Chapter 285 Strategic Deployment in Sicily

Brelu squeezed his fingers with a slightly sad expression.

"Everyone!" Davos looked around and said with a serious expression: "During our fierce battle in Rome, the Carthaginians pretended to besiege Serinus with heavy troops, but secretly used a strategy to defeat the Sikelians, and led their elite troops into the defensive emptiness. the rear, thus taking Agrigento more easily, forcing Prosusus' army to retreat. Then attacked Gera. With roughly equal numbers of soldiers, defeated ours in a head-to-head battle. The Sicilian coalition forces. After that, despite many hard battles, they finally conquered the city of Palagonia that we carefully built, and retreated westward in time before our army arrived...

Judging from the performance of the Carthaginian army during this period, it was a powerful and resilient army. Their commander, Marco, is not only resolute, fierce, but also resourceful, so they will be our formidable enemies! "

When the senior generals such as Amyntas, Matonis, and Lizaru heard this, their expressions were equally serious, but their eyes burst out with fighting spirit.

Davos was very relieved to see it in his eyes, and he said loudly again: "But the Carthaginians have been fighting hard, not only the soldiers are tired, but also believe that the casualties are not small, they chose to return to the west, want to rest the army and reduce the number of casualties. Difficulty in supplying food, adding defenses, maybe even taking Serinus... They want to be fully prepared for our next counter-offensive. But we will never give them enough time to prepare, so I decided All troops will only rest for one day in Katanai, and then march west the day after tomorrow!"

The generals listened, and they were immediately refreshed.

"Izam!" Davos looked at the mountain reconnaissance team leader and gave an order: "After the meeting, send your men to the south coast and sneak into the central mountains to investigate the movements of the Carthaginian army and Those who betray our Sikel tribe, report to me at any time."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Lizaru and Epithenis!" Davos continued to give orders: "Early the day after tomorrow, you two will lead the Third Army and the Lucania Reserve Army to the west into the central mountainous area to retake Enna! Take back Kepharo. Ition! Reconquer the Sikel tribes that rebel against us, and then wait for my next order to threaten the flanks of the Sikan and Carthaginian armies in the west."

Davos looked at the two of them, paused for a moment, and then said, "The army is mainly in command of Lizaru, and Epithenes is in charge of assisting. Is there any objection?"

Epithenis shrugged: "I have no opinion, I will obey Lizaru's orders." Epithenis agreed so simply, not a lie, but because his power is not strong, otherwise he would After retiring from the post of Legion Commander, apart from attending meetings of the Senate, he seldom holds other administrative positions, but he has a reputation for "loving beautiful men" in Turiyi.

Moreover, the smart Epithenes certainly understood that the reason why Davos made such a decision was not because of partiality, but was reasonable: because the Third Legion was a regular legion after all, and he was only the temporary commander of the reserve legion. Of course, only Lizaru, the commander of the Third Corps, can be the commander. In addition, most of the soldiers of the two legions are Lucanians, and they are more willing to obey the command of Lizaru, who is also a Lucanian.

"Your Majesty." Lizaru was not happy because he was appointed, but said, "I have a request."

"you say."

Lizaru said seriously: "The Third Army and the Lucania Reserve Army are indeed good at mountain combat, but the biggest problem in fighting in the mountains is the terrain. If the terrain is unfamiliar, no matter how elite the soldiers are, they are prone to failure. Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will send us some Sikeles as guides."

Davos smiled slightly: "You and I thought of going together, but I won't just send you a few guides."

After speaking, he said to Cypros, the governor of Sicily, beside him: "I heard that when the Carthaginian army invaded our territory, the chief executive of Hena, Kleirou, performed well and successfully blocked the Carthaginian army. attack?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Lord Kleilu led the Hena defenders to repel several attacks by the Carthaginian army and defended our territory. According to preliminary estimates, at least more than 2,000 enemies were killed and wounded." Cypros truthfully said.

"After the meeting, I hope you will appoint a Hena administrative adjutant to temporarily take over his position. I need him to organize a Sikel force, follow Lizaru's command, and attack west together."

"I understand, I will arrange it immediately when I go back." Cypros responded simply.

