Chapter 474
"Who said I don't want to send troops?!" Triphias quickly changed his words and stood up to pull him back. "Didn't the messenger say that we have to wait for news of the naval victory? Look … "
Triphias patiently analyzed the situation for Matonis. "Once the naval battle is won, it would be impossible to send a letter by land. During the day, the Tarantum cavalry would be cruising in the south, and your messengers would not be able to come over … In other words, we can only send our troops when we see the Dionysian fleet rushing over from the sea." By then, the outcome would be set, and Triphias would be happy to do so.
Unexpectedly, Matonis shook his head and said, "Your suggestion is not good, it's too slow! The Tarantum fleet has sealed off the port of Heraclea, they will definitely be the first to receive the news. By the time our fleet arrives, the Tarantum outside the city will have long escaped! So … "
Matonis stared at Triphias and said in a low voice, "We have to closely monitor the enemy camp outside the city. Once the Tarantum people try to retreat, we will attack immediately!"
"Ah?!"
… …
After convincing Triphias, Matonis, who returned to the square, immediately ordered his adjutant to summon the captains of the Seventh Legion to the main tent (the Seventh Legion's camp was built in the square of Heraclea).
After a while, all seven captains arrived.
Matonis did not wait for them to sit down and said, "Time is tight, so I'll make it short. His Majesty the Devers has led the First and Second Legions back to Turií —"
"Ah, His Majesty the Devers is back!"
"That's great, Amendolar is saved!"
"Not only is Amendolar saved, but the Tarantum people are also doomed! His Majesty the Devers will lead us to defeat them! "
…
The captains shouted and danced in excitement.
"All of you, shut up!" Matonis roared, causing them to tremble. "You are all veterans, you should know the rules of the 'Diónia Military Law'. When a superior is lecturing a subordinate, he will be punished!"
Matonis glared at them viciously, and the captains subconsciously rubbed their buttocks. "I'll note down the punishment for now. We'll see how you perform next. His Majesty the Devers sent an order. Today, he will lead the army by sea and land on the coast between Heraclea and Metapontum. He asked us to do our best to delay the enemy outside the city so that the main force can arrive in time and join forces to annihilate the Tarantum people! Do you understand? "
"Understood!" The captains no longer dared to make a ruckus, but their excitement was evident on their faces.
Martonis paced back and forth in front of them before stomping his foot. "I know that many of the soldiers in the legion have been scolding me for the past two days because I strictly ordered the soldiers not to leave the city to chase away the enemies in Amendolar. They said that I'm a cowardly rabbit, a cowardly lamb, and I don't deserve to be the legion commander! Some people even scolded my parents! … "
Martonis's roar silenced the captains. "I know that some of the soldiers in the legion are from Amendolar, but that shouldn't be a reason for them to scold their superior. 'It's a soldier's duty to obey orders.' This is the basic rule of military law. I've noted down all the soldiers who scolded me in private. Go back and tell them that in this attack, if they didn't perform as valiantly as I did and didn't attack as fast as I did, then what right do they have to scold me! "
Matonis widened his eyes and breathed heavily like an enraged bull. "Then, after the war is over, I'll make them stand in the square as punishment, and I'll have the entire army go up and curse their families one by one! Do you understand?! "
"Un … understood."
"Go back and prepare!"
"Yes, sir!"
After the captains left, the adjutant said carefully, "Commander, if you do this, won't —"
"Won't what?!" Martonis glared and snorted. "A new legion that doesn't have good equipment and strict discipline. If we don't provoke them like this, how will they perform well?!"
… …
In the afternoon, a speedboat approached the Agri River at high speed.
"What did you say?! The Syracuse Navy was defeated? How is that possible?! "The two Tarantum Archons exclaimed in disbelief.
"Did the fleets of other cities join the battle and help the Diónia?!" Umarcas asked hurriedly.
"No, it was the Dionysian fleet that fought alone from the beginning to the end. They installed a wooden bridge on their warships that could hook the warships of Syracuse. Then, they sent a large number of soldiers to rush onto the deck …" The captain of the speedboat recalled the scene he had seen. It was like a dream. The combat style of the Dionysian fleet had completely subverted the traditional naval warfare that he had been exposed to since he was young.
Diomiras was in a daze for a long time before he thought of a key question. "Did the Dionysian fleet suffer heavy losses?"
