Chapter 65 The Operation of the Iberian Army on the North Coast

Sekelian smiled: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I am also the elder of the Senate, how can I make trouble regardless of the overall situation!"

Davos also smiled and said: "I am very relieved to have you in the southern sea area! But after you have complete control of the sea in Sicily, don't completely block the sea passage between Carthage and Sicily."

"Why?" Sekelian was stunned and blurted out.

"Because we need to give Carthage hope, let them continue to consume their own resources, and send the citizens of Carthage to Sicily..." Davos' eyes glowed with cold light.

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"General, how can you allow Hasdruba to lead his army to attack the north coast of Sicily alone!" Milefio broke into the tent of the barracks and questioned Monte Ardeno loudly.

For Millerfio's rudeness, Monte Ardeno did not reprimand, he shrugged and asked helplessly: "If we don't let him go, what can we do? Just because he refused to send his troops as strikers, I quarreled with me for three days here, which seriously affected my command of other troops, can I punish him with military law?!"

Milofio was at a loss for words, and he immediately realized that Hasdrubac was the most important member of the Margonid family, and he was going to be punished just because of a dispute over military views. Deno dares to do it. If he really wanted to execute it, he might instead have given Margo an excuse to withdraw the army that was on the expedition.

Milefio said unwillingly: "We can report Hasdrubal's rude behavior of refusing to obey the military order to the Senate, and let them do the punishment!"

Monte Ardeno shook his head secretly in his heart: Milefio was still too young, and before the battle started, he suggested that he should seek help from the Senate. Wouldn't this make the elders feel that they were too incompetent, and how could Hanno be at ease? Hand over the power of the army to yourself!

Thinking of this, a sneer appeared on his face: "Actually, it's a good thing that Hasdruba is going to take the army to attack the north coast. If he attacks with all his strength, it can help us attract the attention of the Dionysian army and distract them. ; If he does not move forward, he will be completely seen by the senate and the people. When compared with our achievements, it will only embarrass the Margonides family. I believe that if this makes the family's reputation extremely valued. Marco knows and will definitely ask Hasdruba to attack with all his might."

Milfio thought for a while and smiled.

"How are your soldiers now?" Monte Ardeno asked with concern.

"They're all eager to fight!" Milfio replied simply.

"That's good." Monte Ardeno nodded in relief, knowing that the Holy Order army led by Milefio was the main force of this Carthaginian army: "Go back and prepare, we will soon follow the south coast. attacked east."

"Yes, General!" Milefio said excitedly and left.

After sending Hanno's son-in-law away, Monte Adeno breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to ask the servant to bring a jar of wine when the guard came in and reported: "General, the chief of Sikel called Arconis is here again to ask to see him."

"No!" Monte Ardeno waved his hand impatiently: is a Sikel chief who has lost his nationality and was fostered in Lilibee like a bereaved dog worthy of coming to see him!

Hasdrubal led his complex army of 20,000 to leave Lilibe by boat, quickly headed north, and landed at Panormus, a seaside city-state in the northwest of Sicily.

This is a city-state founded by the Phoenicians and has always been under the rule of the Carthaginians. Hasdrubal's family reputation has made him warmly welcomed, but the people are also surprised to see this huge There were not many Phoenicians or Carthaginians in the ranks, mostly aliens in different clothes, so they refused to let them near the city.

Fortunately, the flat land around the city of Palermos was the widest of the towns on the north coast, so Hasdrubal and Kisgow led the army to build a makeshift barracks outside the city.

Due to its excellent geographical location and environment, Hasdrubal decided to use it as the rear base of his troops at the suggestion of Kisgow. Therefore, he spent a few days to build the camp completely and stored food and baggage. Leaving a small number of soldiers stationed, they began to lead the army to the east.

This time the army took the land route, and after just over two hours, they arrived at another Phoenician town - Solus. That year, the reason why Dionysius' army and the Carthaginian army led by Marco fought here for months was not because it was a big city, but because this small town was completely blocked from The land passage between the mountains and the coast will be more difficult to attack.

After the army of Hasdrubal stopped here for a while, they continued to move forward. The next road was more difficult to walk. The left side was the sea, and the right side was the towering mountains. The average altitude was about one thousand meters. The passable seaside passage is also undulating, and the narrowest point is less than two miles, and the marching speed of the entire army has slowed down.

