Although Margo's words were too extreme, because it was not only the Hannonite decision to make Anobus commander of the navy and send a fleet to guard Sardinia, but one thing he was very right was that Sicily's connection with Carthage could not be severed, otherwise these more than 100,000 soldiers would have no military rations, and it would really be all over! …… Pomilka was in the army, mainly responsible for logistics, and knew that the army's food consumption was huge, and the reason why the army withdrew from the east, food supply was the most important reason, so the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and immediately said: "Lord Margo, I will write with you, urging the Senate to immediately reorganize our fleet and make every effort to protect the sea routes between Sicily and Carthage!" ”

Marge's expression was a little gloomy, and he said hatefully: "Even if the Senate follows our advice, whether our fleet can do it is another matter, our current military rations can last for about 10 days, and after 10 days, all of our lives are in the hands of the navy, which is really unwilling!" ”

Listening to this, Pomilka also felt bitter in his heart, and he reminded loudly: "Lord Margo, the best way we can turn the tide is to defeat the main force of the Dionian army and win the dominance of the Sicilian war!" ”

"It's easy to say, but as you can see, I've been outside the camp for the past three days, but the Dioonians on the other side have no desire to go down the mountain to join us."

Margo was both helpless and puzzled: "I have learned more about the battles that King Dionya has participated in in the past, and he is a resolute, daring, risk-taking, and very confident man. In the early days, when he was the leader of the mercenaries, he dared to lead a mercenary far smaller number than the other party to attack the Lucanian army; When Dionysius invaded Great Greece, it was clear that Dionysius had the advantage, especially in terms of cavalry, and he still boldly fought against the Syracuses......

Not long ago, Dionya was at war with Rome, and Rome was so far away from Dioa that he actually led a large army to attack on his own initiative...... Why did such an attacker, who is extremely fond of attack, not dare to accept our challenge this time?! ”

"Could it be because the Dionian army isn't ready?" Pomilka thought for a moment and said, "Or maybe it's because Kefaroition's army is too close to here...... Worried about the King of Dionia? ”

When Marco heard this, his heart moved, he put down his sword, and said in a deep voice, "Perhaps...... We should have Hasdruba withdraw all the troops into the territory of the Sikans, lure the Dionian army to the east westward, and occupy the empty Kefaroition. In this way, the king of Dionya feels safe in the north, and perhaps he will be relieved to fight us? ”

"What if the Dioyans still can't hold out?" Pomilka said worriedly.

Margo thought for a moment and said decisively: "Then we will surround the Dionian army of Kefaro Ition and force them to fight us in the mountains!" ”

"That's a great idea!" Pomilka's eyes lit up, but he reminded, "I'm afraid Aconis won't be willing to retreat from Kefaro Ition." ”

"The leader of Sikyll who took the initiative to join us?!" Margo picked up the saber placed on the table and slashed it on the table: "This is not up to him, he has to withdraw if he doesn't withdraw!" ”

……………………………………

After receiving Margo's orders, Hasdruba ignored Aconis's pleas and gave the order: all the soldiers, all the Sikers, should retreat westward.

Some of the Sichaels did not give in, even because their families were in the hands of the Carthaginians, and they refused to enter the territory of their former enemies, the Sikanians.

In response, Hasdruba ruthlessly suppressed it, thus forcing most of the Sichael to obediently obey.

During the retreat, the Carthaginians also completely destroyed the city of Kepharoition.

However, Lizarus, who had been instructed by Davers, did not take the opportunity to lead his army westward, and still let the army stay in Enna, while constantly strengthening the city's defenses.

The main Dionian army stationed in Minoa ignored the Carthaginians' daily battle under the mountain and had been stepping up their camps.

After listening to Davers's instructions, the engineers designed the camp as follows: the entire Dionian camp began at the city of Minoa, near the sea, and continued along the course of the hill to the north, until it reached the narrow lowland to the north (where Leotizides had previously allowed Agrigento to rout and lure the Carthaginian Legion and finally defeat it), and then the camp turned northeast, continued along the continuous hills, which were not too high, and finally terminated against the upper reaches of the Pletany River, forming a semi-arc defensive line. With the improvised port to the east, and with plenty of supplies from the Catanay fleet and enough water from Lake Gurgo, the Dionian army was prepared for a long defence of the day.

