After much deliberation, Hector decided to send a letter to his father, suggesting that Troy mobilize its entire navy and rush to Botaitia to join forces.
In that way, he would have nearly 4,000 ships at his disposal, greatly improving safety.
If King Stobi can really achieve something, Troy can show enough sincerity to help him!
If King Stobi was defeated by Athens and fled.
With the power at hand, he could also put some pressure on Athens and keep the territory in the north.
No matter what the outcome is, King Stobi will be grateful for this favor.
The alliance between Troy and Stoby can be more stable!
Because Hector did not follow immediately, Xia Zhe set sail to conquer Tinuo Island with only more than 50 ships.
A fleet of this size is smaller than many merchant fleets.
The spies planted by the Tino Alliance in Stobi did not notice this southern expedition at all.
On the contrary, the army led by Alexander and Odysseus had an army of nearly one million and was very powerful.
They had just left Botaitia and had not yet entered Macedonia when the news reached Pericles.
In the Battle of Botaïtia, seven or eight hundred ships were lost, which Pericles considered a great humiliation.
He did not return to Athens, but went directly south to the Euboean Islands and lived in the former royal palace of Eubia.
Upon hearing that Stobaeus had taken advantage of his great victory to move south, Pericles was furious.
Our Antinous Alliance is known as the most powerful force in Greece.
Even the powerful Sparta in the south did not dare to rashly attack our ally’s territory!
This little Stoby in the Great North just defeated our invasion by sheer luck, and now he dares to launch a counterattack?
Who gave you the courage?
How can I, the Tino Alliance, be satisfied if I don't beat you to the point of doubting your life?
"I order! The armies of the 17 northern nations of the Tenonian Alliance must all gather at the northern fortress of Thermopylae in Boeotia within half a month! At the same time, Athens will also mobilize its army to rush to assist. I will use a thundering blow to teach Strobe a lesson! Let them know that the gap in strength cannot be reversed by a small victory!" said Pericles.
Assemble the armies of eighteen countries to reinforce Pioxia!
Going to fight a land battle with Stoby!
Hearing this, Cleisthenes, an important official beside him, suddenly changed his expression and subconsciously spoke up to remind him.
"This? Lord Archon, what Athens is good at is not land warfare, but naval warfare! Although Boeotia suffered a temporary setback, its foundation is still there. As long as we hold the Thermopylae in the north, the Stobi army will not be able to take it down. Thessalion, what if we give it to Stobi? As long as Boeotia's military strength recovers in a few months, they can drive the Stobi people back to the north of Mount Olympus!" said Cleisthenes.
Cleisthenes was a famous Athenian strategist. He had a long-term vision!
King Pagnadas of Boeotia was killed, and the Theban heavy cavalry of a million men was annihilated. In the short term, they were truly unable to fight a full-scale battle against the Stoic army.
However, Boeotia was one of the five major Greek states, and its power was even greater than that of Stoica.
As long as we temporarily abandon Thessalian and firmly hold the Thermopylae Pass in the north, it will be easy to kill Stobi who intends to move south!
After three to five months, when the new Boeotian army is trained, they will be able to form another million Theban heavy cavalry.
By then, with the cooperation and support of the Athenian navy, it would not be difficult to drive the Stoic people back to the north of Mount Olympus.
At this moment, Athens took the lead and led the armies of 18 countries that were not good at land warfare to compete with Stobi for Thessalion, which was actually a waste of money and manpower.
If this causes problems in the southern defense line and Sparta takes the opportunity to break through, it will cause big trouble!
"I have made up my mind, no need to say more! Don't label Athens as not good at land warfare! Athens is financially strong, far superior to Eubia. Eubia was able to rely on human wave tactics to block Macedonia for twenty years! Can't Athens do it? The worst that can happen is to recruit more mercenaries!" Pericles asked angrily.
Hearing this, Cleisthenes knew that Pericles had made up his mind.
Unable to dissuade him any further, he could only try his best to explain to the consul the hidden dangers of recruiting mercenaries.
"Mr. Archon, if you want to rely on a large number of mercenaries to wear out the Stobi army, then our army must have sufficient funds! Tino Island is the treasury of our alliance, and it needs to be kept safe. Otherwise, once the treasury is occupied, the mercenaries will not get their wages, which can easily lead to backlash..." Cleisthenes spoke eloquently.
"Stop! I have thought about what you said a long time ago! In order to ensure the safety of Tinos Island, I have already ordered my Athenian Navy Mobile Corps to march two thousand nautical miles to the east and guard against the Persian Navy's westward advance near Rhodes Island! Except for Persia, no other country in the Aegean Sea has the strength to threaten my Athenian Navy!" Pericles waved his hand to interrupt Cleisthenes.
Go east to Rhode Island and keep the enemy out of the country!
Hearing this answer, Cleisthenes felt something was wrong, but he couldn't give a reason.
Pericles was actually right.
The strength of the Athenian navy was stronger than the other four of the five major Greek powers combined.
Even if they were extremely brave, they would not dare to engage in a naval battle with Athens.
Only Persia in the east is said to be vigorously developing its navy!
It is indeed better to deploy the main force of the navy to Rhodes Island in the east in advance and give early warning than to defend Tino Island.
But in this way, the defense of Tino Island itself seems a bit weak.
"Cleisthenes, stop imagining this! You must understand that attacking the territories taken by the Tino Alliance is an evil trend that must not be encouraged! Stobi must pay a heavy price for his actions. Otherwise, where will the dignity of the Tino Alliance be? It's settled!"
Seeing that Cleisthenes hesitated to speak, Pericles ended the topic decisively.
Seven days later.
The Stoic Legion, commanded by Alexander and Odysseus, successfully crossed the Olympus Pass and entered Thessalion, the former home of Eubia.
Along the way, the coalition forces were joined by armies of smaller city-states and Macedonian defenders, bringing their total strength to over one million.
Alexander was filled with emotion when he set foot on this land for the third time.
The previous two times he led the Macedonian army here, he was repelled by the Euboean human wave tactics.
This time, everything is different.
Eubia had been destroyed by the Tenetian League, and Macedonia had been annexed by Stobia.
Both sides of the war have now been upgraded to become powerful top forces.
As the war grew in scale and the great powers continued to annex smaller city-states, Alexander had a hunch that a major change, unprecedented in history, was about to take place.
"Report to the commander! According to reliable reconnaissance, the Tinian alliance army led by the traitor Seleucus has retreated into the city of Mari! There are no enemy troops in other parts of Thessalion!" The scout came to report.
Alexander and Odysseus were both surprised to hear this information.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
