ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 995 Exchange between two naval commanders

But when the Carthaginian army approached the end of the mountain road, the soldiers were surprised to see that the exit of the mountain road had been blocked by a wooden stronghold with relatively complete defense facilities, and the wooden walls were covered with enemies who were stringing their bows.

The Carthaginian army marched in a hurry and did not carry any siege equipment at all. In addition, the mountain road was narrow and they could not take advantage of the large number of soldiers. It would undoubtedly be very difficult to break through the stronghold and break into the territory of Palermos.

Unwilling to be reconciled, Hasdrubal drove the army to launch a tentative attack, which was quickly repelled by the rain of arrows shot from the wooden wall, leaving only dozens of corpses in front of the trench.

Hasdrubal had to retreat with his troops.

At this time, Leotizides was commanding some soldiers to start building a camp. He planned to start the camp from the wooden village at the mountain pass and go north to the seaside, thereby cutting off Palermos from the outside world on land. contact.

The supply battalions of the Seventh and Eighth Legions were busy on the beach, laboriously transporting supplies from the cargo ships to the coast.

The Third Fleet guards the fleet transporting soldiers and supplies off the coast of Palermos. Although the Dionysian Navy has a clear advantage in the western waters of Sicily, this is enemy territory after all. The entire crew of the Third Fleet remains They must be very vigilant, because when they first arrived in Sicily, they heard that the Sicilian fleet was teased and raided by the Carthaginian fleet.

"Enemy situation detected in the southwest, two yellow flags!" the lookout on the main mast of the flagship suddenly shouted.

Hearing that the incoming Carthaginian fleet was about the same size as his own fleet, Midorades looked calm and immediately issued an order: "Blow the bugle and raise the star-filled flag! At the same time, notify the fleet behind to let them They immediately hit the beach!”

It was the Carthaginian fleet led by Morbar that attacked.Since the city of Hadrumantum was burned, in order to more accurately grasp the movements of the Dionysian fleet, he hired dozens of small cargo ships manned by experienced old Phoenician captains, scattered in the western seas. Go near the coast to check the enemy's situation.Therefore, when the large Dionian fleet docked on the coast near Palermos, Morbar, who was training the fleet and waiting for fighters between the Carthage Sea and the Western Sea, received the news, because he knew The Dionian fleet is still cruising in the sea near Lilibi, and it is impossible to suddenly appear near Palermos. This must be another Dionian fleet.

Another Dionysian fleet has been added to the waters near Sicily! ...This news doubled Morbar's pressure, but he still decided to lead the team to Palermos to meet this new Dionian fleet. Perhaps it was because it was new and not like the It turns out that that fleet is so difficult to deal with and easier to take the bait.

When the Carthage fleet arrived, the Dionia Third Fleet was already lining up on the sea.

Morbar was not prepared to engage in a head-on fight with the Dionysian fleet. When he moved forward at a normal speed in a loose formation of ships to about a mile away from the opponent, he had already learned about Morbar's plan in advance. The Taiji warships turned around and returned one after another, luring enemy ships to pursue them.

The warships of the Third Fleet were indeed pursuing hard at first, but when the Carthaginian fleet wanted to lead them to the open sea, Midorades immediately became vigilant. In the previous Battle of Sardinia, although the Third Fleet He won the final victory, but the risks he experienced were still fresh in his mind. He was a person who was good at learning lessons and did not want to make the same mistakes again, so he issued the order to "stop the pursuit" and quickly gathered the warships. , to return to the original defensive position.

After that, the Carthage fleet came forward to lure them several times, and the third fleet stopped moving lightly and just waited to see what happened.

Morbar separated some warships in an attempt to bypass the Third Fleet and attack Dionia's transport fleet, but most of the ships had already docked on the beach under the warning of the Third Fleet, and there was not much oil and water to fish for, and Midorades ordered the squadron in the rear to follow and monitor, but always maintained a not too far distance from the main force.

The caution of the Third Fleet and the unified and flawless command of the entire fleet prevented Morbar from finding any opportunities to take advantage of, and instead consumed a lot of physical energy from the Carthaginian crew.

The combat effectiveness of such a well-trained Dionysian fleet is certainly not weak! ...Morbar did not dare to attack from the front because he was not confident that he could defeat his opponent, and he knew very well that even if he won, the Carthage fleet would inevitably suffer heavy losses. This would be a huge disadvantage for the Carthage navy. The gain outweighs the loss. Carthage, who is in trouble, now needs such a complete fleet to deter the Dionian navy from being too rampant.

The Carthaginian fleet eventually retreated.

