Chapter 567
As the news spread, the Anti- Sparta Alliance was excited, while Agesilaus was shocked. He had a premonition that the situation was not good and immediately ordered his troops to abandon the port and city that they had previously occupied in Corinth Bay to avoid being defeated one by one.
However, this order came too late. Under the leadership of Iphicrates, the Alliance's morale was boosted and they attacked separately. They recaptured Port Pillion and Sidon … As a result, the Sparta Alliance's troops that were stationed in the occupied port towns in Corinth Bay and were about to enter the Pioscia region were cut off.
Agesilaus urgently ordered his younger brother, Terlutias, to lead a fleet to retrieve the scattered garrisons from the sea and place them in Lycaon and Sygion, focusing on defending these two important towns and ports in the Corinthian region. As a result, the Sparta Alliance's offensive momentum was greatly affected, and they had no choice but to turn to defense.
The Anti- Sparta Alliance attacked Lycaeon several times, but they were all repelled and had no choice but to stop.
The two sides were once again in a stalemate.
However, the adventurous Iphicrates was not satisfied with the current situation. He led his light infantry with rations and boldly invaded the central part of the Peloponnesus Peninsula, Sparta's most loyal territory – Arcadia. He began to raid villages, loot food, destroy farmland, and repeatedly ambush the Arcadian army that came to attack them. In the end, the Arcadians did not dare to fight with him, but they could not ignore his crazy destruction, so they could only ask for help from Agesilaus.
Agesilaus was in a dilemma when he received the Arcadians' request for help. At this time, the Sparta Alliance was facing the pressure of the enemy's high morale and was feeling strained. Iphicrates' troops were the biggest headache for him. In his heart, he had already regarded this person as a formidable enemy. If he sent too few soldiers to help, he was afraid that this cunning general of Athens would defeat him. If he sent too many soldiers, he was afraid that the enemy in Corinth would take the opportunity to counterattack.
However, Arcadia had to be saved. As the leader of the Peloponnesus Alliance, Sparta was very different from the former leader of the Delian Alliance, Athens.
The attitude of Athens towards its allies could be said to be overbearing. They urged for tribute, sent armed colonization, supported the democrats who were close to Athens, and the merchants of Athens had special privileges in the allies. When there was a local dispute, they had to go to the court of Athens to resolve it. Once they joined the alliance and wanted to leave, they would be attacked by the army of Athens.
Sparta's attitude towards their allies was much better. As long as one did not betray them, Sparta would often discuss matters with their allies. This was because they did not have the huge population of Athens, nor did they have the strong financial resources of Athens, nor did they have the powerful navy of Athens. Even among the soldiers of the Sparta Alliance, true Sparta warriors were always the minority. Sparta only relied on the illustrious reputation of the Sparta warriors for hundreds of years. However, if they left their allies, Sparta could not do anything. Therefore, although after defeating Athens, Sparta became arrogant and domineering, and their attitude towards their allies had changed, the essence of the matter remained the same. Sparta needed allies.
As the king, Agesilaus knew this very well. So, he finally decided to return to Sparta and explain to the Council of Elders the reason for the setbacks during this period of time. At the same time, he asked the Council of Elders to send more reinforcements to Arcadia.
… …
The next morning, the Devers had just finished their breakfast when the Guard Captain Martius entered the main tent. "Your Majesty, Midolades requests an audience."
The Devers's heart skipped a beat. "Let him in."
Midolades walked into the main tent anxiously and immediately knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty, I'm here to ask for your forgiveness! After you gave the order yesterday, I sent more warships to patrol outside the port of Siletina. As you expected, there was indeed an enemy ship that rushed out of the port late at night. Our warships tried their best to block it, but the enemy's maneuvering skills were superb. They escaped from our encirclement and fled to the south. Our two fast ships have been chasing after them, but we have not received any news yet … "
"Why did the people of Syracuse brave the great danger of sailing in the middle of the night to escape from the blockade of the Dionysian fleet?" Clerk Henepolis recalled the conversation he had with the Devers yesterday. He could not help but shout, "Dionysius! Dionysius must have escaped! "
Midolades was shocked. He quickly looked at the Devers and saw the wise young king frowning slightly. He then relaxed and said with a smile, "Don't jump to the conclusion that Dionysius has escaped just from this piece of information. Midolades, the sea outside the port of Siletina is so wide. Even if we deploy all our warships, we may not be able to fill it. Moreover, we can only send four or five fast ships to patrol at night. If the enemy wants to escape, the fleet will not be able to stop them. "
"Your Majesty!" Midolades was deeply grateful for the Devers' understanding.
