ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 708 Sicily’s strategic deployment ([-])

At this time, Felicius strode into the venue, nodded to everyone, smiled, and politely refused to give up Siplos' seat, but stood beside him.

Milon couldn't help but frown slightly when he saw this situation.

Felicius glanced at everyone and said humbly: "Before I came, His Majesty once solemnly told me, 'When you go to Sicily, you can only bring your eyes and ears!'. Therefore, I am not here to supervise everyone. I will not interfere with any of your deployments. If you have any needs or suggestions, you can convey them to His Majesty and the Senate through me.

But before you meet, I have His Majesty and the Senate signing two important appointments to be announced! When Felicius said this, his expression became serious, and his right hand raised a scroll of papyrus tied with black rope.

Everyone's eyes immediately focused on it, and only Sipulos and Leotizides remained calm because they already knew the content in advance.

Philicius unfolded the papyrus and read aloud: "In view of the possibility that Carthage will launch a large-scale attack on our island of Sicily, in order to better concentrate all the power of the cities and allies in Sicily, and prepare the combat troops more effectively and quickly Provide logistical assistance and support, and better coordinate the defense between cities. After discussions with the Senate, I decided to appoint Sipulos as the wartime governor of the Sicily region of the Kingdom of Dionia, and concurrently as the administrator of Catanai. Sir, he is responsible for all administrative affairs in Sicily, actively cooperates with the combat troops to fight against the Carthaginians, and hopes that the chief administrators of the cities in Sicily will obey the administrative orders of the governor. Summer name - King Davos!"

As soon as Felicius finished reciting, there were slight sighs and breathing sounds in the venue: O Governor in time of war!This is a top-level official position with far greater power than the chief executive. This is only the second time Dionia has appeared since the founding of the country, which shows how precious it is.The previous wartime governor, Cedorum, was already one of the five rotating presidents of the Senate. He often participated in important discussions in the palace, which can be said to be a powerful position.

Everyone looked at Sipulus with envy, and Felicius handed the appointment letter to Milon on the right side of Sipulos and asked him to pass it down to see if it was authentic.

Myron glanced at the papyrus scroll with complicated emotions, and the two seals of King Davos and the Senate clearly came into view. Although he was jealous in his heart, he had to admit: Compared with himself, Cypros , the advantage of becoming the wartime governor is even greater. After all, the population and land of Catanai under his control have far surpassed other towns in Sicily. Catanai has replaced Syracuse as the largest city on Sicily. .Moreover, Sipulos has been in Sicily for almost seven years and is more familiar with the situation here than himself.

After all, Milon had fought side by side with Sipulos and they had a good relationship with each other. After taking office in Naxos, he also received a lot of help from Sipulos, so he let out a breath and said softly: "I have no objection. "

Even Milon, the administrator of Dionia's second largest city in Sicily with equally outstanding qualifications and achievements, said so, and others would not object.

Felicius took out a papyrus roll again.

Everyone's eyes suddenly became hot again: Who will it be this time? !What job will it be? !

"Appoint Proseus, commander of the Eighth Legion, as commander of Sicily, responsible for commanding all the Dionian land armies and their allies in Sicily to fight against the Carthaginians. Signed - Davos."

The content of this appointment is very brief. That is because it is a military appointment. Davos can make a decision directly without going through the Senate. Moreover, there is only Proseus, a senior army general in Sicily, and other administrative officials will not To argue with him, Davos did not need to explain in detail.

Therefore, after listening to it, everyone didn't have any strange emotions, but a slight sense of loss: Is this the end of the appointment?

After Felicius finished reading, he turned to look at Leotizides. He was the first senior general to be appointed as a commander. However, the failure of the Battle of Ramato River put a shadow on his military career. Shadow, facing the underachievers, had only hope and encouragement in his eyes: "Congratulations, Commander of the Proseus Army! I hope you will win the war in Sicily under the protection of Hades!"

Proseus nodded and expressed his gratitude, and took the appointment letter. His face was still expressionless, but his heart was surging: After staying in Dionia for more than ten years, he finally became the regional commander-this In the highest position in the Dionysian army (the commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief can only be held by King Davos), he can command tens of thousands of soldiers in combat, no less than a Spartan king!
"Thank you Your Majesty and the Senate for their trust in me! Now, with Carthage tearing up the friendship agreement, Sicily will not only be our territory of Dionia, but also other Greek city-states will suffer a huge crisis! I hope that I can get Your lords and their friendly city-states will give their full support to assist Commander Proseus and thwart the Carthaginians’ ambition to get involved in Sicily!” Sipulos, the newly appointed wartime governor, made an emotional announcement of his inauguration: “ Next, I would like to ask Commander Proseus to conduct a pre-war military analysis."

