Chapter 578
"Why don't we support another …" Phoebidas suggested.
Agesilaus' eyes lit up, but then he thought of something and looked up at Phoebidas with a self-deprecating smile. "Supporting Dionysius or Syracuse right now is no longer up to Sparta to decide."
Phoebidas was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Then who's going to decide?" He immediately understood.
Agesilaus looked at him and said with a serious expression, "Diónia defeated Syracuse and made Syracuse suffer such heavy losses. Diónia has already become the dominant force in Greece and eastern Sicily.
Moreover, according to what you just said, Dionia now has a huge army of at least 50,000 soldiers, and the military organization that makes up this army, which they call the 'Legion', is very powerful. They also have a huge fleet that can defeat the Syracuse Navy! … How can I not worry about the rise of such a powerful force behind Sparta?
Moreover, Kerisopus has visited Turkistan before, and the new king of Diónia is very dissatisfied with Sparta assisting Syracuse's invasion of Greece! If Diónia, who is hostile to Sparta, after the war with Syracuse ends, if they … join the war with Corinth, Sparta … "
Even though Agesilaus didn't finish his sentence, Phoebidas could sense the hidden fear this Sparta king had towards Diónia from his eyes. Right now, Sparta was tied down by the war in Asia Minor and the war with Corinth. It didn't have the ability to stop an army of tens of thousands under the leadership of a powerful fleet from landing on Sparta's coast!
However, Phoebidas's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly said, "When Diónia besieged Syracuse's army in Xilyte, I went to see King Devers of Diónia. He vaguely said that 'as long as Sparta doesn't make an enemy out of Diónia, Diónia has no intention of making an enemy out of Sparta'."
"Really?! Tell me in detail what happened when you met! "Agesilaus's interest was piqued.
After listening to Phoebidas's narration, Agesilaus pondered for a long time and sighed. "I'm afraid Diónia wants to become a second Syracuse, but there is indeed a Syracuse that isn't bound by Sparta. This makes things difficult for us … Phoebidas, did you know that yesterday Taranthum sent a messenger to Sparta, hoping for our help because Diónia wants to incorporate Taranthum into its alliance?"
"What?! Diónia wants to annex Taranthum? This is unacceptable! Taranthum is one of our states! "Phoebidas was shocked and objected without thinking.
"The young new king of Diónia is very ambitious, but there isn't a single Greek state that can stop him!" Agesilaus seemed a little helpless, and he once again fell into deep thought.
Finally, Agesilaus made up his mind. He pressed one hand on his left leg and the other on the wooden table, and said to Phoebidas with a serious expression, "Now, we must first stop Diónia from further suppressing Syracuse and its allies and even occupying them! Tomorrow, I will propose to the Elder Council … since Dionysius has lost control of Syracuse, then we can only temporarily support the rebels and quickly restore Syracuse's strength to resist Diónia's power in the western Mediterranean. When the time comes, you will go to Syracuse as Sparta's messenger and solve its internal strife as soon as possible! "
"I understand!" Phoebidas nodded immediately.
"Also, since the new king of Diónia has shown no hostility towards us, then we will send Kerisopus to Greece and have a good talk with him. Hopefully, we can come up with some kind of agreement that can restrain Diónia and make us feel at ease!"
Phoebidas heard Agesilaus's words and felt a little uneasy. He wanted to remind him, but he didn't know where to start.
Agesilaus did not notice Phoebidas's expression. He was still immersed in his thoughts, "… Sigh, our war with Persia … and with Corinth, Thebes, Athens, and Argos … has been going on for too long! In the long run, it will only weaken Sparta's strength and our prestige in the Greek world. Instead, it will only benefit Diónia! We have to think of a way to end this meaningless war! "
… … …
After the failure of the siege, Hilos summed up his experience and rebuilt the siege weapons and formulated a siege plan.
Two days later, Hilos launched another attack on Medema. The fierce battle lasted until the afternoon, and Diónia and Ligim took over Medema.
According to the Devers' orders, Hilos did not show mercy this time. He captured the people of Medema, reduced them to slaves, and sent troops to escort them back to Turiya.
