Chapter 156 Davos's Reaction to the Battle of Sicily

Camelus said: "...Fortunately, the people in the city did not give in. The elders led them up to the Capitoline, and held on to our temple, and many people who escaped from Rome slept in the front. They were able to endure hardships and did not give in, just because they believed in you, the warriors of Rome and its allies, that they could drive away the enemy and retake Rome! But if you cannot unite and strictly enforce the discipline of the army and do not obey the command, Acting indiscriminately, like a plate of loose sand, it is impossible for us to defeat the powerful enemy Dionia! At that time, Rome will not be able to take it back, and all relatives will become slaves and will never be able to meet each other, and you will either die in battle or become without Homeless wild dogs become slaves captured by aliens at will, are you willing to do that?!"

"I don't want to!!" The generals and squadron leaders shouted first.

The soldiers, too, were startled by the tragic prospect that Camillous had described, and shouted one after another.

When the shouts gradually merged into a torrent of voices, Camelus knelt down on the top of the city, raised his hands, raised his head to the sky, and shouted reverently: "Jupiter, we will surely be like before. Like defeating the Celts, defeating the Dionians will never allow aliens to defile your temple, so please protect us!"

Not long after he finished shouting, he heard a loud "rumbling" sound on the cliff behind the city of Sigonia. A huge rock accompanied by gravel rolled down the hillside, and finally smashed with a "boom". To the open space on the side of the city of Sigonia.

The generals first shouted excitedly: "It's a divine sign! Jupiter responded!!"

Immediately, the soldiers also reacted, and the gloom on their faces was swept away with joy. They hurriedly lowered their heads and prayed to the god Jupiter.

Jupiter's miracle shocked the Roman soldiers present. They were also dazed and overwhelmed. They quickly unified their understanding and began to shout the slogan of "repel the enemy and retake Rome". The underdog stance quickly marched towards Prinister.

At dusk, after the army arrived in Prinister, the situation became a bit chaotic: the generals were busy setting up the camp and arranging the soldiers to rest; the Roman people who were living here rushed over, and the soldiers also rushed over. , both sides are eager to find their relatives in the crowd. Those who saw their relatives were very fortunate and thanked Jupiter for their protection; those who did not see their relatives were secretly hurt... But the poor situation of the exiled people made the soldiers more eager to retake Rome.

The dictator Camillous first went to meet with the top officials of Prinister, thanking them for their great help to Rome.

Then, he quickly summoned Megios, Quintus, and Frius to learn more about how the Dionian army broke through the city.

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When Davos welcomed the arrival of the kingdom's administrators, he also received battle reports and proposals about Sicily sent to him by the Senate and the Ministry of Military Affairs.

He never imagined that the huge Sicilian fleet was destroyed by a storm, which made Dionia's maritime advantage in Sicily less powerful, and also made Dionia and Carthage's maritime superiority less powerful. There may be some changes in the war, so Davers first urgently convened a military conference.

Participating in the meeting were the staff of Thormid, Printoles, and the commander of the Third Fleet, Midorades.

Davos looked at the three with a serious look, and then said, "You have all read the battle report, what are your opinions?"

Thormid coughed and said, "Your Majesty, this storm destroyed more than half of the kingdom's warships, but it also destroyed almost all of Carthage's warships. Judging from the results, it's not too bad. , we still have the superiority of the sea. And the Ministry of War has proposed to transfer the Fourth Fleet of Brindisi to Sicily, plus the dozens of warships that were originally left in the Sicilian fleet, so that we occupy Sicily. The sea advantage is even greater than before, and it will become more difficult for Carthage to transport reinforcements and supplies to Sicily.

Our victory in Sicily will only become stronger! "

Davos tapped the table with his fingers and said in a deep voice, "Will the transfer of the Fourth Fleet on the east coast of Greater Greece allow Sparta and the remnants of the former Puchetti and Messapi who escaped to the Greek mainland? Do you think there is an opportunity?"

"According to the intelligence, after the riots in Thebes and freedom from Sparta's control, another war will break out in Central Greece. How many city-states will join this war and how long will it last? We can't make an accurate judgment now. But Sparta obviously can't get out of this war in a short time, they have no spare energy to fight the idea of ​​the kingdom. As for the enemies who escaped to the Greek mainland, their number is too small, and the political situation in Apulia is stable, They can't possibly cause any big trouble." Tormide said confidently.

Davos nodded thoughtfully.

