"Ah… … Sorry! " Although Asuna was apologizing, the joy on her face couldn't be contained.
Christoia, leaning against the headboard, looked at her and couldn't help but be infected by her, revealing a slight smile: "I heard your laughter from far away. Tell me, what good thing happened?"
"Madam, Mrs. Agnes… … Oh no, Your Royal Highnesses! Congratulations to you, the Senate has just announced that Lord Davos is to be established as the King of Daonia!" Asuna said the joy in her heart in one breath.
Christoia's pretty face was also filled with joy, completely concealing the weakness after giving birth. At this moment, she suddenly remembered: Once after lovemaking, Davos had said spiritedly, 'Little Cyrus is nothing great, in the near future I will make you a queen too!'… …Davos, he really did it!
Agnes was not as excited as Christoia and Asuna. After all, Magna Graecia had been far away from the monarchy for hundreds of years, and she didn't feel much about it. She was just happy for her husband.
"Your Royal Highnesses, when Cynthia and Adoris come back from school, let's hold a banquet to celebrate this good news, what do you think?!" Asuna suggested, Christoia thought for a moment and shook her head, saying: "Now the people of the alliance are worried about the war, worried about their relatives. If we hold a banquet to celebrate at this time, it will be offensive and will damage Davos's reputation!"
"Your Royal Highness is right." Asuna said quickly.
"Don't say the word 'Your Royal Highness' either. Things haven't been completely determined yet, so don't be too complacent!" Christoia reminded her again.
"Yes, I think the previous title is better, it makes people feel kind（qīn qiè, closeness and warmth)." Agnes interjected: "Why don't we hold a sacrifice to the gods at home tonight to thank them for their blessings and hope that they can bless Davos to return safely!"
"My sister's proposal is great! We should offer sacrifices to Hades to thank him for protecting our husband! At the same time—" Christoia smiled and looked at Agnes: "We also have to offer sacrifices to Hera to thank her for blessing me with a healthy Eunice, and hope that she can bless you to give birth to a child smoothly!"
"Yes!" Agnes gently stroked her slightly bulging belly, revealing a maternal smile.
"Wah! Wah! Wah!… …" At this time, Eunice in the cradle woke up.
"Oh, my little princess!" Asuna hurried over, opened the diaper and took a look: "She pooped, and quite a lot!" Saying that, she skillfully changed the diaper… …
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Early morning,
The people of Croton were awakened by the continuous bugle calls outside the city.
"What happened?"
"I'm afraid the Syracuse people are going to attack the city!"
… …
The people looked anxiously at the city wall full of soldiers in the distance.
Suddenly, a black spot swept across the sky above the city wall.
"Hide quickly!" The people reminded each other, aiming at the direction the stone bullet came from, and ran away in all directions. They were already very familiar with this terrible weapon of Syracuse. Its attack on the city of Croton had not stopped in the past few days.
But today's situation was obviously different from the previous two days. Stone bullets flew over the city wall one after another, hitting the blocks near the city wall in the city, quickly leading to broken houses and rubble everywhere. The people supported their injured relatives and fled in all directions… …
The stone bullets bombarded the city wall again and again, causing pieces of stone skin to fall off… …
Lysias, who was watching all this on the city wall, began to feel anxious: "Why hasn't the Daonian crossbow artillery team counterattacked and allowed the enemy to fire stone bullets so unscrupulously?"
"Lord Lysias, the Daonians have no choice." Ascamas, who had communicated with the crossbow artillery team many times, explained: "The towers on our city wall are too narrow to fit a crossbow. They can only put the crossbows under the city. But the city wall is too high, so the crossbows have to raise the elevation angle, so the range will be shortened… …"
"That is to say, they can't attack the enemy's crossbows!" Lysias understood.
"Yes. So the Daonians suggested that we should not expose that we have crossbows first, and then give them a heavy blow when the enemy is relieved to attack." Although Astar Mas didn't like Daonia before, he knew the importance of unity in the face of a great enemy, so he said frankly: "I think this method is feasible."
Lysias thought for a while and reluctantly agreed to the Daonian crossbow artillery team's suggestion: "But what should we do now? The number of crossbows used by the enemy today is obviously more than the previous two days. I'm afraid the city wall will be collapsed!"
"Don't worry, this situation will not happen for the time being." Ascamas comforted him and said: "We only have to wait for the enemy to attack and then hit them hard! I believe the Syracuse people will take action soon!"
As Ascamas spoke, his eyes were fixed on the wide earthen barrier that was dozens of meters away in front of the city and was taller than the city wall, which had been built by the Syracuse people for days. He believed that compared to the crossbows, this was the real threat to the city's defense. Yesterday, he sent soldiers to venture out of the city to destroy it, but they were defeated by the Syracuse people who were already prepared. He had also thought about digging a tunnel to pass through, but the moat surrounded the city, and when the tunnel was dug below the moat, water seepage occurred, scaring the soldiers to retreat quickly, otherwise they might have been drowned in the tunnel. Finally, the Daonians told him, 'There is a way to destroy that earthen barrier.' Only then did he temporarily relax.
Ascamas knew that although there was no one on the earthen barrier now, when the siege began, it would be full of Syracuse archers, firing arrows at the soldiers on the city wall… …
"I'm going to see the Trinians, I'll leave everything here to you!" Lysias said solemnly. The continuous roar made him feel highly nervous, as if the city wall would collapse at any time, so he wanted to leave here quickly.
It happened that Sipros led the Trinian soldiers to defend the north city today. As the chief general of Croton, it was of course necessary to visit them. At the same time, he also had to visit the thousands of Siriting soldiers defending the south city, which was also a force to be relied on. Because Syracuse slaughtered the city of Siriting, the relatives and friends of these soldiers were either killed or sold into slavery and sent to foreign lands. The anger of the Siriting soldiers must be calmed by the blood of the Syracuse people. They were the most eager for the Syracuse people to come and attack.
Just as Lysias was about to leave, the guard sent an urgent report: Countless Syracuse warships appeared outside the port, preparing to break into the bay.
Croton is somewhat similar to Taranto. Their port and the city itself are integrated, but the port is built in the bay. Because the bay is large, it is impossible for the Crotonians to block it. Therefore, when the enemy's fleet breaks in, it may land on the side and rear of the city of Croton (that is, the southeast of the city). Although there are also city walls built there, while defending the city walls, it is also necessary to be vigilant about the enemy's sudden advance into the port and landing docks. This requires higher command and judgment from the commanding general, especially when Croton does not have too many troops.
"We need an experienced general to command the few soldiers in the port area and prevent the enemy from attacking our rear!" Ascamas said with a solemn expression.
