At the same time, Achaeus also noticed that the attacks of the defending soldiers on the city walls were weakening. Obviously, the Lora warriors defending the city walls had never encountered such a siege method. Although they had a slight advantage in the ranged attacks between the two sides due to the protection of the battlements, the increasing number of injured also put a lot of pressure on them.
"The enemy is a little chaotic!" He said with joy to Xanthippus, who was also in the rear, observing the enemy's situation.
"This is a good thing, it can reduce casualties among soldiers and civilians, but the most difficult battle has not yet arrived," Xanthippus said calmly.
Achaeus understood what Xanthippus meant by the most difficult battle—that was the face-to-face fight after the earthen hill and the city wall were joined together.
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the South City battlefield, it was much quieter outside the West City Wall.
First, hundreds of Campanian light infantrymen, carrying the shields made by the Daonian carpenters, braved the ranged attacks of the defending soldiers on the city wall, came to the trench, opened the brackets behind the shields, and made them stand obliquely to provide shelter for the light infantrymen. At the same time, they occasionally fired javelins and arrows from the gaps between the shields to attack the defending soldiers on the city wall.
While the defending soldiers were being suppressed, the Daonian heavy infantrymen pushed out siege ram-cars (Daonian legion engineers guided the carpenters of Aenona and Campania to make this kind of hollow wooden cart with wood cut down from the mountains and forests by the soldiers), just like what the soldiers of the Second Legion did when Davos led his army to attack Rome. The wooden carts were spliced together as they were pushed towards the city wall, reaching the front of the trench.
Not only were the allied soldiers surprised, but the defending soldiers on the city wall were also dumbfounded. They only saw the wooden carts but no people. The rockets fired could not ignite them, and the Daonian soldiers quickly passed sacks filled with earth in the carriages, quickly filling the narrow trench in front of them.
Then, the wooden carts, one after another, continued to push forward until they butted against the city wall, thus forming two hollow passages formed by the siege ram-cars from the city wall to forty meters away. The soldiers in the rear immediately carried a large log, with an iron cone-shaped ramming head embedded in the front end. This battering ram was passed by the soldiers and reached the bottom of the city wall, and six soldiers carried it and slammed into the city wall with force.
The hard hammer head violently struck the dilapidated stone wall, the stones shattered, the mortar fell off, and the stone wall cracked...
The vibration of the city wall made the defending soldiers on the city wall panic. They increased the intensity of their attacks, throwing stones and wood blocks down with force, splashing thin oil, and firing rockets...
However, the several ram-cars closest to the city wall were specially made to be exceptionally sturdy. The craftsmen not only reinforced the entire frame, but also adopted a herringbone structure for the roof to facilitate the removal of force, and it was also tied with sacks of mud soaked in water, which were not easily ignited, so the soldiers inside could safely and forcefully hit the city wall.
When the battering ram broke through the outer layer of the stone wall and revealed the rammed earth layer inside, the soldiers picked up pickaxes and shovels and began to dig out the stones around the gap to expand the hole in the wall, and then continuously dug out the rammed earth inside...
The defense of just the west and south city walls had already put a lot of pressure on the Lora defenders, who did not have many troops, not to mention that the allied forces were also launching attacks on the east and north sides. In order to defend this city, the Lora people mobilized all the clansmen in the city who could fight, including even women who went to the city to defend.
The south city was always the fiercest battlefield. After half an hour of fighting, the arms of the Daonian light infantrymen were so sore that they could not lift them, and their fingers were injured and bleeding from pulling the bow. More than 300 heavy infantrymen forming the shield wall were killed or injured, and the civilian casualties were also not small.
But the turning point finally appeared, the Lora defenders ran out of javelins. In just half an hour, they threw thousands of javelins.
In addition to the javelins thrown in the past few days to prevent the Daonians from building the earthen hill, all the javelins in the city had been used up, and the arrows were also almost exhausted. ァ Novel ~⑧~1~Chinese website ω ω ω . χ ~ ⒏ ~ 1z щ . c ò м
As for the javelins thrown by the Daonian light infantrymen, they were specially made with a spear tip. The iron rod connecting the spear tip was very thin. After hitting a hard object, it would bend and could not be thrown and used again, but the iron spear tip at the front end of the javelin could be quickly removed, and a new spear tip could be put on the wooden rod at the rear end, and then it could be used again, but the Lora defenders obviously could not do this.
Therefore, the defending soldiers could only throw stones and wood at the opponents. Since the Daonian shield wall was ten meters away from the city wall, stones that were too heavy could not be thrown over, and those that could be thrown over were easily blocked by the long shields, which posed much less of a threat to the Daonian heavy infantrymen. The shield wall was able to continue to stabilize, and the civilians could throw earth bags more quickly.
Seeing that the valley was gradually being filled, and the earth bags had risen to the feet of the Daonian heavy infantrymen, they began to carefully move forward with their shields, so that the subsequent civilians could fill the depressions further ahead.
At this time, Achaeus at the foot of the earthen hill was gathering the 1,000 Campanian heavy infantrymen to replace the army on the top of the hill.
The bugle sounded, and the Daonian light infantrymen quickly retreated down the hill. According to Xanthippus's plan, Achaeus led the Campanian heavy infantrymen into more than a dozen columns, spaced apart, and slowly marched towards the earthen hill, so that the civilians and Daonian heavy infantrymen could withdraw downward.
Wearing Corinthian helmets and holding large copper-skinned round shields, the Campanian heavy infantrymen had a narrow field of vision and clumsy movements. Climbing the mountain was a difficult task for them, but fortunately, the slope of the earthen hill was gentle, which did not have much impact on their march.
The Daonian heavy infantrymen, who formed a shield formation on the top of the earthen hill, were subjected to more and more violent attacks as they moved closer to the city wall without the assistance of the light infantrymen. Some Lora warriors simply climbed over the wall and over the battlements, jumped onto the almost filled earthen hill, and launched attacks directly on the Daonian heavy infantrymen with spears in their hands.
In this long period of defending the city, the Lora defenders had seen clearly that these Daonian soldiers did not carry spears at all because they were holding shields in both hands, so the Lora warriors stepped on the uneven earth bags with one foot deep and one foot shallow, directly knocked open the long shields with their bodies, even knocked down the enemies, and then stabbed the spears in their hands fiercely.
The shield wall formed by two rows of Daonian heavy infantrymen became fragmented. While the civilians were panicking and fleeing downward, the Daonian officers were shouting: "Do not retreat! Throw away a long shield and change to a short sword!!!..."
In fact, without them shouting, the soldiers were already doing this. These reserve soldiers from the Lucanian mountains had been enduring the enemy's ranged attacks before, watching hundreds of comrades being killed or injured, and the sudden direct attack by the enemy just now had caused dozens of deaths and injuries... They were all Lucanians who grew up after the establishment of the Daonian Kingdom. Although the cultural integration of the kingdom had weakened their wildness, military training had taught them teamwork and comradeship. With the anger of avenging their comrades, they held short swords and long shields, and fought fiercely with the Lora defenders.
However, the Daonian bugle call for retreat was sounded at this time.
Although the soldiers were unwilling, they had to obey orders.
The Lora warriors did not continue to pursue, because they saw those "tin cans" coming up, so they ran back and climbed into the city wall again.
On this earthen hill, which was more than 50 meters wide, the Campanian heavy infantrymen slowly approached the defending soldiers on the city wall, gradually forming a dense formation, and were only one battlement away from the defending soldiers. Although the thrusting spears could easily poke and stab the enemies, they could not use the charge and impact that the heavy infantrymen were good at, and their power was greatly reduced. The bugle call for attack continued to sound under the city, and the Campanian heavy infantrymen on the earthen hill, led by Achaeus, began to engage in a fierce fight with the enemies.
