Chapter 67 Leotidides Changes Plan

"Yes, there has been a change." Leotidides' tone was always flat and lacking in passion: "Sikael's harassing troops smashed Carthage's 40,000 siege army."

Cypros thought he had heard it wrong, and asked in surprise: "Is this true?! Are you talking about the thousand poorly equipped Sikel light infantry?!"

"I never tell lies in war." Leotizides stared at Hipros with piercing eyes, but his tone remained calm: "I decided to change the plan I designated earlier and lead the Eighth Legion to Minoa to meet the enemy. Carthaginians."

"Okay! Sure enough, he is courageous. He is indeed the commander that His Majesty likes! It is much better than the shit plan you made before!" There was a voice of admiration outside the door, and Admiral Sekelian strode into the conference room. .

Leotides raised his eyebrows.

Cypros asked in surprise: "You want to lead the army directly to the battle with the Carthaginians?! This is too risky! The Carthaginian army has more than 40,000 people, do you want to wear all the soldiers in Sicily? All the citizens of Onia gathered?! If the battle fails, the kingdom's territory in Sicily will be in danger! I think it's safer for you to continue to implement the previous plan!"

After all, according to the regulations, the Governor Cypnos has the right to participate in military conferences and raise objections, so Leotizides had to explain in detail: "The previous plan was based on judging that the Carthaginians would send 80,000 to 100,000 people. A large army of people, but I did not expect that they only sent 60,000 people, and 20,000 of them went to the north coast. According to the information obtained before, half of the 40,000 Carthaginian army was made by It was composed of the Numibians who were oppressed by Carthage. Their morale was not high. Only a thousand Western Celtic attacks could force them to retreat. This shows that their commander's ability is not good.

According to the intelligence, Monte Ardeno, the commander of Carthage, was greedy for enjoyment and did not like to be in battle, and did not like to be close to the soldiers, so he could not give full play to the advantages of a large number of troops. Even though we have a small number of soldiers, the combat effectiveness and morale of the Eighth Corps and its reserve units are far superior to those of the other, and they can be defeated completely.

And we can't watch this Carthaginian army slowly conquer one after another of our allies by virtue of its large number of soldiers, and combine the entire army through battles and victories to improve the fighting spirit and combat effectiveness of the Carthaginians... Wait until Carthage The Taichi army has conquered the south coast, and fighting them will become very difficult. "

"Your idea is right. The previous plan was completely passive. I just arrived yesterday. I heard about your previous plan and wanted to talk to you for a long time." Said with a piercing tone.

Although as the senator of the Senate, Cykrian's qualifications and kingdom duties are indeed higher than that of Leotizides, it still makes Leotizides feel a little uncomfortable, but he thinks about his future military affairs. The operation also depends on the navy,

So he suppressed his emotions and said lightly: "I am also based on what is said in the "Dionysian Military Law", 'All military plans must be formulated according to the actual situation.' Since the situation has changed, I am The plans that are made will of course have to change accordingly.”

Cypros is not like Cornelus, who loves to worry about gains and losses. Once he was persuaded, he immediately asked: "How many people are you going to take to fight?"

"The entire Eighth Corps and Fourth Cavalry Corps, as well as some reserve soldiers, are estimated to be around 15,000 people. Other reserve soldiers are stationed in the camp, and the allied troops of Leotini and Taunis will not be dispatched. They still need Beware of the Syracuses."

After Leotizides finished speaking, Cypros was surprised again: "Lord Prosius, isn't 15,000 too few?!"

"Not at all." Leotizides said confidently: "I will entrust Lord Kleilu of Hera to organize all the warriors of the Sikelites and take the mountain road to reach Minoa. And I will lead this 15,000 soldiers, disembarked by sea to the port of Kamanlina, marched westward along the south coast, and integrated the troops of the friendly city-states they passed through into the team. When they reached Minoa, I estimate that the army The number should be at least 30,000..."

"Hey, when I was in a hurry just now, I forgot about the friendly city-states of Kamanlina, Gera, Agrigento..." Cypros revealed that he was short, but a reassuring smile appeared on his face: "Lord Prosous, you made the right decision! Through this frontal battle with Carthage, we can just show the kingdom's blessing to the city-states that are close to us, and deepen our friendship with them through battles. ! …”

Leotidides was not as much as Cypros thought, he just wanted to win, he turned to Sekelian and said: "I hope that the troop convoys and the delivery of food and baggage will get what you want, Lord Sekorian. Lead the protection of the fleet!"

