Of course, there was no murmur in the meeting, and the Hannonite patriarchs repeatedly mentioned that the military commander Marco was afraid of the enemy and avoided the battle, and before the main army of Dioonia had landed, he led the army to withdraw from the queen, and surrendered all the gains he had obtained to the enemy, and should be severely reprimanded.

In addition, the patriarch cautiously proposed: from the current signs, Dionya may have pacified Rome and Samonai in the north, and is concentrating all its efforts against our Carthage, the scale of the war will continue to expand, the consumption of national strength is also intensifying, if it continues, Carthage will not be able to support it, it is better to ...... Peace talks with Dionia.

Such proposals did not stir up much of a stir in the room, because the senate realized that Carthage had reached the most critical moment, as Esyaroba said: "This war with Dionya is at stake for the future of Carthage, and we must do everything in our power to win it!" Even if there are peace talks, it is to use war to force the other side to take the initiative to negotiate peace, and only in this way will Carthage not lose its own interests! ”

On the second day, Esyaruba personally arrived in Utica, met with Morbar, and told him about the predicament facing Carthage and the eagerness of the senators and the populace for him to return and lead the navy out of it in order to save Carthage.

Out of love for Carthage and a strong sense of responsibility, the seventy-year-old man agreed to become commander of the navy.

……………………………………

Margo's lure plan was unsuccessful, the main Dionian army held on to Minoa and the surrounding hills, and Lizaru's troops were still entrenched in Enna, due to the previous bloody lesson in the small city of Palagonia, Margo did not take the initiative to launch a strong attack on the Dionian camp on the mountain, and at the same time, considering the difficulty of military food supply, he did not let Hasderoba lead the army back to Kefaro Ition, so although the western Sicilian army was gathered, it remained calm.

In the east, the battle was also calm, but the people of Syracuse were nervous, and although both of Dionia's forces were busy building camps and building siege engines, they did not attack, but the people of Syracuse knew that once the attack began, it would be very violent.

On the naval side, the new Carthaginian fleet in Sardinia received an order from the Senate, and Anobus did not dare to disobey it, and led the fleet back south in the early morning, taking advantage of the fact that the Dionian fleet had not yet begun to cruise.

It was only a day later that Midorades sensed this sign and immediately sent a clipper ship to inform Sicily of his suspicion that the Carthaginian fleet had abandoned the defense of the Sardinian sea.

Davers, who received the news, did not immediately ask the Third Fleet to give up attacking Sardinia and go south to Sicily to strengthen the navy, because these days new warships from Great Greece continue to join the Sicilian fleet, so that the number of warships in this fleet has soared to 300, and it is still increasing, and it is fully capable of dealing with the challenge of the Carthaginian navy alone.

The main forces of the reinforced Sicilian Fleet led by Secrean were re-stationed in the port of Selinus, and a total blockade of the western seas of Sicily began.

………………………………………

In the city of Carthage, Anobas's mansion welcomed a guest.

Anobas, who had closed the door, heard the name of the visitor from the slave's mouth, but immediately went out to meet him, and respectfully welcomed him into the door.

Entering the living room, Morbal put aside the wooden staff, sat down unceremoniously on the main seat, and asked, "I heard that you will be questioned by the Senate tomorrow?" ”

"Yes, teacher." Anobus was overjoyed and replied respectfully.

"I said, don't call me teacher, although I taught you how to command operations when you were the captain of the flagship, but that is the inheritance of the Carthaginian navy, and I do this to every flagship captain." Morbar said unceremoniously: "I will not go to the Senate to intercede for you, and I don't have so much time, I just want to ask you, what are the operational characteristics of the Dionian fleet?" After all, you've fought them a few times and should know them better. ”

Anobas, though somewhat disappointed, did not show his face, but recounted the two naval battles he personally commanded (of course, for the naval battle in Sardinia, he distorted the facts in order to match the content of the war report). In addition, he recounts the Battle of Seeudium and the Attack on the Eastern Phoenician Fleet, two naval battles in which he was not involved but knew something about.

