Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 37: Its name is Crow

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At the end of the Battle of Korosso, Agsilus defeated the Argos, the Thebes defeated the Phocis, and Xenophon led the mercenaries to attack the Athenian army in the middle, and the situation was not conducive to the opposition. When the Bada coalition forces were on one side, the coalition forces took the initiative to retreat.

Agsilous's troops were unable to pursue it because of too many casualties.

The coalition forces returned to the camp smoothly and continued to guard Coroso.

Although Agsilius won, he failed to pass Coroso. As the enemy's reinforcements continued to arrive, the anti-Spartan coalition continued to grow.

Agsilius realized that it was not possible to stay here for long, so he had to give up his plan to attack the territory of Thebes and was forced to lead the army to retreat westward, finally reaching Delphi, crossing the Corinthian Gulf, and still in Corinth. The fighting Spartan forces rendezvous.

……………………………

Sekrian, who is already the admiral of the Dionian navy, came to Davers' mansion again, and his respectful attitude towards Davers was the same as before.

Daves came to him this time. In addition to congratulating him on his promotion, he also discussed more important matters: "Sekrian, I have carefully thought about what you told me about dealing with Syracuse in the past two days. Zha Navy’s strategy. I think that although there is a chance to win, the risk is too great. I thought of an idea that may greatly increase the chance of the Dionian Navy’s victory."

"My lord, what's the idea?" Sekrian asked hurriedly. His posture was not pretended. If others said that, he would definitely think it was whimsical, but it was from the "miracle manufacturing" that the soldiers extolled. How could he not pay attention to the mouth of Daves.

"Look at this." Daves handed a parchment scroll to Sekrian.

Sekrian quickly unfolded and saw: A three-tiered paddle battleship was painted on it, but this battleship is a bit special. There is an extra plank beside the mast of his bow that is not much different from the length of the mast. Both sides are With low railings, there is a downward sharp corner below the top of the plank. There is also a special drawing description of this device similar to a small wooden bridge. It is about 12 meters long and 1.2 meters wide. The sharp corner at the top is a thick iron nail. The top of the wooden board is also drilled with a hole, which is passed through with a cable. And tied to the mast.

Daves saw Sekrian's look a little confused, so he first asked: "Sekrian, you tell me honestly, how far is the difference between our sailor's skill in maneuvering warships and Syracuse? "

Sekrian hesitated and said: "The Syracuse navy has fought against the Carthaginians many times. The actual combat experience is richer than ours, and the ship handling skills are naturally better than ours... But we are training hard. , And the fighting spirit of the brothers is very high..."

"But—our sailors are still newcomers who have never been on the battlefield, including yourself." Daves pointed out unceremoniously.

Sekrian blushed, trying to refute.

Daves waved his hand and motioned him not to speak for now: "The navy is out of sync. The battle on land has failed. As long as there are enough citizens in the city-state, another army can be formed at any time. When a naval battle occurs, often More than a dozen ships and dozens of ships sank to the bottom of the sea. Thousands of sailors died or became captives. Once it fails, it is difficult to recover in a short period of time, because a three-layer paddle warship takes at least half a year. The construction period, not to mention the huge amount of resources and money that it needs to consume.

During this period of time, Syracuse’s warships can ravage any coast and port of Dionia at will, leaving our land deserted and trade stagnant...so the navy is weaker than Syracuse. The Dionian Alliance has not given your fleet time to hone experience, and our navy cannot be defeated once! "

Daves' words put Sekelian under tremendous pressure.

He squeezed his fists, pressed them on his thighs, and shouted in his heart: How is this possible? ! Even the naval powers, such as Athens and Syracuse, have experienced disastrous defeats...

At this moment, his gaze swept across the drawing on the table, and his heart moved: Is the mystery of our navy's victory here?

"Sekrian, since our fleet is not as good as Syracuse in terms of experience and technology, why do we have to compete with Syracuse in traditional ship collision tactics?! On the contrary, you see we have The best legionaries of the Greek city-states, whether it is individual fighting skills or teamwork, are among the strongest heavy infantry in Greece, why not move land combat to naval combat, give full play to our strengths and avoid our shortcomings , Hold the fighting initiative in your own hands?!"

Daves's words "treat sea battles like land battles" passed through Sekelian's brain like a bolt of lightning. He picked up the drawing on the table: "This wooden bridge...this wooden bridge..."

