Chapter 145
"Lord Consul, the Crotone have more men than us. If we attack recklessly, won't —" Amyntas rebutted as soon as Cornelus said worriedly, "You don't understand war, so don't get involved!"
The Devers immediately scolded Amyntas and asked him to apologize. He then explained to Cornelus and the other old citizens, "As the Consul of Amendolara, and as a leader who has been on the battlefield for a long time, I will cherish the lives of the citizens of Amendolara. Without absolute confidence, I will not attack the powerful Crotone army recklessly! The Crotone occupied Turií and obtained great glory and bountiful spoils of war, but we, Amendolara, chose to retreat. They must be very proud, and their general, Melansius, is an even prouder man! These Crotone soldiers, who are loaded with spoils of war, will probably be thinking about how to go home and get their share of the loot on their way back. They will not have any desire to fight. They will probably be exhausted when they reach the campsite, and the defenses of the campsite will definitely be lax. We will give them a heavy blow when they are asleep, just like when we took back Amendolara! " The Devers saw that Cornelus and the others were deep in thought, so he added, "Of course, if our spies discover that the defenses of the Crotone camp are very tight, the battle will have to be called off."
Felicius emphasized, "Lord Consul's plan is indeed feasible!"
Antonios said, "We agree!"
At this time, Scombras, Tritodemos, and Plotsilaus expressed their agreement first, and the attack plan was immediately approved.
"Immediately gather the citizens of the four brigades at the square. All brigade captains must pay attention and tell the soldiers not to make any noise, to keep quiet! I don't want the Crotone spies to discover anything unusual about us! "The Devers calmly ordered," My attack plan is … "
Felicius and the elders who were appointed as the army officers received the order and left.
Devers then said earnestly to Cornelis, "Turís has suffered such a disaster. As its ally, we should help its people. I want to set up a Turís Emergency Relief Committee, which you will be in charge of. It will provide food, accommodation, treatment, and other assistance to Turís …"
Cornelis only hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
The other old citizens who hated the Turís remained silent, but Strompoli reminded them, "If we take food to save the Turís, I'm afraid we won't have enough to eat."
"Don't worry!" The Devers said confidently, "The Crotone stole so much food. When they defeat Melansius, they will have everything." He added in his mind, Of course, they will also get more important things!
"I hope the Crotone are as unguarded as you said." Strompoli did not argue further because he too had hope in his heart.
The Devers remembered that there was someone in the city who was very familiar with the Turís. He quickly asked, "By the way, how is Cunogorata's injury?"
"He should be much better. I saw him in the temple yesterday. He walked down the mountain alone without the help of a slave, "Scombras said.
"Let him be your assistant. He is very familiar with the people and matters of Turís," the Devers said to Cornelis.
"But he was …" Cornelis hesitated.
"I think Turís is the mother state where he was born and raised. It is the place where he grew up and lived for decades. The harm that Turís did to him should not be as much as the worry and longing for Turís, especially after the city was burned down!" The Devers said with certainty. Although they had only met a few times, in his impression, the old man (in fact, Cunogorata was only in his early fifties) had spent a lot of energy for the stability and prosperity of Turís in the past few years. He did not even hesitate to offend many people. He would not easily let Turís go.
As expected, when Cunogorata heard that Turís was burned, he almost fainted from grief. When he received the notice from the Senate, he immediately rushed to Cornelis' house to discuss the matter of rescue.
… …
At that moment, the Devers summoned the leader of Lucania, Vesba, and his son, Bagoule, in his house.
"Tonight, we are going to attack Crotone's army. I hope you can join us. If we win, your five-year service period will be halved. "The Devers did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
"Attack Crotone's army?! I heard there are more than 10,000 of them! "Although Vesba was now a slave, his ears and eyes were not blocked. He was a little hesitant.
"We will join!" Bagoule said before he could.
"Son, you …" Vesba panicked and was about to give his son a look.
Bagoule did not look at his father. Instead, he raised his head and said loudly, "We, the Lucanians, will join!" Due to his old age and his identity as the leader, Vesba was only restricted to the city. He was not forced to serve. Bagoule, on the other hand, had participated in many rugby matches and learned about the uniqueness of the citizen army. At the same time, he also learned about the magical young consul in front of him from his private conversations with the soldiers. He believed that since Amendola dared to attack, they must be confident of success. This was a good opportunity for their tribe.
