At this moment, Philippides strode into the venue, nodding to everyone, smiling in acknowledgment, and politely declining Hippocrates' offer of the head seat, instead standing beside him.
Milo frowned slightly at this sight.
Philippides glanced around at the crowd and said modestly, "Before I came, His Majesty solemnly told me, 'Go to Sicily, you can only bring your eyes and ears!'. Therefore, I am not here to supervise you, nor will I interfere with any of your deployments. However, any needs or suggestions you have can be conveyed to His Majesty and the Senate through me."
"But before you start the meeting, I have two important public office appointments signed by His Majesty and the Senate to announce!" Philippides said, his expression turning serious as he raised a papyrus scroll tied with a black string in his right hand.
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on it, except for Hippocrates and Leotychides, who remained calm because they already knew the contents.
Philippides unrolled the papyrus and read aloud: "In view of the possibility that Carthage may launch a large-scale attack on our island of Sicily, in order to better concentrate the full strength of the cities and allied states of Sicily, to provide more effective and rapid logistical assistance and support for the combat troops, and to better coordinate the defense between the cities, after discussions with the Senate, it has been decided to appoint Hippocrates as the wartime governor of the Sicilian region of the Daonian Kingdom, concurrently serving as the chief administrator of Catania, responsible for all administrative affairs in Sicily, actively cooperating with the combat troops in fighting the Carthaginians. It is hoped that the chief administrators of the various cities in Sicily will comply with the governor's administrative orders. Signed — King Dionysius!"
As soon as Philippides finished reading, a slight sigh and the sound of breathing could be heard in the venue: a wartime governor! This was a top-level official position with far greater power than a chief administrator. Since the founding of Daonia, this was only the second time it had appeared, highlighting its preciousness. The previous wartime governor, Sedullus, was already one of the five rotating chairmen of the Senate, often participating in important palace discussions, and could be described as having great power and influence.
Everyone looked at Hippocrates with envy, while Philippides handed the letter of appointment to Milo on Hippocrates' right, asking him to pass it down for verification.
Milo glanced at the papyrus scroll with mixed feelings. The two seals of King Dionysius and the Senate were clearly visible. Although he felt jealousy in his heart, he had to admit that Hippocrates had a greater advantage in becoming the wartime governor compared to himself. After all, Catania, which he governed, had far surpassed other towns in Sicily in terms of population and land. Catania had replaced Syracuse as the largest city on the island of Sicily. Moreover, Hippocrates had been in Sicily for nearly seven years, making him more familiar with the situation here than himself.
After all, Milo had fought alongside Hippocrates, and they had a good relationship. After taking office in Naxos, he had also received a lot of help from Hippocrates. Therefore, he took a breath and said softly, "I have no objection."
Even Milo, as the chief administrator of the second largest city in Sicily for Daonia,
with equally outstanding qualifications and achievements, had said so, and no one else would object.
Philippides took out another papyrus scroll.
Everyone's eyes immediately became fiery again: Who would it be this time?! And what position would it be?!
"Appoint Prothous, commander of the Eighth Legion, as the commander of Sicily, responsible for commanding all Daonian land forces and their allies in Sicily to fight against the Carthaginians. Signed — Dionysius."
The content of this appointment was very brief, because it was a military appointment. Dionysius could make the decision directly without going through the Senate. Moreover, Prothous was the only senior army general in Sicily, and other administrative officials would not compete with him. Dionysius did not need to provide detailed explanations.
Therefore, after hearing it, everyone did not have any unusual emotions, only a slight sense of loss: Was the appointment over just like that?
After Philippides finished reading, he turned to look at Leotychides. He was the first senior general to be appointed as commander, but the failure of the Battle of the Lamathus River had cast a shadow on his military career. Facing the newcomer, his eyes were filled with hope and encouragement: "Congratulations, Commander Prothous! I hope that with the blessing of Hades, you will win the war in Sicily!"
Prothous nodded to express his gratitude, took the letter of appointment, his face still expressionless, but his heart was surging: After staying in Daonia for more than ten years, he had finally become a regional commander — the highest position in the Daonian army (the commander-in-chief and supreme commander could only be King Dionysius). Being able to command tens of thousands of soldiers in battle was definitely no less than being a Spartan king!
"Thank you for the trust that His Majesty and the Senate have placed in me! Now, with Carthage tearing up the friendship agreement, Sicily is not only our territory of Daonia, but other Greek city-states will also suffer a great crisis! I hope to get the full assistance of all the adults and their friendly city-states to assist Commander Prothous in thwarting the Carthaginians' ambition to get their hands on Sicily!" The newly appointed wartime governor, Hippocrates, passionately made his inauguration statement: "Now, I would like to invite Commander Prothous to conduct a pre-war military analysis."
Leotychides immediately stood up, walked to the large map of Sicily that had been hung on the wall, picked up a slender wooden stick from the side of the wall, and said: "Everyone, according to the analysis of the Military Department, based on Carthage's current national strength, it can send at least 100,000 troops. If we also count the troops under the governor Mago in the Iberian Peninsula, it can deploy at least 150,000 troops to Sicily —"
150,000 people?! Everyone present, including Milo, couldn't help but stare in amazement.
"Of course, although the number of Carthaginian troops is large, the combat effectiveness of their soldiers is far inferior to our legions. More than half of their soldiers are probably Numidians, Mauritanians, Iberians, and mercenaries from other places..." Leotychides continued: "I don't think Carthage can deploy so many troops at once, at most it won't exceed 100,000 people!"
