The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe

"Commander, rest assured, leave the rest of the battles to us! Our brothers in the Third Legion have long been eager to participate and make a name for themselves!" Bagul exclaimed, patting his chest.

"Don't worry, don't worry. There are plenty of battles for you to fight!" Davos jokingly said. "You should report to your legion commander first. He, a legion commander short of troops, misses you so much that he calls your name in his dreams!"

Everyone laughed, and the usually expressionless Hieronymus also grinned.

"Lord Avinogenes, thank you for your full support of Dionia! You personally led the army to join the battle!" Davos stepped forward and saluted Avinogenes to express his sincere gratitude.

"It's my duty as a Dionysian ally to send troops to join the battle!" Avinogenis hurriedly replied. "In Thurii, I heard of Lord Davos's brilliant victory over the Crotone army. It was another miracle of triumphing over a larger force with a smaller one! Lord Davos's military prowess amazes me. I believe Laos's warriors will achieve many more victories with Dionysia!"

"As long as our Dionysian Alliance remains united, we will never lack victory!" Davos replied passionately.

"You are quite right, Lord Davos!" Avinogenis immediately nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Asistes interrupted. "Commander, I almost forgot one thing. When we led our troops through the swamp, the engineering battalion was almost finished repairing the road through it. They will be able to transport the supplies here tomorrow."

"Excellent!" Davos said happily.

Following Davos into the tent were: Capus, commander of the First Legion; Drax, commander of the Second Legion; Hieronymus, commander of the Third Legion; Bagule, captain of the First Battalion of the Third Legion; Asistes, adjutant of the Third Army; and Avinogenis, archon of Lars.

In the center of the tent sat an exceptionally smooth wooden table, upon which was drawn a large map of southern Magna Graecia.

"Capus, please brief our newly arrived comrades on the latest battle situation," Davos said.

"Okay, sir." Capps came to the wooden table, found the Crimea mark on the map, pointed at it, and said, "After the Crotone army was defeated in the battle, according to the information obtained from interrogating captured soldiers, it is estimated that about 7,000 people fled the battlefield. They may have fled back here—" Capps glanced at the people who were listening carefully, and then continued, "Then our First and Second Legions, totaling 14,000 people, rushed to the outside of Crimea, built a camp, and surrounded Crimea from the east, west, and north. Today, when we were building a bridge over the Umbria River, the troops on the south bank were attacked by nearly 7,000 light infantry. This means that Crimea received reinforcements from Crotone within this day, and the number of troops in the city may have reached 14,000. And your arrival has brought the total number of our soldiers to 22,000."

Avinogis and the others gathered around the wooden table, listening to Capps while staring at the map.

"It would be difficult for 22,000 men to capture a city defended by 14,000 soldiers!" Avinogenis said, drawing on his past experience.

"We don't necessarily have to capture Crimea." Kapus's words startled the newcomers.

"How can we attack Crotone without Crimea?" Bagule asked in surprise.

"Surround it." Kapus placed his right hand on Crimea on the map and drew a circle. "If we storm Crimea, with Crotone's 14,000 soldiers defending it, not only will we suffer heavy casualties, but if Crimea can't hold, the Crotonites could flee by boat back to Crotone and retreat, complicating our next attack. Leaving them behind, let Crimea distract Crotone's forces, while we divide our forces—" Kapus's finger slid to the south of Crimea, towards the northern plains of Croton.

Avinogenis, Bagule, Asistes, and Lizaru stared at the map, lost in thought.

"What if the Crotone people find out that our numbers are decreasing and they come out of the city to attack the camp?" Avinogenis asked with some concern.

The others laughed at the same time.

"We welcome them to attack and have a good taste of the power of our Dionysian camp's defense facilities!" Drax said confidently.

"If we don't attack Crimea, the Crotone people may be aware of our intentions. What if they voluntarily withdraw to Crotone to defend?" Asistes also raised his question.

"Who said we won't attack? We will launch appropriate attacks to put pressure on the city of Crimea. By the time they realize that something is wrong, the troops we sent out will have already messed up Crotone's territory. And when they withdraw to Crotone, we can easily take Crimea! In short, according to the commander's words... that is... we have to actively mobilize the Crotone people to run back and forth, and they will never be able to concentrate their forces against us," Capps explained.

