Chapter 478
Dionysius glanced at the people in the tent and his gaze landed on a person in the corner, "Androstini, what's wrong with you guys?! The Dionysian fleet used such a strange device and you guys didn't notice it, causing us to suffer such a huge loss. Don't you think you should be punished?! "
Androstini's face turned pale. Actually, the chief intelligence officer of Syracuse was Hipparinus, and he was only one of the leaders who followed the main army into battle. The Dionian fleet had been training new tactics even before the war began. Androstini remembered the information he received from Tuliyi. It was said that the Dionian fleet was training in the Krati River. However, whether it was Dionysius, Hipparinus, or him, none of them paid much attention to it. At most, they paid attention to the number of Dionysia's three-tiered oar warships, the names of their commanders, and other news. After all, Syracuse's naval superiority was too great. No one paid any attention to Dionysia's inconspicuous fleet.
Who would have thought that Dionysius would place all the blame for the failure on Androstini? However, he did not dare to refute Dionysius. After all, he was neither Androstini's biological brother nor his father-in-law.
Androstini cursed in his heart, but his face was filled with fear, "Sir, I … I …"
Dionysius waved his hand, "We'll look into your crimes after the war ends! From now on, you have to carefully collect information on Diónia. Don't miss anything, understand? "
Although Dionysius hated his brother's incompetence, he had to protect him. Protecting him was equivalent to protecting his own dignity. Therefore, he cleverly shared the blame for the failure of the naval war.
Androstini was not punished for the time being, but he was grumbling in his heart. Turií and Crimissa had imposed a strict military lockdown. It was difficult for him to send out any information.
"Leptillos, do you think it's feasible to install a wooden bridge like the one on Diónia's warship on our warship?" Dionysius turned his gaze to the Navy Commander who was still kneeling on the ground.
The generals were a little surprised. This was equivalent to giving up the naval experience and traditions of Syracuse and even the Greek city-states that had been proven effective for hundreds of years. Was it feasible to learn from a new city-state alliance that had only won one naval battle?!
However, Dionysius was not a conservative person. On the contrary, he was a reformer and a pragmatist. Whether it was the reorganization and reform of the army or the advancement of siege technology, they all proved this point.
"I … I don't know, because I've never been trained in this field …" Leptineus was obviously a conservative, and said reluctantly, "And the wooden bridge on the Diónia's battleship is so flexible that it probably needs some special equipment. I think … it's not something that can be made in a short time, and … we have to equip it on the battleship to fight against the Diónia, this … this all needs time and training …"
"Then study it with the engineers and craftsmen!" Dionysius's anger flared at Leptineus's dullness. "If it's too late, when the Dionysian fleet attacks, we will have enough soldiers on board! Don't the Diónia want to turn naval warfare into a land war? Then let's have a good fight on the sea! "
"But my lord …" Leptineus cautiously reminded him, "We don't have enough three-deckers anymore …"
"Idiot!" Dionysius scolded. "Recall the fleet at Rona, and the one at Syracuse as well! Also, send someone to inform Felistos to hasten the construction of new warships, got it?! "
Leptineus's head nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Get out of here, and get to work!" As soon as Dionysius's voice trailed off, Leptineus left the tent much faster than when he came in.
Dionysius was not in the mood to pay attention to this. He knew very well that despite these measures, the Diónia fleet had gained the upper hand in the short term.
For Syracuse, which fought across the sea, controlling the seas was of utmost importance. Losing it meant that the connection between the fleet and the motherland would be cut off. The instability of the Syracuse fleet's morale was a small matter. What scared Dionysius the most was not having access to local resources, nor being able to control the politics of Syracuse. Moreover, the Devers had led the main force back, and without the interference of Syracuse's fleet, he could lead the army south at any time. This made Dionysius waver on whether to attack Crotone with full force.
At that moment, Dionysius forced himself to remain calm. "Now that our fleet has suffered a defeat, what do you all think we should do next?"
