ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1051 The Theban War continues
The news that "Dionia defeated Carthage and forced it to sign an armistice agreement" spread throughout the Kingdom of Dionia, and people everywhere were jubilant.

Soon after, this news also spread to mainland Greece, shocking many city-states, especially Sparta.

Once, when Dionia was in a dangerous situation under siege by multiple forces, Sparta secretly manipulated and instigated the fleeing forces in the Apulian region to regain their former territory. But now Dionia, with its own strength, is clean and Rome was neatly wiped out, Samnite was surrendered, Carthage was defeated, and it became undisputedly the most powerful force in the Western Mediterranean.

But Sparta is now caught in the quagmire of war, and it has been too late to open the situation in Central Greece. The guilty Spartan elders are worried that what they did before can't be hidden from the insightful people of the Kingdom of Dionia. At that time, if Dionia suddenly turned his face and wanted to seek justice from Sparta, it would undoubtedly make the situation worse.

Therefore, Sparta hurriedly sent envoys to Turui to congratulate Dionia for winning the war with Carthage in the name of a friendly country, and at the same time tentatively made a request: I hope Dionia can contribute to the war. Sparta in provide some assistance.

Davos had already seen through the purpose of the Spartans. He neither broke his face with the Spartans, accused them of the nasty things they did during the Western Mediterranean War, nor agreed to the Spartans' request, but It is a tactful expression: Dionia won the war, but after the war, rebuilding the homeland, rectifying order, appeasing the people, resuming trade... and a series of difficult matters require the concerted efforts of the whole kingdom to gradually recover. Prosperity before the war, and therefore did not have the energy and time to care about the affairs of other countries.

Sparta was relieved for the moment.

Davos responded with similar words to the Athenian envoy who later came for help.

As for the Thebans, they were still under siege by the Spartan army at this time. They were tired of dealing with various attacks. They were not very clear about the major events happening in the Western Mediterranean and did not have the energy to understand them.

Although Davos gave Sparta a reassurance, the Spartan Council of Elders still felt the urgency of the situation. They were dissatisfied with the fact that the Spartan King Cleomebrotus had been on a long campaign but failed to achieve anything. progress, finally decided to once again use more wise and decisive Agesilaus as the commander of the army.

Agesilaus accepted it generously, and declared: Since the elders and the people think he is the best candidate, he himself will go all out!
He led the army to the border of Sparta to make a sacrifice and showed it to the soldiers as a good omen, so the morale of the whole army was high.

Since the mountains on the southern edge of the Pioxia region adjacent to the Isthmus of Corinth are heavily defended by Thebes, and Athens joined forces with Thebes, they crossed the mountains from the Isthmus of Corinth and entered the Pioxia region by land. Not only is the road difficult to navigate, it is also full of dangers.

Agesilaus led the army to speed up the march, and after arriving at the port of Sigion not far west of Corinth, he took a boat across the Gulf of Corinth and landed on the beach in the Boeotian area.Since he had already sent someone to notify a Spartan army stationed in the area to capture a mountain pass not far from the landing site, the entire army crossed the mountain without any hindrance and entered the plains of the Boeotian area. area, and quickly joined forces with Thespia, which supported Sparta (the city is located west of Thebes, only 20 miles away).

Agesilaus originally thought that his quick military action would disrupt the Thebans' defensive arrangements. However, he found that the Thebans and their allies had built fences and fences on all strategic locations around the city of Thebes. Earth forts were built, trenches were built, and deer villages were laid out...

If the Spartan army wants to approach the city of Thebes, it must conquer these important places one by one, and the Theban army will not let it do anything. Wherever Agesilaus leads the army to attack, Thebes will send Heavy troops were stationed there.

Since Thebes is fighting on the inside, it can mobilize troops more flexibly and quickly, and the Thebes army will not just defend, they will also attack at the right time to attack the Spartan coalition soldiers who have separated from the large army or are eating and resting... This The series of defensive strategies mainly came from the hand of Epaminondas, which caused Agesilaus a deep headache, and the half-year campaign failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In the autumn, soldiers from Sparta's allies returned to their hometowns one after another. Agesilaus also wanted to lead the Spartan warriors back, so he appointed Phoebias to lead the mercenaries to stay in the Thespia area and wait for opportunities to attack the bottom. Bis.

Phoebidas, who was extremely hated by the Thebans, adopted a more vicious strategy. He sent many small groups to bypass the Thebans' defensive positions and kill the Theban people hiding behind them. Destroy their fields...

The Thebans were extremely angry about this. They ignored Epaminondas's dissuasion and rashly sent out their troops to attack Thespia.

As a result, Phebidas was well prepared. He formed a targeted formation and repelled the attack of the Theban army during the battle.In order to expand the victory and weaken the strength of the Thebans, he personally led his army to pursue the defeated troops. As a result, the Theban cavalry and some infantry panicked and fled into an impassable canyon.

