Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1227: Joining Forces Beneath Athen

Meanwhile, Callias stepped into another military tent where Crotokatax and Plintors waited. Callias had lied; neither of them had gone to Argos. Crotokatax could have simply refused to see the Athenian envoy outright. However, the courteous prince felt that a blunt refusal would insult a city-state like Athens, so he had fabricated the excuse. Moreover, the news of Argos's surrender could be used to provoke Athens.

"Callias, what was the result of the negotiation?" Crotokatax asked with interest.

"Your Highness, the Athenian chief general claimed he needed to return and discuss the matter, but I don't think Athens will agree," Callias said, offering his honest judgment.

"Athens faces such a dire predicament, yet they still refuse to surrender. Do they intend to perish alongside Athen?!" Crotokatax was both surprised and somewhat regretful. Though he had not managed to enter the Theonia Akademia, he had always earned excellent marks at the Thurii School. Because over half of his textbooks had originated from Athens—especially those concerning grammar, rhetoric, and oratory, since the Athenians had forged the brilliance of Greek civilization—he had always harbored a fondness for the city.

"Athens was once the hegemon of Greece, and they remain one of its premier powers. It's understandable that they aren't willing to concede so easily," Plintors noted, seeing through the prince's thoughts. "However, if we want to attack Athens, we must conquer Corinth first."

"But the City of Corinth has high, thick walls. Conquering it quickly won't be easy." Even as Crotokatax said this, he cast a hopeful glance toward Plintors.

"You are correct, Your Highness. The City of Corinth isn't like ordinary Greek cities. Its defensive fortifications were clearly built with great care. It will be impossible to take without a bitter struggle," Plintors said solemnly.

"I imagine that has to do with the Spartan Coalition besieging the City of Corinth for several consecutive years during the Corinthian War," Callias interjected. "Having survived such a brutal siege, the Corinthians must have gained a great deal of experience in holding their city."

"That complicates things..." Crotokatax frowned. He had initially been reluctant when Davos appointed him commander of the expeditionary army, but after his recent time on the battlefield, he had not only adapted to military life, but had also begun to savor the glory of victory just like any other general. Now, he was genuinely eager to march north, join forces with Patroclus, and share in the glory of conquering a great city like Athens.

"Send him in quickly!" Crotokatax ordered. He immediately straightened his attire and stepped toward the tent entrance to greet him.

Crotokatax extended such courtesy not merely because Lycomedes was the leader of Mantineia, which was currently Daionia's staunchest and only ally on the Peloponnese Peninsula. (Messenia and Laconia were now territories controlled by Daionia, completely subject to its command and not counted as allies, while Argos had been forced to surrender and its loyalty remained to be tested.) It was also because Lycomedes had personally led his troops to join the Daionian Army in the battle against the Argive forces. After the Argive army had been wiped out, he had volunteered to go and persuade Argos to surrender, and had ultimately succeeded. Therefore, Crotokatax held him in especially high regard.

"Your Highness Crotokatax, I ask your permission to go and persuade Corinth to surrender."

Lycomedes indeed never visited without a purpose, and his opening words pleasantly surprised Crotokatax. He quickly asked, "Lord Lycomedes, are you confident you can make the Corinthians open their gates and surrender?"

Lycomedes answered earnestly, "I do not have absolute certainty, but I can try. I know the Corinthians fairly well. Despite Corinth being a powerful state, its people are not adept at combat. Lacking fertile land to cultivate, they survive solely by utilizing the Isthmus for maritime and overland trade. As a result, most Corinthians excel at commerce. They lack strong convictions and are experts at shifting with the wind. For the sake of their own interests, they are capable of doing the most unbelievable things.

"I heard you discussing the Corinthian War from outside the tent just now. In truth, the primary reason the Corinthians managed to hold off the Spartan Coalition for so long was the continuous support of troops and supplies from Athens and the Theban Army. Even then, quite a few Corinthian citizens secretly banded together to open the gates and surrender to the Spartans. If the reinforcements had not been timely, the outcome of that war would have been completely different.

"And now, we have already defeated the Greek expeditionary army, and the Peloponnese is fundamentally under our control. Furthermore, I have heard that the other Daionian Army, which landed in Thessaly, has allied with the Thebans and even invaded Attica. Consequently, the Corinthians have not only lost their backing, but they also face the tremendous danger of a pincer attack. I believe the clever Corinthians will see the situation clearly right now; they will not be foolish enough to block our march north."

