第六卷 双雄会 第一百三十九章 战胜之后

“Tarentum…” Davos let out a light laugh. Clearly, this once-formidable power in Magna Graecia, whose army and navy had both been annihilated, no longer warranted his concern. He coveted Tarentum’s land, but now was not the time. “I think… the blow against Tarentum should stop here for now. Daonia’s main enemy remains Syracuse. Once that’s dealt with, all the difficulties will be resolved.”

“You’re right,” Terpheas nodded, then asked, “And Metapontum—”

“I’ll have the Seventh Army Corps stay here for now. Tomorrow they’ll march north to retake Metapontum. If the Tarentines are smart, they’ll flee back to their own territory tonight…”

Davos clearly had great confidence in recapturing Metapontum, and Terpheas agreed. He immediately said, “Heraclea will also send troops to follow the Seventh Army Corps, hoping to liberate Metapontum from Tarentine occupation as soon as possible!”

Davos frowned slightly, catching the hidden implication behind Terpheas’s words. It seemed Terpheas feared that Daonia would take Metapontum and refuse to leave. Davos glanced at him and said flatly, “I heard that Tudeples didn’t die in battle?”

“I think so. But since Heraclea was also under siege at the time, he didn’t flee here. I wonder if he escaped north?”

North? Garagusus! Davos looked thoughtful, then said solemnly, “Regardless, we’ll find him as soon as possible and bring him back to take charge of Metapontum’s affairs, so that war-torn city can regain its prosperity as quickly as possible! Daonia will do everything it can to help Heraclea and Metapontum recover, because in your time of crisis, you chose to trust the Daonia Alliance, and Daonia must repay that precious trust!”

Terpheas felt ashamed of his own scheming. Conquered by Davos’s magnanimity, he sincerely thanked Davos once more.

Just then, the two legion commanders approached together from a distance. Davos hurried forward to meet them, a smile spreading across his face. “Here come the heroes who created this brilliant victory!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty, Davos!”

Both men immediately stopped and saluted. Davos returned the military salute and exclaimed loudly, “Amyntas! Matonis! The two of you together destroyed Tarentum’s army and eliminated the threat to Daonia’s north, allowing us to concentrate our full strength against the powerful enemy in the south! On behalf of the Daonia Senate, I thank you both!”

Amyntas grinned and said, “Mostly it was your strategy, Your Majesty, that made it so easy for us. To be honest, these Tarentines just couldn’t take a hit. I barely had to exert myself before they surrendered…”

“Yeah, these Tarentines’ fighting ability is far below that of the Tarentine reinforcements led by… Archytas back then. If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have waited for you. I should have attacked them on my own two days ago,” Matonis said with some regret.

“You’ve become a legion commander and you’re getting cocky, eh? With your poorly equipped new recruits, you dared to talk about storming the Tarentine camp!” Amyntas immediately criticized.

“My new army corps is made of new recruits, so what! They held back a Tarentine force twice their size and routed them!” Matonis retorted defiantly.

Davos observed their quarrel, but his mind was elsewhere. From what he knew, Tarentum had suffered severe losses in the war against the Messapians, and then faced the defection of Heraclea and Metapontum. Unwilling to accept this, they had imitated Daonia by granting citizenship to many freemen to replenish their military strength (Croton had adopted a similar policy). But the increase in citizens had not been accompanied by intensified training; instead, it had lowered the overall military quality of their citizen soldiers…

Davos stopped the two from continuing their argument and said with satisfaction, “Matonis, when I recommended you as commander of the Seventh Army Corps, I didn’t misjudge you. Under the harsh circumstances where the Tarentine army was sending detachments to harass Amendolara, you still managed to control your troops and hold back—that is the mark of a true general. It created the conditions for us to encircle and destroy the main Tarentine army!…”

Flattered by Davos’s praise, Matonis scratched his head awkwardly. To escape his embarrassment, he quickly said, “Your Majesty, during this battle, I also caught two big fish!”

“Big fish?” Davos could guess what he meant, but he still showed interest, playing along.

“Men, bring them up!” Matonis waved his hand forward with an air of authority.

A moment later, soldiers pushed forward two prisoners with their hands bound behind their backs.

“The two magistrates of Tarentum. It’s been a while since we last met,” Davos said, half in sarcasm and half in reflection.

Diomilas kept his head down and said nothing.