The desperate Theban troops gathered together and decided to fight to the death. At this time, because the pursuit was too fast, Thespia's heavy infantry fell far behind, with only Phoebidas and a few hundred soldiers. The Thracian peltasts stood in front of the Theban cavalry.

Things happened too suddenly. As soon as Phoebidas asked the Thracian mercenaries to get into position, the Theban cavalry launched a charge from the front regardless of the risk. The momentum generated by hundreds of horses running was undoubtedly scary.

The Thracians, who were very tired after a long run, were afraid. Before the Theban cavalry could rush in front of them, the Thracians had already begun to retreat.

The Theban army took advantage of the situation and attacked fiercely. The Thracian mercenaries retreated in full. Phoebidas mixed in with the retreating troops and tried to escape.

But how could the Theban cavalry let him escape? They kept staring at him, quickly surrounded him, and stabbed him to death with spears.Then they drove back the broken troops and clashed with the Thespian heavy infantry who came after them. The Spartan coalition was defeated.

The Theban army pursued them until dark before withdrawing their troops and returning to camp.

In this battle, the Thebans lost first and then won. Not only did they kill their most hated enemy, Phoebidas, but they also weakened Thespia, Thebes' innermost enemy. The people of Pis cheered, and the people of other Boeotian city-states controlled by Sparta were also excited.

Taking advantage of this favorable opportunity, Thebes even sent out troops again to actively attack Thespia and its surrounding city-states affiliated with Sparta, forcing Sparta to send an army to help defend Thespia in the winter.

In the early spring of the next year (377 BC, the 17th year of the Kingdom of Dionia), the Spartan Council of Elders and the Overseers once again appointed Agesilaus as the commander of the coalition forces.

This time, Agesilaus led the army on land and hurried through the Isthmus of Corinth. Taking advantage of the lack of defense of the Thebes, he broke through their defense line in the mountains and entered the area east of the city of Thebes. Taking Platia as the base, they ravaged this piece of land. Although they also won some victories, the resistance of the Thebes was still very tenacious, preventing the Spartan army from making breakthrough progress.

In the autumn, Agesilaus had to withdraw his troops and return home again.

At this time, Thebes experienced a severe food shortage. Due to the damage of the war, their land had been harvestless for two years. In the history of the previous life, the Thebans sent fleets to the northern towns of Thessaly. to buy grain, but this time Pelopidas proposed: Go to the Kingdom of Dionia across the Adriatic Sea to buy grain.

Some people raised objections and believed that Dionia and Sparta have always signed a friendship agreement and have a close relationship with each other. It is impossible for Dionia to buy grain from Thebes.

Pelopidas’s answer was: Anyway, the distance is short and the journey is very convenient, so it’s not a big deal to give it a try.But once we succeed, we will not only open up new channels for purchasing food, but also find out the Dionians' attitude towards this war, which is of great significance!
In the end, Pelopidas's suggestion was approved. Thebes sent three triremes, carrying 10 talents, and took advantage of the winter when the Spartans rested their troops and the naval blockade of the Gulf of Corinth was relaxed. Sail out of the Gulf of Corinth, cross the Adriatic Sea, and arrive at the port city on the east coast of the Kingdom of Dionysia—Odrum.

The administrator of Odrum heard that the Thebans came to buy grain. Considering the political significance behind it, he dared not make any independent decisions, so he immediately sent a messenger to Thurii to ask for instructions.

After Davos found out, he set the tone of the matter with a sentence that seemed to be a joke: "The Spartans can allow Apulian escapees to travel in our country, why can't we give the Thebans a little help, not to mention this is just an ordinary business transaction."

Therefore, the city of Odrum not only sold grain to Thebes at low prices, but also sent cargo ships to help transport it.

In fact, the Spartan fleet had already received the news that the Thebans had sent a fleet out to buy grain. They had already made arrangements to capture the Theban fleet when it returned to the Gulf of Corinth.

As a result, when the crew of the Spartan fleet saw the ships in the Theban fleet with the flag of the Kingdom of Dionia painted on their sails, they were stunned and did not dare to act rashly. They watched the Theban ships pile up and land on the north side of the bay. The cargo was unloaded unhurriedly.

Afterwards, the commander of the Spartan fleet hurriedly reported the matter to Sparta. The Council of Elders and the censors were shocked and hurriedly sent envoys to Thurii.

Davos didn't show up at all. Antaoris, the rotating chairman of the Senate, received the envoy. Facing the questioning of the Spartans, he responded lightly with the king's original words: "This is just an ordinary business activity, not worth it. What a fuss.”

　The Spring Festival is coming soon. I took two weeks off to go home to visit relatives. I will leave tomorrow and return on February 2st. In the meantime, I will take my children to other cities to play. Therefore, updates cannot be guaranteed during this period, so I will only Some of the saved manuscripts will be posted at once, I hope you can understand!I’ll continue updating when my vacation is over!

　　I wish you all a happy New Year and all the best! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)