Chapter 992
In order to better control the Numibian region, the people of Carthage had stationed 20,000 troops inland for a long time to suppress the resistance and riots of the various tribes in Numibia at any time to maintain the stability of the region. After the war with Diónia, the number of people in this army was now less than 10,000.
"Since there are five or six thousand Diónia soldiers attacking the city of Hadrumentum, I'm afraid that the army in Numibia alone is not enough to repel the enemy. We should immediately carry out an emergency mobilization in the city and its nearby allies. I believe that the people will participate as much as possible in order to protect their homeland. We should form a sufficient number of troops to meet with the army in Numibia and go forward to repel the enemy."
When Carthage was faced with a crisis, Hanno did not oppose Pretacuba's opinion this time but added, "In addition, we should also inform the neighboring allies to prepare for defense, to prevent this Dionysian Army from continuing to attack other allies after conquering the city of Hadrumentum. We also have to send ships to explore the waters around Carthage to prevent the Diónia and fleets from coming to attack Africana... "
This time, the useful suggestions put forward by the elders were quickly adopted and implemented immediately. The efficiency was unprecedented.
The people of Carthage soon learned that the city of Hadrumentum was attacked by the Diónia and were in a panic.
Four hours later, an army of nearly 10,000 people was finally gathered in the city of Carthage. Under the leadership of Taipanraco, they rushed to the east and met up with the army from Numibia on the way.
In the process of moving east together, the sky had darkened, but they did not need to light torches because in the direction of Hadrumentum, the fire soared into the sky, illuminating the sky in the east.
The people of Diónia not only slaughtered the people of Hadrumentum but also burned the entire city?!! The Carthage soldiers looked at the fire in the distance with anger and fear in their hearts.
When Taipanrako arrived with his army, he found that the situation was not as bad as he had imagined. The city of Hadrumentum was indeed in ruins, but most of the people were safe and sound. When they saw that the fire was about to go out, they rushed into the ruins and searched for usable items in the ashes.
When they saw the arrival of Carthage's army, many people rushed over and told Taipanrako about their tragic experiences. After the Dionysian Army killed their way into the city, a small number of soldiers killed the people of Hadrumentum who still tried to resist, while most of the soldiers rushed to the port. The terrified people of Hadrumentum suddenly realized that the people of Diónia did not seal the city gates, nor did they stop them from escaping, so they fled out of the city and hid in the neighboring cities. More than an hour later, they suddenly saw a fire burning in the direction of the motherland. Some people boldly came over to check, only to find that the enemy had disappeared without a trace, and the entire city was on fire. There was no way to extinguish the fire …
After confirming that the Dionysian fleet and the army had left, Taipanrako breathed a sigh of relief. But then he had a headache. Because what about the thousands of people of Hadrumentum who had lost their homes and had no food and clothing? As the leader of the Phoenician city-states in the western Mediterranean, Carthage had to take care of these people who had suffered a disaster!
… …
At this time, the Sicilian fleet had already left the port of Hadrumentum and had entered the western waters of Sicily. They were about to reach the sea near Minoa.
On the way back, Seckerian made sure to keep an eye out. In order to prevent the Carthaginian fleet from lying in wait along Serinus's route, he also ordered the fleet to make a small detour to the east and head straight for Miloa.
But he did not know that Morbar, as usual, led the Carthage fleet to the western waters of Sicily and the Carthage waters. On the one hand, it was to explore the movement of the cruising Dionysian fleet and look for fighters. On the other hand, it was to strengthen the training of the fleet in a state of battle, speed up the integration of the new warships, and explore ways to fight against Diónia's tactics.
So when the clippers found the Carthage fleet and told Morbar the news that the Dionysian fleet had launched a sneak attack on Hadrumentum, he was also shocked.
He really wanted to lead the fleet to the sea near Serinus and wait for the Dionysian fleet to attack the returning fleet. But just as he ordered the fleet to change course and head in the direction of Serinus, the Sicilian fleet had already bypassed Kossus Island and was closer to Serinus than the Carthage fleet.
Secorian led the Sicilian fleet to attack quickly and return quickly. He captured the city of Hadrumentum, destroyed the East Phoenician Coalition Fleet, and burned the entire city. It did not take much time, and the infantrymen of the fleet did not kill too much.
Of course, one of the main reasons for this was the request of the King's Devers. He did not want the citizens of the kingdom to become bloodthirsty monsters, nor did he want excessive killing of unarmed people, which would lead to extreme hatred between Carthage and the Phoenicians. Burning the city would not only cause panic in Afrika, but it would also increase the financial burden of Carthage.
