Chapter 282

"Without the barrier of Agilion, Prosius was unable to take it back. The Sikelians faced the persecution of the Carthaginian army, and they did not know that reinforcements were coming. Besides, the Carthaginians were very good at Fighting in the mountains... Faced with such a predicament, it is difficult for us to speculate on what choices the Sikelians will make." Thormid said solemnly: "However, if these Sikeles live on the western edge of the Sicilian territory, it is difficult for us to speculate. The tribes have surrendered to the Carthaginians, and that will surely cause a lot of trouble for our Sicilian territory!"

Davos tapped the wooden table heavily with his hand, and said in a deep voice, "I decided to let the entire army land in Catane and repel the army of Carthage from the front!"

"Your Majesty, when you were discussing at the Satnicum camp before, didn't you plan to let the army land in western Sicily, where the defense was empty, to cut off the way back for the Carthaginian army?" Mattonis asked.

"Yes, I have proposed such a plan, but the premise of implementing this plan is that the Carthaginians have lost their maritime power and cannot pose a threat to our landing fleet." Davos pointed to Sicily on the map of the wooden table. Island, explained in a gentle tone: "But now the situation has changed, the new fleet of the Carthaginians has been put into use, and there are still many warships being built in the shipyards of it and the Phoenician allies... I believe everyone is still right. The situation when we landed in Ladium is still fresh in my memory. The number of ships full of our legions is so large that it is impossible to hide from the eyes and ears of the Carthaginians, and it is impossible to achieve the purpose of a surprise attack. When the time comes, the Carthaginians will Do your best to mobilize all sea power to prevent us from landing.

Everything went smoothly when we landed in Ladium before, and it took us nearly half a day. If we landed in western Sicily, and the Carthaginians desperately obstructed the landing, the time to complete the landing may be very long. After all, it belongs to the Carthaginians. The control range is more conducive to their combat. Even if we can bring the Sicilian Fleet and the 3rd Fleet together, it may not be able to take advantage of it... And even if the final landing is completed, such a huge army requires huge food consumption, and the next food supply may have to rely on Shipping by sea, this will be a big problem again! "

Davos looked around the crowd and saw that they did not refute, but fell into thought, so he said loudly: "And the territory of Sicily is being damaged and threatened by the Carthaginian army, the people eagerly expect us to go to rescue, and if we let them They would rather take a huge risk and land in western Sicily, regardless of their safety, what would they think! Therefore, the top priority is to drive the Carthaginians out of the Sicilian territory, so that the people can quickly rebuild their homes!"

When everyone heard this, they felt reasonable and nodded in support.

At this time, Epithenes interjected: "Your Majesty, the plan for the entire army to land in western Sicily has been cancelled, but one or two legions can be landed."

Davos glanced at him and said, "This issue will not be discussed today. Three days ago, the Ministry of Military Affairs had notified the reserve soldiers of various cities to gather at the barracks in Siliting.

Your task in these two days is to add them to your army as soon as possible, so that the army can be fully reorganized. In two days we will leave for Katana. "

"What about the Roman soldiers who surrendered?" Amyntas demanded.

Davos had long considered and said: "They will still be kept in their respective teams, and each team will have one more Roman establishment. With the addition of reserve soldiers, the proportion of Roman soldiers in the army will be diluted. I think This is more conducive to the stability of the team, and it is also more conducive to the accelerated integration of these Romans..."

………………………………

"Lord Marco, look! Our soldiers have occupied the head of the city!" The adjutant danced with excitement.

It is no wonder that he behaved like this. Tens of thousands of Carthaginian soldiers besieged this seemingly small city of Palagonia. In addition to the death and injury of many soldiers, the attack for more than half a month has not made much progress. Now finally gnawed off this hard bone.

Marco, who had been gloomy these days, finally showed a smile, and he said loudly: "Blow the bugle for me to attack, let the soldiers seize the opportunity, continue to attack the city, and break the second of the Dionians. Dao city wall, destroy all the Dionians in the city!"

"Yes!"

"Woo!..." Marco listened to the loud bugle and watched as hundreds of soldiers rushed into the city of Paragonia, but the sound of fighting in the city was getting weaker and weaker...

Marco clenched his fists, and he desperately hoped that this time he could break through the inner city wall that had caused a lot of trouble for the siege soldiers.

The Carthaginian soldiers who occupied the city head quickly rushed down the city wall from all directions, roaring and rushing into the city, chasing the fleeing enemies. They were extremely excited but seldom paid attention to the water flowing in the ditch beside the criss-crossing streets. It's not the smelly sewage, but the viscous asphalt, and the empty houses are piled with a lot of freshly harvested wheat grass...