To be honest, in these years, the Campanians rarely had such a good opportunity to fight face-to-face with the Samnites, because the Samnite warriors always used javelin throws first to kill and injure the Campanian soldiers, and then retreated to lure them to pursue, and used the opponent's slow movement as a weakness in the retreat process, repeatedly attacking with javelins until the opponent's formation was completely chaotic, and then sent armored infantry to break in and completely defeat the opponent.
This set of tactics was repeatedly successful. The continuous failures made the Campanians timid, making them even afraid to go out of the city for field battles. But today, they finally had the opportunity to avenge their shame. The Campanian soldiers roared loudly, and thrusting spears were forcefully poked at the enemies.
As the defending side, the Lora defenders certainly could not adopt the previously effective guerrilla tactics, and could only meet the enemy head-on. They had the armored warriors block in front of the battlements, and behind them were light infantrymen, also forming a dense formation in the walkway on the city to resist the Campanian heavy infantrymen. In order to be able to compete with the enemies, they also transferred some of the defending soldiers from the west city wall, because they believed that the battle on the west side was relatively calm, and even if there were not many defenders, it would be enough to cope.
But not long after some of the defending soldiers on the west city wall were transferred away, bad news came out: two collapses occurred one after another on the west city wall.
This was all thanks to the Daonian soldiers in the siege ram-cars. They dug out the stone walls and rammed earth at the bottom of the city wall, destroying the foundation of the wall, causing the already unstable city wall to collapse due to gravity. The scattered stones even injured several Daonian soldiers who did not have time to retreat.
The rumbling sound and the rising morning fog not only shocked the Lora defenders, but also dumbfounded the Campanian soldiers. Originally, they saw that the Daonian soldiers' unique and slow siege method had not seen any movement for so long, and they could not help but feel a little contempt, thinking that it was both time-consuming and laborious. Some soldiers even disdainfully said: "They all say that the Daonian people are brave in battle, but it seems that they are also afraid of death, and only know how to hide in wooden boxes!" New 81 Chinese website update is the fastest computer version:
And now the tragic experience of the city wall gave them a resounding slap in the face. Of course, they would not know: in the various military camps in the Daonian Kingdom, not only would the soldiers really build a section of the city wall in training to exercise their city-building ability, but they would also exercise how to break through this section of the city wall in the next training, so the Daonian soldiers were not just digging randomly, but were destroying the structure of the city wall purposefully and efficiently.
"Attack! Attack now!" The Campanian officers urged their distracted soldiers.
The Daonian heavy infantry, already prepared, shouted excitedly, raising their long shields above their heads to block the stones and timber hastily thrown down by the city defenders, and in loose formation, charged towards one of the breaches in the city wall. The Campanian light infantry in front of the trench also intensified their assault on the city wall.
After the city wall collapsed, a slope formed on both sides of the breach. Daonian soldiers, stepping on the rough rubble, quickly leaped into the gap, which was only wide enough for three people to pass. The defenders of Lollanum, seeing the wall collapse, immediately dispatched some warriors down into the city to intercept them.
In close-quarters combat, the Daonian soldiers with their short swords held the advantage, but the Lollan warriors, fighting to defend their homeland, were fearless of casualties. The narrowness of the breach meant that although the Daonian soldiers' attacks were swift, they could not make progress in a short time.
"Woo!" Just as the Daonian and Campanian soldiers poured into the two breaches in the city wall, the attack horn sounded from outside the west gate at the opportune moment.
The Campanian light infantry in front of the trench immediately laid down their mantlets, spreading them across the only three-meter-wide trench. The remaining allied soldiers, carrying scaling ladders, rushed up from behind, stepping on the "wooden bridges" made of mantlets, easily bypassing the sparsely arranged chevaux de frise, and propped their ladders against the city wall.
A portion of the original west wall defenders had been drawn away to reinforce the south wall, and another portion rushed down into the city to block the breaches. There were not many warriors left on the city wall, and they also had to assist in attacking the enemy at the breaches. They could not inflict much damage on the enemies approaching the wall, nor could they easily stop the enemy's ant-like assault, so they had to call for reinforcements.
However, the Daonian allied forces in the south were attacking fiercely. The armored Lollan warriors were not as well-protected as their opponents, and in direct combat, they often lost more than they won, barely holding on. The defenses on the east and north city walls mainly relied on the city's civilians, and to have fought until now without being breached had already required great sacrifices. Now, with Lollanum under attack from all four sides and the entire city in dire straits, there were no additional troops to spare.
The battle continued until noon. Xanthippus, who was outside the south wall observing the battle's progress, received the long-awaited good news: the allied soldiers had captured the west city wall!
Xanthippus immediately let out a long breath, relaxing his entire body: Lollanum was finally taken!
Although for him, this was his first independent command since joining the Kingdom of Daonia, achieving such a significant victory in his first command meant that in his lifetime, he might truly realize his initial wish of becoming a true legion commander, washing away his previous disgrace (referring to the Laodicean case, where he served as an inspector in the military department but failed to perform his duties diligently, leading to lax oversight and the promotion of incompetent officers).
However, at this moment, he could not feel happy: from the siege of Lollanum until now, his army had suffered over 500 casualties. Although most were injuries, for a force of only 4,000 men, this proportion was already very high, and he feared it would be criticized afterward.
Therefore, he gave orders to the messenger: "Inform all battalions that after entering the city, they should not advance too quickly. They must slow down their attack, pay attention to protecting themselves, and reduce casualties!"
"Recruits lack experience, so I can only keep reminding them…" Watching the messenger leave, Xanthippus sighed softly, rubbed his aching lower back, and said, "Bring me a chair."
Lollanum's defenses were like an inflated pig's bladder; once breached in one spot, the entire line quickly collapsed. However, Xanthippus's worries soon proved true.
The Lollan defenders and civilians who retreated from the city wall into the city did not surrender. They continued to stubbornly resist the allied forces' advance within the city, which enraged the allied soldiers, who had already suffered significant casualties during the siege, especially the Campanian soldiers who had previously been ravaged by the Samnite army. They not only intensified their attack but also regarded all men, women, and children in the city as enemies, engaging in slaughter.
The Lollans were outnumbered, and there was no acropolis in the city, as commonly found in Greek city-states, for a final defense. By the afternoon, nearly all of Lollanum's inhabitants had died in battle, and the city was completely occupied by the allied forces.
However, the allied commanders felt no joy of victory, because a scout from Abellinum brought them bad news: several thousand Caudini warriors had left Beneventum early in the morning and were marching west.
The allied generals, led by Xanthippus and Aialos, immediately became anxious. They worried that this Samnite army was coming to relieve Lollanum. Fortunately, they no longer needed to worry about instability within Lollanum.
After deliberation, the allied generals decided to have the soldiers quickly rest and eat their rations to regain their strength as soon as possible. The clearing of the battlefield, the dismantling of the camp outside the city, and the inventory of supplies within the city were all handed over to Aenona officials, who were also to direct the people from Aenona, Campania, and Nuceria to take charge. In effect, this meant handing over the administration of Lollanum to Daonia.
For the Campanians, there was no other choice. The large-scale Samnite invasion had killed and abducted a large number of Campanians and destroyed towns and villages. The area within dozens of miles of Neapolis had become almost a wilderness. The current population of the Campanian League was simply insufficient to fill these desolate lands, so they no longer coveted the lands of the eastern Campanian plain. Moreover, this area was close to the mountains and more susceptible to Samnite attacks. The Daonian presence here could, in fact, serve as a security barrier for the Campanian League.
For Daonia, after the Third Legion defeated the Caudini invasion of the Campanian League, a punitive plan to occupy Lollanum, Saticula, and Capua had been formulated. Now, it was merely a revival of that plan. Adriankos dispatched Aenona officials to lead the people here, partly to assist the allied forces in besieging the city, and partly with the intention of quickly taking over the city after Lollanum was captured.
