Chapter 1216
"This order … Patroclus emphasized it yesterday, and there are no Gallic soldiers in our army. I believe the soldiers will not easily disobey it …" Lizaru said, pretending to remember something. "Oh, I forgot. Someone said that you are from Larissa?"
Lizaru's words were like a stone smashing into Matonis's heart, stirring up those old memories. He did not argue with Lizaru as if he was joking. Instead, he turned his head to the northwest and stared blankly for a while before he said in disappointment, "You've remembered wrongly. I'm not from Larissa, but I'm from Oroson. Like you, I'm from the mountains."
With that, he summoned his staff officer. "Send someone to Peleus and inform Lord Xilos. Tell him that we've conquered his hometown."
The staff officer was a little surprised, but he did not ask any questions. He turned around and looked for the messenger.
"Please, Lizaru. I will show you the largest city in the north of Thessaly." Matonis made an inviting gesture.
"The largest city … Is it as big as Turií?"
"How can it be compared to Turií?"
"What about Crotone?"
"Still can't compare!"
…
Surrounded by soldiers, the two of them rode into Larissa City, chatting and laughing.
… …
After the main force of Diónia had successfully landed and captured the nearby coastal city-states, the transport fleet entered the port and quickly unloaded the army's auxiliary personnel and supplies. Then, under the escort of the 1st Flotilla Squadron, they began to return to Sparta and Messenia.
Not long after, the fleet at Pagasa Bay in Thessaly received a notice from the clippers. They immediately ordered the soldiers who were still pretending to pave the road on the shoal of Miltoros to return to the ships as soon as possible, because the fleet still had to send the soldiers of the 13th Legion to the nearby Mariacos Bay to land.
The defenders of Thessaly saw that the Diónia soldiers had almost paved the road to the foot of the mountain with straw and planks, all ready to attack. Suddenly, they saw the enemy retreating to the seaside and boarding the ships. Soon, all the warships and troop carriers disappeared from their sight.
After squatting on the mountain ridge for a long time, the delicious food that was about to be in his mouth suddenly ran away. This made Polifron very uncomfortable. He immediately suggested to Poridorus, "We should let the fleet at the Philae port attack immediately. We can't let the Diónia fleet come and go as they please. We should at least take a bite out of them!"
Polidorus said cautiously, "It's not like you don't know that the reason our fleet stayed in the port and didn't dare to attack is that the number of Diónia warships in the bay far exceeds ours. Since the Diónia have taken the initiative to retreat, there's no need to take this risk."
"Previously, I suggested letting the soldiers take the initiative to attack the enemy on the beach, but you didn't agree! Now, I suggest that the fleet attack, but you don't agree! You only know how to sit here like a fool and don't dare to do anything. What's the use of you being the military chief of Thessaly! " Polifron waved his hands and shouted angrily at his brother. He then tore the tent apart and walked out of the tent in large strides.
The adjutant in the tent complained in a low voice, "General, Polifron is too much. He ignored your —"
"Forget it." Polidorus waved his hand helplessly. His younger brother had been brave and fierce since he was a child. When he grew up, his temperament became even more tyrannical and disrespectful. He had long been used to it. Because of this, the eldest brother, Iazon, did not dare to let the youngest brother bear any heavy responsibility. Instead, he had always let him follow him to do things. He had hoped that he could change him, but unfortunately, there was no progress so far …
Polidorus put this annoying matter behind him. He shouldered the heavy responsibility of protecting Thessaly, so he did not want to cause more trouble. So, he let the Diónia fleet leave, but he still had some doubts in his heart. Could it be that Diónia dispatched such a large fleet, only to waste half a day here, and then leave with nothing? Could there be other conspiracies?
While thinking, Polidorus did not forget to order the adjutant, "Send the soldiers to burn the road that the Diónia have paved in the beach."
"Yes, my lord."
As soon as the adjutant left the tent, Larissa's messenger arrived at the camp.
"The Dionysian Army has landed on the coast of Peleus!" Polidorus was shocked when he heard the news. The uneasiness in his heart was finally confirmed. The Diónia had used the tactic of diversion to catch him off guard.
At this moment, he knew very well that because the Dionysian Army had landed on the coast of Mildoros with great fanfare, he had mobilized the militia of the surrounding city-states to support them. Now, the defense in the west was very weak. Once the Dionysian Army passed through the pass and rushed into the northern plains, the consequences would be unimaginable. Peleus could be captured, but the valley pass must be blocked!
