When Sparta was in danger, Xenophon chose to stay. At this moment, he listened to the words of Agosilaus and felt a little surprised: "Let me serve as an envoy to Messenia?" ”

"This is my proposal, and the other elders have agreed." Agosilaus said solemnly: "It can be seen that everyone agrees that in such a difficult situation, only you can fulfill the duties of a good messenger!" ”

Xenophon did not feel complacent about this, but looked ashamed: "But the last time I went on an envoy to Turiyi...... It didn't work out well, and the Dioonians still declared war on Sparta......"

"It's not your fault!" Agosilaus comforted him, and then said in a deep voice: "In the period of time since we announced the end of the friendship agreement with Dionia, Dionya has been calm and there is nothing unusual, but when Thebes took the initiative to form an alliance with it, it may have made Dionia have the mind to send troops to the Peloponnese, of course, ......"

Agosilaus let out a long sigh and said with a heavy heart: "If we can defeat the Thebans in Leuktra, perhaps Dionysia will not send an army to invade Messenia...... When a male lion falls ill, even wild dogs come to bully him, not to mention that Dionya is a terrible beast...... Ay! I should have asked for the command of the army more proactively! ”

Xenophon knew that the defeat at the Battle of Leuktra had had a huge impact on Sparta, and many people resented Cleombrotus for his incompetence, and the Council of Elders had not yet held a funeral for him, and naturally had not yet chosen a new king from among the royal family of Eupontides, which of course had to do with the urgency of the situation and the lack of time to spare.

"Now that it has happened, no regret will help, we must face the reality and do our best to resolve the current crisis. Don't worry, I will do my best to complete the mission of this mission! In order to comfort the depressed Agosilaus, Xenophon immediately made a promise, but at the same time he also said with a serious expression: "You and I both know that the kingdom of Dionya is very powerful, and the last time I went to Turriyi, I was greatly shocked, even if this time we were finally able to repel the Dionian army and recapture Messenia...... But Sparta was not far from the Kingdom of Dionia, and Dionya was fully capable of continuing to send troops to invade the Peloponnese, so did Sparta want to keep fighting the war with Dionia? Even with the support of Persia, this is probably too much for Sparta to bear, right? ”

Agosilaus laboriously rubbed his forehead with his hand, and then whispered, "...... Now for Sparta, the most important thing is how to get through the current difficulties...... Didn't have time to think about the future......"

Xenophon was stunned for a moment, he looked at Agosilaus, who was half-lying on the wooden chair, and found that the wrinkled face of the half-warned king looked extremely old at this moment, and his eyes also revealed a little helplessness......

Xenophon suddenly realized that Agosilaus, whom he had always considered wise, was also powerless against the invasion of the Dionian army.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up the courage to suggest that Agosilaus should seriously consider making peace with the Dionian army of Messenia, after repelling it.

But at this moment, Archidamus walked into the living room: "Father, the Council of Elders has invited you to a meeting. ”

"I just came back from the venue, why do I have to have a meeting again?" Agosilaus was stunned.

"Dorios has returned, saying that he has brought important information."

"Dorios didn't die in battle?!" Agosilaus was surprised: according to the retreating warriors, Dorios had already saved his will to die in battle, so he remained alone in Messenia...... How is it still alive?

"I heard that he was released by the Dionians." Archidamus looked disdainful, and like most Spartan warriors, he was angry that Dorios had not led his soldiers to fight the enemy to the death, but had ordered the army to abandon Messenia, but Dorios had bravely chosen to stay, which made them feel a little less angry, but now that they learned that Dorios had not been killed in battle, and had become a prisoner of the Dionians, they were even more disdainful of him.

Agosilaus had agreed with Dorios's approach, and it took great courage and wisdom to dare to abandon Messenia in order to preserve strength rather than fight hard when the enemy was too strong and unprepared, so he also regretted that Dorios finally chose to die in battle.

"Go and get my staff!" Agosilaus said immediately, struggling to his feet.

"Father, you don't have to be in a hurry, they will wait patiently for you to go to the venue." Archidamus stepped forward to hold him.

