Both Sekrian and the Athenian admirals breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time they were wary of the opposing fleet, after all, it was not easy for so many warships to be able to quickly stop advancing in a short period of time after receiving orders during the voyage, which meant that the country's navy had a well-organized command system and was well-trained.

After a while, a clipper ship came out of the Athenian fleet and headed straight for the Dionian fleet, and as it approached the Dionian warship, someone shouted on board: "The Athenian messenger wants to see the commander of the Dionian fleet!" ”

Twenty minutes later, the Athenian emissaries boarded the flagship of the First Fleet of Dionia.

"I'm Captain Secrian, Captain of the First Fleet of Dionia." Sekelian said aloud, looking at the comer: square face and high nose, thick eyebrows and big eyes, beard, wide forehead, medium build, not fat or thin, although the hair is a little gray, it seems to be about 50 years old, but the appearance is dignified, and it looks extraordinarily energetic.

"Chief General of Athens, Calistratus!" The messenger stared sharply at Secrean, his voice deep and magnetic, but his words sharp: "The 300,000 people of Athens have entrusted me to ask the general, is Dionya going to war on Athens?" ”

Sekrian didn't expect the other party to ask so directly, and hurriedly explained seriously: "You have misunderstood, Dionya has no ill will towards Athens!" We had to come to this bay after a convoy carrying grain for Sparta, and in order to avoid misunderstandings, our ships avoided the waters of Athens. ”

"No malice?" Callistratus sneered: "If our Athenian fleet sails in your bay of Taranto, will you Dioonians think that this fleet has come with good intentions, and will also warmly open the port of Turiyi and invite them in?" ”

Sekrian was speechless for a while, and before he could think of how to respond, he listened to the other party continue: "I think you should be a Greek, then you should know that the survival of our Greeks mainly depends on trade, and there have been constant wars in Greece for decades, and I don't know how many naval battles have happened, but the maritime trade of the city-states caught in the war is still going on, and few warships take the initiative to attack merchant ships, because the crew of every city-state knows that attacking merchant ships is digging the roots of the Greeks!" Corinth was just doing what every maritime city-state was supposed to do, and the ships that were brewed for Sparta were just keeping trade contracts, and the crews were just making some money for the sake of the family, and now they are being ...... by you."

Callistratus's rebellious accusations made Seclian feel a little aggrieved, and he quickly coughed dryly, and interrupted the other party impatiently: "Please stop talking about these irrelevant things, and tell me your intentions directly!" ”

A hint of contempt flashed in Calistratus's eyes, and he said in a calm but powerful tone: "After the war between Dioonia and Sparta, Sparta turned to Athens for help, and the Athenian people did not agree to the Spartans' request because of their relationship with Turi. I also hope that Dionya will take into account the friendly relations with Athens and not let the flames of war spread to Athens, and promise that your ships will not appear in the Aegean Sea again until this war is over! ”

Callistratus's words were full of threats, but Sekrian was not a person who would be threatened, he raised his eyebrows, and said in a deep voice: "Our warships will leave soon, but if there is still a fleet to transport troops and food to Sparta, we will come again!" ”

The two sides parted unhappily.

After Calistratus left by boat, a majestic trumpet sounded in the Dionian fleet, and the ships at the front of the Dionian fleet turned south, and the ships in the rear turned north one after another, and then began to move forward...... It didn't take long for the original layered ship formation to form two long columns again, drawing a large circle in front of the waiting Athenian fleet, and then returning along the original route.

The Athenian sailors listened to the roaring sound of oars ahead, watched as the Dionian ships turned nimbly, facing the bow of the Athenian ships, and then swaggered past them...... They were both surprised and angry at the audacity of the Dionians.

"The Dionians are demonstrating against us!" The temporarily appointed commander of the Athenian fleet, Cabrias, looked at the sea in front of him and said with a solemn expression: "But the Dionian fleet can change its formation so quickly with so many warships, if we have a war with Dionya in the future, their navy will pose a huge threat to Athens!" ”

Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Calistratus next to him, with a solemn expression, and asked in a low and powerful voice: "Now is the great time to defeat this fleet, do you want to attack?!" ”

Callistratus shook his head: "Athens did not declare war on Dionia, and the citizens were not ready, wait. ”

It wasn't until the whole fleet sailed out of the Gulf of Salong that Sekrian let go of his clenched fist, he took a sharp breath, and said loudly: "Order the fleet to sail east, through the island of Kithnos, and after reaching the vicinity of Delos, go straight south until you see Crete, and then return to the station." ”

"Yes!"

