Chapter 77 The Response of the Maple Coalition

Diomelas felt a little uneasy in his heart.

"I...I abstain..." Tudpres said reluctantly.

"What did you say!!" Diomilas knocked down the chair in a gaffe.

"I abstain!" Tudpres affirmed again, as if a thunderbolt fell on Eumacas' head, his eyes darkened.

……………………

In the end, Davos became the commander-in-chief of the coalition, and he invited Eumacas as his adjutant, which not only facilitated the coordination of command, but also gave the Tarantum a step down.

As soon as the meeting was over, Triphias followed Davos, and the two walked out of the room chatting and laughing.

Toudeples walked behind hesitantly, was caught up by Diomilas, and asked, "Tudeples, what do you mean?! Are you also ready to betray our alliance?!"

Looking at Diomelas' blushing face, the Metapontum consul sighed and said guiltily: "North of Metapontum, upstream of the Bradano River, there is a Lucca Garraguso, the city where the Leah tribe gathers. You know, we used to have conflicts with these Lucalia people, but it was a small problem. But the conflict has intensified in the last two years. According to the information we got, The main reason is because of the increase of Lucarians in Carraguso, where the barren hills cannot support more people, some tribes are said to be quarreling to move south for more land. If they really Going south will be a lot of trouble for us in Metapontum!"

"If the Lucanians dare to invade the land of Metapontum, Tarantum will definitely help you defeat these natives!" Diomilas blurted out.

"With Tarantum's current situation, is he ready for a long-term war with the Lucanians?" Tudpres asked rhetorically.

Diomelas was dumbfounded. Now, Tarantum has two great enemies, Messapi and Puchetti, and they can't bear it anymore. If they go to provoke the Lucalia people, not to mention the Senate, any Tarantum citizen will think twice.

"I heard that when Dionia held the celebration of the completion of the Temple of Hades, the Lucarians of Caracas went to Turii to express their desire for peace to Dionia. Therefore, Dai Onia occupies most of the land of the Lucanians and has become the most important force there, and no Lucanian tribe dares to ignore it. I think if Dionia protests to Garacuso, it will be The Lucanians in Raguso should think carefully... The people of Meta Pontum hope that war can be avoided. Meta Pontum cannot help you defend the Mesapi people at the same time. To face the invasion of the Lucanians." Toudeples euphemistically expressed the sacrifice Metapontum made to Tarantum. Then he said apologetically to Diomilas: "Just a general commander. Lord Davos is good at fighting, and you Tarantum urgently need a victory, isn't it right! Metapontum Always Tarantum's best ally!"

Tudpres knew he couldn't be as reckless as Triphias, after all, Heraclea was established more than 30 years ago, and the relationship with Tarantum was not as strong and complicated, and it was far from Dio. Nia territory is so close. Different from Metapontum, it has more than 200 years of friendship with Tarantum. Most of the citizens of the two countries have close or distant relatives, and it is not easy to break it.

The resentment in Diomilas's heart was still hard to dissipate after watching Tudpres leave.

Eumacas came up and comforted him, saying: "Since Davos has become the supreme commander of the coalition, then when he is fighting against the Mesapis, he has to let his army go out to battle, otherwise his reputation will be damaged. That might seem like a good thing."

Diomilas snorted, but did not lose his temper any more. He was a little at a loss: He became a consul because of Dionia's rapid rise, which stimulated the people of Tarantum, and his radical ideas Only then will it be recognized by the people and passed at the Citizens Assembly. The first large-scale attack on the Mesapis at the cost of the lives of citizens, the first in Tarantum's history,

Unexpectedly, perhaps Tarantum's power frightened the surrounding neighbors, and unexpectedly united two races that had always been in conflict and never united, causing Tarantum to fall into the current predicament.

"The most important issue now is that we must convene a senate meeting immediately! Tell the elders that Heraclea and Metapontum's attitude towards Tarantum has changed!" Eumacas looked serious.

Diomilas was shocked, and then sadly: In just a few months, Tarantum's status as a powerful state is facing a huge threat! How could it become such a situation? Is it really as the damn young man said, war is related to the rise and fall of city-states? But why did Dionia, which was established less than two years ago, never stop fighting, but became stronger and stronger?

