Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1139: Resolution to Declare War on Sparta (2)

Sedorum continued, "I have heard that many city-states on the Greek Mainland are deeply sympathetic to Messenia's destruction and have actively taken in Messenians fleeing Sparta. If our army marches into the Peloponnese under the banner of 'restoring Messenian independence,' the Greek people's hostility toward us will not be as intense. Moreover, once we actually rebuild Messenia and free the helots, it will not only severely weaken Sparta's strength, but it will also ensure the rebuilt Messenia completely sides with us, serving as our firmest base of support in Greece."

Davos nodded slightly, clearly pleased by Sedorum's proposal. He turned to Alexis. "What is the Ministry of Military Affairs' opinion on this?"

Alexis answered without hesitation, "Your Majesty, from a military perspective, choosing to attack Messenia is an excellent strategic option. If our army lands in Central Greece or the northern Peloponnese via the Gulf of Corinth to fight alongside the Theban army, it would indeed be safer, but it also means the Thebans would likely claim more than half the spoils. Furthermore, it would alarm nearby neutral city-states like Athens and Corinth.

"If we open an independent front, the Peloponnese Peninsula is crisscrossed with mountains, making large-scale landings and marches inconvenient. The region of Messenia is undoubtedly the best target. Its southern coast is flat and suited for a mass landing, and though it sits close to Sparta, the difficult mountain terrain between them means Spartan reinforcements could not arrive quickly, giving the landing army enough time to completely occupy Messenia.

"Furthermore, a subsequent land advance would only need to pass through the territory of the Arcadians to strike directly at Sparta. A naval assault would be even shorter, as Sparta's southern coast is also flat and ideal for landing operations. This avoids the possibility of direct conflict with the other powerful Greek city-states..."

Although Alexis was a military commander, he also seriously considered political factors when formulating battle plans. This was what Davos appreciated most. "Excellent! Have the Ministry of Military Affairs draft a plan to attack Messenia as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Alexis responded immediately.

"Your Majesty," Plintors said, raising the battle report. "I noticed this report mentions a large number of Thessaly cavalry appearing within the Boeotian Coalition Army. According to the latest intelligence from Greece, the Thessaly Region in Northern Greece has essentially been unified by the tyrant of Pherae, Jason. If these riders were not hired by the Thebans, they could only have been dispatched by Jason. This implies Thessaly has quietly forged an alliance with Thebes. We must pay close attention to this!"

"Thessaly..." Davos rubbed his jaw, lost in thought.

Matonis's fondness for the Thessalians did not surprise the other ministers. Having worked together for so many years, they all knew that Matonis hailed from Thessaly, Oliphus hailed from Thessaly, Hylos hailed from Thessaly... Quite a few generals in the Daionian Army who started as mercenaries originally came from Thessaly. Even their king, Davos, had once been a Thessalian. Therefore, everyone wisely kept silent and chose not to debate Matonis.

What they did not know was that Davos held absolutely zero emotional attachment to Thessaly. Instead, Plintors's words had put him on high alert.

Thessaly lay in Northern Greece. In the eyes of traditional powers like Athens, Corinth, and Sparta, it was a land of barbarians. The Thessaly Region had historically seen endless conflict, never exerting any influence over the Greek Mainland's political landscape. Although the Daionian Intelligence Department had seen continuous growth in funding and manpower over the past twenty years, the regions requiring investigation and surveillance had also expanded. Consequently, they had not invested much effort into such a remote region, relying solely on the occasional Daionian Merchant Ships traveling to Pherae for trade to gather information.

Even when the tyrant of Pherae, Jason, conquered several neighboring city-states a few years prior, it had not drawn the Intelligence Department's attention. After all, tyrants were incredibly common among the Mediterranean city-states, and capable ones were not rare, but their success was usually fleeting. It wasn't until word reached Thurii that Pherae had swiftly unified Thessaly and Jason had become the tagus that Aristiras finally took notice.

