ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 531 Target: Sicily
Feidun rushed to Taurna, preparing to bring the remaining Ligim troops stationed there to Medema to participate in the siege.

In order to prevent Locri's army from sneaking in from behind again while the coalition forces were attacking the city, Hilos also sent a brigade to build a simple wooden stronghold to block the mountain road leading to Locri, and sent a reconnaissance team to monitor the movements of the Locri people at all times.

Hilos, who had some siege experience, led the army to implement his siege plan in a leisurely and orderly manner. However, the citizen soldiers who returned to Locri did not immediately go to the northern border to repel the invading Coronians. .

Due to the capture of Theopantus, Locle's army needed a new general to lead the army. However, Demodokas appointed one of his confidants to take over, but was opposed by everyone in the council. The reason was: Locle We are in a critical period and there is an urgent need for a person with military talents to lead the citizen soldiers to defend Locke. However, Demodocus's candidate lacks war experience and has no prestige in the army. It is difficult to command the soldiers. Once the battle fails, Locke will Li will lose his only army, so be careful!
This was the second time in two days that the council had refuted a proposal from Demodocus; it had never been like this before.Demodochus held back his anger and watched as the members unanimously elected McGaris.McGaris, an old man, led his troops to fight against Crotone many times more than ten years ago, with many victories.In recent years, he has been squeezed by Demodokas and had to step aside.

At this time, in the face of strong demands from everyone, Demodokas had to agree to the appointment and let his political enemy serve as the army commander, but he felt that his hands and feet were cold.

McGaris immediately organized his troops and led more than 6000 men to attack the enemy.

After burning a village, the Coronian army did not face the enemy head-on. Instead, they quickly retreated back to the border of their city-state territory. However, they did not stay away. Instead, they set up camp to continue to deter Locri.

The cautious McGaris was worried about the conspiracy of the Coronians. He was afraid of being ambushed and did not attack. He also stayed at the border and the two sides formed a confrontation.

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In the early morning, the people of Lijim flocked to the port, not only to say goodbye to the Dionia fleet and the First Army, but also to say goodbye to the nearly a thousand soldiers and family members who had just joined the cross-sea expedition to Sicily.

Most of them were fugitives from the city-states of Sicily, such as Catanay and Naxos, which were conquered by Syracuse.Previously, in order to compete with Syracuse's two new city-states (Messina and Tyndares) on the other side of the strait, Ligem built a city for them on the Millais Peninsula.But unexpectedly, the Syracuse army moved quickly and quickly captured the new city. Some people were arrested and killed, some fled into the mountains, and some were rescued by the Ligim and brought back to the city on ships.

Now the people of Lijim are praying that everything goes well for this troop going to Sicily and that they don't make the same mistake again.

The Dionian fleet and dozens of Lijim ships sailed out of the port together. In front of the fleet was Sekerian's ship. The young Dionian naval commander stood on the side of the ship, looking at the other side, with eyes in his eyes. Showing a trace of regret, he pointed forward and said to Antonios, the commander of the First Army on his warship: "Messina is not far ahead, why don't we capture him first! It's very close to Lijim. It is easy to get support from Lijim. After capturing Messina, we can block the strait and completely eliminate the warships in the port!"

Antonios squinted at Sekerian, who was scolding Fang Qiu. He had known that this young man was radical and arrogant.If Amyntas were here, he would definitely criticize him: "What right does your navy have to dictate to the legion!"

But Antonios would not do this. In fact, when Davos asked him for his opinion, his initial consideration was to land on the Millais Peninsula between Tyndares and Messina. Both city-states were newly built. It is not too strong and is far away from Syracuse, so it can be easily captured and used as their forward base in Sicily (the original city of Messina was captured when the Carthaginian commander Himilko led an army to attack Syracuse. and destroyed it, then rebuilt it two years ago when Dionysius led his army north to drive out the Carthaginians on the north coast).

"I thought about it this way before, but His Majesty objected to it," Antonios said in a tactful tone.

"Oh, why?" As soon as Sekerian heard the word "Your Majesty," most of the dissatisfied look on his face disappeared.

"Time." Antonios spit out a word: "'It will probably take a few days to attack Messina, and during these few days, the people of Syracuse have already received the news that 'we are attacking Sicily' , will definitely make defensive preparations, and when we go south to attack, we will encounter more difficulties. Messina is too far away from Syracuse, and its fall will not cause too much damage to Syracuse's sphere of influence. We must take advantage of Syracuse's unpreparedness to raid the nearby city-states, causing panic and chaos in the area under his control, and more opportunities will be born in the chaos...' These are the words of His Majesty .”