Morbal listened attentively, and did not interrupt Anobas's narration from beginning to end, but the furrows on his face grew more and deeper and deeper, until at last the two sparse white eyebrows were almost twisted together, and he touched his beard and groaned for a long time before he said: "Listen to you so, the Dioonians have adopted a completely new tactic. ”

"Yes, old ...... Well, it seems to me that the Dionian fleet likes to use gang-hopping tactics and ramming, while the other city-states in the Mediterranean, including our Carthaginian navy, are ramming and ramming, and they are the complete opposite of ours. However, unlike ordinary gang-jumping tactics, the so-called 'Raven Warship' of the Dionian Navy uses a strangely constructed wooden bridge, which can be flexibly used to firmly hook up the warships approaching it from all directions, so as to maximize the gang-jumping tactics......"

When Morbar heard this, he immediately pointed out: "Since the Ionians installed wooden bridges on their warships, they would inevitably increase the weight of their ships, destroy their balance, and reduce the speed and agility of their ships. ”

Annobus was stunned for a moment, and then he defended: "Although I have only fought two battles with Dionya myself, I have arranged tactics against the defects of the Dionian ships! It's a pity that the first time I wanted to take advantage of the wind and waves at sea to help our navy, but I didn't expect to cause a storm; And the second time, I wanted to lead the Dionian fleet to the far sea, and defeat them by flanking them back and forth and the better handling of our ships, but in the end the other side saw through ......"

Morbar did not speak.

Anobas was reassured, and continued: "The Dioonians may also be aware of the shortcomings of their fleet, so they have another kind of warship, which is smaller than the usual three-oared warship, but is faster and more agile, and complements the Raven Warship in battle, making up for its clumsy weakness...... These are the tactical characteristics of the Dionian Navy, but what deserves our attention is that although some people in the Senate believe that 'the Dionian Navy has only been established for more than ten years, and it is far from being comparable to the long tradition of our navy', I think that their fleet is well-trained, and their ship handling skills are not weaker than ours, and the cooperation between the warships is also quite tacit, they usually use a seemingly messy offensive ship formation, which can cause chaos in the opponent's ship formation after engagement, while they can cooperate and protect each other in the melee, This can't be done without long hours of training.

And also...... I think the Dionian navy should have a complete set of signals when sailing at sea, just like us, so that they can quickly adjust in the event of a surprise attack or an accident......

In addition, it is worth noting that the morale of the Dionian fleet was very high, and in the raid of the Phoenician fleet and the naval battle in Sardinia, the Dionians were at a disadvantage at first, but they were able to turn defeat into victory in the end, which also has a lot to do with this......"

Anobus gushed as much as he could, trying his best to tell all that he had learned about the power of the Dionian navy, and of course it was also a subtle explanation to Morbar: the reason why he failed to win during his tenure as commander of the navy was that he was not lucky enough, that his opponent was too strong, and he still hoped that the respected Morbar would be able to say a word of justice to himself in the Senate.

Morbal listened to Anobas's story with a solemn expression, but still did not speak, he picked up his wooden staff, got up and walked out.

After all, Anobus had been with Morbar for a few years, understood his character, and did not say a word of retention, but respectfully sent him out.

Morbar walked out of the gate, stopped, and said to Anobas, "In Sardinia, it was a serious mistake for you to form a circle to meet the enemy! And lying about the military situation is even more wrong! ”

Anobas's heart was shocked, and his hands and feet were suddenly cold: it turned out that this old guy had already asked others for details in advance, but he came here to visit himself!

"But if I were you, I might have formed a circle under the circumstances...... Other than that, there is nothing too wrong with the tactics and tactics you have implemented during your tenure as Commander-in-Chief......" Morbar's next words rang in Anobas's ears like a fairy sound.

Morbar raised his cane, tapped Anobas on the shoulder, and admonished him: "When I am questioned by the Senate tomorrow, I will tell all things honestly, and I will express my opinion, and I believe that anyone with a little brain will judge what is right and wrong." ”

Anobus was overjoyed, he did not hesitate, and immediately said: "Thank you, teacher!" I'll be sure to tell you the details of all the battles! ”

In fact, Morbar did not appear in the Senate on the second day, but he wrote a letter to the meeting in which he justified the defeat of Anobus from a military point of view, and hoped that the defeated general would become his assistant in the fight against the growing Dionian navy.

Morbar's prestige and Hanno's maintenance allowed Anobus to finally escape the Senate's punishment.

Morbar, who had not yet arrived, was dragging his aged body and leading his men between Carthage and the ports of several neighboring city-states to learn about the progress of the new warships and recruit experienced sailors.