ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1128 Sparta’s decision
The one who was in the most relaxed mood was Tamagoras. He not only took advantage of the opportunity of his mission to reach an agreement with the Spartan envoy on certain aspects and fulfilled the instructions given to him by Callistratus before leaving, but he also Gaining considerable wealth, this initial harvest was substantial and would increase his influence among the people of Athens.

Unexpectedly, things backfired. Soon after returning to Athens, Tamagoras was reported by the people, saying that "he accepted bribes in Persia, betrayed the secrets of Athens, and betrayed the city-state...".In addition, there are many rumors in the city of Athens, mainly saying that "his behavior in Babylon was obscene, and he was not as good as Pelopidas of Thebes. He was despised by the Persians and simply lost the face of the Athenians"...

Not long after, the Athenian government put Tamagoras on trial. Although he tried his best to defend himself and hired a good lawyer, most of the citizens on the jury still believed that he was guilty, and he was eventually sentenced to death.

After Lutikli returned to Sparta, the tough demands made by the Persians also caused a lot of trouble in Sparta.

Agesilaus, who had always paid more attention to Dionia, strongly opposed it. He reminded loudly: "After Dionia defeated Carthage, the national power became stronger and it has already constituted a great threat to our Sparta." Fortunately, there is a friendly agreement, and this kingdom has always claimed to keep its promises, so even if we did some bad things to it during the agreement, it still maintained peace with Sparta. .

But now we want to take the initiative to cancel the agreement, just to give the other party an excuse. Once Dionia sends troops to intervene in this war, it will inevitably bring disaster to the Spartan army that is doing its best to deal with Thebes! "

Another Spartan king, Cleombrotus, stood up and firmly supported meeting the Persians' demands. His reasons were equally good: "This war has continued until now, and it has become difficult for us Sparta to continue. , if we cut off contact with Dionia, we will not get the support of Persia, and if the King of Persia turns to support our enemy Thebes as he said, then Sparta will face a huge danger of being defeated. And if the friendly agreement with Dionia is cancelled, we will get the full support of Persia. Then, like the Corinthian War, we will not only end this war quickly, but also become the overlord of Greece again.

By then, even if Dionia declares war on us, we can summon the power of the entire Greece to fight against it.What's more, judging from the fact that Persia is so eager to threaten us to sever ties with Dionia this time, the King of Persia is hostile to Dionia, and he will definitely fully support our war with Dionia.We can just use this favorable situation to defeat the Dionians and completely solve this hidden danger that has always worried us. "

"It is said that Dionia sent 10 troops in the war with Carthage. Peloponnese is separated from Dionia by a narrow Adriatic Sea. Once the friendly agreement is terminated, Dionysia will Yazhen declares war on us Sparta, and these 10 troops are likely to land in the Peloponnese. How should we respond then?" Teacher Agassiz asked seriously.

Today, Cleombrotus no longer has the fear and immaturity he had when he was rushed to the throne. He calmly replied: "Don't forget, Dionysius also led an army of 10 to attack The Carthaginians in western Sicily. But in fact, we all know that the only ones with real combat effectiveness are the tens of thousands of mercenaries. Do you dare to say that the 10 troops in Dionia are all elites?! I don’t think so.

On the contrary, after we have re-reached contracts with the Greek city-states, if Dionia really dares to send troops to land in the Peloponnese, we can just call on the Greek city-states to resist the invasion of Dionia, an outsider. In Persia Forming a large army with the help of others and defeating it would not only completely solve Sparta's long-standing worries, but also re-enhance Sparta's influence in Greece. "

Agesilaus frowned and reminded: "Since the establishment of Dionia, they have never suffered a defeat in the wars they have experienced. Even if their army is not all elite, their combat effectiveness is definitely not weak. And they are The army comes from the same country, and even if we can call on various city-states to form a large army, this time the army will definitely not be as united as theirs, which is not conducive to command-"

"Respectable Agesilaus!" Cleombrotus suddenly sneered: "In these years, has there ever been a time when our Spartans have not commanded the coalition forces of other city-states to fight against the enemy, and won more than they lost? This book This is the talent that our Spartan generals must have! More than 10 years ago, you even commanded the people of Asia Minor to fight against Persia. Why are you now saying that what we did was wrong!"

