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Chapter 741

Pelopidas immediately replied, "If even Epaminonda can't stop the enemy, then no one can defeat the Spartans!"

The people around them didn't understand why Perópidas had so much confidence in Epaminonda. As far as they knew, although Epaminonda had participated in many battles before, he had always been a soldier or an officer. He had never commanded an army in battle. However, Perópidas's confidence had infected them. Other than that, they didn't have any better ideas. So, they could only suppress their worries and lead the rest of the militia towards the citadel with Perópidas.

On the way to the south gate, Epaminonda had already come up with a strategy to deal with the enemy. Having lived in the city of Thebes for decades, he was familiar with the surrounding terrain. He knew that the main city of Thebes was located in the lowlands between the mountains, especially the south gate. Both sides of the citadel were protruding mountains, forming a trumpet shaped terrain.

Therefore, when they arrived at the south gate, he told the others his plan: to hide 800 people in the mountains on both sides of the south gate. When the enemy's reinforcements arrived, he would lead the rest of the civilian soldiers out of the citadel. Once the two sides met, the soldiers in ambush on both sides would immediately attack the enemy's flanks …

Some people objected that it was too risky to fight outside the citadel, especially against the Sparta army. It was better to rely on the citadel for defense.

Epaminonda immediately refuted this conservative idea. He said calmly, "The new government of Thebes has just been established, and it is not stable yet. Moreover, the citadel is still occupied by the enemy. If we allow the Sparta army to gather outside the citadel and attack the Thebes, then the battle will become very long. When the Sparta army arrives, the battle will become even more difficult … In the long run, the mentality of the people may change. So, we must take advantage of the time when the enemy arrives at Thebes and take the initiative to defeat them one by one. This is the only way to buy time for the revival of Thebes! … "

Everyone was convinced by him. They didn't expect that this usually taciturn person could say such touching words.

Of course, there were also people who asked, "What if Sparta didn't take the bait and didn't attack us?"

Ipaminonda replied calmly, "Then we'll go back to the city. It won't do us any harm. Even if they discover our army ambushing in the mountains, they won't dare to chase after them because we are the most familiar with the terrain here. However, I believe that the arrogant Sparta will immediately attack us, hoping to recapture Thebes as soon as possible. "

"Damn Sparta! We won't let them succeed! Everyone loudly expressed their anger and determination towards Sparta.

Ipaminonda said in a low voice, "Everyone, let us work together and make this battle a nightmare for Sparta!"

Thus, the high-spirited crowd began to deploy according to Ipaminonda's plan.

… …

The messengers requesting for help were the first to arrive at Platya, which was closest to Thebes. When the general of the Sparta garrison received the news that there was a riot in Thebes and the pro-Sparta government had been overthrown, he was shocked. He knew that if they lost Thebes, Sparta's control over the Pioscia region would be in big trouble. Therefore, without hesitation, he led two thousand garrison soldiers (most of whom were soldiers of the Peloponnesus Alliance) and quickly marched towards Thebes. They arrived outside the city of Thebes at dusk. Then, he was surprised to see that the Thebes actually came out of the city and formed a battle formation. They even hit their round shields with their spears, provoking the advancing Sparta army.

How could the general of Sparta allow the defeated army of Sparta to be so arrogant? Moreover, the number of Thebes was only a little more than his own army. Therefore, regardless of the fatigue of his soldiers, he immediately arranged his army into a battle formation of the same length as the opponent and blew the bugle to attack.

At the same time, Ipaminonda also gave the order to attack. He himself was at the forefront of the battle formation, raising his shield and spear high. He took the lead and charged towards the enemy.

The morale of the Thebes was high. The Sparta army, after a long journey, was slightly exhausted. At the beginning of the battle, they were at a disadvantage. When they recovered, they began to rely on their rich combat experience and stronger killing skills to slowly turn the tide of the battle. Then, the ambush of Thebes suddenly attacked from both sides, fiercely attacking the flanks and rear of the Sparta army.

The Sparta army was caught off guard and was immediately routed. The soldiers scattered in all directions.

The entire battle lasted for less than half an hour. The Thebes won the final victory. While they cheered, they also looked at the mastermind of this battle, the previously unknown Ipaminonda, with admiration. This ordinary-looking middle-aged man had won their trust with just this battle alone.

