Chapter 763
In the main tent of the barracks, Lizaru met Printos. He immediately greeted the deputy chief of staff who had helped him to victory in Campania.
"Alright, let's talk later. Let's hurry up and discuss how to complete the mission given by His Majesty," Amyntas urged.
"What's the current situation in Latin?" Lizaru asked first. This was the basic quality that a senior commander of Diónia should have. Without understanding the surrounding situation and the enemy's situation, there was no way to win a battle.
Therefore, Amyntas was not bothered. He pointed at the map and explained seriously, "Since the Romans launched a large-scale attack on the Helniki last month, they have conquered many towns. Now, they have completely surrounded the central town of the Helniki, Frentirum, and are stepping up their attack. Their troops have increased from the original 40,000 to 70,000. According to the Volsi, the situation in Frentirum is very critical, and they won't be able to hold on for more than a few days. Once this town falls, not only will the Helniki be finished, but the Volsi will also suffer heavy losses. Because the Volsi had sent a lot of soldiers to rescue Helniki, they are now trapped in Fürentirum. So, the Volsi territory is very weak, and they are relying on the First Legion to help them hold on. "
Lizaru stared at the map for a long time before pointing to the north of the Volsi territory. He asked, "Since the Roman army is focusing on attacking the Helniki, the defense here must be very weak."
"The citizens of the Latin Alliance to the west of Rome have all been transferred to attack Helniki. Indeed, they don't have many troops, but here! Here! And there are 10,000 Roman troops stationed here! "Amyntas pointed at the map three times.
Lizaru took a closer look. The names of the three cities on the map were: Villette, Saturnicum, and Antium. They happened to be blocking the northwest road to Latin.
Lizaru estimated and was surprised. "The people of Rome actually built such a huge army?!"
"According to the Volsci, Rome has not only mobilized all of its young citizens, but it has also asked all of the Latin Alliance and the Etruscan Alliance in the north to provide a lot of reinforcements. So it is doing its best to fight this war. I think this is also why His Majesty has personally led the army to deal with the Romans first!" Printos emphasized.
"But with these three cities blocking the way, it will take more than a day or two to conquer one of them. I'm afraid it will delay Her Majesty's attack plan," Lizaru said worriedly as he pointed at the map.
"Are you stupid?!" Amyntas criticized bluntly. "We don't even need to attack them. We just need to go around them, enter the coastal area of Latin, and protect His Majesty's army on the coast."
Lizaru, who was thinking too much, slapped his head and smiled awkwardly. He pondered for a while and said, "If we do this, we can only let the soldiers carry rations and leave the auxiliary troops in the barracks. Only then can we ensure the speed of the march. If the enemy comes out of the city to intercept us, we can also quickly respond to the battle. But this way … our barracks, and even the entire Volsci territory, will be completely open to the people of Rome!"
Printos smiled. "Don't worry too much about this. Once our army has successfully landed, the entire Latin region will be on guard against our attack. They will not have the mood to invade Volsci! Also, we will arrange for other people in the barracks to go to Selce, board the ships, and turn to the newly conquered land. "
Lizaru no longer had any concerns. He asked loudly, "When are we moving?!"
"When the army led by His Majesty arrives at the Latin region. But before that, we still need to discuss with the higher-ups of Volsci. We need them to provide some help for the attack."
… …
The news that the battle at Serinus was disrupted by the storm and almost all the warships on both sides were destroyed spread throughout the western part of Sicily the next morning. Pomilka, the acting commander of the Carthage army, was shocked when he heard the bad news. He quickly sent messengers on fast ships to deliver the news back to Carthage. At the same time, he informed the city-states along the coast to search and rescue carefully on the coast of their territory, and to send the survivors to Lizaru.
The camp of Diónia outside Serinus was overcrowded. Not only were the tents full of survivors of the shipwreck, but the passages and open spaces outside the tents were also full of struggling and moaning sailors. Outside the camp, there were countless white corpses or people who were not confirmed dead or unconscious. The doctors and nurses had been treating them for more than ten hours, and they were still busy. More than twenty thousand soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia and their allies were also doing their best to help the medical camp, saving their compatriots and comrades in the navy.
