Chapter 541
"Friendly negotiation? How so? "Lysipus frowned and was about to ask.
Suddenly, the door of the venue was pushed open, and Inspector Endius walked in.
The rotating chairman, Lysipus, was very dissatisfied and shouted, "This is the most sacred place in Sparta. As an inspector, don't you know the procedures that outsiders must go through to enter this place?!"
"I'm sorry, honorable Elder Lysipus!" Endius bowed and apologized, still unable to hide the excitement on his face, "Because the Elders Council has always emphasized the need to keep abreast of the progress of the war in Corinth, so I —"
"It seems that there is some good news." Lysipus looked at him and said slowly, "Say it, young man. Let us be happy too. There has been too much bad news during this time."
"It's Corinth's battle report. King Agesilaus has captured Port Lycaon!" Endius said loudly.
"Port Lycaon!" The elders suddenly showed joy.
… …
Corinth, as the city-state of the Isthmus that led to Central Greece from the Peloponnesus Peninsula, was the main battlefield in this war between the Sparta Alliance and the anti- Sparta Alliance.
Half a month ago, the fierce battle that lasted more than half a year caused heavy casualties and huge losses to Corinth. The people in the city began to feel confused about the future of the war. Some pro-Sparta citizens began to take action. They were ready to launch a riot, overthrow the oligarchs in power, and make Corinth surrender to Sparta. However, their plan was exposed, and the people in power immediately took action and cruelly killed the pro- Sparta people.
The massacre weakened the power of Corinth and caused the people to waver. So the families of the victims quietly opened the city gate and let Praxitas lead a thousand heavy infantry into the outer city of Corinth.
Corinth hurriedly mobilized a large number of troops to besiege them. Its allies, Agos and Thebes, also sent reinforcements to fight. After many fierce battles, the two sides failed to completely repel the Sparta people, but they also did not let the Sparta people gain more achievements. The Sparta people occupied part of the outer city of Corinth and were in a stalemate with the allies.
However, the Sparta Council of Elders was tired of Praxitas's poor performance in Corinth for a long time and decided to replace him.
When the news reached Praxitas' ears, he was very angry. He was also troubled by the enemy's endless attacks in the city, so he simply led the army to retreat from the outer city of Corinth and did not take any more offensive actions. This gave the people of Corinth a chance to breathe. The people of Athens also rushed over with many carpenters and masons, taking the opportunity to repair the repaired or destroyed city walls. The morale of the soldiers of Corinth was restored.
Now, at the south end of the isthmus was the city of Corinth itself to the west, and the affiliated city of Argolis to the east, mainly guarded by the Agossians. The two cities were connected by a long wall, completely blocking the land passage through the isthmus. At the north of the two cities, reinforcements from Thebes and Athens would come through the isthmus passage on the east and west sides at any time to help.
When Agesilaus rushed to the outside of the city of Corinth to take over the army, he was faced with the enemy whose morale was rising and the fortified city defense. After understanding the situation of the battlefield in detail, he did not continue to use the strategy of the former commander, Praxitas, to attack head-on.
He pretended to attack the city of Corinth, but he let his brother Tylius secretly lead the fleet to work closely with him. He led the elite soldiers on warships, bypassing Corinth, and suddenly landed on the north of Corinth, near the Corinth Canal, the port of Lycaon.
The defenders of Lycaon were unprepared, and soon, the Sparta people occupied the port.
Just when the Sparta Elder Council received the good news, Agesilaus had already defeated the army sent by Corinth many times to recapture the port. Then, he commanded the army to capture the port of Sigyon, which was not far from Corinth and also belonged to the Anti- Sparta Alliance.
A few days later, Agesilaus continued to work hard. He led the army and took the warships to capture a port further north of Corinth — Port Pillion. This port was the only way for Corinth to connect to the Pioscia region. After the Sparta people occupied it, other than the east side of Corinth, which was still connected to Argolis, the other directions were surrounded by the Sparta people. More importantly, Agesilaus used this port as a stronghold and sent his army north along the west side of the isthmus. Soon, they entered the Pioscia region and conquered Sidon, Clomion, and other city-states. This caused a commotion among the city-states of Pioscia. The other city-states sent envoys to Agesilaus' camp to ask for peace. Even the Thebes finally sent envoys under the appeal of the people.
Under such a trend, even the people of Corinth began to waver.