"Excellent! Then I must trouble you to make a personal trip to Corinth, my lord!" Crotokatax said happily.

"Hearing Lord Lycomedes' words gives me a minor suggestion," Plintors interjected. "Just now, an Athenian envoy arrived at our camp to request a truce—"

"The Athenians are going to surrender so quickly?!" Lycomedes asked in surprise.

"They only requested a truce, but we rejected them. Moreover, the Athenian envoy was Callistratus," Callias said.

Upon hearing this, Lycomedes was struck by a thought, and his face suddenly showed delight. "I understand. I will mention this matter to the Corinthians; I am confident it will make them even more likely to surrender!"

Leaving the military tent, Lycomedes headed straight for the City of Corinth. He had once harbored some dissatisfaction with Daionia's decision to gift the territory of Tegea to Mantineia, because it directly resulted in Mantineia being isolated by the other Arcadian city-states. But since it was already done, Lycomedes had to accept reality and swiftly change his mindset, firmly believing that "closely following Daionia is Mantineia's only way out!"

Therefore, when the Daionian Army retreated to Laconia and the Greek expeditionary army surrounded Mantineia, it was he who persuaded the citizens to stand firm and refuse to surrender, thus ushering in today's excellent situation. Now, he only hoped to do his utmost to help Daionia secure a swift victory in the Greek War, thereby fulfilling Daionia's promise to Mantineia.

The Corinthians were indeed clever. Although Callistratus falsely claimed that "he went to see the Daionian commander to retrieve the remains of fallen Athenian citizens," this could not deceive them. They had already learned the news that "the Daionian Army had invaded Attica," and thus suspected that the Athenians were seeking a truce for peace. And if even the Athenians surrendered, Corinth would be fools to continue holding out!

So when Lycomedes entered the city and explained his intentions to the Corinthian leadership, it was exactly what they had been hoping for.

Furthermore, the demand set forth by Daionia was very easy for Corinth to accept: join the New Greek League led by the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia.

Lycomedes did not bring up the demand to "have Corinth dissolve its own league." He had not mentioned this demand when lobbying Argos earlier, either. In reality, Daionia only imposed this requirement on Athens, because Athens's Maritime Alliance not only encompassed many islands in the Aegean Sea, but also included some allied coastal city-states in Macedonia, Thrace, and along the Euxine Sea. That scope was simply too broad, which was something Davos, who had his heart set on unifying the Mediterranean Sea, could not permit.

Joining the New Greek League was no different from joining the Peloponnesian League or the Greek League for Corinth, which had already been reduced to an ordinary strong state with no great ambitions. In fact, the Corinthians even felt that doing so would be highly beneficial to their future maritime trade, because ever since Daionia was established, Corinth had been the city-state on the Greek Mainland with the most trade connections to Daionia.

Crotokatax led his army smoothly into Corinth, then immediately marched north along the eastern coast of the Isthmus, quickly approaching the central city-state of Megara.

Megara had mountain ranges serving as barriers to both its north and south. If it intended to mount a defense, it could have stalled the Daionian Army for some time. However, Megara's northern border met the Attica region, and just days prior, the city's populace had witnessed Athenian soldiers fleeing in panic as the imposing Daionian Army invaded Attica. Terrified, the weak Megarians did not believe they could withstand a pincer attack from the powerful Daionian Army. With persuasion from the Corinthians, Megara obediently joined the New Greek League.

Crotokatax led his army easily through Megaran territory and entered the Attica region, victoriously joining forces with Patroclus's army.

Atop the walls, the Athenian citizens felt a sense of dread when they saw another mighty Daionian army arrive at the Daionian military camp outside the city.

In the few days since Callistratus's departure, Athen had been conducting emergency military mobilization. Every combat-capable citizen and foreigner had been organized (Athens had a large population of foreigners who had long settled in Attica, paying taxes and even bearing some military obligations just like citizens, but without ever receiving Athenian citizenship rights), preparing for defense. They needed to secure not only the safety of Athen, but also Port Piraeus and the long walls connecting the harbor to the city center.

Meanwhile, several renowned Athenian orators led by Isocrates delivered multiple speeches in crowded places throughout Athen, such as the Agora Market, the Theater of Dionysus, and Athena Square, to motivate the citizens and foreigners to defend Athens and fight bravely against the Daionian Army.