Chapter 1199
Upon hearing this, the three Tygea councilors' expressions changed drastically, and they immediately galloped towards the north.
The protagonists who had come to demand an explanation suddenly left. The other councilors of the Arcadia Union looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
Printos immediately said in a deep voice, "The Sparta coalition has been defeated. Taking advantage of this opportunity, our army will soon invade Sparta's territory and completely eliminate this scourge that has caused decades of war in Greece, returning peace to the Greek people! So we can't waste any more time here. After the war is over, we will come back to celebrate the victory with you! "After saying this, he even gave a military salute, and then turned his horse around.
After hearing Printos' words, the councilors felt as if they were in a dream. Their ally for decades, Sparta, which had dominated Greece for hundreds of years, was going to be destroyed just like that?!
At this time, Printos turned around again, and his eyes fell on Lycomedes. He said, "By the way, I forgot to tell you that the Tygea people tore up the alliance and ambushed our army. They are no longer allies of the Holy Kingdom of Diónia, but our enemy. The captured Tygea city is naturally the spoils of war of the Dionysian Army!
In order to show that we, the Diónia, have sent our army to Peloponnesus this time to fulfill the alliance and assist the Thebes in defeating Sparta, and not to covet the Greek land. At the same time, to thank the Mandinians for giving our army a lot of help in this battle, our commander has given the spoils of war to the Mandinians, and they have gladly accepted it. "
After saying this, Printos left like a cloud of dust, leaving behind the confused councilors of the Arcadia Union. "What do you mean by this?"
"Don't you understand?! The Mandinians want to occupy the land of Tygea! "
"What?!!"
A group of people quickly surrounded Lycomedes, who was also confused about the situation, and kept asking questions …
… …
After meeting up with Tegthinus, Cloto Catax led almost 18,000 soldiers into Sparta's territory. After passing through an uneven mountain road, they arrived at the Eurotas River Valley. Following the winding and narrow river valley, they finally arrived at the defensive camp built by Sparta at dusk.
The small encampment was unable to accommodate so many soldiers, so the various corps and brigades had to find their own places to camp. Fortunately, no accidents happened that night.
The next day, the soldiers, who hadn't slept well, set off early and continued to move forward. Finally, when the sky was bright, they walked out of the river valley and entered the open hilly area.
After this arduous trek, Cloto Catax had a deeper understanding of how helpful the 1st Flotilla's conquest of Sparta was to the army.
When it was almost noon, the army finally approached the first town in Sparta — Selasia.
Knowing that Sekerian was welcoming them with the high-ranking officers of the First Fleet, Cloto Catax led Printos and a group of high-ranking officers over on horseback.
Before waiting for Klotokatax to dismount from his horse, this dark-skinned and famous hero of the kingdom who was dressed in a velvet suit took the initiative to welcome him and solemnly gave a military salute, "Sir Commander, the commander of the First Fleet, Sekerian reporting for duty!"
Cloto Catax immediately dismounted and returned the salute solemnly. He then praised loudly, "General Sekerian, congratulations on occupying Sparta's territory and creating great glory! Relying only on the infantrymen of the fleet, you successfully landed on the heavily defended coast of Sparta and defeated the defenders. This is very impressive! It has also provided great help to the entire expeditionary army, which is conducive to the implementation of the next step of our plan! "
Cloto Catax's generous praise made Sekerian and the officers behind him very happy. Sekerian laughed and said seriously, "Commander, to tell you the truth, the reason I didn't go to see you when you took office in Mersenia was actually because the 1st Flotilla's failure to land on the coast of Sparta last time and nearly a thousand soldiers were killed or injured. It was my mistake in commanding, so I really didn't have the face to see you. This time, I've finally gotten what I wanted. Regardless of whether it's glory or not, I've finally let go of the burden that has been weighing on my heart. That's why I dare to come and ask for your forgiveness. "
Why did Sekerian, who had always thought highly of himself, put down his pride this time and took the initiative to show goodwill to the young commander? It was mainly because he had been in a high position for years and had some political wisdom. He gradually realized the reason why the King of Devers, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, let the young Cloto Catax be the commander-in-chief in such an important war. For the sake of the rest of his life and the future of his children, he had to remain humble to make up for his previous mistake.