Agosilaus wanted to get to the meeting as soon as possible, so as to protect Dorios and try to avoid being blamed and punished by the Ombudsmen, after all, these young Ombudsmen from ordinary citizens were not as old-fashioned and overly radical as the Elders.

With Agesilaus's current physical condition, it may be better to travel in a sedan chair, but in Sparta, where the whole people are martial, there is no habit of sitting in a sedan chair at all, but fortunately, Agosillaus's mansion is not far from the council, and with the support of his son, he staggered to the venue.

Along the way, they met many Spartan people, who greeted the respected king, and most of them anxiously asked Agosilaus: When will the citizens be gathered to kill Messenia and drive out the enemies there?!

Although they already knew that the Dionian army in Messenia was numerous, most of them, including the old men and women, were undaunted and were full of fighting spirit.

However, in spite of the excitement of the people, and after listening to the perfunctory words of Agosilaus, although they were somewhat dissatisfied, they did not dwell on it, and did not gather in protest as soon as something great happened, as in other city-states.

Before Agesilaus had even stepped into the council, he heard the inquisition's angry rebuke: "You are quibbling!" The plethora of Ionian soldiers who landed is not a reason for you to retreat without a fight! Why don't you learn Bernacida! When the Athenians landed in Messenia, even though the number of soldiers he led was far less than the other side, he still chose to fight without hesitation, and finally won a great victory! Compared to him, you are not only cowardly, but also incompetent! I don't know how you got into the King's Guard......"

Agosilaus hurried inside, and the moment he stepped into the venue, he immediately felt that the whole atmosphere was something unusual: the hall suddenly fell silent, and both the elders and the Inquisitors focused their eyes on him, and their eyes were very strange.

"What do you say?! The commander of the Dionian army in Messenia was Leoticides?!! After listening to Dorios's story, Agosilaus shouted in disbelief.

Looking at King Agosilaus, who was so distracted, Dorios said in a deep voice with mixed feelings: "Although the Dionian soldiers call him Prosious, he is indeed Leoticides!" I've been training with him since I was a kid and I'll never admit my mistake, and he admitted it himself! ”

"Prosous......" Agosilaus was a little dazed, and he now knew why everyone in the room looked weird.

"According to what we know before, Prosous was once the commander of the Eighth Legion of the Kingdom of Dionia, and once led the army to defeat the Carthaginians many times in the war between Dionya and Carthage, and made great contributions to Dionia's victory over Carthage, so he became the commander of the First Legion of the Dionians, who claimed to be the 'strongest army' after the war......

He also led an army to conquer the fierce indigenous Gauls of northern Italy, so he was called by the Dioonians 'the most victorious general after King Davers and Alexis', but he was actually a Spartan, and he was also the son of Akis! "It was Praxitas who spoke, the Spartan elder who was almost 70 years old, who had been the regent of the royal family of Eulipontides, and had been against Agosilaus before, but the defeat of the Battle of Leuctra made many people complain about the royal family of Eurichotidas, and Plaxitas was much quieter in the council. Don't even think about going there!

"Since Dorios said that this Leoticides grew up in Sparta and left at the age of 23, he must still have some feelings for us Sparta, and I wonder if we can send a messenger to try to persuade him to take some action in our favor?" One of the Ombudsmen glanced at Agosilaus, then suggested.

"You're young and don't know what was going on." One of the senators said, "The citizens of Sparta will not leave their homeland unless they are expelled for their mistakes." Leoticides must have fled Sparta with great resentment, I even think...... The reason why Dioonia declared war on us Sparta, I am afraid that he played no small role in it. With that, he also looked at Agosilauth.

"I think...... Leoticides would not have taken the initiative to encourage Dionysa to attack Sparta......" Dorios also looked at Agosilaus and said hesitantly, "But he did tell me that he had come for revenge......"

Almost everyone in the room subconsciously took into account Agosilaus when discussing this topic. They knew that Leoticides had become what he is today and that he was closely related to Agosilaus, but none of them dared to point it out directly to his face, including Praxitas. This had to do with the great prestige that Agesilaus had built up in Sparta over the decades, and also to the fact that Cleombrotus had died in battle, another new king had not yet ascended the throne, and the people were more dependent on the capable Agesilaus.