Lysias understood what he meant and said without hesitation: "I will send Milon."
Milon, the former chief general of Croton, was expelled by the citizens of Croton after leading the army to a major defeat at Daonia. He had to run to Corinth, a coastal town in Elis on the Peloponnese Peninsula, not far from Croton, and live in seclusion.
It was not until the Syracuse army invaded Magna Graecia that Croton decided to recall the previously exiled nationals in order to work together to fight the Syracuse people. As soon as Milon received the news, he immediately returned to Croton, but at that time the Croton army had already set off to Siriting, so he had been staying in the city as an ordinary citizen until he was appointed today.
Hearing Lysias's words, Ascamas showed a smile, but the smile quickly disappeared, because the enemy began to attack… …
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Several hundred meters away, the Syracuse people's huge, loose, seemingly boundless battle formation was slowly approaching the city wall. Walking in the front were some strangely shaped engineering machines pushed by the Syracuse people, such as battering rams, and many wooden wheeled vehicles similar to battering rams with canopies to shelter people and five or six meters long… …
What worried Ascamas the most were the three huge, mobile wooden towers that were taller than the city wall. Although Ascamas was seeing them for the first time in war, a word immediately flashed in his mind—siege tower. He had heard that the Syracuse people had used siege towers to capture many Carthaginian cities on the island of Sicily. Seeing the real thing this time was so shocking to him.
The soldiers were equally shocked and at a loss when they saw the huge engineering tower slowly approaching them.
"Cheer up!" Ascamas shouted loudly, continuing to encourage the soldiers, and also to cheer himself up: "Don't look at that thing so big, but it can't cross the moat!"
Yes, with the moat, that monster can't cross it! The soldiers temporarily relaxed, and then they saw the enemy's siege column stop moving forward, and thousands of naked men walked out of it, carrying cloth bags on their backs, staggering towards the city wall, and behind them were fully armed Syracuse light infantry, pushing arrow-shielded vehicles close behind… …
Could it be the slaves of Syracuse, preparing to fill our moat?! Kolebus and his companions around him had the same idea, and clenched the javelins and bows in their hands.
Ascamas felt a little uneasy in his heart.
The slaves stumbled quickly towards the palisade, and the soldiers on the city wall began to fire arrows, causing screams of agony below...
Just as Corebus and the others bent their bows and drew their javelins again, the slaves below shouted loudly, "Don't shoot! I am Siphonos, son of Sipacus!"
"I am Paralus! Neighbor of Ascamas!"
...
The Crotonian soldiers were stunned: those below the city were not slaves, but their compatriots who had been captured after the previous defeat!
"Damn Syracusans! May Dionysius rot in the underworld!" Ascamas angrily punched the battlement, his fist instantly stained with blood. He had not expected Dionysius to disregard Greek tradition and use Greek prisoners as expendable shields in the siege.
At this moment, Dionysius, who had already followed the archers onto the earth base , looked down at the scene below the city, a cold smile on his face. After the last battle, Syracuse had captured nearly ten thousand prisoners. Through intimidation, beatings, starvation... and other tortures, more than 2,000 people were forced to agree to remove the palisade and fill the moat for Syracuse, in exchange for a promise not to be tortured or sold into slavery. These 2,000 people included not only Crotonians, but also a few Siri and Trina people, but no Daunians. On the one hand, the Daunian soldiers were captured the least, and more than half of them had already been exchanged by Daonia. As for the remaining Bruttian prisoners, Dionysius had other uses for them, while most of the pure Greeks and Lucanians were stubborn...
Dionysius didn't dwell on this annoying little problem. He was now gloating over the strategy he had used, wanting to see how the Crotonians would respond. To this end, he ordered the archers not to shoot arrows for the time being, to conserve their strength and arrows, and to clear the obstacles on the city wall for the army when the entire army attacked.
On the city wall, the adjutant asked anxiously, "General, what should we do?!"
Ascamas did not answer immediately. While having the guards bandage his left hand, he painfully watched the Crotonian prisoners below the city, forced by the Syracusans, walk to the moat, throw the soil bags they were carrying into the moat, and then turn around to destroy the palisade carefully arranged by the defenders.
Ascamas cursed these traitors inwardly, but he dared not order an attack on them, because he thought of this: Croton's former deadly enemy, Thurii, their chief general Cunogolata, had ordered the city gates to be closed, saving the entire city, but because it led to the death of some citizen soldiers, the people were relentless, not only expelling Cunogolata, but also harming his family. Now, if he directly ordered the killing of the Crotonian prisoners below, even if he repelled the enemy's attack, how could the families of these thousands of dead not hate him in the future? His fate would probably be worse than Cunogolata's!
Ascamas was not just a general who only knew how to fight.
Being able to be elected general multiple times in Croton, a powerful Greek state with tens of thousands of citizens, his political skills were not low. After quickly weighing the pros and cons, he said to the adjutant, "Go to the city hall immediately and tell the council about the situation here, and let them make a decision."
After the adjutant left, Ascamas saw that a small section of the moat was about to be cut off, and couldn't help but sigh, instructing the guards, "Quickly find some ropes and lower them down the city wall so they can grab them and climb up."
He dared not open the city gate, fearing that the Syracusans would take the opportunity to pour in.
The soldiers hurriedly found ropes and lowered them down the city wall, then shouted to their compatriots, "Come over here!! Grab the ropes and climb up!!"
Some prisoners heard this and staggered across the filled moat, but the Syracusan light infantry immediately shot arrows at them, making it easy to shoot down these prisoners who had never been full and were physically weak.
The soldiers on the city wall retaliated angrily, but most of them could not hit the Syracusans hiding behind the shield carts, and instead accidentally injured their compatriots.
The prisoners dared not act rashly anymore.
Seeing this scene, Ascamas helplessly gave up the rescue of his compatriots.
The Crotonian council obviously had no mental preparation for Syracuse's use of prisoners to attack the city, and the debate was fierce, but they were unable to make a decision, which gave the Syracusans plenty of time to fill several long sections of the moat and clear the palisades on both sides of the moat.
Ascamas looked at all this with frustration, but he quickly forced himself to cheer up: Since that's the case, then let's have a face-to-face fight!
As if hearing Ascamas's inner cry, the prisoners were driven back and never appeared again.
Seeing that everything was ready, Dionysius confidently issued the order on the high platform: "Attack!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a coolness on his face. He reached out and touched it, and it turned out to be water.
Was it raining? Dionysius looked up at the sky. The previously clear sky had become a little gloomy at some point. Although it was only small raindrops, Dionysius was a little worried, because the weight of the siege tower would cause the land to soften after being soaked by rain, causing the wheels to sink into the mud and unable to move.