"My lord, of course we should do as we said before, and attack Crotone with all our might!" Astagras said without hesitation. "While we no longer have the advantage at sea, on land, the Diónia will not be able to stop our powerful army! As long as we take Crotone, there will be no more obstacles to the north. We can go straight to Turín, and Diónia will not be able to stop us no matter how many warships they have. When that time comes, it's up to you to decide whether to fight or to make peace! "
"My lord, I agree with General Astagras." Fasipesas seemed to sense Dionysius's thoughts, and spoke up. "While the Tarantum are still threatening Turín in the north, we should seize the opportunity to take down Crotone! If we retreat now and allow the Diónia to meet up with the Crotone, the number of soldiers they will gather will cause us more trouble! "
"My lord, Dionysius." The leader of the Campanian mercenaries, Emennas, stood up and said, "The soldiers are in high spirits because they know that Crotone is a wealthy city-state. If we give up on attacking it …"
The generals in the tent were all in favor of attacking Crotone, which had tilted the balance in Dionysius's mind to the side of attack. However, he did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he looked at the only person who had not spoken up and asked, "Phoebidas, what do you think?"
Phoebidas, who had always been straightforward, showed a rare moment of hesitation. From Sparta's perspective, it was more advantageous for Sparta to maintain a balance between Syracuse and Diónia, so peace talks were actually a better choice. However, Phoebidas's interest was piqued by the Devers's outstanding performance. He could not wait to defeat the young Archon who was hailed as a "famous general" by the Greeks, so he said, "What they said makes sense. Attacking Crotone will give us the upper hand. More importantly, it will force the Diónia to come to Crotone's aid before the other battles are settled and they are not fully prepared. This will ensure that we have the upper hand in the final battle against Diónia. If you're worried that the Dionysian Army might launch a surprise attack during our siege, don't you have so many cavalrymen? Why don't you let them scout further north?! "
Dionysius glanced at Phoebidas, then at the generals. He laughed and said, "What's there to worry about? The Diónia have only won one naval battle. Do they think they can force us, Syracuse, to retreat? No! This will only make us more focused on attacking on land! "
Dionysius stood up abruptly, drew his saber, and slammed it into the table with all his might. He said sternly, "From now on, all troops are to seize the moment and prepare to attack the city. We will attack Ciudad Crotone with all our might in two days!"
"Seize Crotone!" The crowd shouted in unison.
… …
"Mother, I'm back!"
"We're back!"
With a loud bang, Cynthia pushed open the wooden door to the backyard with force.
"Mother, we won! We won against those terrifying enemies! Don't be fooled by their numbers, we've captured all of them! "Adoris ran to Cristoya excitedly.
Before Cristoya could reply, a woman beside her said with a smile, "Am I right, Devers? His Majesty has the blessing of Hades. He will definitely win. You don't have to worry!"
Before she finished, Aegnis had already stood up with a face full of joy, "I'm going to express my gratitude to Artemis!"
As she spoke, she puffed up her belly and quickly walked towards the statue of Artemis on the other side of the garden.
"Walk slowly, be careful of the fetus!" Cristoya said with concern. Aegnis's personal maid had already rushed over to support her.
"Isn't Aegnis Hera's priestess?" The woman was slightly surprised.
"You should know that before Aegnis came to Turim, she was the chief priestess of the Temple of Artemis in Ligim. During this period of time, she stayed at home because of her pregnancy. She could only pray to the Goddess of the Hunt every day to protect the Devers. It must have been hard on her! "Cristoya said ruefully.
At this moment, Cynthia greeted the woman with a bow, "Hello, Aunt Andrea!"
"Cynthia, I haven't seen you in a few years. You've grown into a big girl!" Andrea looked at Cynthia happily and hugged her.
"Mother, let me tell you a secret. When we were celebrating the victory, there was a boy who carried —"
"Shut up, Adoris! If you dare speak nonsense, I'll beat you up! "Cynthia's face was slightly red as she threatened loudly.
"What happened?" Cristoya asked with a smile.
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