"Mr. Archon, please be patient. Do you know what is the biggest advantage of our Tyrian League compared to the Peloponnesian League?" Seleucus said with a smile.
The biggest advantage?
Pericles was stunned.
Is this even a question? Athens' greatest advantage is its powerful navy!
Since I came to power, Athens' naval advantage has become more obvious than before!
But, this is of no use!
In the final analysis, if you want to become the overlord of all Greece, you always need a large amount of continental territory!
Unable to defeat Sparta in terms of army, relying solely on naval harassment, it would at best become an enhanced version of Eubia.
They stubbornly held on to the overseas islands and handed over the rich and populous continent to Sparta.
This is definitely not what Athens pursues!
Seeing that Pericles didn't understand, Seleucus smiled again and then spoke slowly.
"Your Excellency the Archon must think that Athens' greatest advantage is its navy! In fact, it is not so! Compared with Sparta, Athens' greatest advantage is its geographical location! Athens has a large amount of living space that can be expanded. And behind Sparta, there is only the endless sea!" said Seleucus.
Expandable living space!
Hearing Seleucus's judgment, Pericles nodded unconsciously.
yes!
Although the Peloponnesian League is powerful, it is located at the southernmost tip of the continent!
Sparta wanted to further expand its territory, so it had to attack the north! However, the north had already been firmly blocked by the countries of the Tyrian Alliance.
Although the Peloponnesian League seems stronger at the moment, their strength has a limit and they cannot break through the bottleneck of land and population.
On the contrary, as long as the Tino Alliance stabilizes the southern defense line, it can develop to the rear.
Whether it is the barbarian land in the northwest, behind Mount Olympus in the north, or the Aegean Sea coast in the northeast, there is a large amount of land and population available for plunder!
The enemy can no longer make progress, but our side can continue to grow stronger.
If we persist, the final victory will surely be ours!
Eating a tiny Eubia frightened the King of Sparta, which is a clear proof!
"You are right! As long as Athens holds the long wall in the south, it can expand its territory in other directions! But Sparta cannot! Because it is surrounded by the sea on three sides! And the control of the sea is still in our hands! But, in which direction should we expand? What do you think?" Pericles asked.
This is what Seleucus wanted to hear from Pericles.
When Seleucus heard the Athenian archon ask this question, he did not hesitate any longer and told him the revenge plan he had already thought of in his mind.
The person he wants revenge on is, of course, Stoby!
Stubby occupied Stupora and turned himself, the prince, into a commoner!
Stobi defeated Macedonia and ruined his chance of a second rise!
What I hate most is that Stoby doesn't even think highly of a top talent like me. He doesn't even need me even though I've got him right here!
Every one of these accounts made Seleucus grit his teeth!
Now we finally have the chance to take revenge on Stobi with the help of Athens, the strongest country in Greece!
As Seleucus spoke, his whole body trembled unconsciously.
Seleucus's plan was simple.
He first denied the feasibility of expanding territory to the northwest in a few words.
The reason is that there are many barbarians in the northwest, and it will be impossible to make effective use of them for a while after taking them.
Then, Seleucus denied the feasibility of expanding territory to the northeast.
The reason was that the Aegean Sea consisted of only a few small islands with few inhabitants. Furthermore, the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea was under threat from Persia. Taking it would only be a burden.
Therefore, what Seleucus focused on introducing to Pericles was how to conquer the Great North.
Seleucus believed that Eubia's failure in conquering the Great North was due to specific tactical problems and there was no strategic error.
Since Botaitia and Thasos were both guarded by Greek fire, it would be inappropriate to attack them.
The best way is to go through the north exit of Mount Olympus.
The Macedonian garrison there were all his old subordinates, and Seleucus was well aware of their confusion and anxiety.
With the powerful cultural appeal of Athens and his own persuasion, it was not impossible to persuade the defenders to surrender and capture that important pass without fighting.
Then, after clearing out the weakened Macedonia, they could sweep across the North by land.
"Good idea! Let's get started without further delay!" Pericles replied happily.
Seleucus' words pointed out the strategic direction for the Delian League to turn defeat into victory, and gave Pericles a sudden enlightenment.
Since we want to take advantage of Seleucus's appeal to the Macedonian soldiers, it is certainly not advisable to delay.
Pericles immediately convened a meeting of the alliance and quickly made a strategic decision.
To the southwest, they firmly defended the long wall. No matter how the Peloponnesian League provoked them, they refused to fight.
Afterwards, he gathered three million reserve troops from Athens, Boeotia and dozens of city-states in the Tene League and marched north to attack the Great North.
Hearing that it could expand their strength, the allies naturally supported it.
In less than half a month, the army gathered at the southern entrance of Mount Olympus, the former home of Eubia.
Alexander was not aware of the changes in military power south of Mount Olympus.
At this moment, he was feeling bored.
Alexander was deeply hurt by the fact that Seleucus and the Sirens had apparently left him.
What is even more frustrating is that Macedonia has lost its living space for expansion.
The three sides of northeast and west are already the territory of Stobi and its vassal states.
Alexander had always been defeated in every fight with Stoby, so he certainly didn't dare to provoke him again.
We are lucky to be able to hold the defense line.
And in the south, the once-prosperous Eubia was being divided up! The even more powerful Boeotia had already taken over the southern entrance to Mount Olympus!
This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Alexander!
Boeotia, that's one of the five great Greek states!
Although it is the weakest among the five major countries, it is still several times stronger than Macedonia at its most powerful time!
The passage to the south was blocked by it, and Macedonia completely lost the possibility of breaking out.
In the future, apart from being trapped here to death, there is no hope of rising again!
On the other hand, Stobi unexpectedly took advantage of the enemy's strategy. After defeating the Eubian expeditionary force, he directly advanced into Thrace and dealt a heavy blow to Adlicia!
Later, they formed an alliance with Troy, one of the five great powers. Unexpectedly, they defeated the Persian invasion in the east and gained a large area of eastern territory!
The destinies of the two countries are completely different!
Fighting Stoby at this point will only lead to death!
Taking advantage of Macedonia's current strength, actively expressing goodwill to Stobi and seeking a certain weight in Stobi's system might be the wisest choice!
After much consideration, Alexander finally made up his mind.
He wrote a letter and sent an envoy to Botaitia, expressing his willingness to respect Stobi as his co-lord and accept Stobi's leadership.
Ina was extremely surprised to receive such a letter.
Not daring to make a decision on her own, she quickly sent a pigeon to report to Xia Zhe who was far away in Alexandria.
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