ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 950: Pledge to the Western Expedition
Sipulos said sincerely: "Lord Proseus, don't worry, I will not interfere with your military command!"

Leotizides nodded in agreement as he had enjoyed working with Sipulos over the years.

Davos smiled and encouraged them: "I hope that in this attack on Syracuse, Proseus, you can continue to cooperate well with Sipulos, capture Syracuse as soon as possible, and solve this hidden danger in the rear of the army. , and then lead the army to the west to join me."

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After the conversation, Davos left Sipulos alone again.

When Sipulos thought that Davos was going to give an interview about the political planning for Syracuse, Davos asked in a deep voice: "What is the mood of the people in the city now?"

"Huh?" Sipulos was stunned for a moment.

"Since the war broke out today, the Sicilian territory has suffered a lot of losses, especially Catanay. Not only have houses and fields been damaged, property has been looted, but also the citizens have suffered the most casualties. They must have a lot of complaints against the kingdom. Right?!" Davos looked serious and asked again in a deep voice.

Sipulos had come back to his senses and understood what Daves was worried about. He said truthfully: "Your Majesty, if the war with Carthage broke out a few years ago, there would probably be turmoil and chaos in the Sicilian territory, but After the outbreak of the 'Laodicean Incident', Your Majesty decisively dealt with a group of unscrupulous officials and old nobles in the Sicilian territory, readjusted the land policy, strengthened the management of the cities in Sicily, and allowed the Eighth Army to conquer the After the rebellion of the Sikel people, the Sicilian territory became more stable. After several years of development, the Sicilian people became more loyal to the kingdom.

However, even so, when the war broke out and the people learned that the Carthaginian army had landed in Sicily, but the kingdom did not send additional reinforcements, there were still some complaints, thinking that the kingdom did not pay enough attention to the place and ignored their safety.Fortunately, Lord Proseus severely damaged the Carthaginian army in Minoa, and the 3rd Fleet defeated the Carthaginian fleet on the north coast, giving the people some confidence in this war.

But then a storm destroyed the Sicilian fleet, leaving the people of Catanai in mourning, as more than 5000 sailors from Catanai perished at sea.Afterwards, Proseus failed at the Battle of Gela, and the Carthaginian army invaded the Catania plains and wreaked havoc. The people were extremely angry about this. They lost their minds for a time and gathered in the city hall to protest, demanding that Proseus lead the army. The troops left the city and drove away the Carthaginian cavalry that was raging on the plain.Fortunately, Xenophanes quietly asked his men to guide public opinion secretly, and the officials tried their best to appease them, so the situation was brought under control.

Later, Paragonia was burned to the ground. While the people of Catanai were grieving for the 2000 Catanai citizens who died in the battle, many people also realized that if Proseus hadn't held on to the city, Catanai would have been destroyed. They might suffer the same tragic fate, so some people went to the city hall to apologize.

Your Majesty, I'm sorry!Since you arrived in Catanai one day early, when most of the people in Catanai were paying homage to their relatives who died in the war, there was no time to organize, so the scene to greet you at the port was a bit cold.But that doesn't mean the people of Catanai have something against you.

As far as I know, they were very excited to hear the news of your arrival with the army, because it meant that they could finally get rid of the threat of the Carthaginians and start rebuilding their homeland. They also eagerly hope that you can avenge them. You know, the people in the city hate the Carthaginians very much now! "

After listening to this, Davos was silent for a while and asked softly: "How many citizens of Katanai have been killed in the war so far?"

"Including the crew members who drowned in the two naval battles, there are approximately nearly 1 people. In addition, more than 2000 people were injured and unable to fight anymore."

Davos sighed: "For this war, the people of Catanai have made great sacrifices! But now that the national treasury is tight, I am afraid that it will not be able to provide adequate compensation to the families of the deceased in a short time. So... you Give me a list of the citizens who died in the war, and try to have the families of the dead and wounded soldiers and sailors gather at the local council meeting place, and I will be there to express my condolences and thank them."

"Your Majesty, you will personally express your condolences to them. They will definitely feel very comforted! But -" Sipulos looked embarrassed: "The venue of the local council can only accommodate 400 people at most, and the number of dead and injured family members far exceeds [-]. Man, I’m afraid——”

"Then let them enter the venue in batches, and I will express my condolences in batches."

"But in this case, Your Majesty -" Sipulos said worriedly.

Davos understood what he was worried about and said firmly: "Don't worry about me. They lost their loved ones for the kingdom. There is nothing sadder than this! As long as I can give them some comfort, I won't be tired at all." What kind of."

