Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 68: Phaedon

“We’re finished! Our port is going to be blockaded, Rhegium is finished!!”

“Atillikrus, you must immediately order Daonia to send a fleet to drive off the Messinians!”

“Send envoys at once to negotiate peace with Dionysius! Dionysius’ enemy is Daonia, not us! If we offer him gold and silver, he will accept Rhegium!”

…

“Enough! All of you, be quiet!” Atillikrus roared, startling everyone.

“The Syracusans are still at sea, and you’re already panicking like this! If they were to land, would you surrender on the spot? Look at yourselves—you’re worse than ordinary citizen soldiers! Dionysius has long wanted to occupy Rhegium to monopolize the Strait of Messina and reap immense wealth; he will never agree to our peace proposal! Whoever says such words that betray the city’s interests again, I’ll have the guards throw him into the sea to feed the fish!…” Atillikrus’ furious reprimand not only terrified those who had just spoken of “peace talks” into lowering their heads, but also made the others look ashamed.

Then he turned his gaze to the only man in the City Hall who was neither shouting nor panicking, and asked with a serious expression: “Pheidon, given this dire situation, what do you suggest?”

Pheidon, known as the Rhegian citizen who least resembled a typical Rhegian, had a tenacious character, was meticulous in his work, and possessed great decisiveness. When he was first elected general, he had ignored all pleas and intercessions to rigorously investigate tax evasion at the port, offending a large number of Rhegian merchants. Since Rhegium was a city-state with a thriving commerce, many council members composed of wealthy men obstructed him, and afterward Pheidon was never again elected general or council member. Only last year, when Syracusan forces had already reached the opposite shore of the strait, the panicked citizens of Rhegium remembered this bold citizen and elected him general once more.

Now, with a grave expression, he said: “The Syracusan army has landed at Locri. Though it is not far from Rhegium, the Montalto Mountains (the southernmost part of the Apennines, with peaks near 2000 meters) are difficult to cross. For Syracuse to attack us, they can only take the rugged coastal road to reach Locri. Therefore, if we station troops to hold the mountain passes, no matter how many Syracusan soldiers there are, they will be unable to break through…”

Atillikrus said excitedly: “That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

Pheidon paid no heed to the chief general using his idea to polish his own image, and continued: “Of course, we must also be wary of the Syracusans moving west from Locri along that famous ancient road connecting the east and west coasts, reaching Medma, then heading south to attack Tauriana, thereby opening a channel to invade Rhegium!”

“This is indeed a very worrying problem!” After Pheidon’s remarks, Atillikrus’ chaotic thoughts were clarified. His brows knit tightly, and after pondering for a moment, he said loudly: “We must warn Tauriana to strengthen its defenses and be vigilant against enemies that might attack from the north! And we must also send troops to reinforce Tauriana; otherwise, given its strength, even with the Maro River as a barrier, it will be hard to withstand the assault of the Syracusan army!”

The previously flustered crowd now nodded in agreement.

Atillikrus ignored them, instead asking in an urgent and humble tone: “Pheidon, is there anything else we need to consider?”

“With the outbreak of this great war, our trade routes will inevitably be cut off. You gentlemen should stop worrying about your own commerce.” Pheidon said earnestly: “Even if we kept our original warships here, they would be no match for the Syracusan fleet. It would be better to hand them over to Daonia; at least they can assemble a relatively strong fleet and cause some trouble for the Syracusans…”

These words from Pheidon made some people’s faces turn red with shame.

“You are absolutely right! That is exactly why I want to hand over the warships to the Daonians!” Atillikrus immediately took up the thread.

Someone retorted in disagreement: “The Syracusans are not fools. They could use their fleet to bypass the coastal paths and land near Rhegium!”

Pheidon shook his head and said: “We all know that the coastline near the Strait of Messina is mostly cliffs and rocks, with few good beaches and bays. The two best spots are already occupied by us (referring to the city of Rhegium and its port, which are in two separate locations). So we only need to garrison the remaining few beaches. I believe no matter how powerful the Syracusan army is, they would not dare to risk heavy casualties by landing against our prepared battle formations.”

Pheidon’s words dispelled much of the panic in the crowd, and Atillikrus seized the moment to say: “I now propose that Pheidon be appointed commander of the Rhegian forces.”

Hardly anyone objected.

