Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 84: United as One

Philistos fell silent. In his heart, he somewhat felt that forcing a battle against the Syracusans with only half their strength here did have a certain chance of victory. The reason he had never agreed before was merely the inertia of long-term obedience to Davos's will.

Antistanos thought for a moment, then slowly spoke: "From my understanding of Lord Davos, even if he believed the chances of defeat in a battle here were high, he would still take the initiative to fight."

"Why?" Philistos asked hastily.

Antistanos gazed at the Scylletian citizens gathering in the distant square, weapons in hand, and said solemnly: "Because victory can earn the respect of the Magna Graecians, and defeat can equally win their hearts. But in a situation like now, when everyone is expecting action, doing nothing will only drive our allies away. Lost territory can be retaken, but lost hearts—once gone—are far harder to regain..."

"But... if this battle is lost, Caulonia, Trina, even Scylletium might be in danger," Philistos still hesitated.

"Hasn't Lord Davos already made arrangements! What are you still worried about?!" Antistanos looked into the distance with a faint, ambiguous smile: "Perhaps Davos foresaw this day... Since the men inside dared to make such a decision, they must be prepared to bear the cost of defeat..."

Having said that, Antistanos stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, stopped looking at the Scylletian populace within the city, let out a soft sigh, and uttered a remark that left Philistos puzzled: "It's like burning off the wild grass to clear land—only when the weeds and brush are burned away can new seeds be sown... Ah, that's politics."

...

When the two returned to the meeting, Philistos agreed to the众人's proposal—to engage the Syracusans in battle. But he raised one requirement: overall command of the battle belonged to Daonia.

To this, Pretinis, Arcesias, and Asopias had no objections. Only Ascamas expressed disagreement, but whether in terms of troop numbers or military performance, the Daonian Fourth and Fifth Army Corps far surpassed Croton's newly arrived forces. Thus, the final selection naturally made Philistos the commander of the entire South Italy Alliance army for this battle.

Philistos returned to the camp, where the two legion commanders, Drakos and Epithenis, were already waiting inside the main tent.

"Philistos, what did your council finally decide?" Epithenis asked impatiently.

"Our allied army intends to force the Syracusans into battle," Philistos replied truthfully.

"Yeah, I guessed right!" Epithenis looked excitedly at Drakos.

"I didn't make that bet with you, because my choice was also to fight the Syracusans," Drakos said, refusing to acknowledge him. He turned to Philistos and asked, "Who will command this battle?"

"Do you even need to ask! No one else but us!" Epithenis blurted out.

"I will command the entire allied army." When Philistos said this, his tone carried a hint of heaviness, as he felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. At the same time, seeing the excitement on the two legion commanders' faces, he realized that both the officers and soldiers of the Fourth and Fifth Army Corps were probably eager for a face-to-face clash with the Syracusans—because of military merit, the victory in the camp defense, and the warm hospitality of the Caulonians. Their morale was high, and the pride and honor of Daonian legion soldiers would not allow them to remain on the defensive for long. Of course, if Davos were here, no one would dare disobey, but now that Philistos himself was the commander, he couldn't be sure.

Thinking this, he felt relieved inside. He beckoned to the two men and said, "Let's carefully plan how to win this battle."

Hearing this, Epithenis stopped joking and asked seriously, "Which city-states of the South Italian League are sending troops to this battle? How many men total? How many Syracusans might join the fight?"

"Besides our 17,000 legion soldiers, Croton also has 17,000 soldiers, including 6,000 heavy infantry. Scylletium currently has 14,000 soldiers, with 3,000 heavy infantry, and they want to enlist more citizens to fight. Trina has 7,000 soldiers, but they need to defend their city, so they can probably send only four or five thousand to join the battle, with about a thousand heavy infantry... The total strength is roughly 54,000 men, with about 22,000 heavy infantry."

After Philistos finished, Epithenis whistled: "Wow, that's a huge army!"

"Not really," Drakos dampened his spirits. "All the Daonian army corps and reserve soldiers combined could easily surpass that number, and the heavy infantry count would far exceed this allied army! One Daonian army corps with six heavy infantry battalions is 6,000 heavy infantry. Counting all army corps, not including reserves, the total heavy infantry reaches 30,000!"

