Chapter 885
After a short while, Hennepolis finished writing the letter for the Senate and handed it to the Devers.
The Devers were satisfied after reading it. Without changing a single word, he signed his name at the end, stamped his seal, and returned it to Hennepolis. "Send it to the Senate according to the highest level of confidentiality."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Hennepolis immediately rolled the letter up, using three red ropes to tie the two ends and the middle at the same time. Then, he wrote the second letter.
At this moment, the captain of the royal guards, Martius, walked into the tent. "Your Majesty, the commander of the Third Fleet, Midolades, is waiting outside for your summons."
"Oh, Midolades is here." The Devers quickly waved his hand. "Quick, let him in."
After entering the tent, Midolades saluted and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I'm late."
"You came at the right time!" The Devers said with a double meaning. "Your fleet and infantrymen are about to be put to good use!"
Midolades was instantly excited when he heard this. He had just led the fleet back to Latin when he heard that in the short time he was away, the army led by the Devers, with Rome as the center, had conquered Venus and Caesrella in the north, Pheidene and Crucium in the east, and Gabi in the south, forcing many Latin city-states to surrender. They had chased Rome's army to the small cities by the sea in the west, and were tightening the siege …
This news made him feel terrible, as if the Third Fleet was not involved in this war, and was completely irrelevant. So, when he heard the Devers's words, he was immediately excited.
"Have you recruited all the infantrymen?" The Devers asked.
"Yes, but …" Midolades said carefully, "But once the recruitment order was issued, not only Triene, but even the citizens of Siletina and Hibernian rushed to the naval base to sign up. They even found many acquaintances to ask for help … So … So I recruited 2,000 more people …"
The Devers looked at him solemnly.
Midolades's heart tightened.
Devers said slowly, "So be it. However, including the addition of the fleet infantry this time, the total number of the Third Fleet's infantry should be 4,000. This is already an exception made by the Ministry of Military Affairs. The extra number must be disbanded after the war is over. Remember, don't do it again!"
Midolades hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Once the war is over, I will immediately disband all the extra fleet soldiers!"
Devers smiled. "You … this is snatching soldiers from Legio VI. Be careful that Trotiras (Legio VI's Captain) finds out and will fight you to the death!"
Midolades heard the Devers's joke and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He also joked, "In order to appease Trotiras, I will hold a few more banquets for him and get him drunk." Legio VI's military camp was west of Siletina, and the Third Fleet's naval base was near the bay near Triene. The two were not far from each other, and they often interacted with each other. Midolades and Trotiras had a good relationship, so he was not worried that the other would blame him.
"Midolades." Tolmid suddenly said, "Right now, there are 4,000 infantrymen in the Third Fleet. We will prepare food and other supplies for the infantrymen in your fleet according to this number. As for the extra 2,000 people, you will have to figure out what to do."
What?! Midolades thought Tormid was joking, but seeing his serious face, he did not know what to say for a moment. After all, when he recruited the soldiers this time, he did have a selfish motive. Tormid had received a hint from Devers to give Midolades a small warning.
But for Midolades, it was almost impossible for him to take out the supplies for 2,000 people. He could only look at Devers with a pleading look.
Devers took the opportunity and said seriously, "If you want to solve the problem of the extra 2,000 people, you can only do your best to complete the next mission."
"Your Majesty, the brothers of the Third Fleet and I are ready. No matter how difficult the mission is, we will complete it smoothly!" Midolades immediately declared loudly.
As Hernepolis was writing a letter, Cloto Catax took over his work. He was clear about Devers's plan, so he found a map from the bookshelf and spread it out on the table.
Devers led Midolades to the table.
Midolades looked down. In front of him was a map of Corsica and Sardinia.
"How much do you know about Corsica?" Devers asked.
