Chapter 102 Crotone's Choice

Not only did Dionysius free them, but he also gave them some gifts.

These Bruty and Lucania warriors originally thought that the fate of being captured would be tragic, but they did not expect to be treated like this, and they thanked the gods for their blessings.

With gratitude to Dionysius, most of the warriors still set foot on the road back to the city of Aspurustum, only a few hesitated for a long time and decided to go west, not through Clapetia, but Cross the mountain trail between the Euphemia Plain and the Bruti Mountains and return to your hometown...

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On this day, the fourth and fifth armies of Dionia, which were defeated in Asproustum, suffered a total of more than 4,000 casualties, most of which were losses during the retreat.

In particular, the first brigade of the Fifth Army was wiped out, and there was no news about the commander of the Fifth Army, Drax, whether it was for the soldiers of the entire army, or for the high-level army such as Felixius and Epithenes. Huge blow.

After all, Felixius, who was extremely remorseful, was a veteran who was used to seeing life and death and victory and defeat in the Persian campaign. After the defeat of the big battle, he immediately realized that the situation was extremely unfavorable for Dionysus, and he had to cheer up and get back to life as soon as possible. Build an effective defense to stop the Syracuse army from invading Dionia's territory, and buy time for Davos to return with his main force. Therefore, in Aspurustum, he trained the Fourth and Fifth Corps after the defeat, and personally served as the commander of the Fifth Corps.

Epithenes also put down his pride at this moment, actively cooperated with Felixius to train soldiers, and discussed with the administrator Agarcia how to strengthen the city's defense.

At the same time, Felixius also sent a ballista force and engineering battalion to Crotone to strengthen the defense of the Crotones, as the Syracuses had Nu artillery, if Crotone did not, would Increase the difficulty of defending the city. According to the newly compiled "Dionysian Military Law", the chapter of defending the city specifically mentioned the principle of "to use ballista against ballista". Crotone, as an important ally on the southern border of Dionia, must not be occupied, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous, so Felixius no longer cares about the requirement of the Ministry of Military Affairs that ballistas cannot leak secrets.

In addition, Felixius also sent fast horses to recover the team that escorted more than 500 Lokri prisoners to Turii, and he hoped to use these prisoners in exchange for Dionia, who was captured in the army of Syracuse. Soldier.

The failure of this battle also made him more cautious, and he also sent an urgent letter to the Turii Senate. Because he was worried that the Syracuses would bypass Crotone and go straight to Crimea, a city with few villains and relatively weak defenses. He hoped that the Senate could send a new army to Crimea. In this way, the three cities of Aspurustum, Crimesa, and Crotone are horns of each other and can support each other, and their defenses are thicker, more layered, and more secure.

The rout of Trina led by Cypros did not follow the Dionians into Aspurustum.

But into the city of Crotone. Because the city of Asprostum is small, it cannot accommodate so many people to live in it for a long time. And the addition of Trina soldiers will also enhance Crotone's defense. Crotone is too happy to be too late, and doesn't care about the rations consumed by Trina people.

You must know that the troops of Crotone and Trila belonged to the brothers and sisters in this battle. They were just divided into two wings of the coalition army, and they were the direct targets of the enemy's reinforcements to attack and intercept. The Trina were pursued by Campania mercenaries and Syracuse sailors, and fewer than 4,000 escaped. While the Crotones were attacked by the reinforcements of Syracuse and continuously pursued by mercenary cavalry (Numibian and Celtic cavalry were desperately intercepted by the 1st Battalion of the Fifth Army, in order to vent their anger and atone for their crimes Some of the cavalry held the Dionians and waited for the infantry to come to encircle, while the other part turned to the northeast to pursue the rout of Cilitin and Crotone), and only more than 8,000 people finally reached the city.

Both sides lost nearly half their citizens.

In addition to his grief, Cypros was also secretly grateful that he had made the right decision in advance, so that the people of Trina were evacuated to the Bruti area of ​​Dionia early, and he no longer needed to worry about their safety.

And the people of Crotone, who experienced a fiasco a few years ago, are once again in great grief, and in addition to their grief, they are more worried about stepping on the land of Crotone for the army of Syracuse, Croto Can he withstand the attack of this huge army?

The Crotone army plus Trina's rout, and less than 2,000 Siridinians, a total of more than 14,000 people, plus the urgent mobilization of the free people by the council to join the war, it is estimated that there can be 20,000 guards. City, so Crotone's generals had some confidence.

