Chapter 9 After the Battle of Trionto

During the Peloponnesian War, Athens sent a large army to expedition to Sicily, and was finally defeated by the coalition of Syracuse and Sparta, capturing more than 6,000 people. At that time, Sparta faced passive beatings at sea and could not break through Athens on land. In the embarrassing situation of the Long Wall, they did not enslave the 6,000 prisoners to attack the city of Athens. If Davos did this, it would be a precedent. I am afraid that the words "insidious and cruel" will become his label, which will not only make the big These city-states in Greece are secretly vigilant, and even the people of Dionia who originally respected him will gradually alienate him, which will undoubtedly be a major blow to the prestige of Davos. Therefore, with lofty goals, he certainly would not make the mistake of throwing watermelons and picking up sesame seeds. Anyway, the victory was already in his hands, and he didn't mind that it would be later to capture Crimesa. So, as soon as the battle was over, he ordered a reserve brigade and more than 5,000 freemen to escort the captives and return to Turii, leaving only two legions and two reserve brigade in Castellon.

Compared with last night, the people of Castellon, who were delighted with their victory, were very happy to vacate their rooms and prepared a sumptuous dinner, inviting the Dionian soldiers to stay. Compared with the legionnaires who entered Castellon City, the soldiers and freemen who were equally tired and hungry, had to escort the prisoners, and then walked an hour or two by night to return to Turii were much more miserable. However, it was the first time to participate in a battle, and it was such a large-scale battle that they were able to win. As the participants, they were all proud of themselves. Not only did they walk with their heads held high, they even scolded the prisoners loudly and forcefully. They wished they could return immediately. In town, find an acquaintance to brag about their heroic deeds.

The situation of the captive Crotones was the most miserable. In order to avoid them escaping, their armor and clothing were stripped naked, and they were walking naked in the dark night. A gust of sea breeze blew. , trembling. Once he slowed down, the barrel of the stab gun that escorted the soldiers hit him like a whip, and the pain was unbearable.

Colebus was also one of the captives. Although he was a captive again, he also sighed that his fate was unfortunate. However, compared with his comrades who died in battle or drowned, he was still glad that he survived, so he comforted those crying compatriots. Said: "Although the Dionysians are hateful, but keep their promises, as long as we do what they ask, we will be able to return to Crotone alive!"

Even in the dark, the people of Turii still came out to welcome the triumphant team. After a day of uneasy waiting, they saw the returning soldiers and many more Crotone captives than last time. Understand: the victory of the Dionian army in the battle is an unquestionable fact!

Unlike Castellon, the Turians were more shouting the name of "Davos" to celebrate this hard-won victory, because they all knew that it was the consul who was in the Senate. Standing alone, this battle was triggered in advance, and we finally won!

The elders were also relieved, especially Felixius. As the military commander appointed by Davos to stay in Turii, he did not have a single soldier and was always worried: Crotone's fleet Will see through the camouflage and land at the port. Now, the return of the three reserve battalions and the free people has finally given him confidence. Moreover, with this fiasco in Crotone, I am afraid that self-protection is not enough, and how dare to land in the territory of Dionia.

Kunogolata and some of the Turian elders asked the soldiers about the whole battle. As Turians, the Dionian Alliance defeated Crotone, giving them a kind of high-spirited revenge.

On this night, both the reserve citizens and the freedmen who participated in the battle were regarded as heroes by the Dionysian people and enjoyed enthusiastic cheers and rich rewards. While they were proud, they were also determined to become Dionysians. Confidence of Asian Citizens.

………………

The chief general of Crimea, Antaoris, was asleep at home and was woken up urgently. He couldn't believe his ears when he heard the news of the "defeat of the Crotone army" from the messenger: Yesterday,

In the port he saw with his own eyes the vast fleet of Crotone, an army of nearly 40,000 people (he included the freedmen and slaves who transported baggage) - such a large number that Greater Greece has never seen army! It should have swept the Dionysian League, how did Crotone lose in just one day? ! How could Dionia have more soldiers than Crotone? ! ! Could it be that Tarantum was in the war? ! ! ! …”

Antaoris, who had countless doubts in his heart, hurriedly put on his clothes and hurried to the north gate, where Eurycopus, Pleades and others were already waiting there.

