Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 211

Chapter 211

During the Peloponnesian War, Athens sent a large army to Sicily, which was eventually defeated by the allied force of Syracuse and Sparta, and more than 6,000 of their men were captured. At that time, even though Sparta was faced with a dilemma of being attacked passively at sea and couldn’t break through the walls of Athens on land, they still did not use the 6,000 captives to attack Athens. So if Davos were to do it, he will certainly set a precedent, but he will be labeled with the word “sinister and cruel”, which will not only make the city-states of Magna Graecia be wary of him, but will also alienate the people of Theonia who respected him. This will undoubtedly be a major blow to his prestige. Therefore, with Davos having such a lofty goal, he certainly will not make a mistake of picking up a sesame seed only to lose the watermelon. He didn’t mind capturing Krimisa a little longer because victory is already at hand. Therefore, as soon as the battle ended, he ordered the reserve brigade and the more than 5,000 freemen to escort the captives back to Thurii, leaving only two legions and two reserve brigades in Roscianum.

Compared to the other night, the people of Roscianum, who were delighted with the victory, were very happy to vacate their rooms and prepared a sumptuous dinner for the Theonians who would stay. However, compared to the legion soldiers who entered the city, the soldiers and freemen, who were tired and hungry, had to escort the captives for another hour or two at night and were much more miserable. However, the first time they took part in the battle, and such a large-scale battle at that, they were able to win. As participants, they not only walked with their heads held high, but even berated the captives. They wished that they could return back immediately and find an acquaintance to boast about their heroic deeds.

While the condition of the Crotonian captives was the most miserable. In order to make sure they won’t escape, they were stripped of all their armor and clothing, so they were naked while walking in the night. A gust of sea breeze came and they, who had their body heat already exhausted, were shaking and trembling. If they were to slow down, the wooden rod of the spear would be like a whip and cause them unbearable pain.

Kelebus was also one of the captives. Although he had once again become a captive, he secretly sighed that his fate was not good. However, compared with his comrades who have died in battle or drowned, he was still glad that he could survive, so he comforted his crying comrades, “Although these Theonians are hateful, they still keep their words. So as long as we do what they ask, we will eventually return to Crotone alive!”

Even though it is dark, the whole city of Thurii still came out to welcome the victorious soldiers. After a day of uneasy waiting, they finally could see the returning soldiers, bringing a lot more Crotonian captives than before. With this, they all understood that the Theonian army won the battle without a doubt!

Different from Roscianum, the Thurians kept on shouting the name of “Davos” a lot more in order to celebrate this hard won victory, because they all knew that it was the archon who had stood alone in the senate to start this battle ahead of time and finally win this victory!

The statesmen were also relieved, especially Philesius, who, as the chief military officer appointed by Davos, had to stay in Thurii without a soldier in his hand, and was always worried about the fleet of Crotone seeing through their camouflage and landing at the port. Now, with the return of the reserve brigade and the freemen, he had become confident. Moreover, with the tragic defeat of Crotone, they may not even be able to protect themselves, let alone dare to land and fight in the territory of Theonia.

Kunogelata and some Thurian statesmen asked the soldiers about the whole battle. As a citizen of Thurii, the Theonian Union defeating Crotone, has made them feel thrilled at getting their revenge.

On that night, both the preparatory citizens and the freemen who had participated in the battle were regarded as heroes by the Theonians, enjoying the warm cheers and abundant rewards. They were proud of themselves, and had also strengthened their confidence to become citizens of Theonia.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Androlis, the polemarchos of Krimisa, was sleeping at his home and was hurriedly woken up by someone who came to report that “The army of Crotone was defeated” and he could hardly believe it: Because at the port yesterday, he saw the huge fleet of Crotone with an army of nearly 40,000 men(he included the freemen and slaves who were carrying the supplies) – a huge army that has never been seen in Magna Graecia! They should have been able to sweep the Theonia Union, so how could Crotone be the one defeated after just one day?! How could Theonia have more soldiers than Crotone?!! Did Taranto join the war?!!!….

With countless doubts in his heart, Androlis quickly put on his clothes and rushed to the north gate, where Eurypus, Pleitinas and others were.

Under the light of the fire, he saw the Crotonians running from the north like bereaved dogs. Their feet were unstable, their minds were in a trance and their faces were covered with panic and exhaustion. Their helmets were gone, their armors were also thrown away, and even their shields and spears were lost. They stumbled into the city gate and lay down on the ground and weakly shouted, “Is there anything to eat? Is there anything to eat?….”

