Chapter 872
Mago had never been treated like this before. He was shocked and looked at Pretacuba, who was next to him, with a puzzled expression.
Pretacuba looked at him and said meaningfully, "Sir, this is not our intention, but the cheers of the people from the bottom of their hearts! Since the outbreak of the war, we have suffered a crushing defeat. The army of Diónia is ravaging our land in Sicily, and the warships of Diónia have attacked our merchant ships sailing to the west of Sicily from time to time. The people of the Sicilian colony have been displaced, and trade has declined sharply … They have now deeply realized that Carthage needs a hero to defeat the strong enemy and restore the prosperity of Carthage! "
"I understand, I will let them see it!" Mago looked dignified, raised his right hand, and waved to the audience around him.
The cheers became even more enthusiastic.
"Look, the King of Iberia is here, making himself look like a hero!" Okridon said sarcastically as he looked at the people surrounding him and walking to the Senate.
"Hero?! That will have to wait until he defeats Diónia! "Tepanlaco sneered.
"He has brought more than 20,000 troops, and 60,000 troops have been prepared for him here. There are also 30,000 to 40,000 troops in Sicily, a total of 110,000 to 20,000 strong troops. This is the most powerful army in the history of Carthage! I am afraid that whoever is the commander of this army will easily win! "Another elder said disdainfully.
The elders at the entrance of the Senate were discussing in whispers. Hanno, who was standing at the forefront, looked calm. Although he did not say a word, his heart was in turmoil. He had spent more than ten years of effort to eliminate the influence of the Magonid family on Carthage. Even if the immediate family was driven out of Carthage, he had always been vigilant against Mago. Listening to the cheers of the whole city, it showed that the Magonid family still had a great influence in Carthage! The reason why the people of Carthage were so enthusiastic was because they were worried about the war in Sicily. If he had a capable general, how could the situation in the city become like this?
Looking at Margo approaching him, Hanno was annoyed and jealous, but he kept a calm face because he did not want to leave a bad impression that he was the one who had stopped Margo from leading the army into battle.
"Welcome, Brother Ma!" Hanno's face was full of smiles as he praised loudly, "With you here, there is hope for our war against Diónia! That's why we've gathered enough soldiers and prepared enough rations for you, just so we can hear the news of your victory as soon as possible! "
Hearing his words of praise and looking at his seemingly sincere smile, Margo felt disgusted and could not help saying, "Carthage is in danger. If it weren't for someone's obstruction, I would have come earlier!"
Hanno acted as if he didn't hear it. His smile remained unchanged as he made an inviting gesture.
Margo entered the Senate with his head held high.
Okliton moved closer to Hanno and wanted to say something.
Hanno stopped him with a meaningful look.
… …
In the meeting hall, Margo gave a speech to the senators. He solemnly outlined the current dangerous situation Carthage was facing and thanked the senators for their trust in him. Finally, he made an impassioned promise that he would do his best to reverse the current unfavorable situation, defeat the Dionysian Army, drive Diónia out of Sicily, and at the same time force Diónia not to invade Carthage's ally, Rome. He also forced Diónia to open its domestic trade to Carthage merchants to a greater extent, and forced it to reduce the size of the navy that posed a threat to Carthage …
What Margo said was exactly what the senators wanted, so they responded with warm applause.
At this time, Okliton stood up while applauding and said coldly, "Very exciting speech! But a few months ago, Monte Ardeno also said the same thing, but what happened! "
A can of cold water was poured on the excited Margo. He was even more angry that the other party actually compared him to that incompetent person. He immediately refuted loudly, "That idiot Monte Ardeno was originally incapable of commanding this war. If it weren't for the insistence of some people, he would not have been able to serve as the commander at all. As a result, he treated war as a child's play and suffered a crushing defeat, causing Carthage to suffer huge losses. Shouldn't this responsibility be pursued to the end?!"
Hanno raised his eyebrows.
