Chapter 530
Antonios looked at the wounded soldiers behind him and said with concern, "Our medical camp will be here soon. Please allow them to treat the wounded soldiers of your army."
"That's great! I've heard that Diónia's medical skills are the best in Greece! "Fedun smiled even more happily.
Both parties greeted each other and introduced themselves. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
At this moment, the navy commander, Sequerian, also arrived. Before the war, when the navy of Diónia was first established, Sequerian did not command the navy and achieved any decent results. Even if he was valued by the Devers, the commanders would not really pay attention to him. The two naval victories, as well as the attack against Hibernian this time, were all thanks to him. Hence, the army showed him respect and spoke to him as an equal.
In the meantime, they talked about the soul-stirring battle from yesterday, causing Fedun and Secorian to yearn for it. They wished they could have been there.
"General Sequerian." At this moment, Antonios took out a papyrus scroll and said seriously, "This is an order from His Majesty."
Sequerian immediately opened the scroll and looked surprised. "His Majesty wants me to listen to your command and transport the First Legion to Sicily?!"
Antonios nodded solemnly.
Fedun heard this and immediately asked, "You want to attack Sicily?!"
Antonios nodded again and said, "We know nothing about Sicily. We still need your help, General Fedun." This was why he took out the order on this occasion.
Fedun did not decline. Instead, he said enthusiastically, "Lord Devers has made the right decision! We, the Lijim, are very close to Sicily, so we know very well how powerful Dionysius is in Sicily. It's not enough to just destroy his army that invaded Greece. Only by weakening his power in Sicily can we eliminate his threat to Greece! I have a deeper understanding of the Greek city-states in the east of Sicily. I'm very willing to share this information with you. "
Antonios immediately expressed his gratitude, and he began to discuss this matter with Fedun and Secorian.
Hilos and Hieronymus did not stay idle either. Because it was getting late, they regrouped their troops and escorted the captives. Cypross invited them to return to Triene to rest first, and they would attack Hibernian the next morning.
At this moment, they knew very well in their hearts that Locri had suffered such a heavy blow, and Hibernian, who had no military strength, was no longer able to resist Diónia's attack.
Therefore, while Hilos sent messengers to report the situation to the Devers, he also asked for instructions on how to deal with Hibernian.
… …
Dionysius, who was in West Ritter City, heaved a sigh of relief after receiving Damocles' report. In his previous research on Devers, he found that Devers did not like to be ruthless and would often leave some leeway for their opponents. In the past, he often despised this kind of soft-heartedness, but now he hoped that Devers would do the same.
"The Devers are still too young!" Dionysius could not help but mock after getting a satisfactory result, as though the thrill of his words could temporarily offset the fear he had for the young man. The new king of Diónia was actually able to turn the situation around when he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. What terrifying military leadership ability! As long as he was willing to negotiate!
Dionysius even began to imagine the harsh conditions that Diónia would put forward during the peace talks tomorrow. He had already considered it, and as long as the conditions that Diónia put forward were not too difficult, he would accept them. As long as he could bring the tens of thousands of soldiers back to Sicily and release the captives, just like how Diónia treated Crotone, Syracuse would not suffer too much damage. His position as the overlord would not be threatened, and his hegemony in Sicily could still be maintained! As for the peace treaty with Diónia … When Syracuse's power was restored, it would be nothing more than a piece of scrap paper! Dionysius did not intend to abide by it at all. He would not be like the Devers who would foolishly keep promises for the sake of a good reputation!
But … Devers's military leadership ability is too strong. It seems that I have to think of other ways to deal with him … Dionysius pondered. His long and narrow eyes glinted with an intimidating and sinister light.
At this moment, an attendant came in and reported, "My Lord, the ships and sailors are ready. They are waiting for your order."
