Chapter 234 Landing in Sicily (2)

If it was more than 10 years ago, the laborers in the port of Liliba were more Greek freedmen, and there were few slaves in Numibia, but the Kingdom of Dionia occupied eastern Sicily, absorbing Greek freedmen and Carthage. The conquest of Numibia changed that.

Braving the drizzle and the dank sea breeze, the workers rushed to the pier tremblingly. It was just dawn at this time, and although the port was open, no ships had come in yet. The laborers took the opportunity to squat under the eaves of the warehouse on the shore, taking a break from time to time.

It didn't take long for them to hear noisy footsteps, and hundreds of Carthaginian soldiers poured into the port and began to drive away the idle people in the port, strengthening the patrol of the dock.

Watching the wharf, which suddenly became heavily guarded, made the workers feel awkward.

"Look! City Lord Imisere is here!" Someone shouted in surprise, and the surrounding atmosphere became even more tense.

At this time, the official in charge of labor management ran over and scolded angrily: "Get up, slackers! Before Mr. Margo leads the army to the port, you immediately clear all the obstacles and rubbish at the dock for me to ensure that the road is safe. Unobstructed and clean! And those dilapidated ships docked at the pier are also taken away immediately! Quick! Quick! If anyone is lazy, I will let him know how good I am!  …”

With the roar of the officials, the overseers threw their whips with a "smack" sound, and the workers immediately ran to the dock like frightened rabbits, led by the foreman.

Among them, there was a middle-aged worker with a hunched waist, but the eyes that were originally bleak now shone brightly: the Carthaginian army actually chose to cross the sea and land in Lilibe in such a climate, which is really bold enough! I don't know if Flarios sent a clipper to detect this action of the enemy? !

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About an hour later, the first troop carrier entered the port of Lilibe, and the sailors on board had put up their sails, and they shouted their horns and rowed their oars to the nearest pier trestle.

And then into the second and third ships...

Before long, the seas of the port were filled with troop transports.

Seeing a boat approaching the trestle, the foreman led a dozen workers to run over quickly, hooked the side of the boat with a hand-held iron hook, and made one side of the boat completely close to the trestle, and then tied the boat's cable to the wooden stake. Then board the board and let the soldiers disembark.

The routine of helping the boats dock, which is usually very skilled by the laborers, became a little difficult under the disturbance of the cold wind and drizzle, because the trestle became slippery, and the boats had to make greater efforts under the agitation of the waves. It is not uncommon for workers to keep slipping on the trestle and falling into the sea. It is not uncommon for ships to collide in the port and soldiers to fall into the water...

Although Ymiserai made some preparations for the landing of the army, chaos in the port was still inevitable, and it continued...

However, no matter how chaotic the port of Lilibe was, a boat of soldiers still boarded the pier uninterruptedly, and gathered densely on the shore of the port. Entering the city of Lilibe...

In the eyes of the hunched middle-aged worker: the first to go ashore should be the Carthaginian soldiers (in fact, they are more of the Phoenicians), but these rumored delicate Carthaginians appear very calm , During the whole process of disembarking, there was very little noise and confusion, and he obeyed the command of the team officer very much; there were also many dark-skinned and slender Numibian soldiers (in fact, some Mauritanians) who went ashore.

These rumored free and undisciplined nomads were actually able to obey the command and assemble relatively quickly during the landing process; of course, there were also soldiers who were undisciplined. They were Celts from the Iberian Peninsula. Although they were not accustomed to riding in boats, they were thrown up and vomited by the turbulent waves. , What this worker cared about most was the murderous aura emanating from these soldiers, which only veteran soldiers who have experienced battles would have.

It seems that this time the Carthaginian army is not easy to deal with! He looked at the troop transport ships that were still coming and going at the entrance of the harbor, and hid his worries in his heart...

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In this landing, Margo arranged the landing site of the Iberian main force that had followed him for many years in the port of Liliba and its vicinity, in fact, the landing site of the entire Carthaginian army of more than 80,000 troops. All over the coast from Mazara to Eryx, there are not only the ports of various towns, but also the beaches that can be used for boats, because Margo hopes to be able to send soldiers, baggage, horses, etc. in the shortest time possible. Sicily, after avoiding detection by the Dionians, was attacked by their fleet.