In the years that followed, Jason ceased any warfare, seemingly content with merely becoming the tagus of Thessaly. But this only made Davos more vigilant, as Jason had spent these years primarily integrating the various Thessalian city-states, promoting regional trade, intensifying the training of his Citizen Soldiers, and even building a navy... His methods bore a striking resemblance to those of Dionysius, the former tyrant of Syracuse. Furthermore, Thessaly's geographical environment made its infantry and cavalry even stronger.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ansitanos replied.

"This... how could that be?" Matonis looked completely stunned.

Plintors, who understood the situation a bit better, leaned in and quietly explained it to him.

Davos did not pay much attention and continued, "With the Spartan army defeated, Persia will absolutely not let this rest. Now the Thessalians might be involved as well. Since we have already decided to interfere in the affairs of Greece, we must execute our plans as quickly as possible—taking advantage of the time while the Spartans are reeling from their defeat and other powers have not yet fully intervened!"

"Alexis, Plintors, make a judgment right now. Roughly how many troops will we need to capture Messenia and subsequently attack Sparta?"

Alexis and Plintors exchanged a glance. They called over the Chief Military Training Officer Hieronymus, the military supply officer Artoens, Legion Commander Matonis, Oliphus, and other generals, forming a circle in the corner of the hall.

After a hushed discussion, Alexis stepped before Davos and spoke solemnly. "Your Majesty, based on the Ministry of Military Affairs' current understanding of Sparta's situation and the geographical conditions of the Peloponnese, we believe an expeditionary force of twenty to thirty thousand soldiers will be sufficient to complete the mission. If the force is too large, it will actually struggle to deploy across the mountainous Peloponnese Peninsula."

"Twenty to thirty thousand men..." Davos turned his head. "How long can our current domestic grain reserves sustain them in battle?"

The Minister of Agriculture, Bulcos, stretched out his hands and carefully counted on his fingers before rising to his feet. "Your Majesty, the kingdom has enjoyed continuous good harvests over the past few years. Although there was some fighting in Iberia and the Po River Plain, those were basically domestic operations and did not consume much grain. According to this year's statistical surveys, the granaries across every region are essentially full. We should... be able to guarantee a thirty-thousand-man army can campaign on the Greek Mainland for more than a year."

"More than a year... hmm... what about weapons and equipment?"

The military supply officer, Alpens, immediately stood up to answer. "Your Majesty, the armories in the military camps across all regions have an abundant supply of arrows, javelins, tents, blankets, pack wagons, and other military provisions. Outfitting thirty thousand soldiers will be more than enough."

Davos smiled in satisfaction. He thought for a moment, then glanced at the Minister of State, Hermon. "Considering this will be Daionia's first time deploying troops to fight on the Greek Mainland, in order to minimize the hostility of the neutral city-states' citizens, it would be best to dispatch soldiers of Greek descent for this expedition...

"During the last campaign against Gaul, we mobilized the First, Second, Third, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh legions. So this time... hmm, considering we will be fighting the Spartans, let's play it safe. Deploy the First, Fourth, and Sixth legions."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Alexis replied, then asked, "What about the cavalry?"

"You do not need to consider Greek heritage for the cavalry and auxiliary troops. The armies of the Greek city-states frequently hire foreigners to fight for them anyway, like the Thracians, so you can decide that on your own."

"Yes."

Davos then looked at the Minister of Household Registration, Raphias, and asked, "Are the Daionian Citizens of Messenian descent still concentrated in Tyndaris?" (This city-state had been incorporated into the Kingdom of Daionia several years prior in response to the citizens' strong demands.)

Having quietly managed the kingdom citizen registers for decades, the kingdom's population distribution map and its migration patterns were permanently engraved in Raphias's mind. Without needing to recall the data, he answered immediately, "Your Majesty, the situation is like this... Nearly half of the population remains in Tyndaris, while the other half has migrated to Himera." (Following the Western Mediterranean War, to strengthen its rule over the Northern Coast of Sicily, the Kingdom of Daionia rebuilt Himera in the middle of the northern coast. The terrain there was relatively flat with major rivers running through it, making it suitable for grazing and planting, which attracted many residents from other towns along the northern coast.)