Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1281: Sending Off the King (1)

The people of Samos never imagined that under the orders of Secilian and other commanders, roughly eighty percent of the Daonian Fleet's Corvus Warships would pull ashore on the nearby beaches. Fleet infantry poured from the vessels, massing a force of nearly 15,000 men to completely surround the City of Samos.

Staring down from the city walls at the densely packed, fully equipped Daonian soldiers, the Samians were overwhelmed with shock.

Secilian then dispatched an envoy into the City of Samos. The messenger stormed into the Council and fiercely threatened them: submit to Daonia immediately. If they dared to let the Asia Minor Fleet escape, they would face severe punishment even if they surrendered!

The envoy's threats terrified the Samian councilors, reminding them of the rumors of how Daonia had annihilated Tegea during the Greek War. Lacking the courage to push back against the envoy's arrogance, they politely replied that the Council needed time to discuss such a momentous issue before making a decision.

Upon hearing the envoy's report of the Council's reaction, Secilian convened with Midorades and Straphacus. They reached a consensus: Secilian would lead the First Fleet and the 15,000 fleet infantry to maintain the siege on the City of Samos, while the Second Fleet and Third Fleet would immediately head north to Milia.

Before nightfall, Secilian made an even bolder decision: he ordered all warships dragged up onto the beaches, leaving only fast ships to monitor the Samian port in shifts.

It was an exceptionally daring move. The Asia Minor Fleet could easily exploit this perfect opportunity to rush out of the harbor and flee back to Halicarnassus.

In truth, the commanders of the Asia Minor Fleet did demand to leave the port. However, the Samian Council was still endlessly arguing over the Daonian envoy's demands. Without a unified decision, they dared not risk disaster by allowing the fleet to slip away, so they found various excuses to stall. Furthermore, the Asia Minor Fleet's own commanders were divided and failed to push aggressively for a night departure, so the matter was temporarily dropped.

Early the next morning, Secilian led the First Fleet's warships to resume their blockade of the port. Meanwhile, the forces onshore—under the command of First Fleet infantry commander Sesephidorus—began felling the island's trees. Some timber was used to build a camp, while the rest went toward constructing siege weapons, adopting a posture ready to storm the city at any moment.

Also uneasy were the commanders of the Asia Minor Fleet. They once again demanded to quietly slip out of the harbor that night, and this time, their stance was remarkably firm.

Realizing their attempts to stall would no longer work, the Samians took a hard line of their own: they refused to open the port's water gates.

The dispute very nearly sparked an armed conflict between the two sides.

Compared to the near-riot brewing inside the city, Secilian's situation outside the walls was just as grim. The crews' rations had run out. Dinner consisted merely of fish soup, boiled from whatever the sailors had painstakingly hauled from the coastal waters over the past two days—barely enough to stave off their hunger.

Yet Secilian remained brimming with confidence. Not only did he trust Midorades and Straphacus, but having fought alongside Leotychides in the past, he firmly believed the commander of the Allied Forces would seize this opportunity and arrive with reinforcements in time.

To that end, he spent the entire evening visiting every tent, encouraging the sailors and fleet infantry to hold their ground.

Early on the third morning, the hungry Daonian sailors once again sailed out to blockade the port. If the Asia Minor Fleet had chosen that moment to charge out of the harbor and fight the First Fleet to the death, the outcome would have been uncertain. But fearing the enemy's numerical superiority, the Asia Minor Fleet opted to stay huddled inside.

The Samians' continued stalling seemed more like surrendering their fate to the gods, though naturally, they still hoped Persian reinforcements would arrive in time.

But by noon, a massive Fleet sailed in from the north, utterly crushing the Samians' hopes.

Leotychides had not only sent a supply fleet with grain, but he had also ordered the Second Fleet, Third Fleet, and Fourth Fleet to transport the entirety of the Tenth Legion. For a time, thousands of warships gathered in the waters around Samos. The armada overawed the Asia Minor Fleet inside the harbor while demonstrating Daonia's formidable naval supremacy to Ephesus and other nearby coastal city-states.

Eight thousand soldiers of the Tenth Legion, along with the remaining fleet infantry, disembarked onto Samos. Merely arraying their formations outside the city, the nearly 30,000 Daonian soldiers blanketed over half the island's hillsides—to say nothing of the impressive ranks of ballistae.

The Samians despaired. Never since the city's founding had they faced an enemy of such magnitude; even Athens, which had once attacked them, paled in comparison. Therefore, before the Daonian soldiers even began their assault, the Samians made a swift decision: surrender.

