Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 55: Jason

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In the Western Mediterranean War, the greatness of the Dionian army in the defensive battle caused Hasdruba to suffer, and in the frontal battle, although he only met once, Leotizides The led by the Diorian Allied Forces was defeated, but on the right flank fighting the real Diorian Legion, Hasdruba’s heavily relied Phoenu infantry was beaten back steadily, which made him fight against the Diorian Legion. Have a strong interest.

The Ministry of Military Affairs is busy forming the Border Army, and the Ministry of Finance is also busy. The new "Taxation Bill" has been announced and is gradually accepted by the people of the kingdom. Although there are still several months before the direct tax collection nationwide, The newly appointed Finance Minister Archibides has begun to urge the tax offices of various cities and towns to estimate the income of the people under their jurisdiction this year in advance, so as to calculate the total possible tax revenue according to the new tax collection ratio, and then based on this figure, In formulating a new financial distribution plan, and submit it to King Davers for reference.

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The new "Immigration Act", the new "Tax Collection Act", the formation of a new legion, the formation of new administrative divisions...a series of new measures are being implemented in an orderly manner, which means that the development of the kingdom has entered A new track has been established, with more efficient governance, richer finances, and more secure military security.

It was also this year that the war on the mainland of Greece entered a new stage. After the Battle of Tithias, the Thebes became famous. They seized the opportunity to drive away the Spartan garrison around Thebes, and gradually united the neighboring Piosha city-states around them, thus further strengthening their strength. , And also sent troops to try to occupy the city of Thisbe, which supports the Spartans in the northern part of the Gulf of Corinth and the southern part of Piosia, so as to prevent the Spartans from landing from here and directly threaten the safety of Thebes from the south.

After receiving this news, Sparta had to send King Cliomblotus to command the army again and cross the Gulf of Corinth by boat to help the Tismans and repel the invading Thebes army.

Just as the two sides started a new round of battle, an envoy from Fasalus, a city-state in Thessaly, came to Sparta.

The messenger was called Polydamas, and he was very prestigious in the city of Fasalus. Whenever Fasalus fell into internal disputes, the people would unanimously agree that the Acropolis should be managed by him, and entrust him to be responsible for the city-state's fiscal revenue and expenditure, whether it is religious affairs or administrative management. , He can act in accordance with the law and arrange all aspects in an orderly manner. At the end of each year, he will also submit a detailed account of the city-state finances. If there is a deficit, he will cover it out of his own pocket. Therefore, he is not only highly respected by the people in Fasalus, but also enjoys a high reputation throughout Thessaly.

When such a person came to Sparta, he naturally received a grand reception from the Council of Elders, and agreed to his request to hold a meeting for him.

In this meeting, Polydamas mentioned one thing.

Thessaly is located in the north of Central Greece. The northern part is separated from the Macedonian territory by a continuous high mountain. The Greek **** of Zeus-Mount Olympus is in it. It borders the mountainous area of ​​Epirus to the west, the Aegean Sea to the east, and the Malian area to the south, where the hot spring pass is located.

Geographically, Sesali is surrounded by mountains. Numerous small streams flow down from the mountains and converge into multiple rivers, engulfing the soil in the valley, and alluvializing into a fertile plain, thus nourishing a lot. s population. In addition to the development of agriculture, Thessaly’s many gentle slopes provide natural high-quality pastures for raising horses, and the principle of flatness at the foot of the mountain provides horses with a wide open space for galloping. Therefore, Thessaly is famous throughout Greece for its horses and cavalry. . (Note: In history, Alexander the Great’s famous war horse Bucephalas came from Macedonia, and most of the 5000 cavalry he brought to Persia came from Thessaly.)

Although Thessaly has such good geographical conditions, the city-states of Thessal are full of contradictions and wars continue. Therefore, they have never become an important force in the entire Greek mainland.

But this kind of division has begun to change in recent years. Philae is the only coastal city-state in Thessaly with a prosperous port trade, and its own agriculture and animal husbandry are also developed, so it is also the richest city-state in the whole of Thessaly.

There is a citizen in Philae’s city-state called Jason. His father gave him the name of this ancient hero when he was born (Jason is the protagonist in the golden fleece legend), hoping that he would grow up Make a difference later. Jason did not live up to his father's hope. After he grew up, he eventually became Philae's tyrant through various means. But he was not satisfied with this. He took advantage of Philae’s wealth, recruited 6000 mercenaries, conducted rigorous training on them, gave generous rewards to soldiers who performed bravely in battle, and gave good care to wounded soldiers. And Healing, if he died in battle, he would arrange a grand funeral for him, so the mercenaries were loyal to him and were willing to fight hard for him.

