Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1123: Daionia's Counterattack Plan (Continued)

Cyprolus spoke up. "Your Majesty, marching a large army into the Po River Plain to fight fiercely in Gallic territory will inevitably unsettle the Ligurians and the Veneti. To avoid any unforeseen complications, we should dispatch envoys to both tribes alongside our military deployment. We can explain that the Kingdom of Daunia is launching this counterattack solely in response to the Gallic invasion, and invite them to join our assault on their lands. Even if they refuse, it will ease their anxiety over our sudden appearance in the Po River Plain..."

Davos nodded, finding the suggestion sound.

"Your Majesty," Sedorum asked. "Once our army conquers the Gauls, how shall we deal with them?"

Sedorum's question plunged Davos into deep thought. Because he had not planned to invade Cisalpine Gaul at this stage, he naturally had not drafted detailed policies for managing the surrendered Gauls after the war. His mind drifted to Caesar's conquest of Transalpine Gaul from his past life. In that eight-year campaign, Caesar had waged a bloody subjugation against the natives from north of the Alps all the way to the island of Britain. He had paid a staggering price in unrelenting warfare, slaughtering countless Gauls to finally secure their submission. As for Cisalpine Gaul, they seemed to have quietly submitted once Rome grew powerful, without any massive conflicts—though, of course, when Hannibal led his army across the Alps to strike at Rome, those same Cisalpine Gauls eagerly flocked to his banner to rise against the Romans...

Davos looked at Alexis and Plintors, a cold glint in his eyes. "The Gauls are a ferocious race," he stated, his tone unyielding. "We must show them no mercy in battle. As long as they resist, our soldiers will not cease their fighting and slaughter. They will only fear us—and submit to us—if we prove even more ruthless than they are!

If any Gallic tribe wishes to surrender, tell them this: 'You may surrender, but you must unconditionally accept our resettlement of your lands, and you must strictly obey whatever resolutions the kingdom decrees for surrendered Gauls.' ...As for those resolutions... once we hold a dedicated council to discuss them, we will submit them to the Senate for approval...

"But regardless of whether the Gauls surrender, the key towns within their territory must be conquered and held firmly in our grasp. Take Ariminum, for instance. Capturing it will allow us to swiftly and smoothly transport rations and supplies to our army. Then there is Boloma, the central town of the Senones. Securing it will guarantee our army a safe route as they cross the mountains from Etruria into the Po River Plain. And finally, Mediolanum, the central town of the Salyes. Only by occupying it can we stop more Gauls from crossing the Alps and entering the Po River Plain..."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Sedorum, Alexis, and Plintors replied in turn.

"Your Majesty, although the Gauls have suffered heavy losses, launching an attack solely from the sea will make it easier for them to mount a defense," Hermon offered with a timely suggestion. "Once our army assaults Ariminum and draws the Gauls' main forces, we should order the troops already stationed in Etruria under Patroclus and Hasdrubal to push into Gallic territory as well... If fighting in the mountains proves too difficult, we can have the third legion of Theonia serve as their vanguard."

"Your Majesty, Lord Hermon's primary goal is simply to get the third legion of Theonia into this war so they can earn some military merit. Calling it an excellent tactical suggestion is just a happy accident," Antaoris remarked, half-joking and half-serious.

"What happy accident? I racked my brains coming up with that! I specifically factored in the third legion of Theonia's expertise in mountain warfare..." Hermon grumbled, refusing to look at Antaoris. He rubbed his knees with both hands, feigning lingering fear as if he had actually been injured. "I was thinking about it so hard on my way here that I was almost knocked over by a pedestrian."

A burst of laughter filled the room, instantly lightening the atmosphere. With that clever bit of acting, Hermon smoothly covered up the awkwardness of Antaoris's veiled accusation of favoritism.

Davos didn't actually mind the maneuvering. He looked across the table at a frail figure and asked, "Haca, what are your thoughts on this?"

"Your Majesty," Haca replied at an unhurried pace. "Carthage has now submitted to the kingdom, and the East and West Numidians have bowed to us as well. Under Governor Bagulas's iron-fisted rule, order in the Southern Iberian Region has vastly improved. For over a year now, Legion Commander Sextus has led the Eighteenth Legion and the Border Legion in repeatedly crushing native incursions. They even took the offensive, slaughtering a pillaging Lusitanian Tribe and striking terror into the surrounding natives... Right now, everything within the kingdom's sphere of influence is perfectly stable, and our national treasury and resources are quite abundant.

