Chapter 140
After an urgent discussion with the council, the panicking generals decided to send an emissary to Crotone to apologize and was willing to pay any compensation.
When the news reached Amendola, the Devers and elders were shocked. After all, the emissary represented the city itself. Killing an emissary was taboo because it could mean war.
Amendola immediately canceled his plan to participate in the Isthmian Tournament and began to pay close attention to the development of the situation.
"Father, it's great! The Turís are going to be punished by the gods! "Sostatus ran into the backyard excitedly.
Kunogorata, who was lying on his bed and recovering from his injuries in the sun, was not as excited as his eldest son. The former chief general of Turi had a worried look on his face as he lamented, "I've said it before! I told you that Neancius would harm the Turís! … "
… …
When the Turís emissary rushed to Crotone, the generals of Crotone had already received the news through the merchant ships. They listened to the emissary coldly and ignored the Turís' offer of "any compensation". They only said, "We can go to Turís and take as much as we want!"
Crotone had tolerated the Turís for a long time. Since the defeat of Sybaris a hundred years ago, Crotone's power had been growing day by day and had become a major power in Greece. However, due to the power of Athens, they had to allow the Turís to build a city. This was undoubtedly a great humiliation for Crotone, who was used to being domineering in Southern Italy. After this incident, they could settle old and new debts together and make up for the emptiness of the national treasury. It was killing two birds with one stone.
On the same day, the Crotone Assembly successfully passed a resolution to declare war on the Turís and mobilized the citizens for war. On the morning of the third day, 7,000 strong militiamen were gathered. Asprostum and Siletina also sent 3,000 militiamen to join them. Triene had just experienced a war and faced the Bruti directly, so they only sent 30 cavalrymen. Corunna also expressed its willingness to join the war but was politely rejected by Crotone. To the south of Corunna was the Rockley Alliance. Rockley and Crotone had been enemies for a long time. Corunna was an important barrier to the south of Crotone and could not be lost.
Four days later, after offering sacrifices at the Temple of Apollo in Crotone and receiving good fortune by divination, Melensius, one of the ten generals, led 10,000 troops and marched toward the Crotone.
The war finally broke out between Crotone and Turís.
After receiving the news that Crotone's army was marching towards Tuliyi, Neancis was extremely anxious. Under the reminder of his colleagues, he proposed to the council to hold an emergency meeting.
But when they heard that the army of 10,000 troops of Crotone, Nesius, Neancius, and Neancius, Neancius, Crotone, Nesius. At the meeting, he spoke passionately about the failure of the Turís's attempt at peace and told them the Echo of the Crotone, which immediately aroused the indignation of many citizens. One must know that although Krotone's troops were lesser than the Lucania Tribe's, they were genuine Greek Heavy Infantry. Furthermore, Krotone's militia had always been known for their fighting prowess.
Although the number of Crotone's army was smaller than that of the Lucanian Alliance, it was a real Greek heavy infantry, and the militia of Crotone had always been known for their strong fighting ability.
At this time, Polyphys, the owner of the vineyard, shouted, "We should send another messenger to ask for peace from Crotone and agree to any of their demands." Polyphys, the general, stood up and said, "We can't come up with more money, unless we impose an extra special war tax on the citizens."
Hearing that there was a tax, the meeting fell into silence again.
In the end, the citizens, who had been devastated by the war and were already afraid of war, compromised. They reluctantly said that in order to avoid another war in Turís, they would agree to the tax request of the town hall, but they were afraid that even this would not be enough to satisfy the appetite of Crotone.
"We have to try it first." Polyphys raised his arms and shouted, "Money can be earned back, but it's too late to regret when you lose your loved ones!"
The motion was approved, and Neancius breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why don't we go to Tarantum and ask it to help us negotiate with Crotone?! Since Tarantum advocated the establishment of the Greek Defense Alliance, it must not want war between the cities! " Another person stood up and said, "And with Tarantum's strength, Crotone will definitely be hesitant, and a truce is more likely!"