The Kingdom of Daonia and the Campanian League naturally reached an unspoken understanding, each getting what they needed. But now, the Samnite reinforcements, who could arrive at any moment, might turn the victory they had bought with their soldiers' blood into nothing.
Fortunately, it was about ninety miles from Beneventum to Lollanum, half of which was mountainous terrain. Therefore, several Campanian League generals believed that the Caudini could not reach Lollanum within a single day.
As the saying goes, what you fear will come to pass. Nearing dusk, the scout cavalry sent to the north to closely monitor enemy movements rushed back to report: a Samnite army had emerged from the Abella Pass and was heading towards Lollanum, with an estimated strength of ten thousand soldiers.
The generals of the Campanian League were all surprised by this news: previously, the Abellinum scout said the enemy had only a few thousand men, so how did it become 10,000 in just a few hours?!
Immediately, a general expressed doubt: "Did you properly scout the enemy's numbers?! Go back and confirm it again!"
Another general suggested: "The Samnites are coming fiercely, and our soldiers have just undergone intense fighting. They are not only very tired but have also suffered some casualties and urgently need rest. Moreover, the city walls of Lollanum are now damaged and cannot be defended. Why don't we… why don't we first lead the army to retreat, and then come back to fight when we are fully prepared…"
His suggestion actually gained the approval of several generals, and even Aialos hesitated, unable to make a decision for a moment, only able to look towards Xanthippus.
Xanthippus surveyed the Campanian generals around him. He understood in his heart: despite capturing Lollanum and achieving a victory against the Samnites, decades of continuous defeats against the Samnites had instilled fear in the Campanian League. Once the situation turned unfavorable, their first thought was to retreat. He had to give them the courage to fight!
Xanthippus pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, if we are to retreat, there are a few issues you must first consider. First, what about these tens of thousands of civilians? They are not soldiers, young and strong, with discipline. Many of them are elderly and women, slow-moving and lacking organization. Once they are made to retreat, the scene will inevitably be chaotic. The Samnites are marching so quickly; if they catch up, it will be a disaster!
Secondly, this war launched by the Samnites has already caused huge losses to the Campanian League. We finally managed to capture Lollanum, and it seemed we could block the Samnites in the mountains, preventing their re-invasion. Now we are to abandon Lollanum. Once abandoned, it will not be so easy to retake it. The Samnites will certainly learn their lesson and station enough warriors here, which will lead to a stalemate.
The main force of our Daonian army is in the east, fighting in the mountains, which is the Samnites' homeland. That battle will inevitably be very difficult, and it is unlikely to yield any results in a short time. And I cannot receive new reinforcements here, because the kingdom is also engaged in larger wars in Sicily and Latium.
Once the battle falls into a stalemate, it will be unfavorable for you. Because the Samnites can use their most basic form of attack, harassment. After experiencing the large-scale Samnite invasion, you originally needed to lead your people to rebuild their homes, harvest and cultivate the destroyed farmlands, graze the few cattle and sheep… But once the Samnites return to the Campanian plain, will any civilians dare to leave their towns? Food shortages, difficult lodging, people unable to return home, they will inevitably be filled with dissatisfaction and complaints, and the governance of your city-states will become even more difficult…"
Zantipas's earnest words deeply moved the generals of the Campanian League. Aiolos immediately thought of Naples' plight: the city was overcrowded with refugees, food was scarce, order was difficult to maintain, and the greatest fear was the outbreak of disease.
Generals from Herculaneum and Liternum, among others, were eager to lead their people back home, but their towns were dilapidated, and they would be hard-pressed to defend against another Samnite raid... Would they have to continue hiding in Naples? Not only would the people find it unbearable, but their citizen-soldiers would likely object.
Seeing the Campanian League generals deep in thought, Zantipas said, "Our soldiers are indeed tired after the hard fighting, but at least they have time to rest. But aren't the Samnites, who have come from afar, also tired?! They traveled from Beneventum in a single day. They probably didn't get much rest on the way and are even more exhausted than our soldiers. Can they still run like the wind in battle as they used to?!"
"Furthermore, our soldiers have just captured Lora, boosting their morale, while the Samnites are worried about Lora and anxious. Therefore, their morale is also lower than our soldiers'. Moreover, even if the Samnite reinforcements number 10,000, our soldiers still outnumber them. And don't forget that their ranks include over 2,000 soldiers from Nuceria. Spies from Abellinum have already reported that they have secretly contacted the commander of the Nucerian army. So, those 2,000 Nucerian soldiers are not allies of the Samnite reinforcements but will be a boost to us at a crucial moment!"
Here, Zantipas's emotions became more uplifted: "Everyone, we have so many advantages. Now is the time to seize this favorable opportunity, take the initiative to meet the invading enemy, defeat them, and completely drive them out of the Campanian Plain, so that the people of your Campanian League can have peace and tranquility!"
Zantipas's words stirred the hearts of most of the generals and dispelled their doubts.
However, some raised objections: "Can the words of the Abellinum people be trusted?!" The Samnites and Campanians had been fighting for decades and regarded each other as mortal enemies. How could they easily trust each other?
Before Zantipas could answer, Aiolos interjected, "The Abellinum people assisted General Alexios in defeating the Samnite army in the mountains and are still besieging Beneventum. Why aren't they trustworthy! Abellinum is an ally of Daonia and therefore our friend! The same goes for the Nucerians. Don't forget that we were able to capture Lora thanks to their contribution!"
In fact, the Nucerian people in Lora had indeed clashed with the Campanians, but the Oenotrian officials tried to keep their work separate and reduce contact. For example, the work of pruning tree trunks and digging soil was all assigned to the Nucerian people, preventing them from participating in the construction of the earthworks. At night, they were allowed to rest further south, within the territory of Nuceria. Of course, there was another reason for doing this: to prevent the Lora garrison from seeing the close relationship between the Nucerians and Daonia, so as not to harm the Oenotrian soldiers still in the Samnite Allied Forces.
That general fell silent.
Aiolos looked at Zantipas and solemnly asked, "If we follow your advice and lead the army to meet the Samnite reinforcements, can we achieve victory?"
Zantipas replied with equal solemnity, "As long as we fight with all our strength, we can achieve victory!"
Aiolos's previous concerns were that if the allied forces were defeated, the slow-moving Campanian heavy infantry would have difficulty escaping the Samnite pursuit, and the situation of the Campanian League would become even worse than before.
However, he had personally participated in and assisted the Daonian army in two battles on the Campanian Plain, and he was impressed by Daonia's powerful military capabilities. Therefore, Zantipas's assurance gave him confidence. He faced the Campanian League generals and said loudly, "Everyone, with the full assistance of the Daonian allied forces, we will surely defeat the Samnites! Let's not hesitate any longer. Let's immediately gather our soldiers, leave the city, meet the enemy, and completely drive them out of the Campanian Plain!"
This time, no one objected.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
When the Daonian allied forces were arrayed outside Lora early in the morning, the Lora garrison felt uneasy. They sent a small team to sneak out of the city, and after suffering many casualties, they fled into the hills from the southeastern hills and escaped the encirclement. Then they rushed to Beneventum for help. At noon, they happened to meet Segovax's returning army at the entrance of the mountain road from Caudium to Beneventum.
Segovax, upon learning that Lora was in danger, did not hesitate to issue the order to "advance the entire army at full speed," and at the same time sent scouts to urgently notify Cesala.
Thus, the Caudini army left the mountains and entered the territory of Caudium. They did not enter the city to rest, but continued to march forward, passing through the relatively wide passes between the mountains and reaching Abella. Here, they joined forces with the 1,300 soldiers sent by Cesala, bringing the total force to more than 9,000 men, which was the maximum force that the Caudini tribe could currently dispatch.
