When Sparta faced a crisis, Xenophon chose to stay. At this moment, he was a little surprised to hear Agesilaus' words. "You want me to be the messenger to Mersenia?"
"This is my suggestion, and the other elders have also expressed their agreement," Agesilaus said solemnly. Agesilaus said solemnly, "It can be seen that everyone agrees that in such a difficult situation, only you can perform the duties of a messenger!"
Xenophon did not feel proud of this. Instead, he looked ashamed. "But the last time I went to Turií … the results were not good. Diónia still declared war on Sparta …"
"It's not your fault!" Agesilaus comforted him, then said in a low voice, "Ever since we announced the end of the friendly agreement with Diónia, Diónia appeared to be peaceful. There were no abnormalities. It was only when the Thebes took the initiative to form an alliance that Diónia had the intention to send troops to Peloponnesus. Of course …"
Agesilaus sighed and said with a heavy heart, "If we could defeat the Thebes in Leuctra, perhaps Diónia would not have sent troops to invade Mersenia … When a lion falls ill, even wild dogs will come to bully it. Moreover, Diónia is a terrifying beast … Sigh! I should have taken the initiative to ask for the right to command the army! "
Xenophon knew that the crushing defeat in the battle of Leuctra had a huge impact on Sparta. Many people resented Cleombrotus for his incompetence. The Elder Council had not held a funeral for him until now, and naturally had not chosen a new king from the Eulipontides royal family. Of course, this had to do with the urgency of the situation and the lack of time.
"Since it has already happened, there is no point in regretting it. We must face reality and do our best to solve the current crisis. Don't worry, I will also do my best to complete this mission! " In order to comfort the depressed Agesilaus, Xenophon immediately made a promise. At the same time, he said with a serious expression, "You and I both know that the Kingdom of Diónia is powerful. The last time I went to Turií, it gave me a great shock. Even if we can finally defeat the Dionysian Army this time and recapture Mersenia … Sparta is not far from Diónia. Diónia is fully capable of sending troops to invade Peloponnesus. Does Sparta want to keep fighting with Diónia? Even with Persia's support, I'm afraid Sparta will not be able to bear it.
Agesilaus stroked his forehead with great effort. After a while, he said in a low voice, "… For Sparta, the most important thing now is to get through the current crisis … There is no time to think about the future …"
Xenophon was stunned. He looked at Agesilaus, who was half-lying on the wooden chair. He realized that the wrinkled face of this king who had been fighting for half his life looked especially old at this moment. There was also a hint of helplessness in his eyes …
Xenophon suddenly realized that Agesilaus, whom he had always thought was wise and farsighted, also felt helpless against the invasion of the Dionysian Army.
He hesitated for a while, and finally mustered up the courage to suggest that Agesilaus should seriously consider making peace with Mersenia after defeating the Dionysian Army.
But at this moment, Archidamus walked into the living room. "Father, the Elder Council has invited you for a meeting."
"I just came back from the meeting. Why is there a meeting again?" Agesilaus was stunned.
"Dorios is back. He said he brought important information."
"Dorios did not die in battle?!" Agesilaus was surprised. According to the soldiers who had retreated, Dorios had the intention to die in battle, so he stayed in Mersenia alone … How was he still alive?
"I heard that he was released by the Diónia." Archidamus had a look of disdain on his face. Like most of the Sparta soldiers, he was furious that Dorios did not lead the soldiers to fight the enemy to the death, but instead ordered the army to abandon Mersenia. However, Dorios bravely chose to stay, which reduced their anger slightly. But now that they knew that Dorios did not die in battle, and had become a prisoner of the Diónia, they were even more disdainful of him.
Agesilaus had once expressed his approval of Dorios's actions. In a situation where the enemy was too strong and unprepared, it required great courage and wisdom to dare to abandon Mersenia to preserve their strength instead of fighting head-on. So he had once regretted that Dorios ultimately chose to die in battle.
"Quick, bring me my wooden staff!" Agesilaus said immediately, at the same time struggling to stand up.
"Father, you don't have to be too anxious. They will wait patiently for you to reach the meeting." Archidamus quickly went forward to support him.
Agesilaus wanted to reach the meeting as soon as possible to protect Dorios and avoid the censors' criticism and punishment. After all, these young censors who were born as ordinary citizens were not as mature and prudent as the elders, and they were too radical in their actions.