Davos smiled and asked, "Lizaru, are you satisfied with my arrangement?"

Lizaru originally only wanted a few guides, but he didn't expect Davos to give him an army. He couldn't hide the joy on his face and said quickly, "This is really great! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Amyntas and Matonis looked at him with admiration: two legions plus a Sikel force, the total number of soldiers under the command of Lizaru must have exceeded 20,000!

Davos continued: "Early the day after tomorrow, I will march westward along the south coast with the I, II, IV, VI, Roman Reserve, I, II, and IV Cavalry Corps. The destination is Serinus. And the 7th and 8th Legions”

Davos looked at the Sicilian commander not far from him, and said, "Commanded by Prosous, your task is to lead these two legions, as well as the allied troops of Leotine, Taunis, and A Allied soldiers such as Grigento, Gera, Minoa, attack the capricious Syracuse!"

This will also be an army of well over 20,000! When the generals all cast complicated glances at the rising star in the army, Leotides still had that paralyzed expression, and only said softly, "Yes."

Even Davos couldn't help but look at him again, and then turned to the Sicilian fleet commander on the right: "Sekelian!"

"It's our navy's turn at the end." Sekelian complained a bit in his excited tone.

The faces of everyone changed slightly, and perhaps in the Dionian army, only Cykrian dared to speak to King Davos in such a tone.

Davos didn't take it seriously, and said, "It is precisely because the mission of your navy is the most important, so I put it at the end. Let me ask you, how many warships are left in the Sicilian fleet?"

"There are 70 ships that can actually fight, including 23 crow warships, 19 fast warships, and the rest are captured Carthaginian three-tier oar warships..." Sekelian replied earnestly.

The three fleets that fought against Carthage ended up with only a few warships left, and two senior navy generals were killed in the battle. It seems that in the war with Carthage, the navy was the one that lost the most and consumed the most national power. Yes! Davos sighed in his heart, but said calmly on the surface: "Tell you the good news, within a month, the newly built warships will be added to the Sicilian fleet, which can at least increase the number of warships under your command. to 300."

Cykrian was not surprised by the news, in fact he had been following the construction of the kingdom's civil warships since his return.

"And, not only this month, the new warships will be added to the Sicilian fleet one after another until the end of the war." Davos's next words finally made Sekelian smile.

But Davos's expression became more serious, and his voice became stronger and stronger: "However, as the Sicilian fleet becomes stronger, it needs to take on more responsibilities. You must actively cooperate with the actions of the land forces and continue to increase your efforts to the west of Sicily. Continue to defeat the new fleet attacked by Carthage! After taking complete control of the entire Sicilian waters, and further gain the dominance of the sea between Carthage and Sicily, cut off Carthage's material transportation channel to western Sicily, Even the waters that threaten the soil of Carthage in the future! This is my request for the Sicilian fleet, can you do it?!"

Sekelian felt a pressure at first, but then he became excited and said loudly: "Your Majesty, even if you add another request, the Sicilian fleet will independently capture the attached towns of Carthage or the towns of its Phoenician allies. , our Sicilian fleet can certainly do it!"

Some of the generals present were displeased: What does Sekelian mean, wanting the navy to rob the army of all the work? !

Davos really admired Sekelian's confidence, he nodded and continued to say to him: "This time I will lead the army westward, and you will also lead the fleet to escort the fleet carrying supplies, along the south coast, Travel with the land troops to ensure the absolute safety of the fleet when docking, unloading supplies, building camps..."

"Yes!" Sekelian responded simply.

Davos turned to look at Cypros on the left again, and said sternly: "Then you, the Governor of Sicily, will be very busy. The number of soldiers we have participated in this war is unprecedented, which means that the rations and The consumption of materials is also amazing, and whether they can be collected and transported well requires you to form an efficient team to ensure the supply of the army in a timely and fast manner."

"This is my duty as the governor of Sicily. Before Commander Prosous fought in the front, I led the officials to provide military supplies and supplies for the army under his command in Catane, and I have accumulated a lot of money. I believe that this time we will also be able to successfully complete the task!” Cypros said confidently: “And I will maintain close contact with the Senate to ensure that food and materials from all over the kingdom can be delivered to Katanai in time. port……"