Chapter 535
Fedun rushed to Taurina, preparing to bring the remaining Lijim troops stationed there to Medmar to participate in the siege.
To prevent the Locklee army from launching another sneak attack from the rear while the allied army was attacking, Hilos even sent out a brigade to build a simple wooden fort to block the mountain path to Locklee. He also sent out a scouting team to monitor the movements of the Locklee people.
Xilos, who had a certain amount of experience in sieging a city, calmly led his army to carry out his siege plan. Meanwhile, the Duke's Militia who had returned to Locke did not immediately head to the northern border to repel the invading Colenians.
Due to the capture of Diopantos, the Locklee army needed a new general. However, Demodocas appointed one of his confidants, but the people in the council objected. The reason was that Locklee was in danger and urgently needed someone with military talent to lead the citizen soldiers to protect Locklee. However, Demodocas' candidate lacked battle experience and had no prestige in the army. It would be difficult for him to command the soldiers. If they lost the battle, Locklee would lose its only army, so they had to be careful!
This was the second time in two days that the council objected to Demodocas' suggestion. This had never happened before. Demodocas suppressed his anger and watched as the council unanimously elected Megaris. Megaris had led the army to fight against Crotone many times since more than ten years ago and had many victories. However, he had been pressured by Demodocas and had no choice but to stand aside.
At this time, facing the strong request of the people, Demodocas had no choice but to agree to this appointment. Letting his political enemy become the general of the army made him feel cold.
Megaris immediately reorganized the army and led more than six thousand people to face the enemy.
After the Correnian army burned down a village, they did not face the enemy head-on. Instead, they quickly retreated to the border of their territory. However, they did not go far away. Instead, they set up camp and continued to intimidate Locklee.
The cautious Megaris was worried that the Correnians had some kind of conspiracy. Fearing an ambush, he did not attack and also guarded the border. The two sides were in a stalemate.
… …
In the morning, the people of Lijim swarmed to the port. They were not only there to bid farewell to the Dionysian fleet and the First Legion, but also to bid farewell to the nearly one thousand soldiers and their families who had just joined the expedition to Sicily.
Most of them were refugees from Kattanai, Naxos and other Sicilian city-states that had been conquered by Syracuse. Previously, in order to compete with the two new city-states (Rona and Tyndaris) built by Syracuse on the other side of the strait, Lijim built a city for them on the Mille Peninsula. However, the Syracuse army moved quickly and broke through the new city. Some of the people were killed, some escaped into the mountains, and some were rescued by the Lijim people and brought back to the city on ships.
Now the people of Ligium were praying that the expedition to Sicily would go well and not repeat the same mistake.
The Dionysian fleet and dozens of Lijim ships sailed out of the port together. At the front of the fleet was Cecelian's ship. The young Diónia Navy commander stood on the side of the ship and looked at the other side. There was a hint of regret in his eyes. He pointed to the front and said to Antonios, the commander of the First Legion, who was on his warship, "Messina is not far ahead. Why don't we attack it first? This place is very close to Lijim. It's easy to get support from Lijim. After we capture Messina, we can seal the strait and completely eliminate the warships in the port! "
Antonios looked at Cecelian from the corner of his eyes. He knew that this young man was radical and arrogant. If Amyntas was here, he would definitely criticize him. "What right does the navy have to criticize the legion?"
However, Antonios would not do that. In fact, when the Devers asked for his opinion, his initial consideration was to land on the Mille Peninsula between Tyndaris and Messina. These two city-states were newly built and not very strong. They were also far away from Syracuse and could be easily captured. They could then use them as their forward bases in Sicily. (The original city of Messina was captured and destroyed when Carthage led his army to attack Syracuse. Two years ago, when Dionysius led his army north to expel Carthage's people from the north coast, he rebuilt the city.)
"I thought so too, but His Majesty objected," Antonios said in a tactful tone.
"Oh, why?" When Cecelian heard the word "His Majesty," the dissatisfaction on his face disappeared.
