Chapter 272

Polydorus spoke eloquently, detailing the origins: “…In the Archaic Age, Lycaon, the King of Arcadia, was arrogant and disrespectful to the God Zeus. One day, he conceived a wicked idea to trick Zeus. He killed a servant, cooked his flesh into a stew, and invited Zeus to a feast. Zeus saw through his scheme, struck the palace with lightning, turned Lycaon into a wolf, and destroyed his kingdom…”

“I know this legend,” Philesius interrupted curiously. “The King of Arcadia blasphemed the King of Gods, so it is perfectly normal for him and his kingdom to be punished by Zeus. But what does this have to do with the Messapians?”

Polydorus looked at Davos and, seeing his interested expression, smiled. “Yes, every Greek knows the story of Lycaon, but his story did not end there… Lycaon had three sons. When the kingdom was destroyed, they each took their own people and slaves, sailed across the Adriatic Sea, and fled to settle in southern Italy.”

Polydorus scanned the room and said in a deep voice, “The names of these three sons were Daunus, Peucetius, and Messapus.”

“Oh.” Philesius was somewhat surprised.

“After several hundred years, the people led by these three sons grew and prospered. To distinguish themselves from one another, they named their tribes after these first leaders… This story has always circulated among the Messapians, and because we of Taranto have been at war with them for so long, we came to know of it.”

After Polydorus finished speaking, Capus asked worriedly, “There are also Daunians?! These three tribes were originally one people. When we fight the Messapian-Peucetian coalition, will the Daunians suddenly join in as well?!”

Polydorus hurriedly explained, “Although they were once the same race, after hundreds of years of development, whether it be Messapians, Peucetians, or Daunians, all have become large ethnic groups with dozens of tribes and populations of over a hundred thousand, each possessing their own fixed territories. Not only are their political systems different, but they also have conflicts of interest with each other, even becoming mortal enemies.

“The Daunians are to the north of the Peucetians. It is said they possess the Great River Plain, where the land is fertile, and they have four or five large towns. The Peucetians are sandwiched between the Daunians and the Messapians. They have neither fertile land nor excellent port cities and trade channels like the Messapians, making their development the most difficult. Therefore, they have historically fought with the Daunians for the land on both banks of the Ofanto River. Thus, the two races are mortal enemies and could never unite. To the south, the Peucetians and Messapians also have occasional conflicts; it is only because of the existence of Taranto that the fighting between them has not been so intense…”

Davos listened to his narration while bending over to examine a rough sketch of Taranto and the surrounding powers that Polydorus had drawn earlier at his request. At this moment, he suddenly asked, “What are the differences in the political systems of the Daunians, Peucetians, and Messapians?”

Polydorus had not expected Davos to ask this. He frowned and thought carefully for a good while before saying, “Hmm… Currently, the political systems of the various Messapian city-states are somewhat similar to our Greek city-states. But over ten years ago, they were still a unified kingdom. King Artas once warmly hosted those Athenians who were going to attack Syracuse and even sent a considerable number of warriors to join them…” As he spoke, a cold sneer appeared on Polydorus’s face. “Messapian territory is surrounded by our Greek city-states, and there is frequent trade. Therefore, the Messapians have long been influenced by Greek democratic ideas. The nobles, tribes, and towns had always clamored to limit the king’s power. It just so happened that Artas was a fool who kept close ties with the Athenians. How could he know the insidiousness of those Athenians? As a result, only a few years after the Athenian army was annihilated at Syracuse, the Messapian nobles launched a rebellion. Artas’s rule was overthrown, and he lost his life… Then, the various towns of Messapia became independent one after another. Now they are basically ruled by nobles, who elect an Archon every year to rule the city-state together with a Council of Nobles. These Messapian city-states formed the Messapian League headed by Rudiae. They rarely fight among themselves and are relatively united—”

When Polydorus reached this point, his tone actually became somewhat low, making Davos realize that this emerging Messapian City-State League seemed to give the Tarantines even more headaches.

“As for the Peucetians and Daunians, they are still ruled by kings…” Polydorus quickly turned the topic to the other two tribes. “The only difference is that the Peucetian King has greater power, while the King of the Daunians… is said to be constrained by various city lords…”

Davos listened thoughtfully, then asked, “Since the Messapians and Peucetians have always had conflicts, how could they form an alliance?”

Polydorus smiled bitterly. “You’ve stumped me there… However, according to our Senate’s analysis, the reason the Messapians are willing to ally with the Peucetians is probably that they were frightened by Taranto’s offensive!”

