Gherni took advantage of the Naconia incident to claim to prevent the invasion of the Samonai coalition army, gathered the people in the territory, and imposed military martial law, but on the agreed day, only 1,000 warriors were left to garrison the territory, and he took 3,000 warriors and quietly entered the territory of Dionya in the south, but did not enter the city of Kopsa, because there were likely spies of the Samonei coalition army in the north of the city of Kopsa, so Abenirum's army hid in the territory of Potetia south of the city of Kopsa and joined its troops, He also sent some men back to the Samonai Mountains to investigate the enemy's situation.

Kopsa is located in the upper reaches of the Ofanto River, south of Lake Konsa, the topography of the upper reaches of the Ofanto River is somewhat special, in addition to the relatively flat terrain around Kopsa and Lake Konsa, the north bank to the east is high and difficult to climb, and the south bank is relatively gentle, which is why during the South-Italy War, the Samonai coalition forces had to converge in the Kopsa area, and thus invaded Portentia.

When Alexis led his army into the mountains and camped in the Bend, he sent messengers to the west along the south bank of the Ovantia River and finally entered the territory of Pothenia, and informed Zantiparis, who was responsible for coordinating and commanding the combined forces of Portentia and Abenirum.

Zantiparis, Polett, and Gherney, who had been carefully observing the enemy's movements, were reported by the spies early the next morning: six or seven thousand Samonian warriors had appeared in the mountains to the north, marching southeast.

They immediately led the 15,000 soldiers north into the upper reaches of the Ofanto River and rushed east along the south bank.

More than 30 miles from the Bend, and after more than four hours, the army reached the west side of the Bend, where the northern shore was already relatively gentle, and just as Zantiparis was about to order his army to cross the Ovantto River and enter the northern bank, Gherni made a suggestion.

Since he was familiar with the terrain of Aquilonia, he thought that the Dionian army would lure the Samonai army into the valley, but their army rushed to Aquilonia from the south together, and the movement was too great, which would cause the Samoni army to flee from the northwest direction of the valley, which was easier to climb, earlier, so he suggested: Abenirum army should go north first, quietly make a big circle, reach the northwest direction of Aquilonia, launch an attack, and join the Pothenian army to encircle the Samonai army.

To this, Pollette objected, but he did not explain the reason, but quietly glanced at Zantiparis, in fact, he was not worried that the Abenirum would act alone, for fear that they would go to the tip.

However, after careful consideration, Zantiparis agreed to Gherni's suggestion, after all, it would be easy for such a large army to defeat this Samonai coalition army, but the Ministry of War hoped that if the Samonai really had an army in the mountains, it would be best to make full use of this large Potheni-Abenirum coalition army while they were not aware of it, and encircle and annihilate the living forces left by the Samonai in the mountains as much as possible, which would be conducive to the next offensive of the Dionian army. Although Zantiparis didn't know much about Gairney either, Gairney's advice was the most in line with the requirements of the Ministry of War, so he decided to take the risk.

Half an hour after the departure of the Abenirum army, the Pothenian troops began to cross the river......

For these reasons, the army arrived almost an hour late.

After listening to the explanation of the three people, Alexis's face was slightly pale, after all, the final result of the battle did prove that the action they took was right, so he deliberately looked at the sky, and then said directly: "It will be dusk soon, we should immediately lead the army back to the barracks in the south, so that the soldiers who have been fighting for a day can rest well." ”

The three of them agreed with him, after all, the main force of the Samonai people in the mountains had been completely destroyed, but the harassment of small groups of enemies and even the sneak attack of wild beasts could still exist, and it would be safer for several troops to camp together, but such a large army rushed to the riverbend, it was impossible for all of them to squeeze into the existing barracks, and a new camp had to be built next to it, so it was necessary to hurry.

At this time, Zantiparis looked at the mountains to the east and asked, "What are your plans for tomorrow?" Do you want to capture Aquilonia first? It doesn't look like the city is easy to attack. ”

The corners of Alexis' mouth twitched slightly, and although his voice was not loud, his tone was still full of confidence: "In my opinion, with today's victory, even if you don't occupy Aquilonia, it won't have a big impact on the entire battle situation." My opinion is that tomorrow all the troops will march directly to Beneventum! ”

After today's observation of Aquilonia, it has not moved, especially when the Samonai coalition army arrived and surrounded the Diolonian army, Aquilonia's army did not come down the mountain, and took the opportunity to attack Dioonia on both sides, Alexis judged that there were not many defenders in the city of Aquilonia.