During this time, Agesilaus was shrouded in the halo of victory. He seemed to have become the arbiter of all Greece, washing away the shame of being a "cripple" for decades.
At this time, General Iphicrates of Athens led the 3,000 mercenaries he had personally trained through the road on the east side of the isthmus. They first entered the city of Argolis, and finally stationed themselves in the city of Corinth.
… …
Udier, the former capital of the Kingdom of Mesape, was located in the middle of the southern region of Apulia. It was surrounded by flat fields and dense forests. Agriculture and livestock were relatively developed, and it was still the central town of the Mesapians.
At this moment, in the Aristocratic Parliament of Udier, the Archons from Igratia, Ujentum, Manduria, Mesagne, Odrum, and other cities of Mesapi were gathered here. Sitting at the very front, in the center of the room, was the Archon of Udier, Pacimerus. This Mesapi aristocrat was tall and dignified. He was a distant relative of the former King of Mesapi, Attas. However, his political skills were far better than his relative's. After many years of hard work, he had basically taken control of the Aristocratic Parliament of Udier, so much so that he could easily be elected as an Archon every year. There were often rumors about him in the city: We sent away an old king, and welcomed a new king.
"Pachimerus, let's not wait any longer. It seems that our allies will not come," Karmilus, the Consul of Uzentum, could not help but say.
"Be patient. I think the Puchetti will come, but they are the furthest from here, so of course they will come later," Timaglass, the Consul of Igratya, advised.
"Timaglass, I heard that your Igratya has been in close contact with the Puchetti in the past few years. No wonder you are speaking up for them. Igratya has almost become the territory of the Puchetti!" Thayurst, the commander of Brindisi, mocked. After Brindisi was recaptured, since the original Mesapian residents of the city had been killed or sold into slavery by the Tarantum people, the various city-states voted and elected Thayurst's clan, the former great noble of Udier, to be stationed in Brindisi. According to the previous agreement between the two sides, his clan and the Puchetti each occupied half of the city of Brindisi. It was inevitable that the two sides would have conflicts of interest, especially in the management of the port. This made Thayurst more resentful towards the Puchetti.
"Who said that we, the Puchetti, will not come!" A loud voice came from outside the hall. King Puchetti's trusted aide, Pullo, pushed open the door of the room and strode into the hall. "If it wasn't for you delaying the attack on Tarantum so much that we thought you were going to cancel the attack, we would have come a long time ago!"
Pachimerus smiled slightly. "We waited for a better opportunity, and now the opportunity has come! Tarantum has been hit hard by Diónia, and most of its militia has been lost. Diónia has defeated Tarantum's ally, Syracuse, in Crotone. Now the two sides are confronting each other in Siletam. This is the best time for us to boldly attack Tarantum! "
… …
In the backyard of the great chief's residence in the city of Potentia, Puamot was discussing with Vale.
The tribal chief said impatiently, "Great chief, Diónia has already occupied Kopsa. My tribal territory is no longer in danger, and I can lead my people back to my territory … But you know, the evil Samonai burned down my territory, and most of my warriors were killed or injured. Now I don't have enough labor to rebuild my village, so you must give me some Samonai captives and enough food!"
Puamot looked troubled. "Although the Devers gave us a lot of food when they left, the other tribes have taken a lot of it with them when they returned to their territories, so the food supply in the city is still a little tight. I can only give you a portion of the food. If you want your tribe to survive this winter, you have to think of another way."
"Why do I have to think of a way, and not the other tribes?!" Vale felt that it was unfair.
"Because your tribe is near Kopsa," Puamot said softly.
As a chief, Vale was not a fool. He quickly understood the great chief's intention. "What if Kopsa doesn't have enough food?"
"If Kopsa is also short of food, Boret would have asked me for help," Puamot said calmly. Puamote said calmly, "Vale, the Samonai captives are not ordinary slaves. Your tribe has too few warriors. Can you tame them?"
"Great chief, don't worry. Have you forgotten which tribe in Potentia has the most experience in dealing with Samonai captives? Apart from our tribe, there is no one else! "Vale said proudly.
Puamot did not say anything. Indeed, in the past, Vale's settlement was adjacent to the Samonai people. Whenever there was a conflict between the two sides, the captured captives were often handed over to his tribe. Most of his people could also speak Samonai.
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