"Speed up the attack!" He issued the order again.
The bugle sounded long. Stone bullets kept whistling over the Crotonian city, and the dark mass of enemies below the city surged slowly like a tide...
The sound of bugles, war drums, shouts, and footsteps... mixed together, hitting the eardrums of the defending soldiers, making their breathing rapid.
"It's starting," Ascamas whispered, picking up his javelin and walking to the battlement.
At this moment, a black spot suddenly flashed across the sky above the back of his head, followed by another...
He immediately widened his eyes and looked up, and heard the soldiers next to him excitedly shouting, "Our ballista! Our ballista is finally showing its power!!..."
That's not Croton's ballista... Ascamas thought, but seeing the soldiers' morale rising, he didn't mind, but felt fortunate in his heart: Fortunately, Daonia is standing with Croton!
The Crotonian soldiers were excited, but the Syracusans were anxious, especially Dionysius. He saw with his own eyes that the stone bullets flying from the city almost all hit near the siege tower not far from the earth mound.
He had heard Faxipessas say, 'Daonia also has ballista.' Since Croton had not used them in the past two days, he thought that Daonia had not lent this weapon, which was complex to manufacture, expensive in materials, and powerful, to Croton, but used it to defend Asproustum. He didn't expect Croton to hide it until Syracuse launched a full-scale attack before it began to show its power.
"Cunning Crotonians!" Dionysius cursed. He knew that the enemy's ballista's target was the siege tower, but he could only worry: "Notify our ballista operators to attack the area inside the enemy city where the ballista might be placed!"
Although Dionysius issued the order, he also knew that the accuracy of the ballista was not high. Without being able to see the location of the enemy's ballista, it would be too difficult to hit. However, with the siege troops already approaching the city wall, the ballista could no longer bombard the city wall to avoid accidentally injuring their own people. It would be good to make some attempts to disrupt the Crotonian city.
In front of the tidal wave of huge siege troops, the enemy had only a dozen ballista, which could not make much of a splash at all. The key was to capture the city wall first! Dionysius quickly made a decision. Under his instructions, hundreds of archers on the earth mound began to fire arrows at the city wall directly in front of them, suppressing the enemy's attack on the soldiers below the city.
The Crotonian light infantry on the city wall also began to pour arrows on the enemies approaching the moat.
The Syracusans crossed the filled moat, braved the javelins thrown by the Crotonians, and placed the ladders they were carrying on the city wall. The specially made end of the ladder, made after multiple siege experiences by the Crotonians, had two curved iron hooks that could hook onto the battlement, preventing the ladder from being easily slipped or pushed over.
The Crotonian soldiers could not quickly push down the ladder, so they had to throw javelins and stones down, attack the enemies climbing the city, pour tung oil, and burn the ladder with fire...
The Syracusan light infantry also came out from behind the shield carts and rushed to the city wall, shooting arrows at the city wall to reduce the defenders' attacks on the siege soldiers...
The Syracusan siege equipment was the slowest to advance. Running in the front were the wooden wheeled vehicles with roofs. Driven by the personnel inside the vehicle, they finally arrived at the filled moat. Under the protection of the roof, the personnel inside the vehicle picked up tools and began to re-compact the ground without distraction, filling the gaps with soil and laying wooden planks to ensure that the heavy siege tower could pass through the moat.
Daonia's ballista were concentrated not far behind the west city wall, with a relatively wide spacing, and were surrounded by houses for protection, making them relatively safe. However, because the ballista were widely dispersed, it was impossible to use the same data after calculating the attack target to adjust the trajectory. There were not so many artillerymen from the Academy of Mathematics, so Curdorod proposed a suggestion: ten ballista should bombard the same area or target at the same time to improve the accuracy of the hit. After the first shot was fired by the ballista under his personal command, the other ballista operators could adjust the firing data according to the height and speed of the stone bullets.
This suggestion was recognized by the ballista team, and now their primary target was the approaching siege tower directly in front of them.
Curdorod had been watching the observer on the city wall holding up the colored flag. The position he was standing was to indicate the position of the siege tower, and the numbers he made with the colored flag in the air were the distance between the siege tower and the city wall. Then the observer pointed the colored flag to the left, and after repeating this action twice, the numbers he made were the direction and distance of the deviation of the stone bullet fired by Curdorod before.
The first two shots missed. Curdorod felt the pressure. He wiped the rain off his face to make his vision clearer. He knew he had to hit as soon as possible, otherwise if the rain kept falling, the elasticity of the ballista's spring assembly would change after being damp, making it even more difficult to judge the accurate trajectory.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath to calm himself. After a quick calculation in his mind, he said in a deep voice, "Keep the elevation the same, turn the cannon body one degree to the left, reduce the range by one notch, and use the original weight of the solid shot."
The gunner immediately followed the instructions.
"Fire!"
The stone ball roared away, followed by one stone ball after another flying out of the city…
But more stone balls flew in from outside the city, with the resounding "Boom! Boom! Boom!…" mixed with exclamations and screams.
One of the stone balls landed near the ballista where Kurdolord was, with stone chips flying and a terrifying momentum.
However, Kurdolord remained unmoved.
After this period of training, he was no longer the scholar who had just left the academy (the legion soldiers' nickname for him), but had become a qualified soldier.
The siege tower of Syracuse was far from comparable to the siege tower used by Daonia when they captured Knapétia.
It was 20 meters long, 10 meters wide, and 12 meters high, shaped like a trapezoid, with a total of seven floors.
The top floor was a ring-shaped wooden frustum, with five archers inside, who could shoot arrows down at the city wall.
The bottom floor also had a battering ram hanging from it, which could directly bombard the city wall.
The second floor from the bottom was almost as high as the city wall, and a drawbridge could be lowered to allow the soldiers inside the tower to rush onto the city wall.
The third floor from the bottom was slightly lower than the city wall, and it housed another terrifying weapon invented by the Syracusans—the belly bow…
Therefore, this was a super siege tower, requiring hundreds of people to push it with force behind and on both sides.
The stone balls of Daonia kept falling around it, splashing up mud flowers one after another, and the mud mixed with rainwater hit people, causing a rustling pain.
Those who were hit by the stone balls died in a terrible state, scaring the surrounding soldiers to avoid it.
With the siege soldiers densely packed and advancing under the city, only a large area near the siege tower was left empty.
The commander of this siege tower also felt a bit of danger, and he urged the laborers behind the tower to push the siege tower to speed up its advance.
As long as it reached the city wall, nothing could threaten the siege tower.
At this time, the outer planks of the third floor from the bottom of the siege tower had been opened, and two belly bows revealed their true forms.
