Chapter 1257
Iphicrates looked in the direction he was pointing, and a look of sympathy appeared on his face. "He must have arrived in Turií yesterday, that's why we didn't see him in the hotel. Speaking of which, he is quite pitiful. His son, who was seriously injured in the Greek war, died of illness last year. The Sparta people are all brawn and no brains. In the new Sparta government, they are no match for the cunning Pyriasis and the Hercules who have the support of Meseria and Arcadia. (Some of the Hercules of Sparta had migrated to the Tygea territory belonging to Mandinia, so they have a good relationship with Mandinia, the leader of Arcadia.) That's why he still insists on attending the new Sparta parliament even though he's almost 80 years old … "
"If it weren't for his constant travel, we would have almost forgotten about the Sparta people." Callistratus sighed. "What a respectable old man!"
Agesilaus did not know that two acquaintances were talking about him behind his back. The reason he only arrived yesterday was because he was sick. As soon as he recovered, he ignored the doctor's advice and rushed to Turií. How could he give up such a good opportunity to meet the King of Devers and fight for some benefits for the Sparta people? It was also to fulfill his long-cherished wish to visit Diónia, which he had been trying to deal with for decades, before he died.
It was already dusk when the passenger ship arrived at the port of Turií yesterday. Exhausted, Agesilaus boarded the carriage sent by the Turií City Hall to the port to pick up the VIPs. He fell asleep the moment he got on the carriage and did not enjoy the scenery of the city of Turií.
Early this morning, when he was brought into the main arena of Hades by the guide, even though he had seen many grand scenes in his life, he was still shocked by the huge building. When he looked up, he was like a frog at the bottom of a well. He could only see the small circular sky above the tall building, but the boiling sound of the audience that was gradually filling up made him feel insignificant.
He had participated in all four major sports in Greece, and he had even led troops to interfere in the holding of sports several times. However, this was the first time he had seen such a grand competition venue. While he was seriously looking at this special venue, a voice came from beside him. "Agesilaus, it's nice to meet you!"
Agesilaus turned around and saw the current military commander of Pioscia, Perópidas. The person standing beside him was also an acquaintance that left a deep impression on Agesilaus — Ipamilonda.
Perópidas was smiling. Although Ipamilonda looked calm, he nodded to greet Agesilaus.
Agesilaus' face twitched a few times. With a sullen face, he said coldly, "I'm not happy to see you!" After that, he turned around and ignored the two of them.
Agesilaus' reaction was not surprising. For the past few years, he had been regretting that Sparta should not have started the war with the Thebes. Otherwise, they would not have fallen into such a terrible situation today. Moreover, the two Thebes who led the Thebes to fight against Sparta for many years and even defeated the Sparta army in the Battle of Leuctra were the two Thebes in front of him. How could he be nice to them?
Agesilaus' response made Perópidas feel slightly awkward. He laughed at himself and shrugged at Ipamilonda. He deliberately said loudly, "I didn't expect him to still hold a grudge against the past now that we are in the same alliance."
"Comparing the current situation of the Thebes and Sparta, it would be strange if he could accept it," Ipamilonda said softly.
Before the war with the Thebes, Sparta was the overlord of Greece. There were garrisons in many cities in Central Greece, including the Thebes. When the government officials of the Thebes met the general of the Sparta garrisons, they would bow and scrape like slaves to their masters, let alone the ordinary people.
Who knew that after more than 20 years, the real Sparta had fallen to the point of extinction, while the Thebes, with the strong support of Diónia, not only completely unified the entire Pioscia region, but also vigorously developed Oropus and the port at Corinth Bay, promoting the maritime trade with Diónia, which greatly improved the shortcomings of the Pioscia region, making it the second largest power in the Greek alliance. (The first was the Holy Kingdom of Diónia. After Athens dissolved the maritime alliance and lost the vassal states, it fell behind the Pioscia Alliance in terms of land area and number of citizens. However, the number of population and the degree of development of commerce were still higher than that of Pioscia. However, because the Thebes had a closer relationship with Diónia, most of the Greek people believed that Pioscia was stronger than Athens.) This greatly increased the power of the Thebes in the alliance, and also caused the status of the Thebes in Greece to rise rapidly.
Now, the positions of Sparta and Thebes were completely reversed.