……………………

At the same time, in the large tent of the Maple Union army camp outside Manduria, the consuls of the Mesapi city-states and the King Tremoni of Puchetti were discussing the new information.

"Are you sure that Tarantum was reinforced by more than 10,000 foreign soldiers?" Tremoney asked solemnly.

"The news came from the people who infiltrated the port of Tarantum. For this reason, Lord Timorus also specially sent cavalry to venture to the port of Tarantum to inquire, and a huge military camp was indeed built there. . To be precise, it should be the reinforcements sent by Tarantum's ally Dionia." Udière Consul Pasimerus said.

"Dionia, it was a city-state alliance established on the west side of Taranto Bay. I heard that their consul was a young man, and he had never lost a battle." Carminu, the consul of Ugentum S said. Ugentum is due south of Tarantum and on the east coast of the Gulf of Taranto, so Dionia on the west coast is known more than other Messapi city-states.

"Never lost?! How many battles has this Dionian consul participated in?! The head of Archita, the military genius of Tarantum, who was previously boasted by the Greeks, is still hanging on the gate of Brindisi. Here we go!" Tremoney said disdainfully, he looked at Pasimerus, the leader of the Messapi city-states, and said cautiously: "But the more than 10,000 reinforcements from Dehynia , is a big problem. We stormed Manduria for two days without any progress, but lost a lot of warriors. This damn city! You were too strong back then! Now, Tarantum has reinforcements, Reinforcement of Manduria is bound to be given, their strength will not be less than ours, and we are tired from fighting for days, I suggest a temporary retreat, anyway, those Greek gentiles will not be able to stay in Tarantum for long, after they leave , it's not too late for us to take Manduria again."

"Your Majesty is right! Our soldiers are fighting continuously, the casualties are not small, and the food is running out. Manduria cannot be captured in a day or two. The enemy's reinforcements are coming soon. To fight the enemy head-on, we do not have an advantage, and retreating is the best way." The generals behind Tremony expressed their support.

The consuls of Messapi exchanged glances. Indeed, Manduria is not like Brindisi. It was originally built as a forward base for the Mesapis to defend and attack Tarantum, so the city is small but its walls are high and strong. But the Messapi consuls believed that Puchetti did not want to fight again because they had already enjoyed the sweetness of the covenant, that is, after retaking Brindisi, Messapi and Puchetti would jointly manage the most expensive place on the toes of the Apennine Peninsula. One of the important port cities, the Puchetti people can also enjoy the benefits of sea trade from now on, but under the guise of the difficulty of attacking the city, they don’t want to pay any more, they want to default!

Pachymerus did not accuse Tremoney of wanting to break the contract, but said calmly: "King of the Pucherti, with your shrewdness, you should be able to see that if we retreat at this time, then we The results of the victory will be lost again! The Tarantum will never stop the attack because of saving Manduria, Brindisi will be their next target, there are not many Brindisi Can the defenders and the tattered city walls withstand the army of Tarantum? And once we retreat, it is impossible to assemble such a large combined army in a short period of time! At that time, we can only watch Watch our people in Brindisi be slaughtered by the Greeks, or become their slaves!"

Tremoney was stunned: just now he had the mentality of only taking advantage and not losing, but he didn't even consider this point. More than 2,000 Puchetti people just moved to Brindisi!

Seeing that he did not speak, Pachymerus continued: "In addition, we have made such a great effort and paid so many soldiers' lives that Tarantum was hit as hard as never before. According to the information obtained. , Now the prime citizens of Tarantum are either killed or disabled. Most of the citizens who can play are young and old citizens. If we can deal heavy damage to Tarantum in the next battle, Tarantum will have We will not be able to withstand our attack for a long time. Although it will be very difficult for us to capture the city of Tarantum, the land outside the city, especially the land to the west, will belong to us Mesapi and Puchetti!"

Tremoney was heartbroken. He rubbed his hands together, thought for a while, and then slowly said: "If we really want to continue the fight, we can't have a head-to-head battle with the reinforcements of Tarantum. The Greek heavy infantry lined up is like a stone. Too hard to chew!"

"You are a battle-hardened commander. We will follow your opinion on how to fight next." Pachymerus lowered his stance and said humbly, which made Tremoni very satisfied.

His tone also softened: "My suggestion is to lure the Tarantum..."