Chapter 1207
Most of the generals agreed with the first suggestion. As for the second suggestion, everyone agreed with it as well, but there were still some dissenting voices.
"We agree with you, General Iphicrates. It is very important to ensure the safety of our retreat. Kleusis must be controlled by us!" This was the positive response from the generals of the Sea Alliance in Athens.
"The Thebes are traitors. It is they who colluded with Diónia that caused the terrible situation in Greece today. They must be punished! Not only do we want to control Kleusis, but we should also let the other city-states of the Pioscia Alliance gain independence! "This was the clamor from the people of Phocis and Locris.
"We have the advantage in numbers. The Thebes should agree with our suggestion. There is no need for us to provoke the Thebes to prevent them from giving up their neutrality and turning to Diónia. Our priority now is to defeat the Dionysian Army!" This was the opinion of the generals of Corinth, Agos, and Megara.
Only a few of the generals of the Pioscia Alliance who had joined the Greek Alliance remained silent.
Iphicrates' suggestion was quickly accepted by the generals. This made Iazon realize that a large number of troops could not guarantee the right to command the entire alliance.
A few days later, the army of the Greek Alliance began to gather at Corinth.
At this moment, the messenger sent by Cloto Catax arrived at Mandinia.
"The commander of Diónia hopes that we will withdraw all the citizens stationed in Tegea and defend Mandinia City for a while …" Lycomedes said to the others in the council after reading the letter with a serious expression.
As one of the initiators of the establishment of the Arcadia Union, Lycomedes was originally elected by the citizens of Mandinia to be the main councilor of the Arcadia Union. He was responsible for the important task of establishing and perfecting the union. However, after Mandinia annexed Tegea, it had a conflict of interest with the other city-states in the alliance. Even though the quarrel was temporarily quelled, cracks had already appeared between Mandinia and the other city-states. With Lycomedes as the leader, the Mandinia councilors were obviously alienated and ostracized by the other councilors.
Coincidentally, the emissary of the Greek Union arrived at Megaloboris and threatened the Arcadia Union. "You must immediately tear up the alliance with Diónia and join the Greek Union. Otherwise, you will be attacked by the allied forces."
After learning about the shocking number of Greek allied forces, and because the Dionysian Army had completely retreated to Sparta's territory, the Arcadia Union felt great pressure from the threat of the Greek allied forces. Therefore, most of the councilors began to hesitate, and only a few of them clearly expressed that they could accept the emissary's request. Only Lycomedes and a few other councilors from Mandinia were adamantly against it. Their vehement emotions caused the Arcadia Union to not respond to the emissary's request.
However, when night fell, the emissary secretly contacted and discussed with the councilors from many cities, but he did not come to Lycomedes.
Therefore, during the meeting of the Arcadia Union the next day, when they continued to discuss the issue, they passed the resolution to "sever ties with Diónia and join the Greek Union" with a majority of votes. Lycomedes could not accept such an outcome. He angrily criticized the shortsightedness of the Arcadia Union, believing that such treachery would definitely be punished by the gods.
After that, Lycomedes led a few councilors from Mandinia and left Megaloboris decisively, returning to his homeland. This actually meant that Mandinia and the Arcadia Union had broken off relations.
At this time, when the councilors from Mandinia heard Lycomedes' words, they all felt nervous. Someone asked anxiously, "Now that the Greek Union has gathered a large army in Corinth and is about to invade the south, we, Mandinia, have not betrayed our alliance with Diónia like the other Arcadia city-states, and will definitely become the first target of this army. Shouldn't Diónia honor the alliance and save us?!"
The emissary, Karias, faced the agitated councilors from Mandinia and said calmly, "Judging from the current situation of the war, the enemy's military strength has obviously exceeded the army of Diónia in Peloponnesus. It is not a wise decision to fight them head-on at this time. Therefore, His Highness Cloto Catax hopes that you can hold the city of Mandinia first and wait for the new Diónia reinforcements to arrive in Peloponnesus before deciding the outcome of the battle with the enemy!
Our Diónia is strong, and we have no less than 200,000 regular soldiers. As long as we have enough time for them to reach Peloponnesus, we will definitely win this war! Of course, the enemy is strong now. If you feel that you do not have enough manpower, we will send reinforcements to help you defend the city. "
When the councilors from Mandinia heard that the Kingdom of Diónia had no less than 200,000 soldiers, they were a little surprised, but they gradually calmed down. From their point of view, the Dionysian Army was very strong. They had easily conquered the powerful Sparta with only 30,000 soldiers. Moreover, they had so many soldiers in the kingdom. Even if they easily sent tens of thousands of soldiers, it would not be difficult for them to defeat the so-called Greek Union Army.
