Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 158: Overture before the war (3)

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Olivers glanced at Patroclus and raised objections: "Today the Greek coalition forces are still on the offensive, and the Messenian border defense is relatively weak, we take the initiative to retreat, if we do not control well, it is likely to be self-defeating. Let the Greek coalition rush into the Messenian Plain..."

"Yes, once the Greek coalition forces rush into the Messenian Plain, even if we retreat to Messenia, the lands and villages that have just been allocated to the citizens of Messenia will be destroyed. , Our months of hard work were all in vain!" Taginos also reminded.

"The most important thing is that the port of Messenia does not have any defenses. There are a lot of materials and many ships parked there. If it falls into the hands of the Greek coalition forces, it will be a great loss for us..."

No matter what kind of mentality it is, most of the generals stationed in Laconia and Messenia disagree with the opinions of Patroclus and Plintors, which makes Patroclus There was an unhappy look.

After listening carefully, Cloto Kataks pondered for a while, and finally he said sternly: "Generals, defeating the Greek coalition forces and controlling Greece is the ultimate goal given to our expeditionary forces by the kingdom, and the landing raid Thessaly is the most important military operation to achieve this goal! As part of the expeditionary force, we must try to contain the main force of the Greek coalition forces fighting in the Peloponnese to ensure the success of the landing operation, so there is no need to discuss The issue of whether or not to retreat in northern Messenia should focus on discussing how to retreat in order to ensure that our defense does not have major problems! Unity and tacit cooperation are the most important factors for our army of the Kingdom of Dionia. Regardless of whether your Majesty personally leads the army, we should carry it forward!..."

At this moment, Olivers and the others seemed to see the shadow of King Daves from Cloto Kataks, and they couldn't help but dare not speak any more.

Plintors smiled relievedly.

……………………………………………………

In the early morning of August 3, it was very early in the morning, and it was exceptionally blue, with no clouds in sight. The strong southerly wind blows on the sea, pushing waves of tide water after another, constantly beating the coast.

In the two bays of Lagnia and Messiania, thousands of cargo ships and warships rise and fall with the waves, but the soldiers and crews on each ship stand or sit upright. , Lowered his head, stretched his hands flat, palms up, eyes closed, silently praying to the sea **** Poseidon.

On the flagships of the First Fleet, Second Fleet, and Third Fleet, three fleet commanders, Sekerian, Midolades, and Stefakas, stood on the bow, holding wine glasses high. Sing a carol dedicated to Poseidon, and then spilled the wine into the sea to bless the trip smoothly.

"Woo!..." The bugle sounded, and the flags representing sailing were immediately raised on the flagship of the Second Fleet, and all the warships of the Second Fleet that were already outside the Lagnia Bay began to sail.

Almost at the same time, the bugle sounded in the Gulf of Messeria, and the warships of the 3rd Fleet were dispatched one after another.

Until the crew in the bay could no longer see the ships of the 2nd Fleet, "Woo!..." The bugle sounded again in Lagnia Bay.

"Crotto, we should set off!" Patroclus on the ship solemnly saluted.

"May Hades bless you! I am waiting for the news of your victory!" Cloto Kataks on the trestle bridge also offered his own blessings as well as military salutes.

Patroclus sat back in his seat, and then calmly watched the ship following the other troop carriers full of soldiers filed out from the Port of Hilles in an orderly manner. These troop carriers were pulling out according to their previous training. Formation in the Gulf of Gonia, and then merged with the squadrons of the 1st Fleet that had been waiting outside, forming three large mixed formations and a single fleet, and then these fleets followed the landing target from north to south. Set sail in order...

This process seems simple, but in fact it is extremely complicated. It takes a lot of effort to get all the soldiers on board and out of the port. Therefore, there are dozens of fast boats in the Gulf of Laconia. Thousands of ships shuttled and dispatched...Although the whole process was still a bit chaotic, overall it was relatively smooth.

An hour later, it was finally Patroclus's turn to sail.

Because it is now heading against the wind, not only the crew is rowing hard, but the soldiers on the boat also join in, shouting chants with the crew, sliding the oars rhythmically, and the helmsman controls the rudder. Let the ship sail towards the southeast with a "Zig"-shaped route...