"But the enemy's ships rushed in and out as if our fleet did not exist. This is a humiliation to the Dionysian fleet! It is a humiliation to every sailor and captain of Diónia! " The Devers's expression became solemn. "Our fleet cannot be arrogant and complacent just because we have defeated Syracuse many times. We have forgotten that we are not as good as Syracuse in terms of the maneuvering skills of individual warships or the formation and coordination of the entire fleet. Our fleet has been able to win so many times only because of the 'crows'. We rely on the strength of our legion! … "
The Devers's words made Midolades blush. He said shamefully, "Your Majesty, please rest assured! When I return, I will definitely train the fleet with Sir Syracuse. A year later … No, half a year later, you will see the standard of the Dionysian fleet improve significantly! "
The Devers nodded in relief. "Very good. I look forward to seeing a stronger Dionysian fleet in half a year's time!"
He then said, "Rise, Midolades. If I punish my valued generals just because one or two enemy ships escaped, I'm afraid it will not be long before Diónia does not have a good naval commander. "
The Devers's joke made Midolades relax a little. He stood up and asked hesitantly, "But Dionysius —"
The Devers interrupted him. "This is not your concern. What you need to do now is to strengthen the security of the port and prevent the Syracuse fleet from escaping. At the same time, send 30 three-oared warships to Liguim as soon as possible. Syracuse's fleet needs to be strengthened to gain the naval advantage in Sicily. Can you do it in two days? "
"No need for two days, Your Majesty. I can send the required warships to Liguim today, "Midolades promised immediately.
After sending the admiral off, Henepolis hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, what if Dionysius really escapes?!"
The Devers had already made up his mind. He said unhurriedly, "What are you panicking for? If Dionysius escapes, it means that the battle in Greece is over. This is a good thing for us! "
"But the First Legion in Sicily and the riot plan that Your Majesty has set up there will be affected!" When the Devers sent the First Legion to Sicily, Henepolis had heard about his plan from the Devers. He expressed his concern now.
The Devers looked at him and said softly, "Henny, you overestimate Dionysius. No matter how capable he is, don't forget that he left his entire army in Greece and fled to Syracuse alone. He is a deserter! What will the people of Syracuse who lost their loved ones think?! What will the people of Sicily think?! Although I don't know what's going on in Sicily these two days, it won't be easy for Dionysius to calm the people's anger! He ruled Syracuse and Sicily with his powerful military force. Now, most of his army is here — "
The Devers pointed at the city of Syracuse and sneered, "Without enough troops, can he still suppress the people of Syracuse who want to overthrow him?!"
Henepolis's eyes lit up. "So, it's a good thing that Dionysius escaped!"
The Devers was silent for a moment. In fact, his words were to comfort himself. If Dionysius dared to escape alone, he must have a way to deal with the situation in Syracuse. After all, he had been operating in Sicily for many years. If he successfully escaped, the Devers' plan to disrupt Sicily might fail. It might even allow the tyrant to annihilate the First Legion and lead reinforcements to attack Greece …
Hence, the Devers felt a sense of urgency. He said, "First, we have to confirm if Dionysius escaped!"
For this reason, he called Izam of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade and ordered him to send soldiers to monitor the situation in Syracuse from all directions, and report back at any time.
For the whole morning, Syracuse remained calm. No messenger was sent to Diónia's camp to ask for peace. Even the Syracuse scouts who patrolled in front of the city every day were gone. Only the number of soldiers on the city wall did not change. However, Dionysius, who usually appeared on the city wall every morning to observe the enemy, did not appear today …
After understanding the situation, the Devers had an idea.
In the afternoon, he sent the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade to take turns shouting in front of Syracuse, "People of Syracuse, you are defending the city seriously, but your tyrant Dionysius has escaped!"
"People of Syracuse, surrender! Dionysius has abandoned you, why are you still fighting here?! "
"Why did Dionysius escape?! Because the First Legion of Diónia has captured Siculi and Catanai, and is now attacking Syracuse! If Dionysius doesn't escape, he won't be able to return home! "
"We did not lie to you. When you attacked our camp yesterday, did you see our First Legion?! No, right?! They have already landed at Naxos Bay! Dionysius blocked the news so that it would be easier for him to escape! "
"Today, Dionysius did not appear in the city, did he?! He has escaped! If you don't believe me, you can go to his tent and see if he is still there! "
…
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