Chapter 277

“What’s wrong with fighting a war! Before which war did I, Timias, not provide good service for the soldiers? Even for you, Lord Eumachus, I have brought service to your door more than once, and I never saw you say it disturbed your rest!” Timias shouted righteously. Several women beside him also cast flirtatious glances at Eumachus, chiming in with melodic voices.

“Fine, fine! If you want to stay here, then stay here! I have urgent business!” Eumachus was both anxious and angry. He couldn’t flare up in public, so he spoke somewhat annoyedly, urged his horse forward, and had the gate guards go in to announce him.

“Lord Eumachus, when you see the Theonian Archon, could you put in a word for us and let us in…” Seeing Eumachus about to enter the camp, Timias approached him again with a cheeky grin. Eumachus ignored him completely and went straight in.

***

When Davos came out of the camp, Timias and the women tried to crowd around him again but were driven aside by Martius and the guards. Timias cursed loudly in anger.

Eumachus pretended not to hear, while Davos laughed heartily. He pointed to a noisy and chaotic area in front of the camp and said, “The Tarantines have flexible minds. We just set up camp yesterday, and today a lively market has automatically formed here. To be honest, it provides great convenience for our army to procure necessary supplies. However, whoring is strictly prohibited in the army. According to Theonian Military Code, violators will be stripped of citizenship. Therefore, even if that man walked into the barracks, no one would dare violate military law to engage with him.”

Eumachus blushed slightly, echoed a laugh, and sighed, “Your military law is strict; no wonder your battle record is outstanding.”

The war council was held in Eumachus’s manor on the outskirts of Taranto.

In the meeting room, Davos met not only Diomilas but also Triphias, one of the Archons of Heraclea, and Tudepris, one of the Archons of Metapontum.

Diomilas still wore the same expression as yesterday, but at least he didn’t make any snide remarks. Presumably, the bad news of the naval disaster had knocked the wind out of his sails.

Tudepris greeted Davos very politely, behaving in a proper manner. Triphias, on the other hand, shook hands and hugged Davos, talking and laughing. After all, Heraclea bordered Amendolara. Just after Davos led the mercenaries to gain a foothold in Amendolara, he had interactions with Heraclea. In less than two years, a relatively close relationship had been established.

After everyone was seated, Eumachus said solemnly, “My Lords, thank you for providing us with selfless help when Taranto encountered difficulties! Diomilas and I represent the Taranto Senate and the people of Taranto in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to you!” After speaking, Eumachus bowed seriously to the three of them.

Diomilas also followed suit reluctantly, and Davos and the other two returned the bow politely.

After these formalities, they entered the main topic.

Diomilas stood up and said, “Manduria is garrisoned by less than 4,000 soldiers and has been under siege by the Messapian-Peucetian coalition for two days! According to reliable information, the coalition has a full 30,000 men. If we do not take action immediately, Manduria will suffer the same fate as Brindisi! The Taranto Senate has decided to send us immediately to relieve Manduria and seek an opportunity for a decisive battle with the coalition. Does anyone disagree?”

His gaze swept over Tudepris and Triphias, finally resting on Davos. As vassal city-states of Taranto, Heraclea and Metapontum had always been obedient, so Diomilas’s question was naturally directed at Theonia.

Both Archons gave affirmative answers. Davos, however, did not speak immediately. instead, he stood up and walked around to Eumachus’s side. On the wooden table in front of him lay a detailed map of Taranto. One could clearly see the marked Manduria not far south of the Taranto icon. He gestured with his fingers and asked, “How far is Manduria from here?”

“Less than fifty li (approx. 25km),” Eumachus replied.

Fifty li. Davos calculated: At the normal marching speed of the Theonian Legion of 15 li per hour, we can arrive within three hours. Manduria was located in a “coastal corridor,” with the sea on one side and mountains and forests on the other. Surprisingly, the city of Manduria was not situated on the seaside but relied on the mountains and forests. However, considering Taranto is just to the north, the Messapians must have considered Taranto’s naval strength when building this city, thus maximizing strengths and avoiding weaknesses.

“How wide is it here?” Davos used two fingers to span the “corridor” on the map.

“The narrowest point is six li (approx. 3km),” Eumachus answered.

Six li. The deployed formation of an army of 30,000 would far exceed this length. Davos thought for a moment and asked again, “How many soldiers does Taranto plan to send?”

