Chapter 241 Agesilaus's Expectation

When Dionysius saw the enemy in black helmet and black armor rushing up, half of his heart was cold. Seeing that the situation was not good at this moment, he immediately blew the trumpet and retreated.

Considering that the soldiers were marching all the way and their physical strength had not recovered, Antonios did not order a pursuit, but let the troops rest on the spot.

Heroes, who escaped the catastrophe, saw the Dionysian soldiers take off their armor and eat their rations while sitting and resting on the land of Syracuse city.

But no matter what he thought in his heart, at this moment he always had a smile on his face, and said gratefully to Antonios: "Blessed by Apollo! Thank you Dionia for your timely assistance! Without you, it would be a small matter for us to sacrifice our lives, Syracuse. It will be a disaster for the people of Syracuse and for Dionysius, who is fighting against Dionysius!"

Antonis raised the meaning of Herolis's words, he not only did not care, but answered seriously: "Dionysius is the maker of war, and the people of Dionysius and Syracuse who yearn for peace are alike. I don’t want him to gain power and start a war again, I have only one purpose to bring my troops here - to expel him from Syracuse, and what to do next, we listen to your opinions.”

Antony's low stance made Herolis and others relieved, so Herolis' response became more straightforward: "General, I hope you can lead your troops and help us retake Dionysius. Occupied the main city."

Antonios immediately agreed to Herolis' request, and after letting the soldiers rest for a while, they immediately set off to the southeast of the city.

In fact, at this time Dionysius had already led the mercenaries to retreat to Ortigia Island. When he saw the Syracuse Legionnaires appear, he knew that his army would not be able to resist in a short time.

He didn't expect the Dionian reinforcements to come so quickly, and he regretted it all the time: after learning that Hololis and others had defeated his pursuit force at the Epipole Heights last night, he should not have been safe, It took him a lot of precious time to organize the slave soldiers and divide the troops of Haroris. Instead, they should immediately lead all the mercenaries to Epipole, first completely eliminate Herolis and others, occupy the northern city wall of Syracuse, and block the southward passage of the Dionysians!

It was too late to regret it. Dionysius' cautious character led to the final defeat. Seeing the victory that was about to be won, he spit it out in a blink of an eye, and his regret couldn't be added.

Antonios led the troops to advance rapidly, and he soon realized the vast area of ​​Syracuse, and of course the sparseness of people. This is probably related to Dionysius sending a large number of citizens, sailors and auxiliary personnel to expedition to Great Greece. .

It took nearly an hour for the Dionysian coalition to arrive in the main city. The mercenaries who were driving and looting the people saw their arrival.

Hastily fled to Ortigia Island.

And then came Herolis and others, weeping loudly, because the whole square was covered with corpses and wounded, most of them were the family members of the rebel army and the people who supported them most firmly.

Antonios led his army to pursue the isthmus of Ortigia Island, and saw the towering fortress and the tall and strong city wall behind it.

…………………………

In Sparta the same depression appeared.

Sparta has always been at war on both sides. Achillidas led the Allied armies and mercenaries to continue fighting with the Persians in Asia Minor. The war continued in the Isthmus of Corinth in the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Although the main force of the battle was either Allied armies or mercenaries, but Bada's own citizens also suffered many casualties.

The council of elders had to order: let citizens over 50 years old also put on armor, pick up shields and spears, and serve as patrol soldiers in Sparta to prevent the changes of Heluos. They even decided to hold a "hunting operation" ahead of time (that is, a planned killing of Heros, reducing its population and ensuring the safety of Sparta).

The cloud of war loomed over Sparta, and the people were in a state of high tension.

At this moment, Phoebedas, who had returned to Sparta, met Agesilaus at the king's mansion.

The Spartan king, who had made a great reputation in Asia Minor, Central Greece, and the Isthmus of Corinth, had already won the respect of the Spartan citizens, and some even called him "the Spartan hero after Lysander". At this time, he looked a little tired. He leaned on the wooden chair, straightened his right leg, and flexed the lame foot of his left leg. This is his habitual movement, and people can't see the problem of his left leg. . Leaning over, he listened intently to Phoebe Das's account of his experience with Dionysius in the Western Mediterranean.

