Chapter 960
"Lord Cornelus, it's already dinner time. I'm really sorry to disturb you!" Hilos immediately apologized as soon as he sat down.
"For ordinary people, it's indeed leisure time. But for the kingdom, it's a special period. And for you and me, every day is a busy one! " Cornelus laughed and asked, "Lord Hilos, is there something important for you to visit at this time?"
"I just received a letter from His Majesty, so I came to discuss it with you," Hilos said with a straight face.
Cornelus's heart tightened, and he asked anxiously, "What happened?"
"His Majesty mentioned in the letter that he has already appointed You Keris as his direct messenger."
Hearing this, Cornelus felt a surge of warmth in his heart. His Majesty really misses me!
He said with a trembling voice, "Thank … Thank His Majesty for his concern!"
Hilos saw Cornelus suddenly burst into tears, and he understood his feelings. But as the Minister of Military Affairs, it was not his place to comment on this aspect. So, he coughed and continued, "In addition, His Majesty also mentioned that within this month, all the new warships must be assigned to the Sicilian and Third Fleets —"
"All the new warships?! Within this month?! " Cornelus was a little surprised, and he was very hesitant. "So far, the kingdom has 250 new warships built, and the crew needed is close to 50,000 people! Previously, His Majesty led nearly 100,000 soldiers, and the current Third Fleets and Sicilian Fleets also have more than 50,000 people. The military food supply is already very tight! Now that it has increased to 200,000 people, the consumption of food is very huge — "
"Cough! Cough! " Suddenly, a cough came from the side room next to the hall.
Cornelus saw Hilos turn his head curiously, and he suddenly blushed and said hurriedly, "This … uh … military food supply —"
"The food supply is indeed a big problem!" Hilos continued frankly, "But His Majesty believes that Carthage is powerful and must concentrate all of his forces in order to defeat him. Otherwise, if a long stalemate occurs, the consumption of the kingdom's resources will be even greater. Therefore, His Majesty must request Lord Cornelus and the other chairmen to discuss with the ministers of the various departments to reserve enough rations and supplies for this unprecedented army of the kingdom to ensure that they can fight for at least half a year!"
"Half a year?!" Cornelius looked troubled. He shook his head and sighed. "That's difficult! Difficult! Very well, I will discuss this matter with everyone at the cabinet meeting tomorrow. "
… …
After receiving the order from the Devers, Midolades led the Third Fleet to patrol the coast of Sardinia every day in an attempt to find a way to fight Carthage's new fleet.
But for a few days, apart from sinking a few Carthage merchant ships, there was no sign of Carthage's fleet at all. This made the crew of the Third Fleet a little depressed. After interrogating the captured Carthage merchants, they learned that Carthage's new fleet had indeed arrived in Sardinia, but since it entered the port of Saros, it had not been seen going out.
Was the Carthage fleet afraid of the Dionysian fleet?! The crew of the Third Fleet felt that this was very likely. After all, it was a new fleet, and it needed a process of familiarizing and breaking in.
But this gave Midolades a headache. If the enemy did not fight, the Third Fleet could not complete the task given by His Majesty, and they did not dare to harass the coast of Sardinia with all their might, for fear of a sudden attack by the new fleet.
This morning, the weather was clear, with a slight southeast wind, and slight waves could be seen in the coastal waters.
The Third Fleet sailed out of the port of Alenia and continued the cruise of the previous few days. It went all the way south from the north end of Sardinia to the west coast. At this time, a fast ship that was scouting ahead came and reported to Midolades: more than a dozen Carthage merchant ships had left the port of Saint Iberia and were sailing south at a relatively slow speed.
When Midolades heard this, he was overjoyed. A merchant fleet of this size leaving the port of Saint Iberia was usually used to transport precious metal ores. Attacking it could not only complete the task given by His Majesty the Devers, but it was also very likely to attract reinforcements from Carthage's new fleet.
Midolades immediately gave the order to pursue and attack.
Under his instruction, the Third Fleet deliberately sailed closer to the coast when passing by the coastal waters of Saint Iberia, and even blew the bugle to attack.
Merchant ships carrying heavy loads could not outrun warships in terms of speed. Not long after, the Third Fleet saw Carthage's fleet not far ahead. In order to attract reinforcements from Carthage's fleet, Midolades did not give the order to attack immediately. Instead, he followed the fleet from behind.
"There's a signal in front to turn west!" the lookout on the mast shouted.
Carthage's merchant ships were escaping to the west?! Midolades was stunned for a moment, but he immediately understood that Carthage's merchant ships were trying to escape the pursuit of the fleet with the help of the wind.
