ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 266 Attacking Bruti?
Ligem, another powerful state in Magna Graecia, is far away on the "toe" of Italy. It remains neutral to the disputes in Magna Graecia and cares more about shipping trade than hegemony; Locle now has a grudge against Dionia, but it has The South Italian Alliance is still separated between Dionia and Crotone. It can bear it with just one Crotone. Dionia only needs a little reinforcement and it can't bear it. As for Syracuse, the backer behind him, in a short time He was still entangled with Carthage and had no time to pay attention to the land north of Sicily.Therefore, Davos wants to turn southern Italy into the most stable base camp of the Dionysian Alliance. The only person to consider is the Bruti people.

To say that the area where the Brutis live is high, the land is not fertile, and it is not close to the sea. As far as Grummentum, its shape becomes an elongated "S" shape.Especially in the east, the cities of Asprustum, Crimea, the ally Castron, Thurii, and Amendolara are lined up along the coast, forming a long and narrow corridor.For the Greeks who love the sea, this is very common, but for Davos, who has been influenced by more than 2000 years of history, he feels deeply disturbed: such a territory is too flat, without depth, and the coastline is too long. With the invasion of powerful foreign enemies, any place can easily become a target for enemy attacks, and the Deolian army's march for rescue in a narrow territory has lengthened the army's supply line, making it another extremely vulnerable target. Its shortcomings have been initially shown in the war with Crotone.Therefore, while the Dionia Navy was being formed, Davos set his sights on the Bruti Mountains.

Although the transportation between the Bruti Mountains and the Dionia territory is not very convenient, if you have it, Dionia's territory in South Italy will be united into one.The valley trails north of Asprostum, the mountain trails north of the southern city of Thurii, and the mountain trails on the south bank of the Craty River can all be converted into passages between Dionia and Bruti, not to mention Grumentum. , Niutum's soldiers can directly cross the west coast of the Bruti Mountains and reach Trina more quickly.Besides, the Brutians are weak and not united, so they are easier targets to be conquered.

Davos originally planned to wait for the three newly-joined territories of Asprostum, Cremisa, and Grumentum to stabilize before launching a plan against the Bruti people.Some time ago, Davos asked Izam to send people to Bruti to inquire about information, but he did not expect that the Bruti people were heavily guarded, and Izam's mountain reconnaissance team basically did not speak Bruti language. Not only did they not After getting the news, several men were lost.Davos had to suspend his reconnaissance, but he did not expect that Trina's messenger Sipulos brought him shocking news.

"The Bruti region is different from Lucania. It is surrounded by Greek city-states." Sipulos said seriously: "So every year some Greeks or slaves flee due to crimes, persecution by political enemies and other reasons. Bruti, and gradually formed a unique tribe there... Many years ago, we Trina had close contact with this tribe. We secretly sold them some urgently needed goods to them, and they passed them on to us. Some news from the mountains. Relying on this tribe, Trina has prevented the Brutian invasion many times in advance.

And this time... they contacted us many times in a very anxious manner for several days, because the alliance of the Bruti tribes threatened their survival, so there should be no doubt that this news is true! "Sipulos emphasized again.

Davos was surprised: "What is the name of this tribe?"

"Siro means 'Hiron'."

Davos nodded. Without asking Siplos, he could guess that such a tribe composed of Greeks could survive in that mountainous area. It must have taken advantage of the disputes between tribes, and may even have served as mercenaries. Or the role of black market trade. Now that the Bruti people have completed their integration, this alien tribe will lose the soil for survival.

Davos still has a question in his mind: "Why don't the Brutians form an alliance like Lucalia, but concentrate their power? Won't other tribes object?"

After listening to this, Sipulos showed a wry smile, looked at Davos, and said: "I don't know the specific reason... maybe... it stole it from its neighbor, maybe. At least until So far, we haven’t heard of any major unrest in the Bruti region.”

Davos heard the teasing in Sipulos's words, and he was shocked: the previous Lucalia tribal alliance was loosely organized, and each tribe had its own interests, so it was impossible to truly concentrate all its forces. , the danger to Dionia is much smaller.But if, like Dionia, you can highly centralize power, it would be worthy of Dionia's vigilance!
Davos sat back in his chair, looked at Sipros, and said seriously: "Triner sent you to tell me the news, do you have any suggestions?"

