ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 911 Katanai Military Conference ([-])

Therefore, upon hearing the news, Hasdrubal's first reaction was: Oops, Dionian reinforcements are coming!
When he personally ran to the coast and saw ships full of people leaving the port one by one, he realized that this Dionian coalition force that had been fighting tenaciously with him for more than 10 days was actually trying to escape!
Hasdrubal immediately returned to the camp and gathered his troops.

By the time the Carthaginian army arrived with siege equipment and formed a formation in the city, more than an hour had passed. Most of the Dionia fleet had evacuated, and only more than 400 people volunteered to stay behind. The citizens of Gela (including some elderly people who were unwilling to abandon their homes) fought to the end to allow others to leave the city smoothly, successfully ensuring the smooth evacuation of more than 3 people.

On the way back, the escorting Sicilian fleet looked more powerful (because there were more than 30 Phoenician warships filling the scene), so the appearance of the Syracuse fleet was even less visible.

At dusk, the fleet entered the port of Catanai.

Seeing the familiar pier and only a few people on the pier to greet them, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion felt a little disappointed, but they felt even more relaxed: in the past few months, they had been fighting outside, and there was the Battle of Minoa. Glory, the pride of wreaking havoc in Carthage's Sicilian sphere of influence, sympathy for the navy being destroyed by the storm, and the humiliation of being defeated in the Battle of Gela. After all, it was the increasingly worse battlefield situation that forced them to have no choice but to Not coming back makes them feel embarrassed that they cannot see their relatives.

Leotizides' boat docked at a specific pier. After he got off the boat, he saw Sipulos, the wartime governor of Sicily and the administrator of Catanai, who came to greet him.

"Welcome home, Commander Proseus!" Sipros saluted with a smile.

Leotizides returned the salute with an indifferent expression and said: "A defeated general is nothing to welcome."

Sipulus was stunned for a moment, and then sincerely consoled him: "Lord Proseus, you defeated the Carthaginian army with a small number in the battle of Minoa, and you captured Selinus and conquered it. The western Sicily controlled by the Carthaginians was in chaos, completely disrupting the Carthaginians' plans and forcing the Carthaginians to postpone another attack on Sicily for several months. Your performance has exceeded Your Majesty's expectations have been met, and the mission he has entrusted to you has been successfully completed...'The above words were not said by me, but by His Majesty in the letter."

"Your Majesty has written a letter?!" At this time, Leotizides was a little moved.

"I, the dignified Governor of Sicily will lie to you?!" Sipros joked, and then took out the letter.

Leotizides took it at once and began to read.

In the letter, Davos did praise the outstanding performance of Leotizides and his army some time ago. At the same time, he also reminded: The Carthaginians once again attacked Sicily in a large scale, and they obviously had more sufficient resources. Prepare, the Dionysian coalition forces are too deep into the enemy's territory, not only should they not fight head-on, but they must also retreat in a timely manner to avoid being attacked by the Carthaginians in the empty rear.If the situation is unfavorable, you can even abandon the friendly city-states on the south coast and stick to the kingdom's territory...

This letter almost astonishingly predicted the development of the Sicilian war during this period. While Leotizides was shocked by Davos' superb strategic vision, he also complained a lot: Why didn't this letter come earlier?
"Oh, it's a letter from His Majesty!" While Leotizides was still thinking about it, the letter in his hand had been taken away by Seclian behind him.

"When His Majesty wrote this letter, he did not know that you were still alive and had returned to the fleet, otherwise the letter..." Sipulos explained.

"It would be better to know later..." Seclian responded casually, but the image of Miltias who died in the battle appeared in his mind. He exhaled and hurriedly lowered his head to read the letter: "...Oh, Your Majesty also Said that they had occupied Rome, obtained a large area of ​​land in the Latium region, and had also obtained the surrender of most of the Latin city-states. The remaining armies of Rome had retreated to several small towns, and it would only take a month or two to finish. The war in Latium, and then led the army south to Sicily to fight to the death with the Carthaginians! He hopes that during this period we can defend against the attack of the Carthaginian army and prevent them from destroying the territory of Sicily..."

Sipulos took the opportunity to take over the conversation and said: "In order to complete the task assigned by His Majesty, we will hold a military meeting later to formulate a new plan to deal with the next attack of the Carthaginian army. I have notified the commander of the Seventh Army. Brelu, he is heading here from the new military camp."

Leotizides looked slightly moved: "I have no objection."

