Chapter 1197
Asidamas thought about it and said, "Ever since Dionia invaded Mersenia, I've spent some time investigating Dionia's situation. In the end, I discovered that this kingdom of the Western Mediterranean has actually controlled all the forces along the coast of the Western Mediterranean, becoming the undisputed overlord of the Western Mediterranean! In the last two wars, the kingdom sent 100,000 troops and 600 to 700 warships to fight, and they were able to maintain the offensive for more than half a year. Their strength is amazing!
Moreover, Diónia developed from a small city-state into a kingdom 20 years ago through constant wars and annexation. It is impossible that they came to Greece to fight Sparta just to help Thebes. Their ultimate goal must be the whole of Greece!
My opinion is … Either you send an envoy to Turií to seek an alliance with Diónia to preserve Thessaly's independence, or you call the envoy from Athens who is staying in the city and ask him to join the Greek alliance. This way, we can gather the strength of the whole of Greece and defeat Diónia! "
At this point, Asdamas's expression became solemn. "I'm inclined to the former suggestion because I don't think a temporary alliance can defeat a kingdom that has grown stronger through constant battles."
"Asdamas, you're always cautious." Iazon suddenly stood up and said loudly, "I choose the latter suggestion! You're right, Diónia wants to conquer all of Greece. It's impossible for us to stay out of it and preserve our strength. The flames of war will eventually burn the land of Thessaly. It's better to take this opportunity to gather the strength of the whole of Greece and fight Diónia with all our might!
During the Greek War of Hippo, only half of the castles in Greece united to defeat Persia. This time, we, Thessaly, have joined them. Diónia is not as strong as Persia. Do you think we can't defeat them? Let's first unite with the city-states in the south and defeat Diónia. After that, we will compete with Athens and Thebes for the hegemony of Greece. What do you think? "
Asdamas looked at the excited Iazon and was not surprised by his choice. Based on his understanding of Tarkus, Iazon, who had always been aggressive, would hardly adopt the strategy of forbearance and retreat. But he had to remind him, "If we want to form an alliance, we must distinguish the primary and secondary forces. Just like in the Greek War of Hippo, Sparta was the leader —"
"Of course, I, Thessaly, will be the leader. I will command the entire alliance!" Iazon said resolutely, not hiding his ambition. "Sparta has declined, and Athens' army is not strong enough. Although the Thebes won the battle against Sparta, they do not have enough soldiers (he did not know that the Thebes were neutral). Only I, Thessaly, can form an army of more than 40,000 strong. We also have more than 100 warships, more than Athens. If we don't become the leader of this alliance, who would dare?"
Although becoming the leader of the Greek alliance was only temporary, as long as they won this battle, Thessaly's status in the Greek city-states would be greatly improved. The people of Thessaly would feel proud. In the past, the people of Athens and Sparta called Thessaly "barbarians." Therefore, not only did Iazon have this desire, but Asdamas was also happy to see it happen.
So he suggested, "Sir, we can use this as a precondition to join the alliance and negotiate with the envoy from Athens. But first, invite him to inspect our army of Thessaly."
"Asdamas, you and I have the same idea again!" Iazon applauded with confidence. "I will gather my army now. In the afternoon, you will bring the envoy from Athens to the barracks outside the city."
… …
On the second day of the Battle of Tegea, Cloto Catax led his army to the southeast of Tegea, near the Sanctuary of Hercules (formerly the encampment of the Sparta Coalition Army). At the same time, he sent 5,000 soldiers to escort tens of thousands of captives back to Messenia. Most of them were citizens of Tegea. They would be sent back to Turií, either as slaves, miners, or sold publicly (native Greek slaves were more popular in the Turií slave market. Firstly, they were cultured, intelligent, and easy to communicate with. Secondly, they could satisfy the colonial desire of the Greek citizens of Diónia to show off their motherland.)
As a result, the city of Tegea was almost empty, temporarily garrisoned by 1,000 Diónia soldiers.
In addition, at the request of Tegetinos, the 3,000 soldiers of the 7th Legion, who had barely suffered any losses, quickly headed south early in the morning to seal off the border between Tegea and Sparta, intercepting the retreating Sparta soldiers.
In the afternoon, the 2,000 soldiers and a delegation sent by Mandinia finally arrived at the new barracks of Diónia. They eagerly expressed to Cloto Catax that Mandinia was willing to accept his proposal to take over Tegea.