Just as Eumachus was about to answer, Diomilas could no longer hold back and shouted, “Whether you agree to send troops or not, decide quickly! Don’t ask this and that, wasting our time!—”

“Diomilas!” Eumachus shouted hurriedly, fearing his words were too extreme and would anger Davos.

Diomilas had just been momentarily incensed seeing that Davos not only showed no respect to him as an Archon but also acted as if he were the host of this meeting, disregarding everyone else. Remembering the exhortations of the Senators and Taranto’s dangerous situation, he harrumphed coldly and swallowed his anger.

Davos remained calm, looking at Diomilas, and said slowly, “Launching a war concerns not only the life and death of a citizen-soldier but also the rise and fall of a city-state. As decision-makers of war, we must consider carefully. Does Taranto have the opportunity to experience another failure?!”

The others were moved by Davos’s words. Diomilas harrumphed again and muttered softly, “This is just an excuse for your cowardice.”

Davos chuckled and said nothing.

Cowardice? No one else present would agree with Diomilas. After all, the battles Davos had commanded in the past had always been victories of the few against the many, proving everything. On the contrary, facing the attack of the Messapian-Peucetian coalition, Taranto urgently pressed for Theonian reinforcements—who exactly is being cowardly?

Seeing Triphias wink at Tudepris with a hint of mockery, Eumachus couldn’t save face. He hurriedly smoothed things over: “Lord Davos, please forgive Diomilas’s rudeness. He is also anxious about Taranto’s current… terrible situation, so he spoke impulsively without thinking!”

While apologizing, Eumachus winked repeatedly at Diomilas.

Diomilas held his breath and didn’t apologize, but he didn’t speak again either.

“Taranto will send 10,000 soldiers on the expedition,” Eumachus continued immediately. “Plus your reinforcements, the total troop strength will reach 27,000 men, which is not much different from the number of the Messapian-Peucetian coalition. After relieving Manduria, the number of Taranto soldiers will increase to 14,000 (including the garrison), making the total army 31,000 men. This is a considerable number; repelling the coalition is not a problem at all.”

“It would be best if things develop as you say, but—” Davos tapped the Manduria icon on the map forcefully. “If the Messapian-Peucetian coalition not only refuses to engage us in battle but retreats instead, have you considered that?”

“Impossible! Messapians are irritable and tyrannical by nature. They love fighting and view retreat as cowardice,” Diomilas retorted immediately.

“The Messapians were able to unite with the Peucetians to ambush Achilita, obviously not just knowing blind aggression.” Having arrived in Taranto, Davos had also learned the truth of Achilita’s defeat. At this moment, he analyzed patiently, “As far as I know, Messapian infantry is inferior to our heavy infantry, and I believe the Peucetians are even more so. Their cavalry is strong, but the terrain in Manduria is narrow. If both sides engage in battle, it is unfavorable for their cavalry attacks but favorable for our heavy infantry operations. Smart people won’t fail to consider this… Here, perhaps, is their ideal battlefield.” Davos pointed to the relatively large gap between the two cities of Manduria and Brindisi, where there were no markings of mountains and forests.

“But, once the enemy retreats and we join forces with the Manduria garrison, our strength will increase again. The coalition faces a difficult choice; choosing to retreat directly is not impossible,” Davos reminded again.

“Makes sense.” Triphias nodded in agreement. Heraclea’s strength was not very strong. Having followed Taranto in campaigns in the Messapian region before, they had suffered considerable losses. He naturally hoped to force back the Messapians without losing a single soldier, successfully fulfilling the obligation of an ally.

Tudepris held the same sentiment.

Eumachus and Diomilas looked at each other, worry on their faces. They knew clearly in their hearts: If the coalition truly chooses to retreat as Davos said, this is not a good thing for Taranto.

When Greek city-states organized armies of tens of thousands to fight abroad, speed was often of the essence. After all, if the time was long, not only would the consumption of supplies be huge, but with a large number of citizens away from the country for a long time, most city affairs would be abandoned. Before the war ended, order within the city-state would be chaotic, houses and fields left empty; the state would likely perish. Therefore, until now, only Athens, Sparta, and Syracuse had the ability to fight long-term wars, as they all had powerful city-state alliances behind them to provide support.

If the coalition retreated, the ten thousand Theonian reinforcements naturally could not stay for long. When the Messapians attacked again, would Taranto go ask Theonia for reinforcements again? Taranto had managed to gather such a massive army with great difficulty; they only hoped to succeed in one battle, inflicting heavy damage on the coalition to reverse Taranto’s decline.