Chapter 216 Carthage Welcomes Marco

"Father...Dear, is it because the battle situation in the south has changed?" Patroclus asked hurriedly.

Davos was satisfied with his keen war intuition, as a good senior team officer should be. His eyes should not only focus on one battle, but should overlook the overall situation. He looked at the other two again, and he, Adoris and Krotokatax, also cast a concerned look. They have been fighting in Latium, and they have almost no access to outside information. Davos feels that there is It is necessary to let them know the situation of other battlefields.

"Since Alexis defeated the Samonite coalition twice at Ascurum and Venosa, the Samonites have not attacked the kingdom's territory, but have instead attacked the Campania Alliance and captured Panama. Bey, Herculaneum, Tesala and other city-states, and finally besieged Naples"

"Isn't the Campania alliance in danger of being destroyed? Are we sending troops to rescue?" Crotokatax asked in shock.

Davos said with a smile: "Before attacking the Campania League, another incident happened. The chief Cautini trapped Quindoke, the leader of Nakonia, who had remained neutral, and captured Naco. Nia territory, his approach obviously stimulated Gellny of Abenerum, he not only decided to make Abenerum a free city of Dionia, but also would assist us in attacking Samone Tribal alliance. The Ministry of Military Affairs has therefore drawn up a new battle plan, allowing Alexis to lead his army to attack the mountains of Samona from the east"

"Father, I remember you reminded the Ministry of Military Affairs again and again not to let the army attack the mountains of Samona!" Clotokatax exclaimed, he was a little worried about Hiros and Philisius of the Ministry of Military Affairs. The adults will be reprimanded by the father if they make their own opinions.

"Yes, I have made such an order." Davos looked calm, he said: "But now the situation has changed, the Ministry of Military Affairs secretly ordered Potentia to summon soldiers and quietly communicate with Abenerum. They were familiar with the mountains of Samone and were good at fighting in the mountains. The Samone wanted to lure us into attacking the mountains, but we set up an ambush in Aquilonia, completely defeating their hiding in the mountains. A main force!

Now, Alexis led a coalition force of nearly 20,000 people to directly attack Beneventum, and the Samone coalition forces besieging Naples had to retreat. In this way, we are in control of the battle against the Samoans, whether against the Samoan coalition at Beneventoum, or the Campania coalition against the Samoids on the eastern plains Chennai, or the rest of our army in the Downey area, taking advantage of the great opportunity of being pinned down by the enemy's main force, continue to attack other towns in the Samonay Mountains..."

"So, we no longer need our help in the war with the Samone." Adoris's tone was a little disappointed, and he immediately asked, "Father, what about the situation in Sicily?"

Davos's face turned pale, and he said slowly: "Since Plesius defeated the Carthaginian army at Minoa,

Soon our Sicilian and Carthaginian fleets engaged in a great battle on the sea near Serinus, and as a result... a great storm at sea destroyed almost all the warships of the enemy and allies, and Flarios drowned, There has been no news from Klian, and more than 10,000 sailors have died."

"What?!" The three of them showed shocking expressions. They never imagined that while they were still fighting bloody battles in the north, such a tragic loss occurred in the southern sea area!

However, Davos continued: "The Fourth Fleet has been transferred to Sicily, and we still have the advantage of the sea. Alexis led his troops to capture Serinus, and the remaining Carthaginian troops stuck to several important The town did not dare to attack, so Alexis sent the army to loot and destroy the Carthaginian ruled area in Sicily in order to achieve the purpose of active defense.

However, the fiasco of the Carthaginian army led to Marco, the Iberian governor of Carthage, becoming the new commander of the Carthaginian army. Now the entire African coast and Iberia are gathering soldiers and forming an army to prepare to land in Sicily. A new battle is about to begin! We must get rid of the Romans and Samonais as soon as possible, and rush to the south to fight to the death with our greatest enemy, Carthage! "

Davers' words not only made the three young people feel the urgency of the situation, but also excited them.

……………………………………

On the day that Davos held banquets, held games, and rewarded soldiers in the city of Rome, he welcomed a huge fleet of Iberian troops in the port of Utica.

Utica, a Phoenician city-state second only to Carthage on the African continent, is located on the seashore about 110 miles west of Carthage.

