Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 1209

[Chapter 158 Prelude before the war (3)]

Olivers glanced at Patroclus and raised an objection: “The Greek coalition is still on the offensive, and the Messenian border defense is relatively weak. We retreat voluntarily. If the control is not good, it may be self-defeating and let the Greek coalition force. Rush into the Messenian plain…”

“Yes, once the Greek coalition forces rush into the Messenian plain, even if we retreat to the city of Messenia, the lands that have just been divided for the citizens of Messenia and the established The village will be devastated, and our months of hard work will be in vain!” Tigertinos also reminded.

“The most important thing is that there is no defense in the port of Messenia. There are a lot of materials and many ships parked there. If it falls into the hands of the Greek coalition, it will be a great loss for us…

” What kind of mentality? Most of the generals stationed in Laconia and Messenia disapproved of the opinions of Patroclus and Plintos, which made Patroclus look unhappy.

After listening carefully, Clotokatax pondered for a while, and finally he said sternly: “Generals, defeating the Greek coalition and controlling Greece is the ultimate goal given to our expeditionary force by the kingdom, and the landing raid on Thessaly It is the most important military operation to achieve this goal! As part of the expeditionary force, we fought in the Peloponnesus to contain the main force of the Greek coalition as much as possible to ensure the success of the landing operation, so there is no need to discuss it in Meseni. The question of whether or not to give in in northern Asia should focus on how to make concessions to ensure that our defense does not have major problems! Unity and tacit cooperation are the most important weapons for our Dionysian army to win many battles. Whether or not His Majesty leads the army in person, we should carry it forward!”

At this moment, Olivers and others seemed to see the shadow of King Davos from Clotokatax, and they couldn’t help but sigh. Dare to speak again.

Printols gave a relieved smile.

………………………………………………

In the early morning of August 3, the sky was very early, and it was extraordinarily blue, and there was no trace of floating clouds in sight.

A relatively strong southerly wind blows on the sea, pushing the tide after wave after wave, constantly beating the coast.

In the two bays of Lagonia and Messinia, thousands of freighters and warships rise and fall with the tide, but the soldiers and crews on each ship stand or sit, all upright and low. Head, hands stretched out, palms up, eyes closed, silently praying to Poseidon, the sea god.

On the flagships of the First Fleet, the Second Fleet and the Third Fleet, the three fleet commanders, Cykrian, Midorades, and Stefankas, stood on the bow, holding wine glasses and singing. An ode to Poseidon, and the wine was spilled into the sea to bless the trip.

“Woo!…” The bugle sounded, and

the flags representing sailing were immediately raised on the flagship of the Second Fleet, and all the warships of the Second Fleet that were already outside the Lagonia Gulf began to sail.

Almost at the same time, the bugle sounded in the Gulf of Merceria, and the warships of the 3rd Fleet also dispatched.

Until the crew in the bay could no longer see the battleship of the 2nd Fleet, “Woo!…” The bugle sounded again in Lagonia Bay.

“Clotto, it’s time for us to go!” Patroclus on the boat gave a solemn military salute.

“May Hades bless! I’m waiting for the news of your victory!” Clotokatax on the trestle also offered his blessings while giving a military salute.

Patroclus sat back in his seat, and then calmly watched his ship follow the other troop carriers full of soldiers out of Hillers Harbor in an orderly manner. These troop carriers were in Lagnia according to their previous training. Formed formations in the bay, and then merged with the 1st Fleet squadrons that had been waiting outside to form three large mixed formations and a separate fleet, and then these fleets set sail in the order of landing targets from north to south. …

This process seems simple, but in fact it is extremely cumbersome and complicated. It takes a lot of effort to get all the soldiers to board the ship and leave the port. Therefore, there are dozens of clippers in the Laconia Gulf. The shuttle schedule between the ships… Although the whole process is still a little confusing, it is generally smooth.

An hour later, it was finally the turn of Patroclus’ fleet to set sail.

Since it was going against the wind now, not only the crew members were rowing hard, but even the soldiers on the ship joined in, chanting horns along with the crew members, sliding the oars rhythmically, and the helmsman controlled the rudder, so that the ship could move in the right direction. The zigzag route, sailing to the southeast…

After about half an hour, the convoy rounded the headland, at which point the crew climbed the mast, untied the ropes, lowered the sails, and the wind immediately drummed the sails From then on, the fleet that was staggering like a sickly old man on crutches immediately turned into a young man full of strength galloping hard. The strong south wind made the whole fleet sail northward at a high speed like wings.

