Chapter 1195
Sephidorus moved his right hand slightly and pretended to be relaxed. "I was accidentally stabbed by a spear. Fortunately, my muscles and bones were not injured, and the bleeding has been stopped. I'm fine now, but I can't salute you for the time being."
"When the medical camp arrives, I'll let them treat you seriously. You're the hero who defeated Sparta. Don't let your wound get infected because of your carelessness and cause a serious illness. If that happens, you won't be able to enjoy any glory … "
"Sir, are you worried about me or are you cursing me?!" Sephidorus said with dissatisfaction.
Sekerian was more casual when interacting with the senior officers of the First Fleet. He laughed and said, "You don't have to salute me for now. I'll do it later. What's the situation now?"
"Sparta sent a messenger, asking for peace talks with us. I can't make the decision, so …"
"We've completely defeated the Sparta army. They have no more power left. Our soldiers can easily occupy the city of Sparta. They want peace talks at this time? They must be dreaming! Chase this messenger away, and we'll bring the army into the city. "
"This messenger said that he's Xenophon, a good friend of His Majesty, who went to Persia with the Devers."
"A good friend of His Majesty?" Sekerian finally showed some respect. He thought for a while and said, "I don't think His Majesty will give up the most beneficial move for the kingdom because of a personal friendship … How about this, go tell that … Se … Xenophon that Diónia will not accept the peace talks unless Sparta surrenders immediately."
Sephidorus accepted the order and quickly returned. "Sir, he agreed to surrender to Sparta, but —"
"But the Dionysian Army cannot enter the city of Sparta and harass the people of Sparta!" Xenophon, who followed Sephidorus closely, said loudly.
Sekerian raised his head and looked at him from the corner of his eyes. He sneered, "You won't let us enter Sparta and you won't be able to capture the people of Sparta. What kind of surrender is this?"
"Sparta surrenders to Diónia and gives up all the city-states they control, only keeping Sparta's original territory. They can even accept some reforms that Diónia has made to Sparta's government. Also, Sparta and Diónia will maintain unity in offense and defense. No matter who Diónia goes to war with in the future, Sparta must fight alongside Sparta … General, during the Peloponnesus War, Athens finally lost and surrendered to Sparta. The conditions that they accepted are almost the same. Now, Sparta's surrender conditions are even harsher. It's enough to show our sincerity. Isn't that enough?"
Xenophon said calmly, "The conditions that you mentioned … Did Sparta agree to them?" Sekerian was still suspicious.
"They have given me full authority. They won't object!" Xenophon said confidently.
Sekerian sneered again. He stared at Xenophon and said directly, "To be honest, I don't believe in your so-called surrender. Because the main forces of Sparta are still in Arcadia. You only need to delay them for a day or two, and they will return soon … Hehe, so whether it's the Sparta commander on the beach or you now, both of you suggested that we should not enter the city of Sparta so that they can rush back to save us!"
"General, since the people of Sparta have agreed to surrender, they will keep their promise. They will never go back on their word!" Xenophon said loudly, as if he was insulted. "They are the descendants of Hercules. They swear in the name of Hercules that they will never go back on their word!"
"You make it sound like the people of Sparta are as good as the people of Diónia. But I don't believe you!" Sekerian shook his head and said sarcastically, "Back then, many of the cities in Greece signed the so-called Great King's Contract together. They swore to the gods. But not long after, the people of Sparta broke the contract and suddenly attacked the city of Thebes …"
"Then what should we do to make you believe us?" Xenophon was at a loss for words, but he quickly asked anxiously.
Sekerian ignored him and turned to Sephidorus. "The soldiers have rested enough, right? Gather them immediately and enter the city of Sparta. Capture all the people of Sparta!"
"Yes!"
Xenophon panicked. He went forward and grabbed Sekerian's sleeve. He said earnestly, "Wait! General, you can't do this! … "
Sekerian waved his hand forcefully. "And him, capture him too!"
The fleet infantrymen and soldiers of the 7th Legion who received the order quickly formed a long and loose horizontal formation. They stepped across the wheat fields, vegetable fields, vineyards, and sparsely populated thatched houses …
When they were approaching the densely packed houses, they were surprised to see many old people, women, and even children in between the houses. They were all holding spears, short swords, and even wooden sticks. They were glaring at them.