This act of killing the chickens to scare the monkeys shocked Locke and Tarentum, especially Locke. The fall of Medema meant that the Dionysian Army in the west would no longer be obstructed and could enter Locke's territory through the mountain path. Locke would also have to face a pincer attack from Diónia and Corinthia.
What worried Locke even more was that after understanding the situation in the north, they sadly found out that the Syracuse expeditionary force could not even protect themselves. They could not give Locke any hope!
Under the pressure of the majority of the council, the chief general Demodokas had no choice but to betray his brother-in-law. He sent a messenger to Diónia to ask for peace.
However, the Devers, who had the absolute advantage, would not let Locke go so easily. He put forward two conditions: first, Demodokas and his cronies had to be expelled; second, Locke had to be integrated into the Diónia Alliance.
When the news reached Locke, the people were in an uproar.
The Devers had no time to care about Locke, who was already in an uproar because of his words. He was preparing to accept the surrender of the Syracuse troops in Xilyte.
At first, the Fasipesas sent a messenger to Diónia's camp to ask for peace.
However, the Devers flatly refused. He proposed to the messenger that the Syracuse troops in Xilyte must surrender unconditionally, and that Diónia would guarantee their safety!
Of course, he promised that Diónia would send them safely back to their hometowns in no more than three months. However, this did not include the mercenaries who had killed countless Diónia's people!
At the same time, the Devers took the initiative to explain the situation in eastern Sicily to the messenger, and showed him the letters from the cities of Katanai, Siculi, Leotini, and other cities requesting to submit.
The shock in the messenger's heart could not be any greater. He returned to Xilyte in a daze.
As soon as he entered the city, he was stopped by the soldiers, who could not wait to ask about the negotiations.
Facing the three layers of soldiers that surrounded him so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak out, the emissary finally revealed the details of the negotiation.
The soldiers never expected that while they were fighting a war thousands of miles away, there was already a riot in their hometowns. It was no wonder that Dionysius abandoned them and fled back to Sicily alone!
Compared to the Syracuse generals like Fasipesas who stayed behind to guard the city, who were skeptical of the news brought back by the messenger, the soldiers were completely panicked. They gathered in front of the commander-in-chief's residence again and shouted the slogan "Agree to Diónia's request, we want to go home". They even injured the guards several times and tried to force their way into the house, causing Fasipesas and the others to tremble in fear.
At this time, the Numibian cavalry, who knew that they would not be let go of by Diónia, attempted to escape from Xilyte in order to survive. They suddenly launched an attack on the unsuspecting Syracuse soldiers.
At the same time, Leptignes, who realized that the situation was not good, led more than 20 warships that were willing to follow him and left the port. They were intercepted by the Dionysian fleet that was prepared in advance.
After a chase on the sea, seven warships escaped, and the rest were either captured or sunk. This included Leptignes' flagship. He was rescued from the sea by Diónia sailors and became a captive.
On this day, Xilyte was in chaos and uproar.
The Diónia scouts outside the city could hear the sounds of fighting and screams from a hundred meters away from the city walls.
They immediately reported the news to the Devers.
The Devers did not take any action.
The chaos in the city lasted for a day.
The next day, the gates of Xilyte opened wide. Fasipesas and the other generals led soldiers who took off their armor and threw away their shields and spears, as well as more than 30,000 freedmen and slaves, and surrendered to Diónia. At the same time, they also presented the heads of the hundreds of Numibians who caused the chaos in the city the previous day and were eventually surrounded and killed.
The entire Diónia camp was filled with cheers. After months of bloody battles, the Syracuse invasion army was finally destroyed!
The Devers ordered the tens of thousands of captives to be detained and stationed in Xilyte. They arranged for people to clean and repair the city that was ruined by the Syracuse army.
…
The Syracuse rebel messenger, Ferosanus, originally planned to land in Crotone and then come to Diónia camp. He did not expect to be intercepted by the Dionysian fleet near Xilyte.
Only then did he learn that the Syracuse army had all surrendered to Diónia, and he was shocked. He originally wanted to use the "Syracuse army" as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Diónia, but now it was not.
Feeling uneasy, he went ashore at the port and soon met the Devers.
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