Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1127: Persia's Conspiracy

Pelopidas looked at Luticles again and said unhurriedly, "As for you Spartans, I have never heard that you own the entirety of Greece. Yet in recent years, whether in Central Greece or Northern Greece, your armies can be seen everywhere, provoking wars. We in Thebes were once occupied by you, and Port Piraeus of Athens suffered your unprovoked brutality. By the looks of it, Sparta is the greatest obstacle to restoring peace in Greece! Timagoras, wouldn't you agree?"

Timagoras remained silent, offering no response.

Luticles agitatedly tried to retort, but Tiribazus spoke up loudly, "Sparta indeed bears a heavy responsibility for the Greek War in recent years! The King gave Sparta enormous support, but Sparta betrayed his trust. This is truly a regret!"

Seeing Luticles's ashen face, Tiribazus sneered inwardly: 'Vulgar, stupid, incompetent Spartan barbarians! If we didn't still need you, and if we didn't want the King's efforts over the years to go to waste, we would have already rallied the other Greek city-states to wipe you out! Just wait. One day, we will settle the score with Sparta!'

"However, the King believes Sparta will learn from past lessons and once again shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining peace in Greece. Of course, this also requires the full assistance of Athens, Thebes, and the other city-states! As for how you negotiate and sign a new peace treaty, Persia will not intervene. But the King hopes it will be based on the previous King's Peace. Any city-state that does not negotiate seriously, or even intentionally obstructs the process and wishes to continue the war, will face the King's wrath. Persia will fully support its enemies to thoroughly destroy it!"

Tiribazus delivered these last few words with resounding force, jolting Pelopidas and the others. They could feel the King of Persia's genuine, deep concern for restoring peace in Greece.

Tiribazus suddenly sighed softly and continued, "The reason the King cares so much about Greece is that despite your small population and barren lands, you have always been able to contend against our powerful Persia. This commands his profound respect! In his heart, he has always held this thought—the Greeks are the masters of the Western Mediterranean.

"But now, the situation has changed. During these years of frequent warfare among you, a nation named Daionia has emerged in your colonies—Magna Graecia. It is like a monster. In just over twenty years, it has not only conquered many foreign tribes but also annexed many Greek city-states. Even Carthage has become its vassal.

"Today, it has already become the hegemon of those waters west of Greece. Soon enough, it will likely turn its greedy maw toward Greece itself, which lies so close. If Greece does not quickly end its disputes and unite to fend off this formidable foe together, nothing but annihilation awaits you—just like the annexed city-states of Crotone, Locri, Catana, and Syracuse! Therefore, the King hopes that after achieving peace, you will form a new alliance to safeguard the security of Greece!"

Although Daionia was thousands of miles away and somewhat beyond his reach, Artaxerxes harbored a lasting grudge. Now, he had finally found an opportunity to strike back at the Kingdom of Daunia that had dared to offend his dignity.

Hearing Tiribazus's words, the three envoys wore complicated expressions, their minds racing.

Rumor had it that during the Western Mediterranean War, the Persians had sent a fleet to participate, only to suffer a disastrous defeat... It seemed this was true. No wonder the King of Persia hosted them so warmly this time and was so eager for them to reach a peace agreement! However... jointly resisting a Daionia that was aggressive in both military and trade aligned with Athens's interests and the demands of its citizens. But should they form another alliance? If Sparta were to dominate this alliance again, would it further damage Athens's interests? ... These matters would likely have to wait until he returned for discussions before a decision could be made... Such were Timagoras's thoughts.

Form an alliance against Daionia?! ... Luticles was feeling quite conflicted.

Because the Spartans had once participated in the Persian expeditionary force, they had noticed Daionia—founded by a mercenary leader—very early on. They knew more than the other Greek city-states about the entire process of Daionia's growth from a weak city-state at its founding to a powerful kingdom. Throughout this process, Sparta hadn't exactly refrained from scheming and tripping them up to hinder their development, because they always remembered the threatening words the King of Daonia had once spoken to them. Therefore, even though the peace agreement had been in effect all along, they constantly worried about suffering retaliation from Daionia. This was especially true now that Sparta was deeply mired in the quagmire of war with Thebes. Thus, the Persians' proposal was very tempting to Luticles. If realized, it would undoubtedly give Sparta a guarantee of safety. At the same time, he worried whether establishing this alliance would truly enrage Daionia. Could they actually withstand a potential attack launched by Daionia? After all, the Spartans somewhat understood the strength of the Theonians.

