Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

The battle lasted for four hours, and in the end Tarantum lost 15 warships, including four triple oars, and four troop carriers; the combined fleet of Maple lost twenty-three warships, including seven triples. Layered oars. ￣︶︺s んц Ge 浼 镄 对 氛 覣 棢 つwww%W. %kaNshUge.lā In the end, the Maple navy retreated, while the Tarantum navy, who was busy saving the drowning soldiers, had no intention of pursuing it. They just wanted to leave this unfamiliar sea as soon as possible, reach Brindisi, and complete the reinforcement task.

At the time of the fierce battle at sea, the Maple coalition had learned that Tarantum was about to reinforce Brindisi from the sea, and regardless of fatigue, they launched the largest siege of the city. 20,000 Maple coalition soldiers carried ladders, pushed siege vehicles, and stormed Brindisi city wave after wave...

The Tarantum defenders, who had been fighting hard for two days, had only a few hundred people left, and it was only through the assistance of the free people in the city that they went to the city to support it to this day. In the face of the flood of enemies, the freedmen who lack combat experience panic...

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The Tarantum Navy rushed to the port of Brindisi, and had just put the soldiers ashore, but had not assembled them for a whole team. The city of Brindisi was breached, and the defeated soldiers, freemen, and their families ran to the port in panic, trying to find a sailboard and leave the occupied city as soon as possible. The soldiers who came to reinforce also felt bad and asked to re-board the ship and leave. Everyone scrambled to run to the boat, and then the defeated soldiers and their families cried for help. The whole port was full of crowds of people, the order was in chaos, and many people fell into the sea while pushing...

In the face of this situation, the commander of the navy had no idea for a while, and let the warships under his command save people. However, the pursuit of the Maple coalition forces made people who were eager to escape pushed each other and scrambled to climb onto the ship, causing the two warships to capsize due to overloading.

The naval commander felt bad and had to urgently order the fleet to leave the dock. In the process, soldiers and sailors fought, and several warships failed to escape from the dock.

At this time, the maple coalition fighters had already killed them. They rushed towards the Tarantum people who were trembling with fear like hungry wolves. They slaughtered them with spears and swords who had raised their hands and surrendered. The blood was flowing quickly. It dyed the sea of ​​the port red...

Soldiers, sailors and survivors of the Tarantum Navy couldn't bear to witness the tragic scene and fled the port in haste. Unexpectedly, their disaster was far from over, and they were soon intercepted by the Maple United Navy, which had retreated before. Although there were many Tarantum ships, the fleet full of people lost their speed and flexibility, and became the Maple coalition warship. 's target.

During the fierce battle, the Tarantum warship was overturned, but the people who fell into the water had no ships to rescue. The sailors were frightened by the tragic sight of the port, and they only wanted to go home. The remaining 45 warships and some troop carriers left the battlefield.

However,

The victorious Maple Combined Fleet is still in hot pursuit...

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On the fourth day after Polydorus asked Dionysus for help, the Maple coalition, which had recaptured Brindisi, moved westward after a short rest, and by the afternoon, surrounded Manduria and Tarantum again. The whole city was in a panic, and one after another, the messengers sent to Dioria for help...

In the early morning of the fifth day, the Dionysian reinforcements finally set off.

It was already early September, and the weather in the morning started to get cooler.

After saying goodbye to their families, the soldiers of the First and Second Corps lined up in the Victory Square.

After counting the number of people, Commander Davos announced his departure.

The whole army first marched to the northwest of the city, came to the foot of the Temple of Hades, and knelt down and prayed devoutly.

The bronze bell in the temple rang long, and the chief priest, Plessinas, led dozens of men and women priests of the Temple of Hades to sing Hades hymns for the soldiers and gave them blessings.

If in other city-states, it may be necessary to fortune-telling before the expedition, but Davos canceled this procedure. He believes that war is a major event related to the life and death of the alliance, and victory depends on strength, strict training, and Careful planning, rather than relying on ethereal grace, he didn't want the soldiers to develop this bad habit.

After the prayer was over, the whole army turned east again, went out of the city gate, and went straight to the port of Turii. The families of the soldiers and the people who saw off were lined up on both sides of the road to see off the troops on the expedition.

What made Polydorus lamented was that there were very few family members who cried and did not want the soldiers to go to war. While they wished the soldiers peace, they also encouraged them to obtain military exploits. Others are more envious of the good luck of the soldiers who went on expedition, and they are not convinced that they will perform better if they go on their own.

