Chapter 1015
Moreover, this was not the only defensive measure taken by the Diónia garrison. They collected linen from the houses in the city and sewed it into long sections. Then, they set up wooden poles at both ends of the walkway at the top of the city to prop up the linen, forming a linen roof. In this way, most of the arrows, javelins, and flying stones that were shot at the top of the city were blocked by it, losing their lethality and protecting the garrison at the top of the city.
In addition, the Diónia garrison also set up a lot of wooden racks at the top of the city, hanging copper pots filled with water. After boiling the water with firewood, they poured it directly down the city. The boiling water contained feces and urine. When it was poured on the Carthage soldiers who were besieging the city, it caused their skin to fester and could not heal. It was very insidious.
From time to time, stone bullets swept through the air. No matter where they landed, they would cause a stir. Arrows and flying stones continued to crisscross in the air, like dark clouds shrouding the city. The Diónia soldiers defended the city and did not retreat a single step, while the Carthage soldiers were like a tide, constantly attacking the city.
In fact, the battle was not only on the ground. In the past few days, Margo had asked the miners to dig several new tunnels under the ground, and let them continue to dig into the city. Learning from the previous lesson, they were equipped with heavily armed soldiers behind them. After the tunnels were discovered by the Diónia soldiers, the two sides also fought more fiercely in the tunnels.
The siege lasted from morning until dusk. The intensity of the Carthaginian army's attack did not decrease, especially after they sent in the Philo infantry. There were a few attempts to attack the city walls, but they were ultimately repelled by the Daenian reinforcements.
When night fell, the Carthage army finally blew the bugle to retreat.
Although Okridon had participated in battles when he was young, he had never experienced such a large number of participants, and the scene of the war was so grand and fierce. He stood on the inner wall, looking at the countless fallen corpses and wounded soldiers in front of the city. He could not calm down for a long time.
Not long after, when he saw Margo in the tent of Carthage's camp, the military commander who had just commanded the siege was wolfing down his dinner.
Margo's eyes suddenly became sharp when he saw Okridon. He put down the bread in his hand and asked straightforwardly, "Okridon, how did the negotiation go?"
Okreton was not surprised that Margo knew about the negotiations, because as the head of the Magonid family, someone would take the risk to come to Sicily to report to him everything that had happened in the Senate. He was surprised that Margo did not seem to be angry at the Senate for peace talks.
But when he thought about it carefully, he understood: Lilibo had fallen, the sea route was cut off, and the food supply for the 100,000 troops had become even more difficult. Even Margo, who had always been tough, had to bow down in the face of reality?!
For Okridon, he was happy to see this happen. It meant that there were things that could be discussed.
"One of the conditions put forward by the Diónia to reach a peace agreement is that the army led by you, Lord Margo, surrender to them!" Okridon said word by word.
Margo's eyes suddenly became sharp, but then he restrained the light and said with certainty, "The Senate will never agree to such ridiculous conditions!"
"Not only this, the Diónia also asked Carthage to cede Corsica, Sardinia, and the entire island of Sicily!" Okridon continued in a serious tone.
"Diónia wants to destroy me, Carthage!" There was a little flame burning in Margo's eyes, but his expression became dignified, "It seems that the Diónia doesn't want to negotiate at all!"
"I don't think so." Okridon said slowly, "Just like the conditions given by the Senate, the Diónia gave such harsh conditions at the beginning of the talks. They are just asking for a sky-high price. Of course, we can continue to bargain with them, but now our record is too bad, so I can't get a good bargaining chip …"
Margo raised his head and looked straight at Okridon.
Okridon calmly met Margo's sharp eyes, his face was covered with frost, and he said in a cold tone, "Is there a problem with what I said?! If it weren't for you leading the army back from the east in defeat, and losing Palermos and Lili in succession, which led to the whole war situation becoming so bad, the Senate would not have chosen to negotiate with us in such a humiliating manner! — — "
"When did I suffer a defeat in the east?!" Margo slammed his palm on the table angrily, the bowls and jars on the table clanked, and the food spilled all over the floor. "I led the army to retreat from the east, but that was because of the lack of food supply. The fundamental reason was that our navy was not good enough, and we lost control of the Sicilian sea, which seriously threatened the army's sea transport line. This is all the fault of that Anrobas you recommended! The fleet he led was defeated again and again, and almost all the warships of Carthage were exhausted. The army I led has not suffered any major losses so far, but because of the lack of food, we are in a passive position! "Margo could not help but say the last sentence, expressing his helplessness and sadness.