Leotizides immediately stood up, walked to the large map of Sicily that had been hung on the wall, picked up the slender wooden stick on the wall, and said: "Everyone, according to the analysis of the Ministry of Military Affairs, according to Carthage With its current national strength, it can send at least 10 troops. If you include the army in the hands of Governor Mago of the Iberian Peninsula, it can at least send 15 troops to Sicily——"

15 people? !Everyone present, including Milon, could not help but be stunned.

"Of course, although the Carthaginian army is large in number, the combat effectiveness of their soldiers is far inferior to our legion. I am afraid that more than half of their soldiers are Numibians, Mauretanians, Iberians, and others from other places. Mercenaries..." Leotizides continued: "I think it is impossible for Carthage to invest so many troops at one time, and it will not exceed 10 at most!"

This number was the conclusion reached by Leotizides after referring to the two previous wars between Carthage and Dionysius's Syracuse. He used a wooden stick to point on the western end of Sicily on the map: "Carthage Key's army is likely to land at Lilibi or Eryx. There are two attack routes. One is along the northern coastline of Sicily and marches towards Messina. There are not many Greek city-states on this road and their strength is not the same. However, the high mountains and dense forests in the north and the narrow coastline prevented the Carthaginians from deploying their troops. The Carthaginians were unable to take advantage of their large numbers. When Dionysius had a great advantage in military strength, he marched along the northern coastline to Carthage. When the Carthaginians attacked, it took a long time, so I think the northern coastline will not be the main direction of the Carthaginians' attack.

The other offensive route is on the coastline in southern Sicily. The terrain here is relatively flat and can accommodate the deployment of large armies. In the past, it was the main offensive route of the Carthage and Syracuse armies. I think this time will be no exception. "

Leotizides said with certainty, tapping the wooden stick in his hand on the map one after another: "Minoa, Agrigento, Gela, Camanlina... Although there are many Greek city-states on the southern coastline, They are relatively strong, but I don’t think they can withstand the attack of Syracuse’s army for a long time, and I am not prepared to send troops to reinforce these city-states.”

As soon as these words were spoken, there were whispers in the venue.

The administrator of Messina, Guan Amycles, raised objections: "Although these Greek city-states have not established an explicit alliance with our Dionia, they have always maintained friendly exchanges with our kingdom, with frequent trade, and they have actively participated in many activities." to cooperate with some of our actions in Sicily, such as targeting the Sikels and isolating Syracuse... so they can be regarded as de facto allies. Once a war breaks out, they will definitely ask for help from our Dionia, According to the Kingdom’s traditional practices, how can we just let it go!”

Amicles' words expressed the thoughts of the chief executives present. After all, during their tenure, they got along well with the top leaders of these Greek city-states.

Leotizides was unmoved and said coldly: "Since there is no alliance agreement, there is no breach of the covenant. Our army in Sicily is not large, and the Eighth Army plus reserves only has more than 2 If emergency mobilization is carried out, the number can be increased to about 5. However, if that happens, almost all the young adults in the kingdom's Sicilian territory will be mobilized, which will seriously affect the upcoming winter sowing and the daily order of the entire region. I think this is not what the Chief Executives want to see, let alone what Your Majesty wants to see!
What's more, even if so many troops are gathered to reinforce Gela or Agrigento, it is easy to form a stalemate with the Carthage army.On the one hand, can our cities in Sicily bear the pressure on food supply caused by the long-term stalemate? On the other hand, the food transportation lines have been stretched and the troops in the territory are empty. Once we encounter a surprise attack from foreign enemies, it will be a disaster for the troops we send out and the cities in the territory! "

Everyone was touched by Leotizides' heavy tone. What attracted their attention even more was that the wooden stick in Leotizides' hand pointed at a city icon on the map - Syracuse.

"Syracuse is the only city-state in Sicily that does not have any contact with us. However, it has considerable strength and occupies an important strategic position in the east. A few days ago, it refused to respond to the envoys we sent to request an alliance. The response shows that he has resentment towards Dionia in his heart. According to the intelligence we received, Carthaginians have been seen in the port area of ​​Syracuse in the past two days. This cannot but arouse our vigilance! We Beware of Syracuse becoming the Tarentum of the South-Italian War!"

　Thanks to Al Fasil for the hero tip!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)