Chapter 120
The Devers watched as Syracuse's emissary, Hercules, left. When they returned to the living room, their expressions were solemn and worried. It seemed like Syracuse was preparing to go to war with Carthage. Regardless of the outcome, Armendora had to develop and strengthen itself as soon as possible so that it could stand firm in this chaotic world.
Two days later, the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius, listened to Hercules' report in his palace. His face was gloomy at first, then he laughed. "A little mercenary leader actually became a life-long consul! What do you think, Masias? "
Masias, who used to be the leader of Campania's mercenaries, was dressed in a military uniform. He stood straight and said without hesitation, "My lord, as a mercenary leader, I think you should focus on winning a battle, earning money and glory for yourself, instead of doing things that you don't know how to do. It may look good, but it will easily lead to failure, and it will drag down innocent people. "
"You're right!" Dionysius praised. He patted the back of the chair. "I sit in this position, trembling with fear every day, not daring to slack off! A mercenary who only knows how to fight dares to become the tyrant of a city! "
Hercules could not help but say, "My lord, this Devers is not a tyrant, but a life-long consul elected by the people of Armendora!"
"Hercules, what do you mean by that?!" Dionysius's eyes were as sharp as knives as he stared at Hercules.
Only then did Hercules realize that he had unintentionally touched Dionysius's reverse scale. He broke out in cold sweat and lowered his head, not daring to speak again.
Dionysius looked at him carefully for a while before withdrawing his gaze. He said disdainfully, "He's just playing a little trick. I can only say that this young man is a little smart, no wonder he can win a few battles. Unfortunately, he has no foresight. Felistos, do you know how many people there are in Armendora? "
On the left side of Dionysius, a middle-aged man with a graceful bearing said, "Based on what I know, there should be less than four thousand citizens. Of course, it's far less than that now."
Dionysius shrugged and said with slight disdain, "Listen, even before the war, Armendalar only had four thousand citizens at most. That's less than the number of citizens in a street in Kouzha City in Greece."
Sparse laughter could be heard in the palace.
"If that mercenary leader called the Devers had come to my place, he could've chosen any city he wanted after defeating Carthage, Marsala, Palermo, Erice, Edgardi, Sejesta, and so on. It would've been better than staying in a small city like Amendola. Unfortunately, he won't have the chance!" Dionysius said heroically, then looked at Masias. "How are the preparations for our attack on Carthage's army?"
"More than ten thousand mercenaries have set up camp outside of Syracuse. Syracuse can mobilize at least forty thousand militia. Including the armies of Catanai, Leontini, Taunis, and Paccinus, we have about twenty thousand … In addition, we have two thousand cavalry. My lord, the army you command is the strongest in the history of the Greek city-states! Even the most powerful Athens didn't have such a large army! "Masias said excitedly.
Dionysius's expression was calm. He turned to look at his younger brother, Leptinis. "How are the preparations for the navy?"
Although Leptinus and Dionysius were blood brothers, he appeared to be simple and honest, and in fact, that was the case. Because of this, Dionysius trusted his younger brother very much and promoted him to the position of commander of the navy in Syracuse. At this time, he replied, "Now there are a hundred and fifty triple-hulled warships. Including the other warships, there are a total of 320 warships of various sizes."
"It's still not enough …" Dionysius sighed. His fingers tapped on the back of the chair. "You have to understand that there are two things that are indispensable in the war against Carthage — warships and cavalry. But we don't have enough of both. Leptinis, it seems that you have to urge the other cities to speed up the construction of warships. As for cavalry, Masias, send someone to the Apennines to recruit Celtic cavalry. Felistos, ask Sparta to recruit some Thessaly cavalry. Everyone, we have to speed up! Next spring, we will attack Gela! "
The three of them immediately responded: we will do our best to complete the mission given by Dionysius!
"Masias, you have to work hard! Even a small mercenary leader can annihilate those barbaric natives with two thousand men. We have the largest army in all of Greece, but we can't achieve even greater glory. That would be too embarrassing! "Dionysius still held a grudge against the Devers for rejecting him, and so he encouraged Masias.
