Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 100: Prelude to War (Part 2)

Piallen nodded. He could only remind them that although he had been elected the first Great Chief of the newly formed alliance, in fact he had no right to interfere in the governance of these tribal towns. He turned and asked Sedorum again, “Pyxous and Potentia have already agreed to ally with us. Do you think they will attack the Daonians?”

“That’s hard to say…” Sedorum said thoughtfully. “Because right now the Daonians are attacking us, not them. Given Sicinag’s cunning nature, he will never be the first to attack unless we make the Daonians suffer a defeat!”

There was a hint of disappointment in Piallen’s eyes, but it quickly faded. He raised his voice to encourage them: “Gentlemen, as long as we hold off the Daonian attack, if we can keep the Daonians from entering the Bruttian mountains for half a month or a month, their morale will be broken, their grain transport will run into difficulties, and the Lucanians, who have been oppressed by the Daonians, will seize the chance to rise up. The Daonians will inevitably be trapped! That will be our time to counterattack, to completely break the Daonian blockade and seize the fertile plains of the Greeks for our descendants!”

Piallen’s stirring words made everyone’s blood boil. Nikurus shouted, “Defeat the Daonians!”

…

Building a road through winding, rugged mountains was a vast and complex project. It not only consumed a huge amount of manpower and resources but also tested a nation’s engineering capabilities. The Thurii–Laüs road had been under construction since early last year, with Laüs, Thurii, and Nerulum all investing a great deal of labor, yet it was still not finished. So Davos’s twenty-thousand-strong army and its enormous baggage train spent five days traveling through the mountains before finally reaching the Lao River Fortress.

Meanwhile, Heilos had led the Fourth Army Corps to the outskirts of Trina. The generals and Council members of Trina came out of the city to greet him. Sipros introduced them one by one to Heilos, and the atmosphere was very friendly.

Heilos politely declined the Trinians’ invitation to enter the city for a feast, insisting on staying with his soldiers, which earned praise from all the dignitaries.

He led the army to camp on the coast about ten li northwest of Trina. This was the exit of a coastal pass, only about eleven or twelve li from the town of Clampetia.

After Heilos arranged the camp construction, he immediately took his guards and Sipros and approached the outskirts of Clampetia.

To the left was a cliff, to the right were mountain ridges. The coastal road leading to the Cosenza Plateau was already narrow, and the location of Clampetia made it even narrower. The city seemed no more than 200 meters in length, yet it completely blocked the passage. The city was not large, but it was built from bluestone. The walls were only about four meters high, but the city was situated on high ground. From where Heilos stood, the road slanted upward, growing narrower and narrower…

Just getting the soldiers to the foot of the city would require considerable effort, let alone dodging the enemy’s arrows and javelins. Fortunately, the terrain around Asperustum was somewhat similar, and the soldiers had experience from their training.

Heilos observed the road while thinking about whether the two types of siege engines just allocated to the Third Army Corps could be pushed up to the city walls.

Seeing Heilos staring at Clampetia in silence for a long time, Sipros thought he was intimidated by the difficulty of the siege, so he reminded him, “There are also several small paths in the nearby mountains that can bypass Clampetia and head north to Cosentia.”

“Really?!” Heilos turned his head abruptly.

“Yes. Otherwise, how could the Siru people and those resisting the Cosentian tribes have escaped from Bruttium?”

“Then do the people inside know about them?” Heilos pointed to Clampetia ahead.

Sipros understood his meaning and said affirmatively, “They certainly do.”

Heilos abandoned his hope but still decided to send scouts to investigate after returning.

“I heard Clampetia has a harbor,” Heilos asked again.

“There is indeed a harbor, but it’s not large,” Sipros said as he dismounted and walked toward the cliff.

Heilos did not try to show off and also dismounted. He didn’t think his horse-riding skill was good enough, and if his horse were startled near the cliff, the Fourth Army Corps might lose a legion commander before the battle even started.

“There!” Sipros pointed ahead, his voice somewhat ethereal in the strong sea breeze.

Heilos looked closely. From this protruding cliff, with a height difference of nearly a hundred meters above sea level, his line of sight could reach the coast several li north of Clampetia. There he saw a flat stretch of land, a small beach with a simple dock, and about a dozen boats moored…

Sipros explained, “According to intelligence from the Siru people and the observations of our ships that often pass near Clampetia, the harbor is built at the mouth of the Savuto River—”

“The Savuto River?”