"I understand, Your Majesty, I will make good arrangements." Sipulos stood up and bowed respectfully.

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At noon on the second day, the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, Lucania reserve legions, the first, second, and Most of the soldiers of the Fourth Cavalry Legion, the Roman Reserve Group and the Mountain Reconnaissance Group arrived in front of the city of Paragonia. Then, according to the instructions, the troops spread out their formation, surrounded it, and began to cautiously enter the city.

A month ago, Paragonia was a new fortress with a complete defense system, but now it has become a ruins: traps have been cleared, deer strongholds have been pulled out, trenches have been filled in, and arrows can still be seen on the ground from time to time. Arrows, javelins, stone bullets, swords, spears and spears, the soil under the city even turned blood red, dried and caked, and the solid outer city wall turned into ruins. The soldiers could enter the city without going through the city gate.But they must be careful, because the broken city walls are still falling down from time to time with stones and dust...

After entering the city, the soldiers were shocked: there were no houses, no streets, everything was reduced to ashes, and everything in front of them was scorched black.

Max followed his comrades and carefully walked around the piles of charred ruins. The lamentations of his comrades rang in his ears. After these few days of frequent interaction and verbal stimulation, he could roughly understand a few words such as "fire, battle" and so on. Combined with the Greek words and the scenes he saw outside the city, he was also shocked in his heart: What tragic battles took place here!
Not long after, they came to the inner city wall, which was also in ruins, and the wall was also scorched black.Passing through the gap and entering the inner city, the ground turned from black to blood red again.

In the center of the inner city, there stood a half-collapsed tower. On the ground around the tower, there were many crisscrossed wooden pillars. Sharp-eyed soldiers could clearly see the blood stains on the wooden pillars and the remaining iron on both ends. Nails and ropes, a terrible picture suddenly appeared in my mind, and there was a commotion in the team.

At this moment, Davos, wearing a military uniform, climbed to the top of the urgently repaired tower, followed by more than a dozen messengers.

The teams gradually quieted down, and under the command of the team officers, the soldiers formed a dense queue with the tower as the center.

Max looked up at the tower like other soldiers. This was the second time he saw King Dionia, but unlike the situation at the bonfire night, he looked majestic and solemn at this time.

"Citizens of Dionia!" Davos' voice was loud and full of breath, but he spoke slowly to ensure that the voice transmitter could accurately deliver the message for him: "Now the land you are standing on , In the place guarded by the first brigade of the Seventh Legion and the two reserve brigades of Katana a month ago, there were only 3000 soldiers in total, but the enemy they faced was the 10 army of Carthage.

However, these warriors were not afraid and repelled the enemy's fierce attacks many times, resisting the Carthaginian army for more than 20 days!At the most dangerous time, they even risked their lives and lit a fire in the city, inflicting heavy losses on the Carthaginians. In the end, because the difference in strength was too great, Carthage used the human sea tactic to capture the small city. ...However, these warriors fought hard to the end, and no one surrendered, pouring all their blood on this land! "

Hearing these words, the soldiers subconsciously lowered their heads and stared at the reddish-brown ground.

In fact, not all the defenders of Paragonia died in the battle. When the inner city was breached and the Carthaginians rushed into the tower, the few remaining, extremely tired and scarred Dionian soldiers chose The surrender was just a matter of the Carthaginians brutally punishing them after capturing them, and Davos beautified them all here.

"Carthaginians! Fierce and cruel Carthaginians!" Davos said angrily: "They actually committed heinous acts! They actually nailed the bodies of the warriors to crosses! Yes, those wooden stakes erected in front of you! By the time the reinforcements arrive to clean up the battlefield, their remains are already horrific!"

There was a commotion among the soldiers under the tower, and voices of indignation arose.

Davos waited intentionally for a while, and then shouted impassionedly: "Why do the Carthaginians, who claim to have the most splendid and glorious culture in the Western Mediterranean, do such evil things that even barbarians would not do?! It's because Our warriors used their flesh and blood to hold off the Carthaginian army here for more than 20 days, destroying the Carthaginians' plan to capture Catanai and expel the people of the kingdom from Sicily! It is because our warriors only relied on this This small city caused casualties to the Carthaginian army that far exceeded their number several times! It is because our warriors stationed here only have 3000 people, but they have created such a brilliant record in the face of a strong attack of 10 people. This made the Carthaginians panic!
　Thanks to fjq95, Sniper No. 11, and Tianwaiyijianzhiqingzhuo for the reward!Your support is my motivation to write! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)