ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1169 Cruising Salon Bay

In the center of this bay there is an island called Aegina. It was a powerful country in Greece more than a hundred years ago, especially in terms of its navy. It caused Athens a lot of hardships until Themistocles suggested that Athens transfer most of its After its wealth was used to develop its navy, Athens gradually began to gain the upper hand in naval battles with Aegina.Finally, during the reign of Pericles, Athens entered a golden age. Without Sparta's intervention, Aegina was finally conquered and became the territory of Athens.

The annexation of Aegina, coupled with the fact that the island of Salamis not far to the northwest also belonged to Athens, therefore the northern waters of the bay were within the control of Athens.

Although Sekerian made a shocking decision, he did not lose his rationality and did not arrogantly let the fleet of warships break into the northern seas and provoke Athens. This would most likely drag Athens, which was originally neutral, into trouble at this time. In order to get into the war and add unnecessary trouble to the kingdom, he let the fleet of warships sail from the south of Aegina.

This is of course also a risky decision, because there are some small islands and reefs in the southern waters of Aegina, and the waterway is relatively narrow. The warships of the 1st Fleet who are not familiar with the sea conditions here can form a longer column and use it more efficiently. Passing at a slow speed, if a hostile Greek city-state fleet suddenly launches an attack at this time, the first fleet will be unable to respond from the beginning and the end, and will surely suffer heavy losses.

In this sea area and nearby sea areas, only Athens has strong naval strength, and according to the information provided by the Ministry of Military Affairs, Sekerian knew that there was an Athens military port on Aegina Island, with some warships parked, so Sekerian Li An had long since lost his previous comfort and began to feel nervous.

The 1st Fleet quickly transformed into two columns and began to pass between the islands of Aegina and Maisana, and then carefully circled to the south of the small island of Agtistri. After that, they The speed gradually increased...

At this time, the south coast of Aegina was full of Athenian people. They watched the triremes one after another endlessly passing by under their eyes, and their faces were full of astonishment. .

"This...how many warships are there?!"

"I have been counting just now. 205 ships have passed by. There is still so long behind, I estimate that there are at least 400 ships!"

"This should be Dionia's fleet. I heard that when they had a naval battle with the Carthaginians, the total number of warships on both sides reached a thousand. At that time, I thought that the self-degenerate colonial kingdom was trying to intimidate the Western Mediterranean. Those forces (the drama "The Dionians" written by Aristophanes that year was popular in Athens, causing many Athenian people to believe that the Greeks, the main body of Dionia, ignored their lofty status and actively included the indigenous people into their own Kingdom, granting it citizenship rights and living with it is a sign of self-destruction) and deliberately exaggerating one’s own power, but now it seems that it may be true!”

"Four hundred warships are nothing special. We in Athens once had more warships than this. And even if our warships are far less than theirs now, with our superb ship-managing skills, we can still defeat them in naval battles!"

"Young man, it's good to have confidence, but don't blindly belittle the other party. We are all sailors. Take a closer look at their sailing before making an evaluation. The Dionia fleet should be unfamiliar with the sea conditions here, but look at them The speed of the warships is not slow, but the distance between each row of warships and the rear row of warships can always remain stable... In the relatively narrow place in front, their two warships in each row can make turns very freely, and the speed is not high. How much it has slowed down, and there has never been a collision... These all show that Dionia's fleet is well-trained, and their sailors' sailing skills are not low, and we must pay attention to it!"

"Hey! You guys, now that the Dionian fleet has arrived at our doorstep, you still have time to stand here and look around. Shouldn't you dispatch our warships to prepare to protect our homeland? !"

"What do you know as a woman! Look at the direction the Dionia fleet is heading, it doesn't seem to be coming towards us in Athens. Besides, we haven't received an attack order from the General Executive Committee. If we attack rashly, it will cause Athens If a war breaks out with Dionia, you might be found guilty by the Citizens’ Assembly!”

……

Just as the Athenian people were standing on Aegina Island talking about it, the vanguard of the 1st Fleet had quickly arrived near Corinth's port of Cankorea in the eastern part of the isthmus. The land here was concave inward, forming a small In the bay, the Dionian warship immediately blocked the entrance of the bay to prevent the ship from escaping.

The 1st Fleet arrived by chance. After five Asia Minor troop transport ships entered the port of Cankorea, two more grain transport fleets from Asia Minor arrived near the port of Corinth. "Longwan" news, the guilty thieves panicked and fled into the port in a swarm, causing panic and congestion at the port entrance and causing the port to be unable to close the water gate for a while.