The Dionysians love war! Polydorus forgot who had said this to him, and now it does look different. He involuntarily looked at Davos, the commander of the army beside him. The 20-year-old young man was calm and serious at the moment. In addition, the Dionysians had a commander who was good at fighting. , they will have today's rise!

But under the circumstance of the enemy's army, the strength of the Dionysian army made Polydorus feel a little relieved, because the Dionysian army could be counted on!

The port is densely docked with hundreds of cargo ships, including Dionia, Tarantum, Metapontum, Heraclea, and even Castellon...

Under the guidance of the port management personnel, the troops entered each wharf in an orderly manner, and boarded the ship in turn under the command of the squad leader and sub-commander, and everything was in order.

The passenger ship Polidorus was on was the first to leave the dock, because he had to go back to Tarantum to inform the Senate and prepare for Dionysian reinforcements.

He was also accompanied by Antonios. He needed to coordinate with Tarantum on the entry, placement, and rations of the Dionysian army. This task should have been undertaken by Felixius, but Davos left Dionysus. After Asia, Turii still needs someone to guard in case of an accident, Felixius, who is the second person in the army, is naturally the most suitable candidate. Felixius could not go, and the two commanders, Capps and Drakes, were only war-fighting and not sociable people. Davos could only let Antonyus, the first commander of the First Corps, be in charge of liaison. The second captain, Alexis, is also a suitable candidate, but Davos thinks: Compared with Alexis, who is a little more aloof, Antonios is more sleek.

There are also some special personnel of the Dionysian Legion on this passenger ship, such as the engineers of the Legion. Because the station of the Dionysian army in Tarantum has been determined in advance, the engineer will go to the scene first to inspect the terrain. , plan in advance how to build the camp, the size of the camp, the arrangement of tents, the width of the trench, etc., so that the army can start building the camp as soon as they arrive at Tarantum.

The soldiers stepped on the rickety deck, put the helmets weighing dozens of pounds, linen breastplates, round shields, greaves, as well as thorns and javelins in their hands. Friends wave goodbye.

One by one, the ships left the port.

In the morning in the Gulf of Taranto, there was a strong northeasterly wind, and all the boats lowered their sails and drove straight to the east with the wind. From time to time, waves slapped the hull from the side and rear, splashing water, and wetting the clothes of the soldiers. But it didn't affect their interest at all.

I heard that the Tarantum people are very rich. This time we helped them defeat the indigenous people. Will they give us enough silver coins to thank us for our rescue?! A recruit said excitedly.

Fool, do you know how many soldiers we have in Tarantum this time? It's 14,000! That's not counting the cavalry brigade, engineering battalion, medical battalion... Even if Tarantum gives us dozens of Tarantum, Except for the ones handed over to the Legion Fund, how many can be allocated to each person! Another soldier warned him disapprovingly: You might as well kill a few more indigenous people and accumulate a few more military exploits, so that the Alliance can return. Give you a few more acres of land!

Speaking of this war, I get angry when I think about it! Their three legions are lucky, they captured Asproustum and Grummentum, why are there always wars?! Not really Is it because most of them are Lucanians! We finally set out to rescue the city-states in the south, but before the fight began, the Locris asked for peace. Tell me, this is not to make people angry! This time Let's go to Tarantum, I hope those natives will never learn from the Lokri, let's go again in vain! Another soldier's words resonated with the surrounding soldiers and aroused their concern.

Don't worry, the Mesapis are no better than the weak Locris. I heard that they are very fierce, and the Tarantum has never taken advantage of them. Otherwise, the Tarantum has been around for such a long time. Several sub-states have been established, and this time Messapi has united with the Pucherti and defeated Tarantum one after another. The morale is soaring, and maybe it is still holding an attempt to destroy Tarantum. How is it possible to make peace with us, said a soldier who knew Tarantum's situation.

That's great! Only by defeating the Meshapi can we show the power of Dionia, we will become heroes and save Tarantum! a soldier proclaimed loudly, causing the others to cheer.

I heard that the women in Tarantum are all good-looking. When we become heroes, can we marry one back? Someone said jokingly, and was immediately pushed by others: Stop dreaming, Pesciars. . Those citizens of Tarantum are proud and never look down on the other city-states of Greater Greece, you think they will marry their daughters to us 'peasants' in their eyes!

Is that really the case, Sitarsis? Pecials asked curiously.