Chapter 67
Burcos seemed to have noticed the Devers' confusion, so he explained, "The city of Turií is about twenty miles from the mouth of the Krati River."
"Oh," the Devers replied and asked, "Why are there so many ships trading when the Turií are at war with the Lucarians?"
"The Lucanians don't have ships, so they can't cut off the Turií's maritime trade. The more the war, the more supplies they need. These merchant ships are all here to earn money …" As the two were talking, the fleet stopped moving forward.
The pilot ship moved forward alone and soon merged with the white sails …
About an hour later, the pilot ship returned and approached Burcos's ship. Then, a man boarded.
"Burcos, you're finally back! I thought the Lucarians were so scared that you migrated to Greece. "The man walked forward with a smile.
"Even you, the most cowardly of all, didn't leave, so how could I?" Burcos joked and gave him a hug.
"Is everything going well?"
"Is Turií alright?"
The two asked at the same time and laughed at the same time.
"Seeing how relaxed you look, the city of Turií should still be safe."
"You know, the barbaric Lucarians don't have great skills. They can't build siege weapons or build ships. They only destroyed the villages and farms outside the city. Fortunately, the wheat harvest was long finished in autumn. During the winter, the Lucanians outside the city had a plague and had to retreat to the northern mountains, leaving only a small number of soldiers in Amendola- "
"Wait, you're talking about the plague?" Burkos was horrified.
"The Lucanians killed thousands of Turií citizens and piled their corpses outside the city. Zeus was furious and punished the Lucanians, but our Turií people were not harmed at all! "The man said with anger and pride.
Burcos quickly praised Zeus.
The man continued, "Now that the weather is getting warmer, they're starting to head south again. Fortunately, Tarantum sent reinforcements. "
"As the initiators of the Great Hellenic Defense Alliance, they should have sent reinforcements long ago!"
"You can't blame them. They just repelled the attack of the Mesapi, and they sent 1,500 heavy infantry and 50 cavalry. Moreover, the leader is Archita."
"Which Achetta?"
"And which Achetta! Of course, it's the son of Tarantum's former consul, Heastiavis, the genius that people of Tarantum talk about! "
"Speaking of geniuses, I also have one here." Burkos pulled the Devers over and said to Polyxis, "Let me introduce you to the Thessaly Devers, the commander of the Greek mercenaries in the Persia expedition!" Burkos said seriously. Then, pointing to the newcomer, he said, "Devers, this is my friend Polyxis, the general elected by the Turís this year!"
"I salute you, General Polyxis!" The Devers bowed slightly.
"Welcome." Polyxis nodded slightly, then turned to Burcos. "What did you just say? Expedition to Persia? "
Burcos saw that Polyxis was being perfunctory, so he greatly publicized the deeds of the Devers. Polyxis immediately looked at the Devers with a passionate gaze. "It's hard to imagine! Devers, you actually did such an amazing thing at such a young age! In the hinterland of Persia, you led your soldiers back while surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies! This is really … wow! "
The Devers said sincerely, "This is the result of the hard work of our brothers. Many of them died on the way home …"
"I invited the Devers to come to Turís because I hope that they can use their rich battle experience to help us repel the Lucarians!" Burkos took the opportunity to explain in advance the team of Devers that he hired with a high salary.
"You came at the right time. We were just discussing the counterattack against the Lucarians." Polyxis said to Burkos, "I came to tell you that the General Executive Committee has agreed to your fleet to disembark at the simple pier at the mouth of the river. The Devers will lead the mercenaries to camp in the old city of Sybaris."
"What?! They want us to camp in the old city of Sybaris!! " Burkos' expression changed. He immediately pulled Polyxis to the side and scolded in a low voice, "Are you crazy?! Don't forget that when the Turís built their city, they had an agreement with Crotone. The old city of Sybaris cannot be touched! Otherwise, why didn't the Turís build their city on the old city of Sybaris? It's clearly in a better location and has a better port! "
"Every Turís knows what you're saying. But this is the result of Cunogorata's insistence, and the other generals have also agreed! The soldiers you hired have been camping in Sybaris for almost a month. "Polyxis shrugged to show that this matter had nothing to do with him.
"It's Cunogorata again! He expelled the people of Athens, and now he wants to provoke Clotho. Does he want Turís to be destroyed?! "Burkos said angrily.
"It's not as serious as you say. It's been decades, and the Turís have always followed this agreement. The weeds in Sybaris are taller than people. Now that Turís is in the midst of war, they are only temporarily camping. Besides, Crotone doesn't have time to care about this. They are fighting fiercely with the Bruti's people. Otherwise, where would the mercenaries camp? The mercenaries that came last time and this time add up to about four to five thousand people. The camp they built must occupy a large area. Now, other than the wasteland around Turís, it's all farmland and villages … "
"Didn't you say that the farmland and villages outside the city have been destroyed?" Burkos asked.
"After the Lucaria's people retreated, everyone returned to their villages and started rebuilding. Otherwise, if they were all gathered in the city, there would be problems sooner or later! As for those fields, the farmers have already sown the wheat seeds. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any harvest this year. "
"What if the Lucaria's people come?" Burkos asked worriedly.
"That's why we are discussing how to repel them."
Burkos stared at Polyxis speechlessly for a while. Finally, he said, "It seems that the generals are very united now. They're also very courageous! I've already forgotten how pathetic they were last year! "
Polyxis looked embarrassed and couldn't say anything.
… …
As a channel had been cleared in advance, Burkos's fleet entered the estuary smoothly. It was just that it was a little troublesome to disembark because there was only a simple dock.
Burkos, the Devers, Felicius, Asistes, and the guards disembarked first. Standing on the soft ground, they were not used to being tossed about at sea for a long time.
Felicius bent down and reached out to grab a handful of soil. He twirled it between his fingers, ignoring the stench, and brought it to the tip of his nose to sniff it. He had an intoxicated look on his face, as if what he was holding was not soil but a delicacy. Then, he reached out to the Devers and said excitedly, "It's black!"
The Devers, of course, understood what he meant. Before Burkos could turn his gaze, he exclaimed, "This is really a fertile land!"
Burkos said proudly, "Of course! The Sebari Plain has several rivers, including the Krati River. Not only is it rich in water, but the land is also fertile and flat. It's also very large. It's the best land in this area. Otherwise, Sebaris wouldn't be able to live such a luxurious life! "
The group left the riverbank and walked for a short distance. Then, they saw a dilapidated wall amidst the weeds. This was the old site of Sebaris City.
Dyvers stopped in front of a large rock. Although it was covered in moss and green, the smooth surface of the rock had delicate veins and a dark red color, proving that it was a good piece of marble. As far as the eye could see, there were quite a lot of such rocks here, hidden under the weeds, half buried in the soil …
After all, Greece and Italy mostly produced white marble. Only Africa was rich in red marble, so it was naturally expensive. Although the Devers didn't know the price, they rarely saw such stones in the cities they had passed. It was obviously not easy to obtain. "What a good stone! Why didn't the Turís use it when they built the city? "he asked Burkos in a seemingly casual manner.
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