Meanwhile, Pelopidas looked at Tiribazus in astonishment. He seemed to glean an underlying meaning from the words of this favored minister of the King of Persia: 'Strange, it seems the Persians are afraid of Daionia?! Is the strength of the Kingdom of Daunia really that formidable?!'

He pondered for a moment before asking, "Lord Tiribazus, the King of Persia's suggestion is excellent, but I have a small question."

"What question?" Tiribazus looked at him.

"As far as I know, Sparta has always maintained close ties with this Kingdom of Daunia you just mentioned, and they even signed a long-term alliance agreement. Is it possible for such a city-state to lead the Greeks against Daionia?!"

"Shut your mouth! If you don't know the facts, don't speak nonsense!" Luticles interrupted him, loudly emphasizing, "What Sparta and Daionia signed is a non-aggression pact. In fact, the relationship between us Spartans and Daionia is not good at all!..."

"The King is aware of all this, which is why he still proposes that Sparta lead the Greeks in defending against Daionia's possible invasion. However, to dispel the doubts of the other city-states, it would be best for Sparta to draw a clear line with Daionia as soon as possible and sever all ties!"

Tiribazus looked coldly at Luticles, then glanced at the other two envoys, speaking in a deep voice. "The King is deeply concerned about Greece's security and will support your restoration of peace! He will fully support your formation of an alliance to defend against Daionia! But if any city-state continues to provoke wars, refuses to join the alliance, refuses to defend against the Theonians, or even secretly colludes with them, then Persia will call upon the other Greek city-states to unite and destroy them! If Daionia truly invades Greece one day, the King promises he will aid this Greek alliance with massive amounts of wealth and supplies, along with a powerful navy, fully assisting the Greeks in beating back this vicious wolf from the west!"

Tiribazus's resolute words carried a heavy threat while simultaneously demonstrating Persia's generous goodwill. Pelopidas and the others were merely envoys of their city-states and could not make direct commitments on this matter. They could only weigh the pros and cons in their hearts so that upon returning, they could persuade their citizens to make a choice. Therefore, all three coincidentally maintained their silence.

For his part, Tiribazus had entirely conveyed the King of Persia's intentions to the three envoys. His goal achieved, he had no desire to linger around the Greeks any longer, and the banquet was hastily brought to a close.

However, after the three returned to their respective rooms, the Athenian envoy Timagoras, who had been the most silent during the banquet, quietly knocked on the Spartan envoy's door. Upon seeing Luticles, he said with a serious expression, "Athens and Sparta need to have a good talk..."

Before the three envoys left Persia, Artaxerxes received them once more. After reiterating his hope that Greece would restore peace and form an alliance to defend against Daionia, he displayed his generosity by giving each of the three envoys handsome rewards. Among these gifts, he presented Luticles, the Spartan envoy, with a floral crown steeped in fragrant oils that he often wore himself. Hearing that Timagoras, the Athenian envoy, loved to drink milk, he specifically gifted him a dozen premium cows. Only toward Pelopidas did he show no special favor, which was somewhat contrary to his attitude during their previous audience.

Aside from this, he summoned Luticles privately once more to specifically address the matter of the Friendship Agreement signed between Sparta and Daionia. With a solemn expression, he warned him: Sparta must sever relations with Daionia; otherwise, Persia would turn its support to its enemy—Thebes.

Due to the pressure exerted by the King of Persia, Luticles was heavy-hearted on his return journey.

Pelopidas was equally uneasy. Despite the King of Persia's fairly decent attitude toward him in Babylon, he could sense that the Persians trusted and supported Sparta more. Moreover, the specific line mentioned in the earlier meeting—"it is best for the peace talks to be based on the King's Peace"—left him fraught with misgivings.