Chapter 988
These Phoenician towns and cities were all terrified.
Not long after, envoys from Diónia arrived at the towns and cities near Saros. The envoys demanded that they immediately surrender to Diónia. Otherwise, they would end up like the people of Saros when the army attacked!
The actual rulers of these towns, the Carthage Judges, were either killed in battle or were trapped in Santa Iberia because the roads were blocked. The city hall officials who had lost their leader were at a loss, and the people were in a state of panic.
… …
Although Morbar had won a naval battle, he was not in a good mood. Instead, his mood became heavier. It was not because of the high casualties of the Carthage sailors who served as bait, but because he realized the strength of the Diónia Navy. Therefore, after he returned to the port of Carthage, when the people were cheering for the hard-won naval victory, he wrote a letter to the Senate.
In the letter, he briefly described the whole process of the naval battle, and then emphasized that he believed that the Diónia Navy not only surpassed Carthage in overall strength, but also their tactics were ahead of Carthage. The training, fighting spirit, and ability of the Diónia Navy were also stronger than that of the Carthage Navy. In a short period of time, it was impossible for the Carthage Navy to regain the dominance of the western sea of Sicily. If the war continued, they might even lose control of the Afrika coast, and Carthage would have to face a direct threat from the sea. For the sake of Carthage's safety, they should temporarily negotiate with Diónia to buy time, rebuild the Diónia Navy, develop new naval tactics for the Diónia Navy, and strengthen their training, so that they could regain the dominance of the sea in the future …
When the contents of the letter were read in the Senate, it immediately caused an uproar in the meeting room.
For the first time, someone spoke the truth so bluntly. Based on Morbar's own reputation and position in the navy, what he said was more credible. However, Carthage, who had always claimed to be the "Western Mediterranean Sea Superpower", was torn apart. This made many senators very dissatisfied, especially when he mentioned "negotiating with Diónia", which touched some people's bottom line.
The Magonid faction, led by Pretacuba, criticized this. They criticized Morbar for being too old and completely losing the courage of his youth. At a time when both countries had spent a huge amount of resources, gathered such a huge army, and were about to fight an unprecedented war to decide the fate of the country, he said these words that shook the morale of the people. If they did not know that he had contributed a lot to Carthage over the past few decades, they would definitely think that he was a traitor of Carthage, who wanted to betray the interests of Carthage. Therefore, in this important war, Morbar was no longer worthy to be the commander of the Carthage Navy.
On the other hand, the Hanoverian faction, led by Hanno, strongly supported Morbar. They strongly praised Morbar. Whether it was the many achievements he had made for Carthage in the past, or the fact that he knew that saying these words would damage his prestige in the past, but he still said them bravely. All these showed that he was a true patriot. Among the citizens of Carthage, there was no one more experienced and knowledgeable than Morbar. If even he thought so, it meant that the Carthage Navy was indeed at a disadvantage. In that case, they should take advantage of the fact that they had just won a naval war and had not shown any obvious signs of decline to negotiate with Diónia. This was the most correct and most selfless way to do it.
On the other hand, the neutral faction showed some differences on this issue. The younger senators, led by El Acra, believed that Carthage had already spent a lot of money on this war. If they suddenly wanted to negotiate for peace when the war was about to be decided, not only would the people of the city be confused, but it would also lead to protests from the nobles. The Senate would not be able to explain to the citizens. Since Margo became the commander of the Carthage Army, he had not suffered any defeat in the battle against the Dionysian Army (they obviously did not count Serinus' night attack). Perhaps the Carthage Navy was weaker than the Diónia Navy, but the army commanded by Margo was still stronger than the Diónia Army. Otherwise, why did the Dionysian Army not dare to take the initiative to attack us? As long as the army in Sicily could win the battle, the whole war situation would be very different. At that time, whether it was war or peace, we would have more initiative.
The old senators, led by Esyaruba, made a vague suggestion. They could first send an envoy to the Diónia camp in the name of peace negotiations. They could first understand the attitude of the Diónia people towards the peace negotiations and the conditions they proposed, and then bring it back to the Senate for discussion.
In fact, Esyaruba felt that with the strength of the Diónia in diplomacy, under the current situation, the conditions they proposed would definitely be more harsh, and the people of Carthage would definitely not accept it. This way, they could dispel the attempt of the senators in the Senate to compromise, led by the Hanoverian faction, so that the entire Senate could face this war together.
