Chapter 170: Crossing the River
The legion commanders could not bear the tragic experience of Crotone, but Davos knew that he would never let the Syracuses take the initiative and lead the army to cross the Neto River, just in time to hit Dionysius s calculation. The more important thing is time. Just as Antonios said, Hiros and the others will take time to capture Laos and then lead the army to the rear of Syracuse, so he needs to delay time until Hiros. The army successfully attacked Trina, then it was time for Dionysus to take the initiative of the war!
However, Davos's beautiful vision is not so easy to achieve. The Syracuses have been firing rockets at the Crotone Acropolis, and the people of Crotone have been tirelessly putting out the fire, sending envoys to the Dionian barracks again and again.
After being ruthlessly rejected by Davos many times, some messengers burst into tears in front of the tent: "Please save the people of Crotone! Our water is almost running out, and everyone is drinking urine. Yes, but what about the children?! My child is only two years old! I would rather trade my life for him to continue to live, please save us! …”
Some of the messengers shouted: "Davos, everyone says you are a famous general in Great Greece who has won every battle, but I think you are a coward! Dionysians, are your hearts made of iron?! Seeing that allies a few miles away were struggling in the fire, they were unwilling to lend a helping hand!
"Bah! What Dionians always keep their promises, that's all a lie! You liars, even if the tens of thousands of our Crotone people are smoked and burned to death, they will curse you in hell. !"
...
All the Dionian soldiers who heard their crying and scolding bowed their heads in shame, and even Felixius, Antonios and other legion commanders asked Davos for his life several times. of great pressure. He sat alone in the big tent, clenching the armrests of the wooden chair with both hands. Although he never said a word, his heart gradually loosened. After all, to watch tens of thousands of living beings burned to death because of his relationship, how could Davos be indifferent!
Fortunately, the time had entered the evening, considering that the Dionian army could not cross the river at night, so the Siracusa also stopped attacking the Crotone Acropolis.
This night, Davos did not sleep well. He knew that although he was lucky enough to escape today, the murderous and cunning Dionysius would continue to force him to fight in this way tomorrow, so what should he do? ...how is the situation on Hiros? There has been no news for such a long time. Although the road has been built, it is still slow to transmit news across the mountains!
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Lycias and Miron are even more difficult, not only to rescue the injured people, to appease them, but also to consider the problem of water shortage.
If it wasn't for the military-savvy Miron's persuasion, the "ruthlessness" towards Dionysus and Davos,
Lycias had long since cursed out, and he even thought in his heart: If...if you can't hold on any longer, then just like the Syracuse... surrender...
In the Syracuse camp, Dionysius was restless, shaken by Davos's patience: Do the Dionysians prefer to watch their allies die than to lend a hand? ! ...Perhaps, Davos really did not dare to engage in a head-on land battle with us. In the long run, it is not good for us in Syracuse, can we really only retreat...
Dionysius also couldn't sleep that night until he heard a commotion outside the tent.
When the intelligence officer Adrostini broke into the tent, he just rolled over from the bed and sat up: "What's the matter?! How did you act as the captain of the guard! Let people break in at will!"
He yelled loudly at the captain of the guard who followed after him, but Androstini next to him was terrified. He hurriedly knelt down and pleaded guilty, and said tremblingly: "Sir...sir...emergency information from Trina, The Dionians have captured Laos!"
"What?! The Dionysians captured Laos so quickly! Is this news true?!" Dionysius' face changed greatly, and he asked repeatedly.
"It was one of our spy in Laos who risked being hunted by the Dionysians and sneaked to Trina in a small boat, there should be no doubt! It is reported that the Dionysians instigated The poor and civilians of Laos rioted and attacked from inside and outside to break through the city of Laos." Androstini had stabilized his emotions at this moment and explained seriously.
"So the Dionysians of Laos will soon go south?!" Dionysius muttered anxiously.
"My lord, maybe... maybe we should retreat..." Androstini said in a low voice, courageously.
"Retreat?!" Dionysius suddenly looked at him, and the cold light in his eyes made Androstini fall to his knees again in fright.
Dionysius glared at him, and gradually a strange smile appeared on his face: "You are right, we should retreat!"
After he finished speaking, he turned around and gave the order to the captain of the guard: "Immediately notify Facipedas, Astagras, Akirita, Phoebe Das... and others to come to the big tent to discuss!"
Androstini breathed a sigh of relief and slumped on the ground, only to realize that his back was wet with cold sweat.
