Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 63: Trina's Astonishing News

Aristocrates understood that when Davos referred to the “Thurii tragedy,” he meant the event two years ago when Thurii rashly marched into the mountains to counterattack the Lucanians and ended up annihilated on the banks of the Lao River.

He thought it over, still unwilling to let it go. “But… missing such a good opportunity would be such a pity!”

“Aristo.” Davos smiled slightly. “Let me ask you, who is stronger now—Daonia, or Pyxous and Potentia?”

“Of course it’s our Daonia! Even if Pyxous and Potentia combined, they wouldn’t be a match for us!” Aristocrates answered without hesitation.

“Then that settles it. What we need to do is like eating a piece of bread: take a bite, chew it slowly, swallow it, turn it into our strength, and keep going until we’re full—not gobble one bite after another without swallowing, only to end up choking.” Davos explained patiently.

“I understand, Lord!” Aristocrates said with sincere conviction. Smart as he was, he grasped Davos’s meaning: first, spend time and effort to establish a solid foothold in the center of the Lucanian region, then use Daonia’s strength to steadily crush Pyxous and Potentia head-on, without rushing.

“So now we still need to negotiate with the envoys from Pyxous and Potentia, sign peace agreements—like non-aggression pacts—to appease them and prevent them from openly causing trouble around Grumentum. But the agreement’s term shouldn’t be too long.” A hint of menace crept into Davos’s calm tone.

“As for Garagusus… I’ve heard it’s deep in the mountains, rarely in contact with the outside world, and has a harsh living environment. We could consider forming an alliance with it and strengthening trade…” Davos paused when he heard voices outside the living room. He stopped talking and said with a smile, “An interesting guest has arrived.”

“An interesting guest?” Aristocrates rarely heard Davos give such a description to anyone. Curious, he looked toward the door. When the slave steward Ribazo led someone in, he suddenly understood: Ah, it’s him!

Sipros of Trina. During the earlier visit by envoys from the southern city-states seeking aid from Daonia, his thin, spear-like frame had been quite striking. Equally notable was his behavior. Not only had he been the first among the envoys from Croton’s allied states to fully support Daonia’s proposal to create the South Italy Alliance, but also, during the reinforcement campaign, the First Army Corps legion commander Capus later reported to Davos that the Trinian envoy Sipros had insisted on marching with the Daonian army, eating and sleeping alongside the soldiers. It was said that in Trina’s Assembly, he had loudly praised the combat effectiveness of the Daonian army and proposed that Trina should strengthen cooperation with Daonia…

Aristocrates recalled that after hearing about this man’s performance, Davos had remarked: “Sipros is a clever man—quick-witted, observant, and knows how to adapt.”

So no wonder that for this Hades Temple completion celebration, Davos had specially recommended him as one of the key invited guests.

And now, as Davos watched Sipros, his mind went back to the content of a secret report from Christhoya’s tavern the night before, detailing Sipros’s conversation with the Elea envoy.

Davos understood clearly: after Daonia defeated Croton and gradually became the most formidable power in southern Italy, it naturally drew a lot of attention. Daonia’s unique political system did not escape the notice of discerning eyes, but few analyzed it as incisively as Sipros had…

“Sipros, Daonia’s best friend, welcome!” Davos said cheerfully and loudly. “I’ve been so busy with the celebration these past days. I originally planned to host you after it was over to express my gratitude, but I didn’t expect…”

Sipros bowed respectfully. “Magistrate, I insisted on visiting because I have no choice. My city urgently requires me to convey a proposal to you.”

“Oh… What proposal?” Davos motioned for Sipros to sit down and speak.

Sipros glanced at Aristocrates, hesitated, and stopped.

“Let me introduce you. This is Aristocrates, a very talented young man and my personal secretary (though technically only a secretary due to not yet qualifying as a preparatory citizen). You can speak freely.” Davos’s words moved Aristocrates deeply.

Sipros nodded to him, sat down on a wooden chair, and asked, “Magistrate, do you know about the Bruttians?”

The moment those words were spoken, Davos roughly understood Sipros’s intent. “I know a bit about this neighbor to the west of the Daonia Alliance. The Bruttians are Italian natives, living in tribes like the Lucanians, but they are fewer in number and pose far less danger to Daonia. I hear they often attack your Trina.” Davos looked at Sipros with a hint of a smile.

