Chapter 969
Although Margo's words were too extreme, because it was not only the Hanoverians who made Anrobas the commander of the navy and sent the fleet to guard Sardinia, he was right about one thing: the connection between Sicily and Carthage could not be cut off. Otherwise, the more than 100,000 soldiers would have no food supply, and that would be the end of it! Pomilka was in the army and was mainly responsible for logistics. He was well aware of the huge consumption of food in the army. The most important reason for the withdrawal of the army from the east was food supply. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He immediately said, "Lord Margo, I will write a letter with you to urge the Senate to immediately reorganize our fleet and fully protect the sea route between Sicily and Carthage!"
Margo's expression was a little better. He said with hatred, "Even if the Senate listens to our suggestion, whether our fleet can do it is another matter. Our current food supply can only last for about 10 days. After 10 days, all of our lives will be in the hands of the navy. This is really unbearable!"
Pomilka listened and felt bitter in his heart. He reminded loudly, "Lord Margo, the best way for us to turn the situation around is to defeat the main force of the Dionysian Army and win the leadership of the war in Sicily!"
"It's easy to say, but as you can see, I have been setting up a battle outside the camp for the past three days, but the people of Diónia on the opposite side have no intention of going down the mountain to fight with us."
Margo was both helpless and puzzled. "I have studied in detail the battles that the king of Diónia has participated in in the past. He is a decisive, bold, adventurous, and very confident man. When he was still a mercenary leader, he dared to lead a far smaller number of mercenaries to attack the Lucanian army. When Dionysius invaded Greece, Dionysius clearly had the advantage, especially in terms of cavalry, but he still dared to fight with the people of Syracuse …
Not long ago, a war broke out between Diónia and Rome. Rome is so far away from Dioia, but he actually led the army to attack … Why does such a man who loves to attack dare not accept our challenge this time?! "
"Could it be that the Dionysian Army isn't ready yet?" Pomilka thought about it and said, "Or perhaps it's because Kafaloiton's army is too close … that the king of Diónia is worried?"
Margo's heart skipped a beat. He put down his sword and muttered, "Perhaps … we should have Hasdrubal withdraw his army to the Sicans' territory and lure the Dionysian Army from the east to the west to occupy Kefalotian. This way, the King of Diónia will feel that the north is safe, and perhaps he will be at ease to fight with us? "
"What if Diónia refuses to come out?" Pomilka asked worriedly.
Margo thought for a moment and said decisively, "Then we will surround the Dionysian Army of Kafaloytian and force them to fight us in the mountains!"
"This is a good idea!" Pomilka's eyes lit up, but he warned, "I'm afraid Arconis won't be willing to retreat from Kefaloition."
"That Sikael leader who voluntarily surrendered to us?!" Margo picked up his sword from the table and slammed it heavily on the table. "It's not up to him. He has to retreat even if he doesn't want to!"
… …
After receiving Margo's order, Hasdrubal ignored Arconis' pleas and ordered all soldiers and Sikaels to retreat to the west.
Some Sikaels did not surrender even though their families were in the hands of Carthage's men. They refused to enter the territory of their former enemy, the Sicans.
Hasdrubal suppressed them mercilessly, forcing most of the Sikaer people to obey him.
While retreating, Carthage's men completely destroyed Kefaloition.
However, Lizaru, who received the Devers' order, did not take the opportunity to lead his army west. Instead, he kept his army in Enna and strengthened the city's defenses.
The main force of Diónia stationed in Minoa City ignored Carthage's men who lined up at the foot of the mountain every day and built up their camp.
After listening to the Devers' instructions, the engineers designed the camp as follows: The entire Diónia camp would start from Minoa City by the sea and extend northward along the entire mountain range until it reached the narrow lowland in the north (where Leotychides had lured Carthage's Sacred Army to the north and defeated them). The camp would then turn northeast and continue along the mountain range until it reached the upper reaches of the Pletani River, forming a semi-arc-shaped line of defense. The simple port in the east was within its embrace. With sufficient supplies transported by Katanai's fleet and sufficient water provided by Lake Gurgo, the Dionysian Army was prepared for a long-term defense.
Unlike the situation in the west, in the east of Sicily, Leotychides had already led his army to Syracuse. After arriving at Leotini and meeting up with the allied army, the entire army was divided into two. The main force consisted of the Seventh and Eighth Legions, personally led by Leotychides. They continued south, crossed the mountains, and arrived at the big port on the west side of Syracuse.