At the same time, they also hoped to sign a secret agreement with Diónia, forming a closer alliance and fully supporting any military operations of Diónia in Greece.
The people of Mandinia were not fools. Although they coveted the land of Tegea, they knew that they were weak. If they made such a move, they would inevitably be ostracized and suppressed by the other Greek city-states, and there might even be a war. Looking at how Diónia had always maintained a good reputation for its allies, so if they wanted to completely annex this land, they had to cling to Diónia's thighs.
Therefore, 500 of the 2,000 Mandinian soldiers were prepared to stay in Tegea, while the remaining 1,500 were to listen to the command of the Dionysian Army and participate in the subsequent military operations to show the sincerity of the people of Mandinia.
Cloto Catax's goal was achieved, and he was very happy to negotiate with the Mandinian envoy. Soon, they signed a secret military alliance that excluded the Arcadia Union and limited it to only between Diónia and Mandinia.
… …
At the same time, Agesilaus, the King of Sparta, was still trudging through the mountains with the remnants of his army.
Before the battle, Teacher Agesilaus had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of losing the battle. He had made two plans:
The first was that the Dionysian Army would retreat after winning the battle, just like the Thebes. In that case, he could retreat to the camp first, reorganize a little, and then lead part of the army, with the main force of the Sparta warriors, to quietly retreat to his territory under the cover of the night.
The second was that the Dionysian Army would take advantage of the victory to pursue and force the routed army of Sparta into the mountains. Judging from the past battles of Diónia, this was very likely. Therefore, he had secretly informed the Sparta warriors, who were familiar with the terrain, that if such a situation occurred, they should meet at the Peragus Forest and retreat to their territory.
But he never expected that after the Dionysian Army won the battle, after forcing the routed army into the mountains, they would still separate part of their army to continue the pursuit. These Diónia soldiers (actually, the mountain scouts) ran in the mountains as if they were walking on flat ground, and they were good at hiding and ambushing, forcing the defeated Sparta soldiers to scatter in the mountains, including Agesilaus himself. If it weren't for the King's Guards desperately trying to rescue him, he would have fallen into the hands of the Diónia soldiers.
Not long after, night fell. It was difficult to tell the direction in the mountains, and they had to avoid wild beasts. Therefore, it was not until noon on the second day that the routed army of Sparta gathered near the Peragus Forest.
In the afternoon, there were less than a thousand soldiers gathered, and most of them were Piriasi. After all, during the battle, the Sparta warriors fought on the first line. Later on, the entire right wing was attacked by the Diónia's reserve troops. It was undoubtedly much more difficult for the Sparta warriors to successfully escape from the encirclement.
More importantly, Agesilaus did not see his son Archidamus appear. He was indescribably worried, but he knew that he could not wait any longer. Otherwise, without food, the soldiers would starve to death in the mountains before they could return to their territory.
Therefore, he resolutely gave the order to "move out", and refused the help of the guards. With the help of a cane, he hobbled to the front of the team.
Under his encouragement, the tired and hungry soldiers could only follow closely.
Because they did not retreat in time last night, they did not dare to march near the Tegea Plains in their current condition. Otherwise, if they were discovered by the Diónia scouts, it would be a disaster. Therefore, they could only trek in the mountains, which meant that the time needed to return home would be greatly extended …
… … …..
On the third day, the impatient Cloto Catax left behind 2,000 soldiers to guard the camp, while more than 2,000 wounded soldiers were treated and recuperated in the camp. He gathered 15,000 Diónia soldiers and 1,500 Mandinia soldiers, and marched south.
Not long after they left the camp, they met the messenger sent by Tegthinus.
What?! The 1st Flotilla has occupied Sparta?! Klotokatax repeatedly read the battle report that was personally signed by Sekelian, and his face was full of amazement.
It turned out that after Tegthinus led 3,000 soldiers to the border of Sparta yesterday, he did not capture many defeated soldiers. Later, after repeated requests from the legionnaires who were eager to gain merit, he finally decided to send two companies into Sparta's territory to scout out the situation.
Between Tegea and Sparta was a continuous mountain range, and the best path to take was a narrow passage formed by the Yrotas River Valley. Ever since the Dionysian Army took over Mersenia, Sparta had felt a great threat. Under Agesilaus' suggestion, the Sparta people not only concentrated all their efforts on building defensive facilities on the southern coast, but also built small defensive camps in the Yrotas River Valley in the north and on the other two routes.
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