This number was the conclusion Leotychides drew from the two previous wars between Carthage and Dionysius' Syracuse. He pointed the wooden stick at the western end of Sicily on the map: "The Carthaginian army is likely to land at Lilybaeum or Eryx. There are two routes for their attack. One is along the northern coast of Sicily, advancing towards Messana. There are not many Greek city-states along this route, and their strength is not strong, but the northern mountains are high and the forests are dense, and the coastline is narrow, so the troops cannot spread out, and the Carthaginians cannot take advantage of their numerical superiority. When Dionysius attacked Carthage along the northern coastline with a great advantage in troops, it took a long time. Therefore, I believe that the northern coastline will not be the main direction of the Carthaginian attack.
"The other offensive route is on the southern coast of Sicily. The terrain here is relatively flat, which can accommodate the deployment of a large army. In the past, it was the main offensive route for the Carthaginian and Syracusan armies, and I don't think this time will be an exception."
Leotychides said with certainty, pointing the wooden stick in his hand at the map in turn: "Minoa, Agrigentum, Gela, Camarina... Although there are many Greek city-states on the southern coastline, and their strength is relatively strong, I don't think they can withstand the attack of the Syracusan army for a long time, and I don't intend to send troops to reinforce these city-states."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a small discussion in the venue.
Amicles, the chief administrator of Messana, raised an objection: "Although these Greek city-states have not established an alliance with our Daonia on the surface, they have always maintained friendly relations with our kingdom, with frequent trade, and have actively cooperated with us in some actions in Sicily many times, such as targeting the Sicels and isolating Syracuse... Therefore, they can be regarded as de facto allies. Once a war breaks out, they will definitely ask our Daonia for help. According to the traditional practice of the kingdom, how can we stand idly by!"
Amicles' words expressed the aspirations of the chief administrators present, after all, they had a good relationship with the high-level officials of these Greek city-states during their tenure.
Leotychides was unmoved and said coldly: "Since there is no alliance agreement, there is no breach of the alliance. We don't have many troops in Sicily. The Eighth Legion plus the reserve troops are only more than 20,000 people. If we carry out an emergency mobilization, the number can be increased to about 50,000 people, but if that happens, almost all the young and middle-aged people in the kingdom's territory in Sicily will be conscripted, which will seriously affect the winter sowing that is about to begin and the daily order of the entire region. I don't think this is what you chief administrators want to see, let alone what His Majesty wants to see!
"Moreover, even if we gather so many troops to reinforce Gela or Agrigentum, it is easy to form a stalemate with the Syracusan army. On the one hand, can our cities in Sicily withstand the pressure of food supply caused by a long-term stalemate?; On the other hand, the food transportation line is stretched, and the territory is short of troops. Once we encounter a surprise attack from foreign enemies, it will be a disaster for our dispatched troops and the cities in the territory!"
Everyone was touched by Leotychides' heavy tone. What attracted their attention more was that the wooden stick in Leotychides' hand pointed to a city icon on the map — Syracuse.
"Syracuse, the only Greek city-state in Sicily that does not associate with us, happens to have considerable strength and occupies an important strategic position in the east. A few days ago, it did not respond to our envoy who requested an alliance, which shows that it harbors resentment against Daonia. According to the intelligence we have received, Carthaginians have been seen in the port area of Syracuse these two days, which cannot but arouse our vigilance! We must be careful that Syracuse becomes the Tarentum in the Southern Italian War!"
Everyone's heart tightened.
"Syracuse is indeed worth our vigilance!" Sipros said with a solemn expression, and the others also changed their expressions: Carthage was already overwhelming them, and now with the addition of a not-weak Syracuse… The initial agreement with Sparta and Carthage allowed Syracuse to preserve itself relatively intact from the failure of the South Italian War, but now it has become a thorn in the throat of the Daonian Kingdom's Sicilian territory.
"As long as Syracuse dares to declare war on us, we will destroy it!" Crellu said angrily.
"That must wait until we have defeated the Carthaginian army." Leotichides said in a deep voice, "With our current military strength in Sicily, we cannot simultaneously wage a full-scale war against two enemies!"
Milon stared at the map, pondered, and asked, "General Prossos… It seems you have already regarded Syracuse as an enemy. If we have to face a joint force of Carthage and Syracuse in the future, what is your plan?"
Carthage and Syracuse are age-old enemies. Could they possibly form an alliance?! Some people looked surprised.
Leotichides did not pay attention to the expressions of the crowd, but instead focused on the map, and then said his well-thought-out plan: "My plan is… to concentrate most of the soldiers and garrison them near Lake Gela (north of Leontini, on the southern edge of the Catania Plain), and to transform Palagonia—"
Leotichides's wooden stick pointed to a small village on the southwestern edge of the Catania Plain, and continued, "The area south of the Catania Plain is mostly continuous mountains with an altitude of four to five hundred meters, with lush trees, making it difficult for large troops to pass through. Only by heading south from Palagonia to Gela is the journey relatively easy.
I have decided to transform Palagonia into a solid defensive camp and station enough soldiers to prevent the Carthaginian army from breaking into the Catania Plain from here."
"General Prossos." Tirias, the chief general of Taurianus, interjected worriedly, "If Syracuse allies with Carthage, the Carthaginian army may very well pass through the city of Syracuse and attack Taurianus from the coastline, thereby attacking Catanae!"
