Chapter 283
Diomiras felt a little uneasy.
"I … I abstain …" Tudepres said reluctantly.
"What did you say?!" Diomiras lost his composure and knocked the chair over.
"I abstain!" Tudepres' affirmation was like a bolt from the blue that fell on Umacas' head. He could only feel his vision turning black.
… …
In the end, Devers became the commander-in-chief of the allied forces. He also invited Umacas to be his adjutant, which made it easier for him to coordinate and command, and also gave the people of Tarantum a way out.
As soon as the meeting ended, Trifias followed Devers closely. The two of them chatted and laughed as they left the room.
Tudepres walked behind hesitantly. Diomiras caught up to him and questioned, "Tudepres, what do you mean?! Are you going to betray our alliance too?! "
Looking at Diomiras' flushed face, the Archon of Metapontum sighed and said guiltily, "To the north of Metapontum, upstream of the Bradano River, there's a city called Galaguso where the Lucaria tribe gathers. You know, we used to have conflicts with these Lucaria people, but they were all small problems. However, in the past two years, the conflicts have intensified. According to the information we received, the main reason is because the Lucaria people in Galaguso are increasing. The barren mountains there can't support more people. It's said that some tribes are arguing and moving south to get more land. If they really move south, it will be a big problem for us, Metapontum! "
"If the Lucaria people dare to invade Metapontum's land, Tarantum will definitely help you defeat these natives!" Diomiras blurted out.
"With Tarantum's current situation, are you prepared for a long war with the Lucaria people?" Tudepres asked.
Diomiras was speechless. Now, Tarantum had two major enemies, Mesapi and Pucchetti. They were already at their limit. If they were to provoke the Lucaria people, not to mention the Senate, any citizen of Tarantum would think twice.
"I heard that when Diónia celebrated the completion of the Temple of Pluto Hades, the Lucarians of Galagusso went to Turií to express their wish for peace to Diónia. Therefore, Diónia occupied more than half of the Lucanian lands and had become the most important power there. No Lucanian tribe dared to ignore it. I think that if Diónia protests to Galaguso, the Lucanians of Galaguso will think twice … The people of Metapontum hope to avoid war. Metalapontum can't help you defend against the Mesapi while facing the Lucanians at the same time, "Tudeppres tactfully expressed Metalapontum's sacrifice for Tarantum. He then said to Diomiras apologetically, "I'm just a commander-in-chief. Lord Devers is good at fighting, and Tarantum is in desperate need of a victory. Isn't this just right? Metalapontum will always be Tarantum's best ally! "
Tudeppres knew that he couldn't be as reckless as Trifias. After all, Heraclea was only established more than 30 years ago. Its relationship with Tarantum wasn't that strong and complicated. Moreover, it was so close to Diónia's territory. Metalapontum was different. It had more than 200 years of friendship with Tarantum. Most of the citizens of the two countries were close or distant relatives. It wasn't something that could be broken just like that.
Seeing Tudeppres leave, the anger in Diomiras' heart still couldn't dissipate.
Umarcas came up and comforted him, "Since Devers has become the supreme commander of the allied forces, he has no choice but to let his army go all out when fighting the Mesapi. Otherwise, it will damage his reputation. It seems like it's a good thing."
Diomiras snorted, but he didn't lose his temper again. He was a little at a loss. The reason why he could become a consul was because of the rapid rise of Diónia, which stimulated the people of Tarantum. His radical ideas were recognized by the people and passed at the citizens' assembly. It was the first large-scale attack on the Mesapi in Tarantum's history that disregarded the lives of its citizens. However, he didn't expect that Tarantum's strength might have frightened its neighbors. It actually caused the two races that had always been in conflict and never united to unite, causing Tarantum to fall into its current predicament.
"The most important issue now is that we must convene a Senate meeting immediately! Tell the senators that Heraclea and Metalapontum's attitude towards Tarantum has changed! "Umarcas looked serious.
Diomiras' heart shook, and then he became gloomy. In just a few months, Tarantum's status as a powerful state is facing a huge threat! How did it become like this? Is it really as that damn young man said, that war is related to the rise and fall of a city-state? But why did Diónia, which was established less than two years ago, never stop fighting, but become stronger and stronger?
