Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 128: Hegesitus

Seeing the enemies surging in like a tidal wave, Pangaelus wore a grim expression. The fear on the faces of the surrounding soldiers worried him. He suddenly drew his sword and shouted loudly, "Warriors of Clampetia! You have successfully held back a powerful enemy for nearly a month. Now the greatest test is upon us. Think of your parents, your wives, and your children—they are behind us, needing our protection. Summon your courage, and under the protection of Brutus, we will surely drive back these cowardly foes! The warriors of Bruttii will never be slaves!"

"The Great Chief is right! We cannot lose; we will never be slaves!"

"We will fight the Greeks to the death!"

Inspired by Pangaelus, the warriors of Clampetia lifted their morale and began drawing bowstrings against the enemy approaching the ditch...

...

Diolidas, a member of Croton's Council of the Hundred, came to Trina as Croton's representative, bringing several tons of grain and dozens of sheep, to comfort the Daonian Fourth Army Corps in the name of the South Italy Alliance. His main task was to observe the progress of Daonia's war against the Bruttians, and he happened to witness this siege firsthand.

Later, he returned to Croton and, with an astonished expression, described the day's events to the Council: "...The Daonians invented a terrifying siege weapon; they call it a ballista. Like a bow, it can launch stone projectiles weighing over a dozen minas several hundred meters away, hitting the city wall with fair accuracy. After continuous bombardment for several days, the stone wall of Clampetia developed a large breach under this new siege engine.

"The Daonians also built something called a siege tower. It is like a movable wooden tower, taller than the walls of Clampetia. When the Daonians pushed it toward Clampetia, archers on the top kept shooting at the enemies on the wall. When it got close to the wall, a heavy drawbridge was immediately lowered onto the battlements, and Daonian soldiers charged onto the walls of Clampetia through that bridge.

"The Daonians didn't just use ballistas and siege towers; they also used ladders to scale the walls extensively, just like us. I saw that every soldier was eager to attack, rarely retreating even when their comrades fell from the walls. Their courage is no less than that of Croton's citizens. But the warriors of Clampetia were not as fierce as they used to be against us. Perhaps they were too few, or maybe they were terrified by the Daonians' dreadful siege engines... In the end, the battle lasted only until the afternoon when the Daonian Fourth Army Corps broke into Clampetia, and Pangaelus, the Great Chief of Clampetia, was killed in action..."

After Diolidas finished speaking, the Council fell into silence.

Not long ago, they had received news that Daonia had captured Besidia. Now Clampetia had fallen as well... When had the Bruttians, who had always troubled Croton, become so weak? Or had Daonia's army grown stronger, beyond what Croton's citizen soldiers could match? The Crotoniates were bewildered: they had hoped that war would make Daonia stumble against the Bruttians, allowing Croton to gain some advantage. But now it seemed that was just a fantasy. The strength Daonia had shown frightened everyone present.

"This is good news!" General Sisprontis stood up and said loudly, "The nightmare that has plagued Croton's citizens and other city-states for a century may finally end! When the people of Croton hear this, they will surely be overjoyed!"

Sisprontis's words made those with other intentions realize that even if they wanted to hinder Daonia, their proposals would likely fail to pass the Assembly.

Then Chief General Lysias rose and said, "As a member of the South Italy Alliance, we should rejoice in Daonia's victory! Although Daonia did not invite Croton to join the war, as fellow allies in the South Italy Alliance, Croton should join other allied states in donating sufficient military supplies to Daonia, to show our support!"

On the very day the Fourth Army Corps launched its major assault, the army led by Davos remained camped on the banks of the Punat River.

Soldiers were busy sending the wounded back to Besidia, while the baggage camp transported grain from Thurii to Besidia and then back to the camp.

Davos was in his tent, intently staring at a map of the Bruttian highlands, pondering his next move.

Just then, Tolmides entered: "Lord, a number of Bruttians have arrived outside the camp. A man named Hegesistus, leading them, requests an audience."

Davos's heart stirred, and he immediately said, "Bring him in quickly!"