Another Sparta garrison from Tespia, which was about to reach the city of Thebes, was shocked when they heard the news of the "crushing defeat of the Pratian army." The commander of the army, Svodelas, thought that he did not have enough troops and did not dare to advance. Instead, he retreated west to a small town halfway between Tespia and Thebes.

When Ipaminonda learned that the enemy had retreated, he immediately led his army back into the city. He stationed himself at the top of the city wall and sent someone to report the good news of victory to the two military governors.

At this time, Perópidas and Filidas were leading the citizen soldiers to attack the acropolis for a day, but they were unable to take it down. After all, although the acropolis was small, the walls were very strong. Moreover, it was located on a hill and there was only one path, which made it impossible for the Thebes to deploy their superior forces. Moreover, the Sparta army was surrounded on all sides and had no way to retreat. Therefore, they fought desperately, causing the Thebes to fail to attack the city many times. Both the generals and the soldiers felt a little discouraged.

At this time, the good news of the "South Gate army defeating the Sparta reinforcements" came, lifting everyone's spirits and raising their morale.

The generals also talked about Ipaminonda with smiles on their faces. Filidas even praised him repeatedly, "Perópidas, you are right. Ipaminonda is indeed an excellent general!"

… …

The next day, the news of the "Thebes coup d 'état" spread throughout Central Greece. Countless Thebes exiles began to rush back to their motherland from all directions to defend the new Thebes government. The exiles from Athens were the largest force among them. For the citizens of Athens, this was something they were very happy to see. Although the council did not express any opinion on this matter, many volunteers from Athens followed the exiles to the Thebes and prepared to fight side by side with the Thebes. This included two newly elected generals this year, who joined the volunteer team as private individuals.

The group of exiles marched west excitedly. Along the way, they also fought several battles with the Sparta allies who were also rushing to the Thebes and were stationed in some of the cities in the Pioscia region. They won all of the battles.

The Thebes continued to receive reinforcements and their strength skyrocketed. The Sparta reinforcements of the Thebes could only retreat.

On this day, the attack of the Thebes on the acropolis failed again. However, the general of Sparta did not feel happy. He stood at the top of the acropolis and looked down. He could clearly see the increasing number of enemies at the foot of the hill. It was obvious that the Thebes had received reinforcements from outside. At the same time, this also meant that the attack of the Sparta reinforcements against the Thebes had failed. This not only made him, but also the Sparta soldiers in the acropolis, feel a little hopeless.

At this time, Perópidas sent an envoy to negotiate with the general of Sparta in the acropolis. He proposed a condition, "Let the Sparta return the acropolis, and the Thebes will let them leave safely." The two sides finally reached an agreement.

The return of the acropolis allowed the new government led by Perópidas and Felidas to completely and completely liberate the Thebes. While the people in the city cheered, the leaders led by Perópidas still looked solemn. This was because they knew that the test for the Thebes had just begun. The people of Sparta would not give up so easily.

On the third day, the news finally reached Sparta and shocked the Council of Elders. They no longer had the mood to cause trouble for Diónia. Instead, they had to quickly gather all their strength to put out the fire caused by the Thebes.

After some discussion, the Council of Elders decided to let Agesiporis, who had been the king of Sparta for less than two years, lead the army.

Therefore, Sparta began to recruit soldiers from the alliance of Peloponnesus.

… …

Just as Leotychides led the Diónia coalition army to defeat Carthage's army, intercepting a large number of supplies, the outer city of Therodiem on the north coast was breached by the Iberian army.

How did the city, which had been steadily defending for nearly ten days and which had caused Hasdrubal's army to fail many times, suddenly fall?

It turned out that after several failed attacks, Hasdrubal realized that a frontal attack would be too costly and difficult to break through, so he used the Iberian infantry.

The Iberian infantry under Hasdrubal came from the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, all recruited from the native tribes conquered by the Magrids. There were a total of 4000 of them, and almost all of them wore ethnic clothing made of white linen with purple edges. They did not wear any armour, and instead wore thick leather hats. They were equipped with large oval shields, javelins, and the most common yet terrifying short sword hung from their waists. The style and length of the short sword were very similar to the short sword of Diónia, and they were also extremely sharp. The only difference was that the front of the sword was slightly curved.

These Iberians were not only brave and valiant, they were also good at fighting in the mountains. This was something that the Carthage people who had always lived on the flat coast of northern Africa could not compare to.