The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe Chapter 238: Agesilaus’s Intentions

Phoebidas gladly accepted. Still a little hungry, he took another piece of bread, sared it with honey, and began to chew heartily.

Agesilaus patiently waited for him to finish before saying, "Could you please tell the details of your last mission to Magna Graecia?"

Phoebidas perked up. After all, when he returned to report to the Council of Elders, they had been preoccupied with the funeral and the selection of a new king, paying little attention to other matters.

Just as Phoebidas had briefly recounted his mission to Magna Graecia, the new king of Sparta expressed concern for Dionia. Phoebidas imdiately recounted the Dionysian mission in detail, without exaggeration.

Agesilaus, head propped up on one hand and his limp leg stretched out, listened attentively, a thoughtful look on his face.

When Phoebedas finished speaking, he said, "It seems that the Dionysians have embarrassed you, and you don’t have a good impression of them."

"I am angry because Dionysia lacks due respect for Sparta, but personally—" Phoebedas paused for a mont, showing a strange expression, and said truthfully: "In fact, I admire Dionysia..."

"Oh?" Agesilaus was a little surprised: "Why?"

"Perhaps it’s because of the toughness they showed..." Phoebidas recalled the situation at that ti and sighed: "Although I only made a brief stop in Thurii in a hurry and did not have in-depth contact with the citizens of Dionia, but I feel that... the Dionysian soldiers are also very disciplined. I even heard that the Dionysian Senate held a celebration ceremony for the victorious generals and soldiers. The feeling I get... the feeling I get..."

Phoebidas pondered and blurted out: "Dionysia is like the Sparta of Magna Graecia..."

Teacher Agassiz was stunned, then laughed jokingly; "You actually compare a city-state alliance ruled by a tyrant to our Sparta, where citizens are equal and free." "

Although Dionysia has only one consul, and he is lifelong, they still have a Senate. And from my experience in the Dionysian Senate, those senators seem to be able to influence the formulation of Dionysia’s laws. The relationship between the consul and the senators... uh... how to put it? Anyway, it’s not like Syracuse, where Dionysius has the final say!" Phoebidas said seriously.

"You seem to have a bad impression of Syracuse." Agesilaus glanced at him and said.

"I don’t think anyone would be pleased to hear that Syracuse could mobilize such a massive force to attack Carthage!" Phoebidas said bluntly. "Those tens of thousands of infantry aren’t a big deal; the key is that he also has thousands of cavalry and a fleet no less formidable than ours! Dionysius is an ambitious man!" Agesilaus

smiled at him. "Phoebidas, I’m glad you see that! It was only in the latter stages of the war with Athens that we began to focus on the West. It was through our alliance with Syracuse that Sparta was able to intervene in Western affairs. Carthage was the Persians’ ally in the western diterranean, and we needed an ally there to suppress Carthage and protect Sparta’s rear. That’s why we supported Syracuse, and it also allowed Sparta to gradually deepen its influence among the Greek powers in the west. However, Sparta’s past actions, blindly allowing Syracuse to expand and annex the Greek forces in Sicily, could ultimately cause us trouble. We don’t want our ally to be too weak, but we also don’t want it to be too powerful."

"Respected King Agesilaus, you are right! But now, Carthage still has the advantage in Sicily, and our Spartan power is concentrated in Asia Minor. At this ti, we should continue to support Syracuse for the ti being." Phoebidas understood the implicit aning of Agesilaus’ words, but he still considered the city-state and spoke frankly.

"We don’t need to do anything. The force that can curb Syracuse’s expansion has already erged." Agesilaus was not unhappy. Instead, he smiled at him with relief and said, "It’s Dionia that made you unhappy before." "

Dionia?!" Phoebidas was surprised at first, then shook his head: "It can’t be compared with Syracuse at all. Whether it’s territory, population, trade or military power, Syracuse is much stronger than it."

"That’s true now, but Dionia is expanding very fast." Agesilaus said this with a complicated look: "I just received news from Magna Graecia that Dionia defeated Crotone, forced Crotone to cede territory, and signed an alliance treaty with it..."

