Chapter 952
Cypross said sincerely, "Don't worry, Lord Prosoeus. I will not interfere with your military command!"
Leotychides nodded in agreement as he had worked well with Cypross over the past few years.
The Devers smiled and encouraged them, "I hope that you can continue to cooperate with Cypross in this attack on Syracuse. Capture Syracuse as soon as possible, and get rid of the hidden danger in the rear of the army. Then, lead the army to the west and meet up with me."
… …
After the conversation, the Devers left Cypross alone again.
Just when Cypross thought that the Devers were going to give him advice on the political plan against Syracuse, the Devers asked in a deep voice, "How are the people in the city feeling now?"
"Huh?" Cypross was stunned.
"Since the outbreak of the war, the Territory of Sicily has suffered a lot of losses, especially Katanai. Not only were their houses and fields damaged and looted, but their citizens also suffered the most casualties. They must have a lot of complaints against the kingdom, right?!" The Devers asked again in a deep voice with a solemn expression.
Cypross had come back to his senses and understood what the Devers were worried about. He said truthfully, "Your Majesty, if the war with Carthage had broken out a few years ago, the Territory of Sicily would have been in turmoil and chaos. But after the 'Laodisian Incident', Your Majesty, you decisively dealt with a group of officials and old nobles in the Territory of Sicily, readjusted the land policy, strengthened the governance of the cities in Sicily, and allowed the Eighth Legion to conquer the rebellious Sikere people. The Territory of Sicily has become more stable. After a few years of development, the people of Sicily have also become more loyal to the kingdom.
However, even so, when the war broke out and the people learned that Carthage's army had landed in Sicily, and the kingdom did not send any reinforcements, there were still some complaints, thinking that the kingdom did not pay enough attention to the place and disregarded their safety. Fortunately, Lord Prosoeus had dealt a heavy blow to Carthage's army in Minoa, and the 3rd Fleet had defeated Carthage's fleet in the north coast, giving the people some confidence in the war.
But then a storm destroyed the Sicilian fleet, plunging the people of Catanai into grief, as more than 5,000 sailors from Catanai died at sea. After that, Prososus was defeated in the Battle of Gela. Carthage's army invaded the Catania Plain and caused great destruction. The people were furious and lost their minds. They gathered at the City Hall to protest, demanding that Prososus lead his troops out of the city and drive away the Carthage cavalry that was wreaking havoc on the plain. Fortunately, Xenophanes had his subordinates secretly guide public opinion, and the officials were also trying their best to appease them, so the situation was under control.
Later, when Paragonia was burned to the ground, the people of Catanai mourned for the 2,000 Catanai citizens who died in battle. At the same time, many people realized that if it were not for Prososus defending the city, Catanai might have suffered the same tragic fate. So some people came to the city hall to apologize.
Your Majesty, I'm sorry! As you arrived in Katanai a day early, most of the people in Katanai were mourning their loved ones who had died in the war and had no time to organize, so the scene that greeted you at the port was a little cold. But this does not mean that the people of Catanai have any opinions about you.
As far as I know, they were very excited when they heard that you had led the army here, because it means that they can finally get rid of the threat of the Carthage people and can begin to rebuild their homes. They are also eager for you to avenge them. You must know that the people of the city hate the Carthage people very much! "
After listening, the Devers was silent for a while, and then asked softly, "So far, how many people of Catanai have died in the war?"
"Including the sailors who drowned in the two naval battles, about 10,000 people died. In addition, more than 2,000 people were injured and could no longer fight."
The Devers sighed. "For this war, the people of Catanai have sacrificed a lot! But now that the national treasury is tight, I'm afraid that we can't give enough compensation to the families of the deceased in a short time. How about this … Give me a list of the people who died in the war, and try to gather the families of the soldiers and sailors who died in the local council. I will be there to express my condolences and gratitude. "
"Your Majesty, if you express your condolences to them personally, they will definitely feel very comforted! But … "Cypross looked troubled." The local council hall can only accommodate 400 people at most, and the number of the families of the dead and wounded is far more than 10,000, I'm afraid … "
"Then let them enter the hall in batches, and I will express my condolences in batches."
"But in this way, Your Majesty …" Cypross said worriedly.
The Devers understood what he was worried about, and said firmly, "Don't worry about me, they have lost their families for the Kingdom. There is nothing sadder than this! As long as they can get some comfort, it's nothing for me to be tired. "
"I understand, Your Majesty, I will arrange it well." Cypross stood up and bowed respectfully.
