"What's the matter with the war! Before the war, I, Timias, did not provide good service to the soldiers, even you, Marcus, and I have served you more than once, and I have not seen you say that it will affect your rest! Timiath said aloud and confidently, and several women also threw winks at Eumacus on the side, and the warbler whispered to help.

"Okay, okay, if you want to stay here, stay here! I'm still in a hurry! Eumacus was anxious and angry, and in front of the public, it was not easy to have a seizure, and after saying it with some annoyance, he drove forward and asked the guards to go in and report.

"Lord Eumacus, when you see the Archon of Dionia, can you help us say something and let us in......" Seeing that Eumacus was about to enter the camp, Timias came up with a hippie smile again, and Eumacus ignored him at all and went straight in.

………………………………

When Davos came out of the camp, Timias and the women tried to surround him, but Martius and his guards drove them aside, and he was so angry that he cursed.

While Eumacus pretended not to hear, Davers laughed, and he pointed to a noisy area at the front of the camp and said, "The Tarantum people have a flexible mind, and yesterday we just set up camp, and today it is automatically a lively market. Truth be told, it has made great use of the necessary supplies for our army, but prostitutes are strictly forbidden in the army, and those who violate the law are deprived of their citizenship under the Dionian Military Law. Therefore, even if the man walked into the barracks, no one would dare to contact him in violation of military law. ”

Yumacus blushed slightly, smiled in agreement, and sighed: "Your military law is strict, no wonder you have an excellent military record. ”

The battle meeting was held on the outskirts of Tarantum, at the manor house of Yumakas.

In the conference room, Davos met not only with Diomiras, but also with Trifias, one of the consuls of Heraclia, and Tud Pres, one of the consuls of Metapontum.

Diomiras still had the same expression as yesterday, and he didn't say anything gossip, and it was estimated that the bad news of the naval fiasco had knocked him down.

Tud Pres greeted Davers very politely and behaved decently. Instead, Trifias and Daves shook hands and embraced, talking and laughing. After all, Heraclia was close to Amendola, and when the mercenaries led by Davers had just gained a foothold in Amendolala, they had contacts with Heracles, and in less than two years, they had established a relatively close relationship.

After everyone was seated, Eumacus said solemnly: "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your selfless help to Tarantum when he was in trouble! On behalf of the Tarantum Senate and the people of Tarantum, Diomiras and I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to you! With that, Eumacus saluted the trio earnestly.

Diomyras reluctantly followed suit, and the three Davers politely returned the salute.

After this etiquette, it gets to the point.

Diomilas stood up and said, "Manduria is garrisoned by less than 4,000 soldiers, and it has been two days since it was besieged by the coalition forces of Mep! According to reliable sources, there are 30,000 troops in the Meppu coalition, and if we don't act immediately, Manduria will suffer the same fate as Brindisi! The Senate of Tarantum has made a decision to send us immediately to relieve the siege of Manduriyah and seek an opportunity to fight the Mae Pu coalition in a decisive battle. ”

His gaze swept over Tud Pres, Trifias, and finally Davers. Heraclia and Metapontum, as subordinate city-states of Tarantum, have always obeyed orders, so of course Diomiras's questioning was directed at Dionia.

Both consuls replied in the affirmative, but instead of speaking immediately, Davers stood up and walked around to the side of Umakus, and on the wooden table in front of him lay a detailed map of Tarantum, and it was clear that the marked Manduria was not far south of the Tarantum icon, and he gestured with his finger and asked, "How far is Manduria from here?" ”

"Less than fifty miles." Umacus replied.

50 miles. Davers estimated that at the normal pace of the Dionian legion's march of 15 miles per hour, it would be reached in three hours. Manduria is located on a "coastal corridor", with the sea on one side and the mountains on the other, and the city of Manduria is not located on the seashore, but on the mountains. However, considering that it is not far to the north of Tarantum, the Mesapi people must have built this city with Tarantum in mind, so they used their strengths to avoid their weaknesses.

"How wide is this?" Davers stuck his fingers on the "corridor" on the map.

"Six miles narrowest." Umacus replied.

Six miles. The 30,000-strong commander had already outstretched the array. Davers thought for a moment and asked, "How many soldiers is Tarantum going to send?" ”

As soon as Eumacus was about to answer, Theomillas could not hold back and shouted: "You do not agree to send troops, decide quickly, don't ask this question or that, delay our time!" ——”

"Diomillas!" Eumarcus hurriedly shouted, lest he speak too aggressively and anger Davers.

