Chapter 755
Hanno believed that many of the neutral senators opposed Margo as the commander of the Carthaginian army because of this reason. However, this reason could not be announced because Margo had complained to the senate many times over the years, saying that the Iberian natives were numerous and fierce. The army had suffered too many losses, so he had no choice but to expand. He also asked Carthage to increase the soldiers' pay to ensure their morale.
Hanno encouraged the Senate to agree to Margo's expansion of the army, but with the excuse of "the constant war in Numibia, the treasury is tight", he always delayed the payment of salaries and asked Margo to find a way himself.
At that time, Hanno gloated that even if Margo was not defeated by the Iberian natives, it would lead to mercenary riots due to lack of money and food.
Unexpectedly, Margo survived. Not only did he conquer the vast area of southern Iberia, but his family also lived a comfortable life. When Hanno thought of this, he regretted it.
Many senators were not very clear about the inside story, but it was clear that some senators who did not belong to the two factions were thoughtful because of Pretacuba's words.
Seeing this scene, Tepanlaco reluctantly reminded, "Everyone, don't forget that the Dionians have captured many of our citizens. The army in Sicily is also in a difficult situation now … If we continue to fight, it will only make their situation more difficult. This is completely indifferent to the Carthaginian citizens, and it is irresponsible!"
"I think proposing a truce at this time to let Diónia concentrate on destroying its strong enemies in the north, Rome and Sammonae, thereby expanding its territory, increasing its population, and increasing the strength of the kingdom again is the most irresponsible approach to Carthage! If we choose to compromise, not only will Carthage bear the charge of betraying an ally, but we will also miss a great opportunity to unite with the allies and jointly attack Diónia. It will make Diónia, which is already difficult to deal with, even more difficult to deal with! Okridon, do you think Diónia will forgive us for tearing up the agreement and provoking the war just because of our truce?! Think of Tarantum! Think of Syracuse! By that time, Diónia, which had stabilized the north, would organize an army of more than 100,000 to attack the west of Sicily. After occupying it, they would send their navy to transport troops to land in Africa and attack this place! Attack Carthage! "
Pretacuba pointed to the ground, looked around at the crowd, and said in a low voice, "Everyone, if you want Carthage to become a free city in the Kingdom of Diónia, then — send someone to negotiate for peace!"
Pretacuba's words actually caused the noisy hall to suddenly fall silent.
After a while, Okerton said angrily, "I object! Pretacuba, this … this was malicious slander! All I ask for is a temporary truce … for … for the sake of rescuing our captured citizens! … "
Okridon's stuttering words made Hanno frown. He knew that he could no longer remain silent. He could not let his side, which was already in a difficult situation, fall into the awkward situation of being criticized by others. So, he stood up.
Instantly, everyone's eyes were focused on him.
"Whether it is Okerton's request for a temporary peace with Diónia or Pretacuba's insistence on continuing the war, everyone is doing this for the benefit of Carthage. It's just that their views are somewhat different." Hanno's expression was solemn as he said in a low voice, "Now, Carthage is in a difficult situation. The army has been defeated, its citizens have been captured, and the territory of Sicily is being invaded by Diónia … We should work together to overcome this difficulty, instead of quarreling here for personal grievances and ignoring the interests of the city! I suggest that we send messengers to Sicily and ask the people of Diónia to ransom our captured citizens. Even if we have to pay a large amount of food, we will not hesitate.
At the same time, although I have had conflicts with Lord Margo in the past, in the face of the national interests of Carthage, personal gains and losses are nothing. Since Lord Pretacuba strongly recommended Margo to be the new commander of the army to fight against Diónia, and most of the senators here also think that he is the most suitable candidate, I have no objection to this. So, I suggest that the Senate appoint Margo as the new commander of Carthage's army to fight against Diónia in Sicily and win for Carthage! … "
After Hanno finished speaking, Okerton was stunned, Pretacuba was suspicious, and the senators on both sides were surprised. Suddenly, the hall fell into a strange silence.
"Clap! Clap! Clap! … "Aisyaruba's applause broke the silence of the hall, and some of the senators also followed suit. In the face of a great enemy, the two political forces of Carthage were able to bridge the conflict and fight the enemy together. This was what all the senators who were worried about the safety of Carthage hoped to see, so they did not hesitate to give their applause to Hanno, completely forgetting that it was because Hanno refused Margo's participation in the war and personally appointed Montenegro as the commander of the army, which led to the fiasco.