Its structure was similar to that of a ballista, except that the launching device was a huge bow laid flat and fixed on the launching frame.
The operator vigorously turned the pulley to pull the thick bowstring open and fix it, and then put in an equally huge iron arrow.
A distance of 30 meters was easy to aim for the belly bow.
The belly bowman on the right even aimed the iron arrow at the general on the city wall whose helmet was adorned with a colorful tassel.
"Whoosh!!…" Accompanied by the huge sound of the bowstring, the iron arrow flashed with a sharp whistling sound and shot to the city wall.
When the siege tower "opened the window", Ascamas's years of battlefield experience made him feel uneasy, so he subconsciously sat down under the crenel.
He then heard two shrill screams.
The soldiers behind him, who were holding round shields to block the arrows from the earthen base and the siege tower, were pierced through the chest by the iron arrow.
Moreover, the powerful kinetic energy also pierced through the soldiers behind him at the same time, and finally nailed them to the wall behind.
The other iron arrow pierced through three people at once.
Seeing this, the surrounding soldiers, including Ascamas, showed horror.
The Syracuse giant siege tower, which played a key role in the conquest of the Carthaginian stronghold of Motia in Sicily, revealed its ferocious face.
It was like a giant beast with its fangs and claws, slowly approaching the city wall, getting closer and closer, and the defending soldiers were panicked and at a loss…
At this critical moment, a black spot flew across the top of the city wall like a shooting star, hitting the arrow tower on the top floor of the siege tower with strong kinetic energy.
With a "Bang!" sound, the hard and thick wooden planks were easily broken through, and the splashing wood chips pierced the faces and bodies of the Syracuse archers in the arrow tower like steel needles, causing them to scream shrilly.
But this was not the end.
The stone ball that fell into the tower fell down the wooden ladder and hit the foot of a soldier on the third floor from the bottom of the siege tower who was stringing the belly bow.
He screamed, causing the other soldiers to panic and delaying the firing of the belly bow.
"Hit! Hit! Our ballista hit!!…" The defending soldiers cheered, as if they had won the entire victory, using this action to dispel the fear in their hearts.
Astarmathus sighed in his heart: compared with the huge siege tower, the stone ball of the ballista was simply a drop in the bucket, not enough to cause great damage to it.
As soon as Ascamas finished sighing, he saw one stone ball after another flying in and hitting the siege tower.
Just when the soldiers sighed that they had not hit, and some even began to pray to Apollo, their prayers seemed to have worked.
A stone ball flew in from the side and hit the side of the middle of the siege tower, causing the enemy to exclaim.
Then another stone ball flew in without deviation and hit the floor where the baffle was being lifted to launch the belly bow.
The belly bow broke in response, and various parts and wood chips flew around in the narrow space, resulting in the screams of soldiers and splashing blood.
Then another stone ball smashed through the lower part of the siege tower.
Despite the constant cheers of the defending soldiers, the siege tower, which had been pierced with several large holes by stone balls, still slowly approached the city wall.
However, during the movement, the tower body began to shake, and the loose wooden planks kept falling down, causing the laborers who were trying to push it to flee in panic, and the siege tower began to collapse from top to bottom…
On the earthen mound outside the city, Dionysius watched the scene with a livid face. He knew that although, under his urging, Faxipessas had gathered nearly ten thousand people and, under the direction of engineers, had rushed to build siege towers, completing three in just a few days, the hasty construction meant the siege towers were not very sturdy. The violent impact of stone projectiles would certainly damage the internal structure of the siege towers…
"Lord, look! That siege tower has crossed the moat!" Damocles shouted excitedly, trying to divert Dionysius's attention.
"Our battering ram has reached the city walls. I think Croton's walls will tremble under its impact!" another subordinate said, not wanting to be outdone.
Indeed, the walls of Croton were covered with Syracuse soldiers swarming like ants. They attracted most of the defenders' attacks, allowing the siege towers, battering rams, and tamping carts (the wooden-wheeled vehicles used to fill in sections of the moat, which, after reaching the city walls, allowed the personnel inside to use tools like pickaxes to dig away and loosen the hardest outer layer of the city walls—the stones—causing the walls to collapse)… These large siege weapons had relatively smoothly reached the city walls. The collapse of one siege tower would not affect the overall battle. But once these siege weapons unleashed their full power together, Croton's walls would be in serious trouble.
However, Dionysius looked up at the sky with concern. The dark clouds were gathering thicker and thicker, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier, almost blinding him. If the rain continued like this...
As if in response to his worries, "Crack!!!...Boom!!!..." A dazzling light flashed across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder that drowned out all the noise on the battlefield, stunning many soldiers on both sides, who looked up at the sky.
The wind picked up…
The rain became heavier, quickly turning into a downpour…
Lightning, thunder, wind, and rain became the protagonists of this world.
The soldiers no longer fought, but cowered under the city walls or in the towers, because a bolt of lightning that had just streaked across the sky and struck the ground had split a huge siege tower in two!
Everyone who saw this tragic scene was stunned.
This was the anger of the King of Gods, Zeus! The soldiers on both sides trembled in their hearts and began to pray to Zeus.
"Lord, it's too dangerous here. Let's go down quickly!" The attendants all came to persuade Dionysius.
Dionysius looked ahead with extreme reluctance, but the rain was too dense, and his vision was filled with a white expanse…
He reluctantly ordered: Retreat immediately!
In such extremely harsh weather, the bugle call could not be heard at all. Fortunately, the Syracuse soldiers did not need to be ordered; they had already consciously retreated. And the Crotonians did not dare to leave the city to pursue in such terrible weather. A large-scale siege war had just begun, but it was aborted by the intervention of nature…
As soon as Dionysius stepped down from the earthen mound, the mound that had taken several thousand people two days to build slowly collapsed under the fierce scouring of the rain. He helplessly cursed, "Crotonians are lucky!"
"It seems that Zeus is protecting them this time," an attendant said casually.
Dionysius immediately glared fiercely at him: "Shut your mouth! This has nothing to do with Zeus; it's just a coincidence."
But Ascamas on the city wall was devoutly praying to Zeus.
Rainy days in Croton during the winter are not frequent. It can be said that today's heavy rain is rare in recent years, so the Crotonians believe that this is the protection of the gods. Although they are being washed by the wind and rain, everyone's morale has been boosted.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The war between Syracuse and the Southern Italy League, because it concerned the hegemony of the Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean, was always under the attention of many forces.
