Chapter 754
In such a situation, the people of Athens did not think that they and the Thebes alone could fight against the powerful Sparta. After an urgent consultation between the General Executive Committee and the Senate, the people of Athens chose to compromise in front of the aggressive Sparta Censor.
They immediately recalled the two generals of Athens who were fighting against the Thebes and held a general assembly to try them. The charge was that "the two of them shouldered important public duties in Athens, but without the permission of the Athens government, they rashly entered the Thebes to fight against the Sparta, putting Athens in danger … This is a dereliction of duty and treason."
Although the vast majority of the citizens of Athens supported the actions of the two generals in their hearts, they really did not want to start a war with the powerful Sparta at this time. Therefore, against their will, they voted in favor of the two generals and carried out the most severe punishment – execution, in order to appease the anger of the Sparta people.
The Sparta Censor returned with satisfaction. After the Council of Elders learned of the actions of Athens, they also felt relieved. Now they only needed to focus on their only enemy – the Thebes.
… …
When the news of the "crushing defeat of the Carthage army and the defeat of the Iberian navy" reached Carthage, it shocked the people. What saddened the leaders of Carthage was that the Sacred Army had suffered heavy losses. While the families were crying over the death and injury of their elite children, they were also extremely angry at the incompetence of the army commander, Montt Ardeno. They clamored to remove Montt Ardeno from his position and bring him back to Carthage. Through the trial of the hundred people, they would execute the cruel "crucifixion" on him to relieve the hatred in their hearts (the hands and feet of the criminal would be nailed to a wooden cross by iron nails and left to be exposed to the sun to bleed to death).
Under the circumstances of public anger, Hanno did not defend Montt Ardeno and let the Senate pass the resolution.
After the Carthage Senate passed this issue, they began a heated discussion on how to deal with the Dionysian Army, which was taking advantage of the victory in Sicily and marching westward.
One of the new Sufites, Okridon, mustered up his courage and suggested softly, "Everyone, it seems that Diónia's army and navy are very powerful. Carthage did not make sufficient preparations and rashly went to war with Diónia. Now, can we first consider … making peace with Diónia to rescue the captured citizens of Carthage? At the same time, we can prevent the western part of Sicily from being completely occupied by Diónia …"
As soon as Okridon said this, the Senate was in an uproar. Pretacuba immediately stood up and retorted loudly, "The war has only been going on for a month, and our Carthage is going to surrender?! I could not believe that such a ridiculous suggestion came from the mouth of the honorable Sophie, whom we elected! We, Carthage, are not a small city-state. We are the leader of all the Phoenician city-states in the Western Mediterranean! We control vast areas such as Sardinia, Corsica, Numibia, and southern Iberia. We monopolize the precious metal trade of the entire Western Mediterranean. We are the most powerful and richest country in the Western Mediterranean!
But you want us to surrender to Diónia, which has been founded for less than 20 years. What will the people in the areas we control, our affiliated city-states, and our allies think?! They will think that Carthage is not strong enough! They will leave us and even blow the horn of war against us, like the Numibians! Therefore, since the war with Diónia has begun, we must fight until we win! "
Pretacuba's thought-provoking words moved many of the elders.
At this time, Taipanraco stood up and said solemnly, "I think Lord Okridon and every senator here want Carthage to defeat Diónia, but the current situation is — the army of Diónia is strong. They dispatched fewer troops than us, but they were able to defeat our army! Their navy also has the upper hand! … We must admit that Diónia is stronger than us in terms of military strength. We are not ready yet, and we should not have rashly started a war with Diónia at this time. But because some people incited the people for their personal interests, Carthage fell into such a difficult situation today! I think we should first investigate these people who created the war and put them on trial. Only then can we ensure that the Senate will not fall into chaos when it comes to future bills! … "
As soon as Taipanraco finished speaking, Pretacuba immediately retorted, "My lords, is it really because the soldiers of Carthage are not brave enough, our army is not strong enough, and our navy is not good enough?! No! It's because our generals are not good enough! They were both fighting in Sicily, but why was the Iberian army led by Hasdrubal able to capture Serodiem, while Montt Adeno had a large army, but was defeated by Minoa City! I heard that after Monte Ardeno arrived in Lili, he enjoyed fine wine every day and searched for beautiful women everywhere. He never went to the barracks to understand his troops and soldiers. During the attack on Minoa City, he never personally went to the battlefield to supervise the battle. He even hid in his big tent to drink and enjoy himself. How could such an incompetent commander inspire the fighting spirit of his soldiers? How could he formulate the right battle plan to defeat the people of Diónia! … "
"So, it is absolutely right to sentence Montt Adeno to the cross! Montt Adeno deserves to die! "A senator shouted angrily.
