ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 975
Leotizides said as he looked at the city in front. The enemies on the city were tightly arranged with no obvious gaps. It was impossible for him to see the distribution of troops behind them, but he still seemed very confident: "Since the Syracuse people's defense capabilities are weakening, you should personally tell the captain of the Seventh Army to let him ignore the casualties and continue to increase the intensity of the attack and impose greater pressure on the Syracuse defenders. pressure!"

"Uh...yes!" Taglu had no choice but to take the order and leave.

Leotizides turned his attention to the northeast. Although he could not see the location of the fortress of Euryalus, he was looking forward to Diokasis being able to lead his army to repel the enemy's attack. By then, perhaps It was when he sent these 3000 soldiers as reserves to the fortress of Euryalus.

While he was meditating, a scout came galloping from the south: "Report to your commander, more than 40 Syracuse warships are sailing out of the port and heading towards our camp!"

Leotizides was stunned after hearing this: Are the Syracuseans planning to raid my camp from the sea? !

He then thought: Could it be that the defense strength of the Syracuseans was weakened because they mobilized their soldiers to raid my rear when I was about to attack the city? !
Since the Dionia camp is only four miles away from the western city of Syracuse, there are only 200 soldiers stationed in the camp, and there is a large amount of food stored in the camp, so of course no loss is allowed.

However, Leotizides was not nervous. He even hoped that the Syracuses would come to attack the camp, so that he could wipe out more of the opponent's vital force, so he sent a messenger to inform the camp not far away He ordered 3000 sharp soldiers to return to the defense camp, but the marching speed must be slow.

Just as he was giving the order, another small group of cavalry came galloping from the south. The captain of the guard next to Leotizides led the guards to meet him. Soon he returned with a few people. The first one When the man saw Leotizides, he immediately shouted: "Sir Commander, I am a subordinate of Lord Serofanis, and I have very important information to report to you!"

Although this person felt strange to Leotizides, when he heard the name Xenophanes, he couldn't help but feel something in his heart: Xenophanes, as the head of the Dionian intelligence department in Sicily, whether it was a few years ago He provided great help to Leotizides in putting down the rebellion of the Sikelians and in this war with Carthage.

Therefore, Leotizides suddenly had great expectations in his heart, but he didn't show it, and remained somewhat cautious, and said lightly: "I haven't met you, how can you prove it?"

The man quietly took out something the size of a thumb from his arms, handed it to the guard captain, and then whispered: "Bar Harmon."

Previously, when Leotizides led his army to march to western Sicily, Serofanis could not always stay with him to provide intelligence, so he told Leotizides: As long as there is someone holding the Sleep God Shupu in western Sicily, If you find the iron statue of North and can tell the password at that time, then he is a member of the intelligence department, and you must believe the information he provides.

Leotizides met several times in the west, and he benefited a lot from the information they provided. This time when he went to Syracuse, Serophenes also gave him some advice and told him The name of the head of the intelligence service in Syracuse.

According to Serofanis, just as the symbol of the legionnaires is the three-headed dog, the symbol of the intelligence department is Hypnos, the god of sleep, because the god of sleep can make people fall asleep without being aware of it, and then do whatever he wants, which is in line with the intelligence department's mission style.

He looked at the iron statue of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and found that there was a set of "Davos numbers" on its base. It was said that it represented the identity of the owner and the area he was responsible for, and the other party also said the password correctly. .

Leotizides returned the statue to the other party and asked, "Your name?"

"Artemis, in charge of Syracuse."

All right!Leotizides looked at him and saw that his appearance basically matched what Serofanis described, and then asked: "What important information is it?"

"Syracuse General Sitaxus has decided to lead the people in the port area to join the kingdom. He now leads more than 2000 soldiers who followed him to control the military port in front, preparing to fight the Syracuse army. To this end, he sent All the warships are ready to dock at the beach not far from our camp, pick up our soldiers into the military port of Syracuse, reinforce them, and then attack the city of Syracuse together..." Artemis said excitedly Finish telling what happened in one breath.

Leotizides was greatly shocked: there was internal strife in Syracuse, some Syracuse people surrendered, the military port was open to the Dionysian army, and soldiers could enter the city of Syracuse on their warships... These words surprised Leotizides, who had always been calm, and couldn't believe it: a great opportunity to attack the city of Syracuse was so easily placed in front of him? !