The other eight thousand soldiers, consisting of the allied army and allied city-states, were led by Zantiparis. They followed the coast south, passed through Taunis, and arrived at the east side of Syracuse.
The people of Syracuse had been paying close attention to the movements of Diónia in the north. When they learned that the Dionysian Army had left Katanai and arrived at Leotini, they were alerted to the possibility that they were coming for Syracuse.
When the news spread, the people of Syracuse were in a panic.
When the news was confirmed, the council of Syracuse realized that they had been tricked. These days, the democrats and the neutrals were arguing over who was responsible for provoking Diónia. They wasted a lot of time and did not prepare for defense.
In the face of life and death, Teagenis, Falcus, and the others had to put aside their differences and focus on dealing with the upcoming attack of the cunning Diónia. They carried out an emergency military mobilization for the citizens in the city. At the same time, they sent out cavalry to quickly notify the villages outside the city, asking the people to bring their belongings and rush into the city to take refuge.
A day later, the sentries on the east wall first saw the enemies coming along the coastline.
… …
The news of the defeat of the new fleet reached Carthage. The elders were shocked.
In this report, Annobus put the blame on Ademica. He said that it was because of Ademica's slow action that the plan to attack from two sides could not be carried out. Instead, the Dionysian fleet defeated them one by one.
Then, the elders received a joint complaint from Margo and Pomilka.
Was it Annobus's command error, or was it Ademica's poor execution?
The elders had a debate. Although Hanno defended him, as the commander of the navy, Annobus could not escape the blame for his consecutive defeats.
So the debate did not last long. The Senate passed a resolution to "remove Annobus from the position of commander of the navy and send him back to the city for trial."
Carthage was born from the sea and thrived by the sea. Although they had begun to develop inland, the sea was still their foundation. Now, the repeated failures of the Carthage Navy showed that the victory of the Dionysian fleet was not accidental. It was a fact that the strength of the Carthage Navy was at a disadvantage. This not only put the 100,000 troops on Sicily in danger, but also began to threaten the survival of Carthage itself.
For the first time, all the elders actively and seriously discussed a solution to Carthage's predicament at sea without any selfish motives.
The first thing was to determine a new commander of the navy as soon as possible.
Although Annobus was impeached, it was undeniable that he was indeed an excellent admiral. So the candidates proposed by the elders were all eliminated because they were not as talented as him. In the end, it was a name mentioned by Asyaruba that made everyone not question his ability but worry about his health.
Morbar, a noble of Carthage and a former Senate elder, had participated in the naval battles of Carthage against the Greek city-states on the north coast of Italy when he was young. Later, he served as the commander of the navy several times, leading the battles against the Greek Allied Navy in Sicily led by Syracuse. He won more than he lost. He also bravely led a fleet along the route opened by the predecessors, crossing the Pillars of Hercules to the west and heading south along the coast to the middle of the African coast. He brought back some rare beasts and races with strange clothes and shiny black skin. Because of this, he became a hero of Carthage. But later, he got tired of Carthage's politics. Coupled with his old age, he voluntarily withdrew from the Senate and lived in seclusion in Utica.
After several elders who knew him confirmed that he was in good health, the elders unanimously agreed to send a messenger to Utica to consult the wishes of this old man who did not belong to any faction. They wanted to see if he was willing to serve as the commander of the Carthage Navy.
Secondly, the Senate discussed the matter of "whether to transfer back the new fleet defending the waters of Sardinia." After all, this new fleet was originally meant to protect the sea route of Sardinia. Now that it was crippled and did not play any role, there was not much point in continuing to stay in Sardinia. Instead, there was the danger of the entire fleet being wiped out. Now that the army of Diónia had also landed on Sicily, the pressure on the army of Carthage had increased, and the problem of logistics and supplies became even more prominent. It was necessary to ensure that the sea route between Sicily and Carthage was smooth in order to ensure that the 100,000 troops on the island could fight with all their might without any worries. This became the consensus of the elders of Carthage. For this reason, not only did they decide to transfer back the remaining new fleet and place it in the direction of Sicily, but they also had to incorporate the newly launched warships into it. At the same time, they urged the shipyards to speed up the construction of new warships.
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