Chapter 947
"Stop attacking Catanai?" Margo's face was full of hatred as he said angrily, "Don't forget, the Senate is forcing me to drive the Diónia out of Sicily within a year. Time is running out, so I need to strengthen the attack!"
"We can't attack anymore, Lord Margo!" Pomilka hurriedly advised, "I will write to the Senate and explain to them in detail why we should stop the attack."
"It's no use, Hanno and the others will not listen to your explanation." Margo sneered disapprovingly.
Pomilka, however, heard a hint of loosening in Margo's words. He then said, "But Lord Esyaruba will support me, and there's also Pretacuba …"
Hearing this, Margo put down the leg of lamb in his hand and said indifferently, "Well, as you said, let's retreat to the west first."
Pomilka did not expect Margo, who had always been stubborn, to agree so readily. For a moment, he was a little stunned.
Of course, he did not know that Margo had already felt a little uneasy after the failed attack on Paragonia. He had already realized that whether it was Serinus or Paragonia, the Diónia had shown a terrible defensive ability. The Carthage army with many cavalry, especially the Iberian army, had given up their expertise in fighting in the wild and in the mountains, and carried out one cruel siege after another. In fact, they had given up their strengths, and it was not worth it at all. Today's fire had made him make up his mind.
"You mean retreat to the west of Sicily?!" Pomilka then came back to his senses and looked surprised. He just suggested to stop the attack, but he did not think of completely giving up the achievements of the past few months.
"There's nothing we can do about it!" Margo did not hide the hatred in his eyes. He slammed his fist on the table, "We are deep in the east, and the transportation line is quite long. The dominance of the Sicilian sea is still occupied by the Diónia, and the Senate has sent a new fleet to Sardinia. We can only rely on land to transport military food. You should be aware of the size of our army. The amount of rations we consume every day is naturally enormous. Now, we still have to factor in the labor of transporting rations. If not for our rations reserves and the aid from Syracuse, I'm afraid our rations would be extremely tight! Now, Diónia's fleet is intensifying its attacks on our food convoys and our empty rear …
As you said, Diónia's defense is very strong. It's impossible for us to capture Catanay in a short period of time. Moreover, the main force of Diónia is about to arrive. If there's a problem with the transportation of our rations … "
Margo did not continue, but Pomilka could not help but shiver and fell into deep thought.
Margo continued to nibble on the leg of lamb until Pomilka made up his mind and said, "… Since the situation is so serious, I agree with you. I will write to Lord Esyaruba about the situation here. He is experienced and wise. He will definitely understand our current situation and intercede for us in the Senate, reducing the criticism of us by the other senators. However, once we retreat to the west, what will happen to Syracuse?"
Margo sneered and said disdainfully, "Syracuse wants to be an ally of Carthage. That's just wishful thinking on their part. The noble Carthage will never be friends with these cunning and shameless Syracuse people! They think I don't know that for such a long time, they did not move in Taunis and did not pose any threat to the Diónia allies at all. Are they fighting against Diónia?! The casualties of Carthage's merchant ships in the past ten days due to the storm at sea is more than the number of people who died in the battle at Taunis! Since Syracuse wants to take advantage of our battle with Diónia to preserve their strength and reap more benefits … Haha, they are only fit to be used by us to hold back the reinforcements of Diónia, preventing them from advancing westward at full force! "
Pomilka looked at the resentful expression on Margo's face and suddenly remembered that Margo and his cousin Himilko had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Syracuse more than 10 years ago. It seemed that Pomilka had been brooding over this, so it was not surprising that he had such an attitude. Moreover, the actions of Syracuse during this period had indeed displeased Pomilka. Therefore, he did not want to persuade Margo to fulfill the covenant. He only reminded him, "Without our support, Syracuse will likely choose to surrender when facing the attack of the Dionysian Army alone."
"Surrender? Become the second Tarantum? " Margo suddenly laughed, "These shameless Syracuse people think that they are the masters of Sicily and are born nobler than the people of other Sicilian city-states. Will they easily surrender to Diónia?!"