Sipulos had experienced Daves' speaking style last time, so he stopped going around in circles and said frankly: "The Trina Council hopes that Dionia can take the lead and lead the South Italian Alliance to fight against Bruti We must take the initiative to attack and destroy the Brutian tribal alliance before it becomes a real threat, so as to restore peace to the people of the Magna Graecia city-state!"

"Southern Italian Alliance..." Davos muttered in a low voice, touched his chin, and pondered for a while before saying: "Waging a war is a big deal, especially against a big force like the entire Brutian people! What's more, Dai Vos The war in Onia has just ended not long ago, so it may take some time for the Senate to make a decision on this issue..."

Sipulos nodded in understanding.

"In this case, Sipros, you should live in Turui for a while to experience the life of the Dionians. At the same time, it is also convenient for us to discuss the issue of attacking Bruti with you at any time."

Davos extended the invitation, and Sipulos immediately agreed. He smiled and said: "Thurii is a completely different city from other Greek city-states! I like its architecture and cleanliness very much. More importantly, there are Delicious food not found anywhere else!”

Davos laughed, and until Sipulos was sent away, he did not ask Sipulos what Sipulos said in Christia's restaurant, 'What are the flaws of Dionia's political system? ', because he doesn't want others to know that Davos has eyes and ears all over Tuliy for the time being, because no one likes the feeling of being monitored at any time.

In fact, Davos's approach is not the first of its kind in this era.As early as 70 years ago, Hieron, the successor of the tyrant Glenn of Syracuse, had implemented the "secret agent system", which aroused great resentment from the people.Of course Davos, who cares about reputation, will not be stupid enough to expose these dark sides. In fact, there is no need to ask. He is very clear about the biggest problem with the political system currently running in Dionia.

After the Dionia Senate deliberately did not hold a citizens' assembly, ordinary citizens had no chance to participate in politics.In Persia, this would not be a problem at all.But this is in Greece. The enthusiasm of Greek citizens to participate in politics is famous among Mediterranean countries and city-states. Even Sparta, the most conservative oligarchy, allows its citizens to express their opinions on the laws and proposals formulated, of course not in Instead of voting, the strength of the voice is used to support "yes or no".The reason why the political situation in Dionia is relatively stable now is because the populations of these Greek cities in the Dionia Alliance have dropped sharply after experiencing the damage of the war. The remaining people are still busy repairing their homes and fear of war. This makes them long for strong protection. The army under the command of Davos can give them a great sense of security. However, the original free people who make up the majority of the population have always been marginalized people in various city-states. They are busy making a living and have no rights. Participate in the affairs of various city-states, so they have neither developed the habit of participating in politics, nor are they enthusiastic about politics; not to mention those Lucalia citizens, it turns out that they are all governed by elders and leaders in the tribe. , Now in the alliance, there is a Senate that decides everything, and they have no discomfort.

Davos knows that such a stable situation will not last forever. When the alliance becomes stronger and the people become richer, they may have higher demands.But Davers is not worried about this. He has already taken corresponding measures to deal with it.Now, let the people of Dionia continue to be familiar with the existing system until they become accustomed to it...

...........................

At the end of July, Dionysius led the Syracuse army to launch an all-out attack on Carthage's core town in Sicily, Mortea.

The causeway they built from the coast has connected the small island where Motian is located in the bay. Siege equipment can be transported directly to the city, so the fierce siege battle began: the Motians used bows, arrows, javelins and throwing burning asphalt to kill the Syracuse soldiers; the Syracusans used dozens of ballistae to bombard the walls of Mortia, forcing the defenders to stand on the walls...

After several days of fierce fighting, the battering ram used by the Syracuse people smashed a big gap in the city wall of Motiah, and the army of Syracuse rushed in, and the city wall of Motiah fell.

Dionysius was extremely excited. He thought victory had been achieved, but who knew that the bloody battle had just begun.

Since the Carthaginian reinforcement warships had been defeated by ballistae in the bay, the residents of Mortia had already realized that they would fight alone when they saw this.The Motians knew that decades of conflicts and wars between Carthage and the Greeks in Sicily had accumulated countless hatreds, and there was no way out in surrender, so they decided to fight to the death.

(End of this chapter)