Chapter 995
The citizens of Taunis gathered and collectively proposed to the council that the entire city should be annexed to the Kingdom of Diónia, and that the citizens of Taunis should become citizens of Diónia.
The council quickly decided to convene an emergency meeting to vote on whether to join the Kingdom of Diónia.
The result was that more than 90% of the citizens agreed and the proposal was passed.
Taunis immediately sent messengers to Syracuse to express the strong will of the people of Taunis to join the Kingdom of Taunis.
Of course, Taunis was very welcoming, but he said that the matter was of great importance, and that he needed to consult the King of Devers and report to the Senate.
The people of Leotini soon learned of the matter, and they followed suit and soon sent messengers to Cypross.
In the meantime, the Devers's order "regarding Leotychides's expedition to the North Coast" and the arrival of the Third Fleet meant that Leotychides and Zantiparis no longer had to worry about having nothing to do.
Cypross, Leotychides, Zantiparis, and the Midolades quickly convened a military meeting.
"His Majesty has sent a letter, requesting us to carry out military operations on the North Coast as soon as possible." As the host of the military meeting, Cypross was very humble. "I hope that we can come up with a plan in this meeting and present it to His Majesty. Of course, this plan is up to you. Although your expedition will increase the consumption of military rations, and will cause the cities to lack labor during the winter sowing season, I will do my best to ensure that the army has food and material supplies. "
As soon as Cypross's voice trailed off, Leotychides said, "His Majesty has ordered us to choose a foothold on the North Coast, so that the Third Fleet can easily patrol the waters west of Sicily. My plan is to seize this place."
As he spoke, Leotychides pointed to a certain place on the map.
Palemos! Zantiparis was shocked and quickly said, "Isn't that too dangerous? Palermos isn't a small city, and it's not far from Carthage's army. If we can't take the city in a short time, and Carthage's army will soon come to help, we will be in trouble! "
"Whether it's Thyedium, Sorus, or the ruins of Himera, none of them have a port large enough to accommodate the Third Fleet. They also need to spend time and manpower to rebuild them. Only Palermos has the conditions to accommodate the Third Fleet." Leotychides said this to Midolades, and then he turned to Zantiparis and said, "You haven't been in Sicily for long, so you don't know much about the terrain of Palemos. It is surrounded by tall mountains, and there are only three roads on land that connect it to the outside world. A long and narrow mountain road connects it to the south, a rugged coastal road connects it to Elux, and a coastal road to the east leads to Sorus. As long as we block the southern mountain pass and the coastal path, we can easily block Carthage's reinforcements. As for Sorus, if he sends reinforcements, we can annihilate them and then take down Sorus as well. "
"I heard you say that there are some native warriors in Carthage's army who can cross mountains," Zantiparis reminded.
"Yes, these natives are from Iberia. They once crossed the mountains during Carthage's attack on Thyedium and attacked the rear of Thyedium's garrison, causing the fall of this friendly city. But as long as we raise our guard, Carthage's sudden attack will not happen. Also, the mountains around Palermos are more than five or six hundred meters high, so it's not that easy to cross. Even if those Iberian natives can come over, I believe they will be exhausted. We can wait for them to be exhausted and defeat them, "Leotychides said confidently.
"Prososus, you've convinced me," Zantiparis said seriously. The reason why he asked so many questions just now was because he wanted to remind Leotychides of these problems. Although they were both mercenary generals in the expedition to Persia, he was very different from Amyntas. He had a gentle personality and knew his position very well. He did not refuse to follow the young commander's orders just because Leotychides was less experienced than him. On the contrary, during the attack on Syracuse, he had always tried his best to carry out Leotychides's orders and seriously assisted him in the battle. As a retired general, he was already very satisfied to be promoted to the commander of the Legion of Dionysia.
"I also agree with Sir Prososus's plan," Zantiparis said seriously. Midolades nodded. To be able to get the port of Palermos to dock the Third Fleet, of course, he could not ask for more. He looked at Leotychides, and then at Zantiparis. He was a little curious. He had never worked with Leotychides before, but he had heard some things about this young commander. Today, he had seen him in person. Just as the rumors said, Leotychides had no respect for his superiors, and liked to do things his own way. Fortunately, Midolades was a navy.
