The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe

"The freemen are out of food?!" Kunogorata asked in surprise.

"The war broke out so suddenly, and many freemen didn't stock up on food beforehand. By the time they wanted to buy grain, it was already sold out on the market." Felixius glanced at the two of them. Wasn't the Alliance itself the culprit?

"Then use food as compensation and continue to let the freemen fight for the Alliance. Instead of always using shortened citizen probation periods as rewards, making Alliance citizenship less valuable! Felixius, the freemen were able to achieve great feats under the leadership of the Archon and defeat Crotone's regular army. So even without the Archon's leadership, they should have no problem dealing with the intrusion of ordinary sailors from the Crotone fleet, right?" Kunogorata asked Felixius in a stiff tone.

Felicius didn't care and said seriously: "Of course there is no problem! My plan is to let the free people form a team of 100 people, and patrol all the coasts that can be landed all day long. At the same time, send a team to the Thurii-Castellon Avenue, station a company every five miles, and use scouts as a link between the patrol team and the heavy infantry company. If encountering a small group of enemies, the patrol team should be able to repel them; if encountering a large number of enemies, the patrol team will first block the enemy's raid, and the scouts will notify the nearest heavy infantry company, and then rush to attack the enemy together..."

Kunogorata's expression eased a little: "This is a good idea."

"It's just that our grain supply may be tight again. If we have to use the money from the treasury to buy grain in Heraclea again, Melses will blame us again." Cornelus said helplessly.

"War is always costly. As long as the Archon can achieve ultimate victory, the money will be there." Ever since the victory at the Battle of the Trivento River, the war-fearing Cunogorata had gained greater confidence in Davos.

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Myron had originally thought the Dionysian army would seize the opportunity with the help of the platform to launch an assault on the city. However, the Dionysian army and the Crotonian soldiers on the city walls remained in a standoff for the entire morning. Apart from the light infantry on the platform hurling arrows and rocks at the walls, there was no movement. In the end, even the light infantry, paralyzed by weakness, ceased their attacks.

This eerie calm puzzled Myron. He had no idea that the Dionysian Third Legion, with 5,000 men and 3,000 Laosian soldiers, had already entered the northern plains of Croton and begun destroying farmland and villages, doing the same thing as the Crotonian sailors. However, Davos had issued a prior order: they were forbidden to kill the Crotonian civilians. So, the soldiers merely intimidated and drove them away.

Even after the defeat, the Crotone Council had urged the inhabitants of the villages on the northern plain to temporarily flee to the city to avoid the fighting. Due to spring sowing and two or three days of no enemy sightings, the Crotone people assumed that Myron had stopped the Dionysians at Crimisa, and therefore most of them remained. Now, the sudden and ferocious appearance of a large force of Dionysians sent the Crotone people fleeing south in panic.

In southern Italy, the Crotone Plain rivals the Sybarite Plain in beauty thanks to two rivers: the Neto, rising in the southern Apennines and flowing eastward into the Gulf of Taranto. Its numerous tributaries ultimately make it wider, deeper, and more voluminous than the Crati River on the Sybarite Plain. The Tachinadi, also rising in the southern Apennines, flows north to south into the sea. These two rivers, one flowing east and one flowing south, irrigate the Croton Plain, carving out a roughly square area. Within this core area, on the seaward side, lies Crotone, a renowned and powerful city in Magna Graecia. Crotone, situated on the Gulf of Taranto, possesses one of the few deepwater ports among the Greek city-states of the Apennine Peninsula. Crotone boasts fertile plains and an excellent port. The war between Sybaris and Crotone centuries ago stemmed from Sybaris's desire to eliminate a potential rival, while Crotone sought to dominate southern Italian trade. The flight of a small number of Sybarite citizens to Crotone, a result of this dispute, was merely the initial spark for the conflict.

Curiously, these two rivers flow close together after emerging from the mountains. Between them, between the mountains and the plain, lies a city called Asprustum, founded by the Brutts. West of the northern plains of Crotone lies the unbroken Apennines, making travel difficult. However, following the natural valley of the Alvo River, a tributary of the Neto River, and trekking northwest, one reaches the Cosenza Plateau, southern Italy's only plateau. The Bruttites there originally journeyed from the upper reaches of the Alvo River, following the valley down to Asprustum.