"That is very possible." Leotichides nodded and said, "So I set up the main camp north of Leontini. Whether it is the distance to Taurianus or Palagonia, it is less than 40 miles. Once enemy activity is discovered, our reinforcements can arrive within a few hours. At the same time, if the Carthaginians want to cross the mountains and sneak attack Leontini, I can also reinforce nearby."
Leotichides's words reassured the generals of Leontini and Taurianus.
However, Milon was not satisfied. He loudly reminded, "Relying solely on defense will not defeat the Carthaginian army, and in the end, there may be big problems!" Milon had learned a profound lesson from this. During the Second Croton War, he wanted to block the Daonian army with Crimisa, but he did not expect Davos to lead his army around Crimisa, seize Asprustum, and attack Croton.
"Lord Milon, don't forget the Sicels." Leotichides drew a circle in the center of the Sicilian island map with his wooden stick, and said calmly, "The Sicels live in this mountainous area and are good at harassment and sneak attacks. More than ten years ago, when Dionysius led his army to attack the northern coast of Sicily, the Sicels were responsible for harassing the Carthaginian rear, causing great trouble to the Carthaginians. And now the Sicels are under our control. We can organize thousands or even tens of thousands of Sicel warriors, divided into several teams, lurking in the mountainous areas not far from the coastline, to harass the Carthaginians and attack their logistics supplies.
The further east the Carthaginians advance, the longer their battle lines will be. The entire rear will be under the attack of the Sicels. As long as we can hold Palagonia, Leontini, and Taurianus for a longer period of time, the Carthaginians will be in a situation where they cannot conquer for a long time and their rear is constantly attacked, a favorable opportunity for us will appear. At that time, it will be the best time for my troops to strike!"
The confidence on Leotichides's face diluted the worries of the administrators.
However, Milon still persistently asked, "What if the Carthaginians do not take the land route but the sea route and land directly in the large port of Syracuse?"
Obviously, Leotichides had also considered this aspect in advance. He said meaningfully, "This question should be answered by the navy."
Flaros, the commander of the Third Fleet of Daonia in the venue, immediately stated, "Please rest assured, everyone. As long as the Carthaginians dare to land in the large port of Syracuse or other coasts in eastern Sicily, our fleet will send all their soldiers into the sea to feed the fish! In addition, according to His Majesty's orders, while the First Legion is heading to Volsci, the First Fleet led by Lord Secrian will be ready to join our Third Fleet to the south. In a few days, they will come to Catanae. At that time, we will have more than 500 warships of various sizes, and we can even force the Carthaginian fleet not to cruise on the southern coast of Sicily!"
"Since our navy is so powerful, why not directly prevent the Carthaginian army from landing in Sicily?" Apirosia, the administrator of Siculus, asked with expectation.
Apirosia used to be the patriarch of a large clan in the city of Udia in the Messapic region. When the Messapic coalition was defeated, and the Daonian army was preparing to attack Udia, he was the first to lead his people to surrender. Therefore, he received Davos' attention and eventually entered the Senate. Since Udia is not a coastal city, he is not very familiar with naval warfare.
"First of all, we cannot know on which day or at what time the Carthaginian army will land in Sicily. It takes at least six or seven hours to sail from Catanae to the western end of Sicily. By the time our fleet arrives, the Carthaginian landing may already be over." Flaros explained patiently, "In addition, the Carthaginian navy is also very powerful. They have at least four hundred triremes, and it is rumored that they have also built quinqueremes… Also, rashly going to the western end of Sicily to prevent the Carthaginians from landing, and that place is too close to the city of Carthage, its port warships can arrive in time to reinforce, and our fleet will be surrounded…"
Flaros's words made Apirosia touch his mouth somewhat awkwardly, and also extinguished the thoughts of several other administrators who had the same idea.
At this time, Sipros interjected, "I think… for these friendly city-states on the southern coast, we should not make the relationship so tense. When they come to ask for help, sincerely tell them the difficulties we face, express our sincere apologies to them, and allow them to retreat their people to our territory when the Carthaginian army is approaching. When their towns are surrounded by the Carthaginians and cannot resist, we can also send a fleet to rescue the people there…"
Philiscius's eyes lit up: "This is a good idea, we can do this! With a way to retreat, I believe these Greek city-states will not easily surrender to the Carthaginians, and it will buy us more time!"
Leotichides did not speak, apparently acquiescing.
Amicles loudly protested, "Your eyes are only focused on the southern coast. The Carthaginians are also very likely to attack from the northern coast. Don't forget the lesson of the destruction of the old city of Messana! The current city of Messana is small and sparsely populated, and cannot withstand the Carthaginian attack!"
"Of course I won't forget the northern coast." Leotichides glanced at him proudly and pointed to the map with his wooden stick: "Remember the small city built by Ligim on the Milazzo peninsula to help the exiles of Catanae and Naxos, which was destroyed by the Syracusans? I have decided to use the abandoned stones and wood there to rebuild a small fortress and station thousands of soldiers. Once the Carthaginians send troops to attack the northern coast, this fortress will use the narrow terrain to block the Carthaginian army for at least six or seven days, and then reinforcements will arrive."
Speaking of this, he looked at Philiscius: "If the military strength of Sicily is tight, I hope the Ministry of Military Affairs can send the Seventh Legion to Messana nearby (the Seventh Legion is stationed near Locri)."
