Chapter 996
"A very good defensive measure!" Dyvers praised once again, "It seems like you are not afraid of the upcoming siege of such a large number of Carthaginian troops. Instead, you are actively using your brain to think of a better defensive method. This is very good!"
The Devers walked up to the top of the city wall and looked outside.
In his field of vision, not only was there a thick layer of dust, but there was also a hubbub of voices. Through the haze of dust, he could see countless silhouettes a hundred meters away from the city like diligent ants. They were digging a long trench around the city, and at the same time, they were piling up the soil behind the trench. Behind the unfinished trench was a continuous campsite. Tents were as numerous as the stars in the sky. Further away, there was another earthen wall around the city that had already been built...
The Devers stared for a while, and his expression became serious. "It seems that the Carthage army is serious this time. They are really preparing to attack Selinus!"
"I'm afraid that the Carthage army has no other choice but to attack Selinus," Alexis said.
The Devers nodded and did not say anything. When he walked down the city wall, he observed the patrolling soldiers. They all looked nervous and their muscles were tense.
After arriving at the mayor's mansion, the Devers immediately called for a military meeting.
"The situation in Selinus is grim. The Carthage army's attack is imminent. What do you think?" The Devers went straight to the point.
"Your Majesty, we must immediately send reinforcements to Selinus. I am willing to lead the first legion to defend Selinus!" Amyntas volunteered. After staying in Minoa for a while, he could see that the Devers did not plan to fight with the Carthage army for the time being. Selinus would definitely become the focus of the next battle.
"I agree with Amyntas. Selinus must receive reinforcements!" Alexis also said, "But one legion is still too little. We need at least two legions as reinforcements. This way, we can ensure that while we finish our defense, we still have the manpower to attack and disrupt Carthage's attack.
Just now, Calsidis gave me a great inspiration. In the past, we were used to setting up multiple obstacles outside the city and camp in order to obstruct and kill our enemies. Now that Carthage's army is here, it's impossible to set up detailed defenses outside the city. However, we can set up defenses inside the city. Why not build a few more inner walls and set up more traps? After all, our main focus is to protect the port. There are no longer any residents in the city. We can use it as a battlefield to kill a large number of Carthage's soldiers and deal a heavy blow to them! However, to demolish the residences in the city, build the city walls, traps, and other facilities in a short period of time, it will require a lot of manpower … "
Devers listened attentively while thinking. Then he said to Amyntas, "Did you hear all of Alexis's suggestions? What do you think? "
Amyntas said impatiently, "Alexis's suggestions are very good. However, those can only be done after the enemy has started attacking the city. If I were the commander of Selinus City, I would ask His Majesty to assign me a cavalry division. Carthage's army is building the city walls at such a close distance. In fact, it's actually an obstacle to their cavalry. I will send a cavalry division to attack them from time to time.
In addition, I would like to ask His Majesty to assign me all the ballistae and crossbows. I will place them at the top of the city walls and have them accurately attack the Carthage's army, constantly killing and injuring Carthage's soldiers … "
After listening, Devers pondered for a moment and said decisively, "Amyntas, I appoint you as the commander of Selinus City. You will lead the First Legion, Legio VI, the First Cavalry Division, and the defenders of Selinus, a total of 22,000 people. Defend Selinus City. If we lose it, don't come back to see me!"
Devers naturally had his own reasons for choosing Amyntas as the commander of Selinus City. Although Amyntas sometimes lost his cool due to his belligerence during attacks, he was much calmer when it came to defense. This allowed him to make full use of his rich experience, which was very obvious during the defense of Ostia.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will make Selinus the underworld of Carthage's people!" Amyntas said excitedly.
"I will inform Secorian and ask him to transfer some of his crew to assist your troops in completing the construction of Selinus City's defensive facilities as soon as possible."
Devers finished speaking and looked at Calsidis. "Calsidis, you will still be in command of the original 4,000 soldiers. You will also have the right to attend every military meeting in Selinus City. This is because you are familiar with the situation of Selinus City and the enemies outside the city. You will be able to provide good suggestions to Amyntas."