Marco's ship docked first, and he walked to the pier in uniform, and the elders headed by Preta Kuba immediately greeted him: "Master Marco, welcome back!"

Marco gave Pretakuba a warm hug and said emotionally: "Thank you for your hard work, Pretakuba! Thanks to you for the few years I've been away! Thanks to you!  …"

Pretakuba patted his thick shoulders and said excitedly: "Just come back, we will have hope when we come back!"

Then Margo warmly greeted the other Margonidite elders.

"Lord Marco, welcome! You are finally here with the army!" An old man with white hair and beard stepped forward.

"Respected Lord Ace Yaruba!" Facing the leader of the neutral faction, Ace Yaruba, who was second only to Hanno in prestige in the senate, Marco saluted and said solemnly: "Carthage Being in danger, as a descendant of the founder of this city, how can I just sit back and watch it!"

"I'm glad you can think like this and do it like this, this is what all the citizens of Carthage expect from you!" Ace Yaruba said sternly.

"All?!" Marco showed a sneer, greeted his elders with a finger, and said, "This sentence is wrong, at least some people who haven't come here don't think so."

"These elders who did not come have gathered more than 60,000 soldiers for you, and they are still raising a huge amount of food for you to supply this army, and they are still urging shipyards and other allies to speed up the construction of warships... so don't Excessive suspicion of their compatriots, they are also making their own efforts for the future of Carthage!" Ace Yaruba said earnestly.

This made Margo hesitate, he thought for a while, and his tone became softer: "Unlike the natives of Syracuse, Numibia, and Iberia, the Dionians are our real people. A powerful enemy, we need to do our best to defeat it! Therefore, I will try my best to maintain the unity of Carthage, and I hope that Lord Ace Yaroba can play a greater role in this regard!"

"Don't worry, the previous fiasco has taught us a lesson. Whether it's Hanno, me, or other elders, I hope you can win, because if you fail, it will mean disaster for Carthage! We will do our best to support you. until the Dionians are driven out of Sicily, and their kings are forced to choose a humiliating peace!" Ace Yaroba promised.

Marco thanked him for this, then turned to look at the port, and waited for his generals to gather the soldiers who landed and lead them out of Utica City.

Among the more than 20,000 soldiers led by Marco, there were not many Carthaginians and Phoenicians. Like the army led by Hasdrubal before, most of them were mercenaries. The different appearances and different costumes of the Phoenicians not only attracted the curious onlookers of the Utica people, but also made the elders who came to greet them comment on it.

At this time, several more boats docked, and a group of strong men in striped trousers and upper body disembarked from the boats. They were all burly, muscular, thickly haired, and embroidered with weird tattoos. , with messy short hair, messy beard, and a ferocious face, as soon as they got ashore, the people in the port exclaimed.

This made them seem to be stimulated, and they slapped the long shield of their right hand with the long sword in their left hand, and let out a roar of "woo woo". Turning around and fleeing, the scene was a little chaotic for a while. Fortunately, their leader stopped them in time, but this did not guarantee that they would be able to line up at the port safely.

"A group of terrifying barbarians! They are also from Iberia?" Ace Yaruba also asked in surprise.

"The Celts in the mountains of northern Iberia were not afraid of death when they fought, and other natives of Iberia were afraid of them. It was at this time that flash floods occurred in their area, and livestock and food were washed away. Go, facing famine, I exchanged thousands of cattle and sheep for their help, I believe that with them, our war against Dionia will be smoother!" Margo said confidently.

"I hope so. However, this is also the reason why the Senate did not allow your army to land in the port of Carthage. I hope you can manage your army well, and don't make any trouble here and let the people treat you well. It will create a bad impression." Ace Yaroba solemnly reminded.

Margo once again thanked Ace Yaruba for the kind reminder.

After all the soldiers had landed, Marco's men gathered them, took them out of Utica, and began to camp outside the city, while Marco followed the elders to Carthage.

In the past ten years, although Margo has lived in southern Iberia for a long time, he has also returned to Carthage many times, but he never expected to encounter such a situation today: almost all the people in the city ran out. , crowded on both sides of the road, and as soon as he entered the city, there were thunderous cheers all around, and the people shouted his name and threw flower petals at him...