"Good! Very good! " Not only was the Devers happy for Bagoule's agreement, but they were also excited to see the results of the 'assimilation policy' so quickly.
The Devers stepped forward and patted Bagoule's shoulder. He said excitedly, "I believe this will be the right decision for you and your people!"
Bagoule did not dodge.
Vesba sighed softly.
"What should we do next? Let your brother-in-law, Asistes, tell you. He will be your adjutant, and you will be the leader of the Lucania army." The Devers looked behind them. Asistes smiled shyly at the side.
… …
At noon, the Crotone army abandoned the thousands of Turín citizens outside the ruined city of Turín. They retreated with a large number of looted supplies, but they did not burn the pontoon bridge.
When the news reached Amendola, the Devers, accompanied by priests, went to the temple of Zeus at the top of the mountain and sacrificed a bull. Amidst the chanting, he prayed to Zeus for this expedition. The priests blessed him and performed a divine divination.
The Devers returned to the square and told the waiting citizens, "Zeus' prophecy is a good omen! We will win! "
Because of the military order, the unarmored militia did not cheer loudly, but they all looked excited and fanatical.
The entire city of Amendola was on the move.
Looking at the people driving oxen and horses loaded with food and supplies out of the city gate, the Devers inexplicably recalled the words Kaiser said in front of the Rubicon River in his previous life, "The dice are cast!"
… …
What happened that day was actually described in detail in the chapter "The Burning of Turín" by Ancitanos, who wrote the "History of Magna Graecia" more than ten years later:
That day, the sky was dark, and thick clouds hung low, as if the gods had shown an ominous sign from the beginning …
The Crotone soldiers were not humans, they were bandits, beasts! They robbed everything that could be eaten, even the oatmeal in the bowls of children; they robbed everything of value, even the teeth in the people's mouths. Anyone who stepped forward to stop them was mercilessly trampled to the ground, and some even lost their lives. As for those who knelt on the ground and begged bitterly, they coldly ignored them. The desperate cries of the Turín people came from every house, and every street flowed with the blood and tears of the Turín people. What kind of sin did the Turín commit to provoke such a terrible demon?! (It should be said that Ancitanos' position in the "History of Magna Graecia" was basically neutral, but he invested so much emotion in this chapter that the Crotone people later protested, saying that Ancitanos had exaggerated the facts and was not conducive to the unity of the country, so they asked for the chapter to be deleted. Ancitanos refused, and the lawsuit went on for a long time.)
In the end, the Crotone soldiers drove the Turín people out of the city with spears and shields, then spread branches and hay in every corner of the city and poured oil on them. The city of Turín began to burn …
The Turín people watched helplessly as their homes were reduced to ashes in the fire, and the temples they worshiped collapsed. Did the gods abandon the Turín and let Hvistos cast the flames of anger?!
After the Crotone people retreated, the Turín people ran madly into the Turín city, disregarding the thick smoke and flames that were still rising from the city. The scorching temperature steamed their flesh and blood, but they desperately rushed into the burning ashes, looking for anything useful.
Without shelter, food, clothes, and money, how could the Turín survive in the Xbari Plain that had become a wilderness?
Just when they were in despair, the Amendolans appeared.
Thousands of Amendolans brought hundreds of carts (half of which were hidden with weapons and equipment) and began to rescue the Turín people, setting up tents and digging camps. Cunogorata had completely forgotten what the Turín had done to him before. It was said that he had not fully recovered from the beating, but he ran around every corner to help all the Turín people in need. The governor of Amendolara, Cornelus, arranged manpower and distributed resources, organizing the rescue work in an orderly manner …
Allow me to mention Devers at the end. He was the governor of Amendolara at that time, and also the hero who saved the city of Turín from the Lucanians. However, it was the first time the Turín people saw him, and they saw him in a difficult situation. In their eyes, this young man who looked like he had just become an adult was as kind as their child. He always wore a gentle smile, listening attentively to the people's pain and comforting the injured people with a gentle voice. He carried the crying children and wiped away their tears and dust; he helped the injured elderly and gave them soft bread …
Under the leadership of Devers, the Amendolans treated the Turín people like family, doing their best to help the Turín people. The Devers saved the Turín people once again. The Turín people who had lost their homes did not suffer from hunger and disease. They were grateful to the Amendolans from the bottom of their hearts, and even more so to the hero Devers who had saved the Turín people twice!
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