Chapter 1003
At dawn, two fast ships sailed out of the port of Palermos. One went to Saros to inform the Third Fleet, and the other to Minoa to report to the King of Devers.
Due to the sudden ban imposed by Leotychides, the higher-ups of Palermos and the commander of the reinforcements of Sorus came to ask for the reason.
Especially the commander of Sorus, he had promised to cooperate with the Diónia last night to persuade Sorus to surrender. Now that the Diónia suddenly announced a blockade of the whole city, they were all worried that the Diónia would break the agreement after achieving their goal.
In the end, Leotychides patiently explained the reason and asked for their cooperation.
… …
Since the fleet left the port of Lilibo last night, no cargo ships belonging to Lilibo had returned, and there was no news of any reinforcements. The mayor of Lilibo, Imisere, had been worried about their safety.
His officers kept comforting him, saying that it was normal not to hear any news of reinforcements, because the Diónia had surrounded the city of Palermos. Moreover, when the fleet arrived at the port of Palermos with reinforcements, it would be daybreak by the time the soldiers got ashore. The cargo ships would not dare to leave the port again. They would definitely wait until tonight to quietly return …
After listening to the words of his men, Imisere was somewhat comforted. In addition, there were many things to do during the day, such as organizing labor to transport supplies to the Carthage camp, transferring people to the camp to assist in the construction of siege facilities, and transporting some seriously injured people back to Lilibo for treatment to avoid affecting the morale of the camp … The busy Imisere temporarily put this matter to the back of his mind.
When the sun set, night fell, and the people of Lilibo began to fall asleep, a fleet was approaching the port of Lilibo from the west.
Under the cold moonlight, the lighthouse keeper in the port lighthouse was the first to notice the situation. He immediately lit an oil lamp, extended it out of the lighthouse, and shook it according to the prescribed movements.
After the port received the signal, it immediately sent out a patrol ship.
The patrol ship left the port and anchored outside the water gate. After waiting for a while, the fleet arrived at the port. It looked like a large fleet, about 60 large cargo ships.
The patrol ship immediately approached the large cargo ship with the flag of the city-state of Carthage flying on its mast.
The captain of the patrol held a lighted torch high, and by the light of the fire, he could clearly see the situation on the cargo ship. There were thirty oarsmen, a helmsman, and a captain, all of whom looked like Carthage or Phoenicians. In the middle of the hull, a lot of goods were piled up, a lot higher than the ship's railing, and they were tightly covered with several layers of thick linen.
This scene was no different from the previous times. The only difference was that he didn't recognize the captain.
Before he could say anything, the owner of the cargo ship asked, "Hey, the fleet led by Fiborica delivered rations to you last night, but I haven't seen them return. Their families are very worried. Tell me, did something happen to them?"
"They have another special mission!" Hearing this, the captain of the patrol ship felt that some people's speculation about the Lili cargo ship not returning might be right because Carthage's fleet had not returned yet. However, he did not let his guard down. Instead, he shouted, "Who are you?! Why aren't Tasora, Onis, or Sasis leading the fleet?! "
"Do you think I want to come?!" The captain of the cargo ship complained loudly, "If it wasn't for the fact that the people of Diónia attacked Afrika again and burned the city of Ogilgili, the Senate was enraged and ordered Old General Morbard to strengthen the defenses of the coast of Afrika, and under Morbard's suggestion, the Senate recruited experienced old ship owners like Tasora and Onis to be the captains and helmsmen of the newly built warships. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have had the chance to deliver the goods to you! How dangerous it is to sail such a long distance in the dark! We set off more than an hour earlier. We wanted to travel a longer distance while the sky was still dark to reduce the danger. However, we encountered a strong gust of wind on the way. In the dark of the night, the fleet was in chaos. We collided with each other, causing a few ships to sink … "At this point, the captain looked sad and angry.
When the captain of the patrol ship heard this, he did not know what to say for a moment. He finally understood why this fleet arrived earlier than the previous few times. It turned out that the transport fleet had been replaced with a group of novices who did not have enough sailing experience. No wonder he saw that some of the sailors did not look too natural. It seemed that they had not recovered from the previous thrilling experience.
The captain of the patrol ship quickly changed the topic. He pretended to be surprised, "The Dionysian fleet burned the city of Ogilgili again?!"
"Not only did they burn it, but they also captured many of the people of Ogilgili this time. We were all frightened. Everyone gathered at the Senate to protest. We even pushed Sophie Tepanlaco, who came out to persuade them, to the ground … Hahaha, these damn senators only know how to collect our taxes, but they do not know how to win and how to protect Carthage … Sigh! I heard that the Senate later held a meeting. That old man Aisyaruba used to firmly support the war with Diónia, but this time, he proposed to negotiate peace with Diónia … "
The captain of the patrol ship rambled on. The names of the familiar and unfamiliar senators of Carthage, as well as their embarrassing stories, were very interesting to the captain of the patrol ship. Most of the wariness in his heart had disappeared. However, this was, after all, an unfamiliar fleet to him. He still had to do the necessary inspection. So, he said, "Captain, what's your name?"
