Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy Chapter Thirty-Two: The Plans Against Grummanum and the Battle of Siriting

Protesilaus shrugged and fell silent.

"The techniques for draining and filling marshes, swamps, and tidal flats have long been mature and commonly applied by us Greeks. The Thurians themselves have often built dikes along the upper reaches of the Coseni River during the rainy season. Lord Scombrus's proposal is technically feasible for all of us." Kynogoratas asked seriously, "But to fill and reclaim such a large marshland into farmland will require a huge investment of manpower and resources. Have you considered all that?"

"Didn't you just say that a large number of freemen will be flooding into Daonia in the future? We can recruit them in great numbers for this project. For these freemen who make significant contributions to the Daonia Alliance, we should not only shorten their probation period for citizenship as an incentive, but also consider granting them 'allotments' in the marshland, to spur them to work even harder! Also... we must take into account the breeding of mosquitoes there, and I hope Helpus can send doctors to participate, tending to the sick at any time, to prevent the outbreak of disease..." Scombrus spoke enthusiastically. Although he had never served as a city-state magistrate before, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the role of Chief Magistrate of Crimissa, using his long life experience to think through problems carefully, so his considerations were quite thorough.

"That is certainly no problem." Helpus immediately replied. "We can provide assistance at any time!"

"Mesis, don't begrudge that money!" Scombrus turned to the Treasurer and said loudly, "Once the marshland is successfully transformed, how much farmland will it provide! How much land tax can you collect! And this is revenue year after year! Use your head and think it through!"

Mesis helplessly raised his hand: "Old man, no need to think. I agree."

"Any objections?" asked the Rotating President Cornelius.

Everyone, including Davos, shook their heads. Scombrus had settled the matter all by himself.

Next to stand up was Vespa: "Honored magistrates, I have received news from Nerulum. The army of Potentia is approaching Grumentum. Perhaps fearing the tribes of former Grumentum that he forcibly annexed, Sisinag has not come out of the city to give battle. He is holding Grumentum city while sending men to Nerulum, hoping to form an alliance with us to jointly resist Potentia."

"Sisinag certainly has clever ideas." Davos smiled faintly. "What are your thoughts on this?"

Vespa hesitated for a moment, then said, "I believe there is no need to ally with Pyxous. Past events have proven that this man Sisinag is completely untrustworthy. Moreover, a battle between Potentia and Pyxous, regardless of who wins, will weaken both sides, which is very advantageous for our Daonia!"

Davos was pleased to see Vespa thinking this way, indicating that he had grown accustomed to life in the alliance and was considering its interests. So he said, "Lord Vespa's words are correct! Of course, we will not rudely refuse him. We will simply say that Daonia has just been through a major war and needs to recuperate and cannot engage in another conflict."

Vespa indicated his understanding.

At this point, Hemon spoke: "It's not only Sisinag who is extending goodwill to us. The tribes of former Grumentum have also secretly sent people to contact us, hoping to receive our help to drive out the Pixis and Potentia people."

"And what are they prepared to offer?" Davos asked.

"They said, 'We are willing to make Grumentum a dependency of your Daonia.'" Hemon replied.

"That condition seems worth considering." Protesilaus said, a bit tempted.

Davos looked at him, then at the other senators who showed agreement, and said with a cold smile, "These tribes once betrayed their Great Chief Lussau, and later came into conflict with Pyxous. Do the Grumentum people think that with just those words we would have Daonia go to war against the two major powers of Lucania—Potentia and Pyxous? Is that possible! At present, Crimissa and Asperustum require large numbers of citizens and preparatory citizens to settle. For some time, the Daonian army will be involved in a series of issues such as reorganization, redeployment, and territorial assignments. We simply cannot spare enough soldiers to march into Lucania. Besides, Bacule, in your opinion, how effective would our heavy infantry be in the mountains of Lucania?"

Bacule thought for a moment and said frankly, "We captured Nerulum because it was a surprise attack; we did not face the Lucanian warriors head-on in battle. But if heavy infantry were to fight Lucanian warriors in the mountains, I'm afraid it would be very difficult to gain the upper hand. Just traversing the mountain trails would exhaust the soldiers' energy. Moreover, we are unfamiliar with the terrain. On narrow mountain paths, the enemy doesn't need to fight us directly; just rolling down a few stones could cause us heavy losses, not to mention the great difficulty of transporting grain..."

