Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

"In a little while, the wind will be even bigger." The old helmsman also said his judgment.

The old captain nodded: "Fortunately, there is this southeast wind, otherwise today I dare not dare to do such a risky thing."

He sighed softly, then said to the young sailor: "Let's put the sail down."

Just as the sailor lowered the sail, the old helmsman had swung the rudder and adjusted the east-facing bow to the northeast.

The sail fell, felt the wind, and began to sway.

The old captain held the sail control cable in his hands and smiled, saying confidently: "Everyone pay attention, the ship is about to sail north, the Dionysian warship will chase it, but everyone is assured that we will go home safely of."

Everyone responded solemnly.

In addition to the captain and the helmsman, this 13-meter-long and 4.5-meter-wide merchant ship has only 10 sailors, a total of 12 people.It is exactly the opposite of the warship, with lighter front and heavier front, narrower bow and upturn, wider stern, sail and rudder position at the stern, ten sailors separated on both sides of the hull, and the center of the hull covered with linen , High uplifted goods.

When the old captain pulled and let go, the sails quickly turned to a suitable position, the sails quickly swelled up, and the speed of the whole ship suddenly increased.

The merchant ship behind also followed the ship and accelerated to the northeast.

………………………………………

"Master Commander, Carthage's fleet fled north, and Stefakas was leading the fleet to catch up."

Seckrian heard this news, turned his head to look at the waves, and frowned slightly: "Fleeing north... It seems that the Carthaginians wanted to take advantage of the south wind."

"Do we need to catch up with it?" the captain asked.

Seckrian did not hesitate to make a decision: "To transport the Carthage's 100,000 troops, only 300 merchant ships are not enough... Since Carthage wants to trick us out of here, no! We will stay here , Never let their next fleet easily enter the port of Lilifang! However, we can't carelessly let the Clippers strengthen their ties with Stjukas. I want to know the trend of the 1st squadron at any time!"

"Yes!"

Secrian's order allowed 200 warships to cruise in the waters near Lilibo, and the 80 warships led by Stefakas chased the Carthage fleet and were close to Motia.

Motia, once Carthage’s military center in Sicily, Dionysius led a 100,000 army and tried to destroy it. The Carthage did not rebuild it, but in its vicinity A new military town-Lili Pian was built, so over 20 years later, the city of Motia was not cleaned up as it was when it was destroyed, including the one mobilized by Dionysius to build from the coast to The causeway of Motia, due to the existence of this causeway, the shallow sea between Motia and the coast became a pocket-like bay, and Stefacas concluded that the Carthage fleet did not dare to enter, otherwise You can catch the turtle in the urn.

Stefakas judged the course of the Carthage fleet. Because he led the fleet to prepare in advance, he took a little chance, and the distance with the Carthage fleet was narrowed, especially when the fast warship crashed. With several merchant ships falling behind, the Carthaginian fleet had some confusion, and even collided with each other and turned over.

This is because the position of the Carthage fleet is exactly on the west side of the island of Motia, and on the west side of the island of Motia is another small island, Aegusa (aegusa), which is only apart from each other Less than ten miles away, it was narrower, and the merchant ships in the back felt dangerous and scrambled to speed up, immediately congesting the entire Carthage fleet.

But this situation soon improved, because after the sea, a small island pharbantia appeared ahead of the slope, and the Carthage fleet immediately split into two teams, one team continued Moving forward, a team turned west, and the carthage crew who had fallen into the water swam to the islands without hesitation.

After learning the movement of the enemy from the look of his hand, Stefakas closed his brows. He knew roughly what the Carthaginians wanted to do: there were many islands in the sea area ahead, and some of them were exposed above the sea. Can not be called the island's reef. At this time, Seckrian led the fleet and cruised the western waters of Sicily. On the one hand, it cut off the sea transportation of Carthage, on the other hand, it also made the new fleet familiar with the sea conditions here.All crews regard the preceding sea area as a dangerous zone, especially during high tide, some reefs are submerged by rising seawater, and ships that are not familiar with sea conditions can easily collide, causing damage or even sinking. The new Sicilian fleet has had Such a lesson, so Sekerian deliberately let people draw this sea area as a map to let each captain keep in mind.But even so, they are certainly not as familiar as these Carthage people who have been sailing here all the time. These cunning Carthage people must want to use this sea area to get rid of their pursuit and cause them some trouble.

