Chapter 916
Only Cykerian was still complaining. "As long as we take precautions?! That's easy for you to say. The route from Catanai to the western part of Sicily will be frequently used by our fleet in the future. Whether it is our warships patrolling and cruising to the western sea, or our fleet transporting supplies and soldiers to Serinus, they will all have to pass through Syracuse. Their fleet is like a lurking viper that may attack us at any time. How can our fleet guard against them?! "
Cypross's expression became serious. He said in a deep voice, "Your Sicilian fleet needs support in terms of supplies and personnel. As long as I can do it, I will do my best to help you! But controlling the waters of Sicily and ensuring the safety of the territory's coast is the responsibility of your fleet. You have also been praised by His Majesty as' the great naval hero of the Kingdom of Diónia '. This should be something you should consider, but you are asking a layman like me! "
Cykerian was speechless.
Cypross looked at Brereu again, and his expression became gentle again. "Lord Brereu, on behalf of the people of Sicily, I am very grateful to you for leading the Seventh Legion to reinforce us. I believe that you will be able to work together with Lord Prososus and successfully complete the task given by His Majesty! Make a glorious contribution! "
Cypross's words were rather clever. He took into account Brereu's age, qualifications, and status in the kingdom (Brereu was a senator and one of the representatives of the Bruti people, far from being comparable to Leotychides who had no background), so he did not mention that Brereu should listen to the command of the Sicilian commander, Leotychides. He believed that Brereu, who had been in the legion for more than ten years, would act according to military law no matter how reluctant he was. Since the establishment of Diónia, there had never been an instance of a high-ranking general disobeying orders.
"Don't worry. We, the Seventh Legion, have come to Catanai to fight. I will act strictly according to military law!" Brereu said bluntly.
Leotychides heard this and nodded.
… …
After Hasdrubal took over Jelah, he did not continue to the east because he might encounter Syracuse. He vaguely remembered that Senator Carthage had sent messengers to talk to Syracuse several times. Without knowing the details, he did not know how to deal with Syracuse. So he simply stayed in Jelah and waited for Margo's army to arrive. At the same time, he sent a part of his army to the north to besiege Enna.
After the Carthage army led by Pomilka captured Minoa, they also stopped to rest.
When Margo received the news that his troops had captured Minoa, Agrigento, and Gela, and Syracuse had recovered Camanlina and Paccinus, he was very happy because it meant that Carthage's army could smoothly pass through the south coast and directly attack Diónia's territory in Sicily.
However, he was also very depressed because Salinus had not been captured yet. Salinus' defenders not only fought tenaciously but also responded well. They had repelled the attacks of Carthage's army several times, forcing Margo to rest and restore the army's low morale.
Judging from the current situation, it was unlikely that Margo could capture Salinus in a short period of time with his current 40,000 troops. From a safe point of view, he should first capture Salinus and then march east. But that would delay a lot of time. Not only would it give the Dionysian Army, who had suffered successive defeats, precious time to rest and reorganize, but it would also create variables over time. More importantly, he had promised in the Senate to "capture the whole island of Sicily within a year". He had to hurry!
After thinking about it, Margo finally made a decision. He would leave behind 5,000 Feinu infantry and 1,000 Lumibian cavalry. He would also let the Lord of Libi, Imisere, organize 5,000 soldiers from the Sicilian Alliance to be stationed in the camp and continue to besiege Serinus. He would lead nearly 40,000 troops and march east along the south coast.
Accompanying him were not only slaves and freedmen, but also a large number of people from Mazara, Erox, Segesta, and other city-states. They were not only responsible for transporting food supplies to the entire Carthage army, but also for survival. Because the Dionysian Army had harvested and destroyed the farmlands of these city-states on a large scale (except for Palemos and Sorus on the north coast), they were facing the danger of famine.
Margo announced to them that as long as they transported supplies to the Carthage army, he would allow them to harvest the farmlands of Minoa, Agrigento, Gela, and other Greek city-states along the way based on their performance as food reserves for the next year. That was why they were so eager to participate.
Margo solved the problem of transporting supplies for the army, but it also made the entire marching team too bloated and slow. It took them two days to reach Minoa.