"The commander of Diónia wants us to abandon Tegea. Is this a temporary retreat? Or a long-term retreat? " Lycomedesi asked anxiously. This was because Mandinia had broken off relations with the Arcadia Alliance, causing his previous efforts to go to waste. The root cause was Tegea, and he did not want to wait until the war was over for Mandinia to return empty-handed, with nothing to show for it.
"Of course it is a temporary retreat." Karias more or less understood the thoughts of the Mandinians, so he said loudly, "Since we, Diónia, have promised that the land of Tegea will belong to Mandinia, we will never go back on this promise! Also, I have brought another promise made by His Highness Cloto Catax — "
As Karias spoke, he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Lycomedes.
Lycomedes took the letter. After reading it, he looked at Karias in surprise.
Karias said loudly with a solemn expression, "Our wise King of Devers once said, 'Only in times of danger will you know who your true friend is.' Although it has not been long since we came to Peloponnesus, we have experienced many betrayals. Only Mandinia has always stood firmly on our side, not wavering even when the enemy's army is pressuring our borders!
Your performance has won the trust of Diónia, so His Highness Cloto Catax promised that after the victory of the war, Mandinia will fully support Mandinia in rebuilding the Arcadia Union! "
Karias' words made all the councilors in the hall excited. They all said that Mandinia would defend this city according to Diónia's request and wait for the arrival of Diónia's reinforcements!
At this moment, Lycomedes also swept away his previous gloominess and began to think in his mind. This new Arcadia Union must not be as indiscriminate as before. It should be like the Thebes in the Pioscia Union, with Mandinia as the absolute center!
… …
A few days later, the Greek Coalition Army entered the territory of Arcadia. After failing to persuade them to surrender, they surrounded the city of Mandinia.
On the second day, Thessaly's army, which was the most proactive, took the lead in launching an attack on the city. However, the Mandinian defenders, who had already received reinforcements from Diónia, easily defeated the Coalition Army's attack.
In the next few days, the Coalition Army did not make much progress in attacking the city and had to temporarily turn to a siege. Its main force continued to move south, seeking a decisive battle with the Dionysian Army.
Two days later, Thessaly's army, which was the vanguard, occupied the city of Tegea.
Although Tegea was now an empty city and there was no fighting, the news still shocked the other cities of Peloponnesus, who did not know the truth.
Soon, the Arcadia Union fulfilled the new covenant and sent 3,000 soldiers. Ellis, who had been hesitating, finally sent an envoy to the Coalition Army and made a request to "join the alliance". Even the cities of Achaia, which had been neutral before, sent envoys and made the same request.
In an instant, the Greek Coalition Army's power and prestige increased greatly.
After a discussion, the generals of the Coalition Army, led by Iphicrates and Iazon, decided that the armies of Ellis, the Arcadia Union, and the cities of Achaia would attack Messenia, while the main force of the Coalition Army would attack Sparta.
The Greek Coalition Army continued to move south and reached the border of the Arcadia Region. However, they did not expect that after the Diónia expeditionary force occupied the territory of Sparta, according to the instructions of the King of Devers, the Ministry of Military Affairs issued an order: The Greek city-states were forming an Coalition Army in an attempt to defeat the expeditionary force. Therefore, they requested Cloto Catax to lead the army to defend the territories of Messenia and Laconia and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
Cloto Catax obeyed the order and accepted the suggestion of Printos and several other generals. He built a number of defense camps along the main roads and mountain ridges on the northern border of Sparta and Messenia. Not only did tens of thousands of soldiers participate, but the Pyriasians and the former Helaoists also actively responded …
Therefore, in just two months, the Dionysian Army had established a preliminary system of defense facilities at the two borders.
The Greek Coalition Army was soon hindered by these complex Diónia -style defense camps. This was especially true in the northern part of Sparta, where the mountains were continuous and the terrain was narrow. The Coalition Army's superior forces could not be deployed at all, and camping and resting became a big problem. On the other hand, the Dionysian Army held on to the strategic terrain. Not only did they block the enemy's offensive, but they also launched night attacks from time to time, causing casualties to the Greek Coalition Army who had to camp in all directions.
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