"Let them wait until nightfall. After confirming that there are no enemy ships outside the port, they will quietly set off." Dionysius said solemnly, "Tell them that the lives of the citizens of Syracuse are in their hands. I hope that under Apollo's protection, they will not be afraid of danger and return home safely!"
Although the Diónia fleet had begun to blockade the port after Syracuse retreated, it was impossible for them to do so for 24 hours, especially at night. The sailors had to go ashore to eat and rest, and the warships had to return to Crotone's port to be towed into the dock for maintenance, drying, and cleaning of water maggots. Otherwise, the sturdiness of the ships could not be guaranteed. Even if the fleet took turns to blockade the port, they did not dare to spread out for fear of losses. After all, there were more than 30 Syracuse warships in the port. Because of these reasons, the Dionysian fleet could not completely blockade the port at night.
Therefore, at night, the defense outside the port was more lax, and Dionysius's ships should be able to leave without a hitch. However, sailing in the dark was much more dangerous. Storms, hidden reefs, deviations from the course, and even encounters with the southern fleet of Diónia could kill these ships.
However, Dionysius could only believe that the few ships he sent out, which were manned by the most experienced helmsman and sailors in the navy, would eventually return to the port of Syracuse and let Philistos understand the difficult situation of the Syracuse army in Greece.
Although the treasury of Syracuse was greatly depleted, and most of the young citizens were already in Greece, and new warships could not be built in a short period of time, Dionysius still believed in Philistos' ability. He believed that he could build an army of no less than twenty thousand men, a fleet of no less than a hundred three-hulled warships, and two months' worth of military supplies for fifty thousand people … Of course, this was another preparation that Dionysius had made in case the peace talks failed. As for how things would be carried out, it was beyond his control. He could only pin his hopes on Apollo …
Watching the attendant leave the hall, he could not sit still and decided to take a look at the blacksmith's shop in the city.
Another reason he sent people to the peace talks was to buy time. The most pressing problem for the Syracuse army now was not rations (due to the large number of casualties in the battle, the food reserves in Syracuse were enough to last them for more than a month), but weapons and equipment.
This was because after the defeat, the soldiers had thrown away their helmets, shields, and even breastplates, spears, and swords in order to escape. Of course, the enemy had also thrown away their equipment in order to catch up with them. However, the victors were the Diónia, so they could pick up the equipment when they cleaned up the battlefield. On the other hand, the soldiers of Syracuse had to flee into Syracuse empty-handed. Fortunately, there were still thousands of weapons and equipment in the city that they had looted. However, this was far from enough. He had to ask the blacksmiths who had followed the army and were responsible for repairing the weapons to use the blacksmith's shop in the city to hurry up and rebuild the weapons and armor. For this, he also ordered his men to search the city for iron ore and scrap iron.
Now, he wanted to check on the progress of this important work.
Halfway through, he suddenly remembered something and stopped in his tracks. He turned and walked in another direction – to Phoebidas's residence. At this point in the war, Phoebidas's military advisor was not very useful. However, as a Sparta, he could play a unique role in the peace talks.
… …
The next morning, Phoebidas and Syracuse's envoy, Damocles, arrived at the camp that Diónia was building.
This time, the Devers did not come out to greet them personally. Instead, they sent the clerk, Henepolis, to be in charge of the negotiations.
As soon as they met, Henepolis gave Damocles a show of strength. "Yesterday, after a discussion between His Majesty the Devers and the commanders of the army, they came to the conclusion that given the poor reputation of your general, Dionysius, you need to do something to show your sincerity in the peace talks. Only then can we start the peace talks."
Damocles immediately protested. "People of Diónia, you are humiliating General Dionysius!"
"So what?!" Henepolis raised his head and said arrogantly, "Can Dionysius still send troops to threaten Diónia?! Oh, I forgot, he has already tried. Unfortunately, he failed! Now, you are the ones asking for peace talks! "
Damocles was speechless for a moment. After a moment of silence, he said sullenly, "What do you want us to do?"
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