Chapter 889
If it was more than 10 years ago, most of the laborers in the port of Lili were Greek freedmen, and there were very few Numibian slaves. However, the Kingdom of Diónia occupied the eastern part of Sicily, absorbing Greek freedmen, and Carthage's conquest of Numibia changed the situation.
Braving the drizzle and the wet and cold sea breeze, the laborers rushed to the dock while trembling. At this time, the sky was still bright. Although the port was open, no ships had yet come in. The laborers took the opportunity to squat under the eaves of the warehouse on the shore, seizing the time to rest.
Not long after, they heard noisy footsteps. Hundreds of Carthage soldiers poured into the port and began to drive away the idle people in the port, strengthening the patrol of the port.
Looking at the docks that had suddenly become heavily guarded, the workers were shocked.
"Look! Governor Imisere is here! "Someone shouted in surprise, and the surrounding atmosphere became more tense.
At this time, the official in charge of the labor management ran over and scolded in exasperation, "Get up, lazy people! Before Lord Margo leads the army to the port, you immediately clear all the obstacles and garbage at the port, and ensure that the road is smooth and clean! And those old ships docked at the port, immediately pull them away! Quick! Quick! If anyone dares to slack off, I will let him know how powerful I am! … "
Accompanied by the officer's roar, the supervisors cracked their leather whips. The laborers were immediately like frightened rabbits. Under the lead of the foreman, they quickly ran to the dock.
Among them, there was a middle-aged laborer with a stooped back. The originally dull eyes of the middle-aged laborer lit up at this moment: Carthage's army actually chose to cross the sea in such a weather and land at Lili. How bold! I wonder if Flarios has sent a clipper to detect the enemy's action?!
… …
About an hour later, the first troopship entered Lillie Bay. The sailors on board had furled their sails. They shouted a chant and paddled their oars to the pier nearest to them.
Then they sailed into the second ship, the third ship …
Not long after, the port was filled with transport ships.
Seeing that there was a ship approaching the pier, the foreman led a dozen laborers and quickly ran over. They hooked the side of the ship with iron hooks in their hands so that one side of the ship was completely attached to the pier. Then, they tied the ship's mooring to the wooden stakes and placed a wooden plank on it, allowing the soldiers to disembark.
Usually, the workers were very familiar with this set of procedures to help stop the ship and dock, but under the interference of the cold wind and drizzle, it became a little difficult. Because the pier became slippery, and the ship had to exert more strength under the turbulent waves to pull it, the workers kept slipping on the pier and falling into the sea became a very common phenomenon. Even when the ship collided in the port, it was not uncommon to see soldiers falling into the water...
Even though Imisere had made some preparations for the landing of the army, the port was still in chaos.
However, no matter how chaotic the Lili port was, ships of soldiers still boarded the dock continuously and gathered densely on the shore of the port. Amidst the noise and clamor, they lined up in columns and left the port one after another, entering the city of Lili...
In the eyes of the hunchbacked middle-aged laborer, the first to disembark should be the Carthage soldiers (in fact, they were more Phoenicians). These rumored to be delicate Carthage people appeared very calm. There was little noise and chaos throughout the entire process of disembarking, and they obeyed the commands of the team officers very well. After that, many dark-skinned, slender Numibian soldiers (in fact, there were some Mauritanians among them) came ashore. These rumored free and undisciplined nomads were unexpectedly able to obey orders during the disembarking process and quickly disembark to assemble. Of course, there were also soldiers who moved undisciplined. These natives with their upper bodies bare, embroidered with strange tattoos, and ferocious-looking faces were said to be the Celts from the Iberian Peninsula. Although they were not used to taking a ship and kept vomiting from the turbulent waves, and when they came ashore, they staggered left and right and looked pale, but their tall and strong bodies still made him nervous. What concerned the laborer the most was the murderous aura emanating from these soldiers, which only veterans who had been on the battlefield for a long time would have.
It seemed that this time Carthage's army was not easy to deal with! He looked at the transport ships that were still entering and leaving the port entrance and hid his worries in his heart...
… …
In this landing, Margo arranged the landing site of the main Iberian force that had followed him for many years at the port of Lili and its vicinity. In fact, the entire Carthage army of more than 80,000 people landed on the entire coast from Mazara to Eryx. Not only were there the ports of various towns, but there were also beaches where ships could dock. Margo hoped to be able to send soldiers, supplies, horses, and so on to Sicily as soon as possible, so as to avoid being discovered by the Diónia people and being attacked by their fleet.