"Meanwhile, to our east, the war between Sparta, Thebes, and Athens rages on, so they pose no immediate threat to us. We must seize this golden opportunity to concentrate our forces and completely eradicate the kingdom's greatest nuisance on the Italian peninsula—the Gauls. This will clear the final obstacle to our absolute dominion over the western Mediterranean!"

"Well said!" Davos smiled in approval. "This is indeed the perfect time to conquer the Gauls! Therefore, I approve the offensive plan drafted by the Ministry of Military Affairs! But dispatching just the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Legions is not enough. The entire Apulia region sits along the Adriatic Sea, making maritime transport to the Po River Plain quite convenient. I have decided to add the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Legions from that region, as well as the First and Second Cavalry Legions, to the invasion force. That makes a total of seven infantry legions and two cavalry legions. At the same time, the First Fleet will serve as transport and auxiliary support, launching our assault on Gallic territory from the direction of Ariminum!"

Before Alexis and the others could respond, Davos continued, "Let Prosous serve as the commander. Additionally... transfer the third legion of Theonia to Etruria to assist the Northern Coalition in wiping out the Gallic remnants within their borders as quickly as possible. Then, appoint Patroclus as commander to lead four legions—the third legion of Theonia, the Twelfth Legion, the Fourteenth Legion, and the Border Legion—over the mountains to strike at the Gauls from the south!"

"Yes, Sire!" Alexis, Plintors, Alpens, and the other ministers from the Ministry of Military Affairs were all visibly invigorated by Davos's orders. An army of 100,000! Another massive war was upon them! Yet compared to the Western Mediterranean War a few years ago, the Kingdom of Daunia was now vastly stronger, fully capable of easily mobilizing a 100,000-strong force for battle (especially since it was a short-distance war right on their doorstep).

Taking in their excitement, Davos called out toward the door, "Summon the herald."

Soon after, Aristiras strode into the council chamber.

"Immediately notify the heads of all departments. The Royal Palace is convening an urgent, important Kingdom Executive Council. Tell them to report here at once."

"Right away, Your Majesty."

After Aristiras left, Davos turned back to the Rotating Chairmen with a smile. "Let's take a brief recess. Once everyone has arrived, we will discuss how to logistically secure this war and draft a far more detailed plan for resettling the surrendered Gauls."

...

The natives of Cisalpine Gaul were a semi-agricultural, semi-nomadic people. They still clung to a tribal system, living in tight-knit clusters. Their way of life inherently isolated them, and their surrounding environment only deepened that seclusion.

The massive southern invasion twenty years ago had broadened the Gauls' horizons (specifically those of the Senones), but it had also inflated their blind confidence in their own martial prowess. They refused to believe they had been defeated by the Romans. After all, they had occupied the City of Rome for half a year, and the desperate Romans trapped on the hill had even tried to bribe them with gold and silver, begging them to retreat...

The Senones believed their ultimate failure back then stemmed only from overextension. They had conquered too much territory with too few warriors, forcing them to spread their garrisons too thin and leaving them vulnerable to ambushes. They had been campaigning away from home for too long, causing war weariness among the men. And then, of course, there was that accursed plague... If they could just learn from those mistakes, those weak Etruscans, Romans, and Latins were destined to become their slaves... These beliefs ran deep among the tribal chieftains and warriors who had fled back to the lands of the Senones. Thus, the moment their strength recovered, that burning indignation transformed into the driving force behind their continuous raids on Etruria.

Naturally, they had also learned from captured Etruscan civilians that Rome and a few neighboring city-states had been conquered by the Kingdom of Daunia.

Over the past few years, the Senones had only just begun hearing the name "Kingdom of Daunia" from merchants trading in Ariminum, learning that it was a mighty kingdom south of these lands.

But speaking of mighty—weren't the Etruscans mighty?! They once controlled vast tracts of northern land, yet didn't we still thrash them so badly they fled south for their lives?! And Rome and the other Latin city-states currently occupied by the Kingdom of Daunia—we effortlessly conquered those twenty years ago... Many of the Senones harbored such thoughts, which was precisely why they thought nothing of Daionia.