There was a trace of pride in the expression on Polydorus’s face. Davos nodded, then looked at the map again, but in his heart, he thought: Previously, in Taranto’s offensive against Messapia, I heard Taranto’s casualties were even greater. Yet they occupied Brindisi and Manduria. Once the newly occupied territories are stabilized, they can cut off Messapia’s connection to the north. And since Taranto’s naval strength is among the best in Magna Graecia, Taranto could surround the Messapians and slowly cannibalize them. If Tarantines die in battle, there are freedmen to replenish them, but for the Messapians, one death is one less person; they will only become weaker and weaker. This was likely the original plan of the Taranto Senators.

“As for the Peucetians, perhaps they would rather have the Messapians, who share the same bloodline, as their neighbors than foreigners! Besides, after allying with the Messapians, the Peucetians can focus all their strength on dealing with the Daunians…”

This was merely Polydorus’s speculation. Davos felt: There must be other reasons. Otherwise, given Peucetia’s own difficult situation, why would they risk offending a powerful state of Magna Graecia?

“The Peucetians sent a large army out to fight; aren’t they afraid the Daunians will take the opportunity to attack?” Capus asked.

“I heard that last year Peucetia attacked Daunia but was defeated and lost the land they occupied on the south bank of the Ofanto River. Peucetia eventually signed a truce agreement with Daunia.”

“Can a single truce agreement guarantee that the Daunians won’t attack when there’s an opening?”

Polydorus shrugged and said somewhat annoyedly, “Who knows what goes on in the stupid brains of these natives? In any case, the Peucetians are already on our land!”

Drakos yawned, uninterested in what Polydorus was saying, but seeing Davos listening intently, he was embarrassed to interrupt.

At this moment, seeing Polydorus stop speaking, he asked impatiently, “What are the characteristics of the Messapian and Peucetian armies?”

Speaking of this issue, Polydorus clearly became emotional again. “The Messapians used to be like the Peucetians; they had many cavalry, but their infantry was no good—no good armor, loose formations, lack of discipline, and no knowledge of forming phalanxes. So they never dared to fight us head-on, only knowing how to launch sneak attacks and harass, like cowardly bandits! But the Athenians—” Polydorus’s volume doubled. “We are a daughter city of Sparta, so naturally we stood on the side of our mother city during the Peloponnesian War. But because of this, the Athenians actually went to help the barbarians! They provided armor and weapons to the Messapians and sent men to help train their heavy infantry, inciting the Messapians to oppose us! With the Messapians mastering our Greek tactics and having Athenian support, the damage to Taranto has been greater than ever! If not for Achilita—” Speaking of this, Polydorus’s expression darkened slightly.

Drakos paid no heed to Polydorus’s change in mood and continued to ask, “What are the combat characteristics of the Messapian cavalry?”

Polydorus glanced helplessly at the others, and seeing everyone was very interested, he had to speak again. “The Messapians have excellent horsemanship. It is said they can control the direction of the horse with just their legs without holding the reins. Moreover, they are good at throwing spears from horseback, posing a certain threat to our heavy infantry.”

Davos and Philesius exchanged a glance.

Polydorus saw this and hurriedly added, “Although the Messapian cavalry is more formidable than ours, cavalry is, after all, only auxiliary in battle. What truly plays a role on the battlefield is the heavy infantry. Even with the help the Athenians once gave, the Messapian heavy infantry still cannot compare with true Greek heavy infantry!”

Drakos asked again, “Exactly how many men are in the Messapian-Peucetian coalition? And how many citizens can Taranto send to fight?”

Polydorus looked at him, spread his hands, and said, “I am just an envoy. How many citizens to send to war is decided by the Senate; I cannot make that decision. As for how many men are in the coalition… we aren’t even sure if Achilita is alive or dead, let alone the specific number of the coalition. However, my personal estimate is that it shouldn’t exceed 30,000. And Taranto currently has at least 16,000 young and strong citizens capable of fighting, counting the garrisons in Brindisi and Manduria. With the addition of your 14,000 Theonians, plus the 3,000 from Metapontum and Heraclea, the total number of our allied forces far exceeds 30,000. Defeating the Messapian-Peucetian coalition shouldn’t be difficult!”

***

After seeing Polydorus off, Davos and the others returned to the mansion to continue their discussion.

“Lord Davos, if it is truly as that envoy said, and Taranto can send over ten thousand men to join us, then we can go to reinforce Manduria first.” Drakos pointed at the map, speaking with full confidence. “Our troop strength is double that of the Messapian-Peucetian coalition. We can not only defeat them but even consider swallowing a portion of them. That way, when we go north to reinforce Brindisi, it will be much easier.”