Chapter 99 The New Carthaginian Military Commander

Hanno believed that it was for this reason that many of the centrist elders objected to Marco being the commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian army, but this reason could not be declared, because Marco had complained to the Senate many times over the years, saying The Iberian natives were numerous and fierce, and the loss of the army was too great, he had to expand, and asked Carthage to increase the salary of the soldiers to ensure their morale.

Hanno urged the Senate to agree to Margo's expansion of the army, but on the grounds that "the war in Numibia continues and the treasury is tight", he always delayed the payment of wages, and instead asked him to find a way by himself.

At that time, Hanno gloated and believed that even if Margo was not defeated by the Iberian natives, he would lead to a mercenary riot because of insufficient money and food.

In the end, I didn't expect Marco to survive. Not only did he conquer the vast area of ​​southern Iberia, but also his family lived very well. Hanno regretted it when he thought of it.

Many elders are not very clear about the inside story, but obviously some elders who do not belong to these two factions are thoughtful because of Pretakuba's words.

Seeing this scene, Taipanlacco reluctantly reminded, "Don't forget, the Dionysians have captured quite a few of our citizens, and the army in Sicily is also in a difficult situation... Continuing to fight will only make their The situation has become even more difficult, and it is a completely indifferent and irresponsible approach to the citizens of Carthage!"

"I think it is at this time to propose a truce and negotiation, so that Dionia can concentrate on destroying its strong enemies in the north, Rome and Samona, so as to expand its territory, increase its population, and strengthen the power of this kingdom again. It is the most irresponsible way to Carthage! We choose to compromise, not only will Carthage be charged with betraying its allies, but also miss the great opportunity to unite allies and attack Dionia together, making it difficult for Carthage. Dionysus is getting harder to deal with! Okridon, do you think Dionia will forgive us for breaking the agreement and starting war because we stopped fighting?! Think Tarantum! Think Think of Syracuse! At that time, Dionia, who has stabilized the north, will organize an army of more than 100,000 to attack western Sicily. After occupying it, they will send a naval transport force to land in Africa and attack here! Attack Carthia base!"

Pretakuba pointed to the ground, looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, if you want Carthage to become a free city in the kingdom of Dionia, then - send someone to negotiate!"

Pretakuba's words made the noisy venue suddenly fall into silence.

After a while, Okridon said in a rage, "I protest! Pretakuba is... this is a malicious slander! All I ask for is a temporary truce... for... to save us from being captured. Citizens!  …”

Hanno frowned at Okreton's stammering words, knowing he couldn't keep silent any longer.

He must not let his side, who was already in trouble, fall into the embarrassing situation of being blamed by others, so he stood up.

Immediately, everyone in the venue focused on him.

"Whether it's Okreton's request for a temporary peace with Dionia, or Pretakuba's insistence on continuing the war, everyone is for the benefit of our Carthage, but their views are somewhat different." Hanno With a serious expression, he said in a serious voice, "Now Carthage is in a difficult situation, the army has been defeated, its citizens have been captured, and the territory of Sicily is being invaded by the Dionysians... We should work together to overcome the difficulties, not in This place is quarreling for personal grievances and disregarding the interests of the city-state! I suggest sending messengers to Sicily and asking the Dionians to redeem our captured citizens, as well as asking us to pay a lot of food.

At the same time, although I have had conflicts with Lord Marco in the past, in the face of the national interests of Carthage, personal gains and losses are nothing. Since Lord Pretakuba strongly recommends Marco to be the new commander of the army, go to the same Dionia fought, and most of the elders here think that he is the most suitable candidate. I have no objection to this, so I suggest that the Senate appoint Marco as the new commander of the Carthaginian army, along with Dio of Sicily. The Nians fought and won for Carthage! …”

After Hanno finished speaking, Okredon was stunned, Pretakuba was suspicious, and the elders on both sides were surprised. Suddenly, the venue fell into a strange silence.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!..." Ace Yaruba's applause broke the silence of the venue, and some elders followed suit. At present, the two major political forces of Carthage can bridge the contradictions and fight the enemy together. This is what any elders who are worried about the safety of Carthage hope to see, so they don’t hesitate to dedicate their applause to Hanno. , completely forgetting that it was because Hanno refused Marco's participation in the war and personally appointed Monte Ardeno as the commander of the army, which led to a fiasco.

