But in the Carthaginian Senate, the atmosphere in the meeting room was not only not as relaxed as the people imagined, but also very solemn.

In the Carthaginian Sufi election that just ended in October, Occledon was re-elected, but standing in the center of the Senate at this moment, he did not rejoice after his victory, but said to everyone with a solemn face: "Elders, I believe you have received the news that our Phoenician allies in Sardinia have sent messengers to us (Albia), Saros, St. Ibinia, and Calaris, and our judges stationed in Sardinia have also sent back detailed news, The Dionians, who were as greedy as hungry wolves, had their sights set on Sardinia after conquering Alenia in Corsica.

They sent a fleet that not only cruised the waters of Sardinia, but also landed frequently on the coast of the island's towns, sending troops to attack villages, destroy mines, and even incite slaves and riots...... Now the situation on the island of Sardinia is becoming chaotic, and the people of the allies are also very alarmed, as the leader of the Phoenician city-states of Sardinia, we Carthage cannot see that they are in a difficult situation, whether we should send reinforcements immediately, the senators, please express your opinions. ”

"Needless to say?" The leader of the neutral faction, Esyaruba, stood up and said solemnly: "The most important pillar of our Carthaginian treasury revenue is the precious metal trade, and Sardinia and Corsica are one of the important sources of our Carthaginian precious metal trade, not to mention that Sardinia is also one of the important sources of trade income for our Carthaginian merchants, so we must not only send troops to rescue Sardinia immediately, but also take back Alenia in Corsica." ”

Esyaruba already had a high prestige in the Senate, and Sardinia was indeed concerned with the fundamental interests of Carthage, so his speech was echoed by many senators.

Tepanlako immediately took over and actively suggested: "Elders, there is actually a combined Phoenician army of tens of thousands on the island of Sardinia, and the Dioonians do not dare to compete with it at all, but the cunning Dionians always use warships to avoid their garrisons and attack areas with empty defenses.

Therefore, considering that the fighting in Sicily is now raging and our troops are very scarce, we do not need to send troops to Sardinia, but we must send a fleet to repel the Dionian fleet that is constantly harassing Sardinia, in order to ensure the safety of Sardinia. After defeating the Dionian fleet, we will transport some of our soldiers, along with the Sardinian army, to Corsica and retake Alenia. ”

Many of the patriarchs thought that Taparako's statement was reasonable, but some people asked: "Our fleet has been destroyed by the storm before, and the new fleet that has been under construction does not know how it is going?" Is it already possible to go to sea to fight? ”

"I think it's more appropriate for our naval commander-in-chief to answer this question." Ocleton said as he looked at Anobas, who was sitting at the back of the room.

These days, Anobas, who had been busy between the ports of the Phoenician allies of Africa and Africa, had rushed back to attend the Senate meeting after receiving a message from Hanno, and at this moment he stood up and said in a loud voice: "My lords, since the Senate decided in June that Carthage and its allies should go all out to build warships, all the shipyards of Carthage and the Phoenician city-states of Africa and Africa have been stepping up the construction of warships, and I now know that 195 three-deck oared warships have been built and are beginning to be manned, ready for sea trials. ”

"How long will it take to go to sea?" An elder couldn't wait to ask.

"In general, it takes at least three months for a new fleet to have the ability to go to sea." When Annobas said this, he saw that many of the elders in the audience showed disappointment, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "But the current situation is more special, because that storm destroyed our warships, but left a large number of experienced sailors, they only need 10 to 15 days to get familiar with the new ships, and then they can form a fleet and go to sea to fight." ”

"Great!" The patriarchs were beaming, and some even shouted, for the Carthaginians had never been so aggrieved by the threat of the Ionian ships in the northern seas, and they had never been so aggrieved.

"15 days is too long, our allies can't wait that long, I suggest at least 7 days! Within 7 days, Lord Anobus was asked to assemble a fleet as soon as possible, go to Sardinia, protect its waters, and repel the invasion of Sardinian by the Dionian fleet, and then return to Liliba to protect the route between Carthage and Sicily. Ocleton asked with a serious expression, "Lord Anobas, can you do it?!" ”

In fact, Ocleton had already discussed with Anobus beforehand, and Anobus also put on a thoughtful look, and after a while, he nodded solemnly: "I will do my best to do it!" ”

"Alright, my lords, now we will reinforce Sardinia" Before Ocleton could finish his sentence, he was interrupted loudly by Pretakuba: "Wait a minute! The newly created fleet should not be sent to Sardinia first, but to Sicily! Sardinian was guarded by more than 10,000 Phoenician soldiers, and the Dioonians only dared to attack but did not dare to attack the city-states of the island directly, their safety was actually guaranteed, and the situation was not as serious as they said.

