Chapter 1215
The Lamia people were not too panicked about this. For a hundred years, they had continuously modified the hills around the city, making the hillside near the city completely unsuitable for climbing. Moreover, the hilltop was a hundred meters away from the city. The threat of arrows shooting at the Lamia people in the city from a high vantage point was also greatly reduced.
But soon, the Lamians began to panic: palm-sized boulders kept whizzing down from the hilltops on both sides, and even the sturdiest houses were easily smashed like paper. The people who were unfortunate enough to be hit by one of them died even more miserably. Even the temple in the acropolis could not escape its attack. After only more than ten minutes, the core city of Lamia became a mess.
Just when the Lamians were in a panic, Patroclus sent an emissary and made a strict demand: as long as Lamia surrendered immediately, Diónia would guarantee the safety of the Lamian people. Otherwise, the city would be completely destroyed and all the people in the city would be enslaved!
Now, the war of Diónia in Greece had become the focus of attention of the Greek people. Of course, the Lamians knew the tragic experience of the people of Tegea, not to mention that they had just seen the huge number and fierce tactics of the Dionysian Army. They thought that it was difficult to resist, so they had no choice but to open the city and surrender.
Patroclus fulfilled his promise and did not harm the surrendered Lamian people, but he sent two brigades to the acropolis in the city, completely controlling the city.
It was already afternoon, and it was no longer practical to continue to lead the army over the mountains in the north and into the territory of Thessaly, but Patroclus did not let the soldiers rest. Instead, he ordered them to attack south.
In fact, except for the 12th Legion and the Gallic brigade, the other legions did not participate in the battle. They had enough rest in front of Lamia, and they were more eager to win with their own hands.
So the soldiers of the 10th Legion, 11th Legion, and the 3rd Cavalry Legion followed the route of the Persia army's invasion of Greece decades ago, quickly crossed the Speerchios River, and arrived at Heraclea at dusk.
Heraclea faced Lamia, only a dozen miles away. It was located at the northern foot of the mountains in the north of Central Greece, and was the northern gate of Central Greece from Thessaly. There were two roads to the south. One was to go directly south, trekking on a trail between the mountains, and finally enter Doris. However, the northern border had towering mountains, and the mountain roads were bumpy and difficult to traverse. Transportation was extremely inconvenient, and it was not conducive for large troops to pass through. Therefore, the Persia army did not choose this road, but chose to arrive at Heraclea, turn east, pass through Hot Spring Pass near the coast, and then go south along the coast. As a result, the legendary story of King Leonidas of Sparta leading 300 warriors to resist the Persia army, and finally sacrificed himself.
After Sparta defeated Athens and became the hegemon of Greece, Heraclea and Hot Spring Pass had been in their hands. After the battle of Leuctra, Iazon led the Thessaly army to destroy Heraclea and control Hot Spring Pass, but he soon regretted it, because Hot Spring Pass was only a pass. The area was extremely narrow, and it was not suitable for large troops to be stationed for a long time. He could only rely on the logistics of Heraclea, which was very close to it.
In order to control the road south for a long time, Iazon had to rebuild the city of Heraclea. However, a few months later, the Dionysian Army landed on Peloponnesus and started a new war. When Iazon led the army south again, Heraclea had just built a circle of mud walls, and there was not even a gate. He left 3000 soldiers to guard the city and hurried south.
3000 soldiers was not a small number for any Greek city-state. Even if the city was not complete, it was enough to block the possible attacks from these Greek city-states in the south, and ensure the safety of Thessaly's army.
However, Iazon never expected the attack to come from the north, and the number of soldiers was so large, and the attack was so fierce. The 3000 Thessaly soldiers were quickly surrounded and defeated by the Diónia soldiers who crazily rushed into the city.
At this time, night was about to fall. Patroclus stood on the mud wall and looked to the east. The afterglow of the setting sun plated the earth with a layer of gold, and the scenery reflected in his eyes was extremely clear. But even so, he could not see the outline of the "hot" Hot Spring Pass (there were many hot springs near the Hot Spring Pass, which caused the place to always be hot, hence the name).
Suppressing the regret in his heart, he ordered the soldiers to set up camp on the spot and rest up for the battle tomorrow.
… …
When the various Diónia troops from the south gathered in the city of Lamia, the legions from the north had also passed through the valley pass. Four infantry legions, one cavalry legion, and a Balearic Stoneman Brigade (2000 men), a total of nearly 40,000 soldiers, rested at the entrance of the valley. Matonis and Lizaru simultaneously ordered to march south, and their target was Larissa.
This time, the army did not carry out a rapid march. The soldiers lined up in a wide column along the south bank of the Piños River, stepping on the flat, soft ground, and marching south in a mighty manner. The Third Cavalry Legion was at the forefront of the formation.