Under the light of the fire, I saw the Crotones running from the north one after another like bereaved dogs. Their feet were vain, their minds were in a trance, their faces were full of panic and exhaustion, their helmets were gone, and their breastplates were thrown away. , the shield and spear didn't know where it was thrown, stumbled into the city gate, and lay down on the ground, shouting weakly: "Is there anything to eat? Is there anything to eat?..."

Seeing the tragic appearance of the Crotone people, Antaoris and the others were immediately worried.

Finally, they waited for Miron, who had retreated. Although he was also very embarrassed, his mental state was not bad.

"General Miron, what should we do next?!" Antaoris asked eagerly, which is the question that the Crimea people are most concerned about at the moment.

Miron didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "Is there anything to eat? I'm starving to death!"

When Antaoris and the others watched Miron and the fleeing soldiers devoured the cold and dry bread, they felt a little contempt in their hearts.

At this time, Miron was not in the mood to observe what the Crimea was thinking. He was thinking about how to appease the Crimea while eating. After trekking through the swamp, without the enemy's pursuit, he gradually regained his composure. On the way back, he regretted that he had made a series of mistakes because he underestimated the enemy before the battle, which led to the defeat of the battle. Thinking about how to deal with the victorious Dionian attack next... Corrimisa is undoubtedly the most important part of saving the defeat!

He wiped the crumbs from his mouth with a hand, stood up and took in the expressions of the people around him: "Everyone... I'm sorry, we were ambushed by the Dionians, and in the battle with them... I failed, although I don't know how many people I lost... but definitely not less..."

Countless soldiers struggling in the water appeared in Miron's mind. He clenched his fists secretly in pain, letting his fingernails pierce blood from his palms: "And the casualties of Dionian soldiers are much less than ours..."

What? ! ! Everyone was astonished: tens of thousands of troops went on an expedition and only caused little losses to the Dionysian army, but they suffered heavy losses. It is unbelievable! How did this battle go? ! !

"Did the Dionians send a lot of soldiers, more than ours? Or did Tarantum also participate in the war?" Antaoris asked anxiously.

Miron smiled bitterly. He didn't want to tell the truth, but even if he didn't tell the truth, when the Dionysians arrived, the Crimeans would soon find out that they would be more dissatisfied with Crotone at that time. Be honest and let Crimissa prepare early so that both sides can work together in the same boat. Therefore, he said truthfully: "Dionia should have dispatched a number similar to ours, and Tarantum did not participate in the war..."

"Are you Crotones made of flour?! It's always so easy to be defeated by the Dionysians!" Pleades roared angrily.

He roared out the voice of the top management of Crimea: the last failure made it difficult for Crimea to do it, and the messenger of Crimea finally made a promise: not to be an enemy of Crimea again, only to save Back those captives! And this time Crimesa broke his promise and assisted Crotone in attacking Dionia, who had spared Crimesa. If he fails again, what should Crimesa do?

Miron opened his eyes wide and glared at him. He was a multi-Olympian champion in his youth, and then long-term chief general of Crotone, and Pleades was a little frightened by the kind of power he carried, and he avoided Miron's sharp eyes , said boldly: "If it wasn't for you, Crotone, who had to wage war against Dionia, saying, 'It will definitely give Dionia a painful lesson!' Trust (the last agreement between Crotone and Dionia stipulated: Crimea exists as a neutral city-state. But Crimea is deeply influenced by Crotone and considers itself Crotone's Allies), before declaring war on Dionia. Now you have lost, and you have lost so badly! What about us, Crimea?!"

"That's right, if it wasn't for your coercion, how dare we provoke Dionia!" Someone in the crowd echoed loudly.

What forced! You Crimeans don't want to follow Crotone and get some benefits from Dionia! Miron sneered in his heart, but he couldn't say these words, otherwise it would only intensify the contradiction.

"So what do you want? Go and talk to Dionysus?" Miron looked around at everyone and said solemnly, "Now that Dionysus has the upper hand, they only want more. Davos will After taking the city of Crimea, he would slaughter the people of Crimea to avenge his mercenary comrades-in-arms? Would he turn Crimea into a sub-state controlled by them like Neutum? ?"

After Miron finished speaking, the faces of the Crimeans, including Attalos, turned ugly.

"Now all we can do is to hold on to the city of Crimea! Dionia has no fleet, the sea is under our control, and we can use the fleet to transport food and more soldiers at any time, and the Dionias cannot be trapped. Kill us!" Miron said excitedly.