Chapter 886
However, Midolades was still confused. "It's a pity that the Greeks were defeated in the end, but what does that have to do with Diónia?"
Hernepolis, who had purposely kept them in suspense, smiled and said, "Some of the Alenians escaped to Italy and built Elia with the other Greek colonists. This history is engraved on the stone tablet in the Temple of Apollo in Elia. The Alenians are now the citizens of Diónia, so the Alenia that they built should also belong to Diónia! "
Hernepolis' explanation was a bit unreasonable, but Midolades felt that it was reasonable. He immediately said, "The Third Fleet will take back Alenia from Carthage and wash away the shame of the Greeks!"
Devers was satisfied with his attitude and encouraged him further, "Go back and tell the crew of the Third Fleet that taking back Alenia will not only deal a great blow to the Carthage, but it will also encourage the Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean and deepen their friendship with Maseria. You will become a hero in their hearts!
Also, as far as I know, Alenia has a large port with complete facilities. It's a military port and a commercial port combined into one. It can be used as a stop for all the warships of the Third Fleet, so you won't have to travel back and forth. After we take down Alenia, the Third Fleet can use it as a base to attack Sardinia, which is right next to Corsica. We can attack the mining teams on the island, destroy their towns and villages, and attack their cargo ships … "
Midolades said excitedly, "Your Majesty, please don't worry. I will make sure that the Phoenicians on these two islands won't be able to transport a single piece of metal!"
Devers saw that Midolades was too excited, so he couldn't help but remind him, "I can't spare any troops to support you now. The mission of attacking Corsica and Sardinia can only be done by the Third Fleet. So you have to be bold and cautious at the same time. You have to cherish your soldiers and don't let them suffer too many casualties, which will cause the follow-up plan to fail!"
Devers' words made Midolades feel even more pressured.
At this moment, Cloto Catax asked, "Father, will the Etruscans be dissatisfied with our military action on Corsica and have other ideas?"
In fact, Cloto Catax had already discussed this issue with the Devers in private before. Bringing it up now was just a tactful reminder to the Devers.
The Devers secretly praised his son for his thoughtfulness and thoughtfulness. Then he said with a straight face, "Don't worry about that. Although the Etruscans often trade with Carthage, they are no longer allies. Moreover, they are still dissatisfied with Carthage's strong support for Rome. Moreover, the southern Etruscan city-states have just allied with us …"
Then, Devers looked at Midolades. "But try not to let your warships appear on the seas of Corsica that is controlled by the Etruscans. Don't let your soldiers enter their territory to avoid excessively provoking the Etruscans who are already afraid of us … Other than that, I don't have any other requests. You can decide how to attack Corsica and Sardinia. I won't interfere."
The Devers' words made Midolades feel even more pressured. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes … Yes, Your Majesty!"
Tormid looked at the back of Midolades and could not help but say, "He's a little nervous."
"It's a good thing to be nervous. This way, he will be more cautious when he takes action. Even if the Third Fleet does not achieve any decent results, as long as the fleet is around these two islands, it will bring a lot of trouble to Carthage. I'm afraid that Midolades will be overconfident and lose his vigilance. He will take risks and cause the Third Fleet to suffer heavy losses, which will weaken our advantage, just like … Sigh! "The Devers' words stopped abruptly and then he sighed heavily.
Tormid knew that the Devers must have thought of the Sekerian and the Sicilian fleet again.
At this time, Martius walked into the main tent again. "Your Majesty, Commander Matonis has sent a messenger to report that Aricia has surrendered!"
The Devers smiled. "With the blessing of Hades, there is endless good news today!"
It was no wonder that he was so happy. Aricia was not far from Tustrón, just west of Lake Albalonga. It was a very old Latin city-state and had been the center of the western Latin region since ancient times, especially after the destruction of Albalonga. From its name, it could be seen that this Latin city-state had a very close relationship with the Goddess of the Hunt, Diana Aricia, whom the Latin people worshiped. Because of this, it had once united with the Latin city-states in the west to resist the rise of Rome. However, after many defeats, it had no choice but to join the Latin Alliance led by the Rome.
After the Devers personally led the army out of the city of Rome, they first stationed themselves outside Tustrón (the original Roman encampment) and divided their forces to attack a few Latin city-states not far from Tustrón, focusing on Aricia. Under the threat of the army, the other city-states successively surrendered. Only the proud Aresians refused to submit to Diónia. Therefore, the Devers ordered that Matonis would lead the Second and Legio VI to attack Aricia.
