Chapter 866
After listening, Boret turned to Alexis and asked, "Looks like the people of Beneventum are already prepared. Do we need to start setting up camp here?"
"This place is too far from Beneventum. It's not enough to pressure them." Alexis observed the terrain in front with rapt attention.
Then, he pointed to the long chain of hills that seemed to be about a hundred meters high on the west side and asked, "How far is the mountain path connecting Cabutim and Beneventum from here?"
"That's hard to say. There are quite a few mountains in between." Gherney thought for a moment and shook his head, unable to give a specific number.
Alexis then pointed to the even lower hills on the east side and asked, "After going over them, the terrain on the east side should be flatter, right?"
"Yes, General Alexis. You remember very well that from these hills to the east to the Voltuno River, although there are some small hills, the terrain is relatively flat," Gherney replied.
Alexis had his adjutant bring over a simple map of Samonai drawn according to the information provided by Gherney and the others. While consulting Gherney, he compared the terrain with the map in reality.
After thinking for a while, he made up his mind and said, "We will march forward for another three miles and start building our camp. Chief Gherney, you will lead your warriors to set up camp in this valley and protect our food transportation route. "
Gherney heard this and heaved a sigh of relief. He immediately said, "Don't worry, we will guard this place firmly. Not even a single enemy will be able to slip through!"
For the Abenilumian warriors, the Sabato River was not only a food transportation route, but also the only way from Beneventum to their homeland. Now that the Abenilumian territory was empty, the troops that Gherney mentioned would definitely put 200% of their energy to guard this place.
This was also Alexis's intention. He then pointed to the map and said, "Chief Boret, your army's camp extends from the south bank of the Voltuno River to this side. Our Diónia camp is in between your two camps."
Alexis's arrangement was based on the fact that the Abenilumian and Potentia had a feud more than ten years ago. This was also the first time they fought together, so they lacked coordination. Zantiparis had specifically reminded him before. Furthermore, the Abenilumian soldiers were few and the Potentia soldiers lacked battle experience. Diónia's camp was in the middle and could take care of both sides. At the same time, after the camp was built, it would occupy two rivers. Not only would it be convenient to drink water, it would also put a lot of pressure on Beneventum.
"I have no objections, but I hope the general can send someone to guide us in building the camp." Pollett had participated in Dionia's military training before, so he knew that the Dionian army had a deep understanding of building camps. In order to ensure the safety of the soldiers' camp, he shamelessly made a request.
Before Alexis could respond, Gherney immediately said, "We also hope that the general can send someone to help build the camp."
Although Gherney had not participated in Diónia's military training, he had visited the barracks of Turií many times. He had seen the training of the Diónia citizens, so he had some understanding of this. Moreover, he considered that the Abenilumian soldiers had the least number of soldiers. They had to build the camp and defend against the enemy's surprise attack. In fact, they needed the help of allies.
"Of course, this is not a problem. I will definitely do my best to help!" Alexis was very happy that the two of them had such a request, because it would be convenient for him to unify the entire camp's plan and allocate manpower reasonably.
After the three of them reached an agreement, Gherney led the army straight to the north, while Alexis and Gherney led their own troops, crossed the eastern hills, and headed northeast.
Yesterday evening, after the Samonese Coalition Army received the news that the Dionysian Army had entered the Abenilumian territory, Lescok couldn't wait for the other tribes to withdraw because he was worried about the safety of Beneventum. That night, he led more than 3000 Hilpini soldiers back to Abella, regardless of fatigue. They set off in the early hours of the next day, marched quickly, and entered the city of Beneventum at noon.
There were originally 1000 soldiers stationed in Beneventum, originally to guard against the Abenilumians in the south. After Lescok led his troops back, the total number of soldiers in the city had increased to more than 4000. They also heard that the other tribes' soldiers would be coming soon, so the confidence of the tribesmen was greatly boosted.
However, Lescok was not satisfied with just defending and waiting. After learning the movements of the enemy through the spies he sent out, he immediately led the 1000 soldiers originally stationed in the city (the other soldiers needed a good rest to recover their strength because of the continuous rapid march) to the mountains in the east, and launched a surprise attack on the Abenilumians three miles south of Beneventum.
As the commander of the Diónia Coalition Army, Alexis, of course, would not let down his guard in the unfamiliar mountains. Instead, he was even more cautious. He repeatedly requested that whether it was the Abenilumian or the Potentia army, they must send half of their troops to defend the camp that was being built.
