ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 943 The Fall of Agilion
The soldiers of the Roman reserve group, who had been relatively quiet, began to cheer, accompanied by the yells of many Roman noble soldiers. The Roman nobles still believe that the reason for the defeat of Rome was because the Roman civilian soldiers surrendered to Dionia and rebelled. Coming to fight against them is inseparable, and Sextus, as the leader of Roman civilian soldiers, is naturally the biggest traitor.

Turning a deaf ear to these scolding, Sextus signaled the 10 Roman soldiers following him to get ready, then took a deep breath, and led them to start singing loudly: "O Tiber, you are the mother of the Romans, You have held Rome in your arms for hundreds of years, and you have selflessly given us sweet milk..."

Hearing this familiar song, Max was stunned and hummed along subconsciously, but his eye circles slowly turned red...

"Oh, Tiber" is an ancient song that the Romans have been singing since childhood, but when it is heard here and now, it has a bitter taste for the Roman noble soldiers who are about to leave Rome and live in a foreign land.

The scolding became quieter, the singing became louder, and the melodious and lyrical songs echoed in the wilderness, faintly mixed with the sound of choking...

"Look, the swollen river is roaring, the lone wolf is howling on the Capitoline Mountains, the Romans are working on the land caressed by the Tiber River, hard but happy..." Max sang emotionally, and suddenly Suddenly he saw the Dionian soldiers around him clapping their hands and humming along.

"It's a nice song, isn't it!" The team officer raised his glass and smiled at him in a friendly manner.

Beside each bonfire, the Dionian soldiers raised their wine glasses to the Roman soldiers...

That night, the soldiers drank to their heart's content, danced to their heart's content, and vented all their uneasiness, sadness, fear, boredom... and other negative emotions from the previous war.

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

In the early morning of the 2nd day, senior generals headed by Amyntas and Matonis gathered in the military conference room of Trina Naval Base.

"Matonis, didn't you sleep last night?" Davos frowned, looking at the drowsy Second Army Commander slumped on the wooden chair.

"...Your Majesty." Matonis hurriedly stood up, yawned, and defended: "Last night, Amyntas forced me to drink with him. The bonfire party was over, and he still didn't stop... I I was completely drunk and had no idea when I returned to the camp..."

Hearing Matonis' euphemistic accusation, Amyntas glanced at him sideways, straightened his chest, and said proudly: "Boy, now you know who is old!"

"Who was it that I threw to the ground yesterday!" Matonis retorted.

"Okay, haven't you two had enough trouble? How about I give you a few more bottles of wine so that you can drink enough!" Davos's face sank, and the two of them immediately became quiet, but their eyes were still on each other. Staring.

"Last night, you led the soldiers to have fun, but don't forget to thank Midorades. He arranged for the fleet infantry to maintain the order of the banquet, and to stand guard for the drunken soldiers to prevent accidents. Happened..." Davos looked serious when he said this. Although he dared to hold such a large-scale bonfire party because the entire army was in the heart of the kingdom, there were still some safety issues to consider, such as The legionnaires relaxed their vigilance after having fun. Will the surrendered Roman noble soldiers take the opportunity to attack... Therefore, he asked thousands of fleet infantry to stay on guard and pay close attention to the situation in the camp. Fortunately, the night passed smoothly, and It gave him more confidence in commanding these Roman noble soldiers next.

"Your Majesty, when the army is stationed here, it is the responsibility of our 3rd Fleet to be responsible for security." Midorades said humbly.

Davos nodded slightly, took out a letter, and asked Henipolis to hand it over.

Midolades opened his eyes and opened his eyes: "The Carthaginians will send a new fleet of nearly 200 warships to guard Sardinia?!"

As soon as this was said, other generals were also surprised and rushed to pass on the secret letter.

"What? Are you scared?" Davos said lightly.

Midorades smiled, and he said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this is great! Our 3rd Fleet can finally fight a real naval battle!"

Davos looked at him and asked seriously: "The Carthaginians have nearly 200 warships, and the Third Fleet only has 150 ships. Are you sure you can defeat them?"

"Of course!" Midorades replied without hesitation: "Although the Carthaginians have many warships, they still use traditional naval tactics. Many naval battles in the past have shown that our naval tactics occupy a dominant position. A huge advantage. Moreover, Carthage formed a new fleet so quickly and rushed it to the battlefield without a period of running-in. When it comes to actual combat, will their warships be able to work well with each other? Cooperation is a problem.

