Chapter 458
Agesilaus only invited a few good friends as his distinguished guests to return to his mother's country that he had been away from for a long time, including Xenophon.
While Agesilaus was treating his body, he also paid attention to the war in Corinth and the news from Greece.
On this day, Xenophon visited Agesilaus' residence.
Agesilaus warmly led him into the living room.
As soon as he sat down, Xenophon expressed his heartfelt gratitude. "King Agesilaus, today, the Council of Elders informed me that they will accept me as an honored guest of Sparta and grant me a piece of land in Scillus. Thank you very much for your selfless help. You have finally given me, an exiled person, a home! "
"Scillus, that's a good place! The land is fertile, and it's close to the forest. You can often see herds of wild deer, and it's near the Olympia in Ellis. It'll be much more convenient for you to watch the Olympia in the future. " Agesilaus smiled and congratulated him. Then, he said seriously, "Xenophon, this is Sparta's compensation to you. If you hadn't given your all to help Sparta, Athens wouldn't have expelled you. Sparta will not let down any friend who has helped it sincerely! "
Although Agesilaus spoke with sincerity, Xenophon no longer wanted to talk about the crime of "treason" that Athens had labeled him with. He changed the topic and said, "I wonder how the war in Corinth is progressing?"
"According to the latest intelligence, the people of Corinth have suffered too many casualties and the land is barren. Many people are starting to get tired of the war. Some even secretly contacted Praxitas in an attempt to negotiate a truce …" Agesilaus said.
"That's a good thing! As long as we continue to strengthen our attacks, I believe that the pro-peace faction in Corinth will definitely grow stronger. Corinth will eventually side with Sparta, "Xenophon said happily.
"But there's also bad news," Agesilaus said with a serious expression. Agesilaus said with a serious expression: "The Corinthians and the Argos have secretly formed an alliance!"
"Alliance? What kind of alliance?! " Xenophon asked curiously. Corinth and Argos were originally members of the Anti- Sparta Alliance. It seemed unnecessary for them to establish an alliance of their own.
"Just like what your good friend did in Greece, Corinth and Argos moved the boundary stone between the two cities, allowing the citizens of both cities to enjoy the same citizenship. They merged …" Agesilaus said with a heavy tone.
One had to know that Sparta and Argos had been enemies for centuries. Unlike Athens, even if Athens had lost the war, Sparta had only destroyed Athens' hegemony. had still given them a way to live. If Argos had lost the war, it would have lost a layer of skin even if it didn't die. That was because Argos had always been against Sparta. Even as far back as the Hippocratic War, all the city-states of the Peloponnesus Peninsula had joined the Anti- Persia Alliance and made Sparta the leader of the alliance to fight against Persia. Argos was the only one who didn't. It would rather become a spy for Persia in secret because of Sparta. Therefore, Sparta didn't want to see Argos' strength grow even the slightest bit.
Xenophon was well aware of the complicated relationship. He thought about it and smiled. "Actually, you don't have to worry. The establishment of an alliance between these two city-states might be a good thing for Sparta. "
"Oh, tell me about it." Agesilaus' heart skipped a beat. He leaned forward and put on a posture of listening carefully.
"Now that the Anti- Sparta Alliance is working together to fight against Sparta, Thebes, Corinth, Athens, Megara, and Argos have all sent troops to fight. The merger of Corinth and Argos only made Argos more enthusiastic in aiding Corinth. However, Argos and Sparta are mortal enemies, so the pressure on Sparta hasn't increased much. On the contrary … "Xenophon organized his words and said," Corinth and Argos are two city-states with a long history. Their political traditions, customs, and interests are deeply rooted and very different. For example, Corinth is a noble with power, while Argos is more like Sparta … "
Agesilaus nodded. He understood that Xenophon was talking about "oligarchy".