Before Agesilaus could respond, Cleombrotus looked around, suddenly raised his voice, and said loudly: "The so-called Dionysian army is victorious in every battle, because they did not encounter us Sparta! Everyone Remember what the King of Dionia said to threaten us before signing a friendly agreement with Dionia for the first time! Over the years, he has been peeping on the west coast of the Adriatic like a poisonous snake. We, let us always be on tenterhooks and dare not slack off, now may be the time to solve this problem! Dear wise elders and inspectors, whether Sparta can survive this difficulty depends on your decision!"

Agesilaus looked at Cleombrotus who was delivering an impassioned speech in the center of the venue, and for some reason, his mind came to the same place where he defeated his nephew Leotizides and won the throne through eloquence more than 20 years ago. That scene.

But now that I am old, weak, sick and disabled, do I really have no courage anymore? ...Agesilaus hesitated: breaking off diplomatic relations with Dionia and offending Dionia might trigger a war; but continuing to make diplomatic relations would offend Persia, which would turn to support Thebes. In the current situation, Not only will the war not stop, but it will become more difficult... This is a dilemma.

Agesilaus opened his mouth, but did not refute in the end.

Then the 30 Spartan elders (including two kings) voted on "whether to cancel the friendly agreement with Dionia."These Spartan nobles who are over 60 years old may have rich life experience, but most of them are conservative in character and only seek safety in everything. Because although Dionia is closer to the Peloponnese, it has never set foot in mainland Greece. On the contrary, Persia, thousands of miles away, has always exerted influence on Greece. Whether it was the Peloponnesian War or the Corinthian War, Persia was a huge help to Sparta, and these elders were undoubtedly the leaders of these wars. Those who have experienced it all feel it deeply.

But the final voting result was 20:20. In fact, the influence of Agesilaus played a big role in it. Compared with Cleomebrotus, who has not performed well in the military so far, many elders are more Be willing to believe in the wise and prestigious Agesilaus.

Now, the final decision rests with five inspectors.

The Spartan censors had great power. They could review and supervise the king and elders internally, and they were responsible for diplomacy and supervising the troops abroad. However, they were selected from ordinary civilians who had been educated since childhood. They underwent arduous military training and continued to fight as adults. They did not leave collective life until they were 30 years old. In addition to being proficient in military skills, most of them did not know much about politics, diplomacy and other aspects, like Cleethorpes. There are not many citizens who are well-informed and politically intelligent, so Sparta has always been tougher on the outside world in recent years. It will only choose to retreat when it suffers serious setbacks.

But the five inspectors elected this year all chose to break off diplomatic relations with Dionia without exception. The reason is very simple: the successive wars with Thebes have not made any significant progress, but the country is becoming increasingly difficult. Soldiers continued to suffer casualties, the people were miserable, and war weariness was very serious. The choices of the censors reflected the public opinion at this time. The Spartan people were eager to stop the war and restore peace.As for the possibility of leading to a more powerful enemy Dionia, they would not think so far.

This result did not disappoint Agesilaus, but relieved him: Since the gods had already made a choice for Sparta, he didn't need to worry about anything else.

When Cleombrotus saw Agesilaus standing up again, he couldn't help but said proudly: "Now that the resolution to break off diplomatic relations with Dionia has been passed, it is useless even if you want to refute it."

Agesilaus ignored him, looked around at everyone and said: "Even if we decide to break off diplomatic relations with Dionia, we should send a messenger who can speak and tactfully explain to the King of Dionia why we have to break off diplomatic relations. , if we are sincere enough, I believe we will not anger the Dionians and declare war on us at the critical moment of our peace talks with Thebes."

"I said, Sparta is not afraid of fighting in Dionia, so it can just take advantage of this good opportunity to solve this big trouble!" Cleombrotus reminded dissatisfied.

"King Agesilaus makes sense. It would be best if we could reach a peace agreement with Thebes and Athens and temporarily prevent Dionysia from provoking a war." Not just most elders are interested in this Even the censors had no objections, but they were troubled by the choice of ambassador.

Because judging from the only few instances of dealing with Dionia in the past, the king of Dionia was not an easy person to talk to, so he sent an envoy who he was familiar with and who was good at diplomacy to Thurii, The effect is definitely much better, but both Cleithops and Phoebus have been killed one after another, and the rest of the Spartans are completely unfamiliar with Dionia.

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(End of this chapter)