Chapter 206
Indeed, when Plesinas entered the port of Tarantum, he did not see the few Tarantum warships that usually patrolled the coastal waters. Nevertheless, he continued to brazenly request to the Senate of Tarantum: even if only a few warships were to be sent to Turií, it would be fine.
He had a small calculation in his mind: Crotone would never dare to provoke Tarantum while they were at war with Diónia, so even if only a few Tarantum warships were to patrol the east coast of Diónia as a facade, it could serve as a deterrent, thus ensuring the basic safety of Diónia's coastline.
However, no matter how much Plesinas persuaded, the Senate of Tarantum firmly refused, leaving the thick-skinned Plesinas in vain.
As soon as Plesinas returned to the port of Turií, Crotone's fleet arrived. The sea trade routes of Turií were immediately cut off, and the port was in a state of panic.
Olivers arrived with a large number of patrols to help Marigi maintain order.
After learning of Tarantum's decision, Devers pondered for a while, then said to Aristocrates, the clerk next to him, "I seem to remember that the Sparta emissary had been to Tarantum before?"
"Yes, Aristocrates reported at the time that 'Sparta hoped that Tarantum would abolish its alliance with us and take the lead against us, but the Senate of Tarantum refused.'"
"But it still worked," Devers sighed, then sneered, 'Tarantum wants to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight! Well, we have to rely on ourselves in this war! '
"Go and tell Aristocrates that it's time to close the net on the Crotone spy."
"Yes!"
… …
The port of Diónia was closed. As expected by Tratus, he had already discussed with the Crotone Clippers in advance: every night at a specific beach at the mouth of the Krati River to obtain his information.
Just as he began to write the secret letter again, the door was suddenly knocked open, and four or five people rushed in.
In a panic, he subconsciously grabbed the scroll in his hand and shouted, "Who are you?" But he was pressed to the ground by the people who rushed in. His clenched hand was also pried open, and the unshredded scroll was taken away. His expression suddenly changed.
"This afternoon, about 10,000 fully armed Turií soldiers have entered the barracks, and 1,000 heavy infantry are also stationed at the port. It is said that Amendola's militia is already on the way to Turií, Neutum —" A clear voice sounded above his head, "Tratus, I have to admit that your observation and calculation skills are really good. The information you wrote to Crotone matches the facts. No wonder the Crotone sent you to Turií and stayed here for half a year. what you think your impression here?"
Hearing this, Tratus' heart sank. He already knew that his whereabouts were already in the grasp of the Diónia.
When he was lifted up, he saw an elegant, thin, and tall middle-aged man standing in front of him, looking at him with interest.
"What do you want to do to me?" Tratus asked in a low voice, his throat dry.
The thin, tall man did not speak. He took an object from someone else and brought it to Tratus: it was a small, crudely carved wooden knife.
Tratus' eyes suddenly widened, and his expression was shocked. He struggled and shouted, "What did you do to my child?! You caught my child, didn't you?!! He's only seven years old! Hera above, I beg you to spare him!! Spare him!! I'll do anything!! " He begged bitterly, and in the end, he was sobbing uncontrollably.
The thin, tall man said coldly, "Your wife and child are still in Ciudad Crotone, but they are under the surveillance of our people. Let me introduce myself. I'm Aristiras, the intelligence officer of the Consul Devers (although the Devers promised him this position, he is still a free man and not an official). I'll give you a choice, work for Diónia. If you refuse, not only will you die, but your sick wife will also die of illness due to lack of money, and your son will become a slave. If you agree, you will become a probationary citizen of Diónia. We will try our best to rescue your wife and child, and let the doctors of the Alliance treat your wife. You know that the medical skills of the Alliance are better than those of Crotone! " Aristiras paused. Seeing Tratus' head lowered, his expression uncertain, he said in a low voice, "Live or die, it's your choice."
… …
At dusk, the Chief General of Crotone, Myron, received a secret report from Turií: this afternoon, Turií began to gather citizen soldiers. It was reported that about 4,000 citizens in the city had gathered in Victory Square. The villages outside the city were still in the process of mobilizing, and a large number of citizens had not yet entered the city of Turií. Turií had sent about a thousand soldiers to the port and sent many cavalry to patrol the coast. Armendolara and Neutum had not yet seen the arrival of the army.