Eumachus looked up at Davos and said earnestly, “Lord Davos, I beseech you to treat these captured Tarentines with kindness!”

“I will,” Davos said flatly. “As long as the Tarentine Senate pays the appropriate price.”

Diomilas suddenly raised his head and shouted, “Davos, you ungrateful wretch! Don’t forget how Tarentum selflessly helped your weak little state back then!”

Davos’s gaze turned sharp. He said coldly, “Of course I haven’t forgotten. Nor have the Daonians forgotten! So when Tarentum was attacked by the Messapian-Peucetii Allied Forces and on the verge of collapse, Daonia had other military plans but still unhesitatingly accepted your plea for help, immediately dispatched troops, drove back the Messapian-Peucetii allies, and saved Tarentum! But you showed no gratitude for the blood and sacrifice of Daonian citizens. In the time that followed, you repeatedly provoked Daonian civilians at sea, rammed our fishing boats, captured our fishermen, and even spread rumors harmful to the Daonia Alliance within Tarentum’s walls. I’ve heard you even sold statues of me for people to piss on in their homes… Given the help you once gave us, Daonians could tolerate all these filthy tricks. But—”

Davos’s eyes flashed like lightning as he thundered, “The one thing you should never have done—when Daonia was invaded by foreign enemies and facing difficulties, as our ally, Tarentum tore up the alliance treaty, became an accomplice of Daonia’s enemies, led your army, raised your shields and spears, and struck down the allies who had once fought alongside you!—”

“That’s because you, as allies, were the first to break the treaty, stealing away Metapontum and Heraclea, two former allies of Tarentum!” Diomilas roared back without backing down.

“Believe it or not, Heraclea had no secret contact with Daonia beforehand. Joining the Daonia Alliance was the will of all Heraclea’s citizens. It’s simple: Tarentum treated Heraclea like a dog, and we didn’t want to be dogs anymore. I imagine Metapontum chose to leave the Tarentine alliance for the same reason…” Terpheas, who had been watching quietly, stepped in to explain.

Diomilas glared at Terpheas, eyes blazing with fury. “Do you think I’d believe the words of a traitor?!”

Davos sneered, “Yes, there’s no point telling you this now. Daonia’s principle has always been: ‘Treat friends sincerely, treat enemies fiercely.’ Especially traitors—we never let them off easily! Given the current state of Tarentum’s city, even if I don’t send more troops, what will the Messapians do once they learn of the Tarentine army’s crushing defeat? Thurii was once burnt to the ground—how will Tarentum’s century-old enemy destroy its city now?! I’m very curious…”

Diomilas and Eumachus instantly turned pale.

Diomilas, still stubborn, threatened, “Tarentum is… is a subordinate state of Sparta! Sparta will not stand idly by while Tarentum is bullied by other city-states!”

“Sparta?!” Davos didn’t even blink. He snorted, “Do you think Sparta still has the strength to help Tarentum now? I hear the war in the Peloponnese has given the Spartans enough headaches. They’ve even asked Syracuse for aid…”

“Davos, don’t be so smug! Syracuse’s great army is coming! I’m looking forward… looking forward to the day Thurii is destroyed again!” Diomilas, having decided to go all out, shouted viciously.

“You won’t live to see that day. As long as I am here, Syracuse’s army will never set foot in Daonia’s territory again. Dionysius will not only have to spit out everything he won before, but he’ll lose even more!” Davos said with full confidence, then waved his hand. Several soldiers stepped forward and dragged the two away.

Eumachus still pleaded desperately, “Lord Davos, Tarentum has indeed made a mistake this time! But please think of Archytas! Think of Archytas!—”

“Shut up, Eumachus! You’re bringing shame to Tarentum!”

“You shut up, you damned oil-smeared warmonger (Diomilas’s family produced olive oil)! If it weren’t for you, would Tarentum have come to this?!”…

Their arguing faded as the soldiers carried them further away…

…

In the central command tent of the Syracuse camp, Dionysius was deliberating with his generals about the impending siege operations.

That morning, a fast ship sent back by the Syracusan navy had brought Dionysius shocking news: Davos, the magistrate of Daonia, had returned to Thurii and had even been elected king by the Daonian populace!

Davos had repelled more than forty thousand fierce Samnite warriors so quickly?! Stunned by this, Dionysius once again felt the pressure of time: Syracuse must capture Croton as soon as possible, before Davos arrived with his main force to relieve the city. This was why he had called this urgent meeting.