Chapter 531
When Damocles heard this, his expression changed drastically. He protested loudly, "The war between Syracuse and Dionia is being carried out under the witness of Ares. Anything that happens during a war is normal. Sparta did not massacre the citizens of Athens after their victory because the navy of Athens ravaged the coast of their territory. We, Syracuse, did not annihilate all the people of Carthage in Sicily because of Carthage's repeated massacres of the cities of Sicily. Therefore, Diónia cannot make such harsh demands. This is not the Greek tradition of war! "
"Does the ancient tradition of Greece allow the people of Syracuse to hire foreigners to slaughter defenseless Greek women, the elderly, and children?!" Henepolis bared his teeth and roared at him, "Since you say that this is war, then we, Diónia, are willing to continue fighting until we conquer Syracuse. Then, we will chop off the heads of these foreigners whose hands are stained with the blood of the people of Diónia! Otherwise, once the peace treaty is signed, we can only watch as these murderers swagger away. His Majesty the Devers will not accept this! The brave soldiers of the legion will not accept this! All the people of Diónia will not accept this! "
"… Once the peace treaty is signed, we can only watch as they leave …" This sentence moved Damocles. He pretended to be helpless and said, "Your conditions are too high. Can you change it a little? For example, you only want the heads of some of them or the lives of the leaders?"
"No, this is the most basic condition!" Henepolis replied firmly.
Damocles had no choice but to say, "Alright, I can't make the decision on this matter. I have to go back and report to General Dionysius. He will make the decision."
After that, he exchanged glances with Phoebidas, who was beside him. Then, with Henepolis's permission, the guards put on a blindfold and sent him out of the camp.
Phoebidas did not leave. He requested to see the Devers as an envoy of Sparta.
This made it hard for Henepolis to refuse. He could only ask him to wait while he went to inform the King of Devers.
Phoebidas waited for a long time. It was not because the Devers were playing tricks on him, but because he was not near the main tent. He had gone to the engineering camp.
When the Dionysian Army occupied Syracuse Camp, they obtained a lot of resources, including some siege weapons.
There was no need to mention the ballista. Diónia originally copied it from Syracuse, but later made further improvements. Due to the application of the parabolic theory, Diónia's ballista was more refined and accurate.
The Abdominal Bow was another siege weapon of Syracuse. Its principle was similar to that of the ballista. The engineers could roughly replicate it by looking at its structure. After all, the most difficult part of the Abdominal Bow was the use of pulleys, which happened to be what Diónia's engineering camp was best at.
The other siege weapons, such as siege hammers, chariots, and ballistas, were easy to replicate, but the Devers looked at them carefully. He needed to understand the siege methods and thinking of the Syracuans through these various siege weapons. When Syracuse conquered the big city of Crotone, the Devers were shocked. Compared to Syracuse, who had countless siege weapons in Sicily, the Dionysian Army, who were good at field battles, had relatively little experience in siege battles, including the Devers themselves. Therefore, learning from the enemy was the best way to improve.
Of course, among these siege weapons, the most eye-catching and the most difficult to make was the siege tower. Diónia could also make siege towers, but they paled in comparison to the siege towers made by Syracuse. Even though the siege tower in front of him had only completed the base and the first floor, its scale was still quite astonishing. It was 20 meters long and six to seven meters wide. Rather than calling it a tower, it would be more accurate to call it a wall.
The Devers walked around it a few times, then turned back to ask Alops, one of the best engineers in the engineering camp, "Can it be replicated?"
The engineering camp of Diónia's army was a bit special. Its team officers did not need to understand construction. They only needed to know how to manage troops and have some battlefield experience. Their duty was to serve the engineers, ensure their safety, and provide them with all kinds of materials they needed. When the army issued construction orders, they were also responsible for coordinating with other units and recruiting soldiers to serve as labor. Therefore, the team officers of the engineering camp were mostly veterans who were injured on the battlefield and had some disabilities.
The real treasure of the engineering camp were the engineers. When the Devers first established the engineering camp, the system was still a little rough. Now, it had become a fixed assessment system for engineers. Not only did the engineers have to be literate and have strong hands-on skills, but they also had to have a deep knowledge of mathematical theories. Only then could they pass the assessment and become an engineer of the army. Other than farming their own land, these engineers were also highly sought after by the citizens of the Alliance. They built houses, workshops, made furniture, and so on. Their pay was not low. When there was a large-scale public project in the city, they would be invited to participate. Although the pay was not as high, their names would be engraved on the stone monument when the project was completed. This was a great honor for them.