Carthage, needless to say, hated Syracuse, with whom they had been entangled for a hundred years, to the bone. But unfortunately, the reality of their predicament caused the Carthaginian Senate to reject Dionysius's request for an alliance. Of course, they hoped that Syracuse's army would suffer setbacks, even heavy losses, in the war in Magna Graecia, but the news that kept coming was that the Syracusans were winning, and even Croton and Daonia were in danger under Dionysius's fierce attacks. The Carthaginians felt even more fear of Syracuse's power.
Mago, who was in charge of defense on Sicily, wrote several letters asking the Senate for instructions, requesting to launch small attacks on Syracuse's allies to divert Syracuse's attention, slow down Dionysius's attack on the north, and prevent him from conquering Magna Graecia and integrating it into an even more powerful Syracuse.
The Senate, led by Hanno, rejected his proposal. To prevent him from acting rashly, the Senate also sent a supervisor to Lilybaeum to monitor the mobilization of the Sicilian army.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
While the Carthaginian Senate anxiously watched the progress of the war in Magna Graecia, the battle for Corinth on the Peloponnese Peninsula continued.
However, Agesilaus, who was ill, returned to Sparta and handed over command of the Spartan allied forces in Corinth to Praxitas, the uncle of Sparta's other new king, Agesipolis. The troops Agesilaus had brought back from Asia Minor also remained in Corinth.
Agesilaus only invited a few friends as his honored guests to return to his long-separated homeland, including Xenophon.
While treating his body, Agesilaus also kept an eye on the war in Corinth and news from Magna Graecia.
One day, Xenophon visited Agesilaus's residence.
Agesilaus warmly welcomed him into the living room.
As soon as they sat down, Xenophon expressed his heartfelt gratitude to him: "King Agesilaus, today the Council of Elders informed me that they will accept me as a guest of Sparta and grant me a piece of land in Scillus. Thank you very much for your selfless help, which has finally given this exile a home!"
"Scillus, that's a good place! The land is fertile and close to the forest, where you can often see herds of deer. Moreover, it's near Olympia in Elis, so it will be much easier for you to watch the Olympic Games in the future." Agesilaus congratulated him with a smile, and then said seriously: "Xenophon, this is Sparta's compensation to you. If it weren't for your full assistance to Sparta, how could Athens have expelled you? Sparta will not let down any friend who has sincerely helped it!"
Although Agesilaus spoke sincerely, Xenophon didn't want to mention the "treason" charge leveled against him by Athens. He changed the subject and asked: "I wonder how the war in Corinth is progressing?"
"According to the latest intelligence, the Corinthians are tired of the war due to too many casualties and abandoned land. Some people have even secretly contacted Praxitas, attempting to negotiate a truce…" Agesilaus said.
"That's a good thing! As long as we continue to intensify our offensive, I believe the pro-peace faction in Corinth will inevitably grow, and Corinth will eventually lean towards Sparta," Xenophon said happily.
"But there is also bad news." Agesilaus said with a serious expression: "The Corinthians and Argives have secretly formed an alliance!"
"An alliance? What kind of alliance?" Xenophon asked curiously. Corinth and Argos were already members of the anti-Spartan alliance, so it seemed redundant for them to form a separate alliance.
"Just like what your good friend did in Magna Graecia, Corinth and Argos removed the boundary markers between the two cities, allowing the citizens of both city-states to enjoy the same rights of citizenship. They merged…" Agesilaus said in a heavy tone.
You should know that Sparta and Argos had been mortal enemies for hundreds of years. Unlike Athens, even after the Peloponnesian War failed, Sparta only destroyed Athens' hegemony and still gave it a way out. If Argos were to be defeated, it would suffer greatly even if it didn't die, because Argos had always opposed Sparta.
Even during the Greco-Persian Wars, all the city-states of the Peloponnese joined the anti-Persian alliance, with Sparta as the leader, to fight against Persia, except for Argos. It would rather secretly become Persia's internal agent, the reason being Sparta. Therefore, Sparta did not want to see Argos' strength increase even by a little.
Xenophon was well aware of the complex relationship between them. He thought for a while and smiled: "Actually, you don't need to worry. This alliance between the two city-states may be a good thing for Sparta."
"Oh, tell me about it." Agesilaus's heart stirred, and he leaned forward, posing in a posture of attentive listening.
"Now the anti-Spartan alliance is working together to fight against us Sparta. Thebes, Corinth, Athens, Megara, and Argos have all sent troops to participate in the war. The merger of Corinth and Argos only makes Argos more enthusiastic about assisting Corinth, but Argos is already a mortal enemy of Sparta, so its pressure on Sparta has not increased much. On the contrary—" Xenophon organized his words and said: "Corinth and Argos, as two city-states with a long history of establishment, have deeply rooted political traditions, customs, and interest needs, and they are very different. For example, Corinth is ruled by nobles, while Argos is more like Sparta—"
Agesilaus nodded, he understood that what Xenophon was talking about was "oligarchy."
"Corinth worships Poseidon, while Argos reveres Zeus and Agamemnon (the ancient city of Mycenae is located within Argos, and the Argives often boast that they have ancient Greek royal blood, which is more noble than the Spartans); Corinth is mainly engaged in commerce, while Argos relies on agriculture and animal husbandry; Corinthians are shrewd and sophisticated, while Argives are conservative and straightforward… These are two completely different city-states. Now that they have merged together hastily, it must be a decision made by the rulers of the two city-states under the pressure of our Spartan army's offensive, but it may cause more conflicts and contradictions between the people of the two city-states, causing those resentful Corinthians to lean more towards Sparta…"
Agesilaus's eyes lit up: "Xenophon, what you said makes a lot of sense! At tomorrow's Council of Elders meeting, I will tell the other elders your opinion."
He stood up excitedly, paced back and forth, and said: "In addition, I will write a letter to Prolaxitas, telling him not to attack Corinth too hastily, but to send more people to sow discord and contact the opponents of Corinth…"
Xenophon nodded secretly. This was why he was willing to follow Agesilaus. There was no shortage of power struggles between the two kings of Sparta. The most famous was the struggle between Cleomenes and Demaratus before the Greco-Persian War. Pausanias's backstabbing of Lysander, in addition to worrying that he would threaten the kingship, was probably also because Lysander fully supported another Spartan king, Agesilaus. This time, the Council of Elders used the excuse of "recuperation" to transfer Agesilaus, who was leading the army on the front line, back, and replaced him with a confidant of the new king, Agesi polis, the reason for which is probably worth investigating. However, Agesilaus still gave Prolaxitas advice, regardless of past grudges, which shows his magnanimity.
Therefore, Xenophon sincerely said: "King Agesilaus, your advice will greatly help Sparta conquer Corinth!"