Polidorus made up his mind and immediately issued an order: two thousand Philae militia were stationed at the Mildoros coast camp, and the rest of the troops immediately rushed to the camp at the valley pass.
Considering that the city of Larissa was more than 100 miles away from the coast of Mildoros, and the valley pass was even further away, Larissa's messenger had taken a lot of time to arrive here. The situation on the side of Peleus had probably changed a lot. Just in case, Polidorus specially ordered the only 500 cavalry under his command to reinforce the valley pass at top speed.
After all the orders were issued, Polidorus felt a little relieved. He led the main force of more than 10,000 people and marched at a relatively fast speed toward the valley pass.
When night fell, the Thessaly army had only marched less than 40 miles, but Polidorus was worried about the situation in front of him and did not dare to let the soldiers stop to rest. He just asked them to light up the torches and continue to move forward.
Not long after, Polidorus finally got the exact news from the front, and the news was brought back by the cavalry he had sent before.
It turned out that the Thessaly cavalry rushed from the coast of Mildoros in the southeast to the valley pass in the north, and did not encounter the Diónia army that was rushing to Larissa. When they arrived at the camp at the valley pass, they found that the camp was full of Diónia soldiers in black helmets and armor. The Thessaly cavalry was shocked and did not dare to go forward to fight. They were worried about the safety of Larissa, so they turned to the south to investigate, and they happened to see the Dionysian Army attacking the city of Larissa.
"Are you sure that the Dionysian Army has captured the city of Larissa?!" Polidorus asked the cavalry general anxiously with a gloomy face.
"General, I'm not sure, because the Dionians had already discovered us and sent a group of cavalry to attack us. As they outnumbered us, we didn't fight them. Instead, we led them around for a while before we chose to retreat," the Dionians said. The cavalry general tried to express the bravery of his troops. "In the process, we heard the cheers of the Diónia soldiers. The cheers were very loud. I think the Diónia army has captured Larissa."
"Probably?" Polifron listened and said with dissatisfaction, "Since you didn't see it with your own eyes, don't make wild guesses. Larissa is a big city. It's impossible for it to be captured so easily by a Dionic army that has just landed!"
The cavalry general felt wronged. When he was about to defend himself, he heard Polidorus asked, "How many people are there in the Dionysian Army?"
"Because it is getting dark, I can't see clearly, and the Diónia cavalry will soon arrive, so there is no more time to observe. But according to my judgment, there should be more than 20,000 people."
"Another 'probably' —" Polidorus expressed his dissatisfaction again.
"You have worked hard. You can go now and let the soldiers have a good rest." Polidorus interrupted Polidorus in time.
After the cavalry general left, Polidorus shouted again, "That guy must be talking nonsense. You should speed up the advance of the army to Larissa!"
"Shut up! I am the commander of this army. I don't need you to tell me what to do! " The bad news that came one after another put Polydorus in a bad mood. Finally, he could not bear the noise of his younger brother and snapped, "Go back to your team immediately, don't disturb my thinking here!"
For the first time, Polidorus did not hide his anger at his brother. Polidorus was a little stunned. Then his face turned red and he suddenly let out a heart-wrenching roar, startling the people around him. He then turned around and left angrily.
Polidorus knew that he had annoyed Polidorus, but now he was not in the mood to apologize or comfort him. He had to quickly find a way to solve the current predicament. After some thought, he finally made a decision: the entire army stopped advancing and immediately returned to the camp outside Phylai City!
At the same time, he sent a number of sentries to Larissa to find out the enemy's situation as soon as possible.
As the temporary military chief of Thessaly, Polidorus knew very well that the soldiers in Larissa and its surrounding areas had been evacuated. If the Dionysian Army attacked with more than 20,000 soldiers, the people of Larissa would certainly not be able to resist their attack. Therefore, the judgment of the cavalry general was likely to be correct. It was completely meaningless for the army to reinforce Larissa in the middle of the night. Instead, it would be easy for them to be raided by the Diónia. The Dionysian Army only spent one day to complete the landing on the coast of Peleus, break through the valley pass, and capture Larissa. Their combat power was quite terrifying. The Thessaly troops led by him could not be a match for them.
It was precisely because of this that he decided not to act rashly. Instead, he concentrated his forces to defend Phylai. Then, he sent someone to inform Iazon and ask for reinforcements. At the same time, he observed the enemy's movements and looked for opportunities.
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