Phellisius stopped talking. In his mind, he also felt that there was some chance of victory in the battle of forcing the Syracuse here, who had only half the army. The reason why I have not agreed is just the inertia of following Davers's will for a long time.

Ansitanos thought for a moment and said slowly, "As far as I know about Master Davers, even if he thinks that there is a high probability of losing the battle here, he will take the initiative to fight this battle. ”

"Why?" Pherisius asked hurriedly.

Ansitanos looked at the citizens of the Ciliting who were assembling in the square in the distance, armed with weapons, and said in a deep voice: "Because victory can win the awe of the Great Greeks, and defeat can also win the hearts and minds of the Great Greeks. But now, as we are now, in the face of all expectations, we can do nothing but turn our allies away. The lost land can be regained, but it has lost the hearts and minds of the people, and it is much more difficult to regain it......"

"But...... If this battle fails, Coronia, Trina, and even Siriting may be in danger. Phellisius was still hesitating.

"Didn't Master Davers arrange it a long time ago! What else are you worried about?! Ansitanos looked into the distance with a smile: "Maybe Davers has long expected this day...... Since the people in the room dare to make such a decision, then there is a price to be paid for failure......"

After Ansitanos finished speaking, he stood up, patted the dust on his body, stopped looking at the people of Cilitin in the city, sighed lightly, and said something that Phellisius did not quite understand: "This is like burning the wasteland, only by burning the weeds and trees can we start sowing new seeds...... Alas, this is politics. ”

……………………………………

When the two returned to the meeting, Phellisius agreed to the offer of a battle with the Syracuses, but he made one request: the command of the entire battle belonged to Dionia.

In this regard, Pretinis, Acersias, and Asopias had no objections, only Ascamas disagreed, but whether it was the number of soldiers or the performance of the army, Dionia's Fourth and Fifth Legions were far superior to the troops that Crotone had just entered the battle, so the final election was that Felicius deservedly became the commander of the entire South Italian coalition army in this battle.

Pherisius returned to the camp, and the two captains of the legions, Dracos and Epitenis, were already waiting in the tent.

"Phellisius, what did your meeting decide in the end?" Epitenis asked impatiently.

"Our coalition forces are ready to force the Syracuse people into battle." Pherisius said truthfully.

"yes, I guessed right!" Epitenis looked excitedly at Dracos.

"I didn't make that bet with you, because I chose to fight the Syracuse as well." Dracos ignored him and turned to Phellisius and asked, "Who will command this battle?" ”

"I don't need to ask! It won't be anyone else but us! Epitenis blurted out.

"I'll command the entire coalition." Phellisius said this in a slightly heavy tone, for he felt the pressure on his shoulders, and at the same time he saw the excitement of the two legion commanders, which also made him realize that the fourth and fifth legions, both the generals and the soldiers, were probably eager to fight the Syracuse people face to face, because of the merits of the battle, because of the victory of the previous camp defense, and because of the hospitality of the Corennias, their fighting spirit was high, and the pride and honor of the Dionian legionnaires would not allow them to retreat from the defense for a long time. Of course, if Davers was here, no one would dare to disobey, but he himself was the commander, so he didn't dare to guarantee it.

Thinking of this, he was relieved, beckoned to the two of them and said, "Let's carefully plan together how to win this battle?" ”

When Epitenis heard this, he stopped laughing and asked seriously: "Which city-states have the armies of the Southern Italian Alliance participating in the war?" How many people are there? How many of the Syracuse people might go to war? ”

"In addition to our 17,000 legionnaires; Crotone also had 17,000 soldiers, including 6,000 heavy infantry; There are 14,000 soldiers and 3,000 heavy infantry, and they want to recruit some more citizens to fight; Trina had 7,000 soldiers, but they had to defend the city, and the number of men who could be sent to the battle was probably only four or five thousand, and the number of heavy infantry could reach a thousand...... The total strength was about 54,000 men, and the heavy infantry was about 22,000. ”

After Phellisius finished speaking, Epitenis whistled: "Wow, what a huge army!" ”

"Not much." Dracos poured cold water on him: "All of our Dionian legions and reservists together can easily exceed this number, and the number of heavy infantry far exceeds this coalition army!" The six heavy infantry brigades of one legion in Dionya are 6,000 heavy infantry, not counting the reserve soldiers, and there are 30,000 heavy infantry in all legions! ”

The cost of a full set of heavy infantry equipment is expensive, and many city-state civilians are unwilling or unable to afford this cost, but many Dionians who have just become reserve citizens and full citizens are willing to buy it with all their fortunes, because serving in the Dionian League and serving as heavy infantry can bring them more benefits, such as: obtaining "land", holding public office, participating in local council elections, participating in tribune elections...... Wait a minute. In addition, the low-interest loans provided by the Kristonia Bank, which was unique to the Ionian League and spread throughout the League's cities, also gave new citizens the confidence to buy heavy infantry equipment.