"I think this is not a problem at all." Philiscius immediately made a commitment: "His Majesty has already discussed with the Ministry of Military Affairs. As long as the battle situation requires it, not only the Seventh Legion, but also the Sixth and Fifth Legions may be urgently sent to Sicily."
"Then the unified command of these legions?" Leotichides then asked.
"When the army arrives in Sicily, of course, it will be under your unified command." Philiscius replied without hesitation, apparently having obtained Davos' consent in advance.
Leotichides was satisfied. He turned his gaze to Flaros: "I think the navy will definitely not allow the Carthaginian fleet to bypass the Milazzo peninsula and land near Messana, right?"
"Of course! The southern and northern coastlines of Sicily near the east will be under the protection of our warships! They are absolutely safe!" Flaros said firmly.
"Then I can rest assured!" Amicles breathed a sigh of relief. He was a person who liked stability, so he had always led the people of Castrum to closely follow the powerful Daonia. When Daonia defeated Syracuse in one fell swoop and occupied most of the land in southern Italy, the active incorporation of Laos and Trina into the Daonian Kingdom also touched him. He then quickly persuaded the members of the council to hold a citizens' assembly, and a public referendum was held to request joining the Daonian Kingdom. He has been in the lucrative position of administrator of Messana for four years, which is Davos' and the Senate's reward for his past contributions.
The venue returned to calm.
----
Sipros looked around at everyone and asked, "Commander Prosous has clearly explained his battle plan to everyone. Do you have any questions? If not, next we will follow this plan and discuss how to raise military rations, and how to draw citizens to help build defensive camps and fortresses, as well as pre-planning how to solve the spring planting problem in the event of a labor shortage—"
"Lord Sipros, I have a question!" Chief General of Taonis, Tirias, shouted loudly.
Sipros's words were interrupted, but he did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he calmly asked, "Please speak, Lord Tirias."
"What General Prosous said just now was mainly about how to defend against the Carthaginians' attack. If the Carthaginians really send an army of 70,000 to 80,000, it is clear that the number of troops we currently have will not be able to defeat them. When will Daonia be able to send a large army to drive them away?!" Tirias asked with concern.
Leo Tichides glanced at him and said lightly, "As long as we hold out long enough, we can repel the enemy even without sending more troops."
"Hold out long enough? How long?!" Tirias said loudly with some dissatisfaction, "From what you said earlier, General, it can be seen that Taonis will become the focus of defending against the Carthaginian attack. I don't want to see the Carthaginians ultimately defeated, but Taonis has already become ruins!"
Leo Tichides's face looked a little ugly.
"Lord Tirias," Philius quickly said, "Donas has already sent several caravans to Egypt and the Uxine Sea area to buy grain. As long as enough military rations are collected, and the Carthaginian army also begins to attack, several legions of Southern Italy will quickly reinforce Sicily... His Majesty will never sit idly by and watch the Carthaginians ravage Daonia's Sicilian territory and allied lands!"
Tirias and Hippogrita, the chief general of Leo Tini, then expressed their satisfaction.
… … … … … … … … … … … …
After the Daonian First Legion severely damaged the Roman army, due to its own significant losses, the next few days were basically spent resting in Polaephnaem. On the fifth day, they began to prepare to build a camp, but received a report from the scouts: "Satricum has been occupied by the Roman army, and the Roman army there is already marching towards the Volscian territory to the south!"
At the normal marching speed, it would take the Roman army at most two days to go from Satricum to Setia. In these short two days, it was not enough for the First Legion to build a fully defended camp, and the First Legion had given the Romans such a big blow, its camp would definitely become the focus of the Romans' attack. Could the weakened First Legion withstand the Romans' retaliatory attack?
After discussing it, Amyntas and Printholles decided to ask the Volsci for "the First Legion to continue to stay in Polaephnaem", which was of course welcomed by the Volsci.
On the sixth day after that battle, Amyntas received a letter from Donas.
In the letter, Donas praised Amyntas for actively seeking battle opportunities after arriving in the Volscian region, and for winning a brilliant victory with fewer troops than the enemy, which established the Daonian army's reputation in the Latin region, which is conducive to the Daonian army's further actions in central Italy in the future…
At the end of the letter, Donas euphemistically reminded: "…I heard that this battle caused the First Legion to suffer considerable casualties. I hope the wounded soldiers can receive good treatment and recovery! In view of the weakened strength of the First Legion, I suggest not to carry out new military operations in the short term, and let the soldiers have a good rest. We are fulfilling the alliance agreement and assisting the Volsci in resisting the Romans, not defending our own homeland, so there is no need to go all out…"
Finally, Donas also said with concern: "…From this battle, we can see that the Romans are powerful in combat, so I have already sent someone to notify Lizalu, the legion commander of the Third Legion stationed in the Campanian alliance. You can strengthen contact with Lizalu. If the First Legion encounters difficulties in future battles, it can ask the Third Legion for assistance, but please remember! The Third Legion can only conduct short-term battles and cannot garrison in Volsci with the First Legion for a long time, because Campania still needs them to guard!…"
After reading the letter, Amyntas was silent. In his opinion, Donas's last words in the letter were a criticism of him. Moreover, Donas hinted that the First Legion should passively avoid fighting in the next battle, which made it a little difficult for him to accept.
Therefore, when Printholle entered, he didn't want to show this letter to Printholle, but the beginning of the letter clearly stated: To be read by Legion Commander Amyntas and Printholle together.
