Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 743: Davos Decision

“Your Majesty, the battle report states that the Samnite warriors who appeared in this battle belonged to two tribes, the Hirpini and the Caraceni. And once we include the Pentri tribe we recently defeated at Ausculum and the Caudini who have just reclaimed our prisoners, the four major Samnite tribes shouldn’t be able to launch another large-scale invasion!” Hielos, the chief military officer, said after reading the battle report.

“Since we no longer need to keep so many troops in the Dauni region, we can withdraw the Second and Fourth Legions. And by withdrawing the various legions, our logistical pressure should also ease.” The Deputy Quartermaster-General Arpenst suggested.

“The Samnites could still sneak into other places, plunder our people and threaten to exchange our Samnite prisoners for theirs, so we shouldn’t relax our guard!” Philesius, the chief of staff, reminded them.

“That is indeed a possibility. However, the Samnites would have difficulty succeeding since the regions and cities close to them have become vigilant.” Then the deputy chief of staff, Tolmides, raised another issue, “Now that the soldiers of each legion are eager to fight and take credit for the battle to gain honour and reward, which legion should remain? Which legion should leave? These are all troublesome issues.”

“We can just throw the headache of withdrawing the Second and Fourth legions and reducing the troops in the Dauni to Alexius. And I believe he won't let his guard down against the Samnites just because of one or two victories,” Davos said, unconcerned.

“Your Majesty, the Samnites may come to negotiate another truce because of this defeat,” Philesius reminded.

“We will never make peace with a race that has repeatedly violated and maliciously broken the treaty! But if the Samnites really want to make peace, I have already made arrangements for that,” said Davos seriously. Then he changed the subject, “But… if it was Carthage that came to negotiate for peace, then that is something we can consider.”

Philesius asked immediately, “Your Majesty, will the Carthaginians even ask for a truce?”

Davos mused, “Unlike the Samnites, the Carthaginians are so powerful that a defeat in one or two battles won't affect them much. But the conflict between the Magonids and the Hanno in Carthage… We can increase the pressure on the Carthaginian Senate by ordering Prosous to lead the Eighth Legion and other forces to take advantage of the enemy's great defeat and advance cautiously to the west. Then they would attack the city-states of Carthage and Phoenicia, inflicting greater losses.

Meanwhile… we would order Seclian to concentrate all the warships under his command to advance to the western end of Sicily, find the main force of the Carthaginian navy and wipe it out completely, thus cutting off the sea route between Carthage and Sicily! If we succeed in our plan, I would like to see if the Carthaginians still have the confidence to fight us.”

“Your Majesty, we will convey your order since I believe Seclian can hardly wait to receive it,” Tolmides replied jokingly.

Davos laughed and said, “Even if the Carthaginians don't want to negotiate a truce, we needn't worry too much about the war in Sicily because we have Prosous on the land and Seclian on the sea.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Hielos then complimented from his heart, “Seclian's ability to command the fleet in battle is already unquestioned, but Prosous' talent in commanding the Battle of Minoa was truly astonishing! Despite the sudden conflict on the river, he could still use his wits to lure the Carthaginian's Sacred Band troops using the routed allied soldiers. Then with the special terrain, he prevented the Carthaginians from making full use of their numerical advantage and, at the same time, making full use of the checkerboard formation to severely limit the Sacred Band troops, ultimately winning a great victory with fewer soldiers… Your Majesty, your decision to appoint Prosous as commander of Sicily at the outset was indeed wise!”

“The foolishness of the Carthaginian commander is also one of the main reasons Prosous was able to achieve such a victory.” Hieronymus, the chief military instructor, said suddenly.

Davos glanced at Hieronymus and was slightly intrigued to see how the ever-diligent and pragmatic Hieronymus felt jealousy over Prosous' talent.

Of course, this also had to do with the fact that Prosous was neither a mercenary from the Persian expedition nor a native of Thurii-Amendolara. As a former freeman, Prosous becoming a military commander at such a young age and achieving such a glorious victory on his own had alarmed those veterans who had followed Davos to Magna Graecia.

