Some people have already retreated, suggesting that Crotone has enough for Lockrie, and now it has an even more powerful ally, and Lockley is no match at all, and should withdraw his army immediately!

At the same time, there are many people who oppose it, thinking: This is a rare opportunity to beat Crotone! Moreover, Dioonia and Crotone are defensive allies and should not send troops to interfere. Moreover, Dioonia has just ended the war, the losses should be not small, and the hatred with the Crotone people cannot be cleared immediately, and they cannot do their best to help Crotone, so they should take this opportunity to attack quickly!

The two sides were at loggerheads, and it was not until Chief General De Mordocas brought the good news that "Syracuse had agreed to help" that the council turned into joy and agreed to continue the war.

By the time Theopantos was sent to attack Crotone's territory, the Lockry Councillors were still mostly hoping that Dionysa would not send troops, so the council did not even finalize the specific measures of "what should Lockry do in the event of Dionya sending troops".

And now, the Diopanians were waiting for the front, and Diopantos had no idea for a while: fight?! …… That would mean war with the Ionian Alliance! As a member of the council, he knew in his heart that the reason for the wishful thinking of the council of Lockrie was that they were too eager to defeat Crotone, so they could not accept the existence of any variables, and Dioonia was undoubtedly the biggest variable, being able to defeat Crotone, who Lockri had been unable to defeat, coupled with the triumphant scene that Metrophinis described in Turri, made Diopantos a little afraid, if he launched an attack here, causing Dioonia to join the war and expand this war, Although Lockry's ally Syracuse agreed to help, it was now at war with Carthage in full swing, and it was impossible to give more help than a little naval aid, so the council would surely take the blame for the final defeat of the war on their own heads.

But if you don't fight?! …… Retreating like this not only damages his honor, but also damages the prestige of the city-state of Lockley, and he will be blamed for going back......

While Diopantos was hesitating, some of the soldiers were the first to clamour.

"Ionians, don't be complacent! If you let us retreat, will we retreat?! Tell you, we don't retreat! ”

"That's right, we Rockley aren't easy to mess with! Lockry has been in Greater Greece for hundreds of years, what is Dionia? I've never heard of it! ”

"We just won't retreat, what do you dare to do to us!"

……

The clamor of the soldiers made Diopantus anxious and angry: he had no more than a thousand men in his hands, and a small half of them were sailors. Along the way, many soldiers dragged sheep and cattle, looted a lot of supplies, their eyes were all blinded by greed, and they no longer looked like soldiers, and they still had the courage to compete with the Dionians?!

Diopantus had the idea of retreating, but he did not give an order, the other party had already sounded a rhythmic drum, and the still phalanx moved, making a relatively neat "whoosh" footsteps, like a thick iron wall pressing straight over, and the Lockley soldiers who had just shouted immediately were immediately silent.

Diopantus sighed and said, "Retreat!" ”

As soon as the order was given, before the trumpet sounded, the Lockley soldiers had already turned and ran backwards, and the formation was all scattered.

Diopantus was completely unable to stop the chaotic and frantic retreat of the soldiers, as if death was chasing after him, and he just wanted to flee as quickly as possible, and discarded the looted items......

Arcistes did not expect to force the Lockley people back so easily, he sent a small number of soldiers to clean up the battlefield, leading the army to follow the Rockley without delay, until they saw them scrambling to get on the ship and sail away from the coast, then led the soldiers back, and then returned all the looted supplies to the Crotoneans, who were ambivalent and came to express their gratitude, which made the Crotonians both grateful and ashamed.

Theopantos, of course, was not willing to return to Lokry, and after a voyage south, he landed on the shores of Siritin, which was not yet an ally of Dionia......

…………………

In Sparta, there is a building that occupies a very large area, with unpretentious stone pillars supporting a sheltered roof, ventilated on three sides, a kitchen on one side, and a vast hall filled with long wooden tables and chairs, which is the canteen of Spartan citizens.

When it was time to eat, Spartans gathered here from all directions, lined up in turn, received their share of the "public meal", and then ate in the canteen, which could serve 500 people at a time. On a sunny day, the table was even set on the grass, and thousands of Spartan citizens, young and old, regardless of rank, ate together and ate roughly the same food, thus reflecting the equality of Spartan citizens and emphasizing their unity at all times. And the Spartans, who emphasized discipline and obedience, made this grand dining scene always orderly, which was the Spartan famous Greek public dining system.

