Chapter 468: Chapter 336 Brebiusta’s Decision
However, in recent years, the situation has changed, and the connections between Eastern and Western Dacia have increased once again.
The fundamental reason is: in the past, the Western Dacian tribes, having no threats from the Persians or Macedonians, never established a tribal alliance. Each tribe lived freely on the eastern plains of the middle Danube River. But in recent decades, Celtic tribes (mainly the Boyi people) have continuously migrated from the west and northwest to the eastern plains of the middle Danube River, starting to compete with the Western Dacians for land and resources.
Conflicts occurred intermittently, and the Western Dacians gradually started to lose in this decades-long struggle. Large areas of land were taken, countless tribesmen lost their lives, and many tribes were forced to migrate east... If this continues, the Western Dacian tribes will be driven out of the middle Danube River plain by the Celts.
In such a severe situation, all the tribal leaders of Western Dacia finally reached a consensus and decided to seek aid from Brebiusta.
In fact, seeking aid from Brebiusta is relatively easy without needing to travel east along the Danube River Bank, passing through the Carpathian Mountain gorge, because Brebiusta’s tribe is not located downstream of the Danube River.
The Carpathian Mountains resemble a giant reverse "6," and then at the base of this "6" is a "C"-shaped small tail. The Danube River passes through the "C" of the Carpathian Mountains, entering the Eastern Dacia Plain, and eventually flows into the Black Sea. The main camp of Brebiusta’s tribe is located at the base of the "6," not far north of the Danube River gorge in the Carpathian Mountains.
Oddly enough, Brebiusta’s tribe is located right between Eastern and Western Dacia. Geographically, it seems more connected to the Western Dacia region because the circle of the "6" contains vast plains with a substantial gap to the northwest, linking to the eastern plains of the middle Danube River. Logically, Brebiusta’s tribe should be closer to Western Dacia, but for various reasons, Brebiusta became the king of Eastern Dacia instead.
After receiving the aid request from the Western Dacians, Brebiusta without hesitation immediately mobilized militarily within his directly governed tribe. He quickly led over 20,000 warriors to reinforce Western Dacia, helping them first fend off the Boyi people’s attack in the central region and then defeat the Taolisi people in the north. He even assisted the allies of the Western Dacians, the Skodisqi people, in the south by dealing a heavy blow to the Pannonians, suddenly alleviating the crisis faced by the Western Dacians.
In the following year, the Celts on the eastern Danube plain ceased their attacks on the Dacians, as if peace suddenly descended on this land that had conflicted for decades.
A year passed, and before the new spring arrived, several leaders of Western Dacia once again collectively visited Orastie Mountain.
The slopes north of Orastie have extremely gentle gradients with few trees, and large areas of green fields. Although it was already a new year, spring had not arrived yet. However, the middle Danube River plain is a massive basin, and the area surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains is a basin within a basin, featuring a warm winter and a cool summer with a favorable climate. While ice and frost still lingered in other places, here the grass was wildly growing, and wildflowers bloomed, forming a view resembling an exquisitely vibrant vast grass carpet seen from above.
On the slope stands a village that is different from other settlements on the Great River Plain. It is built with four to five meters high wooden walls, surrounded by wide and deep ditches, numerous and varied stockades, multiple towers inside, and fully armed troops patrolling the wooden wall pathways with no negligence... This is a heavily fortified mountain fortress.
The main house of the village is a three-story building made of bricks and stones. The tribal leader Brebiusta stands on the third story balcony, gazing down at the departing Western Dacian leaders.
This leader, who enjoys enormous prestige among the Dacian people, is just over thirty years old, but he is tall and robust, with a dignified and imposing appearance. He wears red wool pants, black leather shoes, a wide gold belt, a long-sleeved gray shirt, a soft wolf fur coat, a straight tube sheepskin hat, his thick long hair tied into a big braid hanging behind him, with a beard as thick as steel needles... His hazel eyes are deep and sharp.
He is a young leader of noble birth with a fairly aggressive nature.
While he was in a trance, an elder walked up behind him, dressed much more plainly, but the multicolored feather decorated on the straight tube sheepskin hat signified his extraordinary status; he was the High Priest of Brebiusta’s tribe, Deqineu. With his assistance, Brebiusta achieved his current accomplishments.
"Leader, are you planning to agree to their request and send out reinforcements once more?" Deqineu asked softly.