"My lord, please rest assured, I will not let you down!" Masias immediately expressed his stance.
"Very good, Masias!" Dionysius praised him again, and then he waved his hand. "Felistos, stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed."
Harolis, Masias, Leptinis, and the other two courtiers complied and left. Dionysius's gaze followed Harolis's back until Felistos called his name.
"Don't you think that Harolis has changed a little?" Fingers tapping on the back of the chair, Dionysius's face was clouded.
Felistos was shocked, and carefully defended Harolis. "My lord, I didn't notice anything. Harolis is still the same as before."
Dionysius glanced at him. "I know you have a good relationship with him. I also miss the help he gave me in my most difficult times, so I don't want anything to ruin our friendship! " "… I heard that he has been studying the history of Egypt recently. I think we can give him some time off so he can focus on his research …" Dionysius muttered to himself. Felistos sighed in his heart. "My lord, I understand …"
"This is only a temporary arrangement …" Dionysius comforted.
"Felix, Feloxanus is your good friend. Can you ask him to come here?" Dionysius changed the topic. "I have just written a poem, and I would like him to evaluate it with you. You know, the last time I discussed poetry with him, I offended him because of a disagreement. He hasn't come here for three months now. "
"Feloxanus is a good person, but he likes to put on airs. I will try my best to persuade him to come." Felistos laughed and teased, "My lord, even an all-powerful general like you can't do anything to an ordinary citizen!"
Dionysius laughed and spread his hands. "So who said that I, Dionysius, am a dictator!"
… …
During this time, the Devers and Military Officer Felistos were busy reorganizing the city's army.
After the mercenaries became citizens of Amendola, Dracos, Sesta, and Adrianx had more than a thousand soldiers. The Devers had more than 1,800 soldiers. After the slaves became free citizens, there were nearly 300 people. Including the original citizens of the city who were of age, there were about 250 people who were of service age. Amendola now had a total of 3,500 people who could fight.
Originally, the highest position in the mercenaries was the captain (actually, the Devers themselves), and the highest position was the brigade. However, with the increase in the number of soldiers, the original organization could no longer adapt to the current situation of the city. After discussing with Felistos, the Devers decided to create a higher organization. The Devers named it a 'legion', and the highest position was still held by the Devers themselves. The tentative organization was 7,000 people. The main force consisted of seven brigades (six heavy infantry brigades and one light infantry brigade). Each brigade consisted of 1,000 people, and the highest position was the captain (later known as the 'chiliarch'). Each brigade consisted of five companies, and each company consisted of 200 people, and the highest position was the company captain (also known as the 'centurion'). Each company consisted of four teams, and each team consisted of 50 people, and the highest position was the captain (also known as the 'centurion').
Due to the influence of Rome in his previous life, the Devers originally wanted to abolish the teams and change them to 100-man teams. However, Felistos objected. He felt that the teams had an advantage in chaotic battles and mountain battles because they were more mobile and flexible. Furthermore, with the support of four teams, the independent combat ability of the companies would be greatly enhanced. After much consideration, the Devers finally agreed with Felistos. Since then, the teams were the unique military system of the city-state under the Devers' rule. The captain was the lowest rank among the officers, and played a key role in the legion. Later on, he was respectfully called the 'Head of the Army' by the soldiers. Later on, many of the generals under the Devers were proud of having served as the captain of a team, to the point that the Devers had decreed that only those who had served as the captain of a team for two years were qualified to be promoted to the next rank. This made the position of the captain of a team even more dazzling. Of course, this was a story for another time.
A team consisted of five teams, and each team consisted of ten people. The highest position was the captain of the team (later changed to the 'sergeant major', which was held by a veteran). In addition, the legion also consisted of cavalry, engineering, medical, supply, and so on. The actual number of people in the legion could be as high as 8,000. Of course, this was just a guess.
As the number of soldiers in the city of Amendola was only about 3,500, the Devers organized it into four teams.
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