Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 278: A surprising turn of event

“If the Messapi-Peuceti dares to retreat, we will go and destroy Brindisi! I don't believe these aborigines would still be able to ignore it!” Diaomilas shouted threateningly.

Davos looked at him with surprise, ‘This is indeed a good idea!’

Davos notice that Diaomilas used the word “Destroy”. Hence the seemingly ill-tempered archon of Taranto had wisely realised that even if Taranto took back Brindisi, with their current strength, they would not be able to hold on to it and would instead increase the number of their casualties. Not to mention that the city defence of Brindisi had weakened from being fought over many times that it could no longer stop the Messapi-Peuceti alliance, so it is better just to destroy it. But do the Messapians, who had done all they can do to retake Brindisi, just accept it? This is why Diaomilas' idea has undoubtedly hit the core of the Messapians.

For Davos, with the strength of Taranto taking a severe hit, if the Messapians and Peucetians are allowed to continue their rampage and expansion, then there will be serious trouble that would arise in this Greek area in the eastern part of South Italia. As Theonia is becoming more powerful, Davos, who had already regarded South Italia as Theonia's backyard, certainly does not want to see such a situation happen. Hence why he had led 14,000 soldiers to Taranto not to sightsee, as his goal is the same as that of the Council of Taranto – to defeat the Messapi-Peuceti alliance! Moreover, both sides have an equal number of troops, and Davos believes that, given the Theonian legions’ capabilities, the final victory would belong to Theonia! So he finally said, “I agree with Lord Diaomilas' proposal, Theonia is willing to reinforce Manduria.”

Now it is Diaomilas' turn to look at him in surprise.

“That's wonderful! Now that we have reached an agreement, we will send troops together at noon!” Said Umakas.

“Time is tight.” Teriphias complained.

“Wait!” Diaomilas stood up, looked at the crowd and exclaimed, “There is a saying in the port of Taranto, ‘No matter how many sailors there are in a ship, they have to obey the orders of the helmsman so that they could reach their destination smoothly.’ In the same way, we must have a supreme commander in such a huge army for everyone to obey so that there will be no confusion during battle.”

“Diaomilas is right. The Messapi-Peuceti alliance is very powerful, so we must stick together and follow orders while fighting to be victorious. Therefore, it is necessary to elect a supreme commander to command all the armies!” Umakas immediately added, “Naturally, the supreme commander does not decide all the plans and orders alone. As it is still needed to be discussed and agreed by everyone before they can be implemented, except in emergency situation.”

Umakas looked at Davos, as these words were obviously for him, “All of you here are commanders from their own city-state's armies, and, I suggest that you select the person you think is the most suitable, which naturally includes yourself, and the one with most votes will be the supreme commander.”

“Who is the commander of Taranto's army?” Asked Davos.

“It's Diaomilas, the archon of Taranto.” Umakas then took this opportunity to praise his colleague, “His military ability is even stronger than that of Archytas, and he had led the army to fight against the Messapians many times in the past, it is why he was elected as the archon by the citizens of Taranto this year. Prior ago, he and Archytas had captured Manduria and Brindisi together, so he is very familiar with the area where we are going to fight, and I believe that he can lead the combined army to win this war!” After praising Diaomilas, he, of course, understood that there was another meaning to Davos' question and hastened to clarify, “I am not going to vote, but rather, I will just act as the arbiter for this selection.”

The two archons of Taranto's answer sound fair, but in fact, it showed that they are sure that they would be able to win the position of supreme commander. Vote?! Davos sneered: Heraclea and Matapontum are city-states affiliated with Taranto, so except for his own vote, he won't be able to win any at all!

Davos has made up his mind that even if Taranto gets the command of the whole army, no one but himself would be able to command his troops. He could still consider reasonable orders, but unreasonable ones can just be ignored. But then the army, which was originally composed of several city-states, would be even more scattered and in such a large-scale battle, it would be challenging to win. So he decided to fight for it, “I don't think that this method is appropriate for determining the supreme commander. War is a very cruel thing, and thousands of people are either killed or wounded in battle, and a good commander can reduce the casualties of his soldiers as much as possible and get the biggest victory at a smaller cost. Therefore, the selection of the supreme commander must depend on the ability and past achievements of the selected person.