Diomilas was only indignant when he saw that Davers not only did not show respect for himself as an archon, but also looked as if he was the presiding officer of the meeting. At this moment, thinking of the advice of the senators and the dangerous situation of Tarantum, he snorted coldly and swallowed his anger into his stomach.

Davers looked calm, looked at Diomiras, and said slowly: "Starting a war is not only related to the life and death of a citizen soldier, but also related to the rise and fall of a city-state. ”

The others were moved by Davers's words, and Damieras snorted again, muttering carefully, "This is only a justification for your timidity." ”

Davers smiled and didn't speak.

Get cold feet? None of the others in the room would agree with Diomillas's words, after all, Davers had always commanded battles with fewer victories, and it had proven everything. However, before Tarantum faced the attack of the Mapu coalition army, he was eager to urge Dionia's reinforcements, who was cowardly?

Eumacus saw Trifias winking at Tud Pres, his face was a little sarcastic, his face couldn't hold back, and he hurried out of the round: "Lord Davers, please forgive Damiras for his rudeness, he is also anxious about Tarantum at the moment...... Bad situation, just impulsively, talking nonsense without consideration! ”

Eumacus apologized as he glanced at Diomiras.

Diomiras held his breath and didn't apologize, but he didn't speak again.

"Tarantum will send 10,000 soldiers to the battle." Umacus then said: "With your reinforcements, the strength of the whole army will reach 27,000 men, which is not much different from the number of the Mapu coalition army. By the time the siege of Manduriya is lifted, the number of soldiers in Tarantum will increase to 14,000, and the total army will be 31,000, which is quite a large number, and it will not be a problem at all to repel the Meppu coalition army. ”

"It would be best if things went the way you say, but—" Davers vigorously tapped the Manduria icon on the map, "Have you considered it if the Mapu coalition retreated instead of engaging us?" ”

"It can't be! The Mesapi were irritable and tyrannical, and loved to fight, believing retreat as cowardice. Diomillas immediately retorted.

"The Mesapi were able to unite with the Puchetti to ambush Achita and obviously not only know how to fight bravely." When he arrived in Tarantum, Davos also learned the truth about Acheta's defeat, and at this time he patiently analyzed: "As far as I know, the infantry of the Mesapi is inferior to our heavy infantry, and I believe that the Puchetti are even more so. Their cavalry is strong, but the territory of Manduria is narrow, and if the two sides engage in a battle, it will not be conducive to their cavalry attack, but to our heavy infantry to fight, and a wise man will not fail to take this into account...... This may be their ideal battlefield," Davers said, pointing to the large gap between the cities of Manduria and Brindisi, where there were no signs of mountains.

"However, once the enemy retreats, we join up with the defenders of Manduriya, and our strength increases, and the Maip-phu coalition forces are faced with a difficult choice, and it is not impossible to choose to retreat directly." Davers reminded again.

"Makes sense." Trifias nodded in agreement, Heraclia's strength is not too strong, he has already suffered a lot of losses in the Mesapi region with Tarantum before, of course he hopes to force the Mesapi people back without losing a single soldier, and successfully fulfill the obligations of allies.

Tud Pres also holds this mentality.

Eumacus and Diomyras looked at each other, their faces worried, and they both knew in their hearts that if the Mapp coalition did choose to retreat as Davers had said, it would not be a good thing for Tarantum.

The Greek city-states organized an army of tens of thousands to go out to fight, often in a quick way. After all, after a long time, not only the consumption of materials is huge, but also a large number of citizens are not in the country for a long time, most of the affairs of the city-state are abandoned, and before the war is over, the order in the city-state is chaotic, and the houses and fields are vacant, I am afraid it should also be extinguished. So far, only Athens, Sparta, and Syracuse have been able to fight for a long time, and they are all backed by a powerful alliance of city-states.

The Mepp coalition retreated, and of course the tens of thousands of Dionian reinforcements could not stay for long, and when the Mesapi attacked again, would Tarantum go to ask for reinforcements from Dionya again? Tarantum finally gathered such a large army, and he only hoped to complete the battle and inflict heavy losses on the Mapu coalition army in order to change the decline of Tarantum.