ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1206 Prelude before the war ([-])

However, today, the Spartan warriors were surprised to see that the Lagnia Bay was filled with densely packed ships. Heavily armed Dionian soldiers continued to get off the ships. The entire coast of Sparta was full of people. How many soldiers are there? !

The shock in their hearts could not be greater. They had seen tens of thousands of Dionia's troops before, and they deeply felt the huge gap in their numbers. They did not expect that this time there would be more Dionia soldiers, and they were by no means just filling the numbers. , because in the eyes of these battle-hardened Spartan warriors, these Dionian soldiers are not only well-armed, but they are also orderly and disciplined, and should have a certain degree of combat effectiveness.

Among the Spartans who saw this scene was Agesilaus. At that moment, his heart suddenly hit the bottom. Despair drowned him like a tide. His body was shaking and he was about to collapse. , was supported by Xenophon, who had quick eyes and quick hands beside him.

"Don't worry... there is still hope..." Xenophon comforted in a low voice.

Agesilaus looked at the dark coast and was silent for a long time before he let out a hoarse sigh: "I hope Zeus will bless you..."

Xenophon also looked at the bustling coast. Although he had already seen the prosperity of the center of the Kingdom of Dionia, but at this moment he witnessed the power of the Dionia army again, his mood was also very uneasy. He suddenly I remembered what Davos said when he parted with him decades ago, "He wants to build a brand new country in the Western Mediterranean and invites him to join"...Xenophon didn't take it seriously at the time, but now it seems that Davos Firth certainly delivered on his promise.

At this moment, Xenophon suddenly felt a little regretful...

The Spartans watched the arrival of the Dionian reinforcements in fear, while the stationed generals such as Crotocatacus and Printors happily welcomed the reinforcements headed by Patroclus. The city of Sparta.

After a general tour of the main sights in the city, a group of people entered the heavily guarded meeting hall and held a military meeting.

Clotocathus originally wanted Patroclus to sit at the top of the list, because he was the commander-in-chief of this supporting army appointed by King Davos, and the number of soldiers in the reinforcements far exceeded that of Davos stationed in Sparta. Onian army, and they also shoulder important missions.

Patroclus should be the youngest army commander since the establishment of the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia. During the Gallic War, the Roman regional administrator Asistes once commented on him privately, saying that he was "militarily talented. But if you are young and successful, you will inevitably be too arrogant and easy to ignore others."

However, Patroclus, who has been training in the Po River area for several years and is already in his thirties, is obviously much calmer than when he first became the commander of the No. 14 Corps. Moreover, after he was transferred back to Thurii, he was in a state of mourning. The painful Cynthia also warned him solemnly many times, making him understand that the current Crotocatacus was no longer the middle-level official of the kingdom who worked quietly and hard in Rome, but the successor that King Davos was paying attention to. , and was working hard to cultivate his prestige in the military... so he politely rejected Clotokatax's suggestion and insisted on taking the second seat.

After everyone sat down, Crotokatax coughed lightly and said loudly: "First of all, on behalf of the soldiers stationed in Messenia and Laconia, I would like to extend a warm welcome to your arrival! This paragraph Over time, the Greek coalition forces continued to attack us. Although the soldiers held the defense line firmly, they were still under a lot of pressure. Your arrival has enhanced their confidence!"

Clotokatax paused, took out a letter from his arms, and said seriously: "Commander Patroclus handed me a letter written by His Majesty, and in his heart His Majesty praised our previous battles. He performed well in the game and was able to conquer Sparta, the overlord of Greece, in such a short period of time, which is a great achievement!"

Hearing this, Printors, Olivers, Trotilas and others subconsciously straightened their chests.

Clotokatax's eyes swept across their faces, and finally fell on Ctisus, who was a little absent-minded, and continued in a gentle tone: "Your Majesty also mentioned, 'Although we have achieved the expected goal, The expeditionary army still paid a high price, but this is inevitable. After all, what we fought with was Sparta, which ruled Greece by force, not the weak Tarantum. Many soldiers died in the battle, But this is war!'... His Majesty has experienced many battles, and he will not blame anyone for it! On the contrary, he encourages us not to have any worries, continue to unite, fight with all our strength, and finally achieve the strategic goals set by the Kingdom!"

Clotokatax's words made the garrison generals feel greatly relieved, especially Ctissus, whose face instantly looked much better.

Crotocathax saw that what he said had an effect, and he was also happy. He knew very well that the death of Adoris was not only for him, but also for the generals who fought in the Peloponnese. A big stone weighed on his chest, especially Ctissus, whose self-blame was displayed on his face almost every day.

