Chapter 1047
Time passed by in a flash.
Three days later, in the morning, thousands of ships set off from the port of Lili, heading south.
The reason for the delay was because the wind was strong yesterday, and the wind was from the south. Although there were some waves this morning, the wind was from the north.
The Sicilian Fleet and the Third Fleet were in front and on both sides of this huge fleet. In the center were the transport ships, and behind them were the supply ships. With the help of the wind, the entire fleet moved at a faster speed. Before noon, they had already reached Kosia Island.
This small island that used to belong to the Phoenicians was now occupied by the Sicilian Fleet. It became their forward base to blockade the port of Carthage and patrol the coast of Africana. However, the fleet did not stop and continued forward.
As they approached the coast, Alexis's worries did not come true. There was not a single Carthage or Phoenician merchant ship on the vast sea. This route along the coast of Africana, passing through Cyrenaica, Egypt, and finally arriving at Tyre had always been relatively busy. Even a few months ago, there were still ships coming and going here, but now it had suddenly become so desolate. This was proof of the defeat of Carthage in this war and the strength of the Diónia Navy.
It was not until the fleet was close to the coast that Alexis saw some fishing boats on the coast.
The fishermen on the boats saw the overwhelming number of warships approaching. They were so scared that they quickly stopped their boats and ran back to their cities to report the news.
At this time, Alexis was no longer worried. According to her previous deployment, the warships of the fleet had already stopped near the coast. The transport ships quickly spread out along the long coastline. With the help of the tide and the oarsmen, the ships reached the flat beach. The soldiers of the three legions stepped on the knee-deep sea and stepped onto the land of Africana.
"This is the land where Hercules defeated the Giant Pelphion?!" In fact, the scenery of this beach was no different from that of Turií and Katanay. However, the adjutant Mattheseus who went ashore felt a little excited and looked around curiously.
"Yes, now we will soon conquer the giant Carthage just like Hercules!" Alexis said with a sigh.
"Lady Alexis, if you have such thoughts, you will be disappointed." Printos's words surprised Alexis. Alexis blinked and continued, "The current Carthage can't be considered a giant."
"I hope so." Alexis smiled.
It looked like they were in a relaxed mood, but in reality, Alexis was constantly sending out messengers to urge the troops to quickly assemble. At the same time, she quickly found the scouts who had come ashore and had them immediately investigate the surrounding situation.
Alexis breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the news. Not only were there no enemies within a ten mile radius, but the Phoenicians who lived here were fleeing with their families.
At dusk, Alexis led the army to Hadrumentum and began to build a camp on the ruins of the burned town.
It was not until late at night that Carthage received the news that the Dionysian Army had landed in Hadrumentum. The quiet city suddenly became noisy. The people were very panicked and confused. A few days ago, news came from Sicily that although the army led by Margo had been defeated, the remaining troops had retreated to Segesta and Mazara and were still holding on. Why would a large army of Diónia suddenly appear in Hadrumentum?
In fact, after Hasdrubal led the remnants of the army to Mazara, he did send a fast ship out of the port and rushed to Carthage to inform him of the situation in Sicily. But later, because of the chaos in Mazara, the people were busy saving their lives, and the Dionysian fleet deliberately strengthened the blockade of the port until Diónia occupied Mazara. Not only did Carthage know nothing about it, even Erius in Sicily was clueless.
The situation was grim. That night, Carthage's Senate held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures. In addition to deciding to immediately mobilize for war, strengthen the city's defenses, issue orders to the surrounding allies, and transfer reinforcements, they also discussed whether to immediately send envoys to negotiate with the Diónia.
This time, the majority of the senators expressed their approval. Only a few Magonid senators, led by Pretacuba, expressed their firm opposition to allowing the "cession of new colonies in the south of Iberia" as a condition for negotiations.
In the morning, the Senate temporarily adjourned. The senators first returned to their mansions, had breakfast, and then returned to the meeting hall to continue the discussion. But when the senators walked out of the meeting hall, there were already many Carthage citizens gathered outside.
Some time ago, because the Hanoverian party made the proposal to "negotiate with Diónia", they were criticized by the people, and some even accused them of treason. Their days were not too good, but this morning, many people who had already received the contents of the meeting no longer cursed Okridon, Tepanlaco, and the others. Instead, they targeted the Magonid party, asking Pretacuba to consider the safety of Carthage, to reach an agreement with Hanno as soon as possible, and to send envoys to sign a peace agreement with Diónia.
