Chapter 258 The Military Conference of Katanai (1)

So, upon hearing this news, Hasdrubal's first reaction was: Oops, reinforcements from the Dionysians are here!

When he ran to the coast in person and saw the ships full of people leaving the port one by one, he realized that this Dionysian coalition force, which had been fighting with him tenaciously for more than 10 days, was actually going to flee!

Hasdrubal hurried back to the camp immediately and gathered his troops.

More than an hour had passed by the time the Carthaginian army arrived with the siege equipment to take up the battle, and Dionia's fleet had already evacuated most of the people, and only more than 400 voluntarily stayed behind. The city and the citizens of Jera (including some elderly people who were unwilling to abandon their homes), who were able to leave their homes smoothly, fought to the end and successfully ensured the smooth evacuation of more than 30,000 people.

On the way back, the Sicilian fleet as an escort looked more powerful (because there were more than 30 Phoenician warships in the scene), so the Syracuse fleet was even less visible.

At dusk, the fleet entered the port of Katana.

Seeing the familiar pier and only a few people on the pier greeted them, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion felt a little lost, but they felt more relieved: these months, they have been fighting abroad, and there is a Minoan battle. Brilliant, there is the triumph of raging in the sphere of influence in Carthage and Sicily, the sympathy for the navy being destroyed by the storm, and the humiliation of being defeated in the battle of Gera, after all, it is the increasingly worse battlefield situation that forces them to be unable to. Not coming back makes them a little embarrassed to see their relatives.

Leotides' boat docked at a specific pier. After he got off the boat, he saw Cypros, the wartime governor of Sicily and the administrator of Catane, who came to greet him.

"Welcome home, Commander Prosous!" Cypros saluted with a smile.

Leotidides returned the salute with indifference and said, "What is there to welcome for a defeated general."

Cypros was taken aback for a moment, and then sincerely comforted him: "Lord Prosous, 'You defeated the Carthaginian army with less victory in the battle of Minoa, and captured Serinus, The Carthaginian-controlled western Sicily is in chaos, completely disrupting the Carthaginian plans, forcing the Carthaginians to delay another attack on Sicily for a few months, your performance has exceeded Your Majesty's expectations have successfully completed the task he once gave you...' The above words are not what I said, but what His Majesty said in the letter."

"Your Majesty has written a letter?!" At this time, Leotidides was a little moved.

"I, the dignified Governor of Sicily will lie to you?!" Cypros joked, and then took out the letter.

Leotidas immediately took it and started reading.

In the letter, Davos indeed praised the outstanding performance of Leotidides and his army in the previous period, and he also reminded that: the Carthaginians once again attacked Sicily in a big way, and obviously there are more sufficient Prepare, the Dionysian coalition is too deep into the enemy's territory, not only should it not fight recklessly, but also retreat in time to avoid being attacked by the Carthaginians in the empty rear. If the situation is unfavorable, you can even abandon the friendly city-states on the south coast and stick to the kingdom's territory...

This letter almost astonishingly predicted the development of the Sicilian war situation during this period. While Leotizides was shocked by Davos' superb strategic vision, he also complained a lot: Why didn't this letter come earlier?

"Oh, it's a letter from Your Majesty!" While Leotidides was still thinking about it, the letter in his hand was taken away by Cykrian behind him.

"When Your Majesty was writing this letter,

I don't know that you are still alive and have returned to the fleet, otherwise the letter..." Cypros explained.

"It's better to know later..." Secrian responded casually, but the image of Miltias who died in battle appeared in his mind, he sighed, and looked down at the letter: "...Oh, Your Majesty still Said that they have occupied Rome, acquired a large tract of land in the Latinum region, and also obtained the support of most of the Latin city-states, the remnant Roman army has retreated into a few small towns, and it will only take a month or two to end The battle at Latium, and then lead the army south to Sicily to fight the Carthaginians to the death! He hopes that during this time, we can defend against the attack of the Carthaginian army and prevent them from destroying the territory of Sicily..."

Cypros took the opportunity to take over the conversation and said: "In order to complete the task assigned by Your Majesty, we will hold a military meeting in a while to formulate a new plan to deal with the next attack of the Carthaginian army. I have notified the commander of the Seventh Army. Breru, he's on his way from the new barracks."