However, as Crotone grew stronger, it would not tolerate a foreign city just 20 miles to the northwest controlling the upper reaches of two rivers, thus dominating the southern route from the northern plains of Crotone without crossing the Neto River. From this position, it threatened the Crotones' safety. Therefore, a century ago, Crotone launched a massive attack on Asprustum. After several battles, they finally captured the city and drove the Bruttites back to the Cosenza Plateau. By now, Asprustum had become a completely Greek city. As a colony of Crotone, it was completely under Crotone's control, serving as a strategic support for Crotone's safety. When

news of the Dionysian invasion of the Croton Plain reached Crotone, the people panicked. Laos's 3,000 soldiers, in particular, advanced at full speed, closing in on the north bank of the Neto River.

The defenders on the south bank panicked. To prevent the enemy from crossing the pontoon bridges and advancing directly on Crotone, they set fire to several of the river's pontoon bridges, stranding many fleeing south on the north bank.

As Crotone was ferrying them, the Laosian army had already reached the Neto River. The Crotone people cried out in panic, forced to flee northwest along the Neto River.

When the Greeks first arrived in this plain, the Neto River and its numerous tributaries, coupled with abundant rainfall, had once been swampy. However, the Greeks developed sophisticated drainage techniques, and after centuries of management, the swamps were virtually nonexistent. However, the Crotone people's escape remained fraught with danger, as the Laeus sent several squads of soldiers in relentless pursuit.

The Crotone people were frightened and exhausted. Fortunately, young men had unknowingly joined the group. They enthusiastically helped the women carry their burdens, lifted children, and supported the elderly, ensuring that not a single elderly, child, or woman lay down. Eventually, the Laeus soldiers broke off their pursuit, and the city of Asprustum lay before the fleeing people.

The Asprustan general, Fagris, a Crotone citizen, opened the city gates without hesitation, admitting nearly 900 dust-covered, terrified refugees.

Just then, spies reported: 5,000 Dionysian soldiers were advancing on Asprustum!

Upon hearing this, Fagris panicked. Over 6,000 Asprus had been drafted into the battles during the two Dionysian campaigns, a seemingly useless effort, never to be returned. With only 700 or so citizens capable of fighting, how could they possibly withstand the 5,000 Dionysian soldiers who had defeated the Crotonian army in the battle?

Lacking combat experience, Fagris lost confidence. His gaze fell on the panicked refugees within the city, and he instantly changed his mind, originally planning to escort them out of the city and back to Crotone to win the favor of the Crotonian Council.

"People of Crotone! People of Crotone!" he shouted from the stone steps of the city wall, but the chaos below meant few paid any attention. Then the soldiers joined in the shouting, and finally the refugees quieted down, looking up at the Asprusian general.

"People of Crotone, 5,000 Dionians are coming to attack this city!" As soon as Fagris said this, the people below became restless: "What! The Dionians are chasing us!"

"Why don't you open the south gate and let us leave here!!"

...

The people clamored loudly, and Fagris and the soldiers finally calmed them down.

"Of course you can go. But you must know that because Crotone launched two wars against Thurii, most of the citizens of Asprustum followed the Crotone army to the war, but they didn't come back. As a result, there are not many citizen soldiers in the city now, and I am afraid they can't stop the Dionians who are so numerous! Asprustum is the northern barrier of Crotone. Once the Dionians occupy it, they can smoothly move south, easily cross the wadeable Tachinadi River, and enter the central plain of Crotone. That will be a disaster! ... I implore all men among you who can pick up a shield and spear "Join us and defend Asprustum! We're defending Crotone!"

Fagris said this with heartfelt sincerity, for his home was originally just outside Crotone. Asprustum, though not a city, was more like a special kind of demos (an administrative division from Athens, consisting of several villages combined, equivalent to a town). While it had its own council, there was only one general in charge of governing the city-state, chosen from among the "Ten Generals" elected annually in Crotone. Therefore, in an emergency, Fagris, also a general of Crotone, had the power to issue orders to the people of Crotone.

The fleeing people fell silent, each considering and weighing the pros and cons.