Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1233: The Establishment of the New Greek League (1)

The two former leaders of the powerful Greek city-states exchanged a look and sighed despondently in unison.

Just then, they heard voices from the surrounding crowd. "Hey, let me tell you, I recognize that old man with the limp. That's King Agesilaus of Sparta! I saw him with my own eyes when I went to Corinth to trade over a decade ago!"

"I recognize the man talking to him, too! That's Callistratus, the chief general of Athens!"

"That's nothing! Earlier, I even saw Epaminondas, the Boeotarch of the Boeotian League! Why do you think the heads of all these Greek city-states have suddenly flocked to our Pherae?!"

"You don't know?! Our Daionia notified the heads of the various Greek city-states to attend the formal establishment ceremony of the New Greek League in Larissa, so they all came."

"'Our Daionia'? Hmph. Eucris, you traitor. Daionia is an invader, yet you willingly act as their lackey!"

"Is it so bad for Daionia to rule Thessaly? Taxes have clearly decreased, port trade has visibly strengthened, and our incomes have grown... Lackey! Hmph, aren't you enjoying those exact same benefits? You have some nerve! If you're so capable, why don't you leave Daionian-ruled Thessaly!"

"I'm a citizen of Pherae, why should I leave!"

"I say, Eucris, there's another benefit to Daionia ruling Thessaly that you haven't mentioned. In the past, the southerners viewed us as barbarians. Now, with a single word from Daionia, all those noble generals have to obediently come here. Let's see who dares to look down on us Thessalians now!"

"Isn't that the truth. Even the people of Larissa have started speaking to us with arrogant airs. But who can blame them, since the governor of Thessaly appointed by Daionia turned out to be from Larissa? He even selfishly moved the center of Thessaly to Larissa!"

"He's not the governor of Thessaly; the title is Regional Administrator of Thessaly."

"Looks like the same thing to me. It's not even much different from our tagus, just with a king added above him. Sigh, why aren't there any high officials in the Kingdom of Daunia from our Pherae? Otherwise, they could have looked after Pherae a little more."

...

The earlier argument between Callistratus and Agesilaus had drawn curious onlookers from the populace of Pherae, who engaged in a heated discussion, completely ignoring the two men's identities.

Not daring to linger, the two men quickened their pace. Supported by his attendants, Agesilaus finally breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped into the inn.

The attendants left to handle their accommodations. Resting to the side, Callistratus couldn't help but remark, "To think that Davos is actually a Thessalian!"

"I knew that long ago. Back when the Spartan general led them back from Persia, he even proposed to the Council of Elders to invite Davos to serve Sparta, but the Council of Elders refused. Thinking about it now fills me with regret!" Agesilaus wore a look of deep chagrin.

"Even if your Council of Elders had agreed, I'm afraid Davos would have refused anyway," Chabrias interjected.

"Who knows? He was still young back then..." Agesilaus remained fixated on the thought.

"No wonder the Theonians were able to conquer Thessaly so quickly!" Callistratus said with a conflicted expression. "It seems holding the alliance ceremony in Larissa this time is also Daionia's way of demonstrating its mighty strength to the Thessalians."

"That is beyond doubt," Agesilaus sighed. Though he could no longer lead an army in battle, the strategic vision forged from decades of warfare remained. "Thessaly has fertile plains, a massive population, and formidable cavalry and light infantry. Jason alone was enough to make us fearful before, but now that Daionia has taken control, it's like a massive boulder pressing down over our heads. The moment the city-states show any unusual movements, Daionia wouldn't even need to dispatch troops from Italy. The army in Thessaly could march south swiftly, pass through Thermopylae, and strike directly into the heartland of Greece... Alas, Daionia's power continues to grow. The Greek city-states have utterly lost any possibility of resisting them!"

The three men fell into silence. Finally, Chabrias couldn't help but whisper, "There's still Persia..."

It was a sensitive topic, and Callistratus immediately changed the subject. "King Agesilaus—"

Agesilaus cut him off. "I forgot to remind you earlier, but Sparta no longer has a king. Just call me by my name from now on."

Callistratus recoiled in shock. Exchanging a glance with Chabrias, he quickly asked with concern, "Agesilaus, can you tell me what the situation in Sparta is like right now?"

Agesilaus remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "I think you'll all find out before long. The Spartans of today are just like you Athenians... We are all just trying our best to survive..."

Could he tell these Athenians that after Daionia conquered Sparta, they had liberated the helots, made both the helots and the perioikoi citizens of New Sparta, and divided up the land that rightfully belonged to the Spartans?!

Could he tell these Athenians that when the Greek expeditionary army entered the Peloponnese and the main force of the Daionian Army was defending northern Messenia, the Spartan Warriors had attempted to rebel? If he hadn't done everything in his power to dissuade them, they would have fought a hopelessly mismatched battle against the mobilized helots and perioikoi soldiers, and the consequences would have been unimaginable!