It turned out that the earlier uprising in Cosentia had been incited by Hegesistus. When Piallen's army returned from attacking the stronghold, knowing they were outmatched, those rebellious tribes fled Cosentia in panic. At the time, Piallen was busy dealing with Daonia's main army and had no energy to suppress them. But these tribes had brought their families and had little food. They suffered greatly in the mountains, and within two days, their provisions were nearly exhausted.

Thus, the tribes began to complain to Hegesistus, casting increasingly hostile looks his way.

Just then, a scout returned with astonishing news: the Bruttian League had fought a major battle with Daonia by the Punat River and suffered a crushing defeat. Piallen had left Cosentia with a huge army, but only a handful escaped back.

This news immediately changed the tribes' attitude toward Hegesistus.

Hegesistus made a swift decision and led these tribes to seek shelter from Daonia's army.

Davos was not overly concerned about adding more than two thousand mouths to feed. What interested him was Hegesistus himself. This had originally been a casual move on a whim, but Hegesistus's first report had exceeded his expectations.

He looked at the man—with Greek features but a physique taller and sturdier than most Greeks, and a mane of disheveled long hair—and asked curiously, "How did you persuade them?"

"Magistrate Lord." Hegesistus knew this was his chance. He explained in detail, "Before the Bruttian Tribal Alliance was formed, the great tribe of Cosentia, led by Piallen, had been forcibly annexing smaller neighboring tribes. After the Bruttian League was established, to avoid provoking resentment from the Great Chiefs of Vegium and Besidia, Piallen proposed setting up an organization called the 'Council of Chiefs' within the alliance. All tribal chiefs who submitted, voluntarily or by force, were gathered there, ostensibly to manage and decide alliance affairs together. In reality, these chiefs had no power at all. Alliance affairs were decided by the Council of Elders (the Seven-Elder Council) composed of the Great Chiefs and the High Priest. The common people of these tribes were completely dispersed, forced into individual households under direct alliance management—and of course, they paid taxes directly to the alliance each year.

"The tribal chiefs, having lost all authority, were naturally dissatisfied, and the warriors in the tribes were also unaccustomed to this. Lord, you should know that each of these native tribes has essentially descended from the same bloodline over centuries. They have kinship ties and used to help each other in times of hardship. Suddenly cut off from tribal support and forced to live independently, many warriors ended up worse off than before. Moreover, within Cosentia, they were often bullied by warriors from the larger tribes. So whether chiefs or warriors, discontent simmered in their hearts..."

Davos listened attentively, nodding from time to time. He felt that in fact, these measures of the Bruttian Tribal Alliance went even further than the earlier Lucanian Tribal Alliance system. They aimed to completely dismantle the old tribal structure and centralize power at the alliance's high level. If they truly succeeded, it would become a formidable rival for Daonia.

"Lord, to protect the Sylu tribe, you did not hesitate to go to war with the Bruttian Tribal Alliance!" Hegesistus flattered Davos lightly, then continued, "To meet the war, the Bruttian League had to suspend its handling of these later-surrendered tribes. So after I infiltrated Cosentia, I told them: 'Daonia will defeat the Bruttian League and restore your tribal rights and freedoms!'" At this point, Hegesistus glanced cautiously at Davos, a little worried that his presumptuous action might invite criticism.

"You did well!" Davos praised. Deep down, he too wished to follow the Bruttian League's example—confiscate the powers of each tribe and bring all Bruttians directly under Daonia's rule. But his reason told him such rash action would only intensify conflicts between Greeks and Bruttians, destabilizing the region and harming Daonia in the long run. The Bruttian League, as an organization of the same ethnicity and with overwhelming strength, had already provoked passive resistance and even rebellion from these small tribes. If the Greeks, who had long been enemies of the Bruttians, tried to enforce such centralization, the outcome would likely be even worse. Therefore, after conquering Bruttii, Davos decided to follow the same strategy he had used in Lucania: gradually weaken their traditional structures like boiling a frog in warm water—outwardly promising tribal privileges, while secretly using the army and culture to exert subtle influence on Bruttian warriors, eventually loosening the tribes' control over them.

"These tribes were initially tempted by my proposal but hesitated, until your army suddenly captured Besidia, shaking all of Cosentia and making them resolve!" Hegesistus said excitedly. "Now your army has once again dealt a heavy blow to the Bruttian army. I believe this victory will have a huge impact on the situation inside Cosentia!"