Chapter 281
"What's wrong with war? Before every war, I, Timias, did not provide good service to the soldiers. Even you, Umacas, I have served you more than once, and I have never seen you say that it affects your rest! " After Timias finished speaking in a loud and righteous manner, a few women also threw flirtatious glances at Umakas and chimed in to support him.
"Okay, okay, if you want to stay here, then stay here! I still have urgent matters to attend to! " Umacas was anxious and angry, but it was not good to lose his temper in public. After he finished speaking angrily, he drove his horse forward and asked the guards to go in and report.
"Master Umacas, when you see the Consul of Diónia, can you help us and let us in …" Seeing that Umacas was about to enter the camp, Timias came up with a cheeky smile. Umacas ignored him and went straight in.
… …
When the Devers left the camp, Timias and the women still wanted to surround them, but they were driven aside by the guards led by Martius. He was so angry that he cursed.
Umacas pretended not to hear, but the Devers laughed. He pointed to a noisy area in front of the camp and said, "The minds of the people of Tarantum are flexible. We just built the camp yesterday, and today, a lively market has automatically formed here. To be honest, it has provided great convenience for our army to obtain the necessary materials, but prostitution is strictly prohibited in the army. According to the Military Law of Diónia, offenders will be deprived of their citizenship. Therefore, even if that person walks into the military camp, no one dares to violate the military law to contact him. "
Umacas blushed slightly, smiled, and sighed, "Your military law is strict. No wonder your military record is outstanding."
The location of the war conference was on the outskirts of Tarantum, in Umacas' manor.
In the conference room, the Devers not only met Diomiras, but also Trifias, one of the Consul of Heraclea, and Tudepres, one of the Consul of Metapontum.
Diomiras still had the same expression as yesterday. At least he didn't say anything. It was probably the bad news of the Marine's fiasco that destroyed his morale.
Tudhpres greeted the Devers very politely, behaving according to the rules. Trifias, on the other hand, was shaking hands and hugging Daves, talking and laughing. After all, Heraclea was right next to Amendola. When the Devers led the mercenary army to establish a foothold in Amendola, they had already established contact with Heraclea. In less than two years, they had established a close relationship.
After everyone sat down, Umarcas said solemnly, "Sirs, thank you for providing us with selfless help when Tarantum was in trouble! On behalf of the Senate of Tarantum and the people of Tarantum, Diomiras and I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to you! "With that, Umarcas saluted the three of them seriously.
Diomiras reluctantly followed suit and bowed. The three Devers also returned the gesture politely.
After this ceremony, they entered the main topic.
Diomiras stood up and said, "There are less than 4,000 soldiers stationed in Mandulia. It has been besieged by the Maypu Alliance for two days! According to reliable sources, the Maypu Alliance has 30,000 soldiers. If we don't take action immediately, Mandulia will suffer the same fate as Brindisi! The Senate of Tarantum has made a decision to send us to rescue Mandulia immediately and look for an opportunity to fight the Maypu Alliance. Is there anything that you disagree with? "
His gaze swept past Tudepres, Trifias, and finally fell on the Devers. As the subordinate city-states of Tarantum, Heraclea and Metapontum had always been obedient. Therefore, Diomiras' question was, of course, directed at Diónia.
The two Consuls gave an affirmative answer, but the Devers did not speak immediately. Instead, he stood up and walked to the side of Umarcas. There was a detailed map of Tarantum on the wooden table in front of him. It could clearly be seen that Mandulia was marked not far to the south of Tarantum. He gestured with his finger and asked, "How far is Mandulia from here?"
"Less than 50 miles," Umarcas replied.
50 miles. The Devers estimated that according to the normal marching speed of the Legion of Dionysia of 15 miles per hour, they could reach it in three hours. Mandulia was located on a "coastal corridor". On one side was the sea, and on the other side was a forest. However, Mandulia was not located on the coast, but in the forest. However, Tarantum was not far to the north. The Mesapi must have considered the naval strength of Tarantum when building this city, so they made full use of their strengths and avoided their weaknesses.
"How wide is this place?" The Devers stuck the "corridor" on the map with two fingers.
"The narrowest is six miles," Umarcas replied.
Six miles. The formation of 30,000 soldiers had long exceeded this length. The Devers thought for a moment and asked, "How many soldiers is Tarantum going to send?"