… …
At noon the next day, Diónia's First Legion, Second Legion, Legio III, Legio IV, Legio VI, Seventh Legion, Eighth Legion, Lucania Reserve Legion, First, Second, and Fourth Cavalry Legions, Rome Reserve Brigade, and Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade arrived in front of the city of Paragonia. Then, according to orders, the troops spread out in formation, surrounded the city, and began to enter the city carefully.
A month ago, Paragonia was a new fortress with a perfect defense system, but now it had become a ruin: the traps had been cleared, the abatis had been uprooted, the trenches had been filled, and arrows, javelins, stone bullets, swords, spears, spears, and spears could be seen on the ground from time to time. The soil under the city had even turned blood-red, dried up, and the sturdy outer walls had become dilapidated. The soldiers did not need to go through the city gates to enter the city. But they had to be careful, because the broken walls were still falling stones and dust from time to time …
After entering the city, the soldiers were shocked: there were no houses, no streets, everything had turned into ashes, and there was only scorched black in front of them.
Max followed his comrades, carefully bypassing the piles of charred ruins, the lamenting voices of his comrades ringing in his ears. After a few days of frequent interaction and language stimulation, he could roughly understand a few Greek words such as "fire" and "battle". Combined with the scene he saw outside the city, he was also shocked: what kind of tragic battle had happened here!
Not long after, they came to the inner city wall, which was also in ruins, and the walls were also scorched black. After passing through the gap and entering the inner city, the ground changed from black to blood-red again.
And in the center of the inner city stood a half-collapsed tower, and on the ground around the tower, there were many crossed wooden pillars. The sharp-eyed soldiers could clearly see the blood stains on the wooden pillars and the remnants of iron nails and ropes on both ends of the wooden pillars. A terrible picture suddenly appeared in their minds, and there was a commotion among the troops.
At this moment, the Devers, dressed in military uniform, climbed to the top of the tower that had been urgently repaired, and there were more than a dozen telepathic messengers following him.
The troops gradually quieted down, and the soldiers, under the command of the team officers, lined up in a more compact formation with the tower as the center.
Max looked up at the tower like the other soldiers. This was the second time he saw the king of Diónia, but the situation was different from the situation at the bonfire party. At this time, the king looked majestic and solemn.
"Citizens of Diónia!" The Devers's voice was loud and full of energy, but he spoke slowly to ensure that the telepathic messengers could accurately help him to pass the message, "The land you are standing on now was guarded by the First Brigade of the Seventh Legion and the two reserve brigades of Katanay a month ago. There were only 3,000 soldiers in total, and the enemy they faced was Carthage's 100,000 troops.
However, these brave warriors were not afraid, and repeatedly repelled the enemy's fierce attacks, resisting the Carthage army for more than 20 days! At the most dangerous time, they even risked their lives to ignite a fire in the city, giving the Carthage army a heavy blow. In the end, because the difference in military strength was too great, Carthage used the tactic of numbers to conquer the small city … But these brave warriors fought to the end, and not a single one of them surrendered, watering this land with all their blood! "
Hearing these words, the soldiers subconsciously lowered their heads and stared at the reddish-brown ground.
In fact, not all the defenders of Paragonia died in the battle. When the inner city was breached and Carthage rushed into the tower, the few remaining Diónia soldiers who were extremely tired and wounded chose to surrender. It was just that after Carthage's men captured them, they were cruelly tortured, and the Devers here glorified all of them.
"The Carthage people! The fierce and cruel Carthage people! "The Devers said angrily," They actually committed heinous crimes! They actually nailed the bodies of the brave warriors to the crosses! Yes, it's the wooden stakes in front of you! When the reinforcements came to clean up the battlefield, their bodies were already too horrible to look at! "
The soldiers under the tower were in an uproar, and voices of indignation rose.
Dyvers intentionally waited for a while, then he shouted passionately, "Why did the Carthaginians, who boasted that they had the most splendid culture in the western Mediterranean, do such evil things that even the barbarians wouldn't do?! It's because our brave warriors used their flesh and blood to stop the Carthage army here for more than 20 days, destroying the Carthage people's plan to capture Catanai and expel the people of the kingdom out of Sicily! It's because our brave warriors only relied on this small city to cause far more casualties than the Carthage army! It's because our brave warriors stationed here only have 3000 people, but in the face of the attack of 100,000 people, they created such a brilliant record, which made the Carthage people panic!
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