"Time," Antonios said. A word came out of Antonius' mouth, "It will take a few days to attack Messina, and in these few days, the people of Syracuse will receive the news that we are attacking Sicily. They will definitely prepare for defense, and when we attack south, the difficulties we will face will increase. Jena is too far away from Syracuse, and its fall will not have much impact on Syracuse's sphere of influence. We must take advantage of Syracuse's unpreparedness to launch a surprise attack on the nearby city-states, causing panic and chaos in the areas under its control, and in the chaos, more opportunities will be born … 'These are His Majesty's original words. "
Cecelian listened carefully and sighed. "His Majesty is still the most comprehensive one! But if we do this, the risk will increase.
Antonios smiled. "Are you afraid of these difficulties?"
Cecelian said arrogantly, "I am hoping that the fleet in Syracuse's port can be lured out so that my fleet can defeat them and let the Diónia Navy become the master of these waters!"
Both of them smiled confidently.
The fleet sailed south along the east coast of Sicily. Along the way, they encountered many merchant ships. When they saw the large mixed fleet, especially when they saw the logo of "Gem, Black Hair, Double Fork" painted on the sails, they were shocked. They had a premonition that something big was going to happen. Some of them hurriedly retreated, while others turned around and sped up to the south. It was obvious that they were going to report back.
Cecelian sat on the flagship and remained unmoved. His fleet was sailing at its fastest speed. They were not far from their destination.
Antonios had been looking at the coast from the side of the ship. He had never been to Sicily before. The feeling of seeing it on the map and being there was completely different.
Devers once told him that from Messina south to Tauromignan, the only way to travel by land is through a narrow path near the coast, and this path is 30 to 40 miles long. "
Now, it seemed to be true, because they had been sailing for almost three hours straight since they left Lijim Harbor. In his eyes, the mountains on the other side of the shore had never broken. They overlapped and stretched endlessly. The contours of the mountains were soothing, verdant and pleasing to the eye, just like a painting. However, Antonios knew that this was because it was five to six miles away from him. According to his experience, these mountains were no less than a thousand meters high. It was indeed difficult to climb.
"Lord Antonios, that is Tauromignan," said a middle-aged man next to him, pointing to the other side.
His name was Laodisian, and he was originally a noble of Naxos. After the fall of Naxos, he led his family and fled to the interior of Sicily. Near Agillion, he gathered with the exiles of other cities and gradually formed a larger village. Due to the constant invasion of the Syracuse Alliance and the hatred of the Sikere people, their lives were very difficult. Later, when he heard that Lijim was going to build a new city for the exiles, he was happy to go. However, Syracuse's swift response destroyed the newly built new city. Some of his relatives died in the war, and he fled to Lijim.
Although he had experienced many twists and turns, his desire to rebuild his home did not change. Instead, it became even stronger. Therefore, when he heard that Diónia was going to attack Sicily, he took the initiative to find Antonios with his remaining relatives and asked to join them.
At this moment, Antonios heard that and focused his gaze. He saw a city standing on the high ground near the coast. The strangest thing was that it was a double city. Two stone fortresses were located on the high ground, forming a corner of each other. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it blocked the long and narrow coastal passage.
"I heard that this is a city built by the Carthage people for the Sikere people?" Antonios asked uncertainly as he recalled the brief information he had about the city.
"Yes, General Carthage Himilco built Tauromenan for the Sikere people to join Carthage's side when he attacked Syracuse …" Laodisian said with a hint of schadenfreude. "Later on, when the tyrant of Syracuse attacked Tauromenan, he could not use siege weapons due to the steep terrain. In the end, the Sikere people surrendered voluntarily, and that was how they got the city. Now, the owner of the city is the despicable Campanian mercenaries! "
Antonios listened to his explanation and stared at Tauromenan in a daze. If he had chosen to attack Messina first, even if he succeeded, he would not have been able to attack Tauromenan by land and enter the central area controlled by Syracuse. He would have had to go by sea … And the Sikere people were a force that the Devers King suggested he contact …
"… When attacking Sicily, you have to remember, '30% military, 70% diplomatic' …" Antonios recalled the Devers's solemn reminder before he left.
The fleet continued to move forward, and Antonios's field of vision suddenly widened. The mountains that made him drowsy had disappeared, and in their place were undulating hills. The further south they went, the flatter the terrain became.
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