Chapter 294
Finally, the four of them looked at the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Devers, who had the final say.
At this moment, Devers was in a dilemma. After experiencing Diomiras' unauthorized action, the easy collapse of the Allied Forces in Metapontum and Heraclea, he was discouraged by such a joint operation and worried that he would be dragged down by a poor ally again. Trifias just wanted to bring the army back to the city, while he wanted to lead the army back to Turií immediately. But doing so would undoubtedly destroy the alliance with Tarantum, and it might also affect the image of "keeping promises" that Diónia had worked hard to build …
While he was hesitating, the guard came in and reported that the Messapians had sent an envoy.
Everyone was surprised.
Devers's heart skipped a beat. He asked to let the Messapian envoy in and listen to what he had to say.
… …
Originally, after the Messapian Allied Forces gathered the defeated soldiers and reorganized the army, the Messapian Archons led by Pasimerus believed that although the final result of this battle was not very good, the Allied Forces chose to retreat, and the cavalry suffered heavy losses, the Tarantum Army should have suffered more losses. Compared with the Tarantum Army, the strength of their own army was more advantageous than before the war. In the next battle, they should take the initiative and continue to attack Tarantum.
Previously, several Messapian Archons had openly and secretly complained that their failure to stop the reinforcements had caused the good situation to go down the drain. King Tremoni of the Pucchetti expressed strong opposition. He emphasized that the main force of the Greek Allied Forces, the Dionysian Army, had a unique formation, well-trained, and amazing combat power. They could even repel the Pucchetti who had the geographical advantage in the mountain battle. In that case, if they fought on the plains, the Messapian Allied Forces would not be a match for the Greek Allied Forces with the Dionysian Army as the main force.
The Messapian Archons were more or less aware of the combat power of the Pucchetti, and they found it hard to believe that Tremoni, who had always been rebellious, actually said such a thing.
At this time, Timothy Grass stood up and endorsed Tremoni. He once again emphasized the terrifying strength of the Dionysian Army. Even though the Igratya Heavy Infantry had a thicker formation than the Diónia Heavy Infantry, the Igratya Heavy Infantry was still beaten back by the enemy, and finally, they were defeated!
At the same time, he also reminded everyone that the Diónia heavy infantry could throw javelins, which were very lethal to infantry at close range.
The faces of the Archons finally turned solemn.
Ujentum's Consul, Kalminus, said worriedly, "I heard that Dionia is a large city-state alliance on the other side of the bay. It has jurisdiction over five or six city-states and many other alliances. It is stronger than Tarantum, and it can easily send tens of thousands of people to reinforce Tarantum. Even if we defeat it in the end, I think it can still send another ten thousand people. Can we afford such losses?"
After a short period of silence, Pacimarus said slowly and helplessly, "Perhaps we should negotiate with Diónia …"
Peace talks?! Everyone was astonished.
Only Tremoni looked calm. Pacimarus saw this and sighed in his heart. It seems that the Pucchetti do not have much fighting spirit. If they continue to fight, I am afraid they will not do their best.
The hope for peace talks in Pachimerus' heart grew stronger. He pulled himself together and said seriously, "The Dionians have never had any conflict with us, and they are also quite far away from us. The reason why they are at war with us is because they are allies of Tarantum, and they have come here to fulfill the covenant. Defeating us will not do Diónia any good. Instead, it will cause casualties to their soldiers because of the battle. If we propose peace talks, do you think Diónia will accept it?! As long as this powerful outsider leaves, there will only be Tarantum left, and in the future … "
… …
Timogeras, the Igratya Consul, volunteered to go to the Greek camp. After the guards confirmed that he was not carrying any weapons, they allowed him to enter the tent.
In the tent, in addition to the guards, there were five Greek generals. Timogeras' eyes fell on the youngest general: he should be the Consul Devers of Diónia, the culprit who forced the Maypu Alliance to send an envoy to the Greek camp!
Out of caution, he nodded to the young general and then asked in Greek, "Consul Devers of Diónia?"
"That's me." The Devers nodded.
"It's my honor to meet you!" Timogorath respectfully saluted Messappi, then said, "I am Timogorath, Magistrate of Igratia, and I represent the Maypu Alliance. As an emissary, I have come to discuss with you how to end this meaningless war."
