Novels online

Chapter 1283

The Asia Minor allied fleet stationed at the port of Halicarnassus was well aware of this. They even knew that there were hundreds of Diónia warships escorting these fleets, and that there were also hundreds of warships from the Greek city-states. Other than that, there were no other enemy fleets in the Aegean Sea. The number of warships of the Asia Minor allied fleet was twice that of the enemy. Therefore, after some discussion, the Asia Minor fleet decided to head north to the Misia Sea to seize the opportunity.

At the beginning of November, the Asia Minor fleet sailed north. By the time they arrived at the waters near the entrance of the Hellespont, the Greek allied fleets had already fled. Unwilling to return empty-handed, the Asia Minor fleet pretended to head south at dusk, but in fact, they quietly docked at the port of Hellespont on the island of Lesvos, which was not far south of the Dionysian Army's landing place.

The two pincers of Lesvos resembled that of a crab. The two pincers were not completely closed, forming a bay in the center. The entrance of the bay was facing south, away from the Hellespont Strait. Therefore, the Greek allied forces were not able to detect it for a while. As a result, on the second day, when a transport fleet of 70 cargo ships of the Greek allied forces sailed to the waters near Ilion without any warning, the fleet of Asia Minor suddenly appeared and attacked it, almost destroying the entire fleet.

When the Asia Minor fleet's attack was about to end, the Fourth Fleet of Diónia arrived in a hurry. The Persia Asia Minor fleet immediately gathered their warships and got into position, ready to fight the enemy.

Due to the huge disparity in the number of warships, the Fourth Fleet of Diónia chose to retreat. Meanwhile, the sailors of the Persia Asia Minor fleet were a little tired after chasing the fleeing Greek cargo ships back and forth. They were not in the mood to fight anymore, so they returned to the port of Hellespont.

On the second day, the Asia Minor fleet reappeared in the waters near the entrance of the Hellespont, but they did not find any trace of the Greek allied fleets. They patrolled for half a day but found nothing. In the end, they returned to the port of Hellespont.

In the evening, the senior commanders of the Asia Minor fleet held a military meeting to discuss whether the fleet should return to Halicarnassus as soon as possible.

Most of the admirals from the Greek city-states of Asia Minor thought, "The Greek allied forces have learned their lesson from yesterday's failure. As long as we are here, I'm afraid that their fleet will not appear. The Asia Minor fleet had a large number of crew members. Obviously, Lesvos Island could not provide enough supplies, and it was troublesome to obtain supplies from the nearby coastal city-states of Asia Minor. More importantly, the Asia Minor fleet has alerted the enemy, and the logistics are very important to the Greek Coalition Army. The Kingdom of Dionia will definitely not give up and send reinforcements. Don't forget that the Dionians have thousands of warships! "

On the other hand, the admirals of Persia believed, "Although the Asia Minor fleet has made some achievements, it is not enough to boast about in front of Fanabazos, let alone attract the attention of the king of Persia. Even if the Greek Coalition Army was evading the attack of the Asia Minor fleet, the fleet might not be able to achieve any significant achievements in the future. But as long as the Asia Minor fleet remained in this sea, it would cut off the supply of the Greek Coalition Army for another day. This would make the Greek Coalition Army fearful, and provide assistance to the Asia Minor Army that was still forming.

As for the logistics, they did not have to worry about it. As long as they ask for help from Fanabazos, he will naturally write a letter to the nearby regions to provide assistance to the entire fleet. So far, we have not received any news of the other Diónia fleets appearing in the Aegean Sea. Even if they really intend to attack, they will not be able to do so in a short period of time. The Asia Minor fleet can rest assured and stay here for a few more days to gain more military achievements. "

Although most of the warships of the Asia Minor fleet were provided by the Greek city-states, the command was in the hands of the Persia. Since the Persians insisted, the admirals of the Greek city-states naturally could not object. So the next day, the Asia Minor fleet continued to cruise in this sea, but when they returned to the station at dusk, they received a shocking news: a Dionysian fleet with an astonishing number of warships had appeared near the waters of Kos, and was heading north along the coastal waters of the western part of Asia Minor.

It turned out that after receiving the order from the Ministry of Military Affairs, the three commanders of the Diónia fleets, Cecelia, Midolades, and Stefakas, decided not to let the fleets go to Crete for the time being. After all, it would be difficult to not attract attention when thousands of warships were dispatched. It would inevitably arouse the enemy's vigilance, and they would not be able to achieve the effect of luring the snake out of its hole. In addition, the conditions of the port in Crete would be difficult to support the long-term stationing of the three fleets, so they decided to station the three fleets in Messenia and Lagonia first. As the most important relay station between the Holy Kingdom of Diónia and the mainland of Greece, the two kingdoms had been vigorously building port facilities in the past few years, fully able to meet the needs of the fleets and the crew. The fleets were stationed on the southern coast of Peloponnesus, and at the same time, they kept a close eye on the movements on the western coast of Asia Minor. Once a fighter appeared, they would quickly attack.

