Chapter 335
"You mean there might be another riot in Cosenza?" The Devers immediately asked.
"That … is hard to say." After thinking for a while, Hepcitus said cautiously, "I heard that in order to prevent these tribal leaders from staying in the city and causing harm to the Alliance, Pallen specially let them lead their former tribesmen into battle. When I brought the rebellious tribes here today, I didn't hear anything unusual in Cosenza. "
The Devers pondered for a moment, then said, "Hepcitus, thank you very much for everything you've done for Diónia! Next time, I'll ask you about the situation in the Bruti region. Don't let these tribal leaders wait outside the camp for too long. Bring them in. "
Hepcitus said emotionally, "Sir Consul, without the protection of you and Diónia, not only would my tribesmen and I not be able to take revenge, we would have starved to death in the mountains. We are willing to do anything for Diónia!"
The Devers nodded emotionally, then turned around and said, "Martius, follow him to bring the tribal leaders in. Also — "The Devers whispered to him," Make sure to bring these people to a place where the great leader in Vigo City can see them. "
… …
Sedorum was surprised to see the tribal leaders who were supposed to be in Cosenza City in the Diónia military camp. One could imagine how shocked he was.
The Devers warmly received the anxious Bruti tribal leaders and solemnly promised them that as long as they joined Diónia, not only would Diónia not interfere with their management of their tribes, but they would also have priority in choosing good settlements and pastures.
The Devers even opened the map of Diónia and told them that not only could they choose the Bruti region, but they could also choose the other empty lands of the Diónia Alliance.
The tribal leaders were reassured and happily set up tents next to the Diónia military camp, ready to help Diónia overthrow the Bruti tribal alliance that oppressed them. Only then could they get the land promised by Diónia as soon as possible.
After sending them off, Dyvers came up with a new idea. He called Capus over and asked him to divide the 5,000 captives into 200 companies according to their tribes. The captives would then elect their own company captains, adjutants, and so on. He also asked Capus to give the newly elected company captains some prestige among the captives under their jurisdiction, as long as the captives did not run away or resist. For example, they would be given the right to distribute food, the right to distribute labor, and the right to punish their subordinates …
In the Devers' plan, Turií would be the center of the city-state alliance of Diónia in the future. The Bruti region, which was very close to Turií, should become a core area of Diónia. However, the Devers were very clear that the biggest difference between the Bruti and the Lucanians was that there were no large tribes in Lucania Municipality within the territory of Diónia. According to the current development of the situation, there were likely to be several large Bruti tribes when they conquered the Bruti region. They would be an unstable factor when Diónia ruled the Bruti region in the future, and it would also increase the difficulty of governance in the Bruti region.
The main strategy of the Devers was to dismember it and make it bigger and smaller. The method of these 5000 captives was to prepare in advance.
… …
Just as the Devers had begun to prepare for the conquest of the Bruti region, the city of Cosenza was not as normal as Hepcitus had said. Instead, it was full of treacherous changes.
Cadurk, the leader of Cosenza, originally had the same strength as Petaru's tribe. However, ever since Petaru became the son-in-law of Pienlen, the situation changed. In the process of incorporating and annexing small tribes, the Petaru tribe, which had the support of Pearun, gained many benefits. The tribe's strength expanded rapidly. Not only did it quickly become the second largest tribe in Cosenza and even the entire Bruti region, but under the guidance of Pienlen, Petaru also entered the highest authority of the newly established Bruti tribal alliance – the seven-member Elders Council.
In this regard, Cadurk was angry and dissatisfied with the unfairness of Petaru. However, the strength of Petaru and Petaru's tribe forced him to put on a smiling face and listen obediently. For example, this time, Pienlen led the largest army in the history of the Bruti to fight against the Diónia, but he was asked to stay behind to guard the city of Cosenza. He had no choice but to accept it.
Even if he became the temporary master of Cosenza, Cadurk did not have absolute power because he knew that the high priest Firotaru, whom he secretly mocked as "Pearun's dog," was watching him closely. If he made a move, Firotaru could make half of the 2000 warriors under his command disobey his command. Of course, the other half were his tribesmen.
With the army out, the city of Cosenza was mostly empty. Naturally, there was less work to be done. Cadurk was bored and stayed in the alliance meeting hall in the inner city for half a day until the guards came to report that the Bruti Alliance had been defeated and the defeated soldiers were gradually entering the city.