Indeed, for more than 10 years, Syracuse had been surrounded by the increasingly powerful Kingdom of Diónia and its allies and friendly city-states. There were even occasional conflicts, which showed how unwilling the people were … Pomilka pondered, but Margo continued, "As long as we, Carthage, maintain our strength, Syracuse will not easily surrender to Diónia. So before we retreat, we must attack Paragonia with all our strength tomorrow!"
Pomilka was startled and hurriedly said, "The Numibian army has been attacking Paragonia for the past few days and has suffered great losses. With today's fire, if they don't rest and reorganize, I'm afraid that if we want them to immediately attack Paragonia …"
"Tomorrow, let the Iberian army and the Phoenician army be in charge of the siege!" Margo's sudden interruption made Pomilka choke.
The more than 10,000 Iberian troops who followed Margo to the Catania Plain were very strong, but these days they had been guarding against the reinforcements of Catanai's Diónia and Leontini's barracks to Paragonia. They had not participated in the siege battle, but only fought a few battles with the enemies from the north. The losses were very small, and they could be said to be a fresh army. In order to capture Paragonia, Margo was finally willing to send his own troops to the battlefield! And with the cooperation of the Phoenician army, who was not weak in combat … Pomilka criticized in his heart, but continued to say, "Who will defend the enemies from the two directions of Catanai and Leontini? Relying on these troops who have suffered a lot of losses and low morale after many sieges? "
Margo heard a hint of blame in Pomilka's words. He sneered, "Although their siege is blocked, they can still defend. After all, the number of soldiers is greater than the enemy. Haven't the young officers sent by the Senate been clamoring to lead the troops to the battlefield? I will give them a chance. "
Pomilka was shocked and was about to dissuade him when Margo suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I have sent a messenger to Agilion to inform Hasdrubal to come here early tomorrow morning with the army! If the enemy of Catanai really dares to attack, we can take advantage of the victory! "
Speaking of this, Margo looked straight at Pomilka, "Even if we have to retreat, we must let the soldiers understand that there is nothing in Sicily or the Western Mediterranean that can stop their attack! Therefore, Paragonia must be destroyed! "
"Bang!" Margo slammed his fist on the table.
… …
Adjutant Tagrou hurried into the hall, "Commander, I have just received a report from a cavalry scout. Breylu led 4,000 soldiers to Paragonia!"
"What?!" Leotychides, who had always been expressionless, could not keep calm at the moment. He said angrily, "Didn't I already order him to stay in the camp and not to lead the army to attack?! How dare he violate the military order! Damn it! "
After all, Tagrou was a Bruti man, and Breylu was also a Bruti general whom he respected. He could not help but want to defend Breylu, "Uh … Maybe it is because Carthage did not rest after the fire at Paragonia and launched a fierce attack on Paragonia today. Breylu is probably worried that Paragonia will be difficult to defend, so he sent troops to disturb the Carthage people and make them not dare to attack the city with all their strength … Although he led few soldiers, he led several attacks these days and was able to return safely. I believe there will be no problem this time."
"Stupid!" Leotychides said coldly, "In the past, Carthage's cavalry was stationed in the south, and it was difficult for our cavalry scouts to find out the situation at Paragonia. But this time, we can easily get it. What does this mean?! Moreover, because we burned the weeds on the Catania Plains, Carthage's cavalry has been less deep into the hinterland of the plains. Today, a large number of Carthage's cavalry ran to the west of Catania, cutting off our communication with Hena, and we can't find out the enemy's movements in Agilion. What does this mean?! "
With Leotychides's hint, Tagrou thought for a moment and was immediately shocked, "This … this is a trap?! Breylu is in danger! Commander, you … you should lead troops to save them! "
Leotychides's face was livid and he did not respond.
… …
Two days later, in the same hall, Leotychides, Tagrou and a few others were no longer there. Amyntas, Matonis, Lizaru, Olivers, Trotiras, Breylu, and Leotychides, the three cavalry commanders, Ledes, Kuzius, and Asitemis, the commander of the Sicilian Fleet, Cyprian, the commander of the Mountain Scouts, Izamu, the two advisors, Tormid and Printos, and the governor of Sicily, Cypross … The hall was packed to the brim.
In the middle of the shining star sat the King of Diónia, Devers.
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