Unlike in the west, in eastern Sicily, Leotizides had already led his army to Syracuse, and after reaching Leotini and joining the armies of the allies, the whole army was divided into two parts, the main force consisting of the 7th and 8th Army Corps, led by Leotizides himself, and continued south, over the mountains, to the vicinity of the Grand Port, west of Syracuse.

In addition, more than 8,000 soldiers, composed of allied armies and friendly city-states, led by Jean Zantiparis, marched south along the coast, passing through Taunis and reaching the eastern city of Syracuse.

The Syracuse had been keeping a close eye on the Ionians to the north, and when they learned that another Ionian army had left the city of Cataneh and arrived at Leotini, they became alarmed that it might be directed at Syracuse.

When the news spread, the people in Syracuse were very panicked.

It was only when the news was confirmed that the Council of Syracuse realized that it had been deceived, and these days the democrats and centrists were arguing over the question of who was to blame for provoking Dionia, wasting a lot of time and not preparing for defense.

In the face of life and death, Teagenis and Falekus and others had to put aside their differences and deal with the impending attack of the cunning Dionians. They carried out an urgent military mobilization of the citizens in the city, and at the same time sent cavalry to quickly notify the villages and towns outside the city, telling the people to immediately take refuge in the city with their belongings.

A day later, the sentinels on the eastern wall were the first to see the enemy approaching along the coastline.

……………………………………

The news of the crushing defeat of the new fleet reached Carthage, and the senators were greatly shocked.

In this report, Anobus placed the blame on Admika, saying that it was because of Adamika's slow action that the plan to attack from both sides was not carried out, but was broken by the Dionian fleet.

Subsequently, the senators received a joint complaint from Marco and Pomilka.

Was it a miscommand error by Anobas, or was it a poor execution by Admira?

There was an argument among the senators, and although Hanno defended it, as commander of the navy, Anobus was unable to escape the blame for his successive defeats.

So the controversy did not last long, and the Senate passed a resolution to remove Anobus from his post as commander of the navy and let him return to the city for trial.

Carthage was born by the sea, prospered by the sea, although now they have also begun to develop inland, but the sea is still their foundation, and now the repeated failures of the Carthaginian navy have shown that the victory of the Dionian fleet is not accidental, and the Carthaginian naval power is at a disadvantage, which not only puts the 100,000 troops in Sicily in danger, but also begins to threaten the survival of the Carthaginian city.

For the first time, all the patriarchs were unselfish, actively and seriously discussing solutions to Carthage's maritime dilemma.

First of all, it is necessary to appoint a new candidate for the commander-in-chief of the navy as soon as possible.

Although Anobus was impeached, it was undeniable that he was indeed an excellent admiral, so the individual candidates proposed by the senators were ruled out because they were not as talented as him, and in the end it was the name mentioned by Esyaruba, so that everyone did not question his ability, but worried about his body.

Morbar, a Carthaginian nobleman and former senator of the Senate, participated in the naval battles of Carthage against the Greek city-states on the north coast of Italy when he was young, and later served as a naval commander several times, leading the battle with the Greek coalition navy of Sicily led by Syracuse, winning more and losing less; He also bravely led a fleet of ships along the route opened by his predecessors, crossed the Pillar of Hercules westward, and traveled south along the coast to the middle of the western coast of Africa, where he brought back some exotic beasts and strangely dressed races with shiny black skin, and thus became a hero of Carthage; However, he later grew tired of Carthaginian politics and advanced age, so he voluntarily withdrew from the Senate and went into seclusion in Utica.

After several senators who knew him confirmed that he was in good health, the senators unanimously agreed and sent messengers to Uticaa to inquire about the wishes of the old man, who did not belong to any faction, whether he would be willing to become commander of the Carthaginian navy.

Secondly, the Senate deliberated on "whether to bring back a new fleet defending the waters of Sardinia." After all, this new fleet, which was originally intended to protect the Sardinian shipping routes, has now been crippled and has not played any role, and there is little point in continuing to stay in Sardinia, but there is a danger of total annihilation. Now, the Dionian army has also landed in Sicily, the pressure on the Carthaginian army has increased, and the problem of logistics supply has become more prominent, and it is necessary to ensure the smooth sea route between Sicily and Carthage, in order to ensure that the 100,000 troops on the island can fight with all their strength without worry, which has become the consensus of the Carthaginian senators. To this end, they decided not only to bring back the remaining new fleet and to invest it in the direction of Sicily, but also to incorporate the newly launched warships into it, and at the same time urged the shipyards to speed up the construction of the successor ships.