To this end, not only Carthage, Utica dispatched a large number of ships, Hadrumetum (hadrumetum), Ruspina (ruspina), Lgilgili (lgilgili) ... and others are located on the coast of Africa The Finiki city-state also provided ships to help transport troops.

Therefore, the whole sea from western Sicily to Africa can be seen as a spectacle: countless ships cover the sea, as if laying out a huge pontoon bridge connecting the two places. And everywhere on the western coast of Sicily, weary soldiers can be seen gathering on the beach, frightened warhorses are running around, shouting and neighing one after another, from Mazara to Eryx...

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In the city lord's mansion in Serinus City, the adjutant Mukru gently opened the door of the study, and in the room sat alone Leoticides, the commander in charge of the Sicilian war in the Kingdom of Dionia. A puppet-like, motionless wooden chair, staring intently at the map of Sicily hanging on the wall.

Having followed Leotidides for a while, Mukru knew of some of the commander's eccentric habits, so he did not speak, but stood silently behind Leotides.

I don't know how long it took, Mukru felt that his eyelids were fighting, and suddenly he heard Leotizides ask: "Yesterday, the Iberian army of about 20,000 people who had been entrenched in Palermos suddenly attacked him. What do you think is the reason for marching south and entering the city of Lilibe?"

"Uh... Maybe it has something to do with the Iberian governor of Carthage, Marco, who took office as the military commander, and the conflict between the Iberian army and the Carthaginian army no longer exists..." Suddenly asked about this, Mukru did not arrive After thinking about it, he threw out a reason that he thought was reasonable.

Leotides didn't look back, he still sat upright, and continued to ask: "It's been a long time since Marco became the military commander of Carthage, why did the Iberian army in Palermos last yesterday? Only set out to enter Lilibe?"

Mukru heard a trace of dissatisfaction in Leotizides' words, this time he thought for a while before answering cautiously: "It may be because we have been sending soldiers to harvest Mazara during this period of time. , Segsta, Lillibe, and even Eryx and other half-cooked wheat fields outside the city, the Iberian army came from the north coast, I am afraid it is to strengthen the military strength of the Carthaginians here, to restrain us from looting wheat action..."

After Mukuru said this, seeing that Leotidides did not respond, he thought for a while, and then added a sentence with great uncertainty: "It may also be...cooperating with the military operations of the Carthaginians..."

After a while, Leotizides replied faintly: "The military operation of Carthage? ... What else can they do other than land in Sicily?"

Tagluo was shocked.

At this time, Leotidides stood up, looked at Mukru, and said in a deep voice: "You go and tell the cavalry regiment to send me the best scout cavalry, and carefully investigate Liliba, Ernest, etc. Lix...the movements of the enemies in these cities will be reported as soon as there is any abnormality!"

"Yes!" Mukru's voice in response was a little low, because he knew: From now on, the only weakness of the Dionysian army compared with the Carthaginian army is the cavalry, the commander's order determines the fourth The cavalry regiment must pay certain casualties.

"...At the same time, send five reserve brigades to follow these reconnaissance cavalry to protect our reconnaissance cavalry from being attacked by the Numibian cavalry." In a word, with 5,000 legions prepared for heavy infantry as a backing, the safety of Dionysian reconnaissance cavalry is guaranteed.

"In addition, you go and tell Myrtias, let him send more clippers, go deep into the waters further west in western Sicily, and explore the movement of the Carthaginian army across the sea."

After Leotidides finished speaking, Mukru looked embarrassed and said, "Sir Commander, I came to the study to tell you that our fleet still did not send any warships like yesterday. Go to the western waters for cruising. According to the information I have obtained, the Sicilian fleet commander Miltias said to his admirals, 'They are not familiar with the sea conditions here. Going out to sea in such bad weather is very likely to encounter them again. Like the bad luck before, he must be responsible for the lives of the crew of every warship, and he can't let them die in vain without gaining a little battle. And in such weather, the Carthaginians are also worried. , there will be no major action...'"

Listening to what Mukru said, Leotidides' face was terrifyingly gloomy, and he snorted softly: "This new Sicilian fleet commander has been frightened by that storm, and his courage is better than Sekeli's. It’s been a long time! You still have to go to the port and tell Myrtias personally, saying that it was my order that he must send a fast ship to patrol the western waters of Sicily in the past two days!”