "
… …
Ever since the siege of Mandinia was resolved, the Dionysian Army had been staying in the camp. This was because Cloto Catax had adopted Printos' suggestion.
They had received news from the Sekerian that the First Fleet had begun to patrol the Aegean Sea and cut off the main food transportation channel of the Sparta mercenaries.
Although Cloto Catax was worried that the actions of the First Fleet would arouse the dissatisfaction of the other Greek city-states, Printos was more concerned about the fact that the First Fleet's initiative to attack would put the Sparta army in a difficult position because Sparta's national strength was severely damaged at this time, and most of its former allies had defected. Unlike Diónia, which had an endless stream of ships transporting supplies to Mersenia every day, it would not have enough food to maintain such a large army. As long as the Dionysian Army held their ground, it would not take long for the Sparta army to collapse or be forced to take some risky military action. By then, the Dionysian Army would be able to achieve victory at a smaller cost.
Therefore, when the scouts in the mountains found out that about 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers from Sparta were meeting up with the Sparta mercenaries in Tegea, not only did Printos not feel nervous, he was very relaxed. This was because the addition of the Sparta army would undoubtedly lead to a shortage of food. At the same time, the defense in Sparta's territory would inevitably become weak due to the lack of troops. Therefore, he suggested to Crotocatax:
First, continue to build defensive measures in the camp to guard against the attack of the Sparta army.
Second, order the Sekerian to continue to try to land on the coast of Sparta's territory and put pressure on the Sparta people.
Third, send out more scouts and soldiers, expand the scope of investigation to the north of Tegea, and do their best to destroy and cut off any possible food supply routes for the Sparta army.
Cloto Catax adopted each of these suggestions, and then it was up to Printos to persuade the commanders of the army to carry them out.
Half a day later, Cloto Catax received a messenger from the Thebes. The news from the messenger not only shocked Cloto Catax, but also made Printos' mood sour. Delphi, the priests of Olympia, and Corinth's people were running around, planning to form a Greek city-state alliance to fight against Diónia!
Whether it was Cloto Catax or Printos, from the day they set foot on the land of Peloponnesus, everything went smoothly. Despite the warnings of the Devers and Leotychides before they left, they still had the illusion that "they should be able to complete the task given by the King of Devers step by step". If it were not for the reminder of the Thebes, they would never have thought that the arrival of the Dionysian Army would cause such a strong resistance in the Greek holy land, and that the Dionysian Army was ready to drown them in a monstrous wave!
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