“Not just Trina. They also harass Asperustum and southern Thurii from time to time,” Sipros reminded him.

“But it’s rare, and since the Daonia Alliance was established, we haven’t seen any Bruttian raids at all,” Davos said lightly.

“In fact, starting last year, the Bruttians suddenly stopped their raids on all Greek city-state territories. That’s not just because the combined forces of Croton, Scylletium, and our Trina dealt them a heavy blow—” Sipros paused, feeling Davos’s gaze sharpen, then deliberately raised his voice: “It’s more because a major change has taken place within the Bruttian people.”

“What change?” Davos felt a stir, but kept his expression calm.

“Trina borders the Bruttian town of Clampetia. We’ve fought them for years, so we know them relatively well and have some sources of information.” Sipros’s expression turned serious. “Last year, we learned that the chieftains of all Bruttian tribes gathered in Cosentia and had been deliberating on forming a tribal alliance.”

“Is that true?!” Davos was startled, involuntarily leaning forward. It was hard for him to keep his composure. Earlier, he had pretended indifference because, suspecting Sipros’s visit was related to the Bruttians, he didn’t want to appear too eager and lose leverage in future discussions about attacking them. After all, the Bruttians weren’t as great a threat to Daonia as the Lucanians.

As far as he knew, within the Bruttians’ relatively small mountainous territory, the tribes had always been fragmented. The northern tribes centered on Vergae, adjacent to Laüs, had close ties with the Lucanians; they had participated in the Lucanian tribal invasion of Thurii before. The central region, centered on the large city of Cosentia, was the most powerful. To the east, along the upper reaches of the Crati River, lived other Bruttian tribes, who had built the small town of Besidia. They often crossed the mountains to plunder the southern Sybaris Plain—that was their handiwork. To the southeast of Cosentia stood another small town, Ambarnia, said to have been founded by tribes that fled when Asperustum fell to Croton. And to the south of Cosentia, Clampetia bordered Trina, the main culprit in harassing Trina.

The Bruttian mountains were high and forested, with rugged roads, home to the only plateau in southern Italy. Vergae and Clampetia guarded the narrow coastal passages on the west coast north and south, while Besidia and Ambarnia blocked the only two mountain passes to the east coast. This made the region a land of four strongholds. Since the Bruttians claimed it as their habitat, they had always rushed out of the mountains to harass others, almost never been invaded. But internal tribal wars were frequent there. Most wars were instigated by Cosentia, which, being the strongest, dreamed of annexing the other tribes. Only Clampetia, having close ties with Cosentia, remained neutral. Vergae, Besidia, and Ambarnia often united against Cosentia. It was precisely this constant inter-tribal warfare that had drained the Bruttians’ strength, so they posed no great threat to the Greek city-states of Magna Graecia. But now, the perpetually quarrelsome Bruttians were actually forming a tribal alliance—this greatly increased their threat to the Greeks, especially to Daonia, whose territory bordered the Bruttian mountains.

“Of course it’s true,” Sipros affirmed. “Because in May of this year, the Bruttian tribal alliance was formally established! It is said that all Bruttian tribes elected the Cosentian Great Chief Piallen as Great Chief of the new alliance, with the Great Chief of Vergae, Sedorum, the Great Chief of Besidia, Licum, the Great Chief of Ambarnia, Bogam, and the Great Chief of Clampetia, Pangam, as council elders. Cosentia serves as the center of the tribal alliance, governing all Bruttian tribes…”

After hearing Sipros’s words, Davos could no longer sit still. He stood up involuntarily, pacing slowly as he asked in a low voice, “Where did you get this information?”

Seeing Davos’s reaction, Sipros knew that this matter had already drawn the utmost attention of Daonia’s supreme ruler, and his heart settled.

But Sipros didn’t know that Davos cared so much not only because the Bruttian tribal alliance might threaten Daonia’s territory, but more importantly because Davos had long been considering the Bruttian issue.

Now that Croton had been defeated by Daonia and the South Italy Alliance was established, Daonia had almost no rival power left in southern Italy.