It was around 3:00 p.m. that they stepped out of this narrow coastline and set foot on the soft land, showing low hills in front of them.

Hasdrubal was excited because the guide told him that Himmela was ahead.

Hasdrubal ordered immediately: the army rushed to the Himalayan River, built a temporary camp, and prepared to spend the night.

And he himself and Kisgow rode fast horses and took the guards to this place of great significance to the Margonid family.

Decades ago, his ancestor Hamilcar once led the Carthaginian army to besiege the largest Greek city-state on the north coast of Sicily. As a result, the then Syracuse tyrant Dillon led reinforcements and finally defeated Hamilcar. 's army.

And more than ten years ago, Hasdruba's father Himilko led the Carthaginian army to land on Sicily again, and captured this city-state that brought shame to the Margonid family, and Himilko built The altar of Baal Harmon, through the ritual of blood sacrifice of thousands of captives, to console the heroic spirits of the ancestors and wash away the previous shame.

When Hasdruba and the others arrived, the city of Himera was no longer in front of them, but a piece of ruins overgrown with weeds. Only the river called Himera was gurgling through the ruins.

On the east bank of the Himalayan River, there are one or two Greek villages, and the people in the villages are fleeing eastward with their families.

The guards were going to chase after them, but Hasdruba stopped them: "Don't worry, they won't be able to escape in the end!"

He got off his horse and wandered slowly in the ruins for a while. When the successors arrived at the river bank one after another, he solemnly said to Kisgow, "When I win, I will build an altar here. This time round It's time for us to wash away the shame for the family!"

Kisgow nodded solemnly as well.

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Early the next morning, Hasdrubal assembled his troops and continued to march, riding himself at the head of the team.

In front is the Himera River, and further east is the sphere of influence of the Greeks. The crossing of the river by the Carthaginian army means that war is declared against the Greek forces in Sicily.

Hasdruba did not hesitate to urge his horse to cross the Himalayan River, thus opening the prelude to the war between the two largest forces in the Western Mediterranean, the Kingdom of Dionia and Carthage.

By noon, the Carthaginian army marching along the coast stopped, and in front of them a Greek town, Cephaloedum, blocked their way.

Compared with Solus City, Cerrodieum's terrain is more dangerous. On the side of the sea, there are peaks with an altitude of 300 meters, and on the inland side are the continuous mountains with an average altitude of four or five hundred meters. The narrowest point of the lowland is only 400 meters, and Cerro Diham City is guarding it.

Seeing the dangerous terrain, Hasdrubal immediately ordered his troops to form a dense column in front of the city (because the terrain was narrow and could not be deployed frontally), extending for several miles, the bugle blew, the thunder and the drum, and the soldiers lined up. A roar, a mighty voice.

Then, he sent his men to the city to persuade him to surrender, otherwise he threatened to slaughter the city, but he was strictly refused.

So Hasdrubal ordered the troops to retreat a mile and began to prepare siege equipment while building a temporary camp.

When Dionysius attacked Carthage's many towns in Sicily, the Carthaginians had enough to suffer from ballistas, belly bows, and siege towers, and they have been concentrating their efforts on research and development over the years. After all, Carthage is a powerful city-state, and its civilization is no less than that of Greece. In addition to super siege due to the complicated process, the need for more manpower, and the difficulty in production, siege equipment such as ballistas and abdominal bows can already be used by themselves. Crafted, and can also be used to aid allies, such as Rome.

Soldiers began assembling ballistas and belly bows, and felling trees to make ladders and siege vehicles.

The Cerrodians also sent messengers from the port to Millais to ask for help from the Dionysians.

The next day, Hasdrubal led his army to attack the city of Cerrodiham.

The people of the city were reminded by the Dionians half a month ago, and under the guidance of the Dionians, the city defense was re-fortified, and the narrow terrain prevented the Iberian troops from taking advantage of the large number of troops, and Only attacking its western wall would also help the Cerrodihams to concentrate their troops on defense.

After a day of fierce fighting, the Iberian troops had to withdraw their troops and return to the camp without even attacking the city head.

On the second day, Hasdrubal led the army to fight again, but the siege was still unsuccessful.

It's been like this for days.

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And just two days after the departure of the Iberian army, Monteardno led the Carthaginian army from Liliba and marched eastward along the road on the south coast.

The army reached Mazara first in the afternoon.