This army marched out of the pass, entered the Campanian Plain, bypassed the mountains, and turned south, heading straight for Lora.
Although the entire route from Caudium to Lora was flat, a day's march still made the Samnite mountain people, who were good at running and full of energy, feel tired. Several tribal leaders asked Segovax to let the soldiers rest for a while.
But Segovax refused. In the descriptions of several Lora messengers, he had realized the Daonian-Campanian allied forces' determination to capture Lora. He had to rush to reinforce as soon as possible to prevent this town, which was very important to the Caudini tribe, from being controlled by the Daonians, because that meant the southern part of the Caudini territory would be cut off, which he could not allow.
About ten miles from Lora, Segovax received a report from the scouts sent to scout Lora: "The enemy's army is coming out of Lora and heading towards us, with a large number of soldiers!"
"Are you sure the enemy is coming out of Lora???" Segovax looked incredulous.
"Great Chief, when we approached Lora... the battle was already over. We only saw many Campanians carrying corpses outside the city... The enemy did come out of the north gate of Lora. They were fully armed and didn't look like they had just finished fighting..." The Caudini scout said with a sad expression.
Segovax was shocked. Although he led the army to rush to reinforce, he did not think that the Daonian allied forces could capture Lora, which was defended by thousands of Caudini warriors, in just a few days. But now the situation had developed beyond his expectations.
But after only a moment of contemplation, he said fiercely to the somewhat bewildered leaders: "Haven't we always complained, 'If the Campanians weren't hiding in the city like turtles and dared to fight us, we would have occupied the entire Campanian Plain long ago!' Now the opportunity has come. Those cowardly Campanians actually dare to attack us proactively. Do they really think that with the help of the Daonians, they can turn from a bunch of rabbits into vicious wolves?!' Their numbers are not much different from ours, and they have just finished a siege battle, so they have come at the right time. We can completely wipe them out. Not only can we recapture Lora, but there will no longer be any force on the entire Campanian Plain to stop us. The entire situation on the battlefield will be changed by us Caudini!"
The leaders were stirred up by Segovax's fighting spirit and clamored to fight the enemy to the death.
Thus, the order to "stop the entire army, rest in place, and begin to form formations" was carried out by the leaders.
Previously, Vasones had been anxious. He had originally thought that this Caudini army would rest in the city of Caudium after walking the mountain road, but he did not expect that they would go straight to Lora, so he could only secretly send his subordinates to notify the other Nucerian leaders about the news that "the Nucerian people have broken away from Segovax's control and have allied with Daonia."
Now, upon receiving the news that "a decisive battle is about to be fought with the Campanians, and the entire army is about to form formations," Vasones felt even more anxious, because Segovax also ordered forcefully: the armies of the various Nucerian tribes must immediately disperse to the designated positions in the military formation according to the prescribed instructions, and must not refuse or delay!
The designated positions that Segovax spoke of were to widely place the armies of the dozen or so Nucerian tribes in the front or rear of the left, center, and right wings of the entire military formation, so that they could not contact each other or cooperate with each other during battle.
In fact, the Nucerian army was now a hot potato for Segovax. Given what he had done in their territory before and the fact that Daonia had now occupied Nuceria (he believed that Nuceria had been occupied by Daonia), if the Nucerian army knew the truth, rebellion was certain.
In Segovax's mind, it would be best to completely dismantle them and forcibly incorporate them into the armies of other tribes, which would of course arouse the resistance of the Nucerian army. Segovax had not tried this before. When the Samnite Allied Forces were meeting in Beneventum, he had proposed this suggestion to the other tribal leaders, wanting to use the advantage of the allied forces to suppress the resistance of the Nucerian warriors and take the opportunity to dismantle them.
But this proposal was opposed by Badius and Contrux, especially Contrux, who sternly rebuked this practice. He believed that Quinctius's mistake was colluding with foreign enemies, and he and his tribe had already been punished, and that the other Nucerian tribal warriors had performed so bravely in battle (the Nucerian army was driven by Segovax and always charged at the front), which was enough to make up for their past mistakes, and that each tribal leader leading his own tribe to fight was a Samnite military tradition, and that destroying this tradition would only make other tribes feel fear.
Contruni's words hit Segovanni's worries right on the mark. Subsequently, when he privately discussed the matter with other close chieftains of the Cautini, he met with strong opposition, forcing him to abandon the idea.
However, the situation changed so rapidly that he didn't have time to come up with a better solution to the Naconia army problem. The rumors within Beneventum were spread by his people to confuse the situation. Although it seemed to have a good effect, it was only a temporary measure. Distributing the Naconia tribal armies within the formation was also a temporary measure. But if he didn't send them into battle, where could he place these 2,000 Naconia warriors? Cautium or Abella? That would only make Segovanni more uneasy, and he firmly believed that only under this arrangement would the Naconia warriors fight bravely and dare not cause trouble.
Indeed, this was the case. Vasonk's anxiety stemmed from the fact that the Naconia army, though seemingly a unified force, lacked a leader who could command respect and obedience. Everyone was a young man temporarily elected and leading troops for the first time, lacking prestige, including Vasonk. Although they knew Segovanni's order was disadvantageous to them, with the Naconia army outnumbered and surrounded by other tribes' watchful warriors, none of the young Naconia commanders had the confidence or courage to stand up, rally the troops, and incite a rebellion that all Naconia warriors would follow.
Therefore, although the Naconia generals expressed opposition, they ultimately reluctantly obeyed the order and led their troops away. This dispersal made it impossible to communicate with each other during battle, let alone act in a unified manner.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Vasonk could only curse the ruthless and cunning Segovanni in his heart, enduring and waiting for an opportunity.
Segovanni adopted the traditional Samnite battle formation against the Greek armies. The horizontal line of the formation was very long, as much as three miles, and its vertical length was also considerable. This was because the Samnite formation was very loose, with large gaps between warriors, facilitating interpenetration.
As dusk approached, and the sun had already set above the western sea, painting the sky and sea golden, Segovanni saw the enemy's figures. Their thick armor gleamed in the slanting rays of the setting sun, emitting a flickering but not dazzling light.
This wall of light did not intimidate Segovanni and his warriors. On the contrary, they felt reassured because they had repeatedly defeated such opponents in the past. However, the length of the enemy's formation exceeded Segovanni's expectations. It extended to both sides, making it impossible for Segovanni to see its ends. This was somewhat different from the dense and thick square formation tactics of the Campanian army in the past.
Could this be the fighting style of the Daonians? Segovanni wondered. Although he had fought the Daonians once, it was a pursuit battle, and the two sides had not engaged in a formal battle.
However, he could see that the enemy soldiers were still densely packed. In this case, the enemy's vertical columns must be thin. Of course, Segovanni could guess why the enemy had formed their battle lines before reaching the battlefield. Obviously, the Campanians had learned from past lessons, because the clumsy Campanian army was always subjected to long-range attacks by the swift Cautini warriors while slowly forming their ranks.
Segovanni hesitated for a moment and decided not to easily adjust his deployment, but to test the waters first and see how things went.
The Daonian allied forces stopped advancing when they were less than 400 meters from the enemy. This formation, which was 3.2 miles long but only three ranks deep, had become crooked after advancing a certain distance and needed to straighten the battle line before the battle.
In the middle of this formation were more than 6,000 heavy infantry (including about 1,500 reserve legion soldiers from Daonia), then 3,000 light armor and light infantry mixed troops (including the Daonian light infantry battalion) connected on both sides, with 500 Daonian light armor soldiers at each end. In addition, there were more than 200 Campanian cavalry on the far left flank, with a total force of about 11,400 men.