Pheidon accepted the appointment with a solemn expression, then said to the chief general: “Lord Atillikrus, while strengthening our defenses, we must also immediately request aid from Daonia! If Syracuse and Locri attack Tauriana with full force, even if the soldiers of both our cities join together, it will be difficult to resist!”

“Don’t worry.” Atillikrus had now grasped the key points. He forced a smile and said: “The news of the Syracusans landing at Locri will soon reach Daonia, Croton, Scylletium… these city-states. The army of the South Italy Alliance will be assembled quickly. How would the Syracusans dare to concentrate all their efforts on dealing with us when facing a major war?!”

“That’s right! That’s right!…” The others echoed.

“Of course, we must also quickly contact Daonia, inform them of our current situation, and discuss the next steps together… Considering that enemy warships are already prowling the eastern waters of Magna Graecia, we must immediately dispatch envoys on a fast ship, travel along the west coast to the port of Clampetia, and then head to Thurii…” Atillikrus made the decision.

The shocking news of “the Syracusan army landing at Locri” quickly spread throughout Magna Graecia. The citizens of Daonia were much calmer than those of other city-states. Having never suffered defeat, they firmly believed in their army corps, their Senate, and especially in their miraculous magistrate.

Kynogoratas and Cornelius met on the way to the Senate.

“The worst has finally happened. The Syracusans have indeed come. I hear Dionysius leads an army of no less than a hundred thousand!” Cornelius said gloomily as they walked.

“Then we must immediately have Hieronymus organize the two new army corps!” Kynogoratas felt no better than Cornelius. “Philistos and Antistanos should know the news by now. I hope they can urge Croton, Scylletium… these allied city-states to quickly assemble the allied forces!”

“A great storm is coming, and we are all in the same boat. No one can escape. I believe that this time, Croton and Scylletium will no longer hesitate.” Cornelius was fairly confident on this point.

“Yes, for now we have to rely on them temporarily!” Kynogoratas sighed. In this critical moment, he realized how much both the Daonian citizens, the Senate, and he himself relied on that young magistrate. “Where is Lord Davos? Has he already heard the news of the Syracusan invasion?”

“Urgent reports came from the north yesterday. Lord Davos has led his army to the Lao River Fortress and is preparing to go to Laüs to take a ship to Pyxous… From the Lao River Fortress to Thurii, even with a messenger riding at full speed, it takes a day. I believe he has already reached Pyxous by now and is with Antaoris. He will soon learn the news of the Syracusan invasion of Magna Graecia.” Cornelius replied.

The elders of the Senate were all closely following Davos’ movements. Kynogoratas had been so busy helping Seclian establish the military port these past few days that he had forgotten to inquire about Davos’ whereabouts.

“I hope he can repel the Samnites soon! And return quickly!” Kynogoratas said wishfully.

Just then, they were crossing Victory Square. In the square, a group of children were playing, some young men were jogging around the square for exercise (mainly because Thurii’s arenas and other venues were occupied by the public for ball games, leaving the rapidly expanding Thurii urban area’s facilities insufficient for fitness and sports training), and some old men were leaning against steps or columns, lying on the ground to sunbathe. Others held books freshly copied from the Library, reading slowly…

At the center of the square stood a temporary wooden platform. Teachers from the Mathematics Academy were teaching the public simple arithmetic, attracting a crowd to watch, listen, and learn (this practice was a good habit established by two disciples of Pythagoras back in the Amendolara days and had been maintained ever since, as the Mathematics Academy’s head, Mentotikels, always believed it was the best way to expand the academy’s influence and attract good students).

And ever since Lysias became the head of the School of Literature, he refused to be outdone. Every day, he sent teachers to Victory Square, where they stood before the billboard displaying the Council’s decrees at the foot of the Senate steps, reading aloud the contents of newly enacted laws, explaining common grammatical applications, pointing out rhetorical errors in the announcements (which made the Senate’s copyists extremely cautious for fear of mistakes), and also discussing Daonia’s legal codes and debating skills. Naturally, this also attracted many citizens to listen and learn.

Such a lively square was inevitably full of vendors. Although Thurii’s City Hall had regulations forbidding vendors from setting up stalls in the square, that didn’t stump the shrewd Greek merchants. They carried wooden baskets or pushed wooden carts filled with snacks, fruits, oxygala, and other items, wandering around the square all day, earning considerable profits… Even on this day of the Syracusan invasion, the square’s liveliness had not diminished in the slightest.