Midolades already had a plan in mind. He thought carefully before saying, "Corsica is known by the sailors as the Giant Mountain of the Sea. The island is full of towering mountains and is not suitable for living at all. There are only two small coastal plains on the east of the island. There are two towns built there. The town of Mariana in the north belongs to the Etruscans, and the town of Aleria in the south belongs to the Phoenicians. There are also some small Phoenician villages on the west coast, but the coast is covered with reefs and the coast is twisted. It will be more difficult for the warships to land … Your Majesty, are you going to let the Third Fleet attack Corsica? "
Devers nodded, looked at the map and said, "To be precise, let the Third Fleet attack the Phoenician towns and settlements on Corsica. The reason why Carthage could become the most prosperous and wealthy city-state in the western Mediterranean was because it controlled most of the precious metal resources and trade in the entire western Mediterranean. The Iberian Peninsula, Gaul, Etruria, Sardinia and Corsica, especially Sardinia and Corsica, were completely controlled by Carthage. Since Carthage dared to declare war on us, Diónia, then we will destroy this important source of trade one by one, so that its treasury will not be full and it will not be able to support a long war with us.
Therefore, the first target of the Third Fleet is to destroy all the Phoenician settlements on Corsica. Don't underestimate these settlements because they are small in size and population, but the silver, iron, copper, and other metal mines on Corsica are excavated, smelted, manufactured, and finally transported to Carthage. The Phoenician settlements on the west coast have formed a complete metal smelting system. Therefore, the Third Fleet must occupy these settlements and capture all the Phoenicians … "
"Also, try not to destroy the metal mines and smelting facilities of the Phoenicians!" Devers emphasized.
After hearing this, Midolades immediately said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the Third Fleet will overcome all difficulties to complete this mission."
"Not only must it be completed, but it must be completed as soon as possible! Of course, you must also be careful of the attacks of the warships of Carthage stationed in Sardinia and Corsica. You must not be careless! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The stern words of the Devers made Midolades' heart skip a beat. As the commander of the navy responsible for defending the west coast of Diónia, he certainly had a detailed understanding of the situation in Sardinia and Corsica to the west. Before the war, Carthage had stationed less than 30 triple-hulled warships on these two islands, and they were mainly scattered in the ports of several towns in Sardinia. Perhaps because they were too weak, they did not cause trouble during the expedition of the Diónia army to Rome. Therefore, Midolades did not take them seriously. However, the Devers' warning made him take it seriously.
The Devers pressed his hand on the icon of Alenia on the map and asked, "Although Alenia is a town of the Phoenicians, don't you think this name is not in line with the naming habits of the Phoenicians and Carthage?"
"Could it be that it used to be a town belonging to the Greeks?" Midolades repeated the name of this town in his heart and asked in surprise. In fact, this was just an expression that he purposely showed to respond to the Devers. As a general of Diónia, he did not care about the history of this town.
"You are right, but Alenia was not just a city belonging to the Greeks. Logically speaking, it should be a town belonging to Diónia!" Hennepolis interrupted. He had just finished writing the letters to Alexis and Zantiparis and happened to hear this conversation. This brilliant student of the historian Ancitanos was immediately interested in teaching others.
"Alenia should belong to Diónia?!" Midolades was really shocked this time.
"During the great colonial era, we Greeks colonized the Western Mediterranean. We not only built Agrigento and Syracuse in Sicily, Tarantum and Sybari in Magna Graecia, Marcellia in Gaul, Naples and Cumae in Campania, and Alenia in Corsica …
However, the masters of Northern Italy, the Etruscans, were frightened by the surging Greeks. They probably thought that if they did not stop the crazy colonization of the Greeks, the Etruscans would be surrounded by our Greek colonial cities. Therefore, they allied with Carthage, who had already established a firm foothold in Sardinia, and started a war with the Greek cities of Alenia, Marcellia, and Campania.
The most important battle was a naval battle near Alenia. In the end, the Greeks suffered a crushing defeat. Not only did Alenia fall into the hands of Carthage, but they also did not dare to colonize the northern part of Italy for hundreds of years … "
Hennepolis talked non-stop. Not only was Midolades listening carefully, but Tormid and Cloto Catax were also listening with great interest.
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