On the other hand, the Cautini army, the opponent of Daonia, had more than 9,000 troops, arranged in a three-mile-long formation. Most of its troops were light infantry, which was also divided into two types: one was pure javelin throwers, and the other was light infantry with long shields, who could both throw javelins and fight with spears. They constituted the main component of the Cautini army, and only in the rear of the center were nearly a thousand armored infantry led by Segovanni himself.
The Cautini and Campanian alliance, two mortal enemies for decades, were about to engage in a decisive battle with all their forces on the edge of the eastern plains of Campania, a battle that would determine their respective destinies.
But just as the Daonian allied forces stopped and began to reorganize their formation, Segovanni had already issued an order: the light infantry in the center of the Cautini army began to move forward, and as the center moved, the left and right wings also moved accordingly.
The movement of the Cautini army was different from the heavy and slow movement of the Greek army. Its speed was very swift.
Aialos knew this well. As the military commander of Neapolis, he stood in the front row of the formation. Zantiparis had once advised him "not to go to the front line, but to command the overall situation from the rear," but he politely refused. Most of the generals elected by the Greek city-states often went to the front line during battles to show that there was no difference in status between them and the soldiers, so as not to be accused by the citizens after the war. Neapolis was no exception, especially at such an important moment.
At this moment, he unhesitatingly took off his Corinthian helmet and threw it on the ground. The other Campanian heavy infantry also followed Aialos' example and took off their Corinthian helmets according to the prior plan, each feeling a sense of open vision and relaxation. Only the Daonian heavy infantry did not take off their helmets because they were wearing open-faced helmets.
Aialos looked around, raised the spear in his hand, and shouted loudly: "Apollo bless! We must bravely pursue and never stop!"
The surrounding soldiers and officers also shouted in succession: "Bravely pursue and never stop!! … …"
When the Cautini army was about to approach within 50 meters, almost all the Daonian allied soldiers were shouting, and their morale was very high.
Zantiparis, who was in the rear and riding on a horse, felt much calmer hearing this thunderous roar, which had calmed his nervous mood.
"Attack!" he said loudly.
"Woo! … …" The high-pitched bugle call caused the entire long military column, whether it was heavy infantry, light infantry, light armor soldiers, or cavalry, to begin to advance.
The sudden forward movement of the Daonian allied forces did not have any impact on the warriors at the forefront of the Cautini army. As in previous battles, they stopped at a suitable distance, threw the javelins in their hands, and then prepared to retreat through the gaps, so that the warriors behind them were in the front row, and they continued to throw javelins… … Repeatedly, even if the opponent was advancing, they always kept a distance from the opponent, and the throwing of javelins continued, giving the opponent's dense formation a great kill.
In the past, the Campanian alliance had not been specially trained, and there was no light infantry that could compete with them, nor were there any tactics specially designed for independent light infantry. The temporarily recruited civilian light infantry could not resist the almost all strong Cautini javelin throwers, so often after three or four rounds of throwing, the Campanian army had to stop advancing.
Then, the Cautini warriors immediately switched from retreating to attacking, still wave after wave of javelin throwing attacks. When they threw the javelins in their hands, the Campanians were basically in chaos due to too many casualties, and then the armored infantry and light infantry with spears of the Cautini made the final impact, often collapsing with one blow, laying the foundation for victory.
But now, the Cautini warriors were surprised to see that the heavy infantry on the opposite side was speeding up their pace while advancing, and it was getting faster and faster.
They are going to charge?! Don't they know that we can't charge them, and with their clumsy speed, they can't catch up with us! … … Although the Cautini warriors were surprised, as the distance narrowed, they had to retreat, and their first round of javelins, according to habit, because the distance was still far (more than 30 meters), was thrown slightly upwards, so that the javelin could fly longer, and the falling position was often in the middle and rear of the opponent's formation, causing chaos in the entire formation, making it disjointed from front to back, which was convenient for the next step of attack. However, the opponent's sudden acceleration and the thin vertical columns caused most of the javelins thrown to miss.
The allied heavy infantry, who had dodged the javelin attack, gained more confidence, and they slanted their round shields and half-protected their heads, and their footsteps were more powerful and faster. This quickly narrowed the distance between the two sides to within 20 meters, and also made the Cautini warriors who subsequently threw javelins unable to make more adequate preparations and hurriedly threw the javelins in their hands.
The 500 Naconia warriors led by Vasonk were part of this second wave of attacks. They had all received hints from Vasonk in advance, and most of the warriors threw the javelins into the sky at will, and then immediately retreated.
The momentum of the Greek heavy infantry's desperate charge made Vasonk's mind turn sharply.
Even if the Cautini warriors threw hastily, the experienced ones took a direct shot in this round of javelin throwing. Under the powerful throwing of the warriors, countless heavy javelins, driven by the peso, flew with some rotation, and stabbed straight at the shields of the heavy infantry, and many javelins directly penetrated the shields, causing some injuries to the heavy infantry.
But this did not stop the Greek hoplites from advancing. On the contrary, it forced them to sprint forward desperately. They all remembered the words of their officers before the battle: "Spare no effort, charge forward with everything you have! As long as you catch up with those cowardly Cautinian enemies and prevent them from throwing their javelins, we will be safe!"…
The third wave of javelin attacks from the Cautinian army did not come immediately because the distance was too short. There was no time to throw, let alone time to switch positions with the warriors who had just thrown from the front rank.
After the battle began, the Cautinian warriors, and even the Samnite warriors, led by their tribal chiefs, generally followed traditional combat routines, but their actions were essentially free. They could choose to attack or retreat based on changes in the battlefield situation. Because their formation was very loose and the spacing was relatively large, the entire army was flexible and mobile during combat.
Now, all the Cautinian warriors (including the great chieftain Segovax) began to turn around and run. They were not afraid of the enemy's attack because they firmly believed that the Greeks could not outrun them. Once they created distance and the Greeks were exhausted, it would be their time to attack at will.
Compared to the hoplites in the center, the allied infantry on the flanks, lightly equipped, charged even faster. The Cautinian warriors only managed to throw their first volley of javelins, inflicting some casualties, before they had to retreat. In terms of equipment, they could have charged and fought the enemy in close combat, but based on long-standing combat habits (using javelins to create chaos before engaging in close combat), and fearing being entangled and surrounded by nearby enemies, these tribal chiefs were not selfless enough to let their warriors attract the enemy for others.
On the two ends of the army, the light infantry faced no Campanian warriors. These Daonian citizens from the Lucanian mountains, unhindered by enemies, strode forward with their strong legs, running as fast as they could. In fact, their position was almost level with the foremost Cautinian warriors on the inside, but they did not turn inward to attack. Instead, they continued to advance.
Originally, the Campanian cavalry on the outer left flank were even faster. Their running steeds had already brought them to the side and rear of the Cautinian army, but they did not have the courage to directly intercept hundreds or thousands of retreating enemies. They merely waved their lances, approaching them from the side, trying to force them towards the center, thereby blocking the passage of enemies in other positions and slowing down the retreat of the entire army.
However, after the Cautinian warriors threw their javelins and shot down a dozen cavalrymen, these Campanian cavalry dared not approach the enemy anymore.
What was supposed to be a fierce battle turned into a large-scale race. On the long front line of more than three miles, both the Daonian allies and the Cautinian warriors were running at full speed, causing the ground to rumble and dust to fly everywhere.
After running for a while, the Daonian hoplites, beginning to pant, heard their officers shout breathlessly: "Throw… away… the long shields… Throw away the long shields!"
They did so without hesitation. Once the heavy long shields were discarded, they felt a sudden lightness in their bodies, holding only their thrusting spears. Their speed was maintained, and the distance between them and the Cautinian warriors did not increase.
