Chapter 688
Unlike the Campanians, the Volsci did not hold a grand banquet to welcome the arrival of the Dionysian Army. Instead, they cautiously asked Amyntas if he could explain the situation of the war to him in detail and discuss how the two sides should work together to fight against the Romans.
Amyntas agreed without a second thought.
This made the Volsci's impression of the Diónia rise to a whole new level.
So, the two sides held a military meeting in the meeting room of the governor's residence in Selce.
When the cowhide map of Volsci and the surrounding area was unfolded on the table, Amyntas and Printos' eyes widened. Although the map was crude and not very accurate, it was at least more detailed than the map of central Italy produced by the Diónia Ministry of Military Affairs. After all, there were many races and forces in this area, and some forces did not welcome outsiders. Besides, the Diónia did not have a base here, so the intelligence department of Aristiras could not send his men to explore the inland.
As the two studied the map, the governor of Selce, Toulus, pointed at the map and said in Greek, "General Amyntas and General Printos, more than a month ago, more than 30,000 Romans invaded Volsci's territory and surrounded the city of Vilitre. As we had just suffered a defeat against the Romans not long ago, we barely managed to gather 20,000 men to rescue them. They fought the Romans outside Vilitre, but we suffered another defeat …"
At this point, Toulus's face was a mixture of anger and shame. He coughed and continued, "After we retreated, the Romans began to attack Vilitre. They used a terrible siege machine that could launch stones from afar and bombarded the walls. In the end, they blasted a hole in the wall and caused the fall of Vilitre …"
Printos was shocked. "Do the Romans also know how to make ballistae?"
As a senator of Diónia, Amyntas had been attending the emergency meeting of the Senate regarding the affairs of Carthage. After he was appointed by the Devers, he also went to the Ministry of Military Affairs to read some secret information about Rome, so he knew a lot of things. When he saw the surprise on Printos' face, he whispered to him, "It should be from the people of Carthage. They have formed a military alliance with the people of Rome, and it is said that they have sent ships to provide weapons and equipment to Rome. Before I left Turií, the envoy of Carthage went to our Senate to express his support for the people of Rome and tore up the agreement with us …
The Ministry of Military Affairs did have information about the people of Carthage secretly trying to develop ballistae and siege towers … But Printos was even more shocked. Because in the current situation, there was a high possibility that a war would break out between Carthage and Diónia!
Toulus noticed the change in the expressions of the two generals of Diónia, but he did not stop talking. "After the Romans captured Vilitre, they continued to attack Saturnicum. This time, we learned our lesson and did not fight with the people of Rome. Instead, we defended the city with all our strength, so we repelled the attacks of the people of Rome many times, but … "
Toulus said angrily again, "Ten days ago, another army of Rome suddenly attacked Antium. As most of the citizens of Antium went to help Saturnicum, they were caught off guard and succeeded in their sneak attack! After the Roman army occupied Antium, they quickly moved south along the coast. In order to prevent being cut off by them, most of our reinforcements had to withdraw from Saturnicum … "
Toulus's face showed a pained expression. He sighed and said, "What is the situation in Saturnicum now? We are not sure, but there are not many soldiers in the city. I am afraid they will not last long. But we can't help them now, because the attack of the Roman army is very fast, and this area … "
Toulus drew a small circle on the map with his finger. "There are no big towns, only a lot of villages and a few small cities. The terrain is very flat. Although there are a few rivers, they are easy to cross. So we hurriedly organized an army to intercept them, but they were defeated by the people of Rome … Now they have reached the city of Setia."
Amyntas found that the place Toulus was pointing at did not seem to be too far from Setia, so he immediately interrupted, "How far is this city from us?"
"About 40 miles." Toulus's answer made Amyntas and Printos look at each other. Their eyes expressed the same thought: No wonder the Volsci are in such a hurry to hold a military meeting. The people of Rome are almost at their doorstep!
Toulus's finger moved slightly south on the map, pointing at another city very close to Setia. "Now our reinforcements are concentrated in Polefonum, but the cunning people of Rome have stopped attacking Setia. Instead, they have built a camp not far from the city. We have been in a stalemate for a few days, but once the other army of Rome takes our city, I am afraid that will be the time for them to attack!"
