When the news spread, the anti-Spartan alliance was excited, and Agosilaus was shocked, and he had a premonition that the situation was not good, and immediately ordered the troops to abandon the ports and cities they had previously occupied in the Gulf of Corinth, in order to avoid being broken by each one.

However, this order came too late. Under the leadership of Ayificlateus, the reinvigorated Allied forces attacked separately, recapturing Port Pileon and then Sidon...... In this way, the Spartan Allied forces stationed in the many port towns occupied in the Gulf of Corinth, almost as far as the Piosia region, were cut off.

Agosilaus urgently ordered his brother Teleutias to lead a fleet of troops from the sea to retrieve these scattered garrisons and place them in Lecaion and Sigian, focusing on the defense of these two important towns and ports in the Corinthian region. As a result, the offensive momentum of the Spartan coalition was severely damaged and had to turn to the defensive.

The anti-Spartan allies attacked Lecaion several times, but they were all repulsed and had to stop the attack.

The two sides are once again at a stalemate.

But the adventurous Iphiclates did not settle for the status quo, he led his light infantry troops, carrying rations, not the rear, boldly invaded the central Peloponnese, the most loyal subordinate of Sparta, Arcadia, began to raid villages, plunder grain, destroy farmland, and repeatedly ambushed the Arcadian army that rushed to attack them, and finally caused the Arcadians to dare not fight with them, and could not ignore their frenzied sabotage, so they could only ask for help from Agosilaus.

Agosilaus was embarrassed when he received the Acadians' request for help, and the Spartan coalition was feeling the strain of troops in the face of the attacking pressure of the enemy's morale, and the troops of Iphiclates were the most troublesome to him, and he already regarded this man as a fierce enemy in his heart: there were few soldiers sent to the rescue, and he was afraid that he would only be defeated by the cunning Athenian general; The number of people sent was large, and they feared that the enemy in Corinth would take advantage of the opportunity to counterattack.

But Arcadia had to be saved, because Sparta, the leader of the Peloponnesian League, was very different from Athens, the former leader of the Delian League.

Athens' attitude towards its allies can be described as domineering: collecting tribute, sending armed colonists, supporting democrats close to Athens, Athenian merchants have privileges in the allies, must go to the Athenian courts to settle disputes in the local area, and once they join the alliance and want to withdraw, they will be attacked by the Athenian army......

The attitude of the Spartans towards the allies was much better. As long as it is not betrayed, Sparta will often negotiate with the allies to decide affairs, this is because it has neither the huge population of Athens, nor the strong financial resources of Athens, nor the powerful navy of Athens, and even among the soldiers of the Spartan League, the real Spartan warriors will always occupy a minority, and Sparta only relies on the prestige established by the Spartan warriors for a hundred years, but without the allies, Sparta can do nothing. Therefore, although after the defeat of Athens, the Spartans became more coquettish and domineering, and their attitude towards allies changed, the essence remained the same - Sparta needed allies.

As king, Agosilaus knew this very well, so he finally decided to return to Sparta, explain to the Council of Elders the reasons for the frustration of the war during this time, and ask the Council to send reinforcements to Arcadia.

……………………………………

Early the next morning, as soon as Davers had finished breakfast, the captain of the guard, Maltius, entered the tent: "Your Majesty, Midorides asks to see you." ”

Davers's heart moved: "Let him in." ”

Midorides walked into the big tent with a worried expression, and immediately knelt down on one knee: "Your Majesty, I have come to ask you for my guilt!" Yesterday after your order, I sent additional ships to patrol the port of Siritin, and as you might expect, in the middle of the night an enemy ship did rush out of the harbor, and our ships did their best to block it, but the enemy was skilful in handling it, and escaped from our encirclement and fled south. Our two clippers have been in pursuit, and no news has been sent back so far......"

"Why did the people of Syracuse risk sailing late at night to escape the blockade of the Dionian fleet?" Henipolis, the clerk on the side, remembered yesterday's conversation with Davers and couldn't help shouting: "Dionysius! It must have been Dionysius who had run! ”

Midorides was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly looked at Davers, only to see that the wise young king's brows were slightly furrowed, and then he stretched out again, and said with a smile: "Don't rush to conclude that Dionysius has run away based on this piece of information alone. Midorades, the sea outside the port of Siritting is so wide, even if all our warships are put on the table, it may not be able to fill up, not to mention that it is only possible to send four or five clippers to patrol at night, and the enemy has the intention of escaping, and the fleet cannot be stopped. ”

"Your Majesty!" Midorades was grateful for Davers' understanding.