"Bacule is right! When we were in Persia and had to cross mountainous regions to reach Armenia, we often faced similar difficulties. No matter how brave the heavy infantry are, they can't be effective." Alexis immediately said, followed by other former mercenary senators voicing their agreement with Bacule's words.

The senators with the most combat experience all considered mountain warfare unfavorable, which made Protesilaus somewhat ashamed. He was good at admitting his mistakes and said sheepishly, "It seems the recent string of victories has made me a bit arrogant."

The senators who had agreed to accept the conditions of the Grumentum tribes also lowered their heads in slight embarrassment. In the past, in Thurii and Amendolara, war was a painful thing. But ever since Davos appeared, it seemed victories came easily, giving everyone the illusion that Daonian soldiers were invincible, which had started to make them arrogant.

But Davos had not lost his caution. He clearly remembered that in history, when Rome began conquering the Italian peninsula, the greatest obstacle was not the coastal Greek city-states, nor the fierce Gallic tribes of the north, but the Samnites of the central mountains. The Roman heavy infantry, dominant on the plains, could barely advance when attacking the Samnites in the mountains. The conflict lasted decades, and several times the Romans suffered severe defeats and were forced to humiliatingly sue for peace. Davos certainly did not want to repeat Rome's mistakes.

"Are we not going to attack Lucania at all? Magistrate, don't forget that you promised us you would occupy the Lucanian region!" At this, a man stood up and questioned Davos.

It was Polyxides! Kynogoratas, Bourkos and others frowned. Capus and Amyntas showed displeasure, but Davos remained calm: "Not launching a direct assault on Lucania does not mean we are giving up on it. The war between Potentia and Pyxous will most affect the small tribes scattered on the lands around Grumentum and the common people within the city. Hemon told me that the Lucanians who fled to Nerulum said that Pyxous and Potentia are both plundering their cattle and property, and forcibly conscripting them as vanguard troops..."

"Yes, Magistrate. When these people arrived in Nerulum and saw that Lucanians who had become Daonian citizens were living in prosperity, they were very envious! They now all hope that Grumentum can regain peace, so that they can continue their quiet life under the protection of a powerful force." Hemon said solemnly. "And the only one who can help them realize this good hope is our Daonia!"

"So I ask you to send people to operate more around Grumentum, and if possible, sneak into the city, so that these Lucanians who have suffered from war can clearly understand this!" Davos instructed.

Hemon nodded in agreement.

"Bacule, when you return, tell Sestas to gather the young Lucanian men of Nerulum. You are to conduct intensive training according to the original Lucanian combat methods. However, it is best to keep the unit organization in the current format, as it will ensure better discipline. In addition, ensure secrecy so that the enemies to the north don't know."

Davos's words made Bacule excitedly ask, "When do we attack?"

"Wait for the right moment." Davos uttered, then looked around at everyone and said firmly, "I would rather have Potentia and Garagusus become dependencies of Daonia than allow Grumentum to slip out of our control! The city of Grumentum occupies a very important position, controlling the land routes leading to the north, east, and west of Italy. It must be firmly held by Daonia itself!"

...

Croton's forces had just arrived at Scylletium. After joining the small reinforcements sent by Trina and Scylletium, they continued southward. Meanwhile, the Croton fleet had been sailing south all along, had already passed Scylletium, and was nearing the waters off Caulonia.

At that moment, the light scout ship at the very front relayed information: A Locrian fleet had been spotted ahead, numbering about forty ships!

Ascamas, the Croton naval commander, immediately ordered the fleet to slow speed, lower the sails, form a battle line, and prepare for engagement!

Soon, the warships that received the order converged, forming a formation with triremes in the center and other ships of various sizes flanking both sides, keeping as close to the coast as possible. Since an east wind was blowing at the time, even with lowered sails, they could still use the wind speed to conserve the rowers' strength. Thus the fleet tried its best to seize the windward position.

Before the formation was complete, the Locrian fleet appeared on the sea less than a nautical mile away.

Ascamas decisively ordered: Increase speed, prepare to attack!

From west to east, the Croton fleet divided into five columns, each column of ten ships, ready to dash into the enemy's line at high speed and then, using their numerical advantage, engage in one-on-one or two-on-one ship-to-ship combat (this was the common naval tactic of using a numerical advantage, once created by the Athenians).