Chapter 219
"Sir Commander, don't worry and leave the rest of the battle to us! Our brothers of Legio III have long been eager to participate in the battle and make contributions! "Bagoule patted his chest and said loudly.
"Don't worry, don't worry, there are plenty of battles for you to participate in!" The Devers said jokingly, "You should report to your Legion Commander first. He, the Legion Commander who is short of soldiers, misses you so much that he's calling your names in his dreams! "
Everyone laughed, even the usually expressionless Hieronymus grinned at this time.
"Sir Avinogis, thank you for your full support for Diónia! You personally led the army to participate in the battle! "The Devers stepped forward and saluted Avinogis to express their sincere gratitude.
"It's my, Laos', responsibility as a member of the Diónia Alliance to send troops to participate in the battle!" Avinogis hurriedly returned the salute and said, "In Turín, I heard that Sir Devers once again defeated the Crotone Army's brilliant record. This is another miracle of winning with fewer troops! Sir Devers's military talent amazes me. I believe that the warriors of Laos will follow Diónia to obtain more victories! "
"As long as we, the Diónia Alliance, are united as one, there will be no lack of victories!" The Devers replied passionately.
"You're right, Sir Devers!" Avinogis immediately nodded in agreement.
At this time, Asistes interrupted, "Sir Commander, I almost forgot one thing. When we led the army through the swamp area, the engineering battalion was almost done repairing the road through the swamp area. They will be able to transport the supplies here tomorrow."
"That's great!" The Devers said happily.
… …
Following the Devers into the big tent were: First Legion Commander Capus, Second Legion Commander Drax, Legio III Commander Hieronymus, Legio III First Battalion Commander Bagoule, Third Legion Commander Adjutant Asistes, and Lars Consul Avinogis.
In the middle of the big tent was an unusually smooth wooden table with a large map of southern Greece drawn on it.
"Capus, please introduce the latest battle situation to the newly arrived comrades," said the Devers.
"Yes, Sir." Capus came to the wooden table and found the Crimissa mark on the map. He pointed at it and said, "After the Crotone Army was defeated in the battle, according to the information obtained from the interrogation of the captured soldiers, it is estimated that about 7,000 people escaped from the battlefield. They probably escaped back here —" Capus glanced at the people who were listening to him carefully and continued, "After that, our First and Second Legions, a total of 14000 people, rushed outside the city of Crimissa, built camps, and surrounded Crimissa from the east, west, and north. Today, when we were building a bridge over the Umbria River, the troops on the south bank were attacked by nearly 7,000 light infantry, which means that Crimissa received reinforcements from Crotone within a day. The number of troops in the city may have reached 14000. And your arrival has brought the total number of our soldiers to 22000. "
Avinogis and the rest gathered around the wooden table, listening to Capus while staring at the map.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult for 22000 people to take down a city defended by 14000 soldiers!" Avinogis said based on his past experience.
"We don't have to take down Crimissa." Capus's words stunned the newcomers.
"If we don't take down Crimissa, how are we going to attack Crotone?" Bagoule asked in surprise.
"Surround it." Capus pressed his right hand on Crimissa on the map and drew a circle. "If we attack Crimissa, with Crotone's 14000 soldiers defending it, not only will we suffer heavy casualties, but if we can't defend Crimissa, Crotone might escape back to Ciudad Crotone by boat and hide in the city, which will make it more difficult for us to attack next. Let them stay and let Crimissa scatter Crotone's troops, and we can split our forces — "Capus's finger slid to the south of Crimissa, which was the northern plains of Crotone.
Avinogis, Bagoule, Asistes, and Lizaru stared at the map with their eyes wide open, deep in thought.
"What if Crotone finds out that we have fewer people and attacks the camp?" Avinogis asked worriedly.
The others laughed at the same time.
"We welcome them to come out and have a taste of our Diónia's defenses!" Drax said confidently.
"If we don't attack Crimissa, Crotone might notice our intentions. What if they retreat to Crotone to defend?" Asistes raised his own question.