This was originally the planned strategy. Influenced by this, the Campanian hoplites, led by generals like Aulus, also successively discarded their round shields.
The Campanian hoplites, without helmets and round shields, were indeed a little uncomfortable at first, but they gradually adapted as they continued to run.
The Cautinian warriors originally thought that the Greeks would stop as usual after a round of charging, but they did not expect them to keep running. Although they saw the enemy throwing away their helmets and shields in their rearview, which should have been the best time to attack with javelins, the two sides were too close. Throwing javelins required a little preparation time, and those few seconds could lead to the enemy charging in front of them. With the entire army retreating, no tribal chief would take the initiative to have their people stop and attack. They only thought: Faster, faster! Run a little longer, and these iron cans will run out of strength!…
But in fact, it was the Cautinian warriors who first felt physically exhausted. They were eager to rescue Lalla, marching all the way without rest or food. They were already very tired when they arrived here, and the sudden, tense running caused their muscles to ache all over. The only reason they were still persevering was the tenacity of the mountain people. To keep themselves running, they also began to throw away their long shields…
Segovax never expected that the enemy, mainly composed of Campanians, would adopt such a method to conduct the battle. They were still using their previous combat methods to deal with an enemy that was already different. When he himself felt sore all over, short of breath, and the guards around him were also panting like thunder, he suddenly realized that the enemy's peculiar offensive might be hitting their weak spot. But at this moment, even if he wanted the entire army to stop and counterattack, it was impossible, because the battle had already begun, and the entire army was running, making it impossible to deliver orders.
The dizziness caused by fatigue and lack of blood to the brain prevented Segovax from thinking carefully. He simply became ruthless: Let's see who can run faster!
After running for a while, the entire Daonian allied army had turned into a huge crescent formation, with the center lagging behind and the two flanks protruding forward. Moreover, the formation was no longer continuous, with many gaps appearing, especially in the center. This worried Xanthippus's attendants, who were following the army: "General… if… if we keep running like this, the gaps in the center… will widen… If the enemy takes the opportunity to attack… it will be troublesome! Should we… should we have the light infantry attack now?"
Segovax could no longer command the entire Cautinian army, and Xanthippus couldn't either, but he could still command the Daonian army, especially the light infantry on both flanks, because he had been keeping in touch with them using scouts.
His subordinates were focused on the hoplites in front, while he, riding on horseback, was constantly watching the Cautinian warriors in front. Their swaying backs and heavy steps allowed him to feel their exhaustion. Most importantly, the distance between them and his own soldiers had not increased.
It was clear that his tactic was already working. Both sides had exhausted their strength, but for the Cautinian warriors, they had lost the speed that had troubled the Campanian soldiers the most.
Therefore, he said confidently: "Don't worry, let them keep chasing."
Xanthippus was not afraid of the Cautinian warriors stopping to attack, because close combat was what the allies wanted. Even if they broke through the allied army's formation, he still believed that the final victory belonged to the allies, because his greatest confidence came from the 4,000 Lucanian reserve legion soldiers. They were all young citizens with strong physiques, personally selected and rigorously trained by him, familiar with the Daonian legion system. Their morale would not be shaken by the chaos of friendly forces, and they could instead gain an advantage in the melee with their tight organization.
Moreover, Xanthippus had a hope, a hope that could completely change the entire battle.
Xanthippus's gaze searched through the dense mass of Cautinian warriors in front: It was all red everywhere, which ones were the Naconian warriors?!
At this time, the 500 tribal warriors of the Avan Gum, the second largest tribe of the Naconians, were located in the middle-left part of the Cautinian army. Vasones was not idle while retreating. On the one hand, he sent his subordinates to gather the warriors to prevent them from scattering; on the other hand, he also had his subordinates convey his hints.
The Daonian allies' relentless pursuit allowed Vasones to see the Greeks' determination to fight (which was rare in previous battles with the Campanians). He was worried that if they kept running like this, and the Cautinian army really shook off the Daonian allies, they would lose a great opportunity to break away from Segovax's control.
Since they could no longer contact the other Naconian tribes, why not go it alone!… Vasones decided to wait no longer. He took a deep breath and resolutely raised the spear in his hand high into the air, shouting angrily: "Naconians, revenge!"
The guards around him, who were already prepared, immediately followed suit, shouting: "Naconians, revenge!!"
Then the other Naconian warriors also responded, shouting and thrusting their spears into the neighboring warriors of other Cautinian tribes.
Before the battle, the neighboring tribal chiefs had secretly accepted Segovax's order to monitor and guard the Naconian tribes. However, after the battle began, the warriors were all focused on retreating. Because the Daonian allies were chasing closely, they had no energy to pay attention to anything else, and gradually lost their guard against the Naconian warriors.
Who knew that a sudden change would occur? The Avan Gum tribal warriors launched an attack on all sides, instantly stabbing down many Cautinian warriors. The other Cautinian warriors, in shock, did not react by counterattacking, but instead wanted to bypass these crazy Naconian warriors and continue to retreat, because they had not forgotten that there were still enemies chasing closely behind them.
However, as they all dodged outwards, they naturally blocked the retreat path of the warriors behind them, causing this suddenly chaotic area to spread outwards.
The allied soldiers chasing them caught up with the Cautinian warriors who were only blocked for a dozen seconds, and thrusting spears suddenly pierced them.
The Avangum tribe blossomed at the center, and the allied soldiers fiercely attacked from behind. Caught off guard and ambushed from both sides, the Cautinian warriors scattered in panic. Some warriors even shouted loudly to remind the other tribes: "The Naconians have rebelled! The Naconians have rebelled! ! … …"
Mixed with the Avangum people's neat and loud shouts: "Naconian revenge! ! … …" Even with the constant sounds of fighting and screams in this area, these sounds could still reach farther areas, alerting the other tribal warriors. At the same time that Cautinian warriors became vigilant, it also informed the other Naconian tribal warriors of the situation, forcing them to take immediate action.
Thus, one after another, Naconian tribal warriors launched rebellions, attacking the surrounding Cautinian warriors.
Originally, Segovanni had dispersed the Naconian tribes throughout the army, intending to prevent them from rebelling and forcing them to fight with all their might to survive in the army. However, he shot himself in the foot. The sudden rebellion of the Naconian tribes caused chaos throughout the Cautinian army's formation.
Zantiparis noticed the abnormality in the enemy's formation and took the opportunity to notify the light infantry on both flanks to attack inward. Coupled with the attack of the allied soldiers who caught up, the Cautinian army quickly transformed from a planned retreat to a complete rout.
Some Cautinian warriors, frightened by the constant news of rebellion, even became suspicious and stabbed their teammates who inadvertently got close to them with their spears. Under the dim sky, the Cautinian warriors lost all fighting spirit. During their escape, they trampled on each other and killed each other, resulting in countless casualties.
By nightfall, when the Daonian allied forces stopped pursuing, only nearly 2,000 Cautinian warriors were able to escape, including the great chieftain Segovanni. They eventually fled into Cesara City. The allied forces lost less than 500 men, and they gained the allegiance of more than 2,000 Naconian warriors, further strengthening their strength.
Early the next morning, after a night of rest, the Daonian allied forces divided into two groups and marched north, their targets being Cesara and Abella.
Near noon, the army, mainly composed of Campanian allied soldiers, arrived at Cesara City, only to find that it had become a ghost town.
It turned out that after the Cautinian remnants fled back to Cesara, Segovanni, who had calmed down slightly, realized that he could not continue to stay in this city while angrily cursing the rebellious Naconians. This was because when the enemy attacked, they only needed to send out a portion of their forces to surround Cesara, which was guarded by only 2,000 warriors, and then lead their main force to directly attack Abella, which was located in the mountain pass and had no defense, thereby directly attacking Cautium, which was also weakly defended. If that happened, the Cautinians would be completely finished.
