ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 143 Surprise Attack ([-])

Davos stood up, looked around at everyone, and said in a low and powerful voice: "The battle tomorrow morning will determine the ownership of the Subali Plain! It will determine the future of our citizens of Amendolara! When the battle starts, there will be no horns and no shouting! We must be ruthless! We must be fierce! We must be fast! We must destroy the enemy in his sleep as quickly as possible! Rush to the center as quickly as possible! The faster we rush forward, the tighter and thicker the array will be, while the enemy will The more panic they will get, the more we can surround them in the center and force them to surrender! Brothers, the Crotones are like a pot of fragrant barley porridge now. I want to see which brigade can eat the fastest. most!"

Everyone said nothing, but their round eyes were burning with fighting spirit...

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It was an early summer night in the southern Apennines. The weather was still relatively cool. Unfortunately, there was no moon or stars in the dark sky.

Amendolara's troops began to set off, starting with the first detachment of the first brigade and the first wing. The leader of each company held a lit torch high to illuminate the way forward. The 5000-man army stood silently. Marching quietly and in good order.The sound of the rushing river, the chirping of insects, the chirping of frogs, and even the howling of distant wild beasts covered up the sound of the troops' advancing footsteps and the sound of the collision of armor. From a distance, they could only watch the faint flash of fire every few hundred meters.

Crossing the pontoon bridge at night was the biggest trouble of this march.The troops marched in two columns to ensure that there was enough space on the bridge deck and that both sides had a support.Fortunately, most of the soldiers of the first brigade in front had participated in the Persian expedition and were very experienced in walking at night. They successfully passed the first pontoon bridge and then the second one. Their good performance gave them a great impression. Confidence in the successor troops.

The second group also reached the other side successfully.

When we reached the third group, the speed of crossing the bridge began to slow down.Alsinis stepped on the undulating wooden planks, looking at the dark river flowing under the pontoon bridge, imagining its depth, and his body involuntarily swayed with the bridge board. Seeing that his body was about to lean outward, a hand He grabbed his arm forcefully.

"Don't panic, look up and look ahead, don't look at your feet!" That was the voice of the squad leader Ctipes who was walking alongside him.He calmed down his emotions and followed the team leader's method, and it turned out much better.

After taking a few steps, he heard a thumping sound behind him, followed by a cry for help.

Someone fell into the water!He was suddenly shocked.

"Don't look back, go forward!" Ktipes, who usually likes to chatter, said in an unusually calm voice at this time.

Alsinius finally set foot on the triangular area in the middle of the confluence of the two rivers. After gaining experience, it was much easier to cross the second pontoon bridge.

In order to help the Lucarians cross the river smoothly, Epithenes thought of a trick: let a Greek and a Lucarian walk side by side on the pontoon. With the help of these veterans, the vast majority of the Lucarians Crossed the river successfully.

Arriving on the south bank of the Craty River and setting foot on solid ground, Alsinis' nervous mood subsided. Only then did he ask the team leader: "What should I do if my comrades fell into the water?"

"The commander of the legion asked the military officer Felicius to arrange some rescuers on both sides of the bank. As long as they throw away their bucklers, bayonets, and helmets, and swim to the shore, there should be no problem. Of course, it depends on whether they have been training seriously. Swimming. Now you realize the importance of training. Every event should be completed carefully, because you may need it one day in the future." Ktipes seized every opportunity to educate the recruits.

Alsinis nodded seriously.

Two hours later, the troops approached Castellon City and the entire army extinguished all torches.Under the leadership of Izam's team, they came to the middle reaches of the Trionto River (Castellon is at the mouth of the Trionto River) and lined up in eight columns, with the soldiers pulling spears at each other (because With their round shields hanging on their shoulders and their helmets hanging on their necks, they waded through this section of the river. Although the river was the widest, the water was less than waist deep and the current was not fast. Except for the many pebbles on the river beach, there was no danger to the soldiers. They crossed the Trionto River without causing any trouble.

Crotone's camp was not far away.

It was still very late at night and it was still dark.Under the leadership of the Mountain Team, each team quietly and unhurriedly entered the predetermined position and began to lie down and rest to restore their physical strength.The team officers sneaked closer, observed the Crotone camp, and compared with the previous map, began to adjust and arrange the attack positions of their subordinate teams.

As soon as a light appeared in the eastern sky, the team officers began to wake up the resting soldiers. While they were arranging their weapons and equipment, the squad leaders mobilized before the battle in a low voice: For the veterans, just say, "These arrogant Crotones People dare to insult our Lord Davos, burn our houses, and now we have to use shields and spears to make them pay in blood' is enough to ignite their anger; Then remind them of some details that need to be paid attention to in battle, such as 'Don't just charge on your own, but move forward with the whole team.When the spear is pierced into the enemy's body and cannot be pulled out, don't waste time trying to pull it out, pull out the saber and continue cutting, etc.