The captain shook his head and said, "It seems like their fleet didn't suffer heavy losses."
"Could it be that Hades is really protecting these barbaric and crude Diónia people?!" Diomiras was surprised but also depressed. He looked at Umarcas in a trance.
Umarcas was also looking at him.
Both of their eyes were filled with fear because they both knew that once Syracuse's naval superiority was broken and the Diónia fleet controlled the Taranto Bay, the Tarantum Fleet would not be able to fight them alone. The coastline of Tarantum would be threatened by the Dionysian fleet. Then, the army that was far away from Tarantum would be in danger.
The two of them shouted almost in unison, "We must retreat immediately!"
In order not to attract the attention of the Heraclea people, they quietly summoned their team officers and gave them the order to retreat.
The Tarantum soldiers began to pack up their belongings and luggage.
The most troublesome thing for the two consuls was the mountains of grain in the camp. In order to ensure the convenience of the grain supply, the Tarantum people used cargo ships to transport the food and piled it in the camp to supply the huge army of 20,000 people for more than ten days. Now that they suddenly had to retreat, it became a problem.
Tarantum did not have a department specifically responsible for logistics and transportation. Considering that this was a coastal battle, Tarantum did not consider hiring labor to transport the goods by land. The goods were transported by sea. At this moment, it would take too much time to send a fast ship back to inform the Tarantum port and summon the cargo ships to transport the goods. However, they did not dare to easily burn or throw away so much food and goods. This was because the act of wasting the city's goods would inevitably be impeached by the Senate.
Therefore, Diomiras came up with an idea: let some of the soldiers carry the goods by land to Metapontum. At the same time, call back the Tarantum fleet that was still cruising the sea near Heraclea. They would load the food in the ship's cabin and transport it back to Tarantum.
"What if the enemy in the city comes out to attack us?" Umarcas was a little worried.
"These timid Heraclea and Diónia soldiers have been holed up in the city these days. I don't think they suddenly have the courage to take the initiative to attack the city. By the time they know the news of the Dionysian fleet's victory, we will have already returned to Metapontum." In fact, based on the traditional Greek combat experience, Diomiras did not even think that the Dionysian Army could immediately launch a rescue to Heraclea after a fierce naval battle.
However, the performance of the Legion of Dionysia in the battle against the Map Alliance had left a deep impression on Diomiras. He had to be careful. After all, this Tarantum army had gathered almost all the young and strong citizens of Tarantum. There was no room for any mistakes. Therefore, even though Diomiras did not think that the retreat of the Tarantum army was dangerous, he still arranged for 4,000 soldiers to serve as the rearguard.
In order to not attract attention, the Tarantum army did not even dismantle the tents.
Even so, the retreat of the Tarantum army was still dragging and slow. The people of Tarantum, who had little training, could not be like Diónia, who had a specialized training program for the "retreat of the army". They would train once every seven to eight days. Therefore, they were able to do it quickly, quickly, with clear division of labor, and orderly.
The people of Tarantum thought that they could hide it from Heraclea. However, they did not expect that the Seventh Legion of Diónia had already predicted that they would retreat. They had been closely monitoring the city, and some signs were quickly discovered by them. For example, the patrolling cavalry in front of the camp no longer appeared, loud noises came from the camp, warships frequently entered the Agri River … and so on.
"Legion Commander Matonis!" Triphias asked excitedly, "It seems that the enemy is really retreating. Could it be … Could it be that your fleet has really defeated the people of Syracuse?!"
Matonis looked at him and replied coldly, "I've already said that His Majesty the Devers always does what he says!"
"You're right!" Triphias did not care about Matonis' attitude and continued to ask excitedly, "Should we attack now?!"
Matonis held the battlements with both hands and said calmly, "Don't rush, let's wait a little longer."
"We still have to wait?"
"Yes, wait until all the soldiers of Tarantum are ready to leave. When they have already started to cross the river …" Matonis' eyes flashed coldly, like a wolf ready to pounce on its prey.
… …
Diomiras watched the soldiers crossing the pontoon bridges. A voice in his heart kept urging him. Faster! Hurry up! …
Seeing groups of soldiers crossing the pontoon bridges to the other side, and the other soldiers quickly following behind, Diomiras relaxed a little.
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