Leotidides' expression moved slightly: "I have no opinion."

"Wait for me a moment." Sekelian turned around to find his subordinates and instructed them: "After the soldiers and people have disembarked, don't wait for me, the fleet will immediately return to the Catania naval base not far to the south to rest. I--"

Cypros interrupted him: "Lord Cykrian, before you send the crew of the fleet back to the base, please let them go ashore and gather in line to walk around the city of Katanai. Lord Leotizides, eighth Soldiers of the Legion and the 4th Cavalry Corps are also invited to line up into the city."

"What do you mean?" Sekelian felt a little strange.

Leotizides looked at Cypros with the same doubts.

Cypros explained solemnly: "Although the war is far from over, the people of Catane are already waiting in the city, ready to warmly welcome the returning soldiers and sailors to thank them for their heroic fighting outside these past few months. Safe for our home!"

Hearing this, Cykrian and Leotidides glanced at each other subconsciously: whether it was the Eighth Army, the Fourth Cavalry Army, or the Second Fleet to which the Sicilian Fleet belonged, more than half of the soldiers and crew members They all came from Katanai, and there have been many casualties since the start of the war, especially in the fleet, and even lost two commanders, so the crew members were a little afraid to see the people of Katanai and to hear that they lost their relatives. of crying. But Cypros organized such a simple triumph, which was undoubtedly a good opportunity to boost the morale of the soldiers and crew members who had experienced defeat, were forced to return home, and were depressed and depressed.

So Leotidides said coldly: "I will assemble the soldiers and have them march into the city, but I will not participate."

"Me too." Sekelian remembered something, turned his head to point at the people who were disembarking at the far pier, and reminded, "Don't forget there are them."

Cypros understands what he means. These refugees from Minoa, Gera, and Agrigento have lost their homes and relatives. Cheering for the return of the soldiers, what would they think when they saw it?

Cypros said calmly: "Don't worry, I have officials responsible for them, and I won't let them enter the city for the time being."

………………………………

In the evening, there were five people sitting in the conference room of the administrator of the city hall of Catane. They were the Sicilian governor Cypros, the Sicilian commander Leotizides, the Sicilian fleet commander Cypros, and the Seventh Legion. Breru, commander, and Asitemis, commander of the Fourth Cavalry Corps.

In fact, Brelu had already arrived in Catane, but he did not go to the port with Cypros to meet him. Cypros had to make up a white lie.

But after the meeting, Brerou still expressed his admiration for the battles that Leotizides had fought in the past period, and the tone of his speech was more decent, but he did not mention anything about "the Seventh Legion comes to Sicily and must obey The command of Leotides" and so on.

Cypros coughed a few times, glanced at the other four, and said, "My lords, you have all read your majesty's letter, how to resist the Carthaginian army in the next one or two months. To prevent them from causing damage to Sicily's territory, to welcome the arrival of His Majesty's army, and to counterattack and encircle the Carthaginians, this is what we are going to discuss today... Let's talk about your opinions first. ."

"I don't have any suggestions now." Brelu took the lead, but said humbly: "Because according to the combat principles of the "Dionysian Military Law", it is necessary to understand the specific conditions of the battlefield before formulating a correct combat plan. , Our Seventh Legion has just arrived in Catane, and we still don't know the situation here. Lord Prossus has been in Sicily for so many years, and he has led his army to fight against the Carthaginians for several months. The base army must have a very deep understanding, can you please give us a detailed introduction to the situation first?"

Cypros frowned slightly. Although Brelu spoke very politely, this politeness showed an equality between the two, but the reality was that according to the instructions of King Davos and the Ministry of War, Brelu led the way. The Seventh Legion came to Sicily to accept the command of Leotidides, and they were in a subordinate relationship.

There was nothing unusual on Leotidize's expressionless face, and he said simply: "In the past few days, I have seriously thought about my battle experience with the Carthaginians during this period of time, and made a statement. Some analysis and summary, just for you to listen to, so as not to suffer in the future battle."

Leotizides stood up, looked at Brelu, and said seriously: "In the past few months, the Carthaginians sent a large army to attack Sicily twice. From the perspective of combat effectiveness, the first army And the second army is not an army at all.

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