Chapter 1284
However, the people of Samos did not expect that under the command of Sekerian and the other fleet commanders, about 80% of the Dionysian fleet's raven warships docked at the nearby beach. The fleet's infantrymen disembarked from the warships and gathered nearly 15,000 soldiers to surround the city of Samos.
The people of Samos on the city wall were shocked to see the densely packed and fully equipped Diónia soldiers outside the city.
At this time, Sekerian sent a messenger into the city of Samos. In the council, he threatened the people of Samos: Immediately surrender to Diónia. If they dared to let go of the Asia Minor fleet, they would be punished even if they surrendered!
The messenger's threat scared the councilors of Samos, reminding them of the rumor that Diónia had destroyed Tegea in the Greek war. Therefore, they did not dare to retaliate against the messenger's arrogance. Instead, they politely said that the council needed time to discuss this important issue before they could make a decision.
After Sekerian learned about the performance of the Samos council from the messenger, he discussed with the Midolades and Stefakas and reached an agreement. He would lead the First Fleet and the 15,000 infantrymen to continue to surround the city of Samos. The Second Fleet and the Third Fleet would immediately head north to Milia.
Before nightfall, Sekerian even made another decision: Drag all the warships to the beach, and only send speedboats to take turns to keep watch on the port of Samos.
This was a very bold decision. The Asia Minor fleet could take advantage of this favorable opportunity to rush out of the port and quickly escape back to Halicarnassus.
In fact, the commanders of the Asia Minor fleet did request Samos to leave the port. However, the council of Samos was still debating about the request made by the messenger of Diónia during the day and did not reach a consensus. How could they dare to let the Asia Minor fleet leave and bring disaster to themselves? Therefore, they found all sorts of reasons to evade the request. The commanders of the Asia Minor fleet also had different opinions and did not strongly request to leave at night. Therefore, the matter was left unsettled for the time being.
On the morning of the second day, Secorian led the warships of the First Fleet to blockade the port again. Meanwhile, the troops on the shore, under the leadership of the infantry commander of the First Fleet, Cecephidorus, cut down the trees on the island. Some of them were used to build camps, while others were used to build siege weapons. They assumed a posture of being ready to attack the city at any time.
When the Samos militia saw this, they felt even more uneasy.
The commanders of the Asia Minor fleet were also uneasy. Once again, they requested to leave the port quietly at night, and they were very determined.
Therefore, after the Samoans tried to brush them off but failed, their attitude became tough. They refused to open the port's water gate and let them go.
The two sides almost clashed because of this.
Compared to the riots that almost broke out in the city, the Sekerian outside the city was not having it easy either. This was because the rations carried by the crew had run out. Their dinner was the fish that the fleet's crew had spent a lot of effort to catch from the coastal waters for the past two days.
However, Sekerian was full of confidence in victory. Not only did he trust the Midolades and Stefakas, but he had also fought side by side with Leotychides. He firmly believed that the current commander of the Greek coalition forces would seize this opportunity to help in time.
For this reason, he visited various tents throughout the evening, encouraging the crew and the infantry of the fleet to persevere.
On the morning of the third day, the starving Diónia crew still drove the warships out to sea and blockaded the port of Samos. If the Asia Minor fleet rushed out of the port and fought with the First Fleet of Diónia, the outcome was still unknown. However, the Asia Minor fleet was afraid that the enemy's warships outnumbered theirs, so they chose to continue to hide in the port.
The Samosians' delay was more like handing their fate over to the gods. Of course, they hoped that the reinforcements from Persia would arrive in time.
However, at noon, a huge fleet sailed from the north, and the Samosians' expectations were completely dashed.
Not only did Leotychides send a fleet to transport food, but he also sent the Second, Third, and Fourth Fleets to transport the soldiers of the entire Tenth Legion. For a time, thousands of warships gathered in the waters near Samos. Not only did they intimidate the Asia Minor fleet in the port of Samos, but they also demonstrated their powerful naval strength to the nearby coastal city-states such as Ephesus.
Eight thousand soldiers of the Tenth Legion and the remaining infantrymen of the fleet had all landed on Samos Island. Almost thirty thousand Dionians were lined up outside the city, covering most of the mountains and fields of Samos Island, not to mention the ballista cannons that were so powerful.
The Samosians were completely in despair. Since their establishment, they had never faced such a powerful enemy. Athens, which had once attacked them, could not be compared to them at all. Therefore, before the Diónia soldiers even started to attack the city, they quickly made a decision – to surrender.