Sure enough, they want peace talks! Although the Devers was happy, he said calmly, "I think you have found the wrong person to negotiate with. You should talk to the Consul of Tarantum, Marcus and Sir Diomiras." He turned his body slightly and pointed his left hand at the two people behind him.
"You have just been defeated by us, and you want peace talks?!" Diomiras hated the Mesapi people, and because Timogeras ignored Tarantum as soon as he came in, he became even angrier. "Go back and tell your companions in animal skins that Tarantum does not accept peace talks! We will continue to attack and take back Brindisi! If you have the guts, you can come and stop us! "
"Defeated by you?" Timogeras sneered sarcastically. "You and I both know who lost more in the previous battle. If this is considered a defeat for us, we don't mind doing it a few more times. Without the timely reinforcements from Diónia, I'm afraid you would have become a corpse. How dare you yell at me here! "
Faced with the roar of Diomiras, Timogeras continued to say loudly, "The warriors of Mesapi and Puchetti are ready. Even if they have to sacrifice their lives, they will kill the enemies who dare to invade our territory! I wonder if the people of Tarantum have the same courage? "
After he finished speaking, he did not wait for Diomiras to refute. He immediately turned his head to the Devers and said, "The bravery of the Diónia people has won the respect of the Mesapi people. King Tremoni of Puchetti admires you very much and specially asked me to send his regards to you! However, I would like to ask Sir Devers, the people of Diónia have crossed the bay and fought with us, who have never had any conflicts in the past. If we win, we won't get any benefits; if we lose, our bones will be buried in a foreign land. Is it worth it to do so? "
The Devers was well aware that the Mesapi consul had been using various ways to drive a wedge between Diónia and Tarantum the moment he came in. He emphasized, "Tarantum is a friendly ally of Diónia. It is the duty of Diónia to abide by the covenant and assist the ally in defending against foreign invasions! What's more, Diónia is obliged to maintain the peace of the neighboring Greek city-states, because only when there is no war between neighbors, the people of Diónia will have a peaceful life. "
The words of the Devers vaguely revealed his expectations and ambitions for Diónia.
Trifias and Tudepres' eyes lit up when they heard this.
Timogeras, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought.
Timogeras' expression changed slightly. He heard the warning given to him by the Devers, and he quickly responded, "Sir Devers, according to what you said, you are here to help Tarantum resist the invasion. But in fact, Tarantum is not being invaded by the Mesapi people, but is instead being seized from our Mesapi people! Manduria is a city-state of the Mesapi people! Brindisi is also a city-state of the Mesapi people! Since the beginning of this year, the people of Tarantum have been attacking our land on a large scale, taking away our Manduria and Brindisi, killing countless Mesapi warriors, and turning countless Mesapi people, including women and children, into slaves of Tarantum! We fought back because we wanted to take back our land and avenge our clansmen! Sir Devers, you said that Diónia is obliged to help its neighbors maintain peace and resist aggression. Does it also include helping its allies to invade the land of other countries and kill the people of other countries?! "
Timogeras' words were impassioned, and the expressions on the faces of Timogeras and Diomelas changed drastically. The Devers, on the other hand, secretly praised in his heart, "Smart, just to the point!"
He immediately put on an embarrassed look, "This … this …"
"Damn Mesapi people, don't pretend to be pitiful!" Diomelas retorted angrily, "Who has been invading whom all these years? Who is the real victim?! Every summer, who runs to the land of Tarantum to rob food and kill people?! This year, we launched an attack just to respond to the call of the Goddess of Vengeance, to avenge the blood debt you owe to Tarantum all these years! "
In the face of Diomelas' strong rebuttal, Timogeras said calmly, "Why do we invade Tarantum every year? The reason is very simple. The land of Tarantum originally belonged to us Mesapi people! Hundreds of years ago, your ancestors drove away the weak Mesapi people who lived here and occupied this land! "
"So what! Hundreds of years have passed, and this land now belongs to us, Tarantum! "
"Since you can take it away, of course, we want to take it back!"
"Unfortunately, you can't do it! On the contrary, in a few years, Manduria will also become a city-state of Tarantum! "
"Diomelas!" Humacas loudly interrupted the two of them. The two of them had already deviated from the main topic, and they looked at the three city-state archons, led by Devers, who were already impatient.
Humacas hurriedly said, "Mesapi people, you didn't come here just to argue, did you?"
Comments