Standing on the inner city wall, Teminides, the captain of the 7th Legion of Dionia, watched the enemy in the city approaching the city like a tide, and decisively issued an order: "Close the city gate!"

"Captain, there are still many brothers who are retreating to the inner city, and they will arrive soon! Wait a little longer! Wait a little longer!" The seventh army officer on the side requested anxiously.

Teminides gritted his teeth and said hard-heartedly: "It's too late, before they reach the city, the Carthaginians rushed into the inner city! By then, everything we have worked so hard to arrange will be in vain!"

Having said this, he raised the volume and shouted loudly: "Close the gate!"

After giving this order, he then raised his right arm and swung down hard: "Fire the rocket!"

More than a dozen rockets were fired into the trench under the city, and a circle of flames immediately rose, and quickly spread out along the connected ditch...

"Captain, here!" The guard handed Teminides the wet linen.

Teminides looked around at the soldiers who had been covered with linen, reached out and took it, covering his mouth and nose.

It didn't take long for the entire outer city to become a sea of ​​fire. The Carthaginian soldiers who had been advancing aggressively, now panicked and wanted to retreat backwards. However, the narrow streets and crowded crowds made it impossible for them to do so. Just as they were frantically pushing each other and even fighting, flames and thick smoke enveloped them...

In the sea of ​​fire in the outer city, there were shrill screams everywhere, and among these screams there must be Dionian soldiers who had not retreated into the inner city in time.

Teminides closed his eyes in pain, supported the battlements, knelt down slowly, and chanted silently in his heart: "Great Hades! You are the protector of the kingdom of Dionia, you are just and strict. Lord of Hell, I implore you to give justice to these warriors who died fighting for the kingdom, so that their souls can receive the protection they deserve..."

Not only was Teminides praying, but all the soldiers in the inner city were doing the same thing. Although the solid city wall prevented the fire from spreading inward, the rolling heat wave was suffocating and suffocating. People are always kneeling motionless, facing the burning sea of ​​fire and praying sincerely for repentance...

And the Carthaginians who were fighting outside the city were cheering because they were about to break the city. Suddenly, they saw flames rising in the city and quickly covering the whole city. They were all shocked, and quickly turned from shock to panic: "My God! The Dionians are crazy, they set the whole town on fire!"

"Quick! Quickly withdraw the troops!"

"Look at this fire! It's too late! The soldiers rushed in desperately for meritorious deeds, blocking all the city gates. This cannot be withdrawn in a short time!"

...

Seeing that victory was coming, it turned into despair in a blink of an eye. Margaret felt suffocated and uncomfortable, and there was nowhere to vent his resentment. He immediately grabbed the spear from the guards and threw it hard at a man who had just escaped from the fire city. The Numibian soldier fleeing in this direction, the spear pierced his chest.

Marco looked around the surrounding soldiers with a grim face, and roared angrily: "Shut me all the fuck up!"

The followers fell silent for a while.

………………………………

In the evening, Pomirka walked into the large tent of the Carthaginian military camp.

Marco, who was still resentful and inaccessible during the day, is now nibbling on the cooked leg of lamb with a calm expression.

Seeing Pomirka coming in, he picked up the half-eaten leg of lamb and said, "Agrigento's lamb is really delicious, would you like a piece?"

"Thank you, I've already had dinner." Pomir called a wooden chair, sat across from him, and asked softly, "Next... what are your plans?"

"What do you mean?" Marco asked, looking at him.

"Sir Margo, the Dionysians burned the entire outer city of Palagonia, and we suffered heavy losses. According to the statistics just received, nearly 2,000 soldiers were burned to death, and more than 2,000 soldiers were burned. , from our siege of Palagonia to the present, the number of dead and wounded soldiers has reached as high as 7,000!" As Pomirka continued to state the facts, the originally flat tone became heavy: "A small Palagonia Let's just let us have nothing to do with it, not to mention the Dionysian Barracks, Leotine, and Kathanah, which are bigger and more soldiers than it, we can't keep fighting like this! Otherwise, wait for Dionysus When Ya's reinforcements arrive, we probably won't have enough strength to confront them head-on!"

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Marco asked impatiently with his face down.

"I believe you have received news from Sardinia, 'The great Dionysian fleet will carry soldiers south from Latium to Trina...' I am afraid that the Dionysians have won The war with Rome, whose army is about to land in Sicily, should we temporarily stop the attack on Catane, so as to be fully prepared to fight the main force of Dionia?"