Sekelian listened carefully, and sighed: "Your Majesty has considered it comprehensively! But in this way, our risk will become greater.

Antonios smiled: "Are you afraid of these difficulties?"

Sekerian immediately said arrogantly: "I am hoping that the fleet in the Syracuse port can be attracted out, so that my fleet can defeat them, and let the Dionia Navy completely become the master of this sea area!"

The two laughed confidently.

The fleet sailed south along the east coast of Sicily and encountered many merchant ships along the way. They saw this large-scale mixed fleet, especially the "gems, black hair, and double forks" painted on the sails. They were all shocked and had a premonition that something big was going to happen. Some hurriedly retreated, while others turned around and accelerated back south, obviously preparing to go back to report the news.

Sekerian sat on the flagship and remained unmoved. His fleet was already sailing at the fastest speed and was not far from its destination.

And Antonios has been looking at the coast from the side of the boat. He has never been to Sicily before, and what he sees on the map is completely different from the feeling of being there.

Davers once told him: Going south from Messina to Tao Romenian, the land route can only take a narrow passage near the coast, and this road is thirty or forty miles long. "

It seems to be true now, because it has been sailing for almost three hours from the port of Lijim. In his eyes, the mountains on the other side have never been broken. They are overlapping and continuous. It looks soothing and green It is pleasing to the eye, like a picture.But Antonios knew this was because it was five or six miles away from him. According to experience, these peaks were all less than a thousand meters high, and it was indeed difficult to climb.

"Lord Antonios, that is Tauromenion." A middle-aged man next to him pointed to the other side and said.

This man was called Laodisian, who was originally a nobleman of Naxos. After the fall of Naxos, he led his family to flee to the inland of Sicily, and gathered with exiles from other city-states near Agilion, and gradually formed a A larger village.Due to the constant intrusions from Syracuse's allies and the hatred of the Sikelians, their lives were very difficult.Later, when he heard that Lijim was going to build a new city for them, the exiles, he went there happily.Unexpectedly, the rapid response of the people of Syracuse destroyed the newly built New City of Millais. Some of his relatives also died in the war, and he fled to Lijim.

Despite the setbacks, his determination to rebuild his home has not changed, but has become stronger.Therefore, as soon as he heard that Dionia was going to attack Sicily, he took the initiative to find Antonios with his remaining relatives and asked to join.

At this time, Antonios heard the words and looked intently: I saw a city standing on the high ground near the coast. The most strange thing is that it is a twin city. Two stone fortresses are located on the high ground, with each other as horns. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack and hold this narrow coastal passage.

"I heard that this was a city built by the Carthaginians for the Sikelians?" Antonios asked uncertainly, recalling some brief information he had learned about the city.

"Yes, the Carthaginian general Himilko built the Tauromenian for the Sikelians in order to win over the Sikelians and let these indigenous people join him when Carthage attacked Syracuse. ..." Laodicean said with some gloating: "Later, when the tyrant of Syracuse attacked Tauromenion, he could not use siege equipment due to the steep terrain and was unable to capture it. Finally, Sikel People surrendered and got it. Now the owners of this city are those hateful Campanian mercenaries!"

Antonios listened to his explanation and looked at Tauromenion in a daze: If he had chosen to attack Messina first, even if he succeeded, he would not be able to break through Tauromenion by land and enter Syracuse. control the core area, and can only take the sea route... and the Sikel people are a force that King Davos suggested that he could contact...

"...To attack Sicily, you have to remember, 'Three points depends on military, seven points depends on diplomacy.'..." Antonios recalled in his mind the solemn reminder of Davos before leaving.

The fleet continued to move forward, and Antonio's vision suddenly broadened: the mountains that had made people sleepy disappeared, and what appeared were rolling hills, and the terrain became flatter as it went south...

Antonios's eyes were attracted by the farther sight on the land: it was an extremely majestic mountain peak. Even though it was nearly 20 miles away, its majestic mountain was still so clear, showing a huge trapezoid, straight into the sky, as if standing tall on the sky. a pillar of.What's even more strange is that other peaks are all emerald green, but it is gray and looks ancient and mysterious. This is the legendary furnace where Hevastus forged magical weapons--Sicily's Mount Etna. .

　Thanks to Zhan Billy for your unswerving rewards!Your support is the biggest motivation for me to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)