Agesilaus smiled: "Xenophon, you are right. How could the integration of city-states be so easy? Sparta and Messenia also took decades to become one, but—" He looked puzzled: "Daonia can not only merge different Greek city-states such as Thurii, Amendolara, and Crimisa together, but also include Lucanians and Bruttians, and can basically maintain stability in recent years. How did your old friend do it?"
After Daonia's rise, due to Davos's reasons, Xenophon also briefly considered the reasons for the rapid growth of this city-state alliance through the information he learned, but based on the fact that the Helots were the foundation of Sparta's nation, he could not say some things, so he did not answer directly, but sighed: "The Daionian city-state alliance was established too short a time ago, and the war rashly waged against Syracuse will cause it endless trouble!"
"I'm afraid it's not just trouble, it's already a disaster for Daonia!" Agesilaus said solemnly, and then briefly told Xenophon about a series of battles that took place after Syracuse invaded Magna Graecia.
After Xenophon returned to mainland Greece, he was first busy leading mercenaries to fight against the anti-Spartan alliance, and then followed Agesilaus to Sparta, busy settling down. He had neither the energy nor the channels to understand the war in Magna Graecia. He did not expect that the situation in Magna Graecia would have undergone earth-shattering changes in just one month. Daonia was surrounded by enemies on all sides and was already in imminent danger.
Agesilaus continued: "In fact, we did not expect the war in Magna Graecia to progress so quickly. We originally thought that when the two sides were in a stalemate, we would mediate this war so that Syracuse could send reinforcements as soon as possible to our war against Corinth, especially its fleet could alleviate our blockade by Athens at sea. But judging from the current war situation, Dionysius, who has absolute advantage, will never stop the war, so I am wondering if Daonia can be made to surrender actively…"
Xenophon really thought that Agesilaus hoped that the war in Magna Graecia would end sooner so that Syracuse could assist Sparta. He certainly didn't know that there was another important reason in Agesilaus's heart: a more powerful Syracuse was not what Sparta wanted to see, because it was very likely that it would no longer be willing to cooperate with Sparta. Therefore, maintaining a Daonia that could pose a threat to Syracuse was conducive to the balance of power in the western Mediterranean and could also prevent the situation in the western Mediterranean from escaping Sparta's control.
Xenophon recalled the days when he and the young mercenary leader fought and fled in Persia a few years ago. The more difficult the situation, the stronger his fighting spirit, and he could often think of good ways to help the mercenaries out of trouble. Therefore, he reminded Agesilaus: "From what I know about Davos, he will not accept the suggestion of 'Daonia surrendering to Syracuse', he will definitely fight to the end!"
Agesilaus sighed: "Anyway, we have to try. What do you think about sending Chrysope to Thurii?"
Chrysope! Xenophon could no longer draw a clear image of this Spartan overseer who had fought together in Persia in his mind. It had been three or four years since Chrysope returned to Sparta with Tibron, and Xenophon had not seen him again. He said with emotion: "In Persia, Chrysope had a good relationship with Davos."
"Yes, he also proposed to the Council of Elders to accept Davos as a guest of Sparta!" Agesilaus also said with emotion: "So, for the young commander of Daonia, Chrysope would be a very good envoy."
In the southwest corner of Athens, on a small hill once called Pnyx, the Athenian people built a magnificent assembly hall a century ago to celebrate the overthrow of the tyrant Peisistratos. Its scale could accommodate 500 people seated simultaneously. It faced the Acropolis of Athens, not far to the east, and was adjacent to the once-famous Areopagus. It was a symbol of the Athenian people becoming their own masters. After experiencing the burning of the city by the Persians and the victory celebrations of the Greco-Persian Wars, people rebuilt it again. This is the famous Council of 500!
The Athens City Hall was right next to this magnificent building, appearing so inconspicuous. However, the "Ten Generals" elected each year worked here.
Today, the Athenian General Council was holding a meeting and invited Isocrates to participate in the discussion of the Corinthian war situation and the war in Magna Graecia.
Chief General Thrasybulus spoke first: "Generals, today envoys from Corinth have come to Athens requesting reinforcements. The situation within Corinth is not good. The Spartans' offensive is fierce, and they are finding it difficult to resist. This has greatly increased the arrogance of the pro-Spartan nobles in the city. They have proposed peace with Sparta in the assembly, and have gained some popular support. The morale of the Corinthians is weakening..."
"We must support Corinth! Otherwise, once Corinth falls to Sparta, the Spartans can break through the isthmus and force their way to the gates of Athens. Our Long Walls have not yet been completed. We cannot allow the Spartans' dirty feet to trample on Piraeus, our port that has just resumed trade, and the Attica territory that has not yet recovered! Moreover, if we are defeated, the damage Sparta inflicts on Athens this time will be even greater than last time. Athens cannot withstand such torment again!" The orator Andocides said with indignant.
His words reminded those present of the dark period of the "Thirty Tyrants" ten years ago, so they expressed their views one after another: "Immediately aid Corinth! Send more soldiers to support Corinth and block the Spartan offensive! ..."
"It is not enough to just block the Spartans. Since the beginning of the war, our allied forces have not won a single battle against the Spartans in the field. If this continues, the morale of the allied forces will only decline, and those city-states that hate Sparta and are still watching will lose the courage to resist. Therefore, we must defeat the Spartans to ultimately win this war!" A younger general said loudly.
"Defeating the Spartans on land is not so easy, Iphicrates!" The loser of the Battle of the Yanghe, the victor of the Battle of Cnidus, General Conon, who brought back an entire huge fleet to Athens, sighed: "If we could defeat the Spartans on land, coupled with our invincible navy, how could the Spartans be so rampant today!"
"Therefore, I request the assembly to authorize me to lead the troops I have trained to support Corinth. I will do my best to defeat the Spartans!" Iphicrates said firmly.
Thrasybulus stared at this mountain man from the Kephale region of Attica (the people living in Athens liked to call those living in the Attica region "mountain people or country bumpkins").
He knew that due to the long-term devastation of the Attica region by the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War, Iphicrates extremely hated the Spartans and had been studying how to defeat the Spartan hoplites: "The troops you trained? Are you referring to the nearly one thousand troops composed of Thracian peltasts and Cretan archers? Can these light infantry alone defeat the Spartans?!"
"We must admit that compared to the Spartans who have received brutal training since childhood, our citizen soldiers cannot compete with them. But hoplites also have flaws. They are slow and cumbersome. Therefore, let agile light infantry throw javelins and arrows at them from a distance. The hoplites cannot catch up with the light infantry and can only be passively beaten," Iphicrates said confidently. "I believe you have all heard of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, who is known as the 'Invincible General' by the Magna Graecians. He is a person who is good at using light infantry. I understand that he even formed light infantry into large units. Especially during the second war with Croton, he made full use of light infantry to defeat the Crotonian hoplite flanks, which ultimately led to the defeat of the Crotonians in the battle. Therefore, I am confident that I can use this light infantry force to defeat the Spartans!"