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In the early morning of the next day, the Croton Plains area was shrouded in light fog, making the otherwise warm seaside area a little chillier.
Davos got up early for breakfast. As usual, bread, porridge, and beef jerky were the same as ordinary soldiers, but there was one more fish. That was the sailor of the Dionia Fleet stationed at the mouth of the Neto River. Yesterday The unintentional fishing harvests brought a lot to Davos, and most of them were passed on to the guards to share.
Although the breakfast was good, Davos didn't have much appetite.
At this moment, Martius accompanied Izam into the tent.
"Your Majesty, my men have brought good news! The enemy is dismantling the camp and starting to retreat!"
Hearing the news brought by Izam, Davos was a little surprised.
"My men infiltrated near the enemy camp and heard those Syracuses whispering in panic, saying that 'Trina was attacked by our Dionysian army'..." Izam was further excited. illustrate.
"Has Lord Hiros captured Laos? Why haven't we received a return?" Martius was puzzled when he heard the news, so he interjected.
"It certainly takes a different amount of time to travel through the mountains to the west than to take a boat to Knapetia and then to Trina," Izam explained to him, and then he said excitedly. : "Your Majesty, we—"
Before Izam's excited words were finished, Martius also shouted excitedly: "Your Majesty!"
Looking at the desire in the eyes of the two, Davers knew what they wanted to express. Even the captain of the guard, Martius, who is usually taciturn and cautious, is like this, not to mention other soldiers. The morale and morale of the army are like this. Si, you go and call Thormid, let him inform all the army commanders, um... and Midorads quickly come to the big tent to hold a military meeting!"
"Yes!"
"Izam, order your soldiers to continue to monitor the movements of the enemy, and report to me immediately after confirming that all the enemies have retreated across the Tachinadi River!"
"Yes!"
The two men finished the military salute vigorously, and left as quickly as the wind was blowing on their legs.
After giving the order, Davos himself was relieved, and his whole body became much more relaxed. He turned and sat down, grabbed the bread and took a bite, feeling a little hungry now.
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"Midorades."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Unite the engineering battalions of all the legions, under your command for the time being, and immediately set up four pontoon bridges on the Neto River. You must provide all the boats you need. You must meet the requirements of the engineering battalion as soon as possible without any excuse! "
"clear!"
"Furthermore, on the lower reaches of the Neto River, you will lead all the ships to cross the river with the soldiers of the legionnaires prescribed earlier. After the whole army has crossed the river, you will lead the fleet to the coast between Crotone and Sirius, Monitor the movements of the Syracuse army, and the specific measures are up to you to decide."
"Yes!"
"Lyders!"
"exist!"
"Your cavalry regiment will be the first to cross the river. I want you to withdraw all of them. Go south to detect the retreat of the enemy and report back at any time. However, you must not fight with the enemy, especially when encountering mercenary cavalry. !"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ryders was a little frustrated. He knew that Davos was a little worried about the combat effectiveness of the cavalry. Although he was not reconciled, he had to admit that those alien cavalry were indeed stronger than his own men. He secretly Clenched fists.
"All legion commanders and army commanders, come here, take a look at the location where your legion and troops will cross the river, and make a final confirmation! I ask you to organize your soldiers and cross the Neto River as quickly as possible. , and then quickly rearrange the formation, can it be done?!"
"Yes!" The legion commanders answered in unison, and then squeezed in front of the map to examine the markings on the Neto River made by Davos with a pen.
"Your Majesty, why do these arrangements you make seem to be arrangements for a battle, not for chasing the retreating enemy?!" Amintas looked at it and couldn't help asking.
Not only him, but other legion commanders had similar doubts: all legions lined up along the river and crossed the river at the same time. After crossing the river, their respective columns were quickly formed, and the position of each legion seemed to have special considerations. Also, the cavalry is not sent out to pursue, but just to scout...
Davos glanced at them with deep eyes, and said in a deep voice, "You don't need to worry about chasing the enemy. As long as the Syracuses retreat and we follow the enemy, there will always be chaos in such a huge army. And I am worried. It was the enemy who had retreated and then returned. The commander-in-chief of Syracuse's army, Diorinius, was a cunning man. I would rather be cautious than rashly advance, especially now that we have the initiative in the entire war. !"
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It was almost noon, and the fog had dissipated under the constant sunlight.
With the collaboration of the engineering battalion and the legionnaires, four pontoon bridges have been erected in the middle reaches of the Neto River. On the downstream side, hundreds of warships of various sizes docked on the north shore.