Chapter 242
Phoebidas gladly accepted. He happened to be a little hungry, so he picked up another piece of bread, smeared it with honey, and chewed on it.
Agesilaus waited patiently for him to finish eating before saying, "Can you tell me the details of your last diplomatic mission to Greece?"
Phoebidas was excited. When he returned and reported to the Elder Council, the elders were busy with the funeral and electing a new king because King Agis had passed away. They did not care about anything else.
Just as Phoebidas briefly described his diplomatic mission to Greece, the new king of Sparta expressed his concern for Diónia. Phoebidas immediately recounted the details of his diplomatic mission to Diónia without any exaggeration.
Agesilaus supported his head with one hand and straightened his limping leg. He listened attentively and pondered at the same time.
When Phoebidas finished, he said, "It seems like Diónia gave you a hard time. You don't have a good impression of them."
"I'm angry because Diónia lacks due respect for Sparta, but personally …" Phoebidas paused for a moment and revealed a strange expression. He said honestly, "Actually, I rather admire Diónia …"
"Oh?" Agesilaus was a little surprised. "Why?"
"Perhaps it's because of the toughness they displayed …" Phoebidas recalled the situation at that time and sighed. "Although I only stayed in Turií for a short while in a hurry and did not have deep contact with the citizens of Diónia, I felt that … the soldiers of Diónia were also very disciplined. I even heard that the Senate of Diónia even held a celebration ceremony for the generals and soldiers who returned from a victory. The feeling I felt … the feeling I felt … "
Phoebidas pondered and suddenly said, "Diónia is like Sparta in Greece …"
Agesi was taken aback for a moment, then he joked, "I can't believe you compared a city-state union ruled by a tyrant to Sparta, where our citizens are equal and free."
"Although there's only one Consul in Diónia, and it's a lifetime appointment, they still have a Senate. Based on my experience in the Senate of Diónia, those senators seem to be able to influence the laws of Diónia. The relationship between the Consul and the senators in the Senate … Uh … How should I put this? Unlike Syracuse, where Dionysius has the final say! "Phoebidas said seriously.
"You don't seem to have a good impression of Syracuse," Agesilaus said, glancing at him.
"I think anyone who hears that Syracuse is able to mobilize such a huge force to attack Carthage wouldn't be in a good mood!" Phoebidas said straightforwardly, "The tens of thousands of infantrymen are nothing. The key is that he has thousands of cavalrymen and a huge fleet that isn't any weaker than ours! Dionysius is an ambitious man! "
Agesilaus looked at him and smiled, "Phoebidas, I'm glad that you can see this! We only began to pay attention to the West during the later stages of the war with Athens. It was through the alliance with Syracuse that Sparta was able to intervene in the affairs of the West. Carthage is Persia's ally in the Western Mediterranean. We need an ally in the Western Mediterranean to suppress Carthage and protect the safety of Sparta's rear. This is why we support Syracuse. At the same time, Sparta's influence in the Greek forces in the West has gradually deepened. However, some of Sparta's actions in the past have been allowing Syracuse to expand and swallow the Greek forces in Sicily. I'm afraid that in the end, it will cause trouble for us. We don't want our ally to be too weak, but we can't let it be too strong either. "
"Honorable King Agesilaus, you're right! But now, Carthage still has the advantage in Sicily while Sparta's forces are all concentrated in Asia Minor. At this time, we should continue to support Syracuse for the time being. " Phoebidas understood the hidden meaning behind Agesilaus's words, but he still thought for the sake of the city and spoke frankly.
"We don't need to do anything. The power to suppress Syracuse's expansion has already appeared." Agesilaus wasn't unhappy. Instead, he smiled at him in relief, "It's the Diónia that made you unhappy before."
"Diónia?!" Phoebidas was surprised at first, then he shook his head, "It can't be compared to Syracuse at all. Syracuse is much stronger in terms of territory, population, trade, and military strength."