Upon learning that Samos had betrayed Persia, the commanders of the Asia Minor Fleet immediately incited their crews to riot in the port. They attempted to seize the water gates so their warships could burst out of the harbor for one final, desperate struggle—believing it far better to fight than to be taken prisoner without a single clash.

However, the pragmatic Samians had already invited the Daonian Army into the city the moment they surrendered, requesting that the invaders handle the tens of thousands of Asia Minor Fleet sailors entrenched in the port themselves.

Before long, the riot sparked by the Asia Minor Fleet was utterly crushed by the swiftly arriving Tenth Legion. Suffering almost no losses, the Daonian forces captured the entirety of the Persian Asia Minor Fleet. It was a flawless victory. Not only did it mean Daonia had temporarily secured naval dominance over western Asia Minor, but it also decisively shifted the once evenly matched naval balance, firmly granting the advantage to Daonia and its allies.

The annihilation of the Persian Asia Minor Fleet and the surrender of Samos sent shockwaves through the Greek city-states of western Asia Minor. They suddenly realized a chilling truth: stripped of naval protection, and with most regional Persian garrisons having marched toward Phrygia, the immensely powerful Daonian Fleet could land and assault any western coastal city at will. Consequently, city-states like Ephesus, Miletus, Chios... and even Lesvos drastically reversed their previous aloof attitudes. One after another, they dispatched envoys to the Daonian Fleet and the landed army to express their goodwill. Some even pleaded for the release of portions of the captured crewmen, as the vast majority of the Asia Minor Fleet's sailors hailed from their very own Greek city-states.

Leotychides led the generals of the Allied Forces, along with Secilian, other Daonian fleet commanders, and the Athenian Navy general Chabrias, to hold a military council in Ilion. After deliberation, they reached a decision: as long as the Greek city-states of Asia Minor regularly provided a set quota of military rations and supplies to Daonia and the Greek expeditionary army, and opened their ports to the Allied fleets, Daonia and its allies would pledge not to attack those cities and would release the sailors originating from them...

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In the early hours of January 364 BC (the 30th year of the Kingdom of Daunia), the citizens of the Inner District of Thurii, having just celebrated the New Year, woke early to sweep the roads in front of their homes. After eating breakfast, some surged toward the city's river port, while others waited by the roads near their houses. By the time the sun had fully risen, the grand avenue stretching from the foot of King's Hill to the inner city port was already packed with men, women, and children.

Just as everyone was craning their necks in anticipation, cheers of "They're coming! They're coming!" erupted from ahead. The crowd instantly surged with excitement, pushing and shoving. Had it not been for the soldiers maintaining order along the street, a considerable riot might have broken out.

A moment later, formations of royal cavalry appeared down the center of the road. Clad in black breastplates, draped in purple cloaks, and wearing helmets topped with red crests, they rode magnificent steeds. Every man looked dignified and imposing as they marched forward in precise ranks.

Following them, Davos, the King of Daonia, appeared before the people. He wore a golden crown and a magnificent set of armor engraved with the image of Hades brandishing a Bident, all draped in a thick woolen overcoat. Astride a massive black horse, he cut a striking figure. Though his hair had turned gray, his back remained perfectly straight, and his sharp, piercing gaze showed he was still as hale and hearty as ever.

Riding alongside him was his eldest son and the current consul of the kingdom, Crotokatax. His accomplishments in Thurii over the past few years were obvious to all. Following his successful hosting of the Theonian Rugby Games last year, his governing capabilities had earned the complete approval of Thurii's citizens. This was precisely why they hadn't felt overly concerned upon learning that King Davos would personally lead the expedition against the massive eastern empire of Persia.

Following behind the two was King Davos's second son, Apox. He was already a renowned scholar within the kingdom and had been promoted to vice president of the Academy of Mathematics at the Theonia Akademia the previous year. He was famous among the people of Thurii for his intellect, but because he spent most of his time secluded in the academy, he remained something of a mysterious figure in the eyes of the common folk.

Beside Apox rode Antebris, the king's third son. Among Davos's children, he was by far the most popular with the citizens of Thurii. Not only was he a famous rugby star, but his energetic personality and willingness to mingle with the commoners made him remarkably down-to-earth.

Next to Antebris was the king's second daughter, Eunice. (Though Cynthia was merely Davos's adopted daughter, her gentle and virtuous nature had earned the approval of Thurii's people, who widely viewed her as his eldest.) As a woman, Eunice should have been riding in a carriage like her mother and sisters, but she stubbornly insisted on horseback. Fiercely passionate about sports and possessing a rather tomboyish personality, she was equally beloved by the public. She was especially popular among the merchants of Thurii; having taken over the Christoya Chamber of Commerce in recent years, her capable and decisive management style had won their absolute admiration.