With Agesilaus's current physical condition, it might be better to travel in a sedan chair, but in Sparta, where everyone worshiped martial arts, there was no habit of taking a sedan chair at all. Fortunately, Agesilaus's mansion was not far from the meeting. With his son's help, he hobbled to the meeting.
They met many Spartans along the way, and they all greeted the respected king. Most of them asked Agesilaus anxiously, "When are we going to gather the citizens, attack Messenia, and chase away the enemies there?"
Even though they already knew that the Dionysian Army in Mersenia had a large number of people, most of them, including the elderly and women, were not afraid. Instead, they were full of fighting spirit.
However, even though the people were agitated, after hearing Agesilaus' perfunctory words, although they were somewhat dissatisfied, they did not pester him endlessly. They were not like the other city-states, where the citizens gathered to protest at the council whenever something major happened.
Before Agesilaus stepped into the meeting, he heard the censor's angry reprimand. "You're quibbling! The fact that there are too many Diónia soldiers on land is not a reason for you to retreat without a fight! Why don't you learn from Bernarda! When the people of Athens landed in Mersenia, even though the number of soldiers he led was far less than the opponent, he still chose to fight without hesitation, and in the end, he won! Compared to him, not only are you weak, but you're also useless! I don't know how you were selected into the King's Guards … "
Agesilaus hurriedly walked in, and the moment he stepped into the meeting, he immediately felt the atmosphere was a little strange. The meeting suddenly became quiet, and both the elders and censors focused their attention on him, and their gazes were very strange.
"What did you say?! The commander of the Dionysian Army in Mersenia is Leotychides?!! "After listening to Dorios, Agesilaus shouted in disbelief.
Looking at King Agesilaus, who rarely lost his composure, Dorios said with a deep voice, "Even though the Diónia soldiers call him Prososus, he is indeed Leotychides! I've been training with him since I was young, I would never mistake him, and he admitted it himself! "
"Prososus …" Agesilaus was a little absent-minded. He now knew why everyone in the meeting had a strange expression.
"According to what we know, Prososus was once the commander of the Eighth Legion of the Kingdom of Diónia. He once led the army in the war between Diónia and Carthage to defeat Carthage many times, and made great contributions to Diónia's victory over Carthage. Therefore, after the war, he became the commander of the First Legion, which the people of Diónia claim to be the 'strongest army' …
He also once led the army to conquer the fierce indigenous Gauls of northern Italy, so he was known by the people of Diónia as' the most victorious general after the King of Devers and Alexis'. I didn't expect him to be a Sparta, and the son of Arcis! " The one who spoke was Praxitas, a nearly 70-year-old Sparta elder who was once the regent of the Eulipontes Royal Family. In the past, he had always been against Agesilaus, but the defeat of the Leuctra Battle had caused many people to complain about the Eulipontes Royal Family. In the meeting, Praxitas was much quieter. It was rare for such a strange thing to make Agesilaus suffer, so he couldn't wait to stand up and speak. With a gloating expression, he said, "Our Eulipontes Royal Family is not in a good situation, and your Agidai Royal Family won't be any better!"
"Since Dorios said that this Leotychides grew up in Sparta and only left at the age of 23, he should still have some feelings for our Sparta. I think we can send an emissary to persuade him to take some actions that are beneficial to us?" A censor glanced at Agesilaus and suggested.
"You are still young and don't understand the situation back then." An elder said, "The citizens of Sparta will not leave their hometown unless they commit a crime and are banished from the city. Leotychides must have escaped from Sparta with extreme resentment. I even think … he might have played a big role in Diónia's declaration of war against Sparta. "With that, he looked at Agesilaus.
"I don't think … Leotychides would take the initiative to instigate Diónia to attack Sparta …" Dorios looked at Agesilaus and said hesitantly, "But he did tell me personally that he came for revenge …"
Almost everyone in the meeting would subconsciously consider Agesilaus when discussing this topic. They knew that Leotychides's current situation was closely related to Agesilaus, but no one dared to directly point it out, including Praxitas. This had something to do with the great reputation that Agesilaus had built in Sparta over the past few decades. It also had something to do with the fact that Cleombrotus had died in battle and another king had yet to ascend the throne. The people were more reliant on the capable Agesilaus.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