"But our Legion can't all be here, only my Fourth Legion and your Fifth Legion are here." Although Epitenis was retorting to Dracos, his expression was excited: "Only we can decide the outcome of this battle!" ”

Dracos didn't speak, his eyes sparkling with the same light.

"The two legion commanders, according to the information obtained by Cilitin, we have to face at least more than 50,000 Syracuse troops, and they can defeat Carthage, I'm afraid it will not be easy to deal with!" Phellisius solemnly reminded them: "This battle is very important! If the battle fails, the army of Syracuse may approach our Dionian territory, and several other city-states in the Southern Italian Alliance may be conquered by it, and the consequences will be unimaginable! ”

"I'm also a veteran of Dionia, and of course I understand the importance of this battle!" Epitenis grumbled to show his displeasure with Philicus for looking down on him, and then asked, "Are you sure that the enemy is only more than 50,000 men?" What about the more than 40,000 enemies who attacked us in Coronia? ”

"They are besieging the city of Coronnia. Silitin's scouts had been keeping a close eye on what was going on there, reporting to the coalition forces at any time. Phellisius, of course, understood what they were worried about: "In order to prevent them from suddenly dividing their forces northward, to strengthen the forces of the Syracuse in the camp of the Siritin." ”

"As long as the Syracuse people here don't increase their troops, and the forces of the two sides are similar, we have a good chance of winning!" Epitenis looked at Phellisius and then at Dracos, and analyzed: "We have fought with the Syracuse before, their cavalry is very strong, but no matter how strong the cavalry is, they will not dare to rush the dense phalanx in the battle, as long as we are on guard, even if they defeat our cavalry, they will not take much advantage, as long as they dare to approach the array, our light infantry will give them a big blow." ”

Both Pherisius and Drax nodded.

Dracos took over and said loudly: "As for the infantry of Syracuse, I think that if they can defeat the Carthaginians, their fighting ability should not be weak, but judging from the battle of Coronia, their morale and will to fight do not seem to be very strong. In terms of the heavy infantry, which played a decisive role in the battle, the army of Syracuse certainly cannot compare with our legions! ”

The other two immediately agreed, not because they were not proud, but because under the guidance of Davers's advanced combat concept, the Dionian Legion was actually a complex combat group with a mixed number of arms, and after more rigorous training, it became an army that could adapt to various situations and perform more complex tactics, which was the confidence of the generals of the Philicus, Dracos, and Epitenis.

"Our legions, both in terms of tactical training and equipment, are very different from other allies, and it is not suitable to be mixed with other troops to fight, which is easy to cause confusion and is not conducive to the performance of our legions." Drakos also reminded.

"Dracos was right! I suggest that the 4th and 5th corps should be grouped together, and not separated, so as to form a powerful combat force, and any wing of the battle formation, which will pose a great threat to the enemy. After defeating the enemy in front of you, you will form an encirclement of the middle lane and finally win the battle! Epitenis gestured at the wooden table and expressed his opinion.

"I think so too." Although the two corps commanders do not get along very harmoniously in normal times, when it comes to fighting, the two of them unanimously agree.

With his hands behind his back, Phellisius walked a few steps inside the tent, looked back at the two of them, and said in embarrassment: "I also agree with your suggestion, but after all, this is not the battle that we Dionia are facing alone, and the allies of Trina, Siritin, and Crotone. ”

"But you're the commander of the entire coalition!" Epitenis said urgently: "You have the right to make the most reasonable arrangement!" ”

"We think it's reasonable, but we also need them to think it's reasonable. Only when everyone's opinions are agreed can the entire battle plan be smoothly implemented. Felicius said helplessly: "This coalition commander is not so easy to be!" ”

"Don't they approve of our plan?!" Dracos raised an eyebrow.