Phoebidas gladly accepted, just as he was still a little hungry, picked up another piece of bread, smeared it with honey, and munched on it.

Agosilaus waited patiently for him to finish eating, and then said, "Can you tell me a little bit about your last mission to Great Greece?" ”

Phoebe Das perked up. You see, when he returned and reported to the Council of Elders, it was the time of King Agies' death, and the elders were too busy with the funeral and the election of a new king that they didn't care about anything else.

Just as Phoebidas had finished briefly explaining the mission to Great Greece, the new king of Sparta expressed concern for Dionia, and Phoebidas immediately gave the account of the mission to Dionya without any exaggeration.

Agosilaus propped his head on one hand and limped out, listening carefully as he looked thoughtful.

When Phoebidas had finished speaking, he said, "It seems that the Dioonians have embarrassed you, and you don't have a good impression of them. ”

"I'm angry because Dionya doesn't have the respect he deserves for Sparta, but personally-" Fabidas paused for a moment, gave a strange look, and said truthfully, "Actually, I still appreciate Dionia's ......"

"Oh?" Agesilauth was a little surprised: "Why? ”

"Maybe it's because of the toughness they ......," Phoebidas recalled, exclaiming, "Although I was in a hurry to stay in Turriy and didn't have much contact with the citizens of Dionia, it gave me a ...... The discipline of the Ionian soldiers was also very strong, and it was even heard that the Dionian Senate even held a ceremony to celebrate the generals and soldiers who had returned from victory. How do I feel...... ...... made me feel."

Phoebidas pondered, and said, "Dionya is like the Spartan of Great Greece......"

Teacher Agosy was stunned for a moment, and then laughed jokingly; "You have likened a union of city-states ruled by tyrants to the Spartan of equal freedom for our citizens."

"Although Dioonia had only one consul, and it was for life, they still had a senate, and from my experience with the Dionian senate, those senators seem to be able to influence the making of Dionia's laws, the relationship between the consuls and the senators...... Belch...... How so? Anyway, it's not like Syracuse, where Dionysius alone has the final say! Phoebe Das said seriously.

"You don't seem to have a good impression of Syracuse." Agosilaus looked at him and said.

"I don't think anyone who hears that Syracuse can mobilize such a large force to attack Carthage will probably not be in a good mood!!" Phoebe Das said very simply: "Those tens of thousands of infantry are nothing, the key is that he still has thousands of cavalry, and a huge fleet that is not weaker than us!" Dionysius was an ambitious man! ”

Agosilaus looked at him and smiled: "Phoebeidas, I'm glad you can see this!" It was only later in the war with Athens that we began to pay attention to the West, and it was through the alliance with Syracuse that Sparta was able to intervene in the affairs of the West. Carthage is an ally of the Persians in the Western Mediterranean, and we need an ally in the Western Mediterranean that can suppress Carthage and protect the security of the Spartan rear, which is why we support Syracuse, and at the same time let our Spartan power gradually deepen its influence among the Greek power in the West. But in the past, some of Sparta's practices of blindly allowing Syracuse to expand and allow it to annex the Greek power in Sicily may end up causing problems to ourselves, and we don't want our ally to be too weak, but we can't let it be too strong. ”

"Dear King Agosilaus, you are right! But now Carthage still has the upper hand in Sicily, and our Spartan forces are concentrated in Asia Minor. At this time, we should continue to support Syracuse for the time being. Phoebidas understood the subtle meaning of Agosilaus's words, but he still thought about the city-state and said frankly.

"We don't need to do anything, the forces that restrain the expansion of Syracuse have emerged." Instead of feeling unhappy, Agosilaus smiled at him with relief and said, "It's Dionya who made you feel unhappy before. ”

"Dionia?!" Phoebidas was surprised at first, then shook his head: "It can't be compared to Syracuse at all, whether it is territory, population, trade and military power, Syracuse is too much stronger. ”

"That's true now, but Dioonia is expanding fast." Agosilaus said this, with a complicated expression: "I have just received news from Great Greece that Dionya has defeated Crotone, and forced Crotone to cede territory and sign a treaty of alliance with it......"

"When?!" Phoebeidas' eyes widened, not long after he left Great Greece, Dioonia actually defeated Crotone again?!

