Although the people present did not know much about the difficulties faced by Thebes today, they had never thought of asking Thebes to provide assistance against Sparta, so Ipamironda's frank apology made the crowd led by Klotocatax both stunned and moved.

Klotocactus immediately said: "General Ipamironda, we can understand that Thebes is now facing difficulties and is unable to support us, so His Majesty has specially sent enough soldiers to the Peloponnese to deal with Sparta, and the strength of our Dionyas alone is enough. When Sparta is completely defeated, we will lead our army north to help you remove other threats and restore peace to Thebes! ”

Crotocatatuses did not make a random promise out of a moment of excitement, he considered that since the Kingdom of Dioonia wanted to dominate the situation in Greece, it was likely to clash with Athens and Thessaly in the future, so why not help the allied Thebes as an excuse to get Thebes' gratitude and assistance, but also to disguise the true purpose.

Printors also took this into account, so he did not interrupt or cover up when Klotocatax made his promise.

When Olivers, Tegaltiros and other legion commanders heard this, they learned that there were other battles to be fought besides Sparta, and naturally they also agreed.

Ipamilonda looked quite moved, and he said emotionally: "When I go back, I will definitely tell every Theban man everything that Dionysia has done for Thebes, so that the Thebanians will never forget your kindness!" Apollo, I swear in your name that I will do my best to make Thebes the staunchest ally of Dionyas in Greece! ”

When Epamironda knelt down on half a knee, palms to the sky, and solemnly swore an oath, Crotokatuques was a little stunned, he suddenly felt a little ashamed, and hurriedly stepped forward to help him up: "General Ipamironda, you ...... You're ......."

"Compared to the great help you Dionyas have done to Thebes, that's all I can do." Ipamironda said sincerely.

Klotockataks was a little moved, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Epamilonda spoke again: "Now that you are at war with Sparta, Thebes cannot send an army into battle for the time being, but we have persuaded the Arcadians to support you. ”

"I've heard from the former commander about this." Crotocatacus frowned, and said in as gentle a tone as possible: "However, I have heard that Sparta has sent an envoy to restore friendship with the Arcadians, so the Arcadians have not sent an envoy to ask us for help. ”

Ipamironda smiled slightly, and said solemnly: "The Arcadia Alliance has just been established, and the city-states to which it belongs have always been allies of Sparta in the past, and in the face of the rare overtures of the Spartans, hesitation is inevitable. However, the leader of the Arcadian alliance was Mandinia, the city of Mandia was destroyed by Sparta, and the Mandinians were displaced for more than ten years, and they had a deep hatred with the Spartans, and it was impossible to reconcile with the Spartans.

Moreover, the chief general of Mandinia, Lycomedes, was the main person who led to the formation of the Arcadian League, and had a high reputation not only in Mandinia, but also in the whole of Arcadia. I spent a few days with him on my way to Messenia, and I thought he was a man of great wisdom and foresight, and he would not allow the Spartans to succeed! ”

"Since the general said so, then let's wait a little longer." Klotocatax endorsed Ipamironda's proposal.

Olivers, who was next to him, objected to this and wanted to say what he thought, but was stopped by Printors with his eyes.

His reluctant expression fell into the eyes of Ipamironda, who continued to talk to Klotocatax as if he had not seen it.

The two sides exchanged some views and suggestions on "how to defeat the Spartans", and later even exchanged views on "how to train the soldiers, how to organize the army", and even several regimental commanders of Oliver joined in, and the conversation lasted for more than three hours, until Ipamironda took his leave and left, and the others were still unsatisfied.

Looking at his departing back, Crotokataks couldn't help but sigh: "Ipamironda is not only very insightful in military affairs, but also very knowledgeable, but also so modest and studious, what a respectable old man!" ”

"It's a pity." "We have come to Greece, which will definitely limit Thebes' continued growth, and Ipamilonda may not have the opportunity to continue to display his talents!" ”

"But at least more Theban deaths were averted." Klotockataks said softly.