In the past six months, Crotone had learned from Tratus and the released soldiers. Chief General Myron had some understanding of Dioria and was very vigilant against Diónia. Therefore, he had made preparations in advance. After helping Crimissa eliminate the mercenaries, he immediately mobilized for war. This time, in order to completely defeat Diónia, Crotone and its subsidiary, Asplustum, had gathered all the forces they could: 20,000 from Crotone and 3,000 from Asplustum. Siletina, the ally of Crotone, was a large city, but it had suffered the heaviest losses in the previous raid by the Diónia Alliance. However, for revenge, it still managed to squeeze out 2,000 soldiers. Triene, which was close to the Bruti Alliance, also sent 1,000 soldiers. This time, Crotone did not refuse. Only Corunnia was rejected by Crotone, because to the south of Corunnia was the Rokeri Alliance, Crotone's enemy. Although it had not made many movements in recent years, Crotone knew that Rokeri had been eyeing the north covetously. If Rokeri suddenly attacked and captured Corunnia while they were fighting with Diónia, then they could easily take down Siletina, which lacked soldiers and generals, and directly attack the defenseless Crotone. Therefore, they could not relax their vigilance and defense against Rokeri.
At the same time, the battle with Diónia had to start as soon as possible. They could not wait for the Diónia army to arrive before attacking. Therefore, contrary to the usual procrastination of the Greek city-states, Crotone was particularly efficient this time. Not only did they complete the assembly within a day, but the reinforcements of their allies also sped up under his urging.
In fact, when Rokeri learned that a war had broken out between Crotone and Diónia, it was extremely happy. After a discussion, its council sent messengers to Diónia. However, not only did Crotone block the road to the north, but Crotone's warships were always cruising along the east coast of Greece from Cape Aliche to the north. This forced Rokeri's messengers to change their course. They planned to let the passenger ships turn to Sicily in the southwest, then turn to Tarantum in the northeast to disembark, and take a big detour by land.
… …
Devers was analyzing the military intelligence of Crotone with the generals of the legion and discussing countermeasures to deal with the enemy. Aristokrati came in and whispered a few words in his ear. Devers nodded and said, "Let them in."
He turned to the generals and said, "Brothers, Zantiparis and Tormid are here."
The hall that was still in a heated discussion suddenly fell silent.
Zantiparis and Tormid hurried in with worried expressions. They did not expect to see so many people in the hall and were stunned.
At this time, Devers said with a smile, "I was about to call you two, but I didn't expect you two to come first. We are about to start discussing how to deal with the Crotone. Come in quickly and tell us your opinions. "
Zantiparis and Tormid looked at each other, then knelt on one knee and said apologetically, "Lord Devers … and … comrades, we are really … sorry! We brought war to Diónia and trouble to you all! Timason and Criano have been in frequent contact with the mercenaries and have repeatedly asked for our opinions. We always thought that they only wanted to leave this place, but we … "
"Timason and the others have nothing to do with you!" Devers interrupted them and said with a serious expression, "Everyone has their own ideas and the life they like to live. You and the other mercenaries chose to stay instead of leaving, which means that you agree with the system of Diónia and like to live here. You are willing to become citizens of Diónia. Then come, fight with us! Before the army of Crotone, it is time to test you! Use your heroic performance to fight back against the doubts of others and prove to the people of Diónia that we did not misjudge you. At the same time, prove your determination to defend Diónia to the death. Let the people of Diónia welcome you with open arms! "
"Devers is right! Zantiparis, Tormid, let us fight together and defeat the Crotone! Avenge Timason and the others! "
"That's great! We can finally fight together again!"
… …
Amyntas, Antonios, and the others warmly welcomed Zantiparis and Tormid, making them feel relieved.
Note: When the Crotone gathered their army to attack the Alliance of Diónia, the fourth volume of this book was coming to an end. He wanted to know if Dionia could survive the fierce attack of the Crotone Army. Could they turn the tables and win? Please read the next volume: Southern Hegemon
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