Pretacuba was convinced that this was a trick of the Hanoverian party, and did not respond. In fact, he could not agree to Carthage giving up the colonies in southern Iberia, because it had already become the foundation of the Magonid family.
… …
Just as the Carthage citizens gathered in front of the Senate, Alexis ordered the army to continue to consolidate the camp, and sent a large number of soldiers to speed up the repair of the former port of Hadrumentum, so that the cargo ships could be moved more quickly, and at the same time, they waited for the arrival of the Numibian army.
But in the evening, Alexis, who had waited for a long time, received bad news: when the fleet full of Numibian soldiers set off from Lilibe, it was still a weak north wind, but halfway through the journey, the wind suddenly turned into a strong northwest wind, and the entire fleet was pushed to the east coast of Hadrumentum by the wind and waves, and it was said that some ships even capsized on the way.
Alexis hurriedly prayed to Hades, thanking him for his blessings, so that such a thing did not happen to the Dionysian Army.
Then he sent scouts along the coast to the east to search for traces of the fleet.
But the news he received later was disheartening: except for a few ships scattered along the nearby coast, there was no trace of the fleet.
Alexis speculated that most of the ships may have been blown to near the waters of Cyrenaica by the wind and waves, which forced him to make a decision: he could no longer wait, he must take the initiative to attack.
So on the third day, he let the Legio III stay at the camp, and personally led the First and Second Legions, a total of more than 16,000 people, to attack a Phoenician city-state less than thirty miles to the east of Hadrumentum, the city of Ruspina.
Ruspina and its nearby neighbors sent messengers to take a detour, asking for help from Carthage.
This incident caused even more panic among the people of Carthage, and soon led to a major event.
… …
At dusk, the meeting of the Carthage Senate once again ended in an argument.
After the senators walked out of the gate, Pretacuba and the others were once again surrounded by the people waiting outside the courtyard. Pretacuba, who had experienced this many times, did not respond at all to their requests, insults, and even threats. After the guards pushed away the people blocking the way, he walked forward with his head held high.
At this moment, suddenly, a few youths rushed in, knocked away the guards who were caught off guard, and rushed in front of Pretacuba. Holding a shining dagger in their hands, they quickly and fiercely stabbed Pretacuba's chest a few times before he could react …
The whole process happened in the blink of an eye. When the people around him reacted, Pretacuba was already lying in a pool of blood …
The frightened people screamed and ran in all directions, and the servants who followed behind hurriedly helped Pretacuba up from the pool of blood, shouting for the doctor to come and save him, and the guards rushed to arrest the perpetrators … The scene was very chaotic.
The senators, in consideration of their own safety, retreated to the entrance of the venue, under the protection of the guards. Many people looked at Hanno, obviously suspecting that the assassination of Pretacuba had something to do with his mortal enemy, Hanno.
But Hanno also had a shocked expression on his face, and he shouted loudly, "Quick, arrest them! Arrest the murderers! "
Fortunately, the murderers did not run away, but stood where they were, waiting for the guards to come and arrest them. One of them even shouted boldly and confidently, "I am the son of Braca, Ierdu! My eldest brother followed Monte Adeno and died in battle in Minoa! My second brother was also conscripted to Sicily, and I do not know if he is still alive or not! My father piloted a cargo ship late at night to transport rations for the army in Sicily, and he has not returned yet! My family has already paid enough blood for the war started by the Magonid family! Now that Carthage has encountered so many dangers, it is all because of them! Killing him is not wrong, this is Barr Harmon's oracle! Only this can save Carthage! … "
The other youths also shouted loudly, "I am not guilty, this is for Carthage! … "
There were still many people who had not left, and when they heard the shouts of the youths, they felt the same way. They all rushed to the guards who were arresting the youths and shouted, "Let them go! They are the heroes of Carthage! They want to free Carthage from the danger of war, to restore peace and tranquility to Africana! Pretacuba is the sinner! Brother Mara is the sinner! This was the punishment that Barr Harmon had given them. They deserved it! … "
The roars of the people were like thunder, protesting against the elders, venting out all the sorrow and fear that had accumulated in their hearts during this period of time. Their shouts attracted even more people, and more and more people gathered in the square in front of the Senate. Some people began to fight with the guards, wanting to save the young men. Another riot was about to occur.
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