"Indeed!" Perópidas laughed heartily.
Agesilaus, who was sitting in the front row, heard the laughter and found it harsh, but he could only pretend that he did not hear it.
"Sit down, don't block the audience at the back." Ipamilonda reminded Agesilaus. He felt that it was completely unnecessary for his good friend to take revenge on Agesilaus. Since the establishment of the New Hellenic Alliance and the Thebes unified the Pioscia region, he had voluntarily resigned from all his posts. If it wasn't for the invitation letter from Diónia to the Pioscia Alliance that specifically requested Ipamilonda to attend, he would probably still be living in seclusion at home.
After Perópidas sat down, he looked around with interest and said excitedly, "In the invitation letter that Diónia gave us, they will hold a different sports event. I think this arena is very different. At least, the Greek city-states, including us, Thebes, are not capable of building it!"
"Yes!" Ipamilonda also sighed, "Do you remember when we were young and watched the sports event in Corinth, only to see the Diónia contestants being expelled? At that time, who would have thought that the Diónia that was humiliated by the audience would become the hegemon of Greece after only 20 years? They even invited all the city-states and countries in the Mediterranean to participate in their sports event! "
"Now that you mentioned it, I remember." Perópidas said half-jokingly, "I heard that even after Diónia became the leader of the Hellenic Alliance, the foreign athletes from Diónia who participated in various sports events were still discriminated against by the Greek people. Therefore, King Diónia organized this sports event in a fit of anger, allowing all the races in the Mediterranean to participate. This is the magnanimity of a great country! Unlike our Greek city-states who are stubborn, conservative, and petty! "
"Does the Greek city-states that you mentioned include us, Thebes, and the Pioscia Alliance?" Ipamilonda asked calmly.
Perópidas did not respond. He pointed to a spot not far away and said gloatingly, "Look, General Cleognon of Corinth is over there! I'm wondering what kind of mood he will be in when he sits in this arena. Is he worried that the Diónia Sports Event will surpass the Corinth Sports Event and become the most popular sports event in Greece? "
"Not only Corinth, I think Ellis and Delphi will be worried too. Look, aren't their messengers sitting there?" A voice came from beside them.
Ipamilonda immediately stood up, "Good morning, Lycomedes!"
"Good morning, Perópidas, Ipamilonda! It's a pleasure to sit with you! " Lycomedes waved the ticket in his hand and pointed to the serial number on the stone bench. He said with a sigh, "What amazed me the most when I came to Turií was not the size and prosperity of this city, but the fact that there are so many people here, yet they are managed in such an orderly manner! Now, it seems that it's because the officials of Diónia are very serious and meticulous in governing the country.
Think about it, even the entrances of the arena (each entrance has a number corresponding to the number written on the ticket), the stone stairs (there are wooden railings on the sides of the stairs to prevent them from falling), and the seats are carefully designed so that there will be no chaos when so many spectators enter the arena. This shows that their meticulous management has penetrated into every aspect of the people's lives … "
"Yes, think about all the previous sports events where there were no conflicts because of spectators fighting for seats. As the motherland, we should not only feel ashamed, but we should also learn from Diónia with humility!" Perópidas said seriously, then politely made an inviting gesture, "Lycomedes, please take a seat!"
After the Greek war, the Greek city-states did not benefit the most from the Thebes, but Mandinia. Not only did they obtain the fertile land of Tegea, but they also established the Arcadia Union with Mandinia as the main body with the strong support of Diónia, becoming a major force in Greece.
Perópidas once said to Ipamilonda in private in envy, "In order to establish the Pioscia Union, we, the Thebes, fought hard with Sparta for many years and sacrificed so many people … Mandinia, on the other hand, was only lucky enough to follow Diónia in the Greek war, and finally achieved this goal easily. Apollo is really biased!"
However, Perópidas, who was lively and cheerful on the outside but very proud on the inside, showed sincere respect for Lycomedes, because not only did Lycomedes propose the establishment of the Arcadia Union for the first time, but he had also worked tirelessly for many years, and because of this, he served as the chairman of the Arcadia Union for five consecutive years (the highest position in the Arcadia Union Parliament could only be held by a Mandinian).
"I just heard that Diónia is going to hold a different sports event …"
Comments