ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 899 Retreat and Attack

Cykrian was startled: "You want to give up Selinus?!"

"Of course you can't give up the city of Selinus, otherwise Carthage's 1 troops can easily pass here and march eastward, and you will also lose the naval base that can gain a foothold in western Sicily, and the threat to the western coast of Sicily will also be It will be greatly reduced." Leotizides explained with rare patience: "However, our main force always stays in the city of Selinus, so that the Carthaginians can confidently and boldly attack places where our defenses are empty. This It didn't work either. My plan was to leave a few thousand soldiers to defend the city of Selinus. I led more than [-] soldiers with the Eighth Legion as the main force, took a boat to Gela, united with the armies of friendly countries, and defeated the army that was attacking Aggra. Ligento’s Carthaginian army eliminates its threat to my Dionysian territory and our friendly city-states.”

"With only a few thousand soldiers left to defend Selinus, can we defend the Carthaginian army from attacking?" Seclian was worried.

"We have been reinforcing the city defense during this period. There should be no problem in defending it for more than a month. By then, the situation of the battle may change." Leotizides said calmly.

After listening to Sekelian, he pondered for a while before making up his mind: "Since you have decided to implement this plan, as a military force that also protects the security of the Sicilian territory, our Sicilian fleet can assure you of two things.

First, our fleet will do its best to cooperate with the defenders of Selinus to defend the city, such as intercepting Carthaginian grain ships, sending fleet infantry to harass the rear of the Carthaginian army, even in the most dangerous times , send fleet infantry to assist you in defending the city; secondly, I can guarantee that if Selinus is breached, our navy will do its best to allow the remaining defenders to safely evacuate and return to Catania. "

Leotizides was rarely moved, and even his voice fluctuated: "Thank you very much!"

"To thank me, hurry up and defeat the Carthaginian army attacking Agrigento." Sekerian replied with his head held high.

After sending Sekerian away, Leotizides stood in a daze at the door of the hall. Muklu said with a smile: "It is said that Lord Sekerian is arrogant and hard to talk to, but it seems that he is actually Very sensible."

Leotizides did not answer the question, returned to his seat again, picked up the map and looked at it carefully.

Muklu chuckled secretly: Compared with the celebrity Sekerian in the navy, the commander in front of him is even more difficult to get in touch with.

Muklu knew that Leotizides could spend most of the day just by looking at the map, so he hurriedly called the slaves to deliver breakfast to the hall.

Leotizides quickly finished his breakfast and then left Muklu to arrange reinforcements for Agrigento.

As soon as Muklu walked out of the hall, he met Sekerian who was walking quickly.

"Lord Cyklian, what are you—"

"I just received the report from the clipper that the Carthaginians have occupied Agrigento!" Sekerian said with a solemn expression and walked into the hall.

"Agrigento has fallen?!" Leotizides suddenly stood up.

"The Carthaginians not only captured Agrigento, but also massacred the entire city. Only a small number of Agrigento people fled to Econom by boat." Sekerian said with emphasis: "You The plan to transport reinforcements cannot be implemented."

Although this sudden news disrupted Leotizides' plan, it did not panic him too much. He pondered for a moment and then said: "Please continue to implement the troop transportation plan, but the destination will be changed to Jela."

After the Carthaginian army captured Agrigento, the city-state to the east was Econom, but this small city was completely defenseless. Next to it was Gela, and to the west was Minoan. Ya, why only reinforce Zela instead of Minoa?Seclian still understood this, because after the Carthaginian army besieged the city of Selinus, Leotizides considered that Minoa also faced the threat of the Carthaginians (Selinus and Minoa Germe between Noah was just a small town without city walls and no troops were stationed at all), so it was not allowed to send reinforcements. Now the defense force in the city can support it for at least a while.

Thinking of this, he asked solemnly: "Sent reinforcements to Jela, are you still ready to continue with the next plan?"

Leotizides did not hesitate: "As long as the Carthaginian army in Agrigento continues to attack Econom or Gela, we must rush to fight it. This is our only chance!"

Seclian stared at the expressionless Leotizides. He suddenly admired this man's decisiveness in the face of difficulties, and felt that he was similar to him in some ways. He coughed, stood up, and said : "Okay, when you are about to lead your army to attack, please notify the Sicilian fleet to escort you."