Umarcas was about to answer, but Diomiras could not hold back anymore and shouted, "Quickly decide whether you agree to send troops or not. Don't waste our time by asking this and that! — — "
"Diomiras!" Umarcas shouted hurriedly, afraid that his words would anger the Devers.
Diomiras had just seen that the Devers not only did not show any respect to him as a Consul, but also acted as if he was the host of this meeting as if there was no one else present. At this moment, he remembered the warnings of the Senate Elders and the dangerous situation of Tarantum. He snorted coldly and swallowed his anger.
The Devers looked calm. He looked at Diomiras and said slowly, "Starting a war is not only related to the life and death of a citizen soldier, but it is also related to the rise and fall of a city-state. As the decision-makers of the war, we must carefully consider it clearly. Does Tarantum have a chance to experience another failure?!"
The others were moved by the words of the Devers. Diomiras snorted again and muttered carefully, "This is just an excuse for your timidity."
The Devers chuckled and did not speak.
Timidity? The others present would not agree with Diomiras' words. After all, the battles commanded by the Devers in the past had always been won with fewer troops. This had already proven everything. On the other hand, when Tarantum attacked the Maypu Alliance Army previously, they eagerly urged the reinforcements of Diónia. Who was the timid one?
Umarcas saw Trifias winking at Tudepres with some sarcasm on his face. He could not keep his face anymore and quickly came out to smooth things over, "Sir Devers, please forgive Diomiras' rudeness. He is also anxious about the current … terrible situation of Tarantum, so he spoke impulsively without thinking!"
Umarcas apologized and winked at Diomiras.
Diomiras held his breath. He did not apologize, but he did not speak again.
"Tarantum will send ten thousand soldiers to battle." Umarcas immediately said, "With your reinforcements, the total strength of the army will reach 27000, which is not much different from the number of the Maypu Alliance Army. After the siege of Manduria is lifted, the number of soldiers in Tarantum will increase to 14000. The total army will have 31,000 people. This is a very large number. It will not be a problem to repel the Maypu Alliance Army. "
"It would be best if things develop as you said, but —" The Devers forcefully pointed at the icon of Manduria on the map, "What if the Maypu Alliance Army retreats instead of fighting with us? Have you considered it?"
"This is impossible! The Mesapi are easily angered and tyrannical. They love to fight and see retreat as cowardice. "Diomiras immediately retorted.
"The Mesapi can join forces with the Puchetti to ambush Archita. Obviously, they do not only know how to fight." When they arrived at Tarantum, the Devers also understood the truth of Archita's defeat. At this time, he patiently analyzed, "As far as I know, the Mesapi's infantry is not as good as our heavy infantry. I believe the Puchetti are even more so. Their cavalry is strong, but the territory of Manduria is narrow. If the two sides engage in a battle, it will not be beneficial for their cavalry to attack, but for our heavy infantry. Smart people will not not consider this … This may be their ideal battlefield. "The Devers pointed to the relatively large gap between Manduria and Brindisi. There was no sign of a forest there.
"However, once the enemy retreats, we will rendezvous with Manduria's garrison. Our strength will increase again. The Maypu Alliance Army will face a difficult choice. It is not impossible for them to choose to retreat directly." The Devers reminded again.
"That makes sense." Trifias nodded in agreement. Heraclea's strength was not very strong. They had already suffered a lot of losses when they followed Tarantum to conquer the Mesapi region. Of course, he hoped that they could force the Mesapi people to retreat without losing a single soldier. It was fine as long as they successfully fulfilled their obligations as allies.
Tudepres also had the same mentality.
Umarcas and Diomiras looked at each other with worry on their faces. They both knew in their hearts that if the Maypu Alliance Army really chose to retreat as Devers said, it would not be a good thing for Tarantum.
The Greek city-states often organized an army of tens of thousands of people to go out to fight. After all, after a long time, not only would they consume a lot of resources, but a large number of citizens would not be in the country for a long time. Most of the city-state's affairs would be abandoned. Before the war ended, the order in the city-state would be in chaos and the houses and fields would be empty. Therefore, so far, only Athens, Sparta and Syracuse had the ability to fight for a long time. They all had the support of a powerful city-state alliance.
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