When the generals of the Asia Minor fleet at the port learned that the Samosians had betrayed Persia, they immediately led the crew to start a riot in the port, attempting to seize the water gate so that the warships of the fleet could rush out of the port. This was a last-ditch effort, and it was better than being captured without even fighting a battle.
Who knew that after the Samosians surrendered to the Dionysian Army, they immediately invited the Dionysian Army to enter the city, and asked them to personally deal with the tens of thousands of Asia Minor fleet's crew who were entrenched in the port.
Not long after, the riot launched by the Asia Minor fleet was crushed by the Tenth Legion of Diónia. So far, the Dionysian Army and fleet barely suffered any losses, and they captured the entire Asia Minor fleet of Persia. This was an exciting victory. It not only meant that Diónia had temporarily gained the dominance of the sea in the western part of Asia Minor, but it also caused a change in the naval strength of Persia and Diónia, which were roughly equal to each other, as Diónia and its allies began to gain the upper hand.
The destruction of the Persia Asia Minor fleet and the surrender of Samos had a great impact on the Greek states in the western part of Asia Minor. They suddenly realized that without the protection of their navy, and with most of the Persia garrisons heading to Phrygia, the powerful Dionysian fleet could land and attack any western coastal city-state at will. Therefore, Ephesus, Miletus, Caius, and even Lesvos and many other Greek city-states in Asia Minor changed their previous estranged attitude and sent messengers to the Dionysian fleet and the landed Dionysian Army to express their goodwill. Some even asked them to release part of the Asia Minor fleet's crew. After all, most of the crew of the Asia Minor fleet came from these Greek city-states.
Leotychides led the generals of the Allied Army to hold a military conference with several commanders of the Dionysian fleet, including Sekerian, and the admiral of the Athens Navy, Caprias. After discussion, they decided that as long as the Greek city-states in Asia Minor regularly provided a certain amount of military supplies to Diónia and the Greek Allied Army, and opened their ports to the Allied Army, then Diónia and its allies would promise not to attack these cities and release the crew from these cities.
In the notice given to the messengers of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor, there was no requirement for them to surrender to Diónia. This was because Leotychides and Sekerian knew very well that only by completely defeating the land army of Asia Minor could these fence-sitters completely submit to Diónia!
… …
In the early morning of January 364 BC (Year 30 of the Kingdom of Diónia), the people of Turií, who had just celebrated the New Year, woke up early to clean the roads in front of their houses. After breakfast, some people rushed to the river port in the city, while others waited by the road near their houses. When the sun rose, both sides of the road from the foot of the Hill of the Kings to the inner city port were crowded with people of all ages.
Just when everyone was looking forward to the arrival of the King's Hill, a loud shout came from the front. "They're here! They're here! "The cheers made the people excited. Everyone pushed and shoved each other. If it were not for the soldiers maintaining order on the road, it would have caused quite a commotion.
After a while. In the middle of the road, a team of palace cavalry appeared. They wore black breastplates, purple cloaks, and red helmets. They rode majestic horses, and each of them looked imposing. They marched forward in an orderly formation.
Behind them, the King of Diónia, the Devers, appeared in front of the people. He wore a golden crown on his head, a gorgeous armor engraved with the image of Hades waving a fork, and a thick woolen robe. He rode on a black horse. Although his hair was gray, his back was still straight, and his eyes were sharp. He looked hale and hearty.
Beside him was his eldest son, Cloto Catax, the current consul of the kingdom. The achievements he had made in Turií over the past few years were obvious to all, especially the successful holding of the Diónia Games last year. His ability to govern had been fully recognized by the people of Turií. This was why they were not too worried when they learned that the King of Devers was going to personally conquer Persia, a big country in the east.
Behind them was Apox, the second son of the King of Devers. He was already a famous scholar in the kingdom, and he was promoted to the deputy dean of the School of Mathematics in Diónia last year. He was famous for his wisdom among the people of Diónia, but because he stayed in the school for a long time, he was mysterious in the eyes of ordinary people.
Next to Apox was Antebris, the third son of the King of Devers. Among the children of the Devers, he was the most popular one among the people of Turií, not only because he was a football star, but also because he was active, willing to interact with the people, and very down-to-earth.
Next to Antebris was Eunice, the second daughter of the King of Devers (although Cynthia was only the adopted daughter of the Devers, her gentle and virtuous character was recognized by the people of Turií as the eldest daughter of the Devers). As a woman, she should have traveled in a carriage like her mother and sisters, but she insisted on riding a horse. She loved sports and competitions, and her character was similar to that of a man. She was also loved by the people of Turií, especially the merchants of Turií. She had taken over the Cristoya Chamber of Commerce in recent years, and her capable and decisive style was even more sought after by them.
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