"But the ships of the enemy broke in and broke out, as if our fleet did not exist, this is a humiliation to the Dionian fleet! It's a humiliation to every Dionian sailor and captain! Davers's expression became serious: "Our fleet can't be complacent because of many victories over Syracuse, forgetting that our handling skills of a single warship or the tacit understanding of the formation transformation and cooperation of the entire fleet are not as good as Syracuse, and the guarantee for our fleet's many victories is only 'crows', relying on the strength of the legion!" ……”

Davers's words made Midorades' face flush, and he said ashamedly: "Your Majesty, please rest assured! When I get back, I will definitely step up the training of the fleet with Lord Sekerian, and in a year's time...... No, after half a year, you will see a noticeable increase in the level of the Dionian fleet! ”

Davers nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good, I look forward to seeing an even more powerful Dionian fleet in half a year!" ”

Then he said, "Get up, Midorades. If we punish our heavy admirals just because one or two enemy ships have escaped, I am afraid that it will not be long before Dionia will be left with a good naval commander. ”

Davers's joke eased Midorades' nervousness a little, and he stood up and asked hesitantly, "But Dionysius—"

Davers interrupted him: "It's not your concern. What you have to do now is to tighten the guard on the harbor and prevent the escape of the Syracuse fleet. At the same time to send 30 three-layer oared warships to Lijim as soon as possible, Sekerian's fleet needs to be strengthened in order to gain Sicilian superiority at sea, can it be done in two days? ”

"It won't take two days, Your Majesty. I'll be able to get the ships I need to Lijim today. Midorades made an immediate commitment.

After seeing off the admiral, Henipolis hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, what if Dionysius really escapes?!" ”

Davers had already made a decision on this issue at this moment, and he said unhurriedly: "What are you panicking about! Dionysius has fled, which means that the battle in Greater Greece is over, and it is good for us! ”

"But in Sicily, the First Legion and Your Majesty's plan for the rebellion you have laid out there will probably be affected!" When Davers sent the First Army to Sicily, Henipolis had heard Davers talk about his plans in Sicily, and at this moment he expressed his concern.

Davers looked at him and said softly: "Heni, you overestimate Dionysius, no matter how strong he is, don't forget that the entire army he brought with him was left in Great Greece, and he fled back to Syracuse alone, but he became a deserter!" What will the bereaved people of Syracuse think?! What will the people of the Sicilian allies think?! Although I don't know what the situation has been in Sicily in the past two days, it will definitely not be easy for Dionysius to calm the anger of the people! He ruled Syracuse and Sicily by great force, and now most of his army remained here—"

Davers pointed to the city of Silitin in front of him and said with a sneer: "Without enough troops, can he still suppress the people of Syracuse who want to overthrow him?!" ”

Henipolis' eyes lit up: "So it's a good thing that Dionysius fled!" ”

Davos was silent for a moment, in fact, his words were reassuring himself: Dionysius dared to flee alone, there must be a way to deal with the predicament of Syracuse, after all, he had been operating in Sicily for many years, and once he managed to escape back, Davers's plan to disrupt Sicily might fail, and maybe even allow the tyrant to lead reinforcements to attack Greater Greece after annihilating the First Legion......

Therefore, Davers had a sense of urgency in his heart, and he said: "First of all, we must make sure that Dionysius has escaped!" ”

To this end, he summoned Izzam of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade and asked him to send soldiers to keep an eye on the movements in the city from all directions of the city and report back at any time.

For the whole morning, the city of Cilitin remained calm, no envoys were sent to the Dionian camp to sue for peace, not even the Syracuse scouts who had been cruising in front of the city every day before, only the number of soldiers at the head of the city remained unchanged, but Dionysius, who usually appeared at the head of the city every morning to observe the enemy's situation, did not appear today......

After learning about these situations, Davers had a bottom in his heart.

In the afternoon, he again sent soldiers from the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade to shout in front of the city of Silitin: "Syracuse, you are here to defend the city conscientiously, but your tyrant Dionysius has fled!" ”

"Surrender the people of Syracuse! Dionysius has abandoned you, and what are you still fighting for! ”

"Why did Dionysius run away?! Because our 1st Dionian Army has captured Sikuli, Katanai, and is now attacking Syracuse! If Dionysius doesn't run away, he won't be able to return home! ”

"We didn't deceive you, did you see our First Legion when you attacked our camp yesterday?! No, right! They have already landed in the Bay of Naxos! Dionysius blocked the news just to make it easier for him to escape! ”

"Dionysius didn't appear in the city today, didn't he! He's already running! If you don't believe him, go to his tent and see if he's still there. ”

……

The shouts of the Dionian soldiers below the city were like throwing boulders into a calm pool, splashing countless waves.