However, Okreton obviously did not sympathize with him. He said coldly, "Lord Margo, in order to fulfill your request to send troops, the Senate has done their best. They have almost used up all the young and strong citizens of Carthage and the Phoenician allies to gather an army of 100,000 for you. For this reason, there is a gap in Africana's defense, and we can't resist the Dionysian fleet's attack!
In order to ensure the food supply of the army you led, the Senate has almost exhausted all the surplus food in the homes of the people of Africana, causing the treasury to be empty! Jia Taiji has made such a great sacrifice and effort, not to let you be satisfied with the fact that the army did not suffer any major losses, and only to blame the failure of the war on the navy. Even if you win a few more battles and put pressure on the people of Diónia, Diónia will not dare to send their navy to attack the land of Africana. Even now, during the peace talks, they will not put forward such harsh conditions! "
Margo was speechless for a moment. After a while, he regained his proud demeanor, "In a few days, you will receive the news of victory!"
Okreton was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. He said with uncertainty, "You mean Salinus? I saw the siege today. How many soldiers did we lose? Three thousand? Or five thousand? "
Margo said confidently, "We have lost a lot of people, but the casualties of the Diónia will not be low either. The most important thing is that we have built the mud wall to the edge of the trench. When we attack Salinus next, our soldiers can directly pass through the wall and fight the Diónia head-on.
If the Diónia do not send more troops, we can seize Salinus with our absolute advantage in military strength. If they send more troops, then this place will become a bleeding wound for Diónia! When that time comes, the conditions they proposed for the negotiation will have to be greatly modified! "
Although the two were political enemies, now that Carthage was facing a major crisis, Okreton hoped for the first time to see what Margo said become a reality. So he said seriously, "The Senate is eagerly waiting for the news of your victory. I hope you will not make us wait too long!"
… …
Late at night, Salinus's clipper entered the Minoa Port. The Devers were woken up by Martius. After reading the battle report written by Amyntas, he was no longer sleepy. He said to Tormid and Printos who came after him, "Carthage's army has been attacking Salinus for the past few days. The defenders of Salinus have suffered many casualties. Even Amyntas can't hold on any longer and has written a letter asking for help."
Tormid received the battle report in surprise. After reading it, he handed it to Printos. After thinking for a while, he said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, now that Carthage's military commander, Margo, has gathered his army outside Salinus and is concentrating on attacking the city, Amyntas has less than ten thousand soldiers under his command. Even if he does his best to resist the attack of Carthage's army for a long time, he will inevitably suffer heavy casualties. You should know that most of the soldiers of the First Legion are from Turís. During this war, they have already replenished their soldiers twice. The Turís have already paid a huge sacrifice … "
Hearing this, the Devers were moved, but they remained silent.
Tormid carefully observed the expression on the Devers's face and suggested softly, "I remember that when Your Majesty was in Latin, in view of the Roman army's fierce attack on Ostia, which caused our army to suffer heavy casualties, you decisively gave the order to abandon Ostia and burn it down. In the end, the Roman army suffered heavy casualties and gained nothing, which dealt a blow to their morale. Now that we have occupied Lili, we can completely replace the role played by the port of Salinus. Should we consider … adopting the same method and abandoning Salinus when necessary? "
Hearing this suggestion, the Devers's heart skipped a beat. He tapped his fingers on the table and fell into deep thought. After a while, he raised his head and looked at another staff officer, "Printos, what do you think?"
When Printos saw the gazes of the others focused on him, he deliberated for a while and said, "I agree with Sir Tormid's suggestion, but it is best not to abandon Salinus prematurely. Your Majesty's current strategy is to adopt a defensive stance on the land, luring the Carthage army to take the initiative to attack, so as to continuously kill and kill the Carthage army and wear down their morale … If we let the Carthage army capture Salinus prematurely, even if it is in ruins, it will still boost their morale. At the same time, it will also allow the Carthage army to save more time for the attack … "
After listening to this, the Devers pondered for a while and suddenly revealed a helpless smile, "Now I am a little regretful for sending Amyntas to defend Salinus. In Latin, I ordered him to abandon Ostia, and in Sicily … I want him to abandon Salinus. Even if he obeys the order in the end, with his style of fighting bravely and never retreating, I'm afraid that he will always bear a grudge."
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