But Hanno's idea was: Okridon had mentioned peace negotiations before, but everyone treated it as a joke. And this time, even if the proposal for peace did not succeed in the end, it could leave a mark in the hearts of the senators. The next time the situation changed, he could bring it up again, and the possibility of success would be very high.
As the "peace negotiations with Diónia" was a very important topic, the senators had been arguing fiercely for a few days, and could not come to a decision at all.
However, they did not forget their business. They sent someone to tactfully remind Morbar that the senators already knew about the letter he wrote, and they had discussed about it. As the commander of the navy, he should devote more energy to how to lead the fleet to protect the route between Sicily and the western part of Sicily, and destroy more of the Diónia's warships.
Morbar was very displeased, and he drove the Senate's envoy out of the Carthage military port.
… …
As one of the founders of the Diónia Navy, Cecelian had never tasted defeat for more than 10 years. He had a good reputation among the people, and was supported by the sailors in the navy. Although the Devers later deliberately suppressed him a little by establishing four fleets without a commander, it could not suppress his inner confidence and pride. But in this naval battle, he was led by the nose by Carthage's people from beginning to end. In the end, when Carthage's people achieved their real goal, he was still in the dark. One could imagine how sullen and regretful he was.
After returning from Miloya, he locked himself in his bedroom and stayed alone for most of the day.
At dusk, he walked out of the door and asked the guards to immediately inform the commanders of the Sicilian fleet to come for a meeting.
Stefakas and the other two hurried over.
When Cecelian saw them, he immediately told them the news he learned from the King of Devers.
The three of them looked at each other with indescribable surprise on their faces, especially Stefakas. He never expected that when he was leading his B Squadron to pursue the Carthaginian merchant ships in the waters with many islands, the Carthaginians had the audacity to use thousands of merchant ships to transport supplies for the Sicilian army not far away from him, and he did not even notice it!
Cecelian looked at the three of them who were shocked and said in a low voice, "This time, we have suffered a failure, but this is not your fault. The main responsibility lies with me. I carried out the task given by His Majesty the Devers rigidly. Although the Sicilian fleet clearly had a great advantage in strength, we only cared about patrolling the waters of Sicily, which was equivalent to changing from an attack to a defense. It is undoubtedly very difficult to defend on the vast sea, and when we encounter a cunning enemy, we are forced to be very passive!
Since the establishment of the Diónia Navy, even when we were at our weakest, we won by bold attacks, not conservative defense. Attack is the nature of the Diónia Navy, so I have decided to change our previous approach and take the initiative to attack Carthage and his Phoenician allies. We will attack their territory in Afrika, change our passive position, and boost the morale of the entire fleet! "
When the three of them heard this, their spirits were lifted, but they were also a little worried. "Sir, His Majesty asked us to concentrate on sealing off the waters of Sicily. If we attack, we will not be able to cruise anymore. If His Majesty knows that we did not carry out his orders, then —"
"Don't worry!" Cecelian said confidently. "I remember that His Majesty once said, 'Attack is the best defense.' As long as we carry out a few successful raids, the Carthage people will be worried about the safety of their homeland. They will not dare to let their fleet leave the coast of Afrika at will. This will also make it difficult for the generals of the Carthage fleet to judge whether the Sicilian fleet is attacking or cruising. This will be more beneficial for us to seal off the waters of Sicily!
In addition, as far as I know, the territories and allies of the Carthage in Afrika have never been attacked. If we succeed, it will be a great honor, and the Carthage people will be greatly shocked. Perhaps it will even change the current stalemate on Sicily, and bring about a more favorable impact on us! "
After Cecelian was criticized by the Devers, he closed his door and pondered for a long time. He considered more comprehensively. After he confidently expressed his thoughts, he emphasized, "I have already sent a messenger to Minoa to tell His Majesty my new plan. I believe he will definitely approve it."
The three commanders of the B Fleet were immediately convinced by him. Stefakas asked eagerly, "Sir, where are you going to attack?"
Cecelian pointed at the map that had been prepared on the table.
When the three of them looked at it, they could not help but exclaim, "Hadrumentum?!"
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