"If you want to attack Palermos, I agree! But don't take all the soldiers away. Don't forget that there are still enemies on Ortygia. The main city of Syracuse has just been occupied, and it's not very stable yet. There are still thousands of captives in the city … "Cypross reminded.
"I'll take the Seventh and Eighth Legions to the North Coast," Leotychides said simply.
Only two legions?! You're taking all the regular troops of the Sicilian Territory! Cypross thought to himself. Fortunately, he knew Leotychides and was already prepared. "Can you keep the injured soldiers in the two legions? On one hand, it will help them recover, and on the other hand, I want them to temporarily serve as team officers, responsible for training and commanding the citizens of the port area of Syracuse, and the citizens of Taunis and Leontini who will soon join the kingdom.
In addition, can you temporarily lend me the thousands of sets of heavy infantry armor and weapons you obtained in the previous battles to arm the citizens of the port area, stabilize the order in the city, and defend against the enemies on Ortygia? "
Leotychides thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
At this time, Midolades said, "Lord Cypross, regarding the captives in Syracuse, I have a suggestion … The Ninth Legion has occupied the city of Saros on Sardinia Island, and His Majesty hopes that we can control the production and trade of precious metals on Sardinia Island as soon as possible. This will require a lot of manpower. Can you transport all the captives in Syracuse to Saros, and the Ninth Legion can transport the captives of Saros to Syracuse to become the laborers you need to rebuild Syracuse …"
Cypross's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea! But first, we need to get the approval of His Majesty and the Senate. "
The people of Syracuse would never have thought that decades ago, they had sent more than 6,000 captives of Athens to the quarries as laborers, and in the end, none of them survived. Now, the tables had turned, and they had become slaves of Diónia, and would be sent to Sardinia to work as miners. Fate was cruel!
… …
The news that "Carthage's army has begun to besiege Serinus" reached Minoa and attracted the attention of the Devers. He ignored Tormid's dissuasion and decided to personally go to Serinus to check it out. Alexis and Amyntas accompanied him.
Under the escort of 40 warships, the Devers arrived at the port of Serinus.
After the former first platoon leader of the Eighth Legion and the current interim military commander of Serinus, Calsidis, received the news, he hurried to the port to welcome them.
"Your Majesty, the interim commander of Serinus, Calsidis, pays his respects to you!"
"You've worked hard, Calsidis! Although today is the first time we've met, I've been worried about you ever since I read the battle report of Prososus! I was worried that you could defend such an important Serinus City with only 3,000 to 4,000 irregular soldiers, but you managed to defend it. But you held it. What a feat! 'Dyvers was not stingy with his praise.
Calsidis was a little embarrassed. He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, in fact, after Prososus led his army away, Serinus City was no longer attacked by Carthage's army. In addition, the Sicilian fleet has been a great help to us. "
"It's only right for the Sicilian fleet to contribute. This is also their forward operating base," the Devers said casually. He looked around and saw the laborers who were busy working on the pier. He asked, "Are they slaves? Or are they Serinus's people? "
"Your Majesty, after we took over Serinus City, we gave freedom to the slaves of the city. Many slaves and freedmen who volunteered to become citizens of Diónia were kept as laborers at the port. Some of them were civilians who escaped after the fall of Minoa and Agrigento. They were unwilling to seek refuge in Catanai and were willing to come to Serinus to help defend against Carthage's people. The real Serinus citizens have long been escorted to Catanai and Naxos … They have become slaves of the kingdom. Now, there are no Serinus citizens in Serinus City … "
"Serinus is at the frontline of the war. Maintaining the stability and safety of the city is very important. I'm very happy that you've done this," the Devers said approvingly.
Calsidis led the Devers out of the port and into the city. Then, they were surprised to see dust flying in the city. Some Diónia soldiers were demolishing the houses near the city walls.
"What are they doing?" Amyntas asked immediately.
"There are only 4,000 of our soldiers living in the city. Most of the houses are empty. We're going to dig trenches and set up traps on the land where the houses were demolished. At the same time, we'll use the stones and bricks we obtained to build an inner wall. This way, even if Carthage's people break through our outer wall, they won't be able to take over Serinus City," Calsidis said firmly.
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