"That's a good idea, Enanilus!" Neancius praised. As the owner of the largest shipyard in Turís, Enanilus was not someone who could be easily offended, so Neancius nodded and said, "Thank you for reminding me, we will immediately send someone to Tarantum to ask for help!"
"Even if there is a possibility of a truce, we have to be prepared for failure! If Crotone insists on fighting, what should we do?! "Another person stood up and said.
Neancius looked and saw that it was Ancitanos who was speaking. Although their relationship was strained because of Cunogorata, Neancius had to admit that Ancitanos's suggestion was very reasonable. So, Neancius asked, "Dear Ancitanos, do you have any good suggestions?"
"First of all, let our citizens be armed. Crotone has a large number of people, and we can't fight them head-on outside the city. The tall city wall will help us resist their attacks and wear down their morale …"
Many citizens agreed with Ancitanos's words. "Yes, Turís's defense is strong, and the Lucanians couldn't do anything to us outside the city twice, and the same goes for Crotone!"
Ancitanos continued, "Secondly … Amendolar is our ally, and everyone knows how strong their soldiers are. We should ask for help from them!"
At the mention of Amendolar, Neancius felt as if he had swallowed a fly, but the people in the meeting all agreed. "Ancitanos is right! We should ask for help from them. With them around, we can be at ease! "
"I've already said that it's not worth it to ruin our relationship with Amendolar for a few slaves. I'm afraid it's not that easy to ask for help from them now!"
…
Neancius's face turned green and white when he heard these words. He was extremely embarrassed. He forced himself to be alert and said, "This is a good suggestion. Burkes, you make the trip. "
Burkes, who had always been mild-tempered, immediately refused. "I can't do it. Let the more capable Pleasinus go."
Hearing this, Pleasinus lowered his head and did not speak. He knew that if he went, not only would he fail to ask for help, but he might also be beaten up.
It was no wonder that Burkes did not cooperate. He had urged the city hall to fulfill their promise and give freedom to the slaves. The city hall ignored his proposal, which led to a slave riot. Some of the slaves escaped to Amendolar. At this time, Burkes, who was a general, thought that Amendolar would definitely refuse the request of the Turís. It would be better to fulfill their promise and give freedom to the slaves. This would also be a way to get on Amendolar's good side.
Not only did Neancius and the other generals reject his proposal, but they also thought that with his relationship with the Devers, it would be difficult for him to ask for slaves from Amendolar. That was why they sent the tough Pleasinus. What Bourkos had just said was one of the exact words that Neonsith had said when he rejected Bourkos's request to go to Amendolara. Now, Bourkos had used the exact same words against Neonsith. One could only imagine the look on Neonsith's face.
At this moment, even though Neancius hated Burkes, he could not help but beg, "Burkes, this is a matter of life and death for the Turís! Other than you, no one else can complete this task! I hope you can go to Amendolar and ask the Devers to send reinforcements! "
Burkes let out a sigh of relief. Under the pleas of the citizens, he simply nodded in agreement.
"Amendolar is a small city. There shouldn't be too many reinforcements. We still have to rely on ourselves." Ancitanos continued, "I suggest that we mobilize the free people to join the war and promise them citizenship. Of course, we have already made a promise before, but we did not fulfill it. This time, in order to gain their trust, as long as they agree to join the war, we will immediately give them citizenship! "
Ancitanos's suggestions made Neancius feel uncomfortable. Not only him, but the citizens who attended the meeting did not agree to this suggestion due to their personal interests. In the end, the answer that Ancitanos got was, "Let's discuss this again …"
… …
While the Turís were holding the meeting, the Crotone army had marched for more than half a day and arrived outside the city of Crimissa.
Crimissa was originally a colonial city of Sybaris. After Sybaris fell, it turned to the Crotone Alliance. After the reconstruction of Turís in Athens, the agreement reached with the Crotone specifically mentioned that Castellón and Crimissa must remain neutral.
Now, in front of the Crotone Army, Crimissa did not hesitate to open the door to welcome them. It even took the initiative to send a thousand people to join the Crotone Army.
… …
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