Although the crew of the Sicilian fleet was tired, they were all singing happily. The shadow of the defeat a few days ago had been swept away. They happily operated the warships and sailed into the port of Minoa. A few of the warships were carrying the loot from the treasury of Hadrumentum, as well as some of the captured crew of the East Phoenician Coalition Fleet.
… …
The burning of the city of Hadrumentum had an unprecedented impact on the people of Carthage and the Phoenician allies of Afrika. The next day, many people of Carthage gathered in front of the Senate to petition, urging the navy to strengthen patrols on the coast of Afrika and strengthen the defense of Carthage and its allies to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
The nearby Phoenician cities also sent messengers, asking for Carthage's protection.
In a situation where their own safety was threatened, the Senate certainly did not have the energy to discuss the reinforcement of Sardinia. A topic that had been debated for the past few days had finally come to a conclusion. The neutral senator, El Acra, went to Minoa as a messenger and asked to see the King's Devers of Diónia.
It was noon, and the Devers were having lunch in the big tent. He had specially asked the servants to prepare an extra table. When El Acra entered the big tent, before he could speak, the Devers invited him to have lunch with them.
"Honorable King of Devers, I represent the Senate of Carthage. I have something important to discuss with you. I don't have time —"
Before El Acra could finish his words, he was interrupted by the Devers, "Messenger of Carthage, you have come from afar. You must be hungry. Eat something first. Otherwise, no matter how strong a person is, if he is always hungry, he won't be able to do anything! "The Devers said with a double meaning.
El Acra helplessly sat down at the table. There was a bowl of hot fish soup, a plate of salty beef jerky, a bowl of thick oatmeal, two pieces of baked bread, and a glass of wine on the table. The food was very simple.
El Acra's face turned a little ugly. Although he didn't want to eat, the food was too simple since it was to entertain the messenger of Carthage.
At this time, the Devers said slowly, "Other than the wine, the food on your table is the lunch of the soldiers of Diónia today. You and I will eat the same as them."
How could the food of the soldiers of Diónia be so rich?! El Acra was shocked, but he immediately felt that the king of Diónia was deliberately deceiving him. After all, it was said that the Dionysian Army in Sicily had as many as 100,000 soldiers.
The Devers looked at his expression and knew that he didn't believe it, but they didn't explain further.
El Acra wasn't in the mood to eat at this time. He said loudly again, "The Senate of Carthage sent me here as a messenger to discuss a few things with you, King!"
The Devers took a sip of wine and nodded slightly, indicating that he heard it.
"The day before yesterday, the Dionysian fleet attacked the city of Hadrumentum, massacred the people in the city, and burned the entire town … This is too cruel! Although Hadrumentum is an ally of Carthage, they didn't send troops to participate in this war, but they suffered such a terrible disaster. This has aroused the anger of all the Phoenician city-states against Diónia! — — "
"Messenger, the city of Hadrumentum didn't send troops to participate in the war, but it doesn't mean that they didn't participate in this war. Did they not make new warships for you? Did they not provide food for you? … At least we can be sure that they provided a base for the fleet from the Phoenician region of the Eastern Mediterranean! And it was this fleet that ambushed our Sicilian fleet, resulting in the death of the fleet commander! " Heniboris retorted bluntly, "The Carthage army can ruthlessly destroy Minoa, Agrigento, Gela, and other city-states that maintain friendly relations with Diónia. Can't we burn down Hadrumentum?! And Hadrumentum is not enough to comfort the people of the friendly city-states who lost their homes! "
El Akra heard the threat in Heniboris' words. He forcibly suppressed the urge to refute, grabbed the wine glass on the table, and took a big gulp of wine. As a result, he choked and coughed. After a while, he said in a deep voice, "You just mentioned the fleet from the Phoenician region stationed in Hadrumentum. In fact, Carthage didn't invite them to participate in the war. Instead, after they learned that we were at war with you and encountered difficulties, they obtained the consent of the king of Persia and took the initiative to send their fleet to help us … I know that you have captured many crew members of this fleet.
I know that you have captured many crew members of this fleet. The Carthaginian Senate hopes that you can release them and let them safely return to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. This is to prevent Tyre, Sidon, and the other city-states in the Phoenician region from making another request to the Persian King under the strong request of these captives' relatives, which will lead to the further expansion of the war.
This was a threat from Carthage! Heniboris frowned slightly and subconsciously looked at the Devers.
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