Could he tell these Athenians the sheer despair the Spartans felt when news reached them that the Greek expeditionary army had been routed and Athens had surrendered? That a few had even chosen suicide, while he and Xenophon had gotten blindly drunk, holding their heads and weeping uncontrollably?!

Could he tell these Athenians that upon receiving Daionia's notice this time, the New Spartan government had sent out not just him as an envoy, but a total of three—including a helot envoy and a perioikoi envoy? And that, ashamed to associate with those two, he had intentionally set out later, traveling to Pherae alone?!...

He could not!... Agesilaus held only one conviction in his heart: as long as he drew breath, he would silently bear the heavy burden of ensuring the survival and continuity of the Spartans!

Watching the aging Agesilaus being helped upstairs by his attendants, Callistratus and Chabrias both felt an indescribable heaviness well up in their hearts...

...

The next day, after the Athenian delegation finished their breakfast, they left the city alongside Agesilaus, heading toward Larissa. Along the way, they encountered envoys from many other Greek city-states, naturally including the Thebans, whom they mutually despised.

Nowadays, these envoys no longer needed to look to the former hegemons like Athens and Sparta for their cues. Driven by the interests of their respective city-states, they fell into their own distinct groups.

For example: the envoys of the Phocian City-State and Locris walked together; the Theban envoys grouped with those from the other city-states of the Boeotian League; the envoys of Elis joined those from the Achaean city-states; the envoys of Mantineia mingled with the other two envoys of New Sparta, as well as the envoy from Messenia (although Messenia was currently controlled by Daionia, out of consideration for the future, Daionia still allowed the Messenian council to send an envoy to attend the ceremony as an independent power); the envoys of Corinth, Argos, and Megara gathered together; the envoys of Euboea walked with some of the envoys from the Ionian city-states. Furthermore, several Ionian envoys took the initiative to approach Callistratus's group, while the envoys from the various city-states of Crete actively approached Agesilaus...

They were either happy, excited, silent, or anxious. But the most thoroughly terrified had to be the envoys from the Arcadian League. They had initially allied with Daionia, only to later choose betrayal. Rumor had it that "Daionia hates traitors above all else and will mete out severe punishments." Thus, no envoys from any other city-state were willing to go near those poor wretches.

Though the envoys of the various city-states clumped together in fragmented groups, they formed a long, winding procession on the road to Larissa. It was undoubtedly an eye-catching sight, and the many Thessalians who witnessed it quickly spread the news far and wide that "Daionia had ordered the Greek city-states to come to Larissa for a summit."

The envoys also passed by the new military camps Daionia was currently constructing. Seeing over 20,000 troops of the Daionian Army undergoing rigorous training, they all felt a silent sense of dread and vigilance.

After Athens surrendered, Daionia's 100,000-plus troops and over a thousand warships had successively returned to the western Mediterranean. Only three legions were left stationed in Thessaly. Firstly, this was to continue stabilizing Thessaly's order and consolidate Daionia's rule over the region; secondly, it was to guard against incursions from surrounding native factions. Of course, in the Ministry of Military Affairs's plans, these Regular Legions would be replaced by newly formed Border Legions a few months later. Once military training expanded across the Thessaly Region and its own local legions were established, Thessaly would have sufficient defensive capabilities of its own.

The military camp the Greek envoys saw was just one of the installations Daionian soldiers were building within Thessaly. After all, Thessaly was a vast expanse. Whether for the needs of military training or secure defense, a single camp could not meet the demands. Therefore, another military camp was being constructed on the southern plains of Thessaly, close to the bordering mountains. This ensured that citizens from southern towns like Pharsalus and Achaea, as well as Lamia south of the mountains, could promptly participate in military training. In contrast, the original military camp Jason had established outside Pherae was situated in the northeastern corner of the Thessalian territory; its location was far too remote, so it had been abandoned.

The envoys trickled into the city of Larissa one after another, each setting about their own diplomatic maneuvering. The ones responsible for overseeing this alliance ceremony were the Daionian prince Crotokatax and the Regional Administrator of Thessaly, Hylos. Both men adopted an enthusiastic and proactive attitude, receiving the envoys and earnestly listening to their opinions.

Note: Historically, the revolt in Asia Minor was a major event during the later years of Artaxerxes's reign. The rebellion lasted for several years and vastly weakened Persia's national power. At the time the rebellion broke out, the grand Persian army was launching an invasion into Egypt, which consequently ruined Artaxerxes's plans to recapture Egypt once again. At the time, the Egyptian Pharaoh hired many Greek soldiers to fend off the Persian army's offensive. Agesilaus, who had suffered defeat in the Battle of Leuctra, accepted Egypt's invitation in his seventies to raise funds and build an army to stand against the now-powerful Thebes. He became the primary commander of the Greek mercenaries. However, because he was not given an important role, he turned to supporting domestic rebels in Egypt and drove out the original Pharaoh. Because of Egypt's internal power struggles, their plans to counterattack Persia and support the rebellion in Asia Minor were canceled. This gave Artaxerxes a crucial buffer period, and ultimately the revolt in Asia Minor was quelled.