ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 521: Go to Trina first

"Messenger of Dionia, I don't think you came this time to study and study the Carthaginian gods." Hanno said meaningfully with a smile: "Unfortunately, our answer is different from the previous one." As always, Carthage will always abide by its agreement with Syracuse, so I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

"Master Hanno, our Dionia will not embarrass Carthage, and we have no intention of forming an alliance with you again." Anshitalos said seriously: "I am here this time to represent the Senate of Dionia, Hope to trade with Carthage."

"What kind of trade?" Hannuo asked with his heart moving.

"Grain!" Ancitanos said bluntly: "We Dionians are struggling to resist the invasion of the Syracuses. Due to the destruction of our territory by the Syracuses, the food supply of the entire alliance is now very low. Nervous, if we cannot buy a large amount of grain from outside, then our army will not last long, and will be unable to fight due to lack of food! By then, the Syracuse can easily defeat our soldiers and occupy Dio Nia, thereby achieving the goal of completely controlling Magna Graecia."

Hanno's right eyelid twitched, he pondered for a while, and then said: "If we just purchase grain, we can consider it. There is abundant rain in Africa this year, and the grain harvest is abundant. Carthage has a lot of surplus grain, but I heard that Dio Nia has a large population, and the amount of grain you need is probably not a small amount. Your war with Carthage has lasted for so long, can you still afford to buy grain?"

"I heard that Carthage is also short of money recently, and it is impossible to give us preferential grain prices, and our treasury is indeed almost exhausted, but the people of Dionia enthusiastically donated the silver coins collected at home, Just to defeat Syracuse and restore peace to Magna Graecia, we can afford to buy grain!" Ansitanos said passionately.

His words shocked Hanno, not only because the people of Dionia showed their determination to fight to the death with Syracuse, but also because the sentence "Carthage is also in urgent need of money" affected his sensitivity. nerves.

Why was such a wealthy city like Carthage also short of money? !That's because several wars with Syracuse drained the Carthage treasury hugely, and although the war was over, the drain on the Carthage treasury continued.In order to guard against the powerful Syracuse, the Carthage Senate decided to rebuild a defensive perimeter in western Sicily to ensure the safety of the city. To this end, they appointed Mago as the commander of the Sicilian army, giving him some autonomy. .

After Mago took office, he not only recruited labor and purchased a large amount of materials to build defensive fortresses, but also recruited tens of thousands of Celtic soldiers to make up for the lack of troops due to the heavy casualties suffered by the Carthaginian citizen soldiers in the war. , Numbia, Iberia and other regions.For this reason, Carthage's mint produces a large number of amber gold and silver coins with high purchasing power every month, which are used to pay the salaries of mercenaries, Carthage's monthly business income, and income from Iberia, Sasha Most of Dinnia's mining revenue is spent on this.

But this was not Hanno's main concern. What he was most worried about was that the Carthaginians were becoming increasingly nervous due to the rampage of the Syracuse army in Magna Graecia. Therefore, with the support of those allies of the Magonides family, Mago's power in Sicily continued to expand.A few days ago, he also sent a letter asking the Senate to give him the power to mint coins in Sicily, so as to save him the trouble of transporting large amounts of gold and silver coins back and forth as well as potential dangers, such as shipwrecks caused by storms... Because of this incident The Senate had been debating for days.

During this time, Hanno was restless: Margo's growing power in Sicily had threatened his political dominance in the Carthaginian Senate, and he had finally taken control of Carthage from the Magonides. Take it over, never allow Ma Ge to take it back again!

Ansitanos saw Hanno frowning and lost in thought, so he added: "Of course, if you allow it, we hope to use Syracuse prisoners to replace part of the cost of buying grain."

"Prisoners of Syracuse?" Hanno was a little confused. Although he got the news that the Dionia Navy had won, the specific battle situation was not clear.

"Our fleet defeated the Syracuseans at Turui and captured tens of thousands of Syracuse sailors. These two times I came to Carthage, I deeply felt that the Carthaginian people had a deep hatred for Syracuse. People hate each other, and I think if the Syracuse prisoners can be made their slaves, it might help them vent their hatred..." Ansitanos said unhurriedly.

Hanno's eyes lit up: exchanging grain for Syracuse slaves might win the favor of the Carthaginian people.

Of course, this is not what Hanno is most interested in. He leaned forward slightly, stared at Ansitanos, and asked in a deep voice: "It's surprising that your fleet can defeat the Syracuseans. ! But can your army defeat Syracuse’s powerful army?!”