Although they had discussed the possibility of defeat before the battle, Cadurk was still shocked when he heard the news.
He quickly rushed to the east gate of the outer city. The scene in front of him was unbelievable. Outside the gate, there was a crowd of exhausted and disheveled defeated soldiers. They had lost their helmets, shields, and spears. Some of them were even naked and covered in mud. They were scrambling to enter the city. At the slightest movement, they panicked and pushed each other crazily. Some of them were even pushed down the moat, screaming in pain. Once they entered the city, they immediately lay down on the ground and soon fell asleep …
Cadurk had been on the battlefield for a long time and had suffered some defeats, but he had never seen such a scene. He could not help but be shocked. He immediately mobilized his troops to maintain order at the gate and rescue the wounded soldiers …
Not long after, he saw Pienlen. The great leader of Cosenza was no longer in high spirits. His eyes were lifeless, and his expression was dull. He hugged the neck of the horse tightly. The War Horse was obviously exhausted. It moved forward little by little, and every step was difficult. Suddenly, it knelt on all fours, and Pienlen, who was caught off guard, fell to the ground …
The accompanying guards quickly went up to help him up. Pienlen, who had been on the back of the horse for more than an hour, was also physically and mentally exhausted. He could barely stand with the help of the guards. When he saw Cadurk, he said weakly, "Be careful … be careful of the enemy … the enemy's ambush …" Then, he was carried into the city by the guards.
Seeing Pienlen in such a sorry state, Cadurk's anxious heart was inexplicably filled with a sense of schadenfreude. This feeling reached its peak when he saw Petaru.
Petaru, who was 20 years younger than Pienlen, was much stronger than his father-in-law in terms of physical strength. However, in terms of mental strength, he was obviously frightened by the ferocious pursuit of the Diónia cavalry. When he entered the city, he lost his mind and shouted uncontrollably in front of the defeated soldiers, "The enemy will come after us! The enemy will come after us! Quickly close the gate! Quickly close the gate! " It almost caused a huge mess.
Cadurk spent a lot of effort to restore order. While he was cursing Petaru for being an idiot, he was also afraid of the Diónia that he had yet to meet.
That night, Cadurk maintained a high level of vigilance.
The defeated soldiers escaped back to the city one after another. The people of Cosenza who heard the bad news cried throughout the night. The entire city of Cosenza was not peaceful the whole night …
Early the next morning, there were still many defeated soldiers who escaped back to the city.
In the inner city's meeting hall, Pienlen, who had recovered his energy and temporarily walked out of the shadow of yesterday's defeat, had a grave expression on his face.
Up until now, the warriors belonging to him and the Petaru tribe that escaped back were only about 2,000. There were 700 warriors from Anbalia, about 1,000 warriors from Vigo, and the majority of warriors from other small tribes that returned were more than 4,000 people. What did this mean? It meant that the first and second largest tribes of the Bruti tribe, about 8,000 people were either killed or captured by Diónia! Such a huge number not only made him and Petaru feel extremely pained, but at the same time, it also gave the people under their command a reason to attack them, threatening their rule in the tribe.
More importantly, the alliance of the Bruti tribes was likely to disintegrate because Pienlen, who had lost his power, also lost his influence and rallying power in the alliance. Just now, the great chief of Anbalia, Burgam, rejected Pienlen's repeated requests to stay and led the rest of his people away from Cosenza.
Although what Pienlen said was reasonable, "The city of Anbalia is simple and can't defend against the attack of Diónia, it's better to temporarily move the Anbalia people to Cosenza and fight side by side …"
But, Burgam replied solemnly, "The Anbalia people have lived in Anbalia for generations. They will not abandon their land. Even if they die, they will spill their blood there!"
The departure of the Anbalia people affected the Vigo warriors who had lost their great chief. They clamored to go home. It was not easy for Pienlen to convince them to stay, and he promised to do his best to save Cydorum.
The problem with the Vigo warriors was only a small problem. The biggest problem was that after Pienlen returned to Cosenza last night, he quickly fell asleep due to the double blow of his mental and physical strength. He actually forgot to make special deployment and arrangements for the other tribal leaders who had gone out to battle.
As a result, after these tribal leaders fled back to Cosenza, they did not return to their residences in the inner city, but hid in the original settlement of the tribe in the outer city.
After one night, Pienlen realized that he had made a big mistake. He hurriedly sent a team of warriors to urge them to return.
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