So he silently handed the letter in his hand to Printholle.
After reading it, Printholle understood why Amyntas looked unhappy. These days, the Volsci's flattery to Amyntas was seen by him. Regarding Amyntas's promise to those Volsci's requests, "When Setia is in danger, he will lead the First Legion and other Volsci troops out of the city to rescue them."
Printholle was firmly opposed to this: After the Roman army converged, they would have more than 40,000 troops. Even if they attacked the city with all their strength, they would have enough remaining troops to intercept the rescue troops. At the same time, the Setian people who fled the city were very likely to disrupt the formation of the rescue troops under the pursuit of the Romans.
But Amyntas did not listen to his advice.
At this moment, he read the letter repeatedly several times. While secretly applauding His Majesty's wise decision, he also had an idea in his mind. He tentatively asked, "Legion Commander, His Majesty is afraid that our First Legion will suffer heavy losses, so he doesn't want us to fight the Romans head-on?"
"His Majesty is far away in Thurii and doesn't know much about the situation here," Amyntas said with a straight face, "If we allow the Romans to attack Setia with all their strength without rescuing them, once Setia falls, Polaephnaem will be the next target to be attacked. The Romans can completely besiege Polaephnaem without attacking it, and divide their troops to attack the empty cities of Sershe and Tresina. By then... Hmph, we will really be trapped in this land!"
Printholle smiled and said, "Legion Commander, you don't understand what His Majesty meant. He doesn't want us to fight head-on because he has already given us a way to defeat the Romans."
Amyntas was stunned, grabbed the letter, and looked at it carefully again, but still couldn't understand it, so he said impatiently, "Stop beating around the bush, where is the way to defeat the Romans?"
Printholle put away his smile and said seriously, "Legion Commander, look, now the Roman army has more than 40,000 people, all pressing in front of Setia City. It is impossible for them to have enough troops behind them to defend the newly occupied Volscian land. And His Majesty asked the Third Legion to cooperate with us in the battle. The Third Legion is now stationed in the Campania region, not far from here, and we also have Midolades's Third Fleet, which controls this sea area, so we can completely—"
"Can raid the rear of the Romans! Just like when His Majesty besieged Dionysius, but sent Antonios to lead the First Legion to raid Sicily!" Amyntas suddenly stood up and excitedly interrupted Printholle's words.
"Yes, Legion Commander," Printholle glanced at Amyntas's expression and knew that he had accepted the proposal, so he reminded, "Legion Commander, in order to prevent the Romans here from returning to aid, you should lead the Allied forces out of the city from time to time to show that you are going to reinforce, forcing the Romans to deal with it with all their strength and dare not divide their troops."
Amyntas put his hands on his hips, thought for a while and said, "Your suggestion is very right. However, we must immediately send a messenger to notify Lizalu in Campania and let this kid be ready at any time!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Another Roman army led by the two military tribunes Quintus and Licinius came to the Roman camp. After joining forces with the armies of Camillus and Furius, the number of their soldiers reached nearly 45,000.
After learning that the participation of the Daonians had caused the army to suffer a battle defeat, the two new military tribunes were taken aback. However, the previous consecutive victories, coupled with the news from the Senate that "the allied Carthage will increase its support for them and is about to launch an attack on Daonia in Sicily", therefore, the two not only did not fear, but aroused their fighting spirit.
Quintus was a nobleman. His full name was Quintus Claudius Crassus Sabinus, from the Claudius family, which was one of the most distinguished clans in Rome. As early as the beginning of the founding of Rome, under the leadership of the patriarch Attius Claudius, the entire clan moved to Rome. The men of this family have always been unfriendly to the plebeian class, mostly with arrogance, toughness, uncompromising, strong will, and a strong sense of responsibility, and they are also physically strong. Quintus is no exception.
The identity of the other military tribune, Licinius, is also not simple. His full name is Publius Licinius Calvus. Although he was born into a wealthy plebeian family, he is the first plebeian to become a military tribune in the process of the Roman plebeian class fighting with the nobles in the past ten years. He has become a role model for the Roman plebeians. And this year is his third time as a military tribune, and he will never allow himself to retreat in the face of a strong enemy, resulting in damage to his reputation.
In order to cut off the connection between Setia and Polaephnaem and better attack the city, the two military tribunes suggested rebuilding the camp between these two Volscian towns, which was agreed by Camillus.
The Romans' massive forces forced the Volsci warriors of the two cities and the Daunian reinforcements to refrain from easily leaving their cities. They could only send a few light infantry for harassment, which obviously had little impact on the Roman army.
Camillus used half of his forces for defense, while the other half, along with slaves and civilians transporting supplies, participated in building the camp. The two groups rotated regularly. As a result, it only took three days to initially construct the Roman camp between Setia and Bolae.
Quintus and Licinius eagerly proposed attacking Setia.
The respected Camillus initially opposed this. He reminded the two military tribunes that the Volsci had been building traps and trenches outside Setia for several days, making the city's defenses possibly stronger than before. Moreover, Bolae, not far from Setia, had tens of thousands of Volsci reinforcements and several thousand formidable Daunians, who could come to their aid at any time, increasing the difficulty of the Roman siege.