After listening, Thrasybulus looked at Conon.
Conon nodded and said loudly: "I hope Iphicrates can defeat the Spartans!"
"I agree to send Iphicrates to lead troops to Corinth," Andocides also expressed his agreement.
"I have no objection." The other generals also expressed their agreement. After all, in a situation where the world is afraid of fighting the Spartans on land, someone suddenly stood up and said confidently, 'He can defeat the Spartans!'. This confidence alone is enough to inspire everyone.
"I also agree." Thrasybulus also cast a vote in favor, and then he reminded: "However, Iphicrates, while you lead your trained light infantry to Corinth, you must also bring our citizen soldiers and let them engage in the frontal defense against the Spartans to avoid misunderstandings from the Corinthians, saying that we are being sneaky and not putting in our full effort."
"I understand, Thrasybulus, you are still very thoughtful," Iphicrates sincerely expressed his gratitude, and at the same time requested: "Then I need a deputy general to command our citizen soldiers."
Thrasybulus thought for a while, looked back at Conon, and said: "How about sending Timotheus?"
Timotheus was Conon's eldest son. Although he was only in his twenties, he had been following his father in Persia for many years, helping his father handle military affairs and participating in battles. He was already a very experienced general, especially in naval warfare. Conon knew that Thrasybulus's proposal would greatly help to enhance his son's influence in Athens. After all, he had been in Persia before, and the Athenian citizens were not familiar with him. But at the same time, fighting the Spartans also had great life risks.
But Conon answered without hesitation: "No problem."
Most of the others also agreed.
"In that case, I will make a proposal to the assembly this afternoon, which should be passed, to send reinforcements to Corinth," Thrasybulus made a decision, his expression still not relaxed. He looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Just now Iphicrates mentioned Dionysius. Everyone should know about the wars that have taken place in Magna Graecia. Our friendly Dionysius is now in a very bad situation. Not only has he been defeated in battle, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and his sea routes have been blocked, but there also seems to be a rebellion in his country... Isocrates, you have been to Dionysius and know more about it than we do. Do you think that with the current situation in Dionysius, can it still resist the Syracusans' offensive?"
To be honest, Isocrates felt somewhat embarrassed at this time. Before, he had confidently told Thrasybulus that 'Dionysius is a greater danger to the Greek world than Syracuse.' He did not expect that in the blink of an eye, Dionysius was about to be destroyed. As a scholar and orator, Isocrates was not just a scholar who only knew how to use his brain and mouth, and was weak and ignorant of military affairs. In fact, every Athenian citizen had participated in at least one or two battles in his lifetime.
Therefore, he cleared his throat and said slowly in a hoarse voice: "The South Italian Allied Forces were defeated in battle, and many Magna Graecian city-states have been conquered by the Syracusans. Dionysius is also surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the domestic political situation is unstable. But please note one point, the Dionysian army has not suffered a complete defeat. Their commander, Dionysius, has not yet returned from Lucania. How can we rashly conclude that Dionysius will completely fail! What if that Dionysius, who is said to be blessed by Hades and has repeatedly created military miracles, creates a miracle again and reverses the situation! ..."
"If a miracle can happen, we are of course very happy, because it is beneficial to Athens. We also hope that Dionysius can make a miracle happen, or at least be able to hold back the Syracusans and let the war in Magna Graecia continue!" Thrasybulus said with a serious expression: "But we must also be prepared for Dionysius to be conquered by Syracuse. Once the war in Magna Graecia ends, Dionysius is likely to agree to Sparta's request and send the Syracuse navy and army to aid Sparta!"
"I heard that Syracuse has more than 400 triremes alone. Even if they send out 1/3, it will change the current naval situation where Sparta is completely at a disadvantage!" Although Conon held heavy troops and had defeated the Spartan navy, the prudent old general still did not relax his vigilance.
"Moreover, Syracuse also has a huge army of 80,000 people, which is twice the number of soldiers we Athenians sent to attack Sicily back then! Athena above, is Syracuse still a Greek city-state?!" Andocides exclaimed.
The other generals also expressed their unease.
Thrasybulus once again focused his gaze on Iphicrates, and said with great expectation: "Therefore, in the current severe situation, I hope you can give the arrogant Spartans a setback and boost the morale of the anti-Spartan alliance!"
Iphicrates felt a great responsibility, but he still said confidently: "Athena will bless me, you just wait for my victory!"
… … … … … … … … … … … …
In the past two days, the Syracuse fleet has frequently landed on the coast of the Castellon territory, wantonly attacking the people of Castellon and destroying the villages and farmland outside the city.
The people who lost their homes and relatives gathered in front of the assembly hall every day, angrily demanding: The assembly must take action immediately to stop the Syracusans' harassment!
The council had already taken action, with General Gorgias deploying 1,000 soldiers along the coast to be constantly vigilant for enemy ships on the sea. However, Kastron was a small city with few people, unable to fully monitor the coastline. Furthermore, the cunning sailors of Kastron often slipped past the Daonian territory on both sides of Kastron's domain, making it impossible to defend against them.
Today, Amyclas and several other generals and council members were still holding an emergency meeting, discussing how to completely resolve the Syracuse navy's attacks.
"Ask for help from Daonia!" one councilor said loudly.
"Ask for help?! Daonia is now struggling to protect itself. Have you forgotten that they even wanted to conscript our sailors before!" another councilor said with dissatisfaction.
Just as everyone was discussing endlessly but unable to come up with a solution, a guard burst open the meeting hall door in a panic: "My lords, a passenger ship has arrived outside the port, claiming to be an envoy from Syracuse, bringing a letter from Dionysius, the general with full authority of Syracuse, requesting to have... friendly... friendly talks with us."
As an ally of Daonia, according to the alliance treaty, Kastron was not allowed to engage in foreign affairs with other city-states, especially during wartime, and was even more forbidden from holding private meetings and negotiations with enemy countries.
However, after the guard finished speaking, a strange silence appeared in the meeting hall, and no one angrily shouted: "Drive the Syracusans out!"
Everyone looked at each other with complex expressions.
After a moment of silence, a councilor cautiously said: "I think... meeting them... is also possible..."
A series of light coughs and swallowing sounds echoed in the meeting hall, but still no one spoke loudly.
Amyclas, the chief general who was being watched by everyone, also had an uncertain expression on his face.
Just then, the meeting hall door was pushed open again.
