Chapter 66
Devers looked up at the three-decker warship beside him and saw someone waving at him from the side of the ship.
"Hi, Xenophon, I thought I wouldn't have the chance to say goodbye to you!"
"Devers, I accepted Anacostis' request and rushed to Byzantium. I was about to gather our mercenaries and rush to Asia Minor, but I didn't expect that you were already going to Greece! Stay, let's continue fighting side by side! "Xenophon sincerely requested Devers.
Devers thought to himself that it was a close call, then shrugged and said seriously, "Unfortunately, I have already signed an agreement with Turií and swore to Hades!"
"That … is too bad!" Xenophon, who respected the gods, showed a regretful expression. "We can't fight together anymore! … "
"It seems that Sparta is going to war with Persia. I can only wish you the protection of Zeus in the upcoming battle! "Devers said this from the bottom of his heart.
"I wish you the same!" Xenophon said sincerely. "I originally wanted to invite you to Athens to meet my teacher Socrates. He will definitely be very interested in your novel views! And one of his students, my good friend Plato, has a similar view to yours. You two will definitely become good friends! Unfortunately … "
"One day, I will go to Athens! I believe you will have finished writing the story of our battle in Persia by then. Don't forget to give me a copy. " Devers only knew that Xenophon later wrote The Long March, but he didn't remember Xenophon's life experience. After all, he wasn't a historian in his previous life.
"Don't worry, I will make an extra copy for you." Xenophon smiled.
Devers vaguely remembered that Socrates was convicted by the authorities in Athens and poisoned to death. He didn't know the exact time, but he remembered that Socrates could have chosen to be expelled from Athens, but he insisted on staying and wanted to use his death to awaken the numb citizens of Athens. Therefore, Devers gave up on the decision to remind Xenophon. He just waved and said, "Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!"
Who knew that with this wave of his hand, the world had changed, and his good friend had become his enemy. The affairs of the world are hard to predict, it makes one sigh …
As the fleet moved forward, Sparta's warships gradually disappeared into the blue sky …
Seeing that the Devers were still standing at the stern, Burcos couldn't help but walk over and say, "Still thinking about your friend from Athens?"
"Xenophon is a talented and capable man!" Devers felt a sense of loss. After all, Xenophon was the first historical figure to link this world to his previous life.
"The Athens Olympic Games relied on one batch of talented people after another to achieve its glory!" Burcos said with deep emotion, "Even we are basking in the glory of Athens, which is why Turií has been so prosperous since it was founded!"
"Oh, is that so?" Burcos' words successfully aroused the Devers' interest.
"At that time, the leaders in charge of building Turií were two very capable people from Athens, Lamborn and Seroclitus, and the famous scholar from Athens, Protagoras, who made laws for Turií. Athens also invited the famous Greek engineer Hippodamos to design the city for Turií and was in charge of its construction … At the same time, there were also two distinguished guests from Athens who moved to Turií. One was the scholar Herodotus who wrote 'History', and the other was the famous rhetorician Tixias. There was even the Sparta Chrysidas who commanded the battles for Turií. Thus, Turií was able to maintain peace with Crotone in the south, fight with Tarantum for the plains of Seris in the north, defend against the invasion of the Lucanians and Bruti in the west, and strengthen trade with Greece in the east. As a result, we became a powerful nation in Greece in one fell swoop! "Burcos recalled the past and was exultant.
The Devers listened carefully.
Then, Burcos' proud expression became gloomy, "Unfortunately, Athens lost to Sparta. Now, Sparta is the overlord of Greece … "
"Will it have a big impact on Turií?" the Devers asked anxiously.
Burcos did not want to say more and only replied, "You will know when you get to Turií."
The Devers comforted him with a smile, "Don't worry, Sparta's position as the overlord will not last for long."
The Devers' shocking words immediately attracted Burcos' attention, "Why?"
"Because the Sparta people have begun to accept bribes." The Devers said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, "The unique system that Lykugu created for Sparta was originally intended to train the citizens of Sparta into fierce warriors, so that they could suppress the Helots, who outnumbered Sparta, internally, and dominate Greece. For this reason, all the citizens of Sparta maintained a simple and plain life to ensure basic equality. Otherwise, the citizens of Sparta would raise objections, 'Why do I have to undergo cruel training from a young age and only be able to leave the barracks when I'm 30?' Therefore, they closed the country, banned commerce, banned the use of more portable currency, banned debates, banned plays, banned poetry, banned the writing and sale of books other than military … Everyone said that the Sparta warriors were terrifying because the Sparta people had no other interests. Fighting and killing were their only interests! Now that Sparta has become the overlord of Greece, strategic locations need to be guarded, and their fleets need to patrol. When the Sparta people go out of the country, they will stay for half a year or even a year. Of course, they will come into contact with things that they have never come into contact with before. It's not easy to cultivate a simple and plain life, but it's too easy to destroy it! Once the fighting spirit of the Sparta people to dominate Greece is completely eroded, how long can Sparta's hegemony last?! "
Burcos had never heard anyone use such simple and vivid words to analyze the political system of Sparta. It was like a sharp dagger piercing the fragile core of the Sparta system. It sounded very reasonable. He looked at the Devers in a daze. This young man made him feel a little bit of awe. He suddenly remembered the rumor that the Devers were "God's Favorites". He opened his mouth and found that his throat was a little dry. He coughed a few times and could not help but ask, "If … If that's the case, then who will be the opponent of Sparta in Greece?"
The Devers shrugged and said, "I'm not a god. How would I know?" As he said this, he raised his head and looked at the seagulls soaring in the blue sky. Thebes, Macedonia … A long list of names flashed through his mind. For some reason, a sense of pride rose in his heart …
… …
After passing through the blockade of Sparta's warships, Burcos was afraid that another accident would occur, so he ordered the fleet to travel day and night.
After a few days, they arrived at the island of Olympia and went ashore to replenish their food and fresh water. They then sailed through the Cyclades and went around the Attica peninsula of Athens. As there was no time to stay ashore, the Devers could only regretfully look to the west at the famous Athens that was out of sight in his previous life.
After that, the fleet passed by Argus and carefully went around the peninsula of Peloponnesus until they reached the island of Zakynthos. They only went ashore to rest for the night. The next day, they continued to sail north until they reached the island of Kokira. Only then did they turn west and enter the Gulf of Taranto, named after the powerful Greek state of Tarantum.
This was a calm harbor. The moist sea breeze did not cause any ripples, and the azure sea water was as calm as a piece of smooth and translucent blue silk. Countless ships shuttled back and forth like silver shuttles, weaving a beautiful picture on this huge piece of blue silk.
When the mercenaries saw this beautiful scene, their bodies and minds, which were originally exhausted from the long voyage, suddenly became excited and began to laugh loudly.
Burcos's fleet, which was not small, also attracted the attention of some people. Several three-tiered warships with the pattern of "man riding a dolphin" painted on their sails came over to welcome them.
"It's nothing. It's a Tarantum patrol ship," Burcos said to the Devers. The leading ship of the fleet had already gone forward to meet them.
"Have we entered the waters controlled by Tarantum?" the Devers asked curiously.
"Not yet. This is just an agreement between the several city-states in this gulf. They keep in touch with each other just in case, "Burcos explained.
The warships of Tarantum turned around and left, and the fleet continued forward …
About an hour later, Burcos pointed to the front and said, "Turií is in front."
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