……………………………………………………

While the Dionian army was still camping in the territory of Maigalópolis, Archidamus, who received the news, immediately lifted the siege of Mandinia, led his army south, bypassed the city of Tigaia, and began to build camps on the border with Sparta in the south, and began to confront the Dionian army to the west.

Knowing that the siege of Mandinia had been lifted, at the suggestion of Printors, Klotocatax did not rush to lead his army eastward, but patiently continued to let the soldiers consolidate the camp.

Although the main forces of both sides were not moving, there was no peace between the two camps, and the fighting between the scouts on both sides occurred every day, including cavalry and reconnaissance infantry, and of course, the more professional and well-trained Ionian side had the upper hand, especially a small squad of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade raided a Spartan mercenary troop of about 20 people, creating an impressive record of killing and wounding six, killing four, and capturing two, while not suffering a single casualty...... All this put a lot of pressure on the Spartan mercenaries.

A few days later, the Spartan king Agosilaus led 7,000 soldiers out of northern Sparta and into the territory of Tegea, where he joined the Spartan mercenaries.

"Father, you're finally here!" Archidamus personally went out of the camp to greet him, and his face, which had been covered in gloom for the past few days, finally stretched out and showed a smile.

Although Agosilaus looked a little tired with his cane, his smile was even more cheerful: "Hard work, Azidams!" In order to fulfill your request, I have brought all the brave warriors of Sparta, and before I left, I went to the temple of Athena to make a sacrifice, and the oracle I received was a good omen! (Normally, the two kings of Sparta who had the right to sacrifice before the war would send people to Delphi to ask for an oracle, but now that the war is taking place on the northern border, it is very dangerous to go to Delphi, and there is no time to go, so they can only worship in the Acropolis of Sparta)"

"That's great!" Archidamus looked relieved.

Agosilaus looked around at the mercenary general standing behind Archidamus and said confidently: "Actually, even if there is no oracle, I firmly believe that this time Sparta will win!" Because in the past, as long as we Sparta sent a few hundred warriors and joined the troops of the coalition army, we could be in the city of Greece! Now, not only are we Spartans exhausted, but the army led by you, Archidamus, is also composed of the most elite soldiers from the city-states, and the two are combined, and this is the largest and most effective army I have led in all these years, and I am sure that no one can match it! ”

"That's right, King Agosilaus is right!" The mercenary generals shouted excitedly.

Then Archidamus introduced these mercenary generals to his father one by one, and Agosilaus talked with them cordially, and a few of them were people he knew, after all, he had been fighting in Asia Minor for many years 20 years ago, and he was very familiar with the situation there, so he knew the home state of each mercenary general well, and talked about it like a treasure, which made the generals feel cordial.

For such mercenary generals, Agosilaus is a living legend, he fought in the Persian territories by himself, and even made the Persians have been in an embarrassing situation of being beaten passively, and he took the initiative to sue for peace several times, and his charm also made many Greek city-states in Asia Minor willing to support them all the time, and many of his stories are still circulating in Asia Minor.

Therefore, the mercenary generals rushed to salute Agosilaus, proud to be able to talk to him, and the atmosphere was very warm for a while.

It was a long time before Agesilaus took their farewell to them, citing "some fatigue and need to rest", and followed Archidamus into the Chinese tent.

Entering the tent, Agosilaus threw away the wooden staff, and with the support of the servant, he slumped on a wooden chair, the smile on his face had disappeared, and his expression became serious: "What is the situation now? ”

"Father." Archidamus's expression was equally serious: "A small amount of grain was brought from the port of Corinth the day before yesterday, and yesterday there was no more grain from the north!" The Persians told me that Dionia's fleet was cruising the Aegean every day, and that any convoy carrying grain entering the Gulf of Sarong was to be intercepted and interrogated, and that several convoys had been captured, and that the Persians had to temporarily halt the delivery of grain. ”

vertex