Clotokatax had no resentment towards Cutissus, only sympathy: when the war situation suddenly changed, he, as the coach, was panicked, but Cutissus was able to take the correct response in a relatively timely manner, thus ensuring that The First Army was not defeated by the Spartans, laying the foundation for the final victory of the battle.For this reason, he once talked with Ctissus privately, but the effect was not obvious.

Fortunately, Davos wrote this letter in time. Although the letter did not directly mention Adoris' name, it also made Ctissus feel his understanding and encouragement. Therefore, Ctissus's entire mental state All changed by it.

Patroclus watched the scene in front of him silently. When he received the news that Adoris had died in battle, he was indeed shocked and sad, but not as sad as his wife. After all, the relationship between him and Adoris The relationship was not very good. Adoris had an inexplicable hostility towards him, so the two had less contact with each other.

At this moment, what surprised him was the change of Clotocartax. When he was the legionary commander in Rome a few years ago, he had a close relationship with Clotocartax. In his impression, this young prince He has a gentle, serious, diligent and approachable personality, but when I saw him again today, his words and deeds had a bit of the majesty of a superior.

"Commander Patroclus." Clotokatax looked at his brother-in-law and said loudly: "Next, please tell us about the follow-up military plan discussed and formulated by His Majesty and the Ministry of Military Affairs!"

Patroclus came back to his senses, looked around, and said loudly: "Everyone who has been fighting here for more than three months, according to the latest military plan drawn up by His Majesty, you still need to support yourself here for a while, because I led This army is not here to reinforce you——"

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Olivers, Tagetinos and other generals were surprised, while Printors was thoughtful.

Without waiting for them to ask, Patroclus continued: "The Ministry of Military Affairs once conducted a deduction. The Peloponnese Peninsula is not large but has many mountains. If we confront the enemy head-on in Messenia and Laconia, In battle, the superior forces cannot be fully deployed. Although they can be repelled, they cannot be better annihilated. On the contrary, the defeated Greek coalition forces retreat to their own city-states, which will inevitably greatly extend the time for us to conquer Greece.

And our army wants to land behind the Greek coalition forces and carry out a pincer attack on them. Only Ellis is suitable for large-scale landing operations, because our previous conquests of islands such as Zakynthus and Keralonia have already made They have strengthened their defenses on the coast, and the Greek coalition forces are just south of Ellis and can arrive for reinforcements at any time. Landing operations there will undoubtedly cost us a lot and may not be successful.

In addition, the Ministry of Military Affairs has also received information that the Greek coalition forces have strengthened the defense of the coasts of Attica and Piosia... But it is useless for them to do this, His Majesty has already set the target of our raid—"

With an expression of admiration, Patroclus said with emphasis: "That's Thessaly! It is reported that among the Greek coalition forces, Thessaly's soldiers accounted for more than half, and they also had the strongest combat effectiveness. They were the Greek coalition forces. The absolute main force! We want to take advantage of the emptiness in its rear to send a large army to quickly raid and occupy the entire territory of Thessaly. Then the Thessalian army that is still fighting here will inevitably collapse without a fight, and the Thessalians will retreat. The Greek coalition will naturally collapse..."

Olivers and other generals suddenly understood after hearing this.

Printors showed a clear look and cautiously reminded: "The Greek coalition knows that it is strengthening the defense of the coast in Central Greece, so it should not ignore Thessaly."

"Lord Printors is right. The Ministry of Military Affairs has received news from Philae. Jason has indeed sent troops to strengthen the defense of the southern coast of Philae." For this man of extraordinary resourcefulness and meritorious service, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Military Affairs, Patroclus did not dare to underestimate him. He explained seriously: "However, our main landing site is not in the east of Thessaly, but in Peleus and the Macedonian territory to the north and La La to the south. mia.

Although Macedonia did not join the Greek Alliance, it has lent troops to Sparta and Athens (actually hired), and it is also our enemy of Dionia.The Lamian region was forced to rely on Jason not long ago, and Peleus is far away from the center of Thessaly. They are not strong and have little loyalty to Jason, and so far they have not been found to strengthen the coast. For defense..."

While listening, Printors recalled the geography and sea conditions on the east coast of mainland Greece. After pondering for a while, he asked again: "How many soldiers were involved in the landing operation in total?"

“有第二军团、第三军团、第五军团、第九军团、第十军团、No.11军团、No.12军团、No.13军团、第二、第三骑兵军团、高卢大队（包括6000名高卢战士和2000名高卢骑兵），2000名巴利阿里投石兵……要直接登陆作战的士兵达到8万人。”帕特洛克罗斯说着，突然又想起什么：“对了，再算上为我们护航的三支舰队的舰队步兵，总共将近有10万名作战士兵！”

After Patroclus finished speaking, all the generals present widened their eyes: dispatching 10 soldiers at once, what a grand scene it would be!
(End of this chapter)