"I approve of General Alexis' plan!" Paulette, who knew something about the Samonae, spoke loudly in support: "We will use this victory to expand our advantage, and not give the Samonei a chance to breathe, as long as we capture Beneventum, the Hilpini will be finished!" And we can also directly threaten the central town of the Kautini - Kautim through Beneventum! ”

Zanti-Paris, of course, agreed, only Gelney was lost in thought.

"Is the Gherni chief regretting that he shouldn't have left the Samonai Tribal Alliance?!" Seeing this, Paulette said sarcastically.

Gherney came back to his senses and hurriedly explained, "I wondered if I could persuade Aquilonia to surrender, because among the Hirpini warriors who were captured before, there were many Aquilonian tribesmen (because of its proximity to Dauni and Puchetti, they naturally contributed the most in the previous battle against Dawni), and now they have witnessed the defeat of the Samonai coalition again...... I know the leader of Aquilonia, an old fellow who doesn't care about friendship and only values strength—"

Speaking of this, Gherney gritted his teeth: before the South Italian War, the leader of Aquilonia was his father's most loyal supporter, and after the South Italian War, he immediately turned to Lesguk and gave his full support to the issue against Abenirom.

"In a situation like this, there is a high probability that the Aquilonians will choose to surrender." Gherney concluded.

Being able to persuade Aquilonia to surrender would save a lot of trouble, and Alexis, of course, would not object, and he immediately made a promise: "If Aquilonia is willing to surrender, Dionya can allow it to become a free city of the kingdom." ”

This is not that Alexis is arrogant, but when the Ministry of War briefly notified the five rotating chairmen of the attack plan, everyone seriously considered the problem of "under the pressure of force, in case there is a town in Samonai that asks for submission", in view of the harsh environmental conditions of most towns in the Samonian Mountains, the output is very limited, and the direct annexation to the kingdom will consume administrative resources, it is better to let it take care of itself, for example, this Aquilonia is located on such a high mountain, the transportation is very inconvenient, and you can only rely on grazing for a living, The vast majority of Ionian senators and officials would probably refuse to come here to serve as chief executive and hold public office.

"I'll send someone up the mountain to persuade us to surrender now, and when we reach the bend, we will have the result." After Gerney finished speaking, he was ready to go and make arrangements.

"Wait!" Pollette stopped him and said, "I suggest it's better to take him with you, it will be more convincing to the Aquilonians!" ”

He waved his hand, and his men carried over a corpse.

Gherni looked at it and couldn't help but take a breath, this deceased he knew, the leader of the great tribe of Kautim, Usibik, who had a high reputation among the Kautini tribe, and was once a strong candidate for the great chief of Kautini, but he voluntarily gave up his rivalry with Segovani.

"I heard from the captives that he was the commander of this Samonai coalition, and when they broke through, he rushed to the front and was stabbed to death by my warriors! I want the messenger I sent to bring him with me, so that the Aquilonians will better understand their current situation! Paulette spoke loudly, both to announce his exploits and to warn Gherney secretly.

While Geirny was silent, Alexis said, "I think it's a good idea. ”

Gerney immediately wiped away a trace of sadness in his heart, and said simply: "I will immediately let my subordinates carry him up the mountain!" ”

……………………………………

In the evening, while the Dionian coalition soldiers were still camping in the Bend, a messenger sent by Gellni brought back a dozen hostages from Aquilonia, including one of the sons of his chief, Aquilonia.

Alexis was overjoyed, and immediately soothed the Aquilonian people with kind words, promising that when they reached Turiyi, Dioonia would soon release the captured Aquilonian warriors.

Although the surrender of Aquilonia had made the entire southern territory of Hilpiney a safe area, Alexis did not let his guard down and still ordered the sentries in the camp to step up patrols.

The night was uneventful.

The next day, 20,000 men of the Dionian coalition marched westward, along the south bank of the Ovanti River, first to Kopsa.

Here, Alexis sent 2,000 soldiers to escort the prisoners and the hostages back to Turiyi, and he also consulted with the governor of Kopsa, Ksima, about the supply and transportation of military rations.

Zantiparis also left the coalition forces at this point, and continued westward to Énona, where he returned to lead the half of the reserve army stationed there, ready to show his strength in the ensuing battle.

In the afternoon, the combined forces of Dionya left Kopsa, bypassed Lake Konsa, marched northwest, and entered the territory of Abenirum at dusk.

………………………………………

At this time, outside Naples, in the camp of the Samonai coalition army, the great leaders of the four major tribes sat in the big tent, all with solemn expressions, because they had just received the news that "the army left behind in the mountains had suffered a crushing defeat".