Besides, we must also consider that we are an army made up of multiple city-states. Although everyone says that we should obey the supreme commander's command, once the battle starts, inevitably, we will more or less think more about our own city-state army. Therefore, the more soldiers that can fully obey the command of the supreme commander, the more they can lead the progress of the battle smoothly!” Davos then glanced at everyone then said in a more serious tone, “Based on the above considerations; I think I am the most suitable to be the supreme commander!”

As soon as Davos' voice fell, Diaomilas stood up and shouted, “HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE WHEN YOU ARE JUST A BOY WITHOUT EVEN A BEARD?! Hmph! You wanted to be the supreme commander?! It's impossible! The soldiers of Theonia are as young and stupid as you, so how could they compare to the soldiers of Taranto who have been fighting against the vicious Messapians all year round!”

In the face of Diaomilas' insults, Davos calmly uttered a sentence, “As a commander, you must remain calm in order to cope with the complicated situation of the battlefield, that alone makes you not qualified!”

Diaomilas was enraged again and wanted to swear.

It was at this moment that Umakas stood up to stop him. From the bottom of his heart, he also felt that Davos was the most suitable choice for the position of supreme commander. Still, the statesmen of the Council of Taranto, out of political considerations, asked him to try his best to fight for this position. Because the war with the Messapians has greatly hurt Taranto's strength, what would Heraclea and Metapontum think if they were to lose the command for the next battle? What would the other Greek city-states in Magna Graecia think? Wouldn't they all think that Taranto could not do anything but rely on Theonia?! The proud Tarantines could not afford to lose their face.

“Lord Davos has put forward another proposal, and since we are an allied force, all the city-state armies should be equal. Therefore, to save time, I think we should simply decide whether to adopt Lord Davos' proposal or my previous proposal? Let's start the voting now!” With a smile on his face, Umakas spoke decisively and cunningly and grabbed Davos with words.

At this time, a brief silence shrouded the meeting room.

“I agree with Umakas!” Diaomilas said first.

Davos opened his mouth, but he didn't speak in the end.

Umakas was pleased that Davos had no objection as Diaomilas could finally become the supreme commander.

“I agree with lord Davos!” A voice suddenly interrupted the calmness of the room and also broke the fantasy of Umakas.

The two archons of Taranto and Davos looked at the one who had spoken at the same time.

‘Teriphias?! How could it be Teriphias?!!’ Umakas was in disbelief.

“Teriphias, say it again! Who do you support?!!” Diaomilas was willing to believe that he had heard wrong, and so he demanded Teriphias to redo his choice but spoke in a rather impolite tone.

Teriphias, too, was nervous. So he avoided the fierce gaze of Diaomilas, then he turned his head to look at Davos, who was equally surprised and could barely squeeze out a smile.

A thought then crossed the mind of Davos, ‘Now that Taranto began to decline, could it be that Heraclea would want to grab on to Theonia for her own safety?’

In fact, Davos was only right about one of the reasons. More importantly is that the archon of Heraclea, Teriphias, has sensed that the combination of Messapi and Peuceti will make it more difficult for the weakened Taranto to defend their territory. And the people of Heraclea had previously complained greatly about the casualties of Hereclea's soldiers who had gone out with the army of Taranto, so if they want to change this situation, they have to find a way to jump away from the tattered old ship of Taranto, and Theonia, who is closer to Heraclea, is certainly a better place to take refuge.

Davos had certainly not thought of that much at this moment, but he was overjoyed by Heraclea's initiative to take refuge. No matter how long the friendship and alliance are, they are not as reliable as interests and strength! Davos sighed emotionally; he then smiled and nodded to Teriphias.

“Davos, the archon of Theonia and a famous strategos of south Italia, has never been defeated in the battles that he had taken part in! So I firmly support him as the supreme commander!” Teriphias' tone became more firm.

“I recommend myself as the supreme commander!” Davos followed immediately; Teriphias has given him a big surprise after losing all hope from getting elected on such a rule.

Now the situation is 1:2.

Umakas did not expect the situation to turn out like this, and what was worse than not getting the position of supreme commander was the attitude of Heraclea towards the Taranto alliance. He was in such turmoil that he could no longer hide his emotions and looked at Teriphias with resentment.

And Diaomilas, who was more concerned about this election, turned his attention to Taudeles: With his support, the vote between Diaomilas and the young man would then become 2:2, and Umakas, as the arbiter, would then be able to find a way to help Diaomilas get the position of supreme commander.

As he was thinking of this, he saw that Taudeles, under the gaze of everyone, lowered his head slowly.