The city of Larissa was located in the middle of the Northern Plains of Thessaly, on the banks of the Piños River. It had vast farmlands and a large population. It was once a powerful state in the Northern Plains of Thessaly, and it had long been the central city of Thessaly. However, after the rise of Philae, Iazon conquered this neighboring city-state and deliberately suppressed it, causing its strength to be greatly reduced. This time, when Iazon carried out the military mobilization, he specifically emphasized that Larissa must provide no less than 5000 soldiers.
For this reason, Larissa recruited more than half of the young and middle-aged citizens into the army. Just a few hours ago, they received an order from Polydorus: the Dionysian Army was landing on the coast of Mildoros, and all city-states were to send reinforcements as soon as possible!
Larissa had no choice but to urgently dispatch another 1000 soldiers.
When the messenger from Peleus came to ask for reinforcements, the people of Larissa had almost no soldiers to send. However, they were very clear that it was not a big deal if Peleus was captured, but if the Dionysian Army passed through the valley and rushed into the Northern Plains of Thessaly, it would be extremely terrible.
Therefore, Larissa had no choice but to put together nearly 300 soldiers (including some citizens over the age of 50) to rush to the camp at the mouth of the valley to defend. At the same time, a messenger was sent to ask for reinforcements from Polydorus.
Halfway through their journey, the reinforcements of Larissa saw that the ground in front of them was shrouded in rising dust, and even the ground was trembling slightly.
The army of Diónia had arrived! The people of Larissa looked at the countless vague silhouettes of the soldiers in the dust and were almost scared out of their wits. They turned around and fled.
At the same time, the Second Cavalry Regiment of Diónia also found them and immediately gave chase. The reinforcements of Larissa, who had lost their will to fight, raised their hands and surrendered.
Although it was already afternoon, Matonis and Lizaru learned from the prisoners that Larissa was seriously short of soldiers and generals. All the troops left behind in Thessaly were concentrated on the coast of Almiros, and they knew nothing about the attack of the Dionysian Army from Peleus. The two commanders thought that this was an excellent opportunity, so they immediately ordered the army to speed up.
Larissa was nearly 40 miles away from the mouth of the valley, and it was a flat road. The soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia had marched normally all the way, and their strength had gradually recovered. After receiving the order, they began to run again.
When the silhouette of the city of Larissa could be seen in the distance, the sun had already set, and only a few rays of afterglow were left on the horizon. Night was coming.
Matonis and Lizaru were both decisive commanders. Since they had already made a decision, they would not easily change it. The order to attack the city of Larissa was immediately issued.
The city of Larissa had the natural barrier of the Pinhos River and its tributaries, so it had the advantage of defense. However, they had just sent off the reinforcements a few hours ago, and they had not received any abnormal news yet. Now that it was late, they naturally slacked off. As a result, when the sentinels on the city wall saw the enemy coming in like a tide, they sounded the alarm in horror.
In a panic, the people of Larissa had to close the city gate and urgently mobilize the people to defend the city. The city was in a mess, and there was no time to burn the pontoon bridge over the river.
The soldiers of Diónia stepped on the pontoon bridge over the tributaries of the Pinhos River and quickly arrived at the city of Larissa. In the process, they were not even attacked by the arrows and javelins on the city wall. When they put wooden siege ladders on the city wall, the people of Larissa, who had been forced to do so, climbed up the city wall in a panic with rusty weapons. Failure was inevitable.
"Reporting to the two commanders, we have captured the city of Larissa!" The messenger reported excitedly to Matonis and Lizaru.
"Which unit took over the city wall first?" Matonis asked with a smile.
"The Eighth Brigade of the Second Legion."
Matonis smiled even more brightly. He turned his head and looked to the side. "Oh, Lizaru, I'm sorry. My men have won the first prize again!"
Lizaru said coldly, "The people of Larissa did not put up any resistance at all. How is that considered a prize? The Second Legion just had the advantage of being in front of the team! "
"I say, Lizaru, don't be so ungrateful. If it weren't for the Second Legion opening up the valley in time and me informing you in time, I'm afraid you would still be crawling in the mountains of Macedonia with your troops!"
"That's because the Ministry of Military Affairs believes in my ability. That's why they gave the most difficult task to me and the easiest to you."
…
The two veterans in their fifties quarreled like children. The staff officers and guards around them did not dare to stop them. They could only hold back their laughter and stand there like clay statues.
After the two quarreled for a while, Matonis suddenly thought of something. He said to the messenger who was standing at the side, feeling very uncomfortable, "Inform the troops who entered the city immediately. Do not loot the property of the people of Larissa or harm their lives. If there is any violation, they will be punished according to military law!"
"Yes, sir!"
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