Chapter 477
After everything was arranged, Fasipesas was still worried. "Sir, what if it still rains in the next few days …"
"You don't have to worry about that. I've asked a few old fishermen who have lived here for decades. They all agree that it will be sunny from tomorrow onwards. Look, the rain today is much lighter!" Dionysius looked at the crowd and encouraged them. "Everyone, you have to make the best use of these two days. Build enough siege weapons as soon as possible! Fasipesas, your task is a little heavy. To prevent the siege towers from reaching Crotone's northern gate due to the mud, you have to build at least five strong causeways. Can you do that? "
"General, you've already given me enough men. That won't be a problem!" Fasipesas promised.
"Very well!" Dionysius looked at the crowd confidently. "Everyone, we will attack Crotone again in two days! After this battle, I will hold a celebration for all of you in the Temple of Apollo in Crotone. Do not disappoint me! "
The generals swore in unison, "Apollo above, we will conquer Ciudad Crotone!"
The atmosphere in the tent was lively, and Dionysius was affected by it. He smiled and said to Grandmaster Phoebe, who had been silent all this time, "That Devers dared to call themselves a king. Didn't Sparta punish them?"
Before the Greco-Persian War, Sparta used to be known as "liberators", and they also claimed that they were liberators because they overthrew one tyrant regime after another in Greece and even in the Aegean islands, such as the descendants of the tyrant Pisistratus in Athens, the Areuada family in Thessaly, and so on. Therefore, the Greeks used to think that Sparta was extremely hostile to autocratic regimes.
Phoebidas glanced at Dionysius. "You only know how to talk about Devers. Why don't you look at yourself first?"
Of course, he could not answer like that. Instead, he replied coldly, "Isn't Syracuse enough as punishment enough?"
Dionysius laughed heartily.
At this moment, the curtains of the tent were lifted and an attendant rushed in. He whispered something into Dionysius's ear.
Dionysius's smile immediately froze on his face. His expression turned extremely ugly. "Ah!" He grabbed the attendant with one hand and roared, "Where's Leptinus? Where is this damn bastard?! Get him to come see me!! "
The attendant was intimidated by Dionysius's anger and said in a trembling voice, "My lord … Lord Leptinus … is injured and is receiving treatment in his tent …"
"Get this coward over here right now! Even if he's dead, bring his body here! "Dionysius's anger didn't subside as he roared coldly.
"Yes … yes …" The attendant ran out of the tent in a panic.
The tent was silent. Only Dionysius's rapid breathing and pacing could be heard.
"Did the fleet encounter a setback?" Finally, someone asked the question that everyone wanted to ask.
Dionysius glanced over and realized that the person who spoke was Phoebidas. Only this Sparta dared to speak when Dionysius was in a rage.
Dionysius looked at him and returned to his wooden chair. He let out two heavy breaths. "It's not just a setback. It's a complete defeat!"
A complete defeat?! Everyone in the tent was shocked.
"My lord, could it be … Carthage's men have joined the battle?" Fasipesas asked carefully.
Everyone's heart tightened. With the strength of Syracuse's navy, only Carthage's men could be a match for them in the western Mediterranean. If Carthage had joined the battle, Syracuse in Sicily might be in danger!
Facing more than ten pairs of slightly panicked eyes, Dionysius felt even more suffocated. "Don't think too much. Carthage didn't join the battle. It was Diónia's fleet … They single-handedly defeated our navy and made us lose more than three hundred warships … two-thirds of which were three-tiered warships …"
What!!! The tent was in an uproar. No one could believe the fact that Syracuse's navy had lost so badly against the far weaker Dionysian fleet!
After all, after years of construction and accumulation, Syracuse's fleet had finally reached five hundred warships after suffering a crushing defeat to Carthage in the last naval battle. Among them, there were more than three hundred three-tiered warships. For this expedition to Greece, apart from leaving a few dozen warships to guard the port of Syracuse, Leptinus sent all of them with the fleet. After that, he stationed a few dozen warships in Messina to seal off Liguim and control the straits. The rest of the warships were personally led by Leptinus. All of them had participated in this naval battle, but they were actually defeated, and to a Diónia that did not even have a single warship a few years ago! This was simply …
"Stop arguing!" Dionysius, who was already irritated, was even more annoyed by the generals' argument. "What exactly happened in this naval battle, we'll all know when Leptinus arrives. Now, keep quiet!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the tent returned to silence. Only this time, the restless and irritated people were the ones in the tent.
