Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 91: Mission to Brutti (Part 1)

After some discussion, both of them agreed that for the negotiations to succeed, they must first gain Daonia’s support.

So they rushed to the Daonian military camp, just in time to hear a roar of cheers like an avalanche or tidal wave from within.

Feeling puzzled, they saw Daonian herald Tolmides arrive, bringing an order from Davos: permit the two to enter the camp.

“Are you training?” Eumachus asked curiously.

“You mean the cheers? That is our commander, Lord Davos, receiving a beating with military rods!” Tolmides responded solemnly.

“What did you say?!” Eumachus thought he had misheard.

Tolmides solemnly briefed them on what had happened. Eumachus and Dexithemas were stunned: the magistrate of Daonia, because his soldier had brawled with a Tarentine citizen, not only punished the offending soldier but also punished himself?!

Far from feeling gratitude, they instead felt fear—more and more fear. A magistrate of an alliance would accept punishment for such a trivial matter! In all the Greek history they knew, they had never heard of such a thing. Both had served as magistrates several times and had often commanded their city-state’s armies. They certainly knew the importance of discipline in war. For Daonia’s army to enforce discipline to such an extent—no wonder they could defeat the fierce Peucetii!

“Terrible Davos!…” Dexithemas murmured.

Eumachus happened to hear this, hesitated for a moment, then understood Dexithemas’s meaning: Davos could be so ruthless to himself in order to achieve his goals! And from his recent dealings with Davos, Eumachus deeply felt that having such a lifelong magistrate in Daonia might not be a good thing for Tarentum… The only consolation was that the Tarentine citizens had finally come to an agreement about the peace talks. Otherwise, with the current morale of the Daonian soldiers, if they were to attack the Messapians again, who knows what would happen! Damn Timias! Couldn't those undisciplined Tarentines think more about their city before stirring up trouble?!

When the two magistrates met Davos, he was lying face down in his command tent receiving treatment from a physician. Learning of their purpose, although surprised, Davos immediately expressed his support.

After discussion among all parties, at dawn the next day, the Tarentine allied forces broke camp and marched east.

Midway to Brundisium, the Messapian-Peucetii Allied Forces blocked their path. The two sides deployed facing each other.

After an hour of confrontation, the Tarentine allied forces never sounded the attack horn. The Tarentines, mindful of their pride, used this method to subtly convey their intentions. The astute Pasimelus quickly understood the Greeks’ intent. After witnessing the tight formation and high morale of the Daonian soldiers, the words Trellemoni had spoken carried even more weight in his mind.

He did not play coy anymore and again sent Timagoras.

The negotiations between the two sides began.

By dusk, a peace agreement involving Tarentum, the Messapians, and the Peucetii was reached: both sides immediately cease hostilities; Tarentum returns Manduria to the Messapians; all sides return prisoners and the bodies of soldiers; Tarentum, the Messapians, and the Peucetii agree to mutual non-aggression for a period of ten years…

Additionally, Tarentum signed a trade agreement with the Peucetii.

The reason Tarentum agreed to return Manduria was actually out of necessity. The Tarentine Senate had deliberated beforehand and ultimately agreed: after the Messapians and Peucetii united, Manduria alone could no longer stop Messapian incursions, because they could join the Peucetii and invade from the broader eastern side of Tarentum. Moreover, successive defeats had drastically reduced Tarentum’s citizen population. If they sent citizens to resettle Manduria, it would not only weaken Tarentum’s strength but also leave them vulnerable to siege without daring to send relief.

Before the negotiations, the two magistrates had explicitly told Davos: to thank Daonia for its selfless help, they were willing to hand over Manduria to Daonia for free.

Davos was not short-sighted; his mind was clear: this was Tarentum trying to drag Daonia into the conflict, driving Daonia to long-term confrontation with the Messapians and Peucetii, shielding Tarentum from the wind and rain.

Davos certainly did not want to be the dupe. Moreover, with Daonia’s current strength, it was not capable of fighting on two fronts, so he politely declined.

Only then did Eumachus and Dexithemas use Manduria as a bargaining chip, and with the trade agreement, they swayed Trellemoni, ultimately forcing Pasimelus to concede and sign the ten-year peace agreement.

At the signing of the agreement, Trellemoni made a small request: he wished to meet the Daonian magistrate Davos in person. However, Davos politely declined, citing that his injuries had not healed and it was inconvenient to meet, so his wish went unfulfilled.