When the applause rang through the venue, Hanno was relieved. Although he had to make concessions to the Margonid family, he also temporarily avoided the accusations of some elders against him and regained the initiative.

……………………………………

After Leotides won the battle of Minoa, he easily captured the Carthaginian camp and seized a large amount of baggage, which of course included mountains of grain, which greatly eased the Dionysian Navy and Army. The problem of food shortages in Sicily. The Dionysian troops, who were chasing the routed soldiers, occupied Germer, and after enjoying the hot spring bath, they all returned to Minoa under his orders in order to prevent the lone army from being attacked further.

The next day, Leotidides began to reorganize his troops, treat the wounded, transport supplies... At the same time, he paid close attention to the movements of the enemy.

As a result, the information returned by the spies surprised him. Not all of the Carthaginian troops retreated to Serinus, most of them retreated to Lilibe, and only a few stayed in Serinus, including Remnants of the Carthaginian Holy Legion.

Leotidides immediately realized that this was another advantageous fighter, and in order not to scare away the enemy, he sent 4,000 heavy infantry of the Eighth Army in a convoy, under the protection of naval ships, in Serinu. Landing on the beach west of Sri Lanka to cut off the route of return for the defeated soldiers, at the same time, he led an army of 20,000 people and advanced westward along the road by the sea.

The Holy Legion led by Milefio and part of the Carthaginian civic soldiers were left behind at Serinus, which was not Monte Ardeno's intention.

It turned out that after the defeat in the Battle of Minoa, most of the Carthaginian troops fled to Serinus, exhausted physically and mentally. He fled west, but Milefio clearly expressed his opposition.

As Hanno's son-in-law, Milefio felt that this defeat would have a great impact on the Hannos. If he ignored the strong retention of his allies, abandoned his allies and let the Dionians invade Carthage sphere of influence, then he will never have a good end when he returns to Carthage. Besides, there are still many soldiers lost in the mountains, and they also need to stay in this city for a while, waiting for their return. After all, as a child of Carthage's famous family, Milefio has his own pride and persistence.

Since the failure of this battle reduced Monte Ardeno's prestige, some of the routed soldiers were willing to stay with Milefio. The Mibian army hurriedly retreated to Liliba.

Mielefieu was actually very uneasy, but he was relieved when he learned that the Dionians had withdrawn from Germay. Coupled with the rout soldiers who kept fleeing back, the strength of the troops in Serinus City reached 3,000, which gave him some confidence.

At this time, Milefio received news that a Dionian army of several thousand had landed west of Serinus.

At the same time he felt panic, he was able to report an urgent battle report that Dionia's tens of thousands of troops were starting from Minoa, along the seaside road, and marching westward quickly.

Milefio immediately realized that next, Serinus, where he was, became the first target of the Dionian attack.

How to do? Milefio, who had just experienced a fiasco, was caught in a difficult decision and led the army to retreat immediately before the enemy arrived? But he had sworn to Monte Ardeno before that he would stick to Serinus, and now he has slipped away without a fight. I don’t know what kind of face Monte Ardeno will use to ridicule himself; stay and stick? With 3,000 troops in the city, plus the citizens of Serinus, it might be possible to hold on for a few months.

However, some team officers under Milefio expressed their opposition, believing that the soldiers had just experienced defeat, their morale was low, and that the troop came from multiple troops, and it was difficult to command the battle, not to mention the tacit cooperation.

More importantly, a team officer pointed out that in order to hold on to Serinus, there must be sufficient food supply, and the food reserves of Serinus City are not enough, and I am afraid that it cannot support the army for a long-term defensive battle.

It turned out that the Carthaginian army attacked eastward and took away the food in the city when passing through Serinus. As a result, in the battle of Minoa, all the baggage stored in the Carthaginian camp was captured by the enemy.

After hearing this, the inexperienced and worried about the war, Milefio suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake, but it also gave him a reason to return to Lilibe without blame.

Just when Milefio gathered his troops and was about to withdraw, the senior Serinus got the news and immediately came to dissuade him.

Milefio had to take some time to convince them, and finally, under the onslaught of words and tears from the Serinus, he had to give up his efforts and send soldiers to disperse them, ready to force his way out of the city.