"That's true for now, but Diónia is expanding very quickly." Agesilaus said with a complicated expression, "I just received news from Greece. Diónia defeated Crotone and forced Crotone to cede territory and sign an alliance treaty …"
"When did that happen?!" Phoebidas's eyes widened. Not long after he left Greece, Diónia defeated Crotone again?!
Phoebidas was in disbelief, "Crotone is obviously stronger than Diónia. And this time, Crotone shouldn't make the same mistake as last time. How …"
"100 years ago, before Sybaris and Crotone fought, many Greek city-states thought so too, but the weak Crotone won in the end!" Agesilaus sighed, "Kelissops was right. Devers is a military genius. Although Sparta regrettably missed out on him, it's not a bad idea to let him lead Diónia against Syracuse."
"Will Diónia and Syracuse definitely clash?" Phoebidas was still thinking about how Diónia defeated Crotone and was a little absent-minded. Therefore, he did not pay much attention to his reply and sounded very doubtful.
Agesilaus did not mind and said, "Now that Syracuse has occupied the eastern part of Sicily, with our support and their accumulated strength, it's not too difficult to chase Carthage's forces out of Sicily. It's even possible … to completely drive Carthage out of Sicily. Even if they can't do that, Syracuse will definitely become the leader of the Greek city-states in Sicily. Like you said, Dionysius is an ambitious person. Will he be satisfied with that? " As Agesilaus spoke, he dipped his finger into the oatmeal and drew a simple map of Sicily on the table.
Phoebidas shook his head.
"Will he lead troops into Afrika?" Agesilaus asked.
Phoebidas shook his head with all his might. What a joke. That was Carthage's headquarters. It had been in operation for hundreds of years. If Syracuse dared to send troops into Afrika, Carthage would definitely not let them return, just like the army led by Dorius, the brother of Sparta who was exiled by King Kleomenes a hundred years ago.
"Then the only place where Syracuse can expand its power is here." Agesilaus drew a rough outline of Sicily. "Great Greece. It's only separated from Sicily by a narrow strait, and they're both Greek city-states. Dionysius has always been cruel to his Greek compatriots …"
"You're right." Phoebidas nodded in agreement. He and Agesilaus had never thought about the Greek mainland to the east of Sicily. They thought that no matter how bold Dionysius was, he would not dare to offend the powerful states with a long history in the Greek mainland.
"Diónia has now subdued Crotone. Further south from Crotone, the only powerful city-states left are Rockley and Lijim. Rockley and Syracuse are allies, and Crotone are arch-enemies. Crotone is now in an alliance with Diónia. Therefore, it's only a matter of time before Diónia and Syracuse come into conflict …" Agesilaus analyzed.
Phoebidas stared at the table and shook his head. "Diónia is still too weak."
"As long as Dionysius's army sets foot on the land of Great Greece, other than the Rockley Alliance and Tarantum, I'm afraid the other city-states will unite around Diónia," Agesilaus said solemnly. "We don't want another Syracuse to appear in the Western Mediterranean, but as long as Diónia can create enough trouble for Syracuse, I believe that Devers will definitely be able to do it and prevent Dionysius from conquering Great Greece in a short period of time. Then, it's time for us, Sparta, to mediate. Don't forget, there's still Tarantum in Great Greece, which is a friendly state to us, Sparta. "
Phoebidas recalled his encounter in Tarantum and curled his lips. "Tarantum might not necessarily listen to us."
"When Diónia and Syracuse are strong, they will listen." Agesilaus sneered and extended three fingers to support himself on the table. "Syracuse, Diónia, and Tarantum are the three important city-states that maintain the stability of the Western Mediterranean. This is the result that the Elder Council came up with after learning that Syracuse's army attacked western Sicily and Diónia defeated Crotone. So, don't worry about Diónia anymore. "
"Honorable King Agesilaus, I understand!" Phoebidas understood that the indifferent old men in the Elder Council would not care about the conflict in a young general's heart, and Agesilaus had specially come to comfort him. Phoebidas was extremely grateful for this.
Agesilaus smiled faintly as though it was a piece of cake. He then said, "I called you here for another matter."
Phoebidas immediately leaned forward with a serious expression.
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