At this time, the Second Fleet had reached the Gulf of Saron, and in order to better block the Athens fleet, Midorades also divided the fleet into two parts, blocking the sea passages at the north and south ends of Aegina Island.

The Athenian Admiral Kabrias who got the news quickly rushed to the nearby coast and stood on a high place, able to see the deployment of the Dionysian fleet in the bay more clearly.

Just as he was thinking about the reason why the Dionysian fleet lingered near the island of Aegina neither attacking nor leaving, Callistratus, who came after hearing the news, shouted eagerly from afar: ” Cabrias, the Dionia fleet that disappeared for a while suddenly appeared again, are you ready to attack us?!”

“I have been observing here for a long time, the Dionia fleet is loosely arranged. The ship formation has been blocking the sea passage on the north side of Aegina Island. Although there are attacking merchant ships that want to enter and exit, it seems that there is no plan to continue westward and attack Piraeus… ”

Cabrias pointed to the almost stationary Dionysian fleet under the coast, and said comfortingly: “And now we are ready, the warships in the port of Piraeus and the island of Salamica. They are all ready for battle, and they also stationed a lot of light infantry. If the Dionysian fleet really dares to enter the narrow waterway and attack our port, it will be a good thing!”

“You mean—

—” Callistratus walked to his side, overlooking the enemy ship on the sea, and asked a little excitedly: “Let the victory of Salamiga be repeated?!”

“This is just one of my expectations… “Cabrias remembered the naval battle with the Dionysian Fleet in Lagonia Gulf some time ago, and couldn’t help shaking his head: “But the Dionysian Fleet is well-trained and probably won’t commit this kind of thing. This is a mistake…”

“There are quite a few warships in the Dionia fleet!” Looking down at the sea, Calistratus asked thoughtfully: “They once disappeared in the Aegean Sea for a while, At that time, you analyzed that they were going to attack the islands in the west, so you took the initiative to lead the fleet to the Lagonia Gulf… Now they suddenly appear in the Saron Bay, do you think they are for any purpose? Or just for revenge We, come to attack our merchant ships?”

Before and after the Peros-Bonnesian War, the generals of Athens not only had to talk at the council and make suggestions for the development of the city-state, but also personally lead the civic soldiers to battle the battlefield. , Pericles did this, and Thalassiebros even died in battle.

However, the frequent wars also put forward high requirements for the quality of the generals of the Athenian army, which began to lead to the differentiation of the Athenian leadership. Brias is a general who specializes in fighting.

Therefore, Callistratus had a good relationship with Ifikrates and Cabrias, and he often consulted with them on military matters.

“It’s hard to say now, I think—” Kabrias was still pondering, and a cavalry came quickly: “General Kabrias, there is news from Aegina that the Dionysian warship is not only sealed. The northern sea passage is blocked, and the southern sea passage is also blocked, and any merchant ships that want to enter or leave will be intercepted and attacked!”

Callistratus’ face changed greatly: “Are the Dionysians trying to completely block our maritime trade?!”

“From this point of view, the Dionysian fleet may have deployed about 200 warships. Ships, and if they want to blockade that end, I am afraid they need to arrange the same number of warships… Hundreds of warships, tens of thousands of crew members, such a large-scale operation… Just to block our merchant ships, it is a bit of a loss. …” Kabrias fell into thought, and suddenly his expression changed: “If … the Dionysian fleet is not only to block our merchant ships, but also to block our ships. Fleet… don’t let our warships enter the Aegean Sea, threatening their fleet—”

“Fleet? What fleet?!” Callistratus was stunned, and then asked.

“Either transporting supplies, or transporting soldiers… The fleet should be very large, otherwise their fleet can be fully escorted…” As the thinking deepened, Cabrias’s tone became more and more certain.

“You mean they’re going to land?!” Callistratus exclaimed.

“This possibility is not ruled out! Haven’t we been worried that the Dionysian army will repeat the landing in Messinia!” Cabrias said solemnly.

Callistratus became nervous: “We have to determine if the Dionian army is going to land?! Landing where?! Cabrias, you must lead the fleet to break through the Dionian fleet’s Blockade, enter the Aegean Sea, find out if Dionia has a fleet to land, and thwart and sabotage it!”

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