When his mood was fluctuating, he heard Artemis say again: "This is Samoratis, the nephew of General Sictas. He played an important role in persuading Sictas to join the kingdom!"

Samoratis stepped forward and looked nervously at the Dionian commander in front of him who was wearing a black breastplate and a purple and red crowned helmet, and felt a little excited.

The people of Syracuse resented Dionia for taking away their glory, but it also prompted them to pay more attention to this powerful neighbor, and Dionia's victorious army attracted the attention of young people. And the Dionian general that the young people of Syracuse have talked about the most in the past few years is none other than Leotizides: he conquered the troublesome Sikelians, and defeated the Carcass with less and more. The Taigian army even led the army to the west and wreaked havoc in the territory controlled by the Carthaginians... In recent months, in the discussion of the people of Syracuse, the rumored indifferent Dionia The general's popularity has surpassed that of the Dionysian king who once completely defeated Dionysius and led to his demise.

Facing the sharp gaze of Leotizides, Samoratis said nervously and eagerly: "Dear...General Proseus, the army of Syracuse will soon...soon... We will rush to the military port. Our people do not have very good equipment and most of them are light infantry. It is difficult to resist their attack, so please...send reinforcements as soon as possible!"

"Okay, I'll send reinforcements right now." Leotizides said immediately.

Artemis was a little stunned. He didn't expect Leotizides to agree so simply without thinking, which seemed inconsistent with the rumored image of being cautious and thoughtful.

Samoratis expressed his gratitude joyfully.

In fact, Leotizides had nothing to hesitate. All the Carthaginian warships docked at the shore. After the Dionian soldiers boarded the ship, they took control of the entire warship. If this is a conspiracy, , using thousands of sailors and the entire Syracuse Navy as bait, the risk taken is too great. In the current difficult situation Syracuse is facing, Leotizides does not believe that Syracuse Zha Ren has the courage and courage, and it is even more difficult to convince their council to implement this plan.

Leotizides decided to let the 3000 reserve soldiers take the warships of Syracuse and land at the military port. At the same time, he also sent someone to notify the resting Eighth Army to rush to the beach as the second wave of landing. The troops at the military port were a better springboard to attack the city of Syracuse than the distant Euryalus Fortress. Now that he had made up his mind, he simply sent all the remaining troops there. .

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

After paying a lot of casualties, the Syracuse army that attacked the Euryalus Fortress finally used barwood to break open the wooden planks blocking the entrance. The soldiers roared with excitement and swarmed into the entrance of the hole. Kill all the enemies who invade the city.

However, as soon as they rushed into the fortress, the soldiers running at the front suddenly stopped because there was a ditch about three meters wide and two meters deep in front of them, which extended to the stone walls on both sides. The wall, and on the opposite side of the ditch is a dense spear formation of Dionian soldiers.

The Syracuse soldiers in front stopped moving forward, but the soldiers from behind continued to pour in, immediately pushing the soldiers in front into the ditch. Although due to the rush of time, no sharp wooden spikes were buried in the ditch, but When the Syracuse soldiers who fell in the ditch struggled in panic and tried to get up, another group of new soldiers fell on them, and then the next group of soldiers were pushed involuntarily and stepped on them. The teammates finally crossed the ditch, and what greeted them were countless gleaming spears...

The Dionian soldiers on the stone wall kept throwing javelins, stones, and even fire pots downwards.

Screams and groans filled this small fortress. Not long after they stormed into the fortress, the Syracuse soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and they were quickly defeated.

After repelling the enemies in the walkways of the city walls on both sides, the army led by Diocasis defeated the main force of Syracuse attacking from the south. According to the previous plan, he should continue to garrison the fortress and wait for the arrival of reinforcements. It is not a lone pursuit to prevent being surrounded by the enemy, but not long ago the messenger brought new news: Dionia's reserves landed at the port of Syracuse, and the people of the port area of ​​Syracuse who had just joined the kingdom Together, they fought against the Syracuse army.

At the same time, Leotizides gave him a new order: after the enemy who attacked the fortress retreats, there is no need to stay in the fortress and immediately march towards the city!
Therefore, Diocasis did not hesitate to issue the order to "pursue the whole army".

(End of this chapter)