Therefore, he suggested encircling Setia without attacking, pinning down Bolae, and then sending over twenty thousand soldiers to bypass these two towns and advance directly southwest, destroying the Volsci's fields along the way until reaching the Volsci stronghold of Velitrae. If the Volsci reinforcements and Daunians came to rescue, they could seize the opportunity to engage them in a decisive battle in the open. If the enemy did not come to rescue, they would attack Velitrae and ultimately take it, thereby changing the stalemate.
Quintus refused. In his view, the enemy was right in front of them. With the powerful strength of their army, they could completely take Setia while simultaneously engaging the enemy forces coming from Bolae. There was no need to march another twenty or thirty miles, risking being harassed from the rear, to attack Velitrae, which the Volsci called "perilous terrain." That would be both dangerous and too much trouble.
Licinius, of course, also supported taking Setia first.
Furius, as the most junior of the military tribunes, remained silent, but in his heart, he actually supported Quintus's proposal. This stemmed from the Roman military tradition of using heavy infantry as the main military force of the city-state. Most Roman citizens were accustomed to frontal assaults and had little concept of flanking maneuvers, even Furius, who had worked with Camillus for so long.
Camillus did not insist on his opinion but instead volunteered to stay and guard the camp while also building a new camp.
Thus, the Roman attack on Setia began.
Soon, they experienced the power of the defensive facilities that had been added with the help and guidance of the Daunian First Legion soldiers.
First of all, the wide trap zone in front of the trenches caused the Roman soldiers great suffering. Many soldiers were injured in their feet by "meat hooks" and "lilies."
Just when they had to patiently clear the traps,
the defenders sent hundreds of light infantry familiar with the distribution of traps outside the city. They scattered and ran along the safe passages in the trap zone, attacking the Romans who were buried in clearing obstacles on the ground with javelins and arrows. This not only caused some Roman casualties but also delayed their progress in attacking the city.
Therefore, although the ballistae 300 meters away from the city had been firing stone balls continuously for several days, even damaging several of them due to overuse, the ancient walls of Setia, which had recently been repaired, could not withstand the continuous bombardment and developed several collapses.
This was a great opportunity to attack the city, but the Romans were blocked by the traps outside the city and could not reach the city smoothly. They could only watch helplessly as the Volsci repaired the breaches with stones and mud. But this also gave Quintus, Licinius, and Furius even more confidence in conquering Setia.
They sent thousands of light infantry, risking being injured by the traps under their feet, to attack the Volsci light infantry who were sneaking out of the city, eventually forcing the Volsci light infantry, who suffered considerable casualties, to dare not easily leave the city.
Several days later, the Roman soldiers paid a certain price in casualties and basically cleared the traps in front of the trenches.
Quintus and Licinius left nearly fifteen thousand people in the camp, led by Camillus and Furius, to guard against Bolae's rescue, and they led nearly 30,000 soldiers to launch a strong attack on Setia.
Setia's wide and deep trenches and the dense deer palisades under the city walls became the biggest obstacles to the Roman attack, but they were the most powerful helpers for the Volsci on the city walls to kill the Romans. They desperately poured down javelins, arrows, stones, boiling oil…
The Romans suffered heavy casualties.
After a hard battle for most of the day, the Romans finally used siege engines to break down the repaired breaches in the original city walls, and the soldiers poured into the city through the breaches. They were shocked to find that in front of them, there was another earthen wall, slightly shorter, with Volsci warriors all over the city walls.
The Romans realized they had been fooled, but unaware comrades behind them were still pouring in, quickly crowding the narrow passage.
The Volsci, high above, launched ranged attacks from all directions. Every stone, every javelin could cause casualties to the Romans. And the raging flames ignited by a large number of thrown oil jars made the Romans feel like they were in hell…
After paying the price of more than two thousand casualties, the Roman army still failed to attack the city.
Quintus and Licinius returned to the camp with gloomy faces. Camillus tactfully did not say anything but only summoned the doctors and soldiers in the camp to treat the wounded.
The Volsci in Setia were greatly encouraged by this victory, further strengthening their determination to defend the city.
After two days of rest, Quintus and Licinius, ignoring Camillus's dissuasion, insisted on attacking the city again. With Furius's support, Camillus could only agree.
This time, Camillus led nearly ten thousand soldiers alone to guard the camp, including some wounded soldiers.
Quintus, Licinius, and Furius led more than 30,000 Roman soldiers, mainly from the east, west, and south, to launch a fierce attack on Setia.
The battle was very fierce.
By the afternoon, the Romans had successively climbed the city walls, and the Volsci had to retreat to their newly built second city wall. Because of the lack of manpower, they even had to arm the elderly and women and send them to the city walls to resist the fierce Roman attack.
At this critical moment, the reinforcements from Bolae arrived, attempting to bypass the Roman camp and rescue Setia.
Camillus had been prepared for this. After receiving the report from the scouts, he left more than two thousand people to guard the camp and personally led 7,000 soldiers out of the camp to intercept them.
The reinforcements from Bolae were 8,000 soldiers, mainly from the Daunian First Legion. Although their strength was not much different from the last time, the attack of this mixed force was not as fierce as the last time.
After Camillus noticed this, he felt uneasy.
Sure enough, not long after, the scout's report confirmed his concerns: several thousand Volsci warriors were rapidly approaching Setia from the north.
Where was there any Volsci force in the north?! Camillus felt puzzled and extremely uneasy when he heard this news.