After the Devers agreed to their proposal, the three fleets were stationed in Messenia and Lagonia, and they rarely moved. Occasionally, they had to train to cultivate the tacit understanding between the fleets, and only a few warships were dispatched, and the training was carried out in the bay.

As the southern coast of Peloponnesus was now the heart of the Holy Kingdom of Diónia's sphere of influence in the eastern Mediterranean, it was impossible for merchant ships from Persia and Asia Minor to enter. Therefore, the people of Persia had no idea that all the Dionysian fleet in the western Mediterranean had moved east.

Compared to the strict control of the western coast of Eastern Mediterranean by Diónia, Persia's management of the eastern coast was relatively lax, especially on the western coast of Asia Minor, where Diónia had planted many spies. Therefore, when the Persia's Asia Minor fleet was established, the Dionysian fleet soon knew about it.

A few days after the Asia Minor fleet moved north, the three fleets of Diónia departed the port together and headed east. Thanks to Diónia's vigorous promotion and funding for the Greek allies to improve the port facilities and maintain the sea routes, the Dionysian fleet could not only replenish their food and water supplies in time when crossing the Aegean Sea, they could even travel at night when the weather was good. Therefore, when the Dionysian fleet arrived near the coast of Asia Minor, the Asia Minor fleet was still cruising in the waters of the Hellespont.

When the generals of the Asia Minor fleet heard the news, they did not have the confidence to fight against the three fleets of Diónia, which far outnumbered them in number. They did not have the time to provide assistance to the ground forces, and immediately led the fleet back south. In order to avoid a head-on collision with the Dionysian fleet, after passing the island of Caios, the Asia Minor fleet began to move away from the coast, attempting to sail southwest in a big circle to avoid the Dionysian fleet.

However, to prevent missing the enemy, the commanders of the Dionysian fleet specially arranged for the Second Fleet to approach the sea, the First Fleet to stay away from the sea, and the Third Fleet to connect in the middle. All the fleets widened their frontlines, like a huge net, to catch the big fish, the Asia Minor fleet.

To be more precise, the Asia Minor fleet was somewhat lucky. A merchant ship passing by from a western city-state of Asia Minor kindly reminded the Asia Minor fleet that there was a Dionysian fleet heading towards them. Upon hearing the news, the generals of Persia panicked. Faced with the Dionysian fleet, the Asia Minor fleet could no longer continue to make a detour to the west. Otherwise, the fleet would enter the sphere of influence of Diónia in the Aegean Sea. Without any supplies, the fleet would soon collapse without a fight. Therefore, there was only one way in front of them, and that was to get the fleet close to the coast of Asia Minor as soon as possible and hide in the port of a town to avoid the fate of destruction.

Therefore, the Asia Minor fleet made an emergency turn and headed straight east. They passed by the island of Samos and attempted to enter the port of Ephesus before the Dionysian fleet could catch up.

Ephesus was a large city on the western coast of Asia Minor. Not only was the city wall high and thick, but it was also rich in supplies. The Asia Minor fleet could hide in the city for a long time until the Dionysian fleet had to leave.

Unfortunately, the Dionysian fleet was prepared. The Second Fleet led by Midolades quickly passed through the narrow strait of Samos. The warships spread out in the waters near Ephesus in a straight line to intercept the Asia Minor fleet's eastward escape.

The generals of the Asia Minor fleet learned about the situation in front of them through the clippers. Faced with the danger of being intercepted in front and being chased from behind, they panicked like ants on a hot pan. They had no choice but to lead the fleet to flee to the port of Samos which was closest to them.

The island of Samos was only separated from the western mainland of Asia Minor by a narrow strait. Like Bosworth Island, it was actually one of the Ionian islands. It used to be one of the important members of the Delian League established by Athens. Later, after the Corinth War, Athens gradually recovered its strength, and it once again joined the Sea League of Athens. However, Athens was defeated by Dionysia. Compared to Diónia which was far away in the western Mediterranean Sea, the people of Samos were closer to Persia. Later, it was attracted by some decrees issued by the king of Persia in order to win over the Greeks in western Asia Minor and quell the rebellion faster. In the end, it completely sided with Persia.

When the Asia Minor fleet fled into the port, the three fleets of Diónia soon arrived. The sentries in the port lighthouse and the sentry tower looked at the endless number of Diónia warships spread out on the sea outside the port. All of them felt a chill down their spines.

However, Samos, who once provided more than a dozen warships to the Asia Minor fleet, was still holding onto hope. Although the Dionysian fleet was strong, they could not launch an attack on land, nor could they stay here for long. They would have to leave soon.