Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

So, hearing this news, Hasdrubal’s first reaction was: Oops, the Dionysian reinforcements are coming!

When he personally ran to the coast and saw the ships full of people sailing away from the port, he realized that this Dionysian coalition, who had fought tenaciously with him for more than 10 days, was going to escape!

Hasdrubal immediately rushed back to the camp and summoned the troops.

When the Carthaginian army arrived with siege equipment and arrived in the city, more than an hour had passed. The fleet of Dionysia had evacuated most of the people, and only more than 400 volunteers remained. The city, so that Gerald citizens (including some old people who do not want to abandon their homes) who can leave smoothly, reached the end and successfully guaranteed the smooth evacuation of more than 30,000 people.

On the way back, the Sicilian fleet looked more powerful (because more than 30 Phoenician warships were filling the scene), so the Syracuse fleet did not appear.

At dusk, the fleet entered the port of Katane.

Seeing the familiar pier and only a few people on the pier to greet them, the soldiers of the Eighth Army were a little lost in their hearts, but they felt more relaxed: they have fought outside in the past few months, and there was a battle of Minoa Brilliant, proud of raging within the power of Sicily of Carthage, sympathy for the destruction of the Navy by the storm, and humiliation of being defeated in the battle of Jera, after all, it was the worse and worse battlefield situation that forced them not to Not coming back makes them rather embarrassed to see their loved ones.

Leotizide's boat docked at a specific pier. After he disembarked, he saw Sicily, the wartime governor of Sicily and the chief executive of Katanay.

"Welcome home, Commander Prosius!" Cipros saluted with a smile.

Leotizides gave a indifferent look and said, "What is welcome, the defeated general."

Cipros froze for a moment, and then sincerely persuaded: "Master Prosius, you defeated Carthage's army with a lot of victory in Minoa, and captured Selinus. The west of Sicily controlled by the Carthage stirred up a mess, completely disrupting the plan of the Carthage, forcing the Carthage to postpone the attack on Sicily again for a few months, your performance has exceeded Your Majesty’s expectations have successfully fulfilled the tasks he once told you...'These words are not what I said, but His Majesty said in the letter."

"Your Majesty's letter is coming?!" At this moment, Leotizides was moved.

"I, the governor of Sicily will still lie to you?!" Cipros quipped, and then took out the letter.

Leotizides immediately took it and started reading.

In the letter, Daves did praise the outstanding performance of Leotizides and his army in the previous period. At the same time, he also reminded: The Carthaginians once again attacked Sicily, obviously there was more sufficient In preparation, the Dionysian Allied Forces went too deep into the enemy's frontier, and not only should not fight it hard, but also to withdraw in time, to avoid being attacked by the Carthaginians to the empty rear.Under the unfavorable situation, you can even abandon the friendly city-state on the south coast and stick to the kingdom's territory...

This letter almost surprisingly foresees the development of the Sicilian battle during this period. While Leotitzides was shocked by Davos' superb strategic vision, he also complained a lot: Why did this letter not arrive earlier?

"Oh, it's a letter from your majesty!" Leotizides was still thinking about it, and the letter in his hand had been taken away by Seclion behind him.

"Your Majesty at the time of writing this letter, did not know that you are still alive, and have returned to the fleet, otherwise the letter..." Ciplos explained.

"Let's know better later..." Seckrian responded casually, but the image of Miltias appeared in his mind. He exhaled and looked down at the letter: "...oh, your majesty still They said that they had occupied Rome, obtained a large area of ​​the Latium region, and also received most of the Latin city-states. The remnants of the Roman army have been retreated into several small towns, which can be ended in only one or two months. The battle of Latham, and then led the army south, came to Sicily to fight against the Carthage! He hopes that during this time we can defend the attack of the Carthage army and prevent them from destroying Sicilian territory..."

Cipros took the opportunity to take the lead and said: "In order to complete the mission given by His Majesty, we will convene a military meeting to develop a new plan to deal with the subsequent attack of the Carthage army. I have notified the head of the 7th Army Breru, he is rushing from the new barracks here."

Leotizides slightly moved: "I have no opinion."

