The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe

Upon entering the main port of Tarantum, Plessinus did not see the several Tarantin warships that usually patrolled the coast. Despite this, he shamelessly petitioned the Tarantin senate: "Send at least a few warships to Thurii."

He reasoned that Crotone, already at war with Dionysia, would not dare to provoke Tarantium again. Therefore, even a few Tarantin warships patrolling the eastern coast of Dionysia, acting as a facade, would serve as a deterrent, thereby ensuring the basic security of the Dionysian coastline.

However, the Tarantin senate steadfastly refused Plessinus's persuasion, leaving his shameless attempt in vain.

As soon as Plessinus returned to Thurii harbor, the Crotone fleet arrived, immediately severing Thurii's maritime trade routes and plunging the port into panic.

Olives arrived with a large number of patrols to help Marigi maintain order.

After learning of Tarantum's decision, Davos pondered for a moment and said to the clerk Aristocrates beside him, "I seem to remember that the Spartan envoy had been to Tarantum?"

"Yes, Aristocrates reported at the time that 'The Spartans hope that Tarantum will abolish its alliance with us and lead the fight against us, but the Tarantum Senate refused.'"

"But it still worked." Davos sighed, then sneered: Tarantum, you want to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight! Well, this war will ultimately depend on us!

"Go tell Aristocrates that the net can be closed for that Crotone spy."

"Yes!"

............

The Dionysians closed the port, which was within Tratus's expectations. He had already discussed with the Crotone speedboat that was responding: every night, he would obtain his intelligence on a specific beach at the mouth of the Crati River.

Just as he began writing another secret letter, the door suddenly burst open, and four or five people rushed in.

Panicked, he instinctively grabbed the papyrus and shouted, "Who are you—" before the intruders tackled him to the ground. His clenched hands were pried apart, and the unripe papyrus was taken away. His face suddenly changed drastically.

"This afternoon, approximately ten thousand men from Thurii entered the barracks, fully armed. A thousand heavy infantrymen are stationed at the port. Rumors say the citizen militia of Amendolara are on their way to Thurii. Niutum—" A clear voice boomed above him: "Teratus, I must admit that your observation and mathematical skills are remarkable. The information you sent to Crotone is consistent with the facts. No wonder the Crotones sent you to Thurii and have stayed here for six months. I wonder what your impressions of this place are?"

Hearing this, Teratus' heart sank. He knew the Dionysians had already known his whereabouts.

When he was lifted up, he saw a tall, thin, middle-aged man with an elegant appearance standing in front of him, looking at him with great interest.

"What do you want to do to me?" Teras asked in a low, dry voice.

The thin man said nothing, but took something from the hand of someone else and held it in front of Teras: it was a small, crudely carved wooden sword.

Teras' eyes suddenly widened, his expression horrified, and he struggled hard and shouted, "What have you done to my child?! You caught my child, didn't you?! He's only seven years old! Hera, please spare him! Spare him! I'll do anything!!" He begged bitterly, and finally broke down in tears.

The tall, thin man said sternly, "Your wife and children are still in Crotone, but they are under the surveillance of our people. Let me introduce myself. My name is Aristiras, the intelligence officer of Lord Archon Davos (although Davos promised him this position, he is still a free man and cannot be considered an official). I give you a choice: work for Dionia. If you refuse, not only will you die, but your sick wife will die of illness due to lack of money, and your son will become a slave. If you agree, you will become a candidate citizen of Dionia, and we will do our best to rescue your wife and children, and let the doctors of the alliance treat your wife. You know that our alliance's medical skills are better than those of Crotone!" Aristiras paused, and seeing that Teratus lowered his head, his face uncertain, he said in a deep voice, "Life or death, it's your choice."

............

At dusk, Crotone's chief general, Myron, received a secret report from Thurii: This afternoon, Thurii began to assemble citizen militias. It was reported that about 4,000 citizens in the city had gathered in the Victory Square. The villages outside the city were still being mobilized, and no large number of citizens had yet entered Thurii. Thurii had already sent about 1,000 soldiers to garrison the port and a number of cavalry to patrol the coast. No troops had yet arrived in Amendolara and Niutum.

Over the past six months, Crotone's chief general, Myron, had learned about Dionysia through intelligence from Teratus and from the released soldiers. He was very wary of Dionysia, so he had made preparations in advance. After helping Crimissa eliminate the mercenaries, he immediately mobilized for war. Crotone and its vassal Asprustum mustered all the troops they could muster to completely defeat Dionia: 20,000 men from Crotone and 3,000 from Asprustum. Crotone's ally, Silene, was a large city, but it had suffered the heaviest losses in the Dionysian Alliance's previous raid. However, in revenge, it still managed to send 2,000 men. Trina, close to the Brutti, also sent 1,000 men, and this time Crotone accepted their offer. Only Corumnia refused its reinforcements, because to the south lay the Locri Alliance, Crotone's enemy. Although it hadn't made any significant moves in recent years, Crotone knew that Locri had been eyeing the north. If Locri suddenly attacked while Crotone was at war with Dionysia and it captured Corumnia, it could then easily capture Silene, which was short of troops and generals, and march straight to Crotone, whose rear was empty... Therefore, vigilance and defense against Locri must never be relaxed.

At the same time, the battle with Dionysia must begin as soon as possible; the attack could not wait for the Dionysian army to fully arrive. Therefore, Crotone, contrary to the typically procrastinating pre-war preparations of the Greek city-states, was exceptionally efficient this time, not only completing its assembly within a day, but also expediting the arrival of reinforcements from its allies.

In fact, Locri was overjoyed upon learning of the outbreak of war between Crotone and Dionysia. After deliberation, his council dispatched envoys to Dionysia. However, Crotone not only blocked the land route to the north, but Crotone warships were constantly patrolling the seas north of Cape Alicea off the eastern coast of Magna Graecia. This forced Locri's envoys to change course, planning to divert their passenger ship southwest to Sicily, then northeast to disembark at Tarantum, thus making a large overland detour.   Davos was analyzing Crotone's military intelligence with the generals of the legion and discussing countermeasures when Aristocrates came in and whispered a few words to him. Davos nodded and said, "Let them in." He turned to the generals and said,

"   Brothers, Xantiparis and Tormids are here."   The living room, which was still arguing, suddenly fell silent.   Xantiparis and Tormids hurried in with worried looks on their faces. They were surprised to see so many people in the living room and were stunned.   At this time, Davos smiled and said, "I was just about to call you two, but I didn't expect you to come first. We are about to start discussing how to deal with the Crotone people. Come in and tell us what you think."  Xantiparis and Tormid exchanged a glance, then knelt on one knee, apologetically saying, "Lord Davos... and... fellow soldiers, we are truly... sorry! We've brought war to Dionia and trouble to you! Timason, Cleanor, and the others have been in frequent contact with the mercenaries lately, repeatedly asking for our advice. We always thought they simply wanted to leave, but we didn't expect... we—"

"Timason and his men's affairs have nothing to do with you!" Davos interrupted them, his expression serious and earnest. "Everyone has their own ideas and preferences for the life they live. You and the other mercenaries chose to stay instead of leaving, which means you identify with Dionia's system, enjoy living here, and are willing to become citizens of Dionia. So come, fight with us! Facing the Crotone army, the time has come to test you! Use your bravery to counter the doubts of others, prove to the Dionian people that we were right, and demonstrate your determination to defend Dionia to the death. Let the Dionian people welcome you with open arms!"

"Davos is right! Xantiparis, Tolmides, let's fight together and defeat the Crotonians! Avenge Timason and his men!"

"Great! We can finally fight together again!"