Therefore, Segovanni mobilized all the residents of the city that night to relocate.
Although the people of Cesara were very reluctant, they did not want to repeat the mistakes of Lora. So, everyone carried their belongings, led the old and supported the young, and retreated towards Abella and Cautium overnight.
Therefore, when the Daonian allied forces, mainly composed of Daonian and Naconian soldiers, arrived at the mountain pass, Segovanni led the only 2,000 warriors to garrison the small city of Abella, blocking the allied forces' eastward passage.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
On the same day, about 10,000 soldiers from the Tenth and Eleventh Legions led by Capus, after a day of hard fighting, captured the small city of Aequium, echoing the allied forces led by Alexis on the westernmost side of the Samnite Mountains, creating a situation where the Hirpinian territory was completely surrounded.
After the Cautinian and Pentrian tribal armies left one after another, the military strength in Beneventum was significantly weakened.
In order to reduce unnecessary casualties, Lesguk had stopped attacking outside the city. Instead, Daonian allied soldiers approached the city, but they were not there to attack the city. Instead, the leader of Abellinum, Gaerni, led his tribesmen to constantly shout under the city.
Gaerni listed the failures suffered since Lesguk launched the war against Daonia without authorization, as well as the specific number of Hirpinian warriors who were killed, wounded, and captured.
He also shouted loudly to the city: "Hirpinian compatriots, now that Aquilonia and Aequium have been captured by the Daonian allied forces, the Hirpinian territory is already surrounded by the allied forces. Therefore, you must not blindly follow Lesguk and continue to oppose the Daonian allied forces. Otherwise, the allied forces will send troops to occupy your towns, destroy your settlements, capture your families, and completely destroy your tribes! … …"
At the same time, he also made a promise: "As long as the tribal leaders and warriors submit to Daonia, it would be even better if they could capture Lesguk. Not only will your previous invasions of Daonia be forgiven, but your territory and families will be preserved, and the captured warriors of your tribe will also be released and sent home, and the wounded warriors will also receive careful treatment from Daonian doctors… …"
Gaerni's repeated shouts under the city had a great impact on the Hirpinian tribal leaders and warriors in the city.
Lesguk began to see the Hirpinian tribal leaders secretly gathering their tribal warriors and discussing something in secret, which made him secretly alarmed.
Before long, the news that "the Cautinian army suffered a disastrous defeat on the Campanian Plain" reached Beneventum, causing even more panic.
At this time, under the repeated urging of Alexis, the leader of Aquilonia arrived at the allied camp. He also followed Gaerni to shout under the city, finally leading the Aquilonian warriors who had been sent to Beneventum and followed Lesguk on the expedition to be the first to stand up and demand Lesguk: they wanted to respond to the leader's call, leave Beneventum, and join Daonia.
As the third largest tribal joint town in the Hirpinian tribe, Aquilonia still had more than 700 warriors after several battles, which accounted for a considerable proportion of the current Hirpinian army of only more than 4,000 warriors. Moreover, closely following Aquilonia were the warriors of Aequium, who also decided to submit to Daonia in order to save their captured families.
The tribes within the Hirpinian tribe were equal in political status. They elected a great chieftain and obeyed the great chieftain's orders, but this was not a legally binding requirement, but based on the tribe's long tradition. However, tradition also stipulated that they could refuse to carry out the great chieftain's orders at any time according to their own circumstances. Therefore, whether it was the Hirpinian tribe or other Samnite tribes, in fact, they were still a loose political alliance internally.
Perhaps because of the characteristics of the mountain people, transportation between tribes was inconvenient, making it difficult to unify management. Therefore, they were more independent and free in political status, but this made it impossible for Lesguk to force them to stay by coercive means, whether politically or militarily (the Aquilonian and Aequium warriors together numbered as many as 800, which also made Lesguk hesitate).
Helpless, Lesguk had to have them swear in the name of the Samnite gods that they would not be enemies with all the Samnite tribes after surrendering to Daonia.
The Aquilonian and Aequium warriors did so.
So, Lesguk could only order: open the city gates and let the warriors of these two tribes leave.
Alexis led the high-ranking officials of the allied forces to welcome them who came to surrender.
The other tribal leaders who witnessed the whole process on the city wall finally stopped hesitating and asked Lesguk to leave Beneventum and return to protect their homes.
Lesguk knew that these people were all lying. If he really let them out of the city, they would all go to Daonia in the blink of an eye. He had expected this situation when he let the Aquilonian and Aequium warriors leave. The Hirpinian tribal warriors who had joined forces to force the palace numbered more than 1,000. If he did not let them leave, it would cause even greater disasters if they caused trouble in the city.
After thinking about it again and again, Lesguk finally nodded in agreement.
The Hirpinian tribes left one after another, causing panic in Beneventum, and even affecting the army of Calaceni, whose leaders and warriors asked Kontruk to leave Beneventum and return to their homes.
Although Kontruk was stubborn and conservative, he was also clear that the defeat of the Samnite allied forces was a foregone conclusion. The enemy was strong and we were weak, and the fall of Beneventum was only a matter of time. If the Calaceni army continued to stay in the city, there was a danger of the entire army being wiped out.
Therefore, on the grounds that he was "forced by the leaders of the Calaceni tribes", and too embarrassed to see Lesguk in person, he sent a subordinate to greet Lesguk and led his team directly out of the north gate, crossed the river, and left Beneventum.
The reinforcements left one after another, causing the people in the city to fall into complete panic. The leaders of the tribes in Beneventum came to see Lesguk, begging and requesting: Now that the situation is critical, Beneventum cannot stand alone. For the sake of the lives of the tribesmen in the city, they hoped that Lesguk could lead the army and civilians of the entire city to surrender to Daonia.
Looking at the leaders who came to petition, including the elders of his own tribe, Lesguk's face was even more gloomy. He was silent for a long time. Under the repeated urging of the leaders, he said coldly: "Let me consider it… …" After saying that, he had the guards drive the crowd away.
Looking at the empty living room, Lesguk's heart was equally empty. He remembered what Segovanni had said to him before, "You are not worthy of being a great tribal leader. You are not decisive enough and your methods are not ruthless enough… …"
Lesguk smiled miserably and muttered to himself: "Segovanni, you are right… …However, I would really like to know how you, with your ruthless methods, will save Cautium next. Unfortunately… …I can't see it… …"
That night, Lesguk committed suicide in his mansion. The people in the city were shocked. The leaders urgently discussed and sent an envoy to the Daonian military camp the next day.
When the word "surrender" came from the mouth of the Beneventum envoy, Alexius was not too surprised, because besides Beneventum, the other Hirpini tribes had successively submitted to Daonia. Afterwards, he learned that the Caraceni army had left the city of Beneventum, so Beneventum was already a turtle in a jar.
So, Alexius said with great confidence: "It is a good thing that Beneventum can surrender! However, as one of the initiators of this war, according to other tribes, it is also the main commander of this war, causing great disasters to Daonia and its allies, and must be severely punished!"
As soon as the Beneventum envoy heard this, he was so frightened that he quickly said: "Your Excellency General Alexius, for the mistakes of Beneventum, Savoni has already imposed punishment. The great chieftain Lesguk committed suicide last night to atone for his sins!"
"Lesguk is dead?!" Guelni in the big tent asked in surprise.
"Yes, Chief Guelni." The envoy looked at Guelni with a sad expression, and said with a sob: "Before his death, the Great Chieftain regretted what he had done to Abellinum. He hoped that all the mistakes would be borne by him alone, and hoped that you could spare the tribes of Beneventum!"
"Lesguk would not have said such a thing." Guelni shook his head and sat down again, but he looked in a good mood.