"Follow them!" Midolades gave the order without hesitation.
A new flag was raised on the flagship, and the Third Fleet began to sail away from the coast and into the distant sea.
The color of the sea was gradually darkening, and the wind and waves were gradually getting stronger than those near the coast.
A wave came and was split apart by the bow of the ship, turning into strings of water droplets that splashed onto the deck.
Midolades felt a little uneasy when he was hit by the water droplets. He turned around and shouted, "Anything happening at the back?!"
The lookout at the stern replied loudly, "It's the same as before, there's no movement!"
Carthage's new fleet did not fall for their trap?! Midolades was a little disappointed. He thought for a moment and gave the order decisively, "Have the First B Squadron chase after them, sink the merchant ships, and then return!"
"General, we're abandoning our previous plan?!" the flagship captain asked in surprise.
Midolades thought for a moment and said, "The Military Law of Diónia states that fleets are not allowed to go too deep into the distant sea. Also, judging from the current situation, the wind and waves in the distant sea are stronger than near the coast. Don't forget the lesson of the Sicilian fleet! "
The captain's expression immediately turned serious when he heard this.
After receiving the flagship's flag signal, the sailors of the fast warships at the front of the fleet began to speed up. The speed of the warships was increasing rapidly.
At the same time, however, the Carthage fleet was also speeding up. They maneuvered their sails agilely and moved forward in a zigzag pattern, causing the waves to become an obstacle for the fast warships. Therefore, although the distance between the two sides was gradually shrinking, it was obvious that they could not catch up in a short time.
Not long after, Midolades received the terrible news that "the fast warships have not caught up to the Carthage Merchant Ships yet" from the returning clippers. While he was surprised, he also made up his mind, "Stop the chase immediately and return at full speed!"
"General, they may be about to capture those merchant ships!" The captain could not help but remind when he heard the order.
Midolades did not explain immediately. Instead, he said firmly again, "Blow the bugle and raise the flag signal. Execute immediately!"
After everything was executed, he said faintly, "Every battle determines the life and death of countless brothers. Greed will blind our rationality and make irreversible mistakes …"
Midolades said this with emotion. Unlike Therian, he was originally a more cautious person. However, after he used a scheme to seize Alenia, his mentality changed a little. He wanted to continue attacking the Phoenician city-states on Sardinia Island, but he failed and lost many fleets and infantrymen. However, the king of Devers did not punish him and continued to trust him. This made him feel guilty and constantly remind himself.
At this moment, he decisively stopped the chase. It was a reflection from the bottom of his heart. He suddenly realized that he had been too eager to fight the Carthage Merchant Ships for the past few days, causing his mentality to be out of balance. He had neglected some principles of naval warfare that he should normally follow.
The vanguard warships of the Third Fleet were about to bite the fat meat that was the Carthage Merchant Ships into their mouths, but they suddenly received the flag to retreat. Both the crew and the captain found it hard to accept, but Midolades had led the Third Fleet for six or seven years. He had a relatively high prestige among the captain and crew, and with the deterrence of the military law of Diónia, the crew had no choice but to obey despite their dissatisfaction.
Since they were only chasing after the merchant ships, the Third Fleet did not adopt a battle formation. Instead, they formed a long column and placed the three B Squadrons at the front, middle, and rear, forming the usual fleet formation for patrol. Midolades and the Second B Squadron were in the middle. When the order was given, the vanguard quickly became the rear, and the rear became the vanguard. All the warships turned around one after another and swiftly sailed towards the coast.
From the moment they discovered the Carthage Merchant Ships, to the pursuit, and finally to their return, it had only taken less than half an hour. However, the crew was initially excited and expectant, but after a period of strenuous running and getting nothing, their mood quickly turned to disappointment. On the way back, the crew did not chant in unison, nor did they talk or sing loudly in excitement.
Midolades could understand their feelings, but he did not think that his order was wrong.
The entire fleet sailed in silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the paddling of the oars and the cries of the seagulls circling above the fleet. This meant that they were approaching the coast.
It was at this moment the lookout on the flagship's mainmast suddenly shouted loudly, "Yellow flag! A yellow flag has been raised in front of us! The Carthage Fleet has appeared! They're here! … "
The lookout's shout immediately caused a commotion among the crew on the deck and in the cabins.
Midolades who had been leaning against the mast and resting with his eyes closed all this time also widened his eyes at this moment, "How many enemies do we have?"
"Two yellow flags!" The lookout shouted loudly, "It should be about the same number as us!"
Midolades abruptly stood up and gave a decisive order, "Sound the bugle! Raise the attack flag! At the same time, raise the Starry Sky Flag! "
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