At the urgent and enlarged Council of Thousands, when it was raised: Crotone, now suffering heavy losses, should consider a truce with the Syracuses, as it was with Dionia, in order to restore strength.

This proposal was opposed by most people, and even Lycias, who had always been accustomed to compromising with the situation, refuted it righteously, saying loudly: "Everyone, Syracuse is different from Dionia, a tyrant. With such a great advantage, Dionysius would never sign a relatively equal armistice with us, and would definitely want our great Crotone to be his slave and let us pay a high Tribute, let our citizens shed blood for him to fight everywhere, and even change our democracy to a dictatorship like Syracuse, as he did in other Greek city-states in Sicily!  …

And after Crotone becomes the so-called confederate city-state of Syracuse, we have to face the bullying of our sworn enemy Locri, because Lodionysius married the sister of the chief general of Locle, Demodocus, as his wife , Locle is an accomplice of Syracuse's invasion of Great Greece, and its status in Dionysius' eyes is naturally much higher than that of Crotone. In this way, Locri can use the power of Dionysius to humiliate us, and even compose the interests of Crotone! Citizens, are you willing to surrender to Syracuse in the face of such a very likely future? ! "

"Fight to the death with Syracuse! Even if Crotone perishes, don't become a slave of Dionysius!..." The citizens shouted angrily, and finally reached an agreement on the issue of war and peace.

At this time, the messenger sent by Felixius came to the inner city of Crotone. He not only brought the ballista troops, but also brought the promise that Felixius made on behalf of the Dionysian Senate: Dionia will fight alongside Crotone against the Syracuses! If Crotone has any difficulties, you can put it to Dionia, and Dionia will do her best to help solve it! "

Dionia's promise and its actual actions (bringing the Nu artillery team) moved the citizens of Crotone and greatly dispelled the Crotone people's long-standing vigilance against Dionia. For the first time, the people of Crotone felt an unprecedented sense of security, backed by a powerful ally.

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The messenger of Felixius galloped on the road without stopping, and passed the three horse changes at the roadside post. It only took half a day to bring the important battle report of "the failure of the battle of the coalition forces" to the Turii Senate. It soon spread throughout the city.

Although the people of Turii were not as grieved as the people of Dionia in Aspurustum and Crimea, after all, the soldiers of the Fourth and Fifth Legionaries who participated in the war were mostly from the Bruti region and Asprustu. Mo, Crimea, but their shock is far greater than these three regions. Since the establishment of the new city of Turii, every time there is a war, what they get is news of victory. They are used to victory when they hear defeat for the first time, and panic spreads among the people...

On that day, many people went to the Temple of Hades to pray, hoping that Pluto would bless the alliance. In the afternoon, even the people of Amendolara and Bisinia came to the temple one after another...

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When the Senate was holding an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures, in the Davers mansion, Cristoia was discussing with several business executives under her command about the possible impact of the failure of the coalition battle on the property she owned.

"Ma'am, Syracuse should soon be marching towards Crotone, and Asprustum will be a battleground, for the safety of the banks. Should we... The gold and silver in Rustum Bank have been temporarily withdrawn from there?" the bank director suggested cautiously.

"Asprostum's bank must not be evacuated!" Cristoia said firmly: "You must understand that in the eyes of the public, Cristoia's Bank is not my personal property, it is more On behalf of my husband, the Davos Archon! In this critical situation, even the archon's property has to be evacuated, so do the citizens of Aspurustum still have the confidence to hold on! Hmm! There Not only can the bank not be withdrawn, but it must open on time every day!

In addition, you have to ask the bank employees in that city to face every customer with a more confident smile. If the Aspurustum city hall is financially tight and needs money, even if there is no interest, it will be Must lend them! "

The head of the bank was stunned when he heard the last sentence, and then said helplessly: "Madam, I understand."

"How's it going in the restaurant?" Cristoia turned to another supervisor.

"Because of this war, there are now many more customers than before in various restaurants, especially in the port of Turii. After the sea trade route was cut off by the Syracuse fleet, those idle sailors and laborers love to go to the place. Except the arena is a restaurant, so the restaurants there are full every day, and there are not enough seats. Therefore, some small conflicts often occur. I have discussed with the captain of the port patrol, and he will send more people to strengthen the patrol of that area. .