"Who says we won't attack? We will put pressure on Crimissa with appropriate attacks. By the time they realize something is wrong, the troops we sent out will have already messed up Crotone's territory. When they retreat to Crotone, we can easily take down Crimissa! In short, according to the commander … we have to actively mobilize Crotone's troops to run back and forth, so they can't concentrate their forces to fight us … "Capus explained.
"That's great! I think this must be the plan that Master Devers came up with. This is the first time I've seen such an ingenious military plan! We don't have to fight to the death, and we can easily achieve our goal! "Avinogis praised half-sincerely.
His words were unanimously agreed upon by everyone.
The Devers smiled and said in a serious tone, "Now I'm most worried about one thing …"
"Our food supply?!" The taciturn Hieronymus interjected. For the past two days, he had been staying with the army's supply camp alone, so he had some understanding of the situation.
"That's right." The Devers looked at him with admiration and said with a serious expression, "The rations the soldiers brought are almost finished. Next, we have to rely on the food from the rear. To meet the needs of 22000 people, we will need a huge amount of food! The distance between Turií and Crimissa is nearly a hundred miles. We can't protect such a long transportation line! If Crotone realizes this, their warships will be able to land on any coast and attack our supply convoys. They might even destroy our villages and slaughter our citizens. It will be a huge problem for us! So we have to complete our plan as soon as possible so that Crotone can't cope. "
"Hieronymus!"
"Yes!"
"Immediately lead Legio III to build a camp on the south bank and besiege Crimissa!"
"Yes!"
"Drax!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Take out three brigades from the Second Legion and assist Master Avinogis' troops to build a camp on the south bank. I want you to build a preliminary camp by tonight and completely besiege Crimissa! "
"Yes, sir!"
… …
That afternoon, more than 10,000 Diónia soldiers crossed the wooden bridge and began to take turns to build a camp on the south bank of the Umbria River.
Myron did not rashly send out troops to attack.
In the evening, the camp on the south bank was initially built. At this point, the Diónia camp was in a huge semicircle, surrounding the city of Crimissa. Except for the port, which faced the sea and could not be surrounded, the rest was surrounded by the Diónia camp.
By the next morning, the Diónia soldiers continued to improve their camp facilities, while the Crotone envoy, Lucias, arrived at the north camp of Diónia. He was masked and brought into the tent of the Devers.
"Master Lucias, I'm very sorry! You and I are at war, so we have to use this method. " The Devers apologized, but there was no trace of apology on his face. Instead, like a hound that saw fresh meat, he showed an excited look, "I remember we just met four days ago. I didn't expect to meet again so soon. Don't tell me you've brought some harsh conditions to threaten Diónia again?"
Of course, Lucias heard the strong sarcasm in the Devers' words, but he pretended not to hear it and said directly, "Master Devers, I'm here to negotiate peace. Crotone is willing to sign a truce agreement with Diónia and compensate Diónia for their losses in the war. I only hope that the war between Crotone and Diónia can be quelled so that peace and tranquility can be restored to Greece!"
The Devers laughed, "You Crotone people can start a war whenever you want and stop a war whenever you want. Do you think this is a war game for children?"
Lucias asked calmly, "So what conditions are there for Diónia to accept a truce?"
"Conditions?" The Devers snorted coldly, dispelling the impulsiveness on his face. He paced back and forth a few steps, and when he looked at Lucias again, his bright eyes had regained their usual shrewdness, "Do you remember what I said when you left last time? My conditions are the same as the conditions you mentioned in the Great Hall of the Senate of Turií. It's very simple! "
Hearing this, Lucias' heart skipped a beat.
"First, Crotone must compensate Diónia 5,000 Talent Silver in a lump sum. Second, the Crotone Alliance must be dissolved, and Crotone must not ally with any other city-states in the future. Third, Crimissa must be incorporated into the Diónia Alliance! … "
After listening to each condition, Lucias' face turned uglier. In the end, he shook his head decisively, "Your conditions are too harsh. The Crotone Alliance will not accept them!"
"It's better if they don't accept them! The soldiers of Diónia still want to win more victories to get more rewards from the Alliance! "The Devers looked indifferent, but his words contained more threats.
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