Also...according to tradition, newly built warships need to go through a period of sea trials and repairs before they can have quality assurance. These new warships of Carthage obviously did not undergo rigorous testing and were very vulnerable in fierce battles. There may be problems..."

After Davos listened, he turned his head and asked Tormid: "What's the situation with our new warship?"

"Two days ago, a message from the Ministry of War stated that '26 warships have been built in Thurii, 23 in Tarantum, 20 in Brindisi, 15 in Crotone, Trina 17 ships...' So far, 213 three-layer oar warships have been built in the kingdom, and they are undergoing navigation tests one after another. According to normal procedures, they will be put into use at the end of this month. Tormid introduced the newly built ships in a fluent language. Regarding the situation of the warships, he asked again: "Your Majesty, do you need to put these warships into service in advance? "

Davos shook his head: "No, just follow the normal procedures. But when these warships are put into service, 50 ships must be allocated to the Third Fleet first."

When Midorades heard this, he was immediately overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Davos knocked on the table with his hand and said seriously: "The Carthaginians sent this newly built fleet to Sardinia instead of Sicily, which shows how important Sardinia is to them. What's more, The appearance of such a fleet in the Sardinian waters is a great threat to the Latium region we have just conquered and to the west coast of our entire kingdom! Therefore, Midorades, your current task is- —Find it, annihilate it! Then continue to raid the coast of Sardinia and cut off Sardinia’s connection with Carthage!”

"Your Majesty, the Third Fleet will definitely fulfill the important mission you have assigned it!" Midorades responded decisively.

"But before that, the 3rd Fleet must first escort the troops to land in Sicily." Davos glanced at the generals in the room and said slowly: "Following this news about Carthage's new fleet, there is also a Sicilian Report of the battle...The Carthaginians captured Agilion.”

Agilion was captured? !The generals were surprised. While they were staying at the Satnicum camp, considering that they would soon go south to fight, they had a detailed understanding of the battlefield situation in Sicily and knew that the Carthaginian army had been blocked at Pala. Gonia and Gena were unable to make any progress, but now when they were about to land in Sicily, the war situation suddenly changed.

"What is Proseus doing?! How could he lose Agilion so easily! If the Carthaginians occupy it, they can break into the Etna area. Not only Catanai is threatened, but Naxo Si was also threatened!..." Amyntas shouted angrily.

“Proseus, as the commander of Sicily, had not only been able to defeat the first Carthaginian army with less, but he had also captured Selinus and disrupted the enemy in western Sicily. Later, he faced a sudden attack by the 10 Carthaginian army led by Mago and the Syracuseans. With such a huge disparity in strength, he was able to withstand the Carthaginian attack and protect the main towns in Sicily. Safety has bought us time to land in Sicily... It is not easy for Proseus to do this just relying on the military power of the Sicilian territory. We should not be too harsh," Daves said softly. , Amyntas is somewhat embarrassed by his unsparing praise for Prosaus (Leotizides).

Although some of the other generals were unconvinced, they all remained silent at this moment.

"Your Majesty, the fall of Agilion has not had a great impact on us." Printors always sat in the corner in military meetings in the past, but his brilliant record in Latham obviously made his status greatly improved. Not only did he sit at the large wooden table with the map engraved on it, not far from Davos, but he also began to speak proactively: "We can see from this map that the Carthaginians captured Agilion. It does not have much impact on our Sicilian territory. This is a mountainous area, and it is difficult to transport food. Even if the Carthaginians pass through Agilion and enter the Etna area, as long as Naxos and Katane hold the city, they will Their attack will certainly not be sustainable, not to mention the cities of Hena and Hebita that threaten their rear."

"Printors, don't forget the Sikelians." Tormid finally found an opportunity to refute his colleagues: "Although Agilion has not been incorporated into the kingdom, it is a Sikelian." The former center of the Sikelians, which was of great significance to the Sikelians, is now in the hands of the Carthaginians, which may cause the confidence of the eastern Sikelese tribes in us to be shaken."

"Didn't it mean that these West Kel tribes in the east have always been in close contact with us and are almost merging into the kingdom? They won't surrender to the Carthaginians so easily, right?" Olivers objected.

(End of this chapter)