Seeing the tragic sight of the Crotonians, Androlis suddenly felt anxious.

In the end, they could only wait until Milo returned, although he was also in the same state as the soldiers, his mental state is still good.

“Strategos Milo, what should we do next?!” Androlis asked urgently, and this is exactly what the people of Krimisa were most concerned about at the moment.

Instead of answering immediately, Milo asked, “Is there anything to eat? I am gonna die of hunger!”

When Androlis watched Milo and the soldiers who had escaped gorging on the dry and cold bread, he had felt more or less disdain.

Milo was not in the mood to observe what the Krimisians were thinking. He just ate and pondered over how to appease the Krimisians. After trudging through the marsh, he gradually regained his composure, and while on his way back, he regretted that he had made a series of mistakes in belittling the enemy before the battle, which has led to their defeat. At the same time, he also thought about how to deal with the attack of the victorious Theonians…Krimisa is undoubtedly the most important link to save them from their defeat!

He wiped the crumbs of his mouth with his hand, and stood up and put the expressions of everyone around him in his sight, “Everyone…I am sorry, we have been ambushed by the Theonians, and fighting against them…we have suffered defeat, though I don’t know how many people have been lost…it definitely will not be less….”

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The countless soldiers that were struggling in the water flashed through the mind of Milo. He clenched his fist so hard that it pierced through his palm and started bleeding, “And the casualties of the Theonians is…much less than us…”

‘What?!!’ Everyone was shocked: Tens of thousands of soldiers went out to battle, and yet they only caused little damage to the army of Theonia, while causing heavy losses to themselves, ‘This is unbelievable! How can this battle be fought?!!’

“Did the Theonians dispatch more soldiers than us? Or did Taranto also join?” Asked Androlis urgently.

Milo smiled bitterly. He didn’t want to tell the truth, but even if he didn’t say it, once the Theonians arrived, the Krimisians would soon find out about it and it would make the Krimisians more dissatisfied with Crotone, and so, it would be better for him to speak the truth and let the Krimisians be prepared so that both sides can work together. Therefore, he truthfully said, “The Theonians dispatched around the same number as us, and Taranto didn’t join….”

“Are you Crotonians all made of flour?!* You are always easily defeated by the Theonians!” Pleitinas shouted angrily. (T/N: Something like the ‘soft persimmon’ thingy you can find in other novel)

He shouted what the officials of Krimisa were thinking. Their last defeat had made it hard for Krimisa and their envoy had even made a promise to the Theonians, ‘We, Krimisians, will no longer be your enemies as long as our people are released!’ But this time, Krimisa had gone back on their promise and assisted Crotone to attack Theonia, who had once let Krimisa go. If they were to lose again, what should they do?

Milo opened his eyes and glared at them. When he was young, he was the champion of many Olympic Games, and had later become the polemarchos of Crotone for a long time. This kind of strength had frightened Pleitinas a bit, so he avoided the sharp gaze of Milo and daringly said, “If it weren’t because you Crotonians had waged a war against Theonia and saying that ‘We will surely teach the Theonians a painful lesson!’ We the people of Krimisa, out of our trust in our allies*, had declared war on Theonia. Now that you have lost, and you have lost so badly! What should we do?!” (*In the last agreement between Crotone and Theonia, Krimisa was made a neutral city-state. However, Krimisa had already been deeply influenced by Crotone and so they considered themselves as an ally of Crotone.)

“That is right. If it weren’t for you forcing us, how would we even dare provoke Theonia!” Someone in the crowd echoed.

‘What forcing! You Krimisians wanted to follow Crotone in order to get some benefits from Theonia!’ Milo sneered inwardly, but he could not say this, otherwise it would only intensify their contradiction.

“So what do you want? Do you want to negotiate an armistice with Theonia?” Milo looked around and said seriously, “Now that Theonia has the advantage, they will certainly want more. After Davos takes over Krimisa, wouldn’t he slaughter the people of Krimisa in order to avenge his mercenary brothers? He could also turn Krimisa into a city-state that they control like Nerulum!”

Afer Milo finished what he was saying, the expressions of the people of Krimisa became unsightly.

“The only thing we can do now is to defend the city of Krimisa! Theonia does not have a fleet, and the sea is under our control. Therefore, we can use the fleet to transport food and soldiers at any time, and the Theonians can’t trap us!” Said Milo.