The full equipment of heavy infantry was expensive, and many citizens of other city-states were unwilling or unable to bear the cost. But many newly admitted preparatory citizens and full citizens in Daonia were willing to spend their entire fortunes to buy it, precisely because serving as heavy infantry in the Daonia Alliance brought them greater benefits—such as obtaining a land allotment, holding public office, participating in local council elections, joining Tribune elections, and so on. Moreover, the low-interest loans provided by the Cheiristoya Bank, which was unique to the Daonia Alliance and spread across its cities, gave the new citizens the confidence to purchase heavy infantry gear.

"But our army corps can't all appear here. Only my Fourth Army Corps and your Fifth Army Corps are here," Epithenis said, though he looked excited even as he refuted Drakos. "It's up to us to decide the outcome of this battle!"

Drakos said nothing, but his eyes also gleamed.

"Legion commanders, according to intelligence from Scylletium, we face at least 50,000 Syracusan troops, and they defeated Carthage—they won't be easy to handle!" Philistos warned them solemnly. "This battle is of great consequence! If we lose, the Syracusan army might press into Daonian territory, and the other city-states of the South Italy Alliance could be conquered by them. The consequences would be unimaginable!"

"I am also a Daonian senator. I fully understand the importance of this battle!" Epithenis grumbled to show his displeasure at being underestimated, then asked, "Are you sure the enemy only has over 50,000 men? What about the 40,000-plus enemies that attacked us at Caulonia earlier?"

"They are besieging Caulonia city. Scylletium's scout cavalry has been closely monitoring their movements and reporting to the allied army at all times," Philistos said, well aware of their concern. "We're keeping watch to prevent them from suddenly splitting forces northward to reinforce the Syracusan camp at Scylletium."

"As long as the Syracusans here don't get reinforcements, with our forces roughly equal, we have a great chance of victory!" Epithenis glanced at Philistos, then at Drakos, and analyzed: "We've already fought the Syracusans before. Their cavalry is strong, but no matter how strong, they wouldn't dare charge a dense phalanx formation in a pitched battle. As long as we are on guard, even if they rout our cavalry, they won't gain much advantage. If they dare approach our line, our light infantry will deal them a heavy blow."

Philistos and Drakos both nodded.

Drakos took over, speaking loudly: "As for the Syracusan infantry, I think their ability to defeat the Carthaginians means their combat skill is not weak. But judging from that skirmish at Caulonia, their morale and will to fight seem somewhat lacking. In terms of heavy infantry, which plays a decisive role in battle, the Syracusan army certainly cannot compare with our army corps!"

The other two immediately agreed. This was not arrogance; under Davos's advanced operational concepts, the Daonian army corps was actually a complex combined-arms group, trained rigorously to adapt to various situations and execute relatively sophisticated tactics. That was the source of confidence for legion commanders like Philistos, Drakos, and Epithenis.

"Our army corps, whether in tactical training or equipment, are very different from those of other allies. It's not suitable for them to be mixed with other troops in battle—that would cause confusion and hinder our corps' performance," Drakos also reminded.

"Drakos is right! I suggest we concentrate the Fourth and Fifth Army Corps together, rather than splitting them up, to form a powerful combat force. Deployed on either wing of the battle line, they will pose a huge threat to the enemy. After routing the enemy in front, we can then encircle the center and secure victory!" Epithenis gestured on the wooden table, stating his opinion.

"I think so too." Although the two legion commanders were not always harmonious in daily dealings, when it came to combat, they reached consensus without prior agreement.

Philistos clasped his hands behind his back, paced a few steps inside the tent, turned back to look at them, and said with difficulty: "I agree with your suggestion, but after all, this is not a battle faced by Daonia alone—there are also the allied troops from Trina, Scylletium, and Croton."

"But you are the commander of the entire allied army!" Epithenis urged. "You have the right to make the most reasonable deployment!"

"What we think is reasonable, they also have to think it's reasonable. Only when everyone's opinions are aligned can the whole battle plan be carried out smoothly." Philistos said helplessly. "Being the commander of this allied army is not easy!"

"Are you saying they might not approve of our plan just now?!" Drakos raised an eyebrow.