Chapter 157 Printoles' Worries

Davos paused, then continued: "The second is the sailors. A three-deck oar requires nearly 200 sailors, and if a fleet has 100 three-deck, it requires nearly 20,000 sailors. The navy is a military force that needs to be supported by a huge population, while the Phoenicians and Carthaginians are not a population with a large population, even if it uses the Numibians as sailors, but the Numibians are not. A seafaring race, with a looser nature, would inevitably reduce the combat capability of the Carthaginian navy. And we—"

Davos smiled: "Let's not talk about official citizens and reserve citizens, once the navy starts to recruit new sailors, those freemen will clamor and clamor to join, and they hope to become citizens of the kingdom as soon as possible. "

When Davos said this, Tormide and Midorades laughed, and Davos' words completely dispelled their concerns. Only Printols didn't laugh, and seemed to have something on his mind.

Davos noticed, so he asked, "Printoles, if you have any other suggestions, please tell me."

Plintos considered for a while, and said softly: "Your Majesty, although we have an advantage in Sicily from the current battle situation, Carthage was defeated in the battle, and then the fleet was lost in naval battles and storms. After all, the successive defeats will inevitably make the Carthaginians panic, and if they do not consider seeking peace, then they must do their best to win the next battle. In this way, the Sicilian troops led by Prosauus I am afraid that we will face a Carthaginian army with more soldiers, more fighting spirit, and no mediocre generals in command--"

"Wait!" Thormed interjected: "Our fleet has occupied the maritime superiority of Sicily and can completely cut off the troop transport route from Carthage to Sicily. Even if Carthage builds a large army, it will be very difficult. Land in Sicily."

"It is relatively difficult for the Carthaginian army to land in Sicily, but it is not impossible. Although our fleet has an advantage, it cannot be said to completely cut off the connection between Sicily and Carthage." Plintors said calmly: "Sailors need food, water and rest. At night, the warships are best to be dragged into the military port for repairs and maintenance, so as to keep them in good combat condition... In Sicily, except for the military port of Catania, there is only Mexico to the north. Take, in the south, only the allies Agrigento and Gera have perfect naval ports for our fleet to stay well, so if our Sicilian fleet departs from Messina or Agrigento in the morning, patrolling to Sicily It was probably the afternoon at the westernmost point, and they had to hurry back and forth...

Moreover, the number of Sicilian fleets is greatly reduced now, and it cannot be divided into two or three squadrons with strong combat effectiveness to patrol in turn. The Carthaginians still have time to deliver supplies and reinforcements to Sicily. "

"The Sicilian fleet can send clippers to take turns to monitor the western waters of Sicily--" Tormid had just finished his argument, and suddenly realized that it was wrong: even if the clipper detected the enemy's situation, it still needed to return to the military port to report, and wait for the fleet to arrive again. , the Carthaginian fleet may have entered the harbor.

So, he changed his mind and said, "It's not like Serinus and Minoa cannot station some warships, right? Midorades."

Facing Tormid's gaze, Midorads, the naval commander, did not dare to speak casually in front of Davos, he thought about it seriously and said, "From the battle report, Serinu Sicily does not have a naval port, and warships can indeed stay in ordinary ports for a short period of time, but if not for a long time, it will damage the life of the warship and affect its combat effectiveness. Of course, the Sicilian army can also build simple buildings in Serinus military port, but that will take time.”

Midorades' remark that "a warship staying in an ordinary port for too long will damage the life of a warship" was actually addressed to Davos, so he deliberately emphasized his tone, but he immediately moved the topic away: "According to As far as I know, the best naval port in the western end of Sicily is at Lillibe."

Thormid immediately shook his head: "Lilibe is an important military town for Carthage in Sicily.

Just like Motia at the beginning, it would be difficult for Prosius to take it down with his current strength. "

At this time, Printols continued the topic and said, "Although Prosous has been victorious, the enemies are concentrated in the two towns of Lillibe and Palermos. It is very clear that although Prosous's capture of Lilibe will determine the victory of Sicily, but since we cannot add a large number of troops to the Sicilian army at present, the Eighth Legion alone cannot do it. Attacking other towns is not only insignificant, but it will also spread the force, so it should be said that the Sicilian army is now unable to attack."