Thessaly’s cavalry is well-known, and the heavy infantry here is also quite famous. They are already in his newly formed team, but Jason is still unsatisfied because he has paid attention to the south of Thessaly over the years. The Greek War that took place made him aware of the importance of light shields (the Athenian general Iphitraques was good at commanding Thracian light shields, and he has repeatedly made battles), and the mountains around Thessali are also rich in excellent light shields. Shield soldier.

So, he commanded this well-trained and brave army, and successively conquered Malachi, Donopus (a race in the mountains north of Thessaly), and the Iraqi in the mountains northwest of Thessaly. Pirus, thus strengthening his mercenary team.

Under his powerful rule, Philae became stronger day by day. He took advantage of the Greek overlord Sparta busy with the war between Thebes and Athens, and was unable to go north, and forced several northern cities of Thessaly, including Larissa and Crannon near Philae, to surrender to him. Then he turned his gaze to Fasalus.

Fasalus is located in the center of Thessaly region. It has always been a strong state in this area. Many of the city-states of Thessaly are only looking forward to it. If you conquer it, you will be able to unify the whole of Thessaly more smoothly. area.

So Jason led an army of tens of thousands of people and marched to the south of Fasalus.

Fassarus also hurriedly summoned other allied armies to fight the invading enemy.

After winning the first battle, Jason did not immediately attack the city of Fasalus. Instead, he sent envoys into the city to persuade him to surrender, and he also specifically found Polydamas, who was the commander of the coalition forces at the time. Bring him a letter from Jason.

In the letter, Jason told Polydamas straightforwardly: With his powerful force, he can completely wipe out Fasalus and his allies in one fell swoop. The reason why he did not do so is because He hoped that the city-state of Thessaly, headed by Fasalus, would be able to join him in the Thessaly Alliance, so that they would not be ready to plot rebellion at all times, but would do their best to jointly safeguard the interests of the alliance.

He also hopes that Polydamas will assist him with all his strength and help him become the Targus of all the Sesari (the Sesari’s name for the overlord of the Sesari), and he will also give Polyda Ma Si pays a lot of attention, let him become one person under him and above tens of thousands of people.

In the letter, he also showed his ambition like Polydamas: As long as Thessaly is under the rule of a Targus, years of wars will be calmed down, sufficient food and numerous His population and well-trained mercenaries...enable him to dispatch an army of 6000 cavalry and more than 10,000 heavy infantry at any time, and form an alliance with the city-states of Piosha headed by Thebes to the south. If he can free them from the control of the Spartans, they will certainly obey him; at the same time, he can also control Macedonia to the north, because the Athenians get the wood for shipbuilding here, and he can build on it. Ships that travel far more than the southern Greek city-states form a powerful fleet... and his real goal is not the barren land to the south, nor the small islands in the Aegean Sea, but Persia on the vast continent to the east. Since the Greek mercenaries of the year and the army of Agsilius were able to advance in and out of Persia, and he has a stronger army, he is fully confident to conquer the Persian kingdom, thus gaining unprecedented glory And wealth!

Polydamas was completely stunned by the ambition expressed in his letter.

After Polydamas calmed down, he wrote back to Jason: He thought that the various issues that Jason mentioned in the letter were indeed worthy of his consideration, but let Fasalus wait for these issues. The Allied States of Bada (After Sparta helped the King of Macedonia defeat the League of Karkidia, it increased its influence in China and North Greece. Fasalus and many other Thessaly city-states also formed an alliance with Sparta. alliance). Without any excuses, to break away from the alliance and turn to their enemies is unethical and will not be blessed by the gods.

Jason quickly responded.

In the letter, he praised Polydamas, thinking that he is a person who keeps his promises, and such a person is more trustworthy.

And he suggested: Polydamas can send messengers to Sparta and ask for help from Sparta.

At the end of the letter, he confidently said: "If the gods allow you to persuade Sparta to send an army strong enough to fight me, then I can only watch the changes and accept this war. But if they can’t provide you with enough assistance, then you’d better follow my previous requirements, and the whole Thessaly will unite under me-a new Targus!"