Davers smiled and took the conversation: "This wooden bridge, I asked Matikoris, he can design pulleys on the warship, can easily pull up the wooden bridge, and at the same time create a circular track around the mast base, the same The wooden bridge can be pushed around the mast by using pulleys. When the enemy ship approaches the warship from the front or from both sides, we can look at the right time and put down the wooden bridge. Enter the deck of the enemy ship, so that the enemy ship cannot escape, and at this time—"

"At this time, the heavy infantry on board can use the wooden bridge to step onto the enemy ship and start a close fight with the enemy!" While listening to Davers's explanation just now, this novelty that has been rapidly deduced in my mind. The naval battle Sekrian couldn't help trembling with excitement: "My lord, you are really a genius idea! Turning sea battles into land battles and taking advantage of our army can not only attack the enemy, but also capture the enemy, capture the enemy ship, and quickly grow us. Naval power!"

If you are a traditional navy commander, it may be difficult to accept such an idea for a while, but Sekelian is young after all, and he has just taken up the post of naval commander. He is full of thoughts about how to defeat the enemy and accept new ways of fighting quickly. , I spared Daves some words.

Davers smiled and asked: "Do you think this plan can be implemented?"

"Completely feasible!" Sekrian fixed his eyes on the blueprint: "However, when the fleet is sailing, this wooden bridge will affect the speed of the ship. In the event of a storm, it may increase the risk of capsizing. I think if it can... Hmm... usually take it down, lay it on the deck, and install it again before the battle... In addition, during battle, this wooden bridge will also affect the flexibility of the ship's maneuvering... Oh, I forgot, it's not. In the meantime, with the wooden bridge on the ship, our fleet's fighting method is no longer impact but mainly on the ship, so how many infantry should be put on the ship?"

Sekrian lay on the wooden table and stared at the drawings, muttering to himself, thinking hard.

Daves looked at her, feeling pleased and amused, so he patted him and said: "How to use this new warship device, you should think about it slowly when you go back. I suggest you find it first. Engineer, install a wooden bridge on a warship. If you encounter a problem, you can go to the Dean of the Math Academy and ask him to help design and solve it, but you can be respectful of him. After installing it, Lead the sailors to practice new tactics first. Heavy infantry is needed. You can find military officer Felicius. He will arrange it for you... until you have thoroughly studied this new tactic and used it skillfully, with my approval, then Promote to the entire fleet. One thing to pay special attention to is that it must be kept secret! Remember! Before the enemy is engaged, we cannot let the enemy know our new tactics!"

"Understood!" Sekrian nodded heavily, carefully took the blueprint into his arms, and was impatient to leave and go home.

Suddenly, he stopped: "My lord, this wooden bridge device... did you name it?"

"Crow! Its name is Crow!" An inscrutable smile appeared on Davers's face.

……………………………

On this day, there was a seemingly ordinary passenger ship in the Gulf of Taranto, among the thousands of ships sailing towards and out of Turri’s port, and a 50-year-old man appeared on the ship looking into the distance Land, with infinite emotion: "Turiyi, I am finally back..."

"Mr. Lycias, this time, in order to fulfill the important task assigned by the council, I have to force you to come to Turey. I have always felt guilty in my heart..." A middle-aged man walked up to him, using a hoarse voice. The voice apologized to him.

Lysias said emotionally: "Isocrates, you don't have to apologize. I have said many times that I am voluntary and I am actively asking for the envoy of Turey. I love Athens and I am willing to do it for it. Something. Turiyi is where I grew up. My respected teacher Tizias slept here. I should have come to worship him long ago! (Lysias, most of the country translated as Lycias, for To distinguish it from Crotone’s General Lycias, I will use the name Lycias in this article)”

Isocrates did not really worship Lycias as a teacher, but he had studied the court speeches written by Lycias with great concentration, so it is not an exaggeration to call "teacher". At this time, he also looked into the distance , Regretfully sighed: "Yes, Turriy was a pan-Hellenic city state advocated by General Pericles back then. How much material and money was spent in Athens! How many Athenians worked hard for its establishment! And now it is actually a pan-Hellenic city state. Became one of the cities of an alliance. You must know that Turri is also regarded as a sub-state of Athens. We should have condemned Dionia’s behavior at the beginning and safeguard Turri’s interests... Now we have come to violate The Dionian Alliance of our interests asked for help. Alas, Athens! The Peloponnesian War cost us too much..."

"Isocrates, you have to understand that the city of Turri as we know it has been burned down by Crotone! The current Turri was rebuilt by the League of Dionia..." Lycias looked slightly. Reminded sentimentally.