After a few days of continuous attacks, they finally saw results.
When the smile on the Devers's face disappeared in the blink of an eye, it was followed by a stern tone, "If it wasn't for the feelings of the civilians in Rome, a Latin city-state like Aricia that dared to resist us should have been treated like Gaby. However, even if it surrendered, we cannot let it off easily! Herney, go inform Tapirus and ask him to immediately talk to the Aresians. Since Aricia is the sacred forest of the Goddess of the Hunt, I can make Aricia a sacred place worshiped by all Latin people and replace the position of Mount Albalonga. However, from then on, Aricia is not allowed to build walls or build an army. The population is not allowed to exceed 5,000, and it is open to everyone. Its safety is guaranteed by Diónia … "
"Understood, Your Majesty. Erm … It is said that because of this Diana, Aricia is also a famous medical center in the Latin region … "Hernepolis reminded.
The Devers's mouth twitched slightly, "Can Aricia's medical skills compare to Diónia's? I think this responsibility should be handed over to Hades! "
"Your Majesty, it is a good thing that Aricia has surrendered. However, it is a pity that we failed to lure out the Rome army!" Tormid said with some regret.
The Devers smiled and said indifferently, "The Rome has been tricked once, so they will naturally be more cautious. Now, their main force is still stationed in Saturnicum. It seems that they are prepared to defend to the death. This is also a good thing. Without the support of Rome, Aricia has also surrendered. The other Latin city-states in the west will soon make their choice. "
At this point, the Devers's gaze became sharp. He said in a firm tone, "Tormid, inform the entire army to get ready. We will leave Tustron tomorrow and march southwest to the north of Saturnicum to set up camp. It is time to completely eliminate the Rome!"
The Devers's words made everyone in the tent excited.
"Yes, I will inform the legions immediately!" Tormid responded excitedly.
"Also … We have previously sent messengers to these Latin city-states to persuade them to surrender. Ardy's attitude was the most resolute. He even beat up our messengers …" The Devers said in a cold tone.
"It is said that the Rome dictator Camillus once lived in Ardy for a long time. He also received Ardy's strong support in the battle to expel the Gauls. Therefore, Camillus and Ardy have a close relationship. Camillus often takes care of Ardy in the Senate of Rome. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Ardis would do this. However, I am afraid that the Ardis will have to give up their support for Camillus for the sake of their own city-state's survival, "Hennepolis comforted.
"Since Ostia was burned down, Ardy is very important to our attack on Rome's main force in Saturnicum because it is not far from Antium and the camp we are going to build. It also has a sizable port …" The Devers narrowed his eyes, which were glistening. "We need to completely control this town to transfer and transport food supplies for the army. Therefore, we cannot accept Ardy's surrender. We must completely capture it!"
… …
Outside the city of Saturnicum, thousands of Rome citizens were working tirelessly to build defensive facilities. They reinforced the city walls, filled the city with deer abatis, widened and deepened the trenches, set up multiple layers of traps, set up multiple sentry towers between the traps, and expanded the entire defensive area outwards … The entire defensive pattern of the city was very similar to the defensive camps usually built by the Dionysian Army.
That was because the one who took on this task was Titus, who first commanded the army to attack Ostia. He deeply understood the power of the Diónia's defensive system from the failure, so he transplanted it after some slight modifications.
At this moment, he was standing on top of the city wall, supervising the progress of the entire project. Although he saw the entire defensive structure gradually taking shape under the efforts of the sweating soldiers, there was not a trace of joy on his face. Instead, his face was gloomy.
"General, Lord Quintus is here," one of his subordinates whispered beside him.
When Titus heard this, he turned around and glanced at Quintus, who was stepping on the stone stairs to the city wall. A trace of irritation flashed across his face.
"Hey, Titus!"
There was not a trace of enthusiasm on Titus's face as he looked at Quintus who was walking towards him. "When did you come back? Have the defensive facilities of Antium been completed?! "
There was a hint of interrogative tone in Titus' voice. Although Titus was a little displeased, he still explained, "Antium only has about 3,000 citizen soldiers, and Pantius' foot injury has basically healed. He can complete this mission alone. I would be a hindrance if I were there, so I came back yesterday."
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