Chapter 78 Sparta's Decision

The one with the most relaxed mood was Temagoras. He not only used the opportunity of his mission to reach an agreement with the Spartan messenger in some aspects, and completed the entrustment of Callistratus to him before he left, but also He has obtained a lot of wealth, and this time the initial harvest is quite rich, which will increase his influence among the Athenian people.

Unexpectedly, the governor backfired. Shortly after returning to Athens, Temagoras was reported by the people, saying that "he took bribes in Persia, betrayed the secrets of Athens, and betrayed the city-state...". In addition, there are also many rumors in the city of Athens, mainly saying that "his behavior in Babylon is wretched, not as good as Pelopidas of Thebes, and he is despised by the Persians, which is a shame for the Athenians"...

It didn't take long for the Athenian government to put Temagoras on trial, and despite his best defenses and a good lawyer, the majority of the citizens on the jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to death.

After Lutikli returned to Sparta, the tough demands put forward by the Persians also caused great waves in Sparta.

Agesilaus, who had always been concerned about Dionia, strongly objected, and he reminded loudly: "After Dionia's victory over Carthage, the national strength has become stronger, and it has already constituted a great deal for us Sparta. Threats, fortunately there is a friendly agreement, and this kingdom has always advertised its commitment to keep its promise, so even if we have done some bad things to it during the agreement, it has still maintained a peaceful state with Sparta .

But now we have to take the initiative to cancel the agreement, just to give the other side a pretext. Once Dionia sends the army to intervene in this war, it will inevitably bring disaster to the Spartan army who are dealing with Thebes with all their strength! "

Another Spartan king, Kleombrotus, stood up and firmly supported meeting the demands of the Persians, and he had the same reason: "This war has continued to this day, and we Sparta have been somewhat unable to continue. , if we do not cut off communication with Dionia, we will have no Persian support, and if the Persian king turns to support our enemy Thebes, as he says, then Sparta is in great danger of being defeated. And if the friendly agreement with Dionysus is canceled, we will have the full support of Persia, and we will, like the Corinthian war, not only end this war very quickly, but return to the hegemony of Greece.

By then, even if Dionysus declares war on us, we can muster the entire force of Greece against it. What's more, judging from the fact that Persia so eagerly threatened us to cut off ties with Dionia this time, the Persian king was hostile to Dionia, and he would definitely support us in fighting Dionia. We can just use this favorable situation to defeat the Dionysians and completely solve this hidden danger that has always worried us. "

"It is said that Dionysus sent 100,000 troops in the war with Carthage. The Peloponnese was separated from Dionia by a narrow Adriatic Sea. Once the friendly agreement was lifted, Dionysus Ya really declared war on our Sparta, and the 100,000 army is likely to land in the Peloponnese, what should we do at that time?" Teacher Agassi asked with a serious look.

Today's Cleombrotus no longer had the fear and innocence he had when he was hurriedly put on the throne, and he replied calmly: "Don't forget, Dionysius also led an army of 100,000 people to attack. The Carthaginians in western Sicily. But in fact, we all know that the tens of thousands of mercenaries who are really capable of fighting are the tens of thousands of mercenaries. Do you dare to say that the 100,000 troops of Dionia are elites?! I don't think so.

On the contrary, after we re-contracted with the Greek city-states, if Dionysus really dared to send an army to the Peloponnese, we could call on the Greek city-states to resist the invasion of Dionia, an outsider, in Persia. With the help of people, a large army was formed and defeated, which not only completely solved the hidden worries of Sparta, but also re-enhanced Sparta's influence in Greece. "

Agesilaus frowned and reminded: "Since the establishment of Dionia, they have not suffered a defeat in the war they have experienced, and their army is definitely not weak if not all elite. And they are An army 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 them, which is not conducive to command-"

"Respected Agesilaus!" Kleombrotus suddenly sneered: "Which time in these years did we Sparta not command the coalition forces of other city-states to fight against the enemy, and win more and lose less? It's the talent that our Spartan generals must have! You even commanded the people of Asia Minor to fight against Persia more than 10 years ago, why are you saying that we are doing this wrong now!"

Without waiting for Agesilaus to respond, Cleombrotus looked around, suddenly raised his volume, and said loudly: "The so-called Dionysian army has won every battle because they didn't encounter us Sparta! Everyone! Remember what that King Dionia threatened us with before the first friendly agreement with Dionia! He peeped like a serpent on the west coast of the Adriatic all these years We, let's keep our nerves and dare not slack off, maybe now is the time to solve this problem! Dear wise elders and inspectors, whether Sparta can overcome this difficulty depends on your decision!"

Agesilaus looked at Cleombrotus, who was giving an impassioned speech in the center of the venue, and for some reason he thought that it was here that he defeated his nephew Leotides and won the throne through eloquence more than 20 years ago. of that scene.

And now that he is old, weak, sick and disabled, does he really have no courage? ... Agesilaus hesitated: breaking diplomatic relations with Dionysus, offending Dionia, may lead to war; but continuing to make diplomatic relations will offend Persia, and it will turn to support Thebes. Not only will the war not stop, but it will become more difficult... It's a dilemma.

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

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

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

Now, the final decision rests with the five inspectors.

The Spartan inspectors have great power. They can examine and supervise the king and elders internally, and they are responsible for diplomacy and supervising the troops that go on the expedition. Difficult military training, continuous fighting in adulthood, and not leaving the collective life until the age of 30. In addition to being proficient in military skills, most of them do not know much about politics, diplomacy, etc. There are not many well-informed and politically wise citizens, so Sparta has always been tough on the outside world in recent years.

However, the five inspectors selected this year chose all without exception - breaking off diplomatic relations with Dionia, the reason is very simple: the continuous war with Thebes has not made any obvious progress, but the country is increasingly difficult. Soldiers were killed and wounded continuously, the people were miserable, and the war weariness was very serious. The choice of the inspectors reflected the public opinion at this time. The Spartan people urgently wanted to stop the war and restore peace. As for what might result in a more powerful enemy, Dionia, they didn't 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.

Seeing Agesilaus standing up again, Cleombrotus couldn't help but say proudly, "Now that the decision to cut off diplomatic relations with Dionia has been passed, it is useless for you to refute."

Agesilaus ignored him, looked around and said, "Even if we decide to cut off diplomatic relations with Dionia, we should send a messenger who can speak to King Dionia tactfully and explain the reason why we have to keep our friendship. , if we have enough sincerity, I believe it will not anger the Dionians and declare war on us at a critical time in our peace talks with Thebes."

"As I said, Sparta is not afraid to fight against Dionia, so it is possible to take advantage of this good opportunity to solve this big trouble!" Kleombrotus reminded resentfully.

"King Agesilaus is right. If we can reach peace with Thebes and Athens, and temporarily avoid Dionia from provoking a war, of course it would be the best." Not only the majority of the elders Agreed, even the inspectors had no objection, but they were troubled by the candidates for the envoy.

Because from the few cases of dealing with Dionia in the past, the King Dionia was not a good talker, so he sent a messenger who was familiar to him and was good at diplomacy to Turii, It must have had a much better effect, but both Kerethorpes and Phoebe Das had been killed one after another, and the rest of the Spartans were completely unfamiliar with Dionia.

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