Chapter 581
Devers's words made Cherisops very uneasy. He quickly said, "These are the conditions Sparta prepared before the negotiation. You can also state your conditions first, and we will negotiate together."
"Cherisops," Devers said coldly. Dyvers said coldly, "Now that the war in Greece has subsided, the situation in Sicily is still considered stable for Dionia. I can mobilize more than 200 three-decker oar warships and more than 50,000 soldiers at any time! If I lead this huge fleet and sail eastward, we can reach the Peloponnesus Peninsula in less than three days. Can Sparta stop us?! "
Without waiting for Cherisops to answer, he said firmly, "No! Your fleet has been defeated by Conon's navy at Knydos, and now there are less than a hundred warships left. They are holed up in Corinth Bay and do not dare to come out. They are no match for the Dionysian fleet! If a fleet of 50,000 soldiers landed on the coast of Messenia, can your army stop them?! "
Devers' lips curled up slightly. "No! Most of Sparta's warriors were sent to Corinth, a few to Persia, and the rest to suppress the Helaoists in the country. Even if Sparta can gather all their warriors, Diónia is not afraid! I believe that Diónia's large and elite legion can completely defeat the Sparta warriors that you are so proud of! "
As Dyvers spoke, he smashed his fist on the wooden table with extreme confidence. "Dong!" The sound of the punch made Kerristhorpes, who had experienced countless life and death battles, tremble subconsciously. It was as if that punch had smashed on his heart.
"Of course, I don't need to put in so much effort." The expression on Devers' face suddenly became relaxed again. He softened his tone and said, "I only need the army to disperse Sparta's remaining troops in Messenia, block the Tegetos Pass, and then support the Helaoists — no, let the Messenians be independent, and arm them. After that, I will withdraw the army. I don't need to consume too much food, and I don't need to fight too much. But can Sparta easily deal with the armed Messenians? No, you can't! Decades ago, when the Messenians rebelled, you suffered a lot! "
At that time, Sparta could do nothing about the rioting Mercenians. They even begged the armies of Athens and other alliances to help them suppress the rioting Mercenians. In the end, the chief general of Athens, Kemon, brought thousands of soldiers from Athens to Sparta to help. However, because of the different political systems and customs, they were suspected and wronged. The soldiers returned to their homeland in anger. When they told the people about what happened to them in Sparta, it triggered the anger of the people against Sparta. This led to the fall of the leader of the pro-Sparta faction, Kemon, and Pericles became the new leader of Athens. He served for decades and created the golden age of Athens.
Even with the help of their allies, Sparta failed to wipe out the rioting Mercenians. Instead, it caused the lives of the people in the country to be difficult. The Mercenians were motivated and constantly rebelled. In the end, Sparta had to reach a compromise with the rebels and allowed them to leave Sparta's territory freely …
That was a painful memory for the people of Sparta. However, the Devers were so relaxed that they wanted to repeat it again. How could Cleethorpes not be shocked? He forced himself to calm down and put on a stern expression. "Is Diónia declaring war on Sparta?!"
"It's not that Diónia wants to do this. It's that Sparta is forcing Diónia to prepare for war!" said the Devers in a low voice.
"Forcing Diónia?!" Cleethorpes acted as if he had heard a joke. He reminded them seriously, "Sparta came to negotiate a friendly agreement with Diónia with sincerity!"
"Syracuse destroyed so many Greek city-states in Sicily and forced the Sicilian city-states to listen to his orders. Yet, Sparta didn't stop him! Dionysius led his army to invade Great Greece, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of crimes. Yet, Sparta didn't stop him! Now, Diónia has defeated Syracuse and wants to restore order to Great Greece and Sicily, restoring peace in this region. Yet, Sparta came to stop us! Is this the sincerity of Sparta?! "said the Devers coldly, his tone gradually becoming heavier.
"Devers, listen to me —" Cleethorpes still wanted to explain.