… …
At the same time, in the big tent of the Mesapi coalition army camp outside the city of Manduria, the archons of the various Mesapi city-states and King Tremoni of Puchetti were discussing the newly received news.
"Are you sure that Tarantum has more than 10,000 foreign soldiers as reinforcements?" Tremoni asked with a solemn expression.
"This news was spread by our people who sneaked into the port of Tarantus. For this reason, Sir Timogorath specially sent cavalry to take the risk of exploring near the port of Tarantum. There is indeed a huge military camp built there. To be precise, it should be the reinforcements sent by Tarantum's ally, Diónia, "said Pasimerus, Consul of Udiae.
"Diónia, that's a city-state alliance that was established on the west side of Taranto Bay. I heard that their consul is a young man and has never lost a battle, "said Kalminus, the consul of Ujentum. Ujentum was directly south of Tarantum, on the east coast of Taranto Bay, so it knew more about Diónia on the west coast than other Mesapi city-states.
"Never lost a battle?! How many battles has this Diónia consul participated in?! The head of the military genius of Tarantum, Archita, who was previously praised by the Greeks, is still hanging on the gate of Brindisi! " Tremoni said disdainfully. He looked at Pasimerus, the leader of the Mesapi city-states, and said cautiously, "But that Diónia's more than 10,000 reinforcements are a big problem. We have attacked Manduria for two days without any progress, and we have lost a lot of warriors. This damned city! You built it too sturdy back then! Now that Tarantum has reinforcements, they will definitely reinforce Manduria. Their forces will not be less than ours, and we are tired from fighting for days. I suggest that we retreat for the time being. Those Greek foreigners can't stay in Tarantum for long anyway. After they leave, it won't be too late for us to take Manduria. "
"Your Majesty is right! Our warriors have been fighting continuously, and there are many casualties. Food is running out. Manduria is not something that can be taken in a day or two. The enemy's reinforcements are coming soon. If we fight the enemy head-on at this time, we will not have the advantage. Retreat is the best way. "The generals behind Tremoni expressed their support.
The Mesapi consul exchanged glances. Indeed, Manduria was not like Brindisi. It was originally established as a frontier base for the Mesapi to defend and attack Tarantum. So although the city was small, the walls were high and strong. However, the Mesapi consul believed that Puchetti did not want to fight again because they had already enjoyed the sweetness of the covenant. After recapturing Brindisi, Mesapi and Puchetti would jointly manage one of the most important port cities at the toe of the Apennine Peninsula. From then on, the Puchetti could also enjoy the benefits of sea trade. They did not want to pay anymore under the pretext of the difficulty of attacking the city. They wanted to renege on their debt!
Pachimerus did not accuse Tremoni of wanting to break the covenant. Instead, he said calmly, "King of the Puchetti, with your shrewdness, you should be able to see that if we retreat at this time, then the victory we have achieved before will be lost again! The people of Tarantum will never stop attacking just because they have saved Manduria. Brindisi will be their next target. Can Brindisi's small garrison and broken walls resist the army of Tarantum? And once we retreat, it will be impossible to gather such a large coalition army in a short time! At that time, we can only watch our people in Brindisi being slaughtered by the Greeks, or become their slaves! "
Tremoni was stunned. Just now, he had the mentality of only taking advantage of the situation and not losing out. He did not consider this point. More than two thousand Puchetti had just moved to Brindisi!
Seeing that he did not speak, Pachimerus continued, "In addition, we have made such a great effort and sacrificed the lives of many warriors to make Tarantum suffer such heavy losses that it has never suffered before. According to the information we received, now the strong citizens of Tarantum are either dead or disabled. Most of the people who can fight are young and old citizens. If we can still inflict heavy losses on Tarantum in the next battle, Tarantum will not be able to resist our attack for a long time. Although it will be very difficult for us to capture Tarantum, the land outside the city, especially the land to the west, will belong to us, Mesapi and Puchetti! "
Tremoni was tempted. He rubbed his hands together and thought for a while before he slowly said, "If we really want to continue fighting, we can't have a head-on battle with the reinforcements of Tarantum. The Greek heavy infantry in formation is like a rock. It's too hard to bite!"
"You are a commander who has been on the battlefield for a long time. We will listen to your advice on how to fight next." Pachimerus lowered his posture and said humbly. This made Tremoni very satisfied.
Comments