Midorades did not order the pursuit. He no longer had the initial impatience to prove himself. The affirmation and praise of his achievements in the letters Daves wrote to him several times made him more confident and calm. It is also clear in my heart: For the Third Fleet, which has just arrived and is not familiar with the surrounding waters, what is needed now is caution, not more military exploits.

At this time, the lookout on the main mast shouted again: "There is news from the clipper in the east, and a fleet is coming from the front! Well... it's our fleet!"

Midorades was shocked: Cyklian is here!

The Sicilian Fleet cruised to the sea near Palermos and met the Third Fleet. This is the first time since the South Italian War that the Dionia Navy has all joined together (the Sicilian Fleet previously merged the first and third fleets) 10. Fourth Fleet).

Considering the presence of the elusive Carthaginian fleet, the warships on both sides did not get completely close to prevent congestion in the ship formation and inconvenience to movement. However, the flagships of both sides blew their bugles at the same time, and all the warships All the oars left the water and swung back and forth in the air to express the joy of the crew.

In such a festive atmosphere, the flagships of both sides moved forward to the front of the fleet at the same time. The flagship of the Sicilian Fleet stopped moving forward, while the flagship of the Third Fleet continued to move forward, and finally came to the side of the flagship of the Sicilian Fleet.

Midolades, who was dressed in military uniform, stepped on the wooden planks between the two ships, and came to the flagship deck of the Sicilian fleet, and solemnly saluted Sekerian: "I salute you, Lord Sekerian!"

Sekerian also solemnly returned a military salute, and then said: "Long time no see, Midorades! During this period, I heard the good news from the Third Fleet many times. Your performance surprised me, not only in You won the naval battle, captured two important Phoenician cities, and took away all the work that should have been done by the army. You have earned great honor for our navy!"

"This is all due to His Majesty's full support. With the Sicilian fleet led by you attracting the main force of Carthage in front, the Third Fleet achieved these successes without attracting attention." Midorades was humble. He said something, and then sighed with concern: "When I heard the news in Latium that 'the Sicilian fleet was destroyed by a storm, and you and Flarios are also missing,' I was very worried about your safety! At the same time, I am also worried that the Dionian Navy has been hit by this and may not be able to recover for a long time! Thanks to the blessing of Hades, you have returned safely, the Sicilian fleet has also been reorganized, and everything is back to normal. It's great! "

Seclian looked at the other party's sincere smile and sighed softly after a moment: "It's a pity that Flarios and Miltias have gone to the Elysee one after another! The Carthaginian navy is the strongest enemy we have encountered so far. Our fleet caused a lot of casualties... Before, His Majesty Davos reminded me again, 'In this war with the Carthaginians, our navy is the most important force in defeating the enemy, and we must use it to its fullest extent. role.’ Therefore, our two fleets must join forces and strengthen cooperation in order to completely defeat the Carthaginian navy and win this war for the kingdom!”

Sekerian has been a patriarch of the kingdom for many years, and his political sensitivity is not low. When he learned that the Third Fleet had been transferred to Sicily, it was not affiliated with the Sicilian Fleet. Instead, it was stationed alone on the north coast and was responsible for the sea together with the Sicilian Fleet. During the war, he understood that King Davos and the Ministry of Military Affairs were not very satisfied with the recent performance of the Sicilian Fleet and wanted to use the Third Fleet to stimulate the Sicilian Fleet. At the same time, he also realized that the Third Fleet's consecutive victories had made Midora Des is no longer the squadron commander he could command at will more than a decade ago.

Especially there was another knot in his heart: he had always felt that Miltias's death in battle was related to himself. If he hadn't forcefully taken away Miltias's fleet command right as soon as he appeared, Miltias would have also Will not refuse to follow his advice, ultimately leading to defeat.

Since then, he has begun to consciously control his temper.In addition, during today's meeting, Midorades took the initiative to come to the flagship to meet with him and kept a low profile. This satisfied Sekerian, so his tone of voice also became gentler.

At this time, Midorades smiled and said: "Lord Cykerian is right! The Sicilian Fleet and the Third Fleet are both the kingdom's armies, and they should fight together. As long as you have a good plan, sir, I will I am willing to lead the Third Fleet to fully cooperate!"

Sekelian frowned slightly. He understood Midolades' words, but he relaxed immediately and said confidently: "I really have a good plan, and I am going to discuss it with you."

Midorades was stunned for a moment, then agreed.

So the two dismissed the surrounding crew members and started discussing on the flagship's deck.

After about half an hour, both of them had smiles on their faces.

(End of this chapter)