Okliton laughed and said, "Monte Ardeno is an incompetent person?! This is really funny. He has fought in Numibia for many years, never suffered a defeat, and won a large piece of land for Carthage. This achievement is no less than what you have done in Iberia. This is why the senators unanimously elected him as the commander! Even so, after suffering a defeat, he was severely punished. If there is a problem with this punishment imposed by the Senate, then I would like to ask Lord Hanno, more than a decade ago, Hilmico and you were defeated by Dionysius one after another, causing about half of the citizens of Carthage to lose their lives in Sicily. The losses suffered are much greater than Monte Ardeno's defeat, but have you ever suffered the same punishment as Monte Ardeno?! Is this fair?! "
"You're talking nonsense!!" Margo was furious when the old scar was reopened, and he immediately scolded loudly.
An imperceptible smile appeared on Hanno's face.
Pretacuba immediately stood up and shouted, "Lord Okliton, now that the army has gathered and is about to fight with the people of Diónia, this will determine the fate of our Carthage! Yet you say these words at this time to disturb the morale of the army. What do you mean?! "
"Don't scare me, Pretacuba. I have no other intention. I just wanted to ask Lord Margo, but before I finished, I didn't expect him to react so violently. " Okliton shrugged, with an innocent look, and then said, "What I wanted to say just now is that everyone can say good words, but it must be implemented in action. It is not easy for us to gather so many citizens to go out to fight! And it is even more difficult to collect enough military supplies for this huge army! Our treasury, our taxes, the gold and silver we excavate … all of them are invested in this war, and we can't support this war for a long time. So I want to ask, Lord Margo, can you give us a specific deadline to fulfill the promise you just said? "
Margo was stunned.
Okliton's words were approved by many senators. After all, Margo and Hanno had been arguing for more than a month, which could be said to have delayed the battle. Now that he had the army in his hands, if the delay continued, the senators would be at a loss.
Even Aesyaruba took the initiative to stand up and said, "Lord Margo, Okliton is right. The consumption of hundreds of thousands of soldiers is huge. We do need a more specific deadline so that the whole of Carthage can grit their teeth and do their best to provide the army supplies during this period."
Pretacuba fiercely winked at Margo.
Margo originally thought that if he could get the full support of Carthage and set a deadline, it would not be a bad thing. But when he saw the look in Pretacuba's eyes, he was a little hesitant.
"It seems that Lord Margo is not very confident in defeating the people of Diónia," Tepanlaco said sarcastically.
Margo stared at Tepanlaco, then his sharp eyes swept to Hanno, who was also looking at him. He smiled disdainfully and said loudly, "We all know that Diónia is a powerful country, and the war between us and Diónia will not end in a short time. I also know what you mean by saying this, but I am still willing to set a deadline, not only to urge myself, but also to give the people of Carthage hope … One year! Within a year, I will do my best to drive the forces of Diónia out of Sicily! "
… …
The main force of the Samonese coalition entered Beneventum. The next day, they received news that Lola was besieged by the enemy.
As soon as Segovani received the news, he immediately called for a military meeting and said anxiously, "We will go to war immediately and repel the Diónia coalition in the south. Then, we will lead the army back to Lola.
Of course, Lescok did not agree with this proposal. He patiently advised, "Leader Segovani, the city of Lola is strong, and the garrison is not small. The enemy will not be able to take it in a short time. You don't have to be too anxious. You should know that the enemy outside Beneventum has a large number of people, and they have built a relatively complete camp. If we attack them head-on, our losses will inevitably be great, and we may not succeed.
However, with such a large army of Diónia coming from afar, the supply of military food has become a big problem. As long as we send a few troops to sneak into the mountains, bypass their camp, attack the road between Abenilum and their camp, and cut off their food transportation. The people of Diónia will not have enough to eat, and they will definitely panic. Then, it will be time for us to attack. Once we defeat the main force of the Diónia coalition, our situation will be much better. "
"I agree with Lescok's opinion. We have fewer troops now, so we should be cautious!" Batani said. After all, the Diónia's army could not threaten Bentney's territory. Of course, he did not want to take the risk.
As for Controok, he was a little hesitant. Although Caraceni's territory was far from the threat of Diónia's attack, as an old man who had always protected the interests of the Samonese race with a tough attitude, it was against his nature to adopt a prudent strategy. However, Caraceni warriors had the least number of the four major races, and after several battles, they had suffered considerable losses. He had no choice but to pay attention to this problem, so in the end, he agreed with Lescok's suggestion.
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