After Sekelian left, Leotizides turned his head and said to Mukru in a deep voice: "Immediately send a messenger to Katana, and let Sipros apply to the Ministry of Military Affairs to transfer the 7th Army to Sicily."

"Ah?" Muklu was a little surprised. Through this period of contact, he knew that Leotizides was a proud commander. Unless there was a critical moment, he would not ask the Seventh Army for help, and now Has the critical moment arrived?
Leotizides didn't seem to realize that his words stirred up waves in the adjutant's heart. He still explained blankly: "The Carthaginian army that occupied Agrigento did not only attack Econom or Mi With Noah's two choices, they can also go directly north into the mountains again, join the army there, capture Enna, and then go east, break through the defenses of Hena and Herbita, and invade the Catania Plain... "

Muklu felt nervous due to Leotizides' analysis. He thought for a while and said, "If the Carthaginian army does not go along the south coast, but directly breaks through the central mountainous area, wouldn't it be too risky? "

"It is a bit risky, but we must also take precautions." Leotizides pointed to the map and said: "Our main force is now in Selinus, and there are only a few thousand soldiers in the Catania plain. They We also have to guard against Syracuse in the south, and there is no spare power to support the Sikelians. To be honest, in my mind, the Sikelians are far more important than these Greek city-states on the south coast. Once the Carthaginians occupy this area, The large area from Naxos to the ally Leotini will be under threat from the Carthaginian army, and it will be difficult for us to prevent them from invading, so in order to ensure the security of the Sicilian territory, ensure The people can successfully harvest food during the autumn harvest, which allows our Eighth Army to fight against the Carthaginian army without any scruples. We can only allow the Seventh Army to go south and sit on the Catania Plain."

"I understand, I'll make arrangements right away!" Muklu replied.

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In the Chinese army's tent in the Carthage camp, Mago frowned and said after listening to the messenger returning from Selinus City: "The crew can be exchanged, but the soldiers cannot."

""Sir, but the Dionians captured nearly [-] Phoenician sailors, far more than the number of Dionian sailors we captured, so they asked us to capture the Greek soldiers as well-"

"Are you my envoy or the envoy of the Dionians! Am I a fool to put these soldiers back and strengthen the Dionian army? I don't agree with this. You go back and talk to them. "

When the envoy saw Mago getting angry, he could only say yes.

Seeing the envoy exiting the tent in embarrassment, Mago sat on a chair and breathed heavily. After he calmed down a little, he said to the adjutant next to him: "Go and tell him that I agreed to the agreement and immediately arranged for the exchange of prisoners. "

"My lord, didn't you just say -"

"Go and execute it, isn't it just 2000 Greek soldiers? Give it to them! I want to see how the Dionians can resist the attack of my 10-strong army!"

"Master Mago, what makes you so angry?" The curtain opened and Pomerka walked in.

"Of course they are the Phoenicians from the motherland!" Mago glared and said sarcastically: "Even though they had the advantage, they were actually repelled by the Dionian fleet. Such a waste wasted. Great opportunity, these people are stupid!”

"This naval battle is indeed very regrettable. The fleet of the mother state obviously underestimated the Dionysians. However, after this battle, the Dionysia fleet may not be able to harass the western waters for the time being. We Carthage and the surrounding allies can breathe a sigh of relief! For this alone, we should also be grateful to the fleet of our mother state that came all the way here to help us!" Bomirka reminded him with a smile: "Not to mention our mother state. They brought more than just a fleet, they also promised to continue to provide us with gold, silver and supplies to help us finally defeat the Dionians!"

Mago snorted. It was precisely because he thought of this that he changed his mind. Otherwise, these people's protests to the Carthage Senate every day would only affect his prestige.

"You asked me to come, what's the matter?" Bomirka asked with a smile again.

"Oh, that's it." Brother Marco then remembered, motioned to Bomilka to sit down first, and then said solemnly: "Although the Phoenician fleet was repelled by the Dionian fleet, they still successfully stopped the Dionian fleet. The Onian people's plan to reinforce Agrigento in time... Although I have not received the news yet, I believe that Hasdrubal, with more than 2 soldiers, will be able to quickly capture the weak Agrigento. Gento City. Now that the situation is favorable to us, our large army should not gather under Selinus City. Instead, we should seize this favorable opportunity and continue to expand the results. Therefore, I hope that you will lead the army. Attack Minoa!"

(End of this chapter)