"Your Highness." Oliver interjected, "Do we really have to wait for the Arcadians to make a decision before we lead our army to attack the Spartans from the north?" ”

"Uncle Oliver." Crotokataz's tone was gentle, but his expression was firm: "The Peloponnese situation is complicated, we must not be in a hurry, otherwise we may turn what should be a friend into an enemy. ”

……………………………………………………

As it turned out, Ipamironda's judgment was not wrong, and Klotocatax's wait was correct, and on the second day of Ipamironda's departure from Messenia, the Arcadian messenger arrived, led by none other than Lycomedes.

Originally, he had only come to ask for help, but in Messenia he saw the powerful Dioenian army, and the Dionian army was doing its best to help the Messenians rebuild the new Messenian government and the city of Messenia.

After much thought, Lykometes changed his mind, and he decided to form an alliance with Dionia.

Klotocatax met with him in his capacity as commander of the Dionian expeditionary force and as a prince.

After two days of consultations, the parties drafted a preliminary resolution, the main elements of which were: Dionya recognized the Arcadian Union and guaranteed that its interests would not be violated;

The Arcadian League also recognized Messenia and would maintain friendly relations with it;

Dionya will assist the Arcadian League in the construction of the city of Megalobilisi as a symbol of friendship between the two sides;

Dionyas formed a military alliance with the Arcadian League, which provided full assistance to one side in the event of an invasion by a powerful enemy. And if you want to attack the enemy together, then only against Sparta......

Judging from this treaty of alliance, the Dionian side undoubtedly suffered some losses, but when Klotocatax, Printors and others discussed in private, they had reached an agreement: as long as they could get the support of the people of Arcadia in the center of the Peloponnese (even if it was just neutrality), the Dionian attack on Sparta would undoubtedly be much smoother, and it would not hurt to suffer some losses for the time being.

The agreement was reached, and Lycomedes did not stay in Messenia and immediately returned to Arcadia, ready to convince the alliance that the agreement could be finally passed.

Klotocatax also sent a courier to bring the agreement back to Turiyi for review by Davers.

During this time, at the suggestion of Printors, Klotocatax suspended the construction activities of the soldiers, and replaced them all with Messenians, and began to strengthen the training of the army, and he stayed at the training ground every day, supervising the training of the army while getting the soldiers accustomed to his presence.

The alliance agreement with the Arcadian League was soon ratified after it was presented to King Davers. But the Arcadian League was very controversial on this matter, and in fact, the entire coalition members were "accepting Sparta's sutra?" Or ask for help from Dionia? "There has been a lot of disagreement on this issue, and it took a lot of effort for Lycomedas to finally get the alliance to agree to ask for help from Dionia.

It is said that the Spartans were conservative, and the Arcadians were as good as they were. This is because the Arcadia region is located in the center of the Peloponnese, it is not close to the sea, and it is mostly mountainous, so it is geographically isolated, and the local people are very wary of foreign forces.

Among them, the Mandinians are much better, after all, they have been wandering for more than ten years and have seen more widely. A hundred years ago, after Tegua and Okomenus, they were the most resolute in their opposition.

Tegya is located in the southeast of the region, since joining the Peloponnesian League a hundred years ago, Sparta has been using it as a barrier to the north of the Laconia region, so it has long used both suppression and encompassing means, so that now after Tegea joins the Arcadian League, there are still many pro-Spartan people in the country, so when Sparta sends emissaries to the alliance to sue for peace, it is the most active; Okomenus is located in the east of the Arcadia region, adjacent to Pisa, and the two have a close relationship, and when the Olympia Games are held, Okomenus even shared some benefits, such as allowing Okomenus merchants to set up stalls in some good areas of Olympia, and allowing Okomenus priests to participate in the games...... Pisa, on the other hand, was fully supported by Sparta, which made the Okomenus people's feelings for Sparta also complicated......

In the eyes of these city-states of the Acadian League, independence from Spartan control was a last resort, but it was unacceptable to help a foreign power to fight Sparta, even though Lycomedas argued that "it was only expedient to secure the Arcadian League." The city-states' legislators still find it difficult to accept. As a result, for several days, the council of the Arcadian League debated the "alliance with Dionia".

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