However, Davos would never stop promoting and using Prosous just because of their discomfort and jealousy. On the contrary, he would have to use him even more. After all, Davos knew very well that he couldn't defeat the many powerful forces in the Mediterranean on his own. So he needed to find worthy subordinates and place them in suitable positions to build a great kingdom. At the same time, he also needed more excellent generals from different backgrounds to change the current situation of the Theonian army, being mainly managed by the former mercenaries.

Davos kept these thoughts in his heart and said slowly, “Since Prosous and Seclian are in Sicily and Alexius in Dauni, we no longer have to worry about these places. On the contrary, the situation in Latium isn't promising!”

At the mention of Latium, Hielos and Philesius' expressions turned grave.

Currently, the Roman army has already taken Signia and Anagnia while intensifying its attack on Ferentinum. Although the Hernicans and their Volscian reinforcements are holding out, it is only a matter of time before Ferentinum falls. Moreover, the Volscian reinforcements trapped in the city of Ferentinum would be doomed, and that would inflict a severe blow to their strength that they could no longer resist the two-pronged attack of the Romans. In the end, the Romans would be in total control of the entire Latium region… so, during this period, the envoys of the Hernicans and Volscians came to the palace to meet King Davos, asking him to send troops to support them.

“Your Majesty, Amintas has only one legion and is now guarding the Volsci region. So he dares not leave without permission to help the Hernicans.” Philesius explained on behalf of his old friend.

“Amintas doesn't need to worry about that, as he's already doing his best.” Davos waved his hand, walked to the map in the centre of the meeting room, stared at the flat area in the middle of the Italian peninsula and said deeply, “I believe you all understand that the greatest threat to the kingdom now is not Carthage, which is slow to act and in constant internal conflict, nor the weak Samnties, who can only cause minor problems, nor Sparta, which is across the Adriatic Sea and has its own problems, but Rome! Rome understands internal unity, has strong citizens, and can concentrate all its forces to achieve its goals! If we don't destroy them now, they will become a huge problem for the kingdom in the future!”

Davos tapped the icon of Rome on the map with his finger, then said in a decisive tone, “I have therefore decided to personally lead the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Legions, as well as the Second Cavalry Legion, to Latium. We would then join up with the First Legion and the First Cavalry Legion to wipe out Rome – a powerful enemy in the north of the kingdom!”

Hielos, Philesius, Hieronymus…and several other officials of the Ministry of Military looked at each other with grave expressions. They knew what Davos said was very important, so none dared open their mouths to express their approval or rejection for a while. Suddenly, the acting Quartermaster-General, Arpenst, cautiously asked, “Your Majesty, for such a huge army to fight in Latium, we may not be able to provide so many supplies…”

Davos unhurriedly explained, “The second batch of grain aid from the Egyptian Pharaoh arrived at the port two days ago and is sitting untouched in the port's warehouses. The vast amount of grain donated by the Thurii merchants has already filled the granary, while the grain donated by the Rhegium merchants, which they bought from the Black Sea, is already on its way back, and we know that it is no less than that donated by the Thurii merchants. I also asked Burkes about the harvested peas, lentils and other legumes that the kingdom's people have replanted, as well as carrots, radishes, pumpkins, lettuce and other vegetables, which is a lot and can fill part of the gap in food…”

“Your Majesty, the army in Sicily and Dauni would take some of them, and the rest will only last Your Majesty's army a month or two,” Arpenst warned earnestly.

Davos had long thought about it, so he said calmly, “A month is enough since the Latins would provide the next supplies.”

Several people looked at each other again. Of course, they understood what Davos meant since the Greek mercenaries often did this while they fled Persia.

“Your Majesty.” Philesius then asked, “After you take so many legions, what if the Carthaginians reorganise their army and choose a wise commander to attack Sicily again?”

“From Carthage's current situation, their Senate will not be able to solve their problem in a month or two if they want to unite and send another large army to Sicily. Besides, Theonia's intelligence department had started inciting the atmosphere in Carthage to conduct peace talks to disrupt the Carthaginians' order…” After Davos finished, everyone looked at Aristias standing by the door.