"Corinth believes in Poseidon, while Argos admires Zeus and Agamemnon (the ancient city of Mycenae is in Argos, and the Argos often boast that they have ancient Greek royal blood and are nobler than Sparta). Corinth is mainly commercial, while Argos is farming. Corinth is shrewd and slick, while Argos is conservative and straightforward … These are two completely different city-states. Now that they have merged together in a hurry, it must be a decision made by the rulers of the two city-states under the pressure of Sparta's attack. However, it may cause more conflicts and contradictions between the people of the two city-states, causing the resentful people of Corinth to lean towards Sparta …"
Agesilaus' eyes lit up. "Xenophon, what you said makes a lot of sense! I will convey your opinion to the other elders at tomorrow's Elder's Council meeting. "
He stood up excitedly, paced back and forth, and said, "In addition, I will write a letter to Procitac, telling him not to attack Corinth too hastily, but to send more people to sow discord and contact Corinth's opponents …"
Xenophon nodded secretly. This was why he was willing to follow Agesilaus. There was no lack of power struggles between the two kings of Sparta. The most famous one was the struggle between Cleomenes and Demaratos before the Hippocratic War. The reason why Pausanias attacked Lysander was not only because he was worried that he would threaten the royal power, but also because Lysander fully supported the other Sparta king, Agesilaus. And this time, the Elder Council used the excuse of "recuperation" to transfer Agesilaus, who was leading the army in the frontline, back and replaced him with the confidant of the new king, Agesipolis. The reason behind this was probably worth investigating. But Agesilaus still gave Procitac advice regardless of the past, which showed his breadth of mind.
Therefore, Xenophon said sincerely, "King Agesilaus, your advice will be of great help to Sparta in conquering Corinth!"
Agesilaus smiled. "Xenophon, you are right. How can it be so easy for a city-state to fuse? Sparta and Messenia also took decades to become one, but … "He looked doubtful." Diónia not only merged the different Greek city-states of Turií, Amendolara, and Crimissa, but also the Lucanians and the Bruti. Moreover, they were able to maintain stability for a few years. How did your old friend do it? "
After the rise of Diónia, due to the Devers, Xenophon had of course thought about the reasons for the rapid growth of this city-state alliance. But because Helaus was the foundation of Sparta, there were some things that he could not say. Therefore, he did not answer directly. Instead, he sighed. "The city-state alliance of Diónia has been established for too short a time. Rashly waging war with Syracuse will cause it endless trouble!"
"I'm afraid it's not just trouble. It's already a disaster for Diónia!" Agesilaus said solemnly. He then briefly told Xenophon about the series of battles that happened after Syracuse invaded Greece.
After Xenophon returned to Greece, he was first busy leading the mercenaries to fight against the Anti- Sparta coalition. Then, he followed Agesilaus to Sparta and was busy settling down. He did not have the energy nor the channels to understand the war in Greece. He did not expect the situation in Greece to change so drastically in just a month. Diónia was surrounded by enemies and was in danger.
Agesilaus continued. "In fact, we did not expect the war in Greece to progress so quickly. We originally wanted to mediate the war when both sides were in a stalemate so that Syracuse could send reinforcements as soon as possible to join our war against Corinth. Especially since its fleet could relieve our blockade by Athens at sea. However, based on the current situation, Dionysius, who has the absolute advantage, will never stop the war. So, I was thinking if I could make Diónia surrender … "
Xenophon really thought that Agesilaus wanted Greece to end the war as soon as possible so that Syracuse could assist Sparta. Of course, he did not know that there was another important reason in Agesilaus' heart. A stronger Syracuse was not what Sparta wanted to see, because it was very likely that it would not be willing to cooperate with Sparta anymore. Therefore, keeping Diónia, which could threaten Syracuse, was beneficial to the balance of power in the Western Mediterranean. It could also prevent the situation in the Western Mediterranean from getting out of Sparta's control.
Xenophon recalled the days when he and the young mercenary leader were fighting and fleeing in Persia a few years ago. The more difficult the situation was, the stronger his fighting spirit was, and he could often think of good ways to help the mercenaries out of trouble. Therefore, he reminded Agesilaus, "Based on my understanding of the Devers, he will not accept the suggestion of 'Diónia surrendering to Syracuse'. He will definitely fight to the death!"
Agesilaus sighed. "No matter what, we have to give it a try. What do you think of sending Kelisthorpes to Turií? "
Kelisthorpes! Xenophon could no longer form a clear image of the Sparta censor who had fought together in Persia. Ever since Kelisthorpes returned to Sparta with Tiburon, it had been three to four years. Xenophon had not seen him again. He lamented, "In Persia, Kelisthorpes had a good relationship with the Devers."
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