“The Savuto River is a large river within Clampetia’s territory. Don’t think this area around the city is just mountains and sea, seemingly barren. Actually, not far to the north, there is a small plain around the Savuto River. Following the Savuto valley north leads smoothly to Cosentia.” As he said this, Sipros showed a hint of a contemptuous smile. “It is said that the Bruttians originally built Clampetia here because they feared we would destroy and plunder their farmland and pastures on the Savuto Plain. But we Trinians cannot even finish cultivating the fertile land on the Euphemia Plain, why would we covet this little plain? However, their city is ten li from the Savuto River, making work inconvenient. So they had to build another small town by the river—”

“This small town—what are its defenses like?” Heilos suddenly interrupted.

“I heard this small town has no walls.”

Heilos breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to expend great effort capturing Clampetia, only to have to seize another town to fully occupy this Bruttian territory.

“In the past, Clampetia had poor production, poor shipbuilding skills, and little contact with other Italian city-states. Despite having a harbor, there was almost no sea trade. However…” Sipros said worriedly, “Now that the Bruttian Tribal Alliance has been formed, this is the Bruttians’ only harbor. I believe it will develop quickly…”

Heilos nodded, but neither of them knew that the Bruttians had already used this simple dock to break the Daonian blockade and form an alliance with Pyxous and Potentia.

“Lord Legion Commander, look!” Just then, a guard shouted a warning.

The city gates of Clampetia were wide open, and a group of soldiers rushed out.

“Let’s go!” Heilos gave the order, and the whole group unhurriedly returned to camp.

“See? The Daonians are all cowards!” Nikurus brandished his spear and laughed loudly.

Davos arrived at the Lao River Fortress. Sestas and Hieronymus, who had received the news, were already waiting there.

“Lord Magistrate, the people of Nerulum have been mobilized. Following the arrangements of the City Hall, they will transport grain and baggage for our troops, build camps, and carry the wounded…” Sestas reported proactively.

“And the Lucanian tribes? No objections?”

“On the contrary, they are very happy to see the Bruttians conquered. The stronger Daonia is, the safer they are. And in the future, Daonia will have more than just the Lucanians as a non-Greek race. They are even willing to provide quarters for the army corps. But if so, our soldiers will have to be careful of Lucanian women sneaking into their tents at night. You know, Daonian Greek citizens are quite popular now!” Sestas joked.

Davos found this amusing and laughed heartily. He looked at Sestas and said with some emotion, “Lord Sestas, I imagine that when you were a mercenary, you never had the experience of holding a city-state office or even managing a city.”

Sestas shook his head: “In those days, I was fighting just for a piece of bread. I never imagined today. It was you, my lord, who brought us unimaginable changes!”

“Opportunities must be seized when given. And you, a mercenary with no city-management experience, resolutely chose to leave the familiar army and come to this unfamiliar land. Facing the still hostile Lucanians, you did not fear difficulties, worked hard, and boldly solved problems. To this day, I can say that Nerulum is completely Daonian territory! Sestas, you have done an excellent job! Not only do I think so, but so do the other senators. You are now the most administratively experienced senator among our former mercenaries! When your term ends next year, I believe the Senate will have an even more important task for you!” Davos spared no words in expressing his appreciation for Sestas.

Sestas felt both proud and excited but remained clear-headed: “My lord, you are the most administratively experienced among our mercenaries!”

“Me?” Davos looked around and said, “That doesn’t count. You all say I am the God-Touched One; it’s all Hades’s doing!”

Everyone laughed.

“My lord,” Hieronymus couldn’t help asking, “What is the task of the Third Army Corps in this war?” The Third Army Corps had not been involved in the last reinforcement of Tarentum, and this mobilization had not given specific instructions to the Third Corps. Hieronymus was naturally a bit anxious.

Davos looked at this legion commander, who, for the convenience of training and commanding the Third Army Corps, had moved his family to Nerulum, even skipping regular Senate meetings. He felt the same emotion: if Sestas had political ambition, this taciturn man treated the camp as his home. Thus, although he was a Greek commanding a mostly Lucanian Third Army Corps, the Lucanian warriors who once hated Greeks were very obedient to him. That was the reason.