Midorades interjected: "Although Lord Thormed is right, the relocation of the Fourth Fleet will still bring hidden dangers to the Apulia region, not to mention that Commander Alexis is leading the Apulia region. All the troops in Puglia are defending against the invasion of the Samones. If there is more trouble in the rear at this time, it will be more troublesome. Why don't we transfer some of our third fleet's warships to Sicily?"

Davos looked at him, and said solemnly after a moment: "In this military plan to attack Rome and the Latinum area, your Third Fleet is very important, you must cooperate with the army, and must not be easily dismantled! Although the Third Fleet is still It's just a escort job, but I may play a bigger role next! Midorades, don't be distracted! However, if you personally want to go to the Sicilian fleet, I can approve it at my discretion."

Davos' remarks made Midorad break into a cold sweat and hurriedly stated: "Your Majesty, I will lead the Third Fleet to ensure the safety of the army at sea, please rest assured!"

Davos's expression turned slightly, turned to Thormid and said: "Agree with the opinion of the Ministry of Military Affairs, let's transfer the Fourth Fleet to Sicily. However, Alexis must be reminded to strengthen the defense of the east coast of the Apulia region. Defense, to prevent other enemies from taking advantage of the gap to make trouble."

Having said this, he said with a heavy expression: "Also... inform Prosousus to search for Cykrian and Flarios, live to see people, and die to see corpses! Even if they really fight Even if they are dead, the remains of the senior generals and heroes of the two kingdoms must not be thrown into the wild. Their homes can only be the Hall of Valor and the Temple of the Dead! As for the commander of the newly integrated Sicilian fleet... First of all, the Klian, if he's... gone, then it's Flarios. If Flarios isn't there, let Myrtias of the Fourth Fleet take over."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Tormid replied, recording it on the wooden board he carried with him.

Davos sighed deeply: "What hurts me most about this maritime disaster is not the warship, but the dead crew... How many people died in this naval battle?"

Tormid immediately replied: "According to preliminary statistics, the number of dead crew members has exceeded 10,000."

After listening to Davos, his expression became even more serious: "More than 10,000 people! They are all sailors who are familiar with Dionia's naval tactics and experienced in naval battles. In one storm, all are gone, and tens of thousands of families have no relatives... …The Ministry of Military Affairs will send people to the military ports of Tarantum, Castellón and Catania to offer condolences to the relatives of the dead sailors, to appease their grief, and their post-war care will begin now discuss!"

"Understood, Your Majesty. I will write a letter to the Ministry of Military Affairs immediately and ask you to sign it," Tormed replied.

Davos remembered something, and asked again: "What is the name of the admiral who led the warship in time, broke into the port of Serinus, and finally helped Prosous win the city?"

"Stepakas."

"Steffakas..." Davos chanted the name and said approvingly: "Being able to preserve the fleet at such a critical moment and gain military exploits seems to be a decisive and agile general!"

When the few people present heard it, they immediately felt envious of Stefankas: to be named by Davos, and remember that the future must be bright!

Davos turned his eyes to Printols, who had not spoken yet, and asked, "What do you think of the war in Sicily?"

"Your Majesty." Plintors reminded: "Although our navy now has an advantage in the Sicilian waters, Carthage has been a maritime power in the Western Mediterranean for hundreds of years, and their shipbuilding capabilities are stronger than that of the kingdom. According to intelligence It shows that there are four large shipyards in the port of Carthage, and the dozens of Phoenician coastal city-states attached to it also have strong shipbuilding capabilities. A warship is no less than our fleet!"

"You are right!" Davos nodded and said seriously: "This is indeed an issue that we should pay attention to! We must also speed up the progress, vigorously build new warships, restore and strengthen our naval fleet, In order to cope with the continuing maritime challenges of Carthage, and completely gain the maritime hegemony of the Western Mediterranean! I will immediately write to the Senate and ask them to organize and mobilize various coastal cities in southern Italy to start building warships!

But don't worry too much, maybe Carthage has more shipbuilding skills and more boatmen than us, but it has two fatal flaws that doom it to be unable to defeat the kingdom's navy! "

Davos' words attracted the attention of the three of them. He stretched out two fingers and said slowly: "The first is wood. There are no tall trees on the land of Africa. The source of their shipbuilding wood is the Iberian Peninsula. However, its developed shipbuilding industry is concentrated in Carthage and the surrounding Phoenician city-states, which determines that they must first transport wood from Iberia to Carthage before they can start shipbuilding, which is time-consuming and also It is easy to be cut off the route and get into trouble.

In our territory, there are continuous mountains and rich timber resources, and they are next to various coastal cities in southern Italy. This time I will let the Senate temporarily lift the ban on cutting down trees and provide enough marine lumber for the various shipyards for free. "

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