For this reason, not only Carthage and Utica dispatched a large number of ships, but Hadrumetum, Ruspina, Lgilgili... and other Phoenix city-states on the coast of Africana had also provided ships to help transport troops.
Therefore, the entire sea area from western Sicily to Africana was a spectacle: countless ships covered the surface of the sea, as if they were laying out a huge pontoon bridge connecting the two places. Everywhere along the coast of western Sicily, exhausted soldiers could be seen gathering on the beach, frightened War Horses running around, and shouts and neighs of horses could be heard one after another, from Mazara to Eryx...
… …
In the governor's mansion in the city of Serinus, adjutant Mukru gently pushed open the door of the study. Leotychides was sitting alone in the room. The commander of the Kingdom of Diónia in charge of the war in Sicily sat motionless on a wooden chair like a puppet, staring intently at the map of Sicily hanging on the wall.
Having followed Leotychides for some time, Mukru knew that this commander had some strange habits, so he did not speak, but stood quietly behind Leotychides.
After an unknown amount of time, Mukru felt that his eyelids were fighting to stay open. Suddenly, he heard Leotychides ask, "Yesterday, about 20,000 Iberian troops who have been entrenched in Palemos suddenly marched south and entered the city of Lili. What do you think is the reason?"
"Uh... Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Carthage's Iberian governor Margo became the military commander, and the conflict between the Iberian army and Carthage's army no longer exists..." Suddenly being asked about this, Mukru did not have time to think deeply, and threw out a reason that he thought was reasonable.
Leotychides did not turn his head, still sitting upright, and continued to ask, "It has been a long time since Margo became the military commander of Carthage, why did the Iberian army in Palemos only set off to enter Lili yesterday?"
Mukru heard a trace of dissatisfaction in Leotychides' words. This time, he thought for a while before answering cautiously, "It may be because we have been constantly sending soldiers to harvest the wheat fields outside the cities of Mazara, Segesta, Lili, and even Eryx. I'm afraid that the Iberian army came from the north coast to strengthen the military power of Carthage's people here, and to restrain our wheat harvesting operation..."
After Mukru said this, seeing that Leotychides did not respond, he thought for a while, and added with uncertainty, "It may also be... to cooperate with the military operations of Carthage's people..."
After a while, Leotychides faintly replied, "The military operations of Carthage? Other than landing in Sicily, what else can they do? "
Tagrou suddenly felt a shock in his heart.
At this time, Leotychides stood up, looked at Mukru, and said in a low voice, "Go inform the cavalry corps to send out the best cavalry scouts for me. These few days, carefully investigate the movements of the enemy in Lili, Eryx, and these cities. Report immediately if there are any abnormalities!"
"Yes!" Mukru's voice was a little low, because he knew that from the current situation, the only weakness of the Dionysian Army compared to Carthage's army was the cavalry. The commander's order had determined that the 4th Cavalry Corp would inevitably pay a certain amount of casualties.
"... At the same time, send out five reserve brigades to follow these scouts, to protect our scouts from being attacked by the Numibian cavalry." The next words of Leotychides made Mukru breathe a sigh of relief. With the support of 5000 reserve heavy infantry, the safety of the Diónia scouts was guaranteed.
"Also, go tell Miltias to send out more fast ships to the west of Sicily to investigate the movements of Carthage's army across the sea."
After Leotychides finished, Mukru's expression became awkward. He said, "Sir Commander, I came to the study to tell you that our fleet is still the same as yesterday, and not a single warship has been sent to the west of the sea. According to the information I have gathered, the commander of the Sicilian fleet, Miltias, said to his subordinates, 'They are not familiar with the sea conditions here. If they go out to sea in such bad weather, it is very likely that they will encounter the same fate as before. He must be responsible for the lives of every warship's crew, and not let them die in vain without any achievements. In such weather, Carthage's people are also worried, and will not make any big moves … '"
Listening to Mukru's words, Leotychides's face was frighteningly gloomy. He snorted softly, "This new commander of the Sicilian fleet has been frightened by the storm. He is much less courageous than Cecilian! You still have to go to the port and tell Miltias personally that it is my order to send out fast ships to patrol the west of Sicily in the next two days! "
Comments