"Wait for me a moment." Sekerian turned back to find his subordinates and told them: "After the soldiers and people have disembarked, there is no need to wait for me. The fleet will immediately return to the Catania Naval Base not far to the south to rest. I--"

Sipros interrupted him: "Lord Cyklian, before you let the fleet crew return to the base, please let them go ashore to gather in formation and walk around Catanai City. Lord Leotizides, the eighth Soldiers from the Regiment and the 4th Cavalry Regiment are also requested to enter the city in similar formation."

"What do you mean?" Sekerian felt a little strange.

Leotizides looked at Siplos with the same confusion.

Sipulos explained with a solemn expression: "Although the war is far from over, the people of Catanay are already waiting in the city, preparing to warmly welcome the returning soldiers and sailors to thank them for fighting bravely in the past few months and ensuring the safety of the people." The safety of our home!"

Hearing this, Sekerian and Leotizides glanced at each other subconsciously: whether it was the Eighth Legion, the 4th Cavalry Legion, or the Second Fleet to which the Sicilian Fleet belonged, more than half of the soldiers and crew members They are all from Catanai. From the beginning of the war to now, there have been many casualties, especially the fleet, which even lost two commanders. Therefore, the crew members are a little afraid of seeing the people of Catanai and hearing that they have lost their loved ones. cries of pain.But Sipulos organized such a simple triumphal ceremony, which was undoubtedly a good opportunity to boost morale for the soldiers and crew who were depressed and depressed after experiencing defeat and being forced to return home.

So Leotizides said coldly: "I will gather the soldiers and let them line up into the city, but I will not participate."

"Me too." Sekerian remembered something, turned back and pointed at the people disembarking at the pier in the distance, and reminded: "Don't forget there are them."

Sipulos understood what he meant. These refugees from Minoa, Gela, and Agrigento had lost their homes and relatives. They were crying, suffering, and at a loss, while Catanai While cheering for the return of the soldiers, what will they think when they see it?
Sipulos said calmly: "Don't worry, I have officials specifically responsible for them, and they will not be allowed to enter the city for the time being."

..........................................

In the evening, five people were sitting in the chief executive conference room of Catanai City Hall. They were Sicilian Governor Sipulos, Sicilian Commander Leotizides, Sicilian Fleet Commander Sipulos, and the Seventh Legion. Commander Brelu and Commander Acethemis of the Fourth Cavalry Corps.

In fact, Brelu had arrived in Catanai a long time ago, but he did not go to the port to greet him with Sipulos, so Sipulos had to make up a white lie.

However, after the meeting, Breru still expressed his admiration for the battles Leotizides had fought in the past period, and his tone of voice was relatively decent, but he did not mention at all the "Seventh Legion came to Sicily and must obey Leotizides’ command” and the like.

Sipulos coughed a few times, glanced at the remaining four people, and said: "My lords, you have all read His Majesty's letter. How to resist the Carthaginian army in the next one or two months? attack and prevent them from causing damage to the territory of Sicily in order to welcome the arrival of the army led by His Majesty to counterattack and surround the Carthaginians. This is the issue we are going to discuss today... Everyone, please share your opinions first. .”

"I don't have any suggestions now." Brelu took over the words first, but said humbly: "Because according to the combat principles of the "Dionia Military Law", we must understand the specific conditions of the battlefield in order to formulate a correct combat plan. , our seventh legion has just arrived at Catanai, and we still don’t understand the situation here at all. Lord Proseus has stayed in Sicily for so many years, and led his army to fight against the Carthaginians for several months. The Kiwi army must have a very deep understanding of it, could you please give us a detailed introduction to the situation?"

Sipulos frowned slightly. Although Brelu spoke very politely, this politeness showed a kind of equality between the two people. But the reality is that according to the instructions of King Davos and the Ministry of Military Affairs, Brelu led The Seventh Army came to Sicily to accept the command of Leotizides, who had a superior-subordinate relationship.

There was nothing unusual about Leotizides' expressionless face. He said simply: "In the past few days, I have seriously thought about my experience fighting the Carthaginians during this period. Some analysis and summary are just for you to listen to so that you will not suffer any disadvantages in the subsequent battles."

Leotizides stood up without hesitation, looked at Brelu, and said seriously: "In the past few months, the Carthaginians sent large armies to attack Sicily twice. In terms of combat effectiveness, the first army It is not the same army as the second army at all.

(End of this chapter)