Chapter 989
"Yes, Hadrumentum," Sykerian said loudly. "Don't underestimate it just because it's far away from us. The Carthage must have neglected their defenses because of the distance. More importantly, the Sicilian fleet was attacked and suffered heavy losses. Even Miltias died in the battle. After interrogating the captives, we found out that the fleet that attacked us was from the Phoenicians of the Eastern Continent. Their fleet is stationed here! "
Sykerian pointed at the icon of Hadrumentum with his finger and said hatefully, "Since these Eastern Phoenicians who have never been to the western Mediterranean can successfully attack our fleet from Hadrumentum, of course we can also successfully attack Hadrumentum, destroy their remaining warships, and capture all of them to avenge our fallen brothers!"
The three of them listened and nodded solemnly.
Thus, the three of them carried out active preparations according to Sykerian's request.
… …
The next day, in the Minoan Diónia's camp, Devers could not help but sigh after reading Sykerian's letter. "This Sykerian is going to take another risk!"
Tolmid took the letter, and after reading it with Printos, he said in relief, "Your Majesty, doesn't Therian's idea coincide with your next plan?"
"If Sissi's fleet successfully attacks Hadrumentum, maybe … the Carthage Senate will really force the Carthage army to attack us," Printos said after some consideration.
"Since Sykerian is willing to take the risk, let him attack. When the Third Fleet arrives, let the Midolades take on more patrol duties. " Devers thought for a moment and said solemnly, "But remind him not to underestimate the commander of the Carthage fleet. When raiding the coast of Africa, we need to fully consider all kinds of unexpected situations and be fully prepared …"
"I'll reply to him now," Tormid said.
At this moment, Martius walked into the tent. "Your Majesty, a letter from the Third Fleet."
Midolades received our orders so quickly?! Devers was surprised, but he soon realized that it was impossible. It would take at least three days to travel from Minoa to Alenia, and it would take at least two days to reach the Triene Naval Base. There was no way Midolades could receive the order and respond in such a short time.
So he opened the letter curiously, and then let out a cry of surprise. "Midolades and Tegtinus actually raided Saint Iberia of Sardinia Island, and even captured Saros!"
When Tormid and Printos heard this, they hurried over to read the battle report.
"This Midolades really knows how to surprise people!" Devers sighed again.
"Your Majesty, the navy has one more high-ranking general who can win the battle. This is the blessing of Hades, and it also increases the kingdom's chances of defeating Carthage!" Printos was still carefully reading the battle report, but Tormid immediately congratulated Devers.
"What a blissful worry!" Devers looked at the two of them and asked, "Now that the Third Fleet and the Ninth Legion have achieved such a great victory in Sardinia, should we let them continue to expand their victory in Sardinia? Or should we call the Third Fleet back according to the original plan? "
"Your Majesty." Printos deliberated and said, "… According to the battle report, the Third Fleet and the Ninth Legion have severely damaged the only Phoenician army on Sardinia Island, and they have also occupied the important Sardinian town of Saros and the port of Saint Iberia. It can be said that they have successfully completed the task you gave them of 'destroying the transport of precious metals from Sardinia to Carthage'. Under the threat of the Ninth Legion, Saint Iberia and the other Phoenician city-states on the island can no longer take the risk of smelting and transporting metals. Moreover, there is no longer any power on the island that can compete with the Ninth Legion, which has a more complete lineup. After Tegtinus stabilizes the order in Saros, he can completely continue to attack the nearby weak Phoenician towns …"
"You mean … the plan to transfer the Third Fleet to Sicily remains unchanged, and let the Ninth Legion independently undertake the task of conquering Sardinia." Devers tapped his fingers on the back of the chair and asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Devers pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Carthage needs Sardinia's precious metals to support their war, and our treasury is also in urgent need of gold and silver! It's just that Tegtinus only knows how to fight and doesn't know how to govern cities and towns … "
He thought again, then turned to look at Heniboris, who was sitting at the side quietly taking notes, and said loudly, "Henny, immediately write a letter to the Senate and ask them to immediately elect an elder with strong administrative ability to be the administrator of Saros. His main task is to manage the Phoenician towns conquered by the Ninth Legion, restore the production of precious metals there, and provide the kingdom with enough precious metals from Sardinia."