Toulus finished with a worried look, and the others in the room also looked worried.
Amyntas thought for a moment, then pointed at the icon of Polefonum on the map and asked, "How many people do you have here?"
"About 12000," Toulus answered. "This is the largest force our Wolsey Alliance can muster, and this includes the 3,000 reinforcements that Orlongci and Sidi Ceni sent to us." Toulus didn't bother to hide his true strength after replying, and he emphasized, "This is the largest force our Wolsey Alliance can muster.
The Volsci people present were ashamed and a little sad. The Volsci that once dominated the Latin region was now in a situation where they could not even muster 10,000 soldiers.
Tapirus, who was listening at the side, had a look of realization. No wonder there were not many Volsci citizens in the port and the city!
Amyntas did not care about this. He pointed at the icon of Setia and asked, "How many Rome soldiers are here?"
"I am afraid there are no less than 12000, because there are two magistrates in the Roman army this time. According to the rules of Rome, under normal circumstances, a magistrate will lead a legion into battle. Their legion has about 5,000 soldiers, plus some troops from Rome's allies —"
Before Toulus could finish, Tapirus could not help but exclaim, "Rome also has a legion?!"
Amyntas looked at him and said calmly, "Yes, Rome also has a legion. And its organization is a little similar to our Diónia's legion. "
Before coming here, Amyntas had specially gone to the Ministry of Military Affairs to learn some information about Rome. When he saw the description of Rome's military system, he was also shocked. He thought to himself, "The Romans have secretly learned our Diónia's legion tactics!" But because of this, he did not underestimate the Roman army.
"More than 12000 soldiers. If they join up with another Roman army with more than 30,000 soldiers, then the Roman army near Setia will have nearly 50,000 soldiers," Amyntas said slowly.
The Wolsey people in the room looked solemn. When they first formed an alliance with Diónia, they thought that this powerful southern ally would send more troops here. They did not expect that they would only send 10,000 soldiers. Of course, after listening to Metbola's explanation that Diónia could not send more troops because of the drought, they understood. In fact, Wolsey also found it a little difficult to supply food to more than 10,000 Dionysian Army and their own army.
Amyntas also looked solemn. Of course, he knew that no matter how brave the First Legion was, it was impossible for them to defeat 50,000 Roman soldiers. According to the information, the Roman people had been fighting for a long time, and they were definitely not as easy to deal with as the weak Tarantum people.
He stared at the map and thought for a while. Then, he pointed to the west of Polevernham and said resolutely, "Tomorrow, I will lead my troops to camp here. Then, we will see if we can lure the Roman army to fight with us!"
After Amyntas finished speaking, he looked around the room. When his eyes fell on Printos, he paused for a moment and asked hesitantly, "Printos, do you have any suggestions?"
If it was the old Alexis, she would first ask for Printos's opinion and then make her own decision after careful consideration. Obviously, Amyntas had not gotten used to the existence of Printos. His question was obviously perfunctory.
Printos compared the styles of these two important Diónia generals in his mind. He shook his head gently and said, "I don't have any opinions. The Legion Commander's decision is correct!"
Indeed, Polevernham was an important town in Wolsey. The First Legion was building a camp on the west side of it. The two camps were like horns to each other, which undoubtedly made it difficult for the Roman army to attack. The west side of the camp was the swamp area. This way, they would be able to establish a relatively rough defense line to protect the two most important towns in Wolsey, Trisina and Selshe, as well as the surrounding fields and villages. This also ensured that these towns and villages would continue to provide logistical support to the camp. Of course, if the Roman army gave up the attack on Setia City and Diónia's camp and forced their way through the large gap between the camp and the swamp area to attack Selshe, which was defenseless in the rear, the Roman army would have to take the risk of being beaten up! Printos was analyzing the pros and cons of Amyntas' decision in his mind.
Printos expressed his agreement, but before the Wolsey people could say anything, Amyntas had already slammed the table and said, "This matter is settled! Tomorrow morning, I will set off with the army! "
Comments