A guard rushed in and shouted excitedly: "Davos, the Archon of Daonia, is back!"
......................
On the first morning of December, while it was still drizzling in the territory of Croton and the Syracusans were still troubled by their encampment, the Thurii region was sunny, and the people had swept away the worries of the past and gathered expectantly outside the north gate of Thurii, with the line extending westward. This huge crowd also included senators such as Cunogolata and Cornelis.
It was not because the weather was good and everyone was in a good mood that they ran outside the city to gather.
But because Davos, the Archon of the Daonian League, the military commander who led them to continuous victories, the descendant of the King of the Underworld deeply favored by Hades—was about to return, and everyone was eagerly looking forward to it!
At this moment, a scout galloped from the west, shouting loudly: "Lord Davos is leading the First and Second Legions, and they are still more than three miles away from here. They will arrive soon!"
As soon as these words came out, the Daonian people began to get excited. Many people couldn't help but follow the scout and run west, wanting to see the returning Archon and their relatives sooner.
When the eastern sun had already broken free from the temptation of the sea and began to show its own light, rumbling footsteps had already come from the west. What appeared in the eyes of the people first was the bright red banner of the alliance, which was also the only red flag in the alliance, with the striking pattern of a "black hair entwined double-pronged fork" on the flag surface. Then, what appeared in the eyes of the people was still a military flag, but on the top of the flag was a huge golden statue of Hades, with striking gold letters on the black flag surface: Dae—vos.
One red and one black, the two large flags were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.
The people began to boil, and the marching music of the triumphant "Victory March" also sounded in the approaching team...
Following the appearance of the flags were 300 Archon guards, followed by Archon Davos. Usually, when marching, Davos was located in the center of the formation, so that he could understand the situation of the entire team in time, but after knowing in advance the actions of the Daonian people, in order to ensure that the army's progress was not hindered, he chose to walk at the head of the team.
The people surged over like a tide, and the soldiers of the patrol team could not stop them at all. The guards immediately formed a barrier to protect Davos in the middle, while the people surrounded him in the center, with everyone raising their hands as if only by touching his body could they find comfort for their frightened hearts during this time.
"Lord Davos, you are finally back. We have been waiting for you so bitterly!"
"Lord Davos, do you know? The situation in the alliance has been terrible during the time you were away!"
"Do you know?! We lost to the Syracusans in the battle, with thousands of casualties!"
"Lord Davos, the damned Tarentum betrayed the alliance, occupied our allied state, and plundered our land. The farmland of Amendolara has been destroyed by them!"
"Lord Davos, we take such good care of the Bruttians, but they betrayed us when we were in the most difficult time! Please think of a way to punish these rebellious Bruttians properly!"
"Lord Davos, I am from Crimisa. The foreign cavalry hired by Syracuse burned our village and massacred the people who couldn't hide in the city. They are a group of man-eating beasts! When will you drive them away and give Crimisa peace and tranquility!"
"Lord Davos, I live on the south bank of the Crati River. In the past few days, the Syracuse fleet has often landed on the coast and raided villages. Our village is too close to the coast and has been looted by the Syracusans. Many of my neighbors died at the hands of the enemy... You must avenge us!"
........................
Those calls contained true feelings, like the joy of crying children at the return of their loving mother; those requests were full of expectations, like children in difficulty seeking help from their strict father...
As Davos listened, his expression became more and more solemn, and his eyes gradually contained tears. He said affectionately and loudly: "People of Daonia, my brothers and sisters, follow me to the square! To the square, I will give you a reply!"
After hearing this, the people actually reminded each other "not to make any more noise", and shouted in unison: "To the square!! Follow Lord Davos to the square!!!..."
Tens of thousands of people quieted down, no longer blocking the road, but following the army into the city...
This is our Archon! Cunogolata was filled with emotion when he saw this scene: You must know that these senators are also working hard for the alliance every day, but when they really encounter difficulties, what the people think of and expect first is still this young Archon in front of them! And Davos is also the only one who can appease and calm the unease and anger in the hearts of all the people. All the senators have been overshadowed by his dazzling light! From this point of view, it seems reasonable for him to be king...
Cunogolata looked at Davos approaching with complicated feelings.
"Lord Cunogolata, Lord Cornelis... You have worked hard during this time!" Davos sat on his horse and sincerely saluted the senators to express his gratitude.
"Lord Archon, thank you for repelling the Samnites. We are all looking forward to your return!" Cunogolata and other senators also respectfully returned the salute.
Under such circumstances, it was not convenient for both parties to say more, so they followed into the city together.
Although Davos led two legions to a great victory, it was still a time of war, and the alliance was in a precarious situation. The Senate did not hold a triumphal ceremony for them, and Davos did not apply for one either. However, when passing through the first triumphal arch, the soldiers raised their heads and straightened their chests to the sound of rousing music.
The people also gradually discovered the anomaly in the army returning in triumph this time: in the center of the team were more than a dozen packhorses, loaded with spears, javelins, shields, armor... the styles were somewhat different from those of the Daonian army. Behind the packhorses, thousands of naked men were being escorted forward by soldiers, and their appearance was also different from the several races within the Daonian League...
This made the people, who were feeling uneasy and anxious about the current predicament and hoping that this army would protect them, suddenly remember: the army led by Lord Davos had defeated the Samnites in the north, who were feared even by the Lucanians and were numerous!
So the anxious mood of the people was temporarily relieved, and they began to cheer for the soldiers...
Davos was riding on his horse, his mind racing... In fact, last night, when the troops walked out of the mountain pass, he learned everything that had happened in Daonia during this time from the people sent by Aristilas. The matter of being elected king by the people was planned before he left with the team. The assassination incident made him realize that his own and his family's lives were under serious threat. He had to provide stronger protection for his family, that is, to break away from the people, sanctify himself, and become a superior royal family...
It's just that Davos didn't expect things to progress so smoothly and so quickly, and all of this should be attributed to the mortal enemy Syracuse. Yes, Davos already valued Dionysius enough, but he still underestimated this tyrant of Sicily. He planned a huge plan to keep the borders of Daonia in constant war, dispersing the Daonian League's still considerable military strength, while he led his army all the way to a rapid advance, almost bringing Daonia to the brink of despair.
Whether it is to successfully ascend the throne or to save the people in distress, Davos must quickly come up with a solution to break the crisis created by the Syracusans and give the people confidence!
The Victory Square is ahead.
Davos looked up at the stone pillar pointing straight to the sky in the center of the square, with the goddess of victory holding a sword on the top of the pillar, spreading her wings and with a solemn treasure appearance.
Davos looked at it, and his tightly frowned brows gradually relaxed...