Therefore, Lescok's surprise attack was not successful. Instead, it quickly turned into a battle between the Abenilumian and Abenilumian soldiers. Both sides first threw javelins at each other, and then killed each other with spears. Although the number of soldiers led by Lescok was smaller, they were full of energy and had some advantages.
However, with the arrival of 1000 Diónia light infantry reinforcements from the east, Lescok could only retreat.
However, he did not stop there. He sent the 2000 soldiers who were resting in the city to attack the Potentia army from the east. While attracting the attention of the Dionysian Army, he once again personally led the 2000 soldiers directly to the Sabato Valley to attack the Abenilumians.
However, the number of soldiers used by the Diónia Coalition Army for defense was more than twice the number of soldiers in Beneventum. After Alexis found that the Abenilumian side seemed to have become the main target of the enemy's attack, he simply stationed a light infantry battalion in front of the Abenilumian camp.
Beneventum's attack did not cause much trouble to the Abenilumian army. Instead, it increased some casualties. For Beneventum, which was lacking in troops, the life of every soldier was very precious. Lescok could only lead the troops back.
Who knew that as soon as he returned to the city, he would receive an urgent report from his men: thousands of enemies were approaching Beneventum from the east.
This made Lescok nervous. He immediately gathered the soldiers in the city and led them to the city to defend.
Alexis led a battalion of heavy infantry and 3000 Portantian soldiers as they approached the walls of Beneventum.
Looking at the stone wall that was more than seven meters high a hundred meters away, Alexis recalled some of the information provided by Gherni about the city. "More than ten years ago, Beneventum was just a wooden city, and the simple wooden fences on the outside were damaged. They were only used to prevent beasts, not enemies. Because there were few civil wars between the Samonai tribes, and foreign enemies had never threatened the mountains, they had never worried about the safety of their homeland.
However, after the rise of the powerful Kingdom of Diónia in the south, the situation changed. The Samonai Coalition Army was defeated and humiliatingly surrendered to it. Even the Diónia people interfered in the internal affairs of the Samonai, causing the confrontation between Beneventum and the Abenilumian. Because of this, the deeply disturbed leader Lescok repeatedly called for the reconstruction of a strong Beneventum city in order to defend against possible foreign invasions. The leaders of the various tribes in Beneventum, who were equally disturbed, finally agreed to his suggestion.
The Hilpini people had no experience in building a stone city, so Lescok specially borrowed many Campanian slaves from Kaoutim who knew how to build a city. Not only did he complete the planning of the new city, but he also found good stone materials to build the city on the north bank of the Volturno River, which was very close to the new city. After six long years, with the joint efforts of the various tribes in Beneventum, the new city of Beneventum was finally built. Lescok quickly invited the Samonai priests to hold a sacrificial ceremony in Beneventum in the name of celebrating the new city, which led to the subsequent series of events … "
Of course, in Gherni's narration, he had nothing good to say about Lescok and the other tribes in Beneventum, and he even accused Lescok, who proposed the construction of the new city, of plotting against Diónia. At the same time, he also mentioned a detail, "The city blueprint designed by the Campanian slaves had the concept of an acropolis, which interested the people of Beneventum very much. They simply included the end of the eastern hill parallel to the Sabato River into the city, and the area of this hill occupied half of the area of Beneventum. They also built an inner city on top of the hill."
Since then, Beneventum had the Volturno River as a barrier to the north, the Sabato River flowing in front of the city in the west, and the hills as a barrier to the south. Only the eastern side was relatively flat … This was the reason why Alexis led his troops to attack from here.
Alexis's gaze went past the seven-meter-high stone wall and looked at the hill that rose from the south to the north, cutting off his line of sight. It was at least thirty meters high, and there were no lush trees on it, only densely packed houses and another stone wall on top of the hill … This was one of the reasons why he did not rashly give the order to immediately attack the city after the arduous journey of 20,000 Allied Army soldiers.
"Commander, the ballistae have been set up."
"Fire." After Alexis gave the order, a moment later, ten whistling bullets bombarded the city wall, the loud noise causing the Hilpini warriors to cry out in alarm.
The deterrence of Alexis's troops to Beneventum caused Lescok to lead the main force to confront them inside the city, reducing the harassment of the Diónia Allied Army troops that were building a camp.
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