When the applause rang through the hall, Hanno breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had to make concessions to the Magonid family, he also temporarily avoided the criticism of some senators and regained the initiative.
… …
After Leotychides won the battle of Minoa, he easily captured Carthage's camp and seized a large number of supplies, including, of course, mountains of grain, which greatly alleviated the shortage of food for Diónia's navy and army in Sicily. After the Diónia troops occupied Germe and enjoyed a hot spring bath, in order to prevent the isolated troops from being attacked, they all returned to Minoa under his orders.
The next day, Leotychides began to reorganize the troops, treat the wounded, transport supplies … At the same time, he paid close attention to the enemy's movements.
As a result, the intelligence sent back by the spies surprised him. Not all of Carthage's routed troops were holed up in Serinus. Most of them retreated to Lili, and only a small number stayed in Serinus, including the remaining soldiers of Carthage's Sacred Legion.
Leotychides immediately realized that this was another favorable opportunity. In order to not scare away the enemy, he let 4,000 heavy infantry of the Eighth Legion board a fleet and land on the beach west of Serinus under the protection of the navy warships to cut off the retreat of the routed troops. At the same time, he led 20,000 troops to advance west along the road by the sea.
The ones who stayed behind in Serinus were the Sacred Legion led by Milefio and some of the Carthage militia. This was not Montt's original intention.
It turned out that after the defeat in the battle of Minoa, most of Carthage's routed troops fled to Serinus. After spending a night in fear and exhaustion, the dejected Montt wanted to continue leading his troops west, but Milefio clearly expressed his opposition.
As Hanno's son-in-law, Milefio felt that this defeat would have a great impact on the Hanoverian faction. If he ignored the strong persuasion of his allies and abandoned his allies, allowing the Diónia to invade Carthage's territory, then he would not have a good ending after returning to Carthage. Besides, there were still many routed troops lost in the mountains, and they needed to stay in this city for a while, waiting for their return. At the end of the day, as a son of Carthage's noble family, Milefio had his own pride and persistence.
As the defeat in this battle had lowered Montt's prestige, some of the routed troops were willing to stay behind with Milefio. After many times of persuasion to no avail, Montt angrily abandoned them and hurriedly retreated to Lili with his army, which was mainly made up of Numibians.
In fact, Milefio was also very nervous, but when he learned that the Diónia had retreated from Germe, he breathed a sigh of relief. In addition to the routed troops that continued to flee back, the number of troops in Serinus had reached 3,000, which gave him some confidence.
At this time, Milefio received news that a few thousand Dionysian Army had landed on the west side of Serinus.
While he was panicking, he also received urgent battle reports. The tens of thousands of Diónia's army had set off from Minoa, advancing quickly west along the coastal road.
Milefio immediately realized that Serinus, where he was located, had become the first target of the Diónia army.
What should I do? Milefio, who had just experienced a crushing defeat, fell into a dilemma. Should he retreat with his army before the enemy arrived? However, he had solemnly vowed to Monadeno that he would defend Salinus. Now that he had escaped without even fighting a single battle, he did not know what kind of face Monadeno would use to mock him. Stay and defend? With the 3,000 troops in the city and the citizens of Serinus, they might be able to hold on for a few months.
However, some of Milefio's team officers objected. They believed that the soldiers had just experienced a defeat, and their morale was low. Moreover, the routed troops came from many troops, and it would be difficult to command a battle, not to mention tacit cooperation.
More importantly, one of the team officers pointed out that in order to defend Serinus, there must be sufficient food supplies, and Serinus did not have enough food reserves, which might not be able to support the army for a long period of time.
It turned out that when the Carthaginian army attacked the east and passed by Serinus, they took away the food stored in the city. As a result, during the battle of Minoa, all the supplies stored in the Carthaginian camp were seized by the enemy.
Milefio, who was inexperienced and worried about the war, suddenly realized that he had made a huge mistake. But at the same time, he had a reason to return to Lili and not be blamed.
Just as Milefio was gathering his troops and preparing to retreat, the higher-ups of Serinus received the news and immediately came to dissuade him.
Milefio had to spend some time to persuade them, but in the end, under the attack of Serinus's words and tears, he had no choice but to give up and send his soldiers to disperse them, preparing to force their way out of the city.
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