Phoebidas looked incredulous: "Crotone's strength is obviously stronger than Dionia, and this time Crotone people should not make the same mistake as last time, how can it be ......"

"100 years ago, before the war between Cybaris and Crotone, many Greek city-states thought the same thing, but the result was that the weak Crotone won!" Agosilaus lamented: "Chrysopus is indeed right, Davers is a military genius, although Sparta regrets missing him, but it is not bad for him to lead Dionia against Syracuse." ”

"Dionya is bound to clash with Syracuse?" Phoebidas was still thinking about how Dionia would defeat Crotone, and was a little absent-minded, so he replied without paying much attention and with a strong tone of suspicion.

Agosilaus didn't care, and said: "Now that Syracuse has occupied the eastern part of Sicily, with our support and our own accumulation of such a strong strength, it is not too much of a problem to drive the Carthaginian forces out of eastern Sicily, and it is even possible...... If Carthage was completely expelled from Sicily, even if it could not be done, Syracuse would surely become the leader of the Greek city-states of Sicily. As you say, Dionysius was an ambitious man, would he be content with that? Agesilaus said, dipping his fingers in cereal porridge and drawing a simple map of Sicily on the table.

Phoebidas shook his head.

"Will he lead troops into Africa?" Agosilaus asked.

Phoebe Das shook his head vigorously. Jokes aside, it was the stronghold of Carthage, which had been in operation for hundreds of years, and if Syracuse dared to send an army to the land of Africa, Carthage would definitely let them go and never return, just like the army led by Dorius, the brother of Sparta who had been exiled by King Cleomenes a hundred years earlier.

"Then this is the only place where Syracuse can expand his power—" Agosilaus casually drew a rough outline above Sicily: "Great Greece, he and Sicily are separated by only a narrow strait, and they are both Greek city-states, and Dionysius has always been cruel to his fellow Greeks......"

"You're right." Phoebe Das nodded yes. He and Agosilaus had no idea of Greece to the east of Sicily, and they thought that Dionysius would not dare to offend these historic powers in Greece no matter how bold they were.

"Dionya has now surrendered to Crotone, and further south of Crotone, the only powerful city-states left are Lockry and Ligem, and Lockrey and Syracuse are allies and mortal enemies with Crotone, and Crotone is now an ally with Dionia, so it is only a matter of time before Dionya and Syracuse clash......" Agosilaus analyzed.

Phoebedars stared at the table, shook his head and said, "Dionia is still too weak. ”

"As soon as Dionysius's army sets foot on the land of Greater Greece, I am afraid that all the other city-states will unite around Dionia, except for the Lockley League and Tarantum." Agosilaus said with a solemn expression: "We don't want another Syracuse in the Western Mediterranean, but as long as Dionia can create enough trouble for Syracuse, I believe that Davers will definitely be able to do it, so that Dionysius cannot conquer Great Greece in a short time, then it is time for us Sparta to come out and mediate." Don't forget, there is also Tarantum in Greater Greece as a friendly sub-state of our Sparta. ”

Remembering what happened to him in Tarantum, Phoebidas pouted and said, "Tarantum won't necessarily listen to us. ”

"When Dionia and Syracuse are strong, it will listen." Agosilaus sneered, stretched out three fingers, and propped them on the dining table: "Syracuse, Dionia, and Tarantum are the three important city-states that maintain stability in the Western Mediterranean. This is the result of the deliberations of the Council of Elders after learning that the army of Syracuse had attacked western Sicily and that Dionya had defeated Crotone, so you should not dwell on Dionys. ”

"Dear King Agosilaus, I understand!" Phoebidas understood that the indifferent old men in the Council of Elders would not care about the entanglement in the hearts of a young general, and Agosilaus came to comfort him, for which Phoebidas was extremely grateful.

Agosilaus smiled faintly, as if it was just a gesture, and he added: "I called you here, there is one more thing. ”

Phoebe Das immediately leaned forward, looking serious.

Note: Agocilaus and Phoebidas underestimated Dionysius' audacity. Historically, Dionysius actually sent mercenaries and pirates to attack Greece proper, not Sparta, of course, but the sanctuary of all Greeks - Delphi, in an attempt to loot the wealth of the sacred treasury accumulated by the temple of Apollo for hundreds of years to make up for the emptiness of the treasury caused by his long war. 10