Alexius said seriously: "Lesguk's suicide cannot absolve the Beneventum people of their responsibility! Our King Davos once wrote a letter pointing out that 'The Beneventum people have been full of malice towards Daonia for more than ten years, and have been maliciously suppressing and bullying Abellinum, which has friendly relations with Daonia, and is also the main culprit in provoking this war!…'"
"Because you have wantonly torn up the alliance treaty, in order to avoid being provoked by you Beneventum again in the future, King Davos instructed that 'Beneventum must be completely incorporated into the Kingdom of Daonia. The tribes and people of Beneventum can join the Kingdom of Daonia, or they can move to other places in the Samnite mountains.' After this war is over, the mountainous area will be sparsely populated, and there will be places that can become your settlements."
As soon as the envoy heard this, he was furious, his face flushed, and he roared: "Daonia wants to take the opportunity of war to forcibly annex us Beneventum?! If this is the case, our Beneventum warriors will never yield and will fight to the end! Savoni will protect us, even if all the Daonians here die in battle, they will never want to attack the city of Beneventum!"
After the envoy roared, he turned to look at Guelni and rebuked: "You see, this is the ambition of the Daonians! Today it is Beneventum, tomorrow it may be Abellinum. The Daonians probably want to eliminate the entire Samnite people. Do you still want to be their accomplice?!"
Guelni turned a deaf ear to the envoy's attempt to sow discord. Alexius had already told him Davos's instructions. Of course, he was very happy that Davos hoped that he would become the great chieftain of the Hirpini tribes. Although the most powerful Beneventum would be separated and completely become a part of the Kingdom of Daonia, this was a bit of a pity, but it also meant that the situation in which Beneventum had suppressed Abellinum for decades would no longer exist, and he would have much less restraint in governing the entire tribe in the future, so he could accept this.
He replied calmly: "Abellinum has joined the Kingdom of Daonia."
The envoy was stunned.
Alexius then said in a stern tone: "Our soldiers are already ready to attack the city of Beneventum by force! Whether to accept this condition or fight to the death,
Bereventum must give me an answer today, otherwise we will start attacking the city tomorrow!"
The envoy hurried back to the city, but he did not expect that a storm was brewing in the city.
It turned out that the warriors of Lesguk's tribe, instigated by his relatives, believed that the chieftain's suicide was related to the other tribal chieftains' greed for life and fear of death and their collective coercion. They not only imprisoned the two tribal elders who participated in this matter, but also demanded that the other tribal chieftains must be held responsible for this matter, and must also accept trial and punishment according to tradition.
Of course, the other tribal chieftains could not accept this, and the angry warriors of Lesguk's tribe insisted on making them pay the price, which led to an escalation of the conflict.
Lesguk's tribe was the largest tribe in the territory of Beneventum, and the other tribes could only unite to fight against it. The two sides were at daggers drawn and would not give in.
The envoy told both sides about Daonia's harsh conditions, which finally calmed everyone's anger temporarily and sat down to discuss the matter, but because there was no leader, they argued for most of the day and could not come to a unified opinion. Should they fight or make peace?
Lesguk's tribe elected his eldest son to participate in the meeting. Not only was his attitude firm in the meeting, wanting to fight the Daonian coalition to the death, but he also constantly verbally attacked the other chieftains who proposed further negotiations. His eyes were full of hatred when he glared at the other chieftains when the meeting adjourned, which made the chieftains feel frightened.
Because Beneventum did not reply that day, Alexius kept his promise and sent out a large army early the next morning to prepare to attack the city.
The morale of the Daonian coalition was high, and their desire to fight was strong. After learning the news that the army, mainly composed of the Lucanian reserve corps, had defeated the main force of the Cautini, the soldiers of the Tenth and Eleventh Legions certainly could not allow themselves to be outdone by the reserve soldiers of the corps. They had asked to fight many times; for the Abellinum warriors, attacking the city of Beneventum would finally allow them to take revenge and vent the oppression and humiliation they had suffered for more than ten years, so everyone was extremely excited; for the Potentia warriors, attacking the city of Beneventum would mean that they would no longer have to listen to the older generation's nagging about how terrible the Samnites were in the future, and they could proudly tell their descendants that they had occupied the largest town of the Samnites.
Alexius issued the deployment for the attack: the Potentia army would attack the east wall, the Daonian army would attack the west, and the Abellinum army would attack the south.
Alexius also assigned the Hirpini tribal warriors who had surrendered to Guelni's command. He could not allow the entire army to be attacking the city while there were some Hirpini warriors in the camp who could not be determined to be loyal.
Faced with the dissent of these tribes, Guelni threatened fiercely: "You once made an oath to Lesguk. Now that Lesguk has committed suicide, naturally this oath does not need to be obeyed anymore. Don't make any more excuses to avoid this battle. I tell you, the tribes that participate in this battle are allies of Daonia, and those that do not participate are enemies. You choose yourselves!"
Many people cursed Guelni in their hearts for being a bully, but not a single tribe dared to lead their troops away without authorization.
Guelni was not polite and directly arranged for them to be at the forefront of the attack.
The Daonian coalition was about to attack the city, but the chieftains in the city of Beneventum had not made a defense plan because yesterday's debate had not yielded any results. They did not expect that the Daonian coalition would launch an attack at dawn, and they were all panicked and hurriedly led their warriors to the city to defend it, but their deployment was hasty and chaotic.
Moreover, Beneventum was a large city, and 2,000 warriors could not cover the entire city wall. Seeing the tide of enemies pouring in under the city, as well as the tall siege equipment they had never seen before, some chieftains felt uneasy and began to have other thoughts.
The siege had just begun when several tribes responsible for defending the south city took the initiative to open the city gates and surrender to the Daonian coalition.
The Abellinum army took the opportunity to rush into the city, and the Beneventum defense line completely collapsed. The tribe of Lesguk, who had stubbornly resisted to the end, had no choice but to surrender after suffering heavy casualties and the temporary chieftain was killed in battle.
The Daonian coalition occupied Beneventum.
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The fall of Beneventum meant that the coalition led by Alexius could pass through the mountain road to the east and reach Cautium directly.
The Cautini scouts who had been closely monitoring the battle situation in Beneventum immediately sent this bad news back to Cautium.
The people of Cautium were extremely panicked, because most of their young and middle-aged people were led by Segovani to resist another Daonian coalition in Abella.
A few days ago, Segovani was furious at the betrayal of the Naconians, so he ordered the Naconian chieftains imprisoned in Cautium to be escorted to Abella, all beheaded, and their heads hung on the city wall to vent the anger in his heart and retaliate against the Naconians.
As expected, the Naconian warriors, led by Vasonk, were enraged and asked Zantyparys to attack the city of Abella.
Seeing that the Naconians were in high spirits and, through reconnaissance, discovered that Abella was not only a small city, but also had simple city defense facilities (Abella was located in the hinterland of Cautini and had never been threatened by foreign enemies. In addition, the surrounding area was full of difficult-to-climb mountains and the land was barren. Threatened by survival, the people of Abella were busy looting and had no intention of repairing the city), so he agreed to the Naconians' request and, after carrying over the siege equipment used to attack the city of Lora, issued the order to attack the city.
The attack was mainly carried out by Naconian warriors, assisted by Daonian soldiers, and the Campanian allied soldiers served as reserves, waving flags and shouting to boost their morale.
It turned out that the generals of the Campanian allied army saw that the remnants of the Cautini had been driven out of the Campanian plain and were no longer a threat to them, so they had the idea of "returning to their motherland and rebuilding their homes as soon as possible" and asked Zantyparys to resign and leave. In the end, even the Neapolitan general Aeolus could not sit still, but at least he left 1,000 Neapolitan soldiers.