Chapter 81
"Long time no see, Burcos. I thought you'd forgotten about your old friend!" The Devers greeted him with a smile.
"How could I have forgotten? It's just that I had a lot of things to deal with after I came back, so I couldn't find the time, "Burcos explained.
"Oh, so you're finally done?" The Devers joked.
"Not yet," Burcos said with a straight face. Burcos said sternly, "However, the Turiyi City Hall has an important order for me to convey to you."
"Oh, what's the important order? The lords of Tuliyi have finally remembered us mercenaries, "Dyvers said in a mocking tone.
"Do you want me to say it here?" Burcos glanced around.
"I'm sorry, it's my oversight. Let's go to my tent." The Devers expressed his apology as he led them to the center of the camp.
"Did you learn this game of tug-of-war from Persia?" Burcos asked.
"That's what I thought. I'm mainly worried that the soldiers would have nothing to do if they stayed in the camp for too long, and accidents might happen. Therefore, I let them participate in a sports competition. It can not only exhaust their energy, but it can also train their bodies and cultivate teamwork. In fact, there's a reward for the champion of this competition. I've paid quite a lot of money myself. "
"You've managed these mercenaries very well!" Burcos praised, then changed the topic. "But you don't have to worry anymore. You'll have something to do soon."
The Devers were not surprised. "The Lucanians are already right in front of us. If the Turís don't do anything, I thought you're ready to give up the land outside the city to them."
Burcos could hear the resentment in the Devers' words. He was thinking about how to respond when he caught a glimpse of a four-meter-tall stone wall inside the wooden wall on the right. He said in surprise, "You're going to build another stone wall?"
The Devers blinked. "The ground of that wooden wall is damp, so it's not strong enough. So, we used the waste stones to build another stone wall inside to prevent it from being broken."
"You and your soldiers are really amazing. You actually built a city out of the camp!" Burkos vaguely criticized.
"There's nothing we can do. We don't have enough people. If we don't build a sturdy camp, we'll have our mercenaries to rescue us if we're surrounded. Who's going to rescue us if we're surrounded? So, you have to rely on yourself for everything! "Devers said calmly.
"Then the market outside is also related to the camp's defense?" Burkos asked.
"At first, I just wanted to rely on the market to buy and sell some things to satisfy my daily needs. I didn't expect things to turn out like this … But don't worry, once the Lucarians are defeated, everything will return to normal." Devers assured him.
Burcos only wanted to gain some psychological advantage in the following conversation. After all, only the city hall and the council could decide whether or not to force the mercenaries to close the market. Thus, he did not pursue the matter further and decided to report it to Felix. After entering the Devers' tent, he said, "According to our investigation, the Lucanians might attack Turií in two days. After a discussion, the generals have decided to face the enemy head-on. They want you to participate in the battle when the time comes."
"Tell me, what's the Turií generals' plan?" Devers asked sarcastically. In fact, he felt very helpless. As a participant of a great battle, he did not even have the right to participate in the discussion before the battle. It was really strange. He did not know that the Greek mercenaries were like this when they were under Cyrus the Younger's command. However, at that time, the mercenaries made up half of the total number of mercenaries and were very strong. Cyrus the Younger relied heavily on them. Furthermore, he had lied to the mercenaries beforehand and concealed the fact that he was rebelling. Therefore, whenever he had any excessive requests, he would discuss it with Krillkus and the others … When the Devers transmigrated, Cyrus the Younger had already died in battle, so everything was decided by the mercenaries themselves. Now, the Devers once again experienced the terrible feeling of having everything decided by others when they first arrived in this world.
Burcos was also very helpless. In fact, Felix had suggested to let the mercenary leaders participate in the discussion and planning of the battle, but Cunogorata and the others firmly refused, saying that they wanted to prevent something like Dionysius's incident from happening again. (Dionysius was the current overlord of Syracuse. He had been led by the people to oust him from power by the democrats. Later, he secretly lured the mercenaries into the city and brutally suppressed the democrats, thus stabilizing his position as the dictator of Syracuse.) Hiring the mercenaries was Felix's suggestion. The generals discussed it, and the council approved it. Burcos was then recommended by Felix, so he could only avoid arousing suspicion.
"According to the scouts, the Lucanians have more than ten thousand people. On our side, you have more than two thousand soldiers, Dracos has more than two thousand, Tarantum's reinforcements have more than one thousand, Turís can send four thousand, and we have two hundred cavalrymen. In total, we have close to ten thousand people … "
After Burcos finished introducing the military strength of both sides, he picked up a branch and gestured on the ground. "The generals' plan is that Tarantum's reinforcements will be on the right flank. Since they have the fewest troops, Adrianx and Sesta's 1,000 men will be added to it. The center will be our Turís troops. Due to the previous failure, the number of young Turís has been greatly reduced. So, more than half of the 4,000 men will be citizens over the age of forty, so Dracos' 1,000 men will be added to the center. Since your troops are the most experienced and the strongest, your troops will be in charge of the left flank, along with a hundred cavalrymen. Another hundred Tarantum cavalrymen will be added to the right flank. Of course, this is only the plan. When it comes to the battlefield, there may be changes based on the enemy's situation … "After Burcos finished, he stared at the Devers' expression.
The Devers rested his chin on one hand and looked at the pattern on the ground, deep in thought. He did not speak for a long time.
Burcos began to feel nervous.
"Do you want to hear my opinion?" The Devers raised his head and pointed at the sketch on the ground. With a calm expression, he said, "The allocation of troops given by Turís should be more balanced. Obviously, the generals want to use our defense to wear down the enemy's attack through a prolonged confrontation."
Burcos nodded. Felix had said something similar when he explained to him why the formation was arranged this way. The Devers lived up to his reputation. Just by looking at the sketch, he could speculate the generals' intentions.
"Although I have not fought with the Lucanians, I have fought with many mountain tribes in Persia. Their combat characteristics should be similar. They are fierce, loosely organized, and poorly equipped. Perhaps this is the reason why your generals dared to use this kind of formation, even though they were outnumbered. However, there are a few issues that I need to remind your generals of — "The Devers changed the topic and raised his voice.
"Last year, the Turís lost more than ten thousand men in the battle against the Lucanians. This means that nearly ten thousand sets of high-quality Greek heavy armor fell into the hands of the Lucanians. They can use it to upgrade their crude equipment. I encountered such a situation when I was scouting in Amendola. Secondly, according to my scouts, the Lucanians have at least thirteen thousand men, which is more than three thousand more than us. This means that their formation will be thicker and longer than ours. Not only will they be able to charge and push harder, but they will also be more threatening to flank us. Furthermore, they have just won a huge battle, so their morale will be high when they face us. According to my observations, you Turís are afraid of the Lucanians, so it is hard to say who will be the first to retreat after a long battle. " The Devers pointed at the pattern on the ground that represented the middle Turís. "Don't forget, half of them are 'old men'."
Burcos' confidence that the Greek heavy infantry would not fear the barbarians in a head-on battle was shaken by the Devers's words.
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