The Carthaginians have always believed that their navy is the most powerful in the Western Mediterranean. In the previous war with Syracuse, the reason for the navy's two disastrous defeats was not that it lost a real duel at sea, but that it was trapped in the port and In the bay, there were either ballista attacks or raids that prevented the sailors from getting on board at all.The Carthaginians were unconvinced, so although the Dionysian victory in the naval battle was surprising, it did not shock Hanno very much, but Syracuse's huge army did make the Carthaginians feel fear.

"Lord Hanno, if you know Dionia, you will know that our King Davos has never suffered a failure in commanding operations since the establishment of the Dionia Alliance, and many times he won with less More. Before, Dionia suffered some setbacks because His Majesty King Davos was leading his army to fight the Samnites in the north. Now he has led his army back to Thurii, and the victory of the naval battle was due to him. Obtained under the plan.

Before I left Turui, he had led his army to Crotone to defend against the Syracuse army there.Although the number of our soldiers is smaller than that of the Syracuse army, all the soldiers and generals have full confidence in His Majesty Davos and are willing to obey his orders and fight to the death with the Syracuse people!As long as we have enough food, I believe we will be able to defeat Syracuse's army in the end! "It's rare for Ancitanos to speak so excitedly.

Hanno stroked his beard with his hand and his eyes flickered. Although he had not commanded an army, he had discussed the war in Magna Graecia many times with his subordinates who were familiar with military affairs and the senators attached to him: If the Dionians could really defeat Scylla, The army of Cusa, coupled with the navy of Syracuse, also suffered a disastrous defeat. The Syracuse soldiers who invaded Magna Graecia may not be able to return to Sicily. Then Syracuse, whose strength has been greatly damaged, still needs Carthage. Are you worried? !With the security of Carthage's north side guaranteed, there is no need to defend Syracuse on the island of Sicily, and there is no need to spend money to maintain a large number of mercenaries. Mago's position as governor of Sicily can also be revoked! …

Hanno had countless thoughts in his mind, and then said with a smile: "Tomorrow morning, when you go to the Senate, I will invite you to enter and tell the senators Dionia's requirements."

Ansitanos was overjoyed when he heard this. With Sophie Tehanno's words, in fact, the purchase of grain would definitely be approved by the Carthage Senate.

"Thank you, Lord Hanno!" Ansitanos said loudly and gratefully.

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The news of the disastrous defeat of the Syracuse army reached Trina that night, causing panic among the defenders in the city. It was only because it was too late and fear of accidents that they did not dare to retreat to the West Court in the dark.

Early the next morning, more than 3000 Trina defenders began preparing to retreat.

But not long after leaving the city, something unexpected happened: more than 1000 Hibernians did not want to go to Xiliting and only wanted to go south back to their own city-state.

After some negotiations and arguments, the general of the Syracuse garrison reluctantly agreed. By the time they restarted their retreat to the east, more than an hour had passed. However, they had brought a lot of looted from Trina with them. Supplies, resulting in slow movement.Just after crossing the Ramato River, he was discovered by Dionia's outpost cavalry.

After getting the news, Laides sent someone to report to Davers in the rear, and at the same time led more than 1000 cavalry to harass in an emergency, so as to delay the enemy's escape back to Xiliting.

After receiving the news, the First and Second Corps, which were at the forefront of the marching column, also sent light armored and light infantry brigades to intercept them.

The more than 2000 Trina garrison felt something bad after discovering the Dionia reconnaissance cavalry. Under the general's strict order, they put on their armor, picked up their shields and spears, abandoned the excess baggage, and accelerated their march.

But the undulating hilly road was not easy to walk. About half an hour later, the Trina garrison was still ten miles away from Siliting, but Dionia's cavalry regiment had already arrived.

Before the cavalry regiment could throw their javelins, a thousand Corunian soldiers suddenly knelt down and surrendered, causing the already panicked Trina defenders to panic and fall into disarray.

Seeing this situation, Ledes gave a decisive order: the cavalry should directly attack the enemy.

Trina's Syracuse garrison was immediately defeated. Pursued by the cavalry corps, they either died in battle or were captured. In the end, only a hundred of the more than 1000 people left fled back to the West Court.

The Hibernians who retreated to the south were also unlucky. They ran into the Ligim army riding the Cykrian fleet and landed on the coast north of the city of Hibernian.

How could Feidun let go of this great opportunity to attack the few with more troops, and immediately led his army to attack fiercely.

(End of this chapter)