However, today, the Spartan warriors were surprised to see that the Gulf of Ragnia was filled with dense ships, and the heavily armed Dionian soldiers kept coming down from the ships, and the entire coast of Sparta was crowded with people.

The shock in their hearts is incomprehensible, they have seen the tens of thousands of Dionian troops before, and deeply feel the huge gap in their numbers, but they did not expect that this time the Dionian soldiers came more, and by no means indiscriminately, because in the eyes of these battle-hardened Spartan warriors, these Dionian soldiers are not only well-armed, but also they are orderly and disciplined, and they should have a certain combat effectiveness.

Among the Spartans who saw this was Agosilaus, whose heart suddenly fell to the bottom, and despair drowned him like a tidal wave, and he shook his body and was about to fall, and was held up by Xenophon, who was quick to do so.

"Don't worry...... There is still hope......" Xenophon whispered comfort.

Agesilaus looked at the black and oppressive shore, and was silent for a long time, before a hoarse sigh came out: "May Zeus bless ......"

Xenophon also looked at the bustling shore, although he had seen the prosperity of the center of the Dionian kingdom, but at this moment he witnessed the strength of the Dionian army, his mood was also very uneasy, and he suddenly remembered what Davos had said decades ago when he parted with him, "He wants to establish a new nation in the western Mediterranean, and invites him to join...... Xenophon was unimpressed at the time, but now it seems that Davers has fulfilled his promise.

At this moment, Xenophon suddenly felt a little regret......

The Spartans watched in horror as the Dionian reinforcements arrived, while the garrison generals such as Klotocátectas and Printors happily welcomed the reinforcements led by Patroclus into Sparta.

After taking a general tour of the main scenery of the city, a group of people entered the heavily guarded council hall and held a military meeting.

Crotocátus had wanted Patroclus to be at the top of the list, as he was the commander-in-chief of the support army appointed by King Davers, and the reinforcements were much larger than the Dionian army stationed in Sparta, and they also had an important mission.

Patroclus was supposed to be the youngest commander of the army since the establishment of the Holy Kingdom of Dionia, and during the Gallic Wars, the Roman governor Assistes had privately commented on him, saying that he was "a man of great military talent, but he was too young to ignore others." ”

But Patroclus, who had been honed in the Po region for several years and had long since passed his prime, was obviously much calmer than when he first became commander of the Fourteenth Legion, and after he was transferred back to Turiyi, Cynthia, who was in the throes of losing his brother, solemnly admonished him many times, making him understand that the current Klotocatax was no longer a mid-level official of the kingdom who had worked quietly and hard in Rome, but the successor of King Davers, and was focusing on cultivating his prestige in the army...... So he politely rejected Klotocatax's suggestion and insisted on sitting in the second seat.

After everyone was seated, Klotocatax coughed lightly and said loudly: "First of all, on behalf of the soldiers stationed in Messenia and Laconia, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you! During this time, the Greek coalition forces continued to attack us, and although the soldiers held the line steadily, the pressure was still not small, and your presence has strengthened their confidence! ”

Klotocactus paused, took out a letter from his bosom, and said solemnly: "Commander Patroclus has handed me a letter from His Majesty, and in my heart His Majesty has praised us for our excellent performance in the previous battle, and it is a great feat to be able to conquer Sparta, the overlord of Greece, in such a short time!" ”

Hearing this, Printors, Olivers, Trotilas and others all subconsciously straightened their chests.

Klotocatax's gaze swept over their faces, and finally fell on the somewhat absent-minded Chtistus, who continued in a gentle tone: "Your Majesty also mentioned, 'Although we have achieved the expected goal, the expeditionary army still paid a great price, but this is inevitable, after all, it is Sparta who dominates Greece by force, not the weak Tarantum, who fights against us, and many soldiers die in battle, but this is war! ’…… Your Majesty has been through a hundred battles and will not blame anyone for this! On the contrary, he encourages us to have no worries and continue to unite and fight with all our might, ultimately achieving the strategic goals set by the Kingdom! ”

Klotocatax's words made the garrison generals breathe a sigh of relief, especially Kthisus, whose face instantly looked much better.

Klotocatax was glad to see the effect of his words, and he knew very well that Adoris's death was not only for him, but also for the generals who fought in the Peloponnese, and especially for Certesus, whose remorse was on his face almost every day.

Crotocatacuses had no resentment towards Kritsus, only sympathy: he was already panicked as the commander of the war at that time, and Cuttus was able to take the right response in a relatively timely manner, thus ensuring that the First Legion was not routed by the Spartans and laying the foundation for the final victory of the battle. For this reason, he had a private private conversation with Quethus, but the effect was not obvious.