"Hakkar. Many people in Carthage call me the Hakkar who is the best at talking —"
"Captain Hakkar," the captain of the patrol ship interrupted him. "I want to check the goods on your ship."
"What?!"
"This is the usual practice! Every time a fleet comes, they will go through the same inspection! " The captain of the patrol ship said with a straight face. In reality, other than the first inspection when the three of them led the fleet, they did not check the goods again.
"Alright!" Hakkar hesitated for a moment, then reminded the captain, "You better hurry up. Don't delay us. We have to hurry back to Carthage!"
The patrol ship approached, and the captain boarded the cargo ship. Then, he lifted up the thick linen cloth.
The linen cloth was wet. This confirmed what the captain had said about the strong wind. Sacks of flour were neatly stacked in front of him. There was nothing else on the ship. That was why the linen cloth was used to cover the flour. It was to prevent the seawater from splashing on the flour. Now, it seemed that this batch of flour was in trouble. They had to be transported to the camp quickly and made into bread to eat.
The captain of the patrol ship showed a regretful expression and covered the goods with the linen cloth again.
Seeing this, Hakkar explained awkwardly, "The wind and the waves came quickly, so we were unprepared. However, we can still eat …"
The captain of the patrol ship did not reply. He jumped back onto his ship and sailed to the second cargo ship.
"How many ships do you want to inspect? We are running out of time! "Captain Hakkar shouted from behind.
The captain of the patrol ship did not reply. He quickly finished inspecting the second cargo ship and rushed to the third one. Each time, he heard Captain Hakkar urging him to hurry up, but he did not respond. When he jumped onto the fifth cargo ship, he heard Captain Hakkar shouting angrily, "Attention, all captains. Turn back to Carthage immediately!"
The cargo ships behind him started to turn back after hearing his shout. The captain of the patrol ship panicked.
In the past, the management of Lili Port had always respected the Carthage fleet. After all, they sailed in the dark and traveled such a long distance. It was very risky for them to transport the goods to Lili Port. Lili Port had always tried its best to provide them with the greatest convenience. This time, it was only because there were new crew members and it was a time of war. Out of caution, the inspection was so detailed. However, if they really offended these ship owners, they would spread the news back to Carthage. If no more cargo ships were willing to transport goods to Lili Port, Mayor Imisere would not forgive them.
The captain of the patrol ship hurriedly jumped back onto his ship and sailed to the leading cargo ship. He told Captain Hakkar, "There are no problems with the inspection. We can enter the port now."
Only then did Captain Hakkar stop the cargo ships from returning to their destination while cursing.
After the lighthouse guard received the signal from the captain of the patrol ship to enter the port, he informed the people at the lower level of the lighthouse. They all turned the capstan.
The water gate was made up of three layers of sea-blocking iron chains, each separated by five meters, and each layer was divided into three chains, the top, the middle, and the bottom. Each chain was hundreds of meters long, and the total amount of iron consumed was astonishing. But for Carthage, which relied on mining and metal trade to prosper, it was not worth mentioning. Under such heavy obstructions, it was almost impossible for the enemy ships to rush into the port.
Hakkar looked at the thick iron chains slowly rising in front of him with a complicated expression. The patrol ship entered the port first, and he ordered the cargo ships to follow closely behind.
Lili Port's main port was similar to Carthage's. It occupied a long stretch of land that extended into the sea. It looked like a slightly curved wooden stick, and the main part of it was almost parallel to the opposite shore. It was simply a natural breakwater. On the outside of this "breakwater", the people of Lili built a five-meter high wall and a tower. Together with the height of the "breakwater" itself, it was more than ten meters above the sea.
At the far end of this "breakwater", there was an even taller building. That was the lighthouse. It was fifteen meters tall and had a cylindrical shape. The top of the lighthouse was burning with a flame that illuminated the ships in the dark and led the way. There were also many windows on the lower levels for the light infantry to shoot arrows outside. At the same time, there was a special mechanical device inside the lighthouse that could raise and lower the water gate. Therefore, it was also a multi-purpose fortress.
The lighthouse was nearly three hundred meters away from the opposite shore. It was a little far, so the people of Lili built an artificial breakwater from the opposite shore. It extended over, and there was also a wall on top of it. Finally, there was a tower, which was more than a hundred meters away from the lighthouse. A water gate was built between the two. Since the iron chain that controlled the lifting and lowering of the gate was on the side of the lighthouse, when the gate was opened, ships could only pass through the side near the lighthouse.
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