The entire Dionysian Army stopped advancing.
After hearing the news, Sekerian was silent for a moment. Then, he said in a low voice, "As expected of the country of Sparta, which was founded on military might. Since they have picked up their weapons, they are the enemy! He told the soldiers that they could not be careless, nor could they be merciful. They had to attack them immediately! But if they put down their weapons and stop attacking, you can no longer kill them. You can only capture them. Do you understand?! "
"Understood!"
… …
In the king's office in the palace of Turií, the Devers were listening to the report of the Chief of Intelligence, Aristiras. "Your Majesty, we have received a secret report from Greece in the past two days. The General Assembly of Athens has passed the decision to join the Greek Alliance and is ready to declare war on us. Currently, the entire Attica region is mobilized and has begun to prepare a large number of military supplies. At the same time, they are also cooperating with the priest of Delphi to send messengers to the surrounding city-states in an attempt to unite these city-states and declare war on us …"
After listening to these, Dyvers frowned slightly for a moment before relaxing again. With a calm expression, he murmured, "Don't be fooled by the fact that the Athenians always talk about 'freedom, equality, and resistance against tyranny'. In fact, compared to the Spartans who were burdened by Heloth and had to focus more energy on stabilizing their own territory, the Athenians are much more ambitious.
They want to control the Aegean Sea because it is the source of their wealth; they also want to control the Yoke Sea because it is the source of their food; they also want to control Great Greece so that they can threaten the alliance of Sparta and Peloponnesus; they also used to be an ally of Egypt, helping it to resist the invasion of Persia … Athens wants to build a kingdom that controls the entire Mediterranean Sea!
This idea has not changed since Pericles to the rulers of Athens today. It will inevitably conflict with the interests of our kingdom and eventually lead to war … This is within our expectations. "
"However, our army is still fighting against Sparta in Peloponnesus. If Athens chooses to launch an attack at this time, it will add a lot of trouble to us," Aristiras could not help but say.
The Devers did not respond directly but asked, "Other than Athens, which Greek city-states have joined this alliance?"
"Ellis has received the promise from the priests of Olympia and Pisa and has decided to join this alliance. Corinth and Megara seem to feel the threat of our fleet and have also joined this alliance. Agos is still hesitating, mainly because their people do not want to help the people of Sparta. The people of Phocis have also joined this alliance under the influence of the priests of Delphi. After Phocis and Athens joined, the people of Locris also joined.
The people of Thebes have announced that we are their allies and have helped them during their most difficult time. They cannot violate the oath they made to God and declare war on us. However, they will not point their spears at their neighbors who have helped them, so they remain neutral. Under the influence of the Thebes, most of the city-states of the Pioscia alliance have also chosen to remain neutral.
The priests of Delphi and the emissaries of Athens have gone to persuade the people of Thessaly. Now the intelligence shows that Iazon is still hesitating and has not expressed his position. In addition, Athens has also sent emissaries to the western part of Central Greece in an attempt to rope in the natives of Acarnania and Aetonia. As for the specific situation, we have not received any news yet … The general situation is like this. "
After listening to the more detailed introduction of Aristiras, the Devers tapped the table with his hand and said in a low voice, "Pelopidas of the Thebes has secretly sent a letter to me, explaining to me the reasons why the Thebes have to make this choice. Considering the current environment that the Thebes are in, they have already taken a lot of risks by choosing to remain neutral. I can understand that.
Athens has officially joined this alliance that opposes us, which means that most of the Ionian city-states that are led by Athens will declare war on us. Although that Iazon is still watching, I think that since he has the ambition to become the overlord of Greece, he should know that this is the only chance for him to defeat us, Diónia, and achieve his goal. He will eventually join us … "
At this point, his tone became unusually strong. "These Greek city-states that oppose us have gathered together to fight against us. It is also a good thing that they are fighting against us. We can save time and eradicate them all at once, completely controlling the Greek mainland!"
Then, a trace of kindness appeared on his face. "Now that the situation in Greece is becoming complicated, this will be a good training for Cloto Catax. I believe that with the assistance of several senior generals such as Printos and Sekerian, the army that he leads in Peloponnesus will not be in too much danger. "
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