Manage the Phoenician towns conquered by the Ninth Legion? If the Ninth Legion conquered all the Phoenician towns on Sardinia Island, wouldn't the administrator of Saros become the governor of Sardinia Island? When Heniboris heard this, he wanted to remind Devers, but he changed his mind and dispelled the idea.
After all, as half a scholar, Heniboris had read about Sardinia Island. During this period of time following Devers, he knew some secrets. "… In order to better control Sardinia, Carthage did not allow the towns of Sardinia to be too strong. Therefore, he consciously controlled the population of the various Phoenician towns. The most common methods were to reduce the import of food and encourage, or even force, towns with excessive populations to build colonial cities. The new towns were all built on the Afrikaans continent and within the area that Carthage could control. Therefore, other than Saros and Kalaris, which had a population of tens of thousands, the other Phoenician towns in Sardinia had a population of less than ten thousand, and many of them had a population of less than five thousand.
The reason why Saros had a large population was not because they had fertile plains along the river, but because Carthage needed Saros to have a sufficient population to provide labor for the smelting and transportation of precious metals in Saint Iberia. In addition, when Saint Iberia was in danger, Saros could provide swift military protection nearby. Of course, the power to dispatch troops was in the hands of Judge Carthage.
As for Kalaris, because Carthage used it as the main port for the trade of goods on Sardinia Island, it certainly needed enough manpower to load and unload goods, transport goods to other towns, and provide accommodation, entertainment, and other services for Carthage's merchants …
Therefore, according to the estimates of the intelligence department of Diónia, the Phoenician population of the entire island of Sardinia is far less than the population of the city of Turií. It is about the same as the population of the large cities of Crotone, Catanai, and Tarantum … Perhaps because of this, His Majesty felt that the position of administrator was enough. "
Heniboris looked at the Devers, but his mind was filled with thoughts.
Of course, the Devers did not know that Heniboris was thinking about so many things at this moment. He continued, "Tormid, write a letter to the Ministry of Military Affairs and ask Hilos and the others to find a way to send three to four companies of reserve soldiers to Tegtinos to ensure that the Ninth Legion has enough troops to complete the conquest of Sardinia."
Tormid did not respond immediately. He wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Is there a problem?" the Devers asked.
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Military Affairs will send another 4,000 reserve soldiers to Sardinia. This should not be a problem. But according to Your Majesty's plan, the more than 10,000 soldiers led by the Ninth Legion will probably stay in Sardinia for a long time. This will be another huge consumption of military rations. Now, the kingdom has done its best to supply the Sicilian army with rations … "
The Devers smiled and said unhurriedly, "It is precisely because I know that the kingdom has done its best to support this war that I want Tegtinos to conquer Sardinia. When the administrator of Saros is in place and the reserve soldiers arrive, Tegtinos's first target of attack should be Santa Iberia. After capturing it, the administrator will reorganize manpower to mine ores, smelt metals, and transport the precious metals back to Turií. The kingdom's treasury will be replenished, and the new money can be used to buy food in Cyrenaica, Egypt, and Yoke. Not only will it be able to satisfy the food supply of the more than 10,000 people in Tegtinos, it will also greatly ease the kingdom's financial burden … So, the letter to the Senate and the Ministry of Military Affairs should emphasize this issue."
Heniboris had already guessed what the Devers were thinking, so his expression was relatively calm. Tormid and Printos were suddenly enlightened, and Tormid repeatedly expressed his admiration for the Devers's decision.
"Any war must serve the interests of the kingdom. If it's just for the sake of fighting, even if we can win, it won't do us any good, so there's no need to start this war." The Devers could not help but say a few more words. Seeing that the two were deep in thought, he paused for a moment and then changed the topic. "Our original plan was to transfer the Third Fleet over and station it on the north coast of Sicily, under the command of Sykerian, and jointly blockade the western seas of Sicily. But now that Midolades has made a new contribution, if I transfer the Third Fleet to Sicily and listen to Sykerian's command, won't he be dissatisfied? "
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Midolades is not a person with a flamboyant personality, and has never made any excessive requests to the Ministry of Military Affairs, so he shouldn't be dissatisfied. Besides, Sykerian was his former superior after all …" Tormid consoled.
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