After thinking a little, Stefakas conveyed the order to slow down all warships and increase vigilance. At the same time, he also decided not to disperse the fleet for the time being, but to first chase the fleet that was heading north, must be stopped Near the coast, it is not allowed to enter the port of Elix not far ahead.

Who knows, the Carthaginian fleet turning westward, seeing that the Dionysian warship did not follow, immediately turned around Agusa and turned around to the south, and the northward fleet was divided into two again. Branch, separated by an island and reef, turned westward successively...

Under such circumstances, Stefakas had to order to disperse the warships, interspersed between the various islands, to intercept and attack the enemy ships, because he could not allow the Carthaginian fleet with little loss. He slipped back to the south again. Although there must be a main fleet in the south, they let them see that they had chased for a long time and had not yet achieved any results. Anyone's face was dull, not to mention Secreant emphasized "don't let go" A Carthage Merchant Ship".

So, a large-scale sea hide and seek game began.

……………………………………

At this time, on the surface near Lili Pui, the cruising Dionysian main fleet received the news sent by the Clippers sent to the southwest: there is another Carthage fleet that is less than the Sicilian fleet. Li Bi came in the direction.

"Master Commander, your judgment is correct. The Carthage Merchant Ship is here again!" the flagship captain praised.

Seckrian seemed a little dissatisfied: "The number is a little smaller, and the fleet is informed to the southwest. Before the Carthaginians have discovered it, they quickly greet them and eat them as soon as possible! Maybe there will be soon. A wave of merchant ships arrived."

Just as the Dionysian warships received orders and began to form formations, the Clipper's watchman widened his eyes in surprise, and he suddenly saw the Carthage fleet in front start to change from column to column , And adjusted the direction of the sail, the speed of the merchant ship suddenly accelerated: Are the Carthaginians crazy?!We should be able to see our warships at this distance, why not run away and rush forward?!Do you want to fight us with a merchant ship?!"

The watchman didn't know that in the center of the opposing Tai Chi fleet, Captain Barrickos, while manipulating the sails, shouted loudly at the nearby merchant ship: "It's time to test your guts! If you feel scared, this You can still quit!"

"I've been sailing for decades. I haven't seen any kind of storms. I even followed Morbal, crossed the pillar of Hercules, went to the far coast, and saw the two-wheeled chariot of God (now Cameroon Mountain)... ...Isn't it just death, what's so scary!"

"That's right! It is for this moment that we old guys have lived to this day! We are dead and we can just get together with our former comrades in the temple of Bar Harmon!"

"Don’t just tell us that you are younger than us, haven’t enjoyed enough life, and haven’t seen enough war. When the Dionysian warship rushes towards you at close range, don’t Don’t be too scared to know how to manipulate the sails.”

Barrickos laughed loudly: "Relax, my ship will rush to the front, avoiding the collision of all Dionysian warships, and safely enter Lily. I want to let the Dionysians know that before they None of the defeated are the real Carthage. The real Carthage are heroes at sea, and they cannot defeat them!"

"That's right, Barricks, show the ignorant Dionysians what real sailing is!" The crew on board waved their arms and responded enthusiastically.

Barrickos smiled: "Brothers are ready, the adventure is about to begin!"

He steered the sails. This small commercial ship, less than 10 meters long, only three meters wide, with a total of 8 crew members, rushed by the wind like the arrows shot out, facing the Dionysian warship on the opposite side. past.

Under his leadership, 60 merchant ships comparable to it were like sheep with broken heads, and rushed into the arms of the hungry wolf.

The captains of the Dionysian ship were very surprised to see the performance of the Carthage fleet, but they would never make themselves benevolent because of the stupidity of their opponents. The warships of Asia have put away their sails, relying on the concerted efforts of nearly 200 oarsmen to row their oars, the battleship with a huge body also sprints forward at an amazing high speed, and the glimmering black bow will meet The rushing waves cut open and the water splashed on the deck.

The Carthage fleet is like a row of waves pushed by the southwest wind to the Dionysian fleet, and the Dionysian fleet is almost a one-to-one charge with a double-horizon formation and the forefront battleship. It's as exciting as a boxing match in the Olympic Games.

However, when the two sides approached, the Carthage Merchant Ship compared with the Deaulia Warship, just like a baby facing a giant, with a huge difference in size, and it would be crushed by a light collision.