Calsidis was excited when he heard this. His original position was appointed by Commander Leotychides. Now that the King of Devers allowed him to continue to command the 4,000 soldiers, this appointment was confirmed. Moreover, such a wartime military meeting could only be attended by Legion Commanders and above. Only under special circumstances were ordinary officers allowed to participate. Devers allowed him to participate in Selinus' military meetings normally in the future. This meant that he had the qualifications to be on equal footing with the Legion Commanders.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" he said with a trembling voice.
"Alexis still has to command the Minoan army for me. I can't do without you!" Devers said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"Your Majesty, I am very happy to be of service!" Alexis said with a relaxed expression.
… …
After successfully building the outer wall of the camp, Margo ordered the soldiers to hurry up and build the inner wall. Half of the trench was dug, and the earth rampart was gradually built and tamped down. However, the situation changed. The originally peaceful Selinus City suddenly had hundreds of cavalrymen rush out from the north, east, and west gates. They suddenly attacked the Carthage soldiers who were building the inner wall of the camp.
The unprepared Carthage soldiers immediately dispersed. When the heavily armed Carthage reinforcements arrived, these Diónia cavalrymen retreated back into the city in time.
After a series of raids, Margo realized that the Diónia army had increased the number of soldiers in Selinus City and began to strengthen the harassment outside the city. It was obvious that the Carthage army could not attack Selinus City like before and not attract the attention of the defenders.
Although he wanted to attack Selinus City to attract the main force of Diónia and have another decisive battle with them, he hoped to do it after all the arrangements were completed and when Selinus City had lost its defensive advantage. So, he ordered the troops to step up the construction of the inner wall of the camp, and at the same time, he arranged heavily armed soldiers behind the soldiers who were building the inner wall to guard against them.
At the same time, he also mobilized thousands of cavalrymen to patrol the outside of the inner wall of the camp, keeping a close eye on the movements of the several gates of Selinus City.
Unexpectedly, the ballistae at the top of the city wall and the Abdomen Bow were fired at the same time, concentrating on the place where the Carthage cavalry and infantry were gathered a hundred meters away, causing some casualties and forcing Margo to hurriedly withdraw the defensive troops.
Of course, he did not stop the construction of the inner wall. Instead, he sent more soldiers to speed up the construction. At the same time, he also brought the ballistae to attack the top of Selinus City under the cover of the earth rampart.
… …..
While Margo was racking his brains to deal with the surprise attack in the city, he received a request for help from a messenger from Paleros: There was a Dionysian Army of tens of thousands landing on the beach near Paleros City!
Margo was taken aback: the Diónia army was either on the south coast or in the central mountains. How could there be an army of tens of thousands of soldiers? Could it be that the Diónia army had recruited them from Greece?
Margo never thought that it might be the Dionysian Army that attacked Syracuse, mainly because he had seen the city of Syracuse with his own eyes. He did not think that the Dionysian Army could conquer Syracuse in such a short time.
Although he was a little worried about the military potential of Diónia, Margo did not have time to think about the origin of this Dionysian Army. He realized that because of the calm on the north coast, he had begun to neglect this Phoenician city-state, which was a little far from the core area of western Sicily. Instead, he had sent some citizens of Paleros to build the city wall. Now that Paleros was under attack, if it fell, it meant that the coastline available to the Carthage army would be further shortened, which would be more conducive to the blockade of the Dionysian fleet.
He scolded himself for his negligence and immediately sent messengers to the north to inform Hasdrubal, who was stationed near Segesta, to immediately lead his troops to rescue Paleros.
After receiving the order, Hasdrubal quickly led thirty thousand soldiers to Paleros.
However, he did not know that after Leotizides led the Seventh and Eighth Legions to land on the coast, he did not directly attack Palemos, nor did he begin to build a camp. Apart from leaving a small number of soldiers to monitor the movements of Palemos and Sorus in the east, the majority of the army quickly rushed to the mountain entrance leading to the south and the coastal entrance in the west with the materials prepared in advance. All the soldiers seized the time to dig trenches, set up traps, set up deer abatis, built earth ramparts, drove wooden stakes, and built wooden towers …
Hasdrubal did not choose to take the coastal path because it was not conducive for the passage of the army. Moreover, the Dionysian fleet controlled the coastline. When his army formed a long line along the coast, they could not look at each other from the front and back, which would make it easy for the Dionysian fleet to land and attack them. So he led his army on the mountain pass.
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