With Dionysius's order, Leptinus arrived very quickly. He stumbled into the tent and knelt on the ground with a thud. With a trembling voice, he said, "My … My Lord, I … I'm guilty!"
Dionysius saw that his head and arms were wrapped in linen, stained red with fresh blood. He looked miserable, and a trace of pity rose in his heart. However, it was quickly drowned out by his rage. "You came just in time. Everyone really wants to know how you destroyed more than three hundred warships!"
His sinister voice was filled with boundless hatred, and Leptinus could not help but shudder a few times.
Seeing his cowardly appearance, Dionysius was even angrier. He grabbed the metal sheet that the guards had just picked up from the table and threw it at Leptinus. It hit Leptinus's forehead, and blood immediately flowed out. However, he did not dare to make a sound.
"Speak!" Dionysius pointed at him and roared.
"Yes! Yes! … "Leptinus replied repeatedly.
The generals who were originally angry at him now felt pity for him. On the other hand, Phoebidas was unperturbed. The Sparta people would be beaten by their instructors if they were disobedient from a young age. When they grew up, they would be beaten if they did not pass the training and examinations. If they failed in battle, they would be beaten even more … The Sparta people were ruthless to their own citizens, and even more ruthless to the Black Rovers and the soldiers of their allies. This kind of violence often made other city-states unwilling to go near Sparta, and the citizens of Sparta were already used to it. So Phoebidas even felt that these generals who caused so much damage to the city-states should be hung up and beaten to death.
Leptinus trembled as he briefly recounted the entire naval battle.
After listening, Dionysius's expression was solemn as he fell into deep thought. "You mean … The Diónia people installed wooden bridges on their warships that could hook nearby warships, and then won by relying on their soldiers to board the ships?"
"Yes … Yes. Their wooden bridges were very flexible and could turn in any direction, so that our warships could not circle around and attack from behind. "Leptinus hurriedly explained.
"Since they already knew that the ramming tactic would not work, why didn't they retreat in time?!" Dionysius cursed.
Leptinus was speechless.
"He wanted to capture the new king of Diónia and end the war." Phoebidas sighed. "So that Devers had guessed your thoughts in advance, so he used himself as bait to lure your warships to attack desperately, and thus captured a large number of your warships, leading to your defeat … The Devers are really an amazing commander!"
Dionysius glared at him, but Phoebidas did not care.
Fasipesas found a problem in Leptinus's narration and asked anxiously, "General Leptinus, from what you said, the warships captured by the Diónia people did not suffer much damage. Doesn't that mean they can use these warships against us soon?!"
Everyone's expression changed.
"Uh … That …" Leptinus did not know how to answer.
"Hmph! If the Diónia people want to expand their fleet, they would need that many sailors! " Dionysius's words reminded the generals that he was right. Syracuse had over a hundred three-decker oar warships, and to restore them to combat strength, they would need at least thirty to forty thousand sailors. From what he had learned about the Dionysian Alliance's territories, their youths had all been invested in expanding their army and navy in order to deal with the many battles that might occur, and they should not be able to muster such a large number of youths. Moreover, not everyone could immediately become qualified sailors. This required a long period of training. An experienced helmsman was even more difficult to find!
The generals breathed a sigh of relief.
"Leptinus, your failure has caused great trouble for our army!" Dionysius asked coldly with an angry expression, "Let me ask you, if the Dionysian fleet comes to attack, do you have the confidence to lead the remaining warships to turn the tide?"
The generals immediately turned their attention to Leptinus again, which made him even more nervous and fearful. He subconsciously touched the bandage on his head. The wound under the bandage was made by himself, in order to gain some sympathy from his brother.
"Say something!" Dionysius bellowed angrily, and the frightened Leptinus hurriedly said, "If … If we can lure the Diónia fleet into the deep sea, and slowly hold them off, I … I have a certain chance of defeating them. Their warships have erected such a large wooden bridge on the foremast, which would easily cause the bow to be heavier than the stern. Not only would their speed and agility be weaker, but they would also be more prone to capsizing when the waves are strong at sea. But … if it's close to the sea … "Leptinus cautiously looked up at Dionysius, before lowering his head and saying in a low voice," If we face their attack head-on, I'm afraid … our fleet will still fail … "At the end of his words, his voice completely weakened.
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