The wooden chairs the two were sitting on were next to each other, which showed that he attached great importance to Phoebe Das. Although there was no fruit and drink banquet (in Syracuse, Phoebe Das often enjoyed such treatment), this This shabby environment made Phoebe Das feel more at ease.

Phoebedas tried his best to describe the whole process of the Great Greek War as he knew from the perspective of a neutral person, and then picked up the crude earthenware pot beside him. The pot was filled with cool river water. Some thirsty throats were moisturised.

Agesilaus recalled the narrative of Phoebedas, and imagined the war after war waged by thousands of soldiers on both sides in the land of Greater Greece, and he couldn't help sighing: "I didn't expect The mighty Great Greek War is coming to an end in less than half a year, and the result is completely beyond our expectations!"

"Yeah, no one thought that the weak Dionysus would become the final victor!" Phoebe Das also sighed, knowing that when Syracuse's army landed in Great Greece, the road was going to be broken. Da's elders were worried that Syracuse won too easily, including himself. Who knew the result was just the opposite. It is estimated that many Spartans had their jaws dropped.

"According to your judgment, is it still possible for Syracuse to turn a defeat into a victory?" Agesilaus asked again with a bit of luck. After all, Syracuse has been an ally of Sparta for many years. Its failure will mean the bankruptcy of Sparta's original Western Mediterranean strategy, which may lead to a complete transformation of the entire Sparta's foreign strategy. Not cautious.

"It's basically impossible." Phoebe Das replied directly, then he hesitated, and then said: "Unless... God blesses and makes the plague of Dionysian army spread..."

In the eyes of outsiders, during the years when Dionysius was the tyrant, Syracuse was twice invaded by the Carthaginians (the first time was not long after Dionysius became the plenipotentiary general, about AD 406 years ago), the results were all because the Carthaginians were infected with the plague, and they were finally beaten and returned, giving outsiders the feeling that Dionysius also had the blessing of gods, but in fact the port of Syracuse To the south of the district, there are a large number of swampy areas near the Anapus River, and every time the Carthaginian army camped here, a large number of mosquitoes found many hosts for the spread of bacteria.

For the Dionysian army, the possibility of plague is extremely small, because the "Dionysian Military Law" requires that the army should not be camped near mosquito breeding. After a battle, cremate and bury the corpses of the enemy and allies in a timely manner. Soldiers had to drink boiled water. Moreover, the transport camps carry lime (produced from the Turii quarry).

Davos from the previous life certainly knew the cause of the plague, and taking so many measures basically minimized this possibility.

Of course Agsilaus wouldn't know this, but a mature commander would never pin his hopes on "unpredictable gods". Phoebe Das's words actually sealed the outcome of the Great Greek War. Concluded.

With a dignified expression, Agesilaus tapped his left leg a few times with his left fist and asked, "Do you think Dionysius can defeat those rebels and regain Syracuse's right?"

"It's hard!" Phoebedas said matter-of-factly, even though he had been with Dionysius for a few months and had only seen the rebels once: "Dionysius lost his powerful, loyal The mercenary army lost his huge navy, and also abandoned the army and became a deserter. Not only the people of Syracuse deserted him, but most of the allied forces in Syracuse also abandoned him, not to mention Dio Nia's army is stationed in the city-states near Syracuse. Dionysius is on all sides and alone, unless we, Sparta, send reinforcements to support him!"

"Sparta has no reinforcements to send." Agesilaus said simply.

This was expected by Phoebe Das.

"Unfortunately, we have supported Dionysius for so many years, and as a result..." Agesilaus sighed with a look of pity on his face.

"We can turn to support the Syracuse rebels, whose leaders have promised me that they will continue to have Syracuse allied with us Sparta, and send us reinforcements after the Great Hellenic War to help We conquered the Allies who rebelled against Sparta."

Phoebedas' words did not delight Agsilaus, he mused: "For us, this is a last resort. But... This new Syracuse regime is probably democratic. system."

Phoebe Das recalled the "nearly ten generals" he saw at Syracuse City Hall, nodded and said, "It should be."

"Democracy has great uncertainty, and ignorant people are easily instigated by people with a heart to suddenly force the leadership of Syracuse to tear up the covenant with us... This is also the reason why the Council of Elders was willing to deal with Dionysius. The reason for the cooperation of the tyrant." Agesilaus expressed his concern.