"What right does Sparta have to criticize Diónia, Great Greece, and Sicily?!" The Devers asked angrily, interrupting Cleethorpes' words like a sudden clap of thunder. "With just a few thousand warriors?! The tens of thousands of Peloponnesus's allies?! And those random mercenaries?! With a single order from me, I can gather more than 200 three-decker warships and 50,000 elite soldiers to attack the Peloponnesus Peninsula and tear Sparta's territory and allies into pieces. This way, the arrogant Sparta will understand how to respect a powerful country. This way, the greedy and selfish Sparta will understand that the Western Mediterranean Sea is not Peloponnesus's territory, and that no external forces are allowed to stir up trouble! … "
Listening to the Devers' angry rebuke and watching the new king waving his arms forcefully, Cleethorpes recalled what Phoebidas had said a long time ago in the Council of Elders when he requested to punish Diónia after his diplomatic mission to Diónia. "Diónia is a city-state alliance that advocates force and is very aggressive. We must find a way to restrict it, or else it will bring us trouble in the future!" It was not just trouble, it was the biggest threat! The Devers before him was like a grown lion. He no longer hid his claws and fangs, but roared at the former overlord of Greece, waving his sharp claws and fangs.
At this time, Cleethorpes had calmed down. He had picked up some clues from Deves' rebuke, "King Devers, since you are not satisfied with our terms, what are your terms?"
The Devers' anger was not directed at Cleethorpes, but at the Sparta Council of Elders behind him. Hearing this, he felt that he had achieved his goal. He snorted coldly, but his anger did not subside, but he no longer roared. He said in a low voice, "The Greeks of the Western Mediterranean Sea can take care of our own affairs, and we don't need Sparta to interfere. If Sparta can understand this, I think Diónia will not be interested in the Greek affairs of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. This is the basic condition for Diónia and Sparta to reach a peace agreement!"
Cleethorpes was shocked by the ambition of the Devers. They actually wanted to share the Greek world of the Mediterranean Sea with Sparta. Although Sparta did not pay much attention to the Western Mediterranean Sea, they had supported Syracuse to help them watch over Sparta's backyard. As Syracuse grew stronger, Dionysius began to become less obedient. However, in the eyes of the ordinary Sparta warriors, Syracuse had always been the weakest party in the alliance, and was dominated by Sparta. And now, Diónia had officially proposed to be on an equal footing with Sparta … Cleethorpes stared blankly at the Devers.
The Devers stared at Cleethorpes with determination in their eyes.
After a moment, Cleethorpes said, "I understand what you mean. I'll relay your words to the Elder Council. I believe that the wise and farsighted people will give us an answer soon."
"Yes, the war in the Western Mediterranean Sea is developing very quickly. I'm afraid that the situation will be completely different in a few days, so it's important to hurry up." The Devers's seemingly casual reminder made Cleethorpes' heart tighten again.
After seeing off the hurried Cleethorpes, Henepolis hurriedly asked with concern, "Your Majesty, will Sparta agree to your terms? And negotiate according to them? "
The Devers was not very sure about this, but he smiled and said, "The current Diónia is not afraid of Sparta, and there is no need to beg Sparta for anything. However, the current Sparta is different from us. I believe that after Cleethorpes relays my threats to the Sparta, the Sparta will not be able to sleep for a long time. "
"But even if the Sparta sign a friendly agreement with us, they will definitely bear a grudge against Diónia in their hearts!" Henepolis said worriedly, "Why don't we take advantage of the fact that Sparta is in a whirlpool of war and completely destroy them according to your plan, Your Majesty!"
"Haha, Henny, I didn't know that you hate Sparta more than I do!" The Devers laughed.
"Your Majesty, I'm just … just worried about the future of Sparta …" Henepolis hurriedly argued.
The Devers patted him on the shoulder and said confidently, "Don't worry, a city-state like Sparta will not have a future even if we, Diónia, don't need to do anything!"
Even though the Devers could not remember this period of history clearly, based on his in-depth understanding of Greece over the past few years, he knew that the conflict between Sparta and Corinth and Argus on the Peninsula of Peloponnesus, and Athens and Thebes in Central Greece was irreconcilable, and the war between them would continue. Diónia had just ended its war with Syracuse, and it needed time to absorb new land. There was no need to poke the hornet's nest that was Sparta. Even if it was weakened, it would not do Diónia much good. Instead, it would create a better opportunity for other city-states in Greece, such as Athens and Thebes, to expand their territory. It was better to let them restrict and kill each other, so that Diónia would have more time to develop.
… …
As the Devers expected, after the Elder Council of Sparta received the report from Cleethorpes, although they were angry on the surface, they were actually afraid. The army of Diónia in Great Greece was ready to go, but Sparta was unable to open up a new battlefield.
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