Other than the engineers, there were also skilled craftsmen, carpenters, and blacksmiths in the engineering camp. They were the assistants of the engineers and helped them make all kinds of equipment needed for war. In addition, there were also some slaves in the camp, mainly for the engineers.
As the army's requirements for engineers became higher and higher, and the assessment for engineers became more formal, more than half of the engineers of the various armies came from the laboratories of the Diónia Academy. However, Arops was different. He was originally a mercenary in the Persia expedition. Because he knew some carpentry, he was transferred to the engineering camp after the Devers established it. However, he studied hard and finally became a skilled carpenter. He also took the initiative to join the adult class of the Diónia Academy. Through his hard work, he quickly got rid of the illiteracy hat. Then, because of the agreement between the Devers and Mentoticks, there was a period of time when the craftsmen of the army entered the laboratory of the Academy of Mathematics and became the garrison of scholars. Arops took the opportunity to learn advanced mathematical knowledge and finally gained the recognition of Martikoris. He became his disciple and passed the assessment to become an engineer. Therefore, Arops was a typical self-taught person. He was respected by the craftsmen of Diónia and encouraged them to learn from him.
"Your Majesty, it is possible to duplicate it, but it will take some time," Arops said seriously. He squatted down and struggled to pick up a large wooden wheel. "The most difficult part of making this siege tower is the wooden wheels and the axles. Such a large and heavy construction tower must be supported by these wooden wheels and axles. The requirements for them are very high. How big are the diameter of the axles? How thick and how wide are the wooden wheels? How many sets of axles and wooden wheels are needed to ensure that the siege tower can be smoothly moved? … These questions need to be tested repeatedly before we can be sure.
Also, Your Majesty, the size and width of so many wooden wheels are basically the same. Without a large number of skilled carpenters, it is very difficult to achieve this. Otherwise, if there is a slight difference in the size of these wooden wheels, the siege tower may tilt and collapse due to the imbalance! With the current abilities of our engineering battalion, it will be difficult to achieve this. "
Arops said with slight regret. He stood up and looked at the siege tower in front of him in a daze. He spread his arms and gestured with his hands. "Your Majesty, look. The walls on both sides of the siege tower are not vertical. Instead, they are tilted inward. Although I can't see the whole picture, I am sure that it is in the shape of a trapezoid. This way, it can increase the stability of the base. But what is the most suitable angle for the walls to tilt? How high must the horizontal plates be built to ensure that the forces on the walls are evenly distributed and stable? … "
The Devers did not care too much about the technical details that Arops was talking about. He understood the meaning behind Arops's words. "In short, you will need to repeatedly calculate and experiment in order to make a siege tower that can operate normally."
"Yes, Your Majesty. We need time." Arops answered truthfully. He looked at the people behind him and said, "For such a large siege tower, we do not have enough manpower. Furthermore, this is the first time we are building it …"
Although there were no less than 500 people in the siege battalion, which was not a small number, the Devers understood the hidden meaning behind Arops's words. There were not enough outstanding engineers and craftsmen.
Thinking about how the people of Syracuse had built three large siege towers in a few days, the Devers were envious of the thousands of engineers in Syracuse City. That was the wealth that the Devers truly desired.
"I will give you time to study and try to build this siege tower. But do not be too impatient. You must thoroughly study the technology and finally master it!" The Devers encouraged them.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
… … …
Phoebidas, who was sitting in the tent, was being watched by four guards. He could not wander around and look around, so he could only use his eyes to size up the tent. As a result, he discovered a secret. The layout of the Devers' tent was very similar to Dionysius's tent. Aside from the fact that it was not as big as Dionysius's tent, the layout was also very simple. Apart from a few hangers for armors and weapons, and a bed covered with straw and fur, the most eye-catching thing was undoubtedly the few wooden tables filled with scrolls of paper and silk. This was obviously similar to Dionysius's tent. It seemed that while this Consul was marching and fighting, he was also handling many affairs within the Alliance.
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