In fact, after Bolae received the news that the Roman army had launched another large-scale attack on Setia, Prontius determined that Setia would hardly be able to withstand the prepared Roman army's strong attack this time, so he put forward his own suggestion, and the Volsci reinforcements followed this bold suggestion.
They sent 5,000 Volsci warriors, first marching southwest, reaching the swamp area near the coast, and then turning north, using their familiarity with the terrain, sticking to the edge of the swamp area, avoiding the Roman scouts' detection, and appearing on the north side of Setia.
At this time, the siege battle was in full swing.
The newly built earthen wall was undergoing fierce fighting on both sides, with multiple collapses. Whether it was women, the elderly, or teenagers, as long as they could hold a spear, almost all of them were sent to block these gaps. Quintus also pressed all his forces up, hoping to break through Setia in one fell swoop.
When both sides were doing their best, the Volsci reinforcements appeared, and there were as many as 5,000 of the strongest warriors. Bolae had also done its best to save Setia.
When Quintus, Licinius, and Furius received this shocking news, they were struck hard and then cursed uncontrollably: "Damn scouts! Why didn't you find out until the Volsci reinforcements were close at hand?!…"
Of course, Quintus also casually cursed a few sentences, "Why didn't Camillus block the reinforcements?…"
Of course, this accusation was absurd. The other two regarded Quintus's words as unintentional words said out of anxiety. After all, they had already received news that Camillus was leading troops to resist the Bolae reinforcements attacking from the south.
The Volsci reinforcements coming from the north were approaching rapidly, and the Roman army had already fully invested in the siege, and it was difficult to deploy troops to intercept them for a while. As for the more than two thousand soldiers in the camp, they did not dare to draw them away, otherwise, if the Volsci attacked the camp and lost the mountains of grain and military equipment piled up in the camp, this huge army of more than 40,000 people would be difficult to maintain.
"Why don't we let the soldiers use the outer walls of Setia to block the Volsci reinforcements and concentrate our efforts to seize the inner city of Setia?" Furius suggested.
"The Volsci in the city are resisting very stubbornly. We have already done our best. Even if we take the entire Setia, where will the exhausted soldiers have the extra strength to fight four or five thousand enemies who have just joined the battle!" Licinius looked at Quintus and said his concerns.
"Retreat." Quintus said simply: "The defensive facilities of Setia have been basically destroyed, and it will be difficult to cause us obstacles in a short time. And there are not many Volsci warriors left in the city. These thousands of Volsci reinforcements have come just right. Tomorrow they will become our prisoners! Furius, your suggestion is very good. Let the soldiers near the outer city walls block the enemy's reinforcements and buy time for the army's retreat."
As the Romans issued the order to retreat, the horns of the Volsci reinforcements blared their attack.
The citizens of Setia within the city heard the horns and their confidence surged.
Because the Roman army used the maniple as its tactical unit, its organization was not too scattered during the siege. However, most Roman soldiers were heavy infantry and were not equipped with javelins, arrows, or stones… Furthermore, the city walls had multiple breaches, and their defensive presence on the walls was not very effective. Therefore, the Romans hastily organized their troops and rushed to the breaches in the city walls. Before they could form a proper defensive line, the Volsci reinforcements poured in through the western breach…
The Roman army, weakened and disorganized, could not hold out for long and their formation was disrupted by the vigorous Volsci warriors. They seized the opportunity to rush into various parts of the city, launching a fierce attack on the retreating Roman soldiers.
The Romans suffered a major defeat, scrambling to escape Setia.
The Volsci reinforcements pursued closely, chasing the Roman soldiers until they fled into their camp.
Fortunately, Camillus had foreseen the situation and promptly directed the troops on the south side to retreat to the camp in an orderly manner. Then, when the troops on the north side collapsed, he sent out troops to intercept the pursuers, otherwise the Volsci might have stormed into the camp.
In this day's battle, the Roman army's siege failed, resulting in over 4,000 casualties. The Setian defenders also suffered heavy losses, with nearly 10,000 Setian residents killed or wounded.
The Daonian First Legion, which was tasked with containing the Roman camp's garrison, suffered almost no casualties. However, the Volsci leaders in Bolae expressed their gratitude to Amyntas and Printoris, because they had followed the strategy proposed by the Daonians and once again defeated the powerful Romans. While celebrating the victory, they also had full confidence in the next operational plan proposed by Amyntas.
… … … … … … … … … … … …
The failure of the siege cast a shadow over the entire Roman camp, but Quintus' determination to capture Setia did not waver. He still insisted on launching another attack on Setia the next day.
Camillus did not object to this, because he was very clear that although the Volsci had won again, the difference in strength between the two sides had not changed significantly. Moreover, Setia had suffered heavy losses and was barely surviving after today's fierce battle. Even with a few thousand more reinforcements, without the advantage of city defenses, facing the siege of tens of thousands of Roman troops, it was just a piece of fat meat in their mouths, and it could also take the opportunity to reduce the number of Volsci reinforcements. Therefore, the strategy of continuous attack and not giving the enemy a chance to breathe was correct.
While supporting Quintus' siege plan,
Camillus also reminded the three military tribunes to strengthen reconnaissance around the area, expand the scope of reconnaissance, and prevent the dangerous situation of "the enemy's reinforcements arriving before we even noticed" from happening again.
Everyone agreed with this suggestion. However, regarding another suggestion put forward by Camillus, "I hope the military tribunes will go down to each maniple to encourage the soldiers and boost morale," Furius and Licinius both agreed, but Quintus remained noncommittal.