"This is the duty of our navy!" Sekelian answered cheerfully, and the next words revealed his true purpose: "By protecting you, I can lure the Carthaginian fleet into a decisive battle with us!"

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The news that "the Carthaginian army has landed in Sicily and began to march on the territory of Dionia" spread to Rome, which made the elders feel excited. march" order.

Soon, he led an army of more than 40,000 Roman citizens and Latin Confederate soldiers that had been assembled in Mars Square, left the city of Rome, and marched straight to the southeast.

The Herniki people are the ancient indigenous people in central Italy. They mainly live in the lowland between the Herniki Mountains and the Lepini Mountains, which is about 150 miles long and only about 20 miles wide. A strip of hilly lowland area with a Trerus River flowing in the middle. To the west and south of the area they lived were the Volsci people who were close to the Lepini Mountains, to the east were the Masi and Equi people who lived deep in the mountains, and to the north were some Latin city-states, mainly Puri nest.

The Roman army passed the city of Gabii, the Latin ally, and camped outside Prieste at dusk.

Hearing the news of the "coming of the Roman army", the Herniki people were very panicked and hurriedly sent people to the Volsci people for help.

In the early morning of the second day, the Roman army continued its march south, passing the Latin ally Tolerium, and soon came to Signia, a town adjacent to the Herniki and the Latins. .

This is a small town of Herniki at the foot of Lepini Mountain. It has a small population, but the terrain is relatively dangerous, and it is an important passage for the Heniki tribe living in the Lepini Mountains to come out of the mountain.

Camelus immediately dispatched 5,000 men to surround the small town, and began to manufacture siege equipment. Once ready, he began to siege the city.

At the same time, he led 35,000 people across the Treps River non-stop, and arrived at another important town of the Herniki people near the Latin region and on the east bank of the Trerus River in the afternoon - Anagnia ( Anagnia), and set aside ten thousand people to surround it.

And he led the remaining 25,000 people, after bypassing the city of Anagnania, he began to build a large camp a few miles south of it, facing the central town of the Herniki people - Ferentinum (Ferentinum) Covet.

Before, the Herniki people suffered a disastrous defeat in the war with the Volsci to attack the Roman Latin allies. It was not long before their strength had not recovered. Where would they be able to organize enough soldiers to rescue the victims? The encircled towns can only hide in each town, strengthen the city defense, and at the same time look forward to the rescue of the Volsi people.

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When the news of "the territory of the Helniki being attacked by the Roman army" reached Bolefnum, the Volssi League leaders who had gathered here were very nervous. They had just repelled the Romans, and they were still We were discussing how to recapture the towns of Antium, Velitre, etc. that were captured by the Romans. I did not expect that the Romans would start another war in the east of the Volsci so quickly.

Amyntas, who was invited to participate in the meeting, was puzzled, and he asked in surprise: "The information sent back before said, 'The Romans were stationed at Antium, Vilitre, and Satnicum, respectively. Ten thousand people?! How could the Romans still have so many soldiers to attack the Herniki?!”

Catemontaros, the consul of Bolefnum, said helplessly: "The Romans do not have so many young and middle-aged citizens, but they still have many Latin allies and many Etruscan city-states conquered by Rome. , he is perfectly capable of waging another war while at war with us Volsci! That's what makes the Romans terrible!"

I'm afraid the Romans are going to concentrate on fighting a big battle! But we Dionia... Amyntas thought of the First Legion that he had just replenished, and sighed to himself: With the combat effectiveness of the Roman army, the First Legion of less than ten thousand people was not enough to help the Herniki people. Repel the Roman attack!

Seeing the tangled expression of Amyntas next to him, Plintos hurriedly asked: "Why don't you contact the Aiqui people and the Masi people to deal with the Romans?! I heard that these two races are close to each other. With the Herniki people, I think the Herniki people were wiped out by the Romans, and these two races that are also at odds with Rome will also face the threat of the Romans!"

Toulouse, the consul of Selsche, responded: "The Herniki people must have contacted the Eques and the Masi people. The question now is whether we should rescue the Herniki people?"

"Of course we have to rescue!" Catemontalos exclaimed without hesitation: "Our Fabrateria, Frusinum... in the Helniki people. In the south of the territory, if the Herniki people are destroyed, they will also be attacked by the Romans later, and it is better to rescue the Herniki people now than to rescue them at that time!"