In the big tent, Leotychides, who had been busy all night, sat on a wooden chair, listening to the report of his adjutant, Mukru. Although he was very tired, he still straightened his back.
"Commander, since last night, our soldiers have found about 150,000 corpses on the coast, and about 100,000 people have been saved. Among them, there are more than 61500 people from Diónia, and 29379 Diónia sailors have been confirmed dead …" Mukru held the record board in his hand. Every time he read a set of numbers, his heart would beat wildly. Behind these huge numbers was the loss of countless lives, and the crying of families …
Leotychides did not seem to have much of a reaction to this. After listening to the report of his adjutant, he was still expressionless. He quickly asked, "How many people are there in the Sicilian fleet?"
Mukru thought for a moment, and said with uncertainty, "According to the situation of the Sicilian fleet in Minoa, they may have about 110,000 to 120,000 people …"
Leotychides estimated in his heart, and said, "In that case, we have at most 30,000 sailors that we haven't found."
"They might have drifted to the coast controlled by the Carthaginians, or they might have drifted to the coast of the Alliance. We'll need to contact Minoa, Agrigento, and the other cities on the south coast in the next few days to understand the situation," Mukruger said.
Leotychides nodded, and then sighed. "The navy really consumes too much of the young and strong citizens of the kingdom. This storm has cost us tens of thousands of people, enough for us to build five or six legions!"
Mukru explained, "Sir, but we have also easily captured nearly 40,000 Carthage and Phoenicians. If it was a normal battle, how many battles would it take to capture so many captives?"
When Leotychides heard this, he frowned slightly, and looked at Mukru with his sharp eyes without blinking. When Mukru lowered his head, he slowly asked, "Have you found Therian and Flarios?"
"… Not yet …" Mukru looked sad.
"Continue to send people to search, don't give up. Also, we will ask Serofenis to send scouts to the city of Carthage to the west to find out more. " Only then did Leotychides's face change a little. "I heard that Therian is a good swimmer. When he was young, he once crossed the turbulent Krati River. He shouldn't drown so easily in the sea."
"Yes, Sir Commander."
"Is there anything else?"
"Hmm … The medical camp warned that there are too many dead bodies inside and outside the camp. If they are left for too long, the bodies will rot, and it will easily lead to an epidemic."
"As long as they are confirmed dead, take them away and cremate them. Let the living sailors bring their ashes back to Catania or Tarantum's fleet base. As for the ashes of the Carthage people, bury them where they are." As Leotychides spoke, he suddenly thought of something and said in a serious tone, "This matter must be done immediately so that the living sailors can return to their base as soon as possible to avoid wasting our food. But the infantrymen of the fleet must stay and fight with us."
Leotychides had long coveted the infantrymen of the Sicilian fleet. He had seen their military training in Catania and believed that their military quality was no weaker than the regular soldiers of the 8th Corps. While the Sicilian fleet was destroyed and there was no news of Therian and Flarios, he wanted to integrate them into his own team to increase their strength.
Before Mukru could respond, Leotychides emphasized again, "Also … Take out 10,000 young and strong sailors from the navy and give them spears. They will temporarily serve as our light infantry."
Mukru was surprised. He reminded him tactfully, "Commander, without the permission of the Ministry of Military Affairs, you are already breaking the law by transferring the infantrymen of the navy. I'm afraid that the navy will be dissatisfied with this."
Leotychides did not take it seriously. He said in a low voice, "We are now deep in the territory of the Carthage. Not only is the supply line extended, the enemy will also counterattack at any time. Unfortunately, the warships of the Sicilian fleet are all gone and cannot provide us with protection of the coastline. We are fighting alone. If we do not strengthen our strength, we may fall into trouble at any time. The Sicilian navy cannot play a role without ships. It is better to let the idle sailors and infantrymen temporarily come under my command. This is a special time. I believe that His Majesty and the Ministry of Military Affairs will understand what I am doing! "
As the adjutant, Mukru could only remind him. Since Leotychides insisted on doing it, he could only carry it out. Then, he immediately changed the topic. "Sir, what should we do with the 40,000 Carthage captives?"
"Keep them for the time being. Deal with them according to the way we used to detain the captives." Leotychides said in a low voice, "Carthage must have our sailors. We can exchange with them when the time comes."
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