"When did this happen?!" Phoebidas widened his eyes. Not long after he left Magna Graecia, Dionia actually defeated Crotone again? !

Phoebidas looked incredulous: "Crottone is obviously stronger than Dionia, and the Crotonese should not make the sa mistake again this ti. How could it be..."

"100 years ago, before the war between Hyperis and Crotone, many Greek city-states also thought so, but the weak Crotone won!" Agesilaus sighed: "Cherithops is right. Davos is a military genius. Although Sparta missed him regretfully, it would not be bad to let him lead Dionia to fight against Syracuse."

"Dionia will definitely clash with Syracuse?" Phoebidas was still thinking about how Dionia defeated Crotone, and was a little absent-minded, so he replied without paying much attention, with a strong tone of doubt.

Agesilaus didn’t care. He said, "Now that Syracuse has occupied eastern Sicily, with our support and its own considerable strength, driving Carthage out of eastern Sicily shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s even possible...to completely expel Carthage from Sicily. Even if that’s not possible, Syracuse will surely beco the leader of the Greek city-states in Sicily. As you said, Dionysius is an ambitious man. Will he be satisfied with this?" Agesilaus said, dipping his finger in oatal and drawing a simple map of Sicily on the dining table.

Phoebidas shook his head.

"Will he lead his troops into Africa?" Agesilaus asked.

Phoebidas shook his head vigorously. Are you kidding? That’s Carthage’s stronghold, a place they’ve maintained for centuries. If Syracuse dared to send troops to Africa, Carthage would surely make them vanish without return, just like the Spartan army led by Dolius, King Cleones’s brother, exiled a century earlier.

"Then the only place Syracuse can expand its influence is here—" Agesilaus casually sketched a rough outline above Sicily. "Magna Graecia, separated from Sicily by only a narrow strait, and both are Greek city-states. Dionysius has always been cruel to his fellow Greeks..."

"You’re right," Phoebidas nodded. He and Agesilaus hadn’t considered mainland Greece east of Sicily. They believed that Dionysius, no matter how daring, would not dare to offend these powerful and ti-honored states of mainland Greece.

"Dionysia has now subjugated Crotone. South of Crotone, the only powerful city-states left are Locri and Ligim. Locri is allied with Syracuse and a sworn enemy of Crotone, while Crotone is now allied with Dionysia. Therefore, a conflict between Dionysia and Syracuse is only a matter of ti..." Agesilaus analyzed.

Phoebidas stared at the table and shook his head. "Dionysia is still too weak."

"As soon as Dionysius’s army sets foot on Magna Graecia, I’m afraid all the city-states, except for the Locrian League and Tarantum, will rally around Dionia," Agesilaus said solemnly. "We don’t want another Syracuse to appear in the western diterranean. But as long as Dionysius can cause Syracuse enough trouble, I believe that Davos will be able to do it and prevent Dionysius from conquering Magna Graecia quickly. Then it will be ti for us, Sparta, to diate. Don’t forget, we have Tarantum in Magna Graecia, a friendly vassal state of ours."

Phoebidas, rembering his experience in Tarantum, curled his lips and said, "Tarantum may not listen to us."

"When Dionysia and Syracuse are both strong, it will obey." Agesilaus sneered, holding up three fingers and resting them on the dining table. "Syracuse, Dionysia, and Tarantum are the three crucial city-states maintaining stability in the western diterranean. This is the conclusion reached by the Council of Elders after learning of the Syracuse army’s attack on western Sicily and Dionysia’s defeat of Crotone. So, stop dwelling on Dionysia."

"Respected King Agesilaus, I understand!" Phoebidas understood that the cold-blooded elders of the Council of Elders wouldn’t care about a young general’s struggles, and Agesilaus had co to comfort him, for which Phoebidas was deeply grateful.

Agesilaus smiled faintly, as if it were a simple favor, and added, "I called you here for another matter."

Phoebidas imdiately leaned forward, his expression serious.