The food they received was not free, but had to be produced by the "allotment" distributed by the city-state to the citizens, and paid to the city-state in order to enjoy the public meal. It is said that it is the citizen's own "share of land", in fact, the citizen itself does not have the right to use, but is managed by the city-state, and the black labor is used to work hard, and once the citizen loses the "share" and cannot pay the output, he loses the right to participate in the public meal, and thus becomes the marginal people of the city-state (that is, the Piriathi), so the public meal system created by the Spartans is not only a dining system, an important political activity, but also the certification of Spartan citizenship.

Since the Peloponnesian War, the Spartan canteen has been difficult to recreate the spectacle of a thousand people dining, citizens have been out on a long campaign, and with death, the number of people who have eaten here at a time has never exceeded 500, even after the victory in the war, the number has not recovered, because the Spartan fleet patrols the Aegean Sea, and some of the important geographical city-states conquered by Sparta need Spartan garrisons to maintain loyalty, although most of these soldiers are mercenaries, Pirias, Helots, But authentic Spartan citizens were bound to serve as commanders and senior officers.

On this day, there were no more than 100 Spartan citizens dining in the restaurant.

Phoebidas sat at the table, munching on the bread in his hand, thinking about the recent accession of the new king, and the fact that Agesilaus had become king, to the surprise of many people, but he was happy, because Agesilaus had several intimate contacts with him, and he thought that a kind and wise man would be a good king.

"Hey, lo and behold! There are two damn black Laus over there! A man at the table next to him suddenly shouted, following the direction of his finger, Phoebidas saw the two men at the opposite table who were eating and their expressions immediately became a little unnatural, although they were also naked, but in terms of body shape and skin color, they were different from real Spartan citizens.

"That's the new citizens. To be able to enjoy a public meal means that they have gained enough meritorious service in the war, and to be able to impress the conservative old men in the council, grant them freedom and citizenship, and give them a share of the land, which is quite not easy! For true warriors, we should respect! The other man said softly.

"Hmph, who knows if it was Lysander's hands and feet?! However, during the war, he used his power to defeat Athens and turned many Picias and a few Helots into Spartan citizens! The man lowered his voice and said indignantly.

"No matter how brave we Spartans were, we could not withstand the casualties caused by the frequent battles, and without these new citizens, we would not have been able to achieve victory over Athens."

"But look at how many of these people are real Spartans, while several of my comrades-in-arms have temporarily lost their citizenship rights and become inferior because they cannot pay their share of the public meals! …… If this continues, will Sparta still be Sparta?! ”

"Hmm...... You're ...... right."

"I tell you, we ......," the man whispered as he leaned close to his other companion.

The Spartans were always silent, especially during meals, and this citizen not only talked a lot, but also exchanged ears, and it was difficult not to attract the attention of Phoebedas, and just as he turned his head to see who this man was, someone tapped him on the shoulder: "Phoebidas, King Agecilaus invites you to come." ”

"Okay." Phoebe Das immediately stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth, drank the cereal porridge in one gulp, wiped his mouth, stood up and followed the guards towards the front of the cafeteria, he subconsciously looked back at the man just now, he had finished his meal, left the restaurant, and could only see his back.

Phoebidas shook his head, dispelled the doubts in his heart, and came to the new king of Sparta. At this time, Agosilaus was different from him before, a little more calm, and a little more majestic.

Phoebeidas saluted respectfully.

"Sit down, Phoebedas." Agosilaus looked at him with a smile: "You and I are old friends, don't be so polite!" ”

After listening to this, Phoebidas really stopped being humble and sat down directly opposite Agosilaus.

"Have you eaten enough? Not enough, I still have it here. Agecilaus said, pushing a plate over.

The king of Sparta had to attend the same public meal, and the food was no different from that of other citizens, and the only privilege was that he could receive a double public meal, not to let the king eat more, but that the king of Sparta could use the extra meal to invite others to eat together, not necessarily Spartan citizens, but even Gentiles. It was in this way that the previous king, Archis, entertained Alcibiades.

The public feast in Sparta was not actually delicious, but it was a political expression, which meant that the invited person became the king's guest of honor, so that the king of Sparta could use this power to win over the people, resolve conflicts, and cultivate cronies...... And today, Agosilaus gives this glory to Phoebedas.