"Wait for me for a moment." Seclion turned around to find his men, and instructed them: "After the soldiers and the people have disembarked, do not wait for me, the fleet immediately returns to the Catania naval base not far south, to rest, I--"

Cipros interrupted him: "Master Sekerian, before you let the crew of the fleet return to the base, please let them go ashore to gather and line up in the city of Katane. Lord Leotizides, eighth The soldiers of the Legion and the 4th Cavalry Corps are also invited to line up into the city."

"What do you mean?" Seclion felt a little strange.

Leotizides looked at Cipros with doubt as well.

Ciplos explained solemnly: "Although the war is far from over, the people of Katane have been waiting in the city, ready to warmly welcome the returning soldiers and crew, to thank them for their brave battles abroad in the past few months to guarantee The safety of our homeland!"

Hearing this, Seclian and Leotizides glanced subconsciously: Whether it is the Eighth Army, the 4th Cavalry Army, or the Second Fleet of the Sicilian Fleet, more than half of the soldiers and crew They all come from Katane, and there are not many casualties from the beginning of the war to the present, especially in the fleet. Even the two commanders have been lost, so the crew are a little afraid of seeing the Katane people and fearing that they will lose their loved ones. Cry.However, Ciplos organized such a simple triumph. For soldiers and crew who had experienced a defeat and was forced to return to their homes and were depressed and frustrated, it was undoubtedly a good opportunity to boost morale.

So Leotizides said coldly: "I will gather the soldiers and let them line up into the city, but I will not participate."

"I am the same." Seckrian thought of something, and turned back to the people who were disembarking at the pier in the distance, reminding: "Don't forget there are them."

Ciplos understood what he meant. These people who fled from Minoa, Gera, and Agrigento lost their homes, lost their loved ones, and were in a time of mourning, pain, and desperation, but Kataney Cheering for the soldiers' return, what would they think when they saw it?

Ciplos said unhurriedly: "Relax, for them, I sent officials to take charge of them, and will not let them enter the city for the time being.

……………………………………

In the evening, there were five people sitting in the Chief Executive’s conference room of Katane City Hall. They were the Governor of Sicily, Cipros, the Sicilian Commander, Leotizides, the Sicilian Fleet Commander, Cipros, and the Seventh Army. Long Breru and the leader of the 4th Cavalry Regiment Asitmis.

In fact, Breru had already arrived at Katane, but he did not meet with Cipros at the port to meet him, and Hiplos had to compile a good lie.

But after meeting, Breru expressed his admiration for the battles that Leotizides had fought in the past, and he spoke more decently, but he did not mention anything about the "7th Legion came to Sicily. Such as Leotizides’s command.

Ciplos coughed a few times, glanced at the other four, and said, "Masters, you have all read your majesty's letters, how to resist the Carthage army in the next one or two months Offensive to prevent them from causing damage to Sicily’s territory in order to welcome the arrival of His Majesty’s army and counterattack and siege on the Carthaginians. This is what we are going to discuss today. Let’s talk about your opinions first. ."

"I don't have any suggestions now." Breru took the lead and said humbly: "Because according to the operational principles of the "Dionysian Military Law", it is necessary to understand the specific conditions of the battlefield in order to formulate a correct combat plan. Our 7th Army has just arrived in Katana, and we don’t know anything about the situation here. Lord Prosius spent so many years in Sicily and led his army to fight the Carthage for a few months. The basic army must have a very deep understanding, can you please give us a detailed introduction?"

Cipros frowned slightly, although Breru spoke very politely, but this kind of politeness showed an equality between the two, but the reality is that according to the instructions of King Daveus and the Military Department, Breru led The Seventh Army came to Sicily to accept the command of Leotizides. The two were subordinate.

Leotizides did not see any abnormalities on his face that had no expression. He said very simply: "In the past few days, I seriously thought about the battle experience with the Carthaginians during this period. Some analysis and summary just let you listen to it so that you will not lose in the future battles."

Leotizides stood up unwillingly, looked at Breru, and said seriously: "In the past few months, the Carthage sent two troops to attack Sicily. From the combat strength, the first army And the second army is not an army at all.