Then, many senators also spoke in agreement to express their resentment towards him. Even Hanno was extremely dissatisfied with Montt Adeno in his heart. He hated that he had misjudged Montt Adeno and caused the whole political situation to be unfavorable to him.
In the midst of the noise, someone asked loudly, "Pretacuba, since you said that Carthage lost to Diónia because of the incompetence of their commander, then who do you think can lead the army of Carthage and defeat the people of Diónia?!"
Hanno immediately turned around and found that the person who spoke was a senator from Magonid's faction. He could not help but curse: Shameless!
Pretacuba immediately said loudly, "Senators, I think you have all heard of the Lusitanians in the western part of the Iberian Peninsula and the Celts in the northern mountains."
Although most of the Carthage senators had not been to Iberia, over the past decade or so, following Margo's conquest of the southern part of Iberia, they also learned a lot about the situation on the Iberian Peninsula. It was said that these two races were close relatives of the southern Iberians, but they were more savage and fierce than them. They lived by killing and took pride in dying in battle.
Seeing that the attention of many senators was attracted by him, Pretacuba said solemnly, "These two Iberian natives have invaded the southern territory of Iberia under the jurisdiction of Governor Margo several times, but were repelled by his army. You must know that in the Carthage army in Iberia, there are not only mercenaries, but also many Carthage militia and Phoenician allies. Such a mixed army can defeat such a fierce enemy and conquer such a large piece of land for Carthage. Why is it that the more elite Sacred Corps and more soldiers of Carthage were defeated by the Dionysian Army which outnumbered us?! "
Pretacuba looked around at the crowd and said in a powerful voice, "That's because only a commander like a lion can lead an army as brave as a lion. As for a commander who is as weak as a lamb, even if you give him elite soldiers, he will not be able to display their bravery and fierceness! Sirs, the matter is obvious. Now in Carthage, the only person who can lead the army like a lion to victory in the war against Diónia can only be Governor Margo of Iberia! "
Although many people knew that Pretacuba would eventually say the name "Margo", when he said it, no one refuted it for a while. Even his opponents had to admit that in terms of military ability and achievements, no one could compare with Margo.
For more than ten years, the Carthage people had not been living in a state of peace and tranquility. They actively conquered the inland areas of Numibia south of Carthage. After the conquest, they would suppress the rebellions of the Numibians from time to time. However, the various tribes of Numibia had been under the economic control, cultural infiltration, alienation, and bribery of the Carthage people for hundreds of years. It was impossible to organize a unified alliance to fight against the attack of the Carthage people. Therefore, the intensity of the war was never great, far from the difficulties encountered by Margo alone when he led the army to conquer the unfamiliar southern Iberia. That was why Monteadeno, who had performed well on the battlefield of Numibia, was defeated by the Diónia people as soon as he came to Sicily.
"Unfortunately, most of the troops led by Margo are not Carthage and Phoenicians …" Okridon said faintly. He was talking about the problem that many senators were worried about before.
At this time, Pretacuba sneered, "Doesn't Lord Margo want to have more Carthage citizen soldiers?! No! It's because we can't provide enough citizens to conquer the indigenous people of Iberia! What's more, now we're facing Diónia, a kingdom that can organize more than 100,000 public militia troops at one time. Can our Carthage do it?! We can't! We'll even be sad if we lose a few thousand Holy Knights. How can we compete with Diónia? We can only rely on mercenaries and foreign troops!
Everyone knows that Sparta has few citizens. For hundreds of years, they have relied on allied soldiers to fight against foreign troops and become the overlord of Greece. They have never been worried about the foreign troops under their command! And Persia, when did they not lead more foreign troops than their own soldiers? But it was precisely because of this that Persia was able to establish a strong and prosperous kingdom! What's more, when Lord Himilko led the army to attack Syracuse more than a decade ago, there were also many Numibians, Celts, and other foreign tribes in the army! Why do we have to worry about these foreign troops who help us fight and maintain the prestige of Carthage in the Western Mediterranean?! Is it because our hearts have become weak and can't adapt to the strength of Carthage?! "
Hanno scoffed at Pretacuba's last rhetorical question. Of course, he was not afraid because most of the Iberian troops were mercenaries and foreign troops, but because the salaries of these troops were not provided by the institutions under the jurisdiction of Carthage Senate. They were directly paid by the Magonid family with the wealth they earned on the Iberian peninsula. In this sense, the Iberian troops were the private troops of the Magonid family. This was what Hanno was worried about! ()
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