After meeting up with Pomilka's army, they continued to move forward.
When they arrived at Agrigento, they received good news: Hasdrubal had captured Enna, and most of the Sikaer tribes there had chosen to submit.
Margo's joy did not last long before he received bad news: the Diónia attacked his supply convoy.
It turned out that the Carthage army was too large, and Margo was in a hurry. The entire convoy meandered for more than 20 miles on the south coast, and the supply convoy fell behind. As a result, the Diónia Sicilian fleet landed on the beach between Minoa and Agrigento. The infantry of the fleet attacked the convoy, killing many laborers and Phoenicians, and burning a lot of food supplies. If it were not for the arrival of the Numibian cavalry, the Carthage army would have suffered greater losses.
This forced Margo to slow down the march and send troops to protect the supplies.
Ten days later, the Carthage army finally arrived at Gela.
After a day of rest, Margo led nearly 100,000 troops and continued to march eastward, finally surrounding Kamalina.
Syracuse was shocked when it heard the news. It hurriedly sent an envoy to see Margo, telling him that Syracuse had formed an alliance with Carthage, and Kamalina was now an ally of Syracuse. It was not hostile to Carthage, and would let the Carthage army pass smoothly. It hoped that it would not be attacked.
Margo did not agree with the envoy's request. He proudly said, "As the military commander of Carthage, I don't know when Syracuse became an ally of Carthage! If the people of Syracuse really want to do this, ask your general to come here and talk to me in person! "
The messengers from Syracuse brought the news back to the council. The generals and councilors were in an uproar after hearing it. Many of them thought that the Carthaginians had crossed the river and wanted to break the agreement. They were preparing to take the opportunity to attack Syracuse.
Some people took the opportunity to blame Chief General Teagenis, saying that he thought he had earned benefits for Syracuse, but had angered the people of Carthage. Now that Carthage's army was approaching Syracuse, if a war was started, Teagenis must bear full responsibility.
Teagenis argued that Margo had been in Iberia before, and might not know about the secret diplomatic exchanges between Carthage and Syracuse. He was willing to talk to Margo in person to clear up the misunderstanding between them.
… …
The next day, Teagenis rushed to Kamanlina. Before he entered Kamanlina's territory, he already saw the camp of Carthage's people. Countless tents were connected, and one camp was connected to another, covering an area of many miles. If it were not for the countless strong soldiers walking among them, he would have thought he had entered a vast city.
The more Teagenis looked, the more shocked he became. Under the guidance of Carthage's guards, he walked for a full hour before arriving at Margo's tent.
Just as Teagenis expected, after he saluted Margo and said his name, the rough-looking Carthage general did not show enough politeness and enthusiasm. Instead, he said casually, "It seems that you people of Syracuse are taking this matter very seriously. You actually sent your chief general to negotiate. This will save us some time. After we reach an agreement, we can implement it immediately."
"Syracuse and Carthage have already reached an amicable agreement. General Margo may not know much about it," Teagenis explained.
"No, I know it very well. Someone in the Senate told me." Margo raised his eyebrows and looked straight at Teagenis. "He said that your attitude during the negotiation has been vague. Although you will never join Diónia and attack Carthage, you are not willing to lead your army to attack Diónia either. You are only willing to provide material assistance, allow us to set up camp in Syracuse's territory, and ensure that we can safely pass through Syracuse and its allies' territory …"
"That's right. This is the agreement that your envoy of Carthage has agreed to and signed." Before Teagenis finished, Margo roared, "This is a bullsh * t agreement! Do you see the army outside? We don't need Syracuse to provide the materials, we can rob them! As for allowing us to pass through Syracuse safely, that's a joke. Even if you don't allow it, my huge army can pass through safely! "
"But that will mean war! A war with Syracuse! While Carthage is fighting against Diónia, he will also have to defend against Syracuse's attack from the rear. This will undoubtedly slow down your progress in conquering Catanai, allowing Diónia's reinforcements from Greece to arrive in time, "Teagenis replied calmly.
Margo sneered. "If that happens, will Syracuse become Diónia's ally?"
Teagenis hesitated. "If Carthage sees Syracuse as an enemy, we … of course."
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