The next morning, the horns for assembly sounded in the Roman camp. The Roman soldiers, fully armed, came out of their tents one after another. Their faces showed no sign of the frustration of yesterday's defeat, but rather the excitement of going to battle, which showed the Roman citizens' attitude towards battle.
Just as the soldiers were lining up, the military tribunes, who were about to set off in the main tent, received bad news.
"Astura attacked?!" Furius exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. He interrupted the messenger angrily, "What are our scouts doing?! The Volsci have once again bypassed us to attack the rear! We didn't even know! — —"
"Military Tribune Furius," the messenger reminded loudly, "It's not the Volsci, it might be the Daonians! The enemies are all wearing black armor, there are about five or six thousand of them, and they landed on the beach near Astura in a large fleet."
"When I was ordered to report the news, they had already begun to attack the city of Astura! Four military tribunes, please send reinforcements to rescue us immediately! There is only one maniple in the city of Astura, and it is impossible to resist the attack of so many enemies!" the messenger pleaded anxiously.
Camillus, Quintus, Licinius, and Furius looked at each other, their expressions extremely solemn.
Naval attack, landing operation… These Roman generals may have only heard of such tactics, but they had never personally witnessed them. Although Rome had the port of Ostia, its warships were scarce and had never been used in battle. From the founding of the city to the present, Rome had always been an inland city-state, always fighting on land. It had never carried out landing operations against its enemies, nor had any enemies carried out landing operations against it. After all, the previous enemies, like Rome, simply did not have a navy. Even Camillus had no concept of this in his mind.
Therefore, they pushed all the way with their army, driving the Volsci to the south of the Latin region. The Volsci towns occupied in the rear were surrounded by Latin allies, and the military tribunes did not leave too many soldiers to defend them, because they believed that the rear was basically safe.
Only now did they realize that the enemy Rome had just provoked was not only powerful on land, but also had a powerful navy! The coastline of the Latin region was under the control of the Daonian fleet.
The messenger's request immediately changed the expressions of Camillus and Licinius, and they shouted in unison, "Antium! We must rescue Antium!"
The city of Astura only had one maniple to defend it, and it was a small city, so it was impossible to resist the attack of thousands of Daonian soldiers. Moreover, even if Astura was lost, it would not have a great impact on the Roman army. However, Antium, located north of Astura, less than ten miles away, and also a former Volsci coastal town, was very important to the Roman army, because this important town in northern Volsci had a large port. After the Roman army captured it, they used it as a transit station for transporting military supplies. The grain and grass collected by Rome were transported through the Tiber River to the port of Ostia at the mouth of the river, and then transported to Antium by ship, and then transported to the Roman camp by land, which saved a lot of time and labor and provided convenience for grain transportation.
Because of the importance of Antium, Camillus left four Roman maniples and a supply transport team here. However, he did not expect the enemy to launch a surprise attack from the sea, so this force was too small compared to the attacking enemy. If the Daonians captured Antium, it would cause difficulties for the Roman camp's food supply.
The tent was silent for a moment, and Quintus finally said in a dry voice, "We should temporarily stop the siege and send troops to rescue Antium!" Quintus was very uncomfortable making this decision, because the siege that was sure to be won was about to begin, but it was suddenly interrupted.
But then Camillus' words shocked everyone: "I think we should stop the attack on the Volsci and withdraw the army back to Rome!"
The three military tribunes looked at him in surprise. Camillus said with a solemn expression: "The Daonian fleet is powerful. They can carry the Daonian land army to land anywhere on the Latin coastline where there is a flat beach. Today's attack is on Antium, tomorrow it may be on our Latin ally Adi, and the day after tomorrow it may be on our important port Ostia. Even the Daonians are not satisfied with only attacking coastal towns, but will advance inland, attack our Latin allies and colonial cities, and destroy our villages and fields! The Daonian army is quite powerful, and our main force is here, and the city of Rome and the surrounding areas are empty!"
"But… but, Daonia is suffering from a drought, they can't possibly send more troops!" Furius blurted out.
"Yesterday afternoon, a Daonian army was fighting with us, and today a Daonian army appeared on the coastline dozens of miles behind us. They can't be the same army! Then, with a second Daonian army, there may be a third Daonian army! And we…" Camillus stared at the three of them and said in a deep voice: "Dare to risk the safety of Roman territory and people?!"
The three of them felt a tightness in their hearts and were silent for a while.
The four military tribunes, Quintus was from a noble family, Camillus and Furius were from minor noble families, and Licinius was from a commoner family. They had different living habits and different political ideas, but they had one thing in common: they all loved Rome and did not want this homeland, which had already suffered one disaster, to suffer danger again!
Therefore, they quickly put aside their respective interests and reached an agreement: Quintus and Furius would lead 12,000 people to rescue Antium immediately; while Camillus and Licinius would lead nearly 30,000 soldiers to clean up the camp and escort the supplies and wounded back to Rome safely.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
After Lizalu received Davos' letter, he began to pay attention to the Volsci region, which was not far from the Campania region.
Soon, he also received a letter from Amyntas requesting his assistance.
The news that "freighters carrying grain between Antium and the port of Ostia are frequent" had long been seen by Campania merchants active on the west coast of Italy, and the news naturally reached Lizalu's ears very quickly.
At his request, a report from the intelligence department on the approximate distribution of enemy and us forces in the Volsci region was sent to him.