The warships of the 1st Fleet seized the opportunity and rushed into the harbor, trying to hit all the ships they could see flying the flags of the city-states in Asia Minor, even if they were already docked at the dock. In the process, in order to clear the waterway, they would inevitably be knocked over. other ships...

There was chaos in the port of Cankoreae, and the people on the shore ran and shouted in panic... But for a while, the Corinthian officials at the port could not find any effective measures to stop the Dionian warships from wreaking havoc in the port.

The strength of the Corinthian navy is pretty good among the Greek city-states, but the Saron Gulf in the eastern part of the isthmus has always been dominated by the Athenians. Therefore, all warships are docked at the main port in the western part of the isthmus, Lecaaium, and Even if the fleet is in the eastern port this time, they cannot compare with the number of Dionian warships that continue to pour into the port.

In addition, more than ten crow warships docked at the dock one after another, and the heavily armed fleet infantry immediately came ashore. However, they neither pursued the people in the port nor seized the port. Instead, they formed a neat square formation of nearly 500 people. Holding shields and swords, they stood on the spot and shouted in unison: "We only attack cargo ships that transport troops and food for Sparta. We have no ill intentions towards Corinth!!! We only attack..."

These shouts by the fleet infantry were really ridiculous, but they were effective in the chaotic situation at this time: the Corinthians hesitated, and based on the deterrence of these Dionian soldiers who landed ashore, they neither used them on the guard tower. Rocket attack, but no way to close the water gate...

Not long after, the bugle sounded on the First Fleet squadron ship, and all the Dionian warships in the port quickly evacuated.

The Corinthian people in the port were somewhat calm, but broken ship planks and shipwrecks were floating everywhere on the sea in the entire port. The voices of the drowned crew members struggling and calling for help could not be heard. It was a tragic scene...

The Dionian warship successfully evacuated the Corinth port, which relieved Sekerian. When he was about to issue the order "The fleet evacuates Saron Gulf", the lookout at the top of the main mast suddenly shouted: "Northeast The clipper raised a yellow flag!"

Sekerian was shocked. He understood that this meant that there were fewer warships than the 1st Fleet approaching, and there was only one city-state that dared to make such a move in this large bay - Athens.

Sekerian began to get excited, and he shouted loudly: "The stars in the sky rise, and the fleet moves toward the northeast!"

After receiving the order, the captain of the flagship rushed to the stern of the ship and asked eagerly: "Sir, are you preparing to go to war with Athens?!"

"Calm down, Ecritus." Sekerian comforted him and said, "The Athenians have unknown intentions. I am just making preparations. If they dare to attack, then we can just counterattack!"

The bugle sounded and the black flag was raised. The 500 Dionian warships originally gathered outside the port of Corinth quickly spread out with their respective squadrons as the center, and marched toward the northeast together while arranging their formations. .

Not long after, dozens of Athenian warships appeared in the sight of the captain of the frontline warships of the 1st Fleet. This did not have any impact on the Dionia warships, and all warships continued to move forward at a steady speed.

The same was true for the Athenian warships.

Six miles...five miles...four miles...the distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer. At this time, the Athenian crew should be able to clearly feel that there is a significant gap in numbers between them and the Delnian fleet, but in the past The glorious record of winning more with less gave them courage, especially since there was a victory monument erected on the island of Salamis not far from them.

It was in this bay decades ago that the Greek combined fleet, dominated by Athenian warships, faced off against the Persian fleet, which had several times the number of warships. In the end, it won a brilliant victory, created a miracle of war, and saved Greece... This legendary story inspired generation after generation of Athenian people.The Athenian crew members who were ordered to leave the port today had more or less expectations, which offset the tension in their hearts.

As the distance between the two sides got closer, even Sekerian couldn't help but feel nervous. He was not afraid of the dozens of Athenian warships in front of him. As a senior general of the kingdom at his level, not only himself Just fight comfortably, and you also have to consider what impact the changes in the situation in Greece caused by defeating the Athenian fleet will have on Dionia's military plan being implemented in the Peloponnese. However, the situation in Greece is so complicated that he There was no way to predict it.

Fortunately, when the distance between the two sides was close to two miles, Sekerian got the news: The Athenian fleet had stopped advancing!
Sekerian hurriedly ordered: Stop the fleet!
The warships of both sides were two miles apart and faced each other quietly.

(End of this chapter)