As soon as his voice trailed off, a heavy snort came from behind Cloto Catax. "Since the 1st Flotilla is so powerful and can fight on both land and sea, if there's a war in the future, we might as well let the 1st Flotilla handle it alone!"
Sekerian fixed his eyes on the speaker. It was Olivers, a very experienced veteran in the army. Although Sekerian was not afraid of him, there was no need to offend him and leave a bad impression on Cloto Catax. So, he smiled and said, "The 1st Flotilla was able to capture Sparta because you led the army in the territory of Arcadia and attracted the attention of the main forces of Sparta. Besides, I also heard that you had a fierce battle with the Sparta army in Tegea and completely defeated the Sparta army. This was also a brilliant victory! Without this victory, without our army, even if the 1st Flotilla occupied Sparta, it would still be recaptured by the main forces of Sparta in the end! "
Sekerian's words were reasonable, which made the commanders feel very comfortable. The displeased looks on their faces quickly disappeared.
This also greatly changed Cloto Catax's impression of Sekerian. He took over the conversation and said seriously, "It was by relying on the cooperation and joint efforts of the army and navy that we won the victory against Sparta! Next, we still need the close cooperation of the army and navy to successfully defeat the armies of the Greek city-states that are hostile to Diónia! But now, we have to deal with the aftermath of the defeat of Sparta as soon as possible so that we can deal with the challenges of the other Greek city-states. Sir Sekerian, how is the situation in Sparta now? "
Sekerian glanced behind Cloto Catax and felt a little strange. He was a little familiar with Ctessus, the newly appointed commander of the first legion. He was a very active guy, but now he seemed a little quiet and a little uneasy.
However, he had no time to think about it now. He first answered the young commander's question, "We have imprisoned all the people in Sparta. Now the entire city of Sparta, including the surrounding villages and towns, has been occupied by my fleet infantry and soldiers of the seventh legion.
I'm afraid you didn't expect that when our landing troops approached the city of Sparta, the main defensive force of Sparta had been destroyed. They actually organized the elderly, women, and children in the city to fight us — "
"You didn't kill too many people, did you?" Cloto Catax blurted out.
Sekerian glanced at him and said, "No, because we know very well that the people of Sparta are more useful than the dead. At that time, I launched an attack with the soldiers of the seventh legion and quickly defeated the people of Sparta. But in the process of capturing them, some people resisted strongly and injured many of our soldiers.
Now, many Helaoths have fled to the mountains, and the Piriaci are hiding in their own villages and towns. We are all watching. I don't have many troops under my command. It's not easy to control the villages and towns of Sparta, so now I'm eagerly looking forward to your arrival! "
Sekerian's frankness made it difficult for Cloto Catax to say anything more in this regard. He just asked, "Have you found any defeated soldiers from the north these days?"
"No news in this regard for the time being."
Sekerian's answer made Cloto Catax frown slightly.
"Don't worry, commander. We have the people of Sparta as hostages. The defeated soldiers of Sparta can only surrender. I used this method to force the dozens of Sparta soldiers stationed in the northern defense camp to surrender," Sekerian comforted him.
Cloto Catax pondered and said, "General Sekerian, before coming to Peloponnesus, my father told me that he does not intend to annex the land of Sparta, but to change the political system of Sparta and turn it into a friendly ally of the kingdom …"
Sekerian was surprised to hear this. After all, he was not very good at government affairs. He could not help but remind Hao Ren, "Although the elders and inspectors of Sparta have become our captives, they are very stubborn and will not surrender easily. What should we do to make them obey us?"
Previously, with Dyvers' advice, during this period of time in the Boroponnesian Empire, Cloto Catax had also repeatedly pondered and brewed according to the actual situation. He already had some plans in his heart. He said confidently, "We can first …"
The group of people talked as they walked in the direction of Sparta. After more than an hour, they saw two tall bronze statues standing on both sides of the road in front of them. They only wore Corinth helmets, revealing their strong bodies. They were holding shields, spears, and sabers in their hands. They were in a charging posture while roaring, as if to deter any strangers who wanted to enter the center of Sparta.
"Sparta is in front of us," Sekerian said.
Everyone was excited.
After going around the bronze statues, they began to see sparse thatched houses in front of them. They were no different from most of the houses they saw in Mersenia. Cloto Catax knew that these were the houses where the Helots lived.
Comments