"Yes," Brebiusta replied firmly, "They told me that the Boyi people are not only mobilizing militarily but also reaching out to other Celtic tribes. All the tribes west of the Danube River are being instigated by the Boyi people, preparing to launch a major offensive eastward this year. This is clearly not just targeting them but also aimed at us, so this is a battle we must fight!"
"Since the Boyi people have united with other western Celtic tribes, their army will undoubtedly be large, and relying solely on our strength might not be enough to deal with it!" Deqineu reminded.
"Rest assured, High Priest, although we defeated the Boyi people last time, I am not so arrogant as to believe I can single-handedly defeat the Celtic alliance army."
Brebiusta calmly responded, "I will head east and ask the tribes there to send reinforcements, forming a strong army to confront the Celts. However, there is a bit of discord between the Eastern and Western Dacian tribes, and I worry that they might not be fully committed to sending reinforcements."
"Leader, you don’t need to worry about this. This is a war between the Celts and us Dacians. Our minor internal discord cannot compare to the great war that decides the life and death of two races!"
Deqineu said solemnly, "I will accompany you east and gather the priests of each tribe to jointly proclaim the importance of this war. I believe the Dacian warriors from the east will enthusiastically join your army to fight in the west."
"Then I can rest assured," Brebiusta, having great trust in Deqineu’s abilities, stated confidently, "The last fight against the Celts was just a small attempt. Since they are not satisfied and want to provoke an even greater war, this time, I will certainly defeat them thoroughly, expelling them from the east bank of the Danube River, and preventing them from coveting the Dacian land again!"
Deqineu, confident in Brebiusta’s military capabilities, loudly encouraged, "Leader, the last time you took the initiative to help the Western Dacians, you won their respect. This time, when they faced adversity, the first thing they thought of was to seek your help. You have already become their reliance!
If we win this war against the Celts again, the Western Dacians will surely honor you as king. At that time, you will be the sole ruler of both Eastern and Western Dacia, fulfilling the long-cherished wish of our ancestors — the unification of the entire Dacia, a Dacian Kingdom will be born in your hands!"
Hearing these words, Brebiusta clenched his fists, gazing into the distance, his eyes burning with determination, almost as if there was a flame blazing within them.
............
In Ophelia’s main house, Nexia curiously gazes at two oddly shaped objects on the wooden table: one is a hollow thin wooden rod half an arm’s length, with one end tightly fitted with a bowl-shaped sheep bladder; the other is a large wooden pair of tongs, with curved heads forming an elliptical hollow space when closed, and the wooden tips are wrapped in soft sheep intestine...
"What are these things?" Nexia asked curiously.
Maximus pointed at the two objects on the wooden table and said: "This is called a forceps, and this one is called a fetal aspirator."
"Forceps... fetal aspirator..." Nexia muttered these fresh terms in a low voice, and soon realized something, and asked in surprise: "Are these two items you brought related to women giving birth?!"
Maximus coughed lightly twice, striving not to show an embarrassed expression: "That’s right... Recently, many pregnant women in our tribe have started giving birth, resulting in quite a number of newborns. The population of the tribe is increasing, and the tribespeople have successors, this is a good thing!
But there are also unfortunate things. Horace told me that a few women experience difficult childbirth, and even with the help of midwives, it’s hard to deliver the babies, resulting in... stillbirths, or after much effort, the mother experiences massive bleeding after birth making it hard to save..."
As Maximus spoke, his tone grew heavy.
Nexia held his hand and gently comforted him: "Leader, you need not feel sad, I know these things, but regardless of time and place, giving birth is always a challenge for women. Fortunately, most go smoothly, but those few who couldn’t make it... perhaps they didn’t receive the blessings of the Divine... the Danu Goddess."
"No, the Danu Goddess is very concerned about this tragedy occurring in our tribe!" Maximus suddenly intensified his tone and said excitedly: "She appeared in my dream, telling me that the reason why some pregnant women have difficult deliveries is because the fetus isn’t positioned correctly within the abdomen, and relying solely on their strength cannot successfully deliver the baby, needing instrumental assistance... Therefore, under Her inspiration, I had the craftsmen make these two objects..."
"These little things can really help women give birth?" Although Maximus claimed to have received a divine revelation from the Danu Goddess, Nexia, being from Greece, didn’t have much faith in the Danu Goddess, resulting in some bewilderment.