And now the most important issue for the survival of our Carthage is not Sardinia, but Sicily! The 100,000-strong army led by Lord Margo had already invaded Dionia's territory in Sicily and was engaged in fierce battles with the enemy, but now the problem was that because we did not have the advantage at sea, the transportation of military rations and baggage could only be transported by land, and because of the long distance, the uneven terrain, and the large number of laborers required, not only increased the consumption of military rations, but also attacked by the Dionian fleet from the sea several times.

Moreover, the main force of our army is far away in the east of Sicily, and the defense in the rear is relatively empty, and the Dionian soldiers have repeatedly sailed around to the west, landed and harassed, threatening the security of our territories and allies in Sicily, they have already sent messengers here to ask for help, and why are we only talking about Sardinia today?! I propose that the newly established fleet be sent to the waters of Sicily at once to regain our superiority at sea and ensure that the army led by Lord Margo can drive the Dioonians out of Sicily without any problems!

Because of Marco's achievements in Sicily, Pretakuba was re-elected as a Sufie this time, and it also gave him a lot more weight to speak in the Senate. For a while, there was a lot of discussion in the venue, but no one clearly expressed opposition.

At this time, Tepanlaco asked loudly: "If the new fleet is sent to Sicily, when will Sardinia's request for reinforcements be resolved?" ”

Pretakuba glanced at him and said, "At least we will not consider this until Lord Margo has driven the Dionians out of Sicily with his army." ”

Taipanrako sneered, and said with a slight mockery: "Lord Margo, led an army of 100,000 people, with the assistance of the Syracuses, until now, he has not been able to capture a small village in Dionia, and most of the soldiers are still blocked on the outskirts of the Catania Plain, if he wants to wait until he captures Katanay and Naxos, when will it take?" I'm afraid that all the mines in Sardinia will be in ruins! ”

Pretakuba immediately retorted: "The reason why our army is attacking slowly now is precisely because the transportation of military rations and baggage has dragged its feet, so it should be even more so."

"Our fleet must go to Sardinia first!" A younger patriarch suddenly stood up and interrupted him loudly.

Pretakuba fixed his eyes, but it was El Accra, a new star of the neutral faction, and his heart suddenly tightened, and he suddenly felt a little uneasy.

"Lord Pretakuba, you have been emphasizing the importance of Sicily just now, asking for a new fleet to be put into Sicily, but do you know how this fleet came about?!" El Accra waved his hands emotionally and said: "Do you know what is the most important reason why a large amount of wood was cut down from the Iberian Peninsula and transported by ship to Carthage and other Phoenician city-state ports, and then all the shipyards were started and built intensively, and so many warships were built in just a few months?!"

It's money! At the beginning of the Senate meeting, you said, 'You Magonides, although you control the southern part of Iberia, but we have to make some concessions to get the local natives to agree to our safe cutting of a large number of trees', and finally you persuaded the Senate to pass the resolution that Carthage should allocate a part of the revenue of the national treasury every month to finance Iberia for the purchase of timber for ships!

Although our Carthage prestige is very high, and the various Phoenician allies are very cooperative, but those shipyard owners and craftsmen stop other businesses and build ships for us every day, is it free? Of course not! Even if they wanted to, we Carthaginians would not ruin our credibility! We paid a lot of gold and silver to ensure the quality of the build, and to ensure that they would continue to build ships for us.

And what about after the formation of the fleet? It costs money to hire sailors! It costs money to provide rations! The rations and baggage provided to the entire Carthaginian army needed even more money! Tell me, Lord Pretakuba, where does all this money come from?! ”

After hearing this, Pretakuba remained silent for the time being, as a senator of the Senate and the newly re-elected Sophiet, of course he could not open his eyes and tell nonsense and let others laugh.