While the peace talks were taking place in Tarentum, the senators of the Daonian Senate, after reading Davos’s reply letter, finally passed a resolution to support the Sylu tribe.

When discussing candidates to send as envoy to Cosentia, Mariji immediately stood up and recommended Polyxides, praising his eloquence and saying he could surely persuade the Bruttian Tribal Alliance in Cosentia to spare the Sylu.

Then Mesis and Philistos also vied to praise Polyxides, saying he was the best candidate for envoy.

This display by the former mercenary senators thoroughly frightened Polyxides. He immediately felt that these trusted subordinates of Davos were deliberately targeting him. If he actually went to Cosentia, and Mariji and the others stirred up trouble again, he might not come back!

He was never one to take risks lightly. He quickly stood up and refused. Under the verbal assault from Mariji and the others, Polyxides did not hesitate to humiliate himself, almost begging for mercy.

Only then did Mariji and the others stop teasing him. In the end, it was Antaoris, who had recently joined the Senate and had no specific duties yet, who voluntarily offered to go.

The Tarentine allied forces returned to Tarentum, bringing the freed Tarentine citizens and the bodies of soldiers, including of course the reassembled corpse of Archytas.

After being reminded by Magistrate Eumachus, the Tarentine Senate even forbade citizens from leaving the city, allowing the Daonian army to return to camp without incident.

After attending Archytas’s funeral, Davos and some of the remaining soldiers took a ship back to Thurii first.

After accepting the envoy mission, Antaoris set out for Cosentia that same afternoon with three attendants.

He did not take the road that went west from Thurii through mountain passes to Laüs and then to Vergae. Although safe, most of that route was mountainous and too time-consuming. Instead, he chose the path along the south bank of the Crati River, following the river upstream to reach Besidia, then turning south to Cosentia.

After crossing the wooden bridge over the Crati River, Antaoris and his party walked westward along the south bank of the Crati. The terrain gradually rose, and the road narrowed. After passing the last sentry post of Thurii, ahead lay a dirt road that could accommodate three people walking abreast: on the left was a steep cliff wall; on the right, a slope over ten meters high, and below the slope rolled the turbulent Crati River.

Antaoris looked down and saw the dark green river roaring, crashing endlessly against black-yellow rocky reefs, producing a terrifying loud noise. One millstone-sized whirlpool after another appeared and disappeared, its depth unfathomable…

Antaoris felt his legs go weak. The four of them moved forward cautiously, supporting each other.

Some sections, due to rain soaking, had soft and collapsed soil, barely allowing one person to pass at a time.

The group walked for four hours, but it felt like a whole day, their physical and mental energy draining quickly. Fortunately, the path began to descend, and the road became wider. Suddenly, the view opened up before them: a continuous range of green mountains, the Crati River narrower but with faster currents, and between these mountains and the river lay a relatively flat lowland. Rising from this flat land was a small city—Besidia.

Antaoris and his party were stopped by Bruttian sentries at the road exit. After stating their purpose, only after a long delay were they escorted through a defensive camp that blocked the road junction, entered the city of Besidia, and were eventually brought to the crude council hall of Besidia.

Calling it a hall was generous; it was merely a larger thatched wooden hut. In the center of the hut, a fire burned in a pit on the dirt floor. In the city of Thurii, early September was still quite warm, and most people still wore thin, bare-shouldered summer chitons. But in the mountains of Besidia, not far from Thurii, it was already cold. The fire pit not only provided light but also warmth.

The three men sitting around the fire pit all wore leather jackets. The youngest among them stood up, walked up to Antaoris, and with a fierce gaze mixed with curiosity, said: “Greek, what are you doing in the mountains?! Don’t you know we Bruttians don’t welcome you?!”

After hearing his attendant’s translation, Antaoris said calmly: “I am an envoy of Daonia, dispatched by the Senate on a mission to Cosentia. I have important matters to discuss with the Great Chiefs of the Bruttii.”

“Important matters?! What important matters?!” He asked with considerable interest.

Antaoris replied seriously: “I’m sorry, but I can only speak to the Great Chiefs of the Bruttii.”

The young man’s face immediately changed. With a hideous look, he shouted: “If you don’t say it, you won’t pass through Besidia! I suspect you are Greek spies! Guards, seize them! Give each of them ten lashes, then lock them in the sheep pen!”

Antaoris and his attendants all changed color.

“Hold on, Kanalus!” At this moment, the man beside him stood up and stopped him: “They are Daonians. Until Great Chief Nikulus and the others send back a reply, it is best not to harm these people!”