About half an hour later, the fleet bypassed the cape. At this time, the crew climbed up the masts, untied the ropes, and lowered the sails. The wind immediately swelled up the sails, originally like a sickly old man on a cane. The staggering fleet immediately turned into powerful youths galloping, and the strong south wind made the entire fleet sail northward as if it had grown like wings.

At this time, the Second Fleet has reached the Salong Bay, and in order to better blockade the Athens fleet, Midolades divided the fleet into two parts, blocking the sea passages at the north and south ends of Aegina respectively.

The Athenian admiral Kabrias who received the news quickly rushed to the nearby coast, standing on a high altitude, able to see the deployment of the Dionian fleet in the bay more clearly.

Just as he was thinking about the reason why the Dionian fleet was neither attacking nor leaving near Aegina, Kallistatus, who came after hearing the news, yelled eagerly from afar. Said: "Cabrias, the Dionian fleet that has disappeared for a while has suddenly appeared again. Are you preparing to attack us?!"

"I have been observing here for quite a while. The Dionian fleet is arranged in a loose array and has been blocking the sea channel on the north side of Aegina. Although there are merchant ships that want to enter and exit, It seems that there is no plan to continue westward and attack Piraeus..."

Cabrias pointed at the Dionian fleet, which was almost stationary under the coast, and said comfortingly: "And now we are ready to go to the port of Piraeus and Salamiga. All of the warships are ready for battle, and many light infantry are stationed. If the Dionia fleet really dared to enter the narrow channel and attack our port, it would be a good thing!"

"Do you mean—" Calistratus walked to him, looked down at the enemy ship on the sea, and asked with a little excitement: "Let Salami Gage repeat it?!"

"This is just one of my expectations..." Cabrias remembered the naval battle with the Dionia fleet in the Gulf of Lagnia some time ago, and couldn't help shaking his head: "But Dio The Niah fleet is well-trained, and it is very likely that it will not make such a mistake..."

"There are a lot of warships in the Dionian fleet!" Kallistatus looked down at the sea and asked thoughtfully: "They disappeared in the Aegean Sea for a while, you analyzed They are going to attack the islands to the west, so you take the initiative to lead your fleet to attack Lagnia Bay... Now they suddenly appear in Salong Bay, do you think they are for any purpose? Or just to retaliate against us, come Attack our merchant ship?"

Before and after the Belos Pennesian War, the generals of Athens not only had to talk at the council and offer suggestions for the development of the city-state, but also personally lead the civic soldiers to conquer the battlefield. This is the case with Kemeng and Pericles. So, Serasibulus even died in the battle. However, the frequency of the war also put forward high requirements on the quality of the generals of the Athenian army, which began to lead to the division of the leadership of Athens. A general who specializes in fighting like Blías. Therefore, Kallistatus has a very good relationship with Ifekratus and Kabrias, and he often asks them about military issues.

"It’s hard to say now, I think—" Cabrias was still pondering, and a cavalry came quickly: "General Cabrias, news from Aegina, the battle of Dionia The ship not only blocked the sea passage to the north, but also the sea passage to the south, intercepting and attacking any merchant ships that wanted to enter or exit!"

Callistratus's face changed drastically: "Do the Dionians want to completely block our maritime trade?!"

"From here, the Dionian fleet may have deployed about two hundred warships, and if they want to blockade the other end, they probably need to deploy the same number of warships... hundreds of warships, few Thousands of crews, such a large-scale operation...just to block our merchant ships, it would not be worth the loss..." Cabrias fell into thinking, and suddenly his face changed: "If you say... Dionia The fleet is not only to block our merchant ships, but also to block our fleet...to prevent our warships from entering the Aegean Sea, threatening their fleet--"

"The fleet? What fleet?!" Callistratus was taken aback and asked immediately.

"Either transporting supplies, or carrying soldiers... The fleet should be large, otherwise their fleet can be fully guarded..." As he deepened his thoughts, Kabrias's tone became more and more affirmative .

"You mean they are going to log in?!" Callistratus exclaimed.

"Do not rule out this possibility! Haven't we been worried that the Dionian army will land in Messenia again!" Cabrias said solemnly.

Callistratus became nervous: "We have to make sure whether the Dionian army will land?! Where to land?! Cabulias, you must lead the fleet to break through Diony Blockade of the Asian Fleet, enter the Aegean Sea, find out whether there is a fleet in Dionia going to land, and obstruct and destroy it!"