"Excellent! I believe this must be the plan conceived by Lord Davos. This is the first time I've witnessed such an ingenious military plan! We can easily achieve our goal without any desperate fighting!" Avinogis praised, half flatteringly, half sincerely.

His words were unanimously agreed with by everyone.

Davos smiled and said seriously, "What I'm most worried about now is one thing—"

"Our food supply?!" The taciturn Hieronymus interjected. As a lone legionary commander, he had been staying with the baggage train for the past two days, so he had some understanding of this matter.

"That's right." Davos looked at him with appreciation and said seriously, "The rations the soldiers are carrying are almost gone. Next, we have to rely on the rear to transport food. To meet the needs of 22,000 people, the food required is definitely a huge amount! Thurii is nearly a hundred miles away from Crimea. It is impossible for us to protect such a long transportation line! If Crotone realizes this, their warships can land on any coast, attack our food caravans, and even destroy villages and kill our people, causing us great trouble! So we must complete our plan as soon as possible and make Crotone overwhelmed."

"Hieronymus!"

"Here!"

"You will immediately lead the Third Legion to build a camp on the south bank and besiege Crimea!"

"Yes!"

"Drax!"

"I'm here!"

"Draw out three battalions from the Second Legion to assist Lord Avinogis's troops in setting up camp on the south bank. I require you to build a preliminary camp before tonight and completely besiege the city of Crimea!"

"Understood!!!"

That afternoon, over 10,000 Dionysian soldiers crossed the wooden bridge and began taking turns setting up camp on the south bank of the Umbria River.

Myron refrained from launching another rash assault. By evening, the southern bank camp was largely complete. The Dionysian camp now formed a vast semicircle surrounding Crimea. With the exception of the harbor, which faced the sea and could not be encircled, the rest of the city was completely surrounded by the Dionysian camp.

By the next morning, while the Dionysian soldiers continued to improve their camp facilities, Lysias, a messenger from Crotone, arrived at the Dionysian northern camp. He was masked and brought into the tent of Davos.

"Lord Lysias, I'm very sorry! You and I are warring parties, and we have no choice but to resort to this method." Davos apologized, but there was no trace of apology on his face. Instead, he looked excited, like a hound seeing fresh meat. "I remember we just met four days ago. I didn't expect to meet again so soon. You won't bring any harsh conditions to threaten us Dionia again, right?"

Lysias certainly heard the strong sarcasm in Davos's mouth, but acted as if he didn't hear it. He said directly, "Lord Davos, I'm here to negotiate peace. Crotone is willing to sign a ceasefire agreement with Dionia and compensate Dionia for its losses in the war. I only hope that the war between Crotone and Dionia can be quelled so that peace and tranquility can be restored in Magna Graecia!"

Davos laughed. "You Crotone people can start a war when you want to, and stop it when you want to. Do you think this is a child playing war games?"

Lysias asked calmly, "Then what conditions do you want for Dionia to accept a ceasefire?"

"Conditions?" Davos snorted coldly, his impulsiveness vanishing. He paced back and forth a few times, then looked back at Lysias, his piercing eyes regaining their usual shrewdness. "Remember what I said when you left last time? My conditions are the same as the ones you proposed in the Great Senate Chamber of Thurii. They're simple!"

Lysias's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

"First, Crotone must pay Dionysia a lump sum of 5,000 talents of silver. Second, the Crotone Alliance must be dissolved, and Crotone must not form alliances with any other city-states. Third, Crimea must be incorporated into the Dionysian League!"

With each new item, Lysias's expression darkened. Finally, he shook his head decisively. "Your conditions are too harsh. The Crotone Council will not accept them!"

"It's better not to accept them! The Dionysian soldiers still want more victories to receive greater rewards from the alliance!" Davos's expression was nonchalant, but his words held a greater threat.

"I admit that Dionysia's previous victory made us panic, but panic also prompted us Crotones to take action and work together to fight against enemies who might invade Crotone's territory! From now on, the battles you Dionysians will face will only become more and more difficult! Lord Davos, I want to remind you that grapes can only be sold at a good price when they are fresh. Otherwise, they will be worthless when they are ripe and rotten." Lysias's words also became tougher.