Alsinis began to line up with his comrades, and then put on the heavy Corinthian helmet, but he did not feel the usual loneliness of being isolated from the world, although he could not feel the push of his teammates behind him (because he was single file), But through the eyeholes of his helmet, he saw not only the tents erected haphazardly by the Crotones a hundred meters away, but also the thin front line formed by Amendolara's comrades in the corner of his eye, following the infinite terrain. Extend and surround the camp in an arc until it is out of sight...

Alsinis advanced lightly, approaching the nearest tent in Crotone, which was less than 40 meters away. There was still deathly silence ahead.

Alsinis was both excited and a little regretful. He wanted to have a good fight with the sober Crotones to show off his growing skills.

At this time, a large number of screams came from the front on the right, which was particularly harsh in the silent camp. It was the first brigade that started to attack.
Ctippus whispered: "Forward!"

Everyone began to take long strides. The bucklers next to each other rubbed against each other, making a low "thud" sound. The feet wearing leather sandals stepped on the mud soaked by the morning dew, leaving rows of clear footprints. .

Arciris had already spotted several enemies lying in front of him, sleeping soundly outside the tent, but when he stood in front of the enemies, he became hesitant again.

"Do it!" the teammate next to him urged, and at the same time he pierced the throat of an enemy with his spear. The man's eyes suddenly widened, and he grabbed his throat with both hands. He wanted to scream but could not make a sound. His expression was extremely painful. Every face was distorted.

The teammate pulled out the bayonet, and the blood from the wound spurted out like a fountain. The injured enemy began to gasp for air, which woke up the other enemy from his sleep.

"Don't do it yet!" His teammates shouted again. Arciris finally stopped hesitating and quickly stabbed the enemy's chest with a spear.

His teammates turned their heads and nodded to Alsinis. Although he could not see the expression on his face because of his helmet, Alsinis could guess that it must be a satisfied smile. Encouraged, he suppressed the discomfort in his stomach and continued While moving forward, clear away the enemies sleeping soundly outside the tent.

There was a tent in front blocking the advance route of Ctippus' team. Ctippus made a gesture, and ten soldiers surrounded the tent. Ten stabbing spears pierced into the tent, stabbing randomly, followed by screams and blood spurting out. Splattered on the curtain.

"Alsinis!" cried Ctipes.

Alsinis immediately raised his buckler, bent down and got into the tent, and soon came out and said: "There are four people, two... vomit... two are seriously injured, and the others... vomit... are all dead."

"Ignore them, keep moving forward!" Ctipes waved his hand, then looked at Alsinis and said in a deep voice: "Even if you vomit, don't stop moving forward."

Alsinis and the others advanced for a long time before they saw the enemies coming out of the tent in twos and threes in front of them. They were wearing short-sleeved linen clothes, some were even naked, most of them had no weapons in their hands, and they seemed to have not fully woken up from drunkenness and sleepiness. , looked at Alsinis and the others blankly, not understanding what was going on, until they saw Alsinis and the others stabbing some of them down. The screams woke them up, but they did not rush forward to fight, but panicked. Shouting: "There are enemies! There are enemies!..." Under the pressure of Alsinis and the others, they fled in all directions. The panic and embarrassment reminded Alsinis of the sheep he saw being chased by hungry wolves when he went up to the mountains to graze with his father when he was a child. .

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Kollebus's ancestors were the earliest immigrants to Crotone, so they were allotted a large and fertile "allotment", and the whole family lived a relatively prosperous farming and pastoral life.However, with the passage of time and the rise of trade, many citizens doing business gained astonishing wealth, and used the earned wealth to gain considerable power in the political arena of Crotone. They became the new leaders of Crotone. noble.Koleb's grandfather was an ambitious man who envied these businessmen. He was no longer satisfied with farming and was determined to join the business trend to win a brighter future for the family.He mortgaged his land, took out a large loan, bought several ships, and started port transshipment trade. Loaded with goods, he sailed to the Greek city-states of Sagunto in the Iberian Peninsula, Massilia in Gaul, and On the west coast of Italy between Naples and Crotone.

At the beginning, everything went smoothly and made a lot of money. Then, when the full load of goods passed through the Strait of Messina again, it was involved in the vortex of Credis, and the ship was destroyed.The Colebus family began to decline from then on. When he grew up, his life was already in poverty. Apart from being a citizen of Crotone, he had nothing like a freeman from a foreign country, but the difference between him and a freeman was that You can vote in the citizens' assembly, you can join the army and fight in the war.

(End of this chapter)