Fortunately, Davers wrote the letter in time, although the letter did not directly mention Adoris's name, but it also made Certesus feel his understanding and encouragement, so Certesus's entire mental state was changed.

Patroclus watched the scene in front of him silently, when he got the news of Adoris's death, he was indeed shocked and sad, but it was far less grief than his wife's, after all, the relationship between him and Adoris was not very good, and Adoris had an inexplicable hostility towards him, so the two had less contact.

At this moment, he was struck by the change in Crotocátaxques, with whom he had been in close contact with a few years earlier when he was a legionary commander in Rome, and who had the impression of a gentle, conscientious, industrious, and affable young prince, but when he saw him again to-day, there was a touch of the majesty of a superior in his speech and demeanor.

"Commander Patroclus." Klotokatax looked at his brother-in-law and said loudly: "Next, please tell us about the follow-up military plan that Your Majesty has discussed with the Ministry of Military Affairs!" ”

Patroclus came back to his senses, looked around, and said loudly: "After fighting here for more than three months, according to the latest military plan drawn up by Your Majesty, you still need to support yourself here for a while, because the army I am leading is not here to reinforce you-"

"What?!" Hearing this, Olivers, Tegtinos and other generals were surprised, while Printors was thoughtful.

Without waiting for them to ask, Patroclus continued: "The Ministry of War has deduced that the Peloponnese is not large, but there are many mountains, and if we fight the enemy head-on in Mesenia and Laconia, the superior forces cannot be fully deployed, and although we can repel them, we cannot better annihilate them. On the contrary, the retreat of the defeated Greek coalition to their own city-states will inevitably greatly prolong our conquest of Greece.

And our army wants to land on the flank of the Greek coalition forces and flank them, and the only one suitable for large-scale landing operations is Ellis, because our previous conquest of the islands of Zakynsus, Kailalonia and other islands has made them strengthen their defense of the coast, and the Greek coalition forces are just south of Ellis, and they can rush to reinforcements at any time, and the landing operation there will undoubtedly cost us a lot, and it may not be successful.

In addition, the Ministry of War received information that the Greek coalition forces had strengthened the defenses of the coasts of the Attica and Piosia regions...... But it's useless for them to do this, Your Majesty has already set the target of our raid—"

With a look of admiration, Patroclos said in an accentuated tone, "That's Thessaly!" It is reported that in the Greek coalition army, Thessaly's soldiers account for more than half, and the combat effectiveness is also the strongest, and it is the absolute main force of the Greek coalition army! We will take advantage of the emptiness in the rear to send a large army to quickly raid and occupy the whole territory of Thessaly, then the Thessalian army that is still fighting here will inevitably collapse without a fight, the Thessalian will retreat, and the Greek coalition will naturally collapse......"

Oliver and other generals suddenly realized when they heard this.

Printors showed a look of understanding, and cautiously reminded: "The Greek coalition knows that in Central Greece to strengthen the defense of the coast, it should not ignore Thessaly. ”

"Lord Printors is right, the War Ministry has received information from Philae that Iason has indeed sent troops to strengthen the defense of the southern coast of Philae." Patroclus did not dare to underestimate this resourceful and meritorious chief of staff of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and he explained earnestly: "But our main landing place is not in the east of Thessaly, but in Peleus, the Macedonian territory to the north, and Lamia to the south.

Although Macedonia did not join the Greek League, it lent troops to Sparta and Athens (in fact, it was a mercenary), and it was also our enemy of Dionia. The region of Lamia had only recently been forced to attach itself to Iason, and Peleus, far from the center of Thessaly, was not very strong, nor had much loyalty to Iason, and had not yet found them to have strengthened the defense of the coast......"

As he listened, Printors pondered the geography and sea conditions of the east coast of mainland Greece, pondered for a while, and then asked: "How many soldiers are there in total?" ”

"There were the 2nd Legion, the 3rd Legion, the 5th Legion, the 9th Legion, the 10th Legion, the 11th Legion, the 12th Legion, the 13th Legion, the 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Regiments, the Gallic Brigade (including 6,000 Gallic warriors and 2,000 Gallic cavalry), 2,000 Balearic Slingers...... The number of soldiers to be directly landed and fought reached 80,000. Patroclus said, suddenly remembering something: "By the way, counting the fleet infantry of the three fleets escorting us, there are nearly 100,000 combat soldiers in total!" ”

After Patroclus finished speaking, the eyes of the generals present widened: 100,000 soldiers are dispatched at one time, what a grand scene it will be!