Having said this, Plintors said earnestly: "Your Majesty, it's time for the Sicilian army to change its strategy!"

Thormid and Midorades were surprised when they heard it, but Davos didn't change his expression, but sat on the spot and remained silent for a long time. The previous instructions to Prosous were wrong.

At the beginning of the war with Carthage, because the focus of the attack was on Rome, Davos was still cautious about the situation in Sicily, so he ordered Prosous to keep Sicily at the very beginning. However, the Eighth Legion's victory over the Carthaginian army in the Battle of Minoa, and the victory of the navy in the Sea of ​​Cerrodieum, made him realize that the Carthaginians were strong from outside and in the center, so he changed his strategy: let Sicily The army and navy attacked with all their strength, trying to take advantage of the enemy's defeat and pursue the victory, which could further weaken Carthage's strength in Sicily and gain more chances for victory in the next decisive battle with Carthage.

Even deep in his heart, Davos hoped that Prosous could create another miracle and completely drive out Carthage's influence in Sicily.

The battle has been going on till now, except for the storm, the Sicilian army's attack has been smooth and in line with his expectations... But have he become a little too optimistic because of the successive victories? That's Carthage, after all! Davos stared at the staff officer he admired, and he understood what Printols meant: he was obviously reminding himself that the Sicilian army led by Prosous did not conquer the western end of Sicily in one fell swoop. On the contrary, due to the depth of the lone army and the lack of troops, it may fall into a dangerous situation.

The reminder of Printols reminded Davos of the Iberian army that had not suffered any losses so far, and that the successive failures of Carthage might allow the Margonides family to regain control of Carthage. They are no more aggressive than Hanno, they value Sicily more, and they also have richer war experience. It can be seen from the fact that the Iberian army was able to conquer the city of Cerrodiham, which is quite combat effective.

However, according to Davos's understanding of Carthage over the years, it will take time for Carthage to form an army again. The elders of the Carthage Senate will argue with each other, which will continue to delay this time. I am afraid that even that Marco was able to get the army to finally land in Sicily, at least a month or two later, and it would be a pity that such a long time only made Prosous retreat from the defense! With the ability of this young commander, he can completely stir up the situation at the western end of Sicily. Even if the Carthaginian army is to land, they need to spend more energy and time to stabilize the situation and win more for the kingdom. time……

Davos thought about it, but in the end he couldn't make up his mind, so he said: "Tell Prossous about our concerns and let him be vigilant. It is up to him to continue to attack or retreat to defense. After all, he He is the commander of the Sicilian battlefield!" Prosous repeatedly performed miracles and won victory, which made Davos choose to believe in his ability.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Tormid said, but glanced at Plintos next to him, feeling a bit envious and jealous: as far as he knew, Davos rarely made military decisions. Modifications were made due to persuasion by others, but this time a compromise was made...

Tormid was thinking about it, but Davos looked at Printols and said in a serious tone: "In the future, suggestions like this should be put forward directly, rather than waiting for me to ask questions! War is related to the country's Life and death, modesty and comity can cost hundreds of soldiers their lives, understand?!"

Plintos looked stunned, and then saluted in shame: "Understood, Your Majesty, I will pay attention next time!"

Thormid cast an envious look at him again.

………………………………

After the military conference, Davos summoned the new elders of the kingdom-his brother-in-law Alcibiades, and the great shipbuilding merchant Mikris of Turii.

These two are well-known big businessmen in the shipbuilding industry of the Kingdom of Dionia. Davos called them here, of course, hoping that they could take the lead in cooperating with the kingdom to speed up the construction of warships, and because the treasury was tight, he also hoped that they would It can be agreed that the kingdom can temporarily owe them the shipbuilding costs, and of course the kingdom will give them corresponding compensation after the war, such as relaxing the ban on cutting down trees...

For Mikris, Davos also focused on Enanilus, who has been released from prison and has been staying at home. He emphasized that the mistakes of Enanilus have been punished enough, and now The kingdom has been expanding, and officials at all levels have always been insufficient. Enanilus was once a veteran and also served as a naval commander. He has rich administrative experience and can come out to serve the kingdom again.

After listening to Davos' words, Mikris was very excited, and immediately said: After he goes back, he will try his best to persuade Enanilus to come out and do things.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: Fengyun Novel Reading Network Mobile Version Reading URL: