Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 887

[Chapter 234 Landing in Sicily (2)]

If it was more than 10 years ago, the laborers in the port of Liliba were more Greek freedmen, and there were few slaves in Numibia, but the Kingdom of Dionia occupied eastern Sicily, absorbing Greek freedmen and Carthage. The conquest of Numibia changed that.

Braving the drizzle and the dank sea breeze, the workers rushed to the pier tremblingly.

It was just dawn at this time, and although the port was open, no ships had come in yet. The laborers took the opportunity to squat under the eaves of the warehouse on the shore, taking a break from time to time.

It didn’t take long for them to hear noisy footsteps, and hundreds of Carthaginian soldiers poured into the port and began to drive away the idle people in the port, strengthening the patrol of the dock.

Seeing the wharf, which suddenly became heavily guarded, made the workers feel awkward.

“Look! City Lord Imisere is here!” Someone shouted in surprise, and the surrounding atmosphere became even more tense.

At this time, the official in charge of labor management ran over and scolded angrily: “Get up, slackers! Before Mr. Margo leads the army to the port, you immediately clear all the obstacles and rubbish at the dock for me to ensure that the road is safe. Unobstructed and clean! And those dilapidated boats docked at the dock are also taken away for me immediately! Quick! Quick! If anyone is lazy, I will let him know how good I am!…”

With the roar of the officials, the supervisors will The whip slapped loudly, and the workers immediately ran to the dock like frightened rabbits, led by the foreman.

Among them, there was a middle-aged worker with a hunched waist, but the eyes that were originally bleak now shone brightly: the Carthaginian army actually chose to cross the sea and land in Lilibe in such a climate, which is really bold enough!

I wonder if Flarios has sent a clipper to detect this action of the enemy?

!

………………………………

About an hour later, the first troop carrier entered the port of Lilibe, and the sailors on board had put up their sails, and they chanted and rowed the boat. Paddle and head to the pier trestle closest to them.

Then they entered the second and third ships…

It didn’t take long before the sea of the port was covered with troop transports.

Seeing that a boat was approaching the trestle, the foreman led a dozen workers to run over quickly, hooked the side of the boat with a hand-held iron hook, and made one side of the boat completely close to the trestle, and then tied the boat’s cable to the wooden stake. Then board the board and let the soldiers disembark.

The routine of helping the boats dock, which is usually very skilled by the laborers, became a little difficult under the disturbance of the cold wind and drizzle, because the trestle became slippery, and the boats had to make greater efforts under the agitation of the waves. It is not uncommon for laborers to keep slipping on the trestle and falling into the sea, and it is not uncommon for ships to collide in the harbor and soldiers to fall into the water…

although Imisere Some preparations have been made for the landing of the army, but the chaos in the port is still inevitable and continues…

But no matter how chaotic the port of Lilibe is organized, a ship of soldiers still boarded the dock without interruption, Densely gathered on the shore of the port, amid the clamor and noise, they formed a column, left the port one after another, and entered the city

of Lilibe… In the eyes of the hunched middle-aged worker: The first to go ashore should be the Carthaginian soldiers (in fact, they are more of Phoenicians), these rumored delicate Carthaginians appear to be very calm, there is little noise and confusion during the whole process of disembarking, and they are very obedient to the command of the team commander. ; There were also many dark-skinned and slender Numibian soldiers (in fact, some Mauritanians among them) who went ashore.

These rumored free-roaming nomads were able to obey orders during the landing process. , a relatively rapid disembarkation gathering; of course, there are also soldiers who are sloppy in action. These indigenous people with upper body, strange tattoos, and fierce looks are said to be Celts from the Iberian Peninsula, although they are not used to boats, Being beaten up by the turbulent waves, he vomited continuously. When they landed, they all staggered and turned pale, but their tall and strong bodies still made him feel nervous. The most important thing for this laborer was the murderous aura emanating from these soldiers. It’s something only battle-hardened veterans have.

It seems that this time the Carthaginian army is not easy to deal with!

He looked at the troop transport ships that were still coming and going at the entrance of the harbor, and hid his worries in his heart…

……………………………………

In this landing, Marco arranged the landing site of the Iberian main force that had followed him for many years in the port of Liliba and its vicinity, in fact, the landing site of the entire Carthaginian army of more than 80,000 troops All over the coast from Mazara to Eryx, there are not only the ports of various towns, but also the beaches that can be used for boats, because Margo hopes to be able to send soldiers, baggage, horses, etc. in the shortest time possible. Sicily, after avoiding detection by the Dionians, was attacked by their fleet.

To this end, not only Carthage, Utica dispatched a large number of ships, Hadrumetum (hadrumetum), Ruspina (ruspina), Lgilgili (lgilgili) … and others are located on the coast of Africa The Finiki city-state also provided ships to help transport troops.

Therefore, the whole sea from western Sicily to Africa can be seen as a spectacle: countless ships cover the sea, as if a huge pontoon bridge connecting the two places.

And everywhere on the western coast of Sicily, weary soldiers can be seen gathering on the beach, frightened horses are running around, shouting and neighing one after another, from Mazara to Eryx…

… ………………………………

In the city lord’s mansion in Serinus City, the adjutant Mukru gently pushed open the door of the study, and in the room sat Leoticides, the The commander in charge of the Sicilian war in the Kingdom of Dionia sat motionless on a wooden chair like a puppet, staring intently at the map of Sicily hanging on the wall.

Having followed Leotidides for a while, Mukru knew some of the commander’s eccentric habits, so he didn’t speak, but stood silently behind Leotids.

I don’t know how long it took, Mukru felt that his eyelids were fighting, and suddenly he heard Leotizides ask: “Yesterday, the Iberian army of about 20,000 people who had been entrenched in Palermos suddenly attacked him. What do you think is the reason for marching south and entering the city of

Lilibe?” “Uh… maybe with the Iberian governor of Carthage, Marco, as the military commander, the conflict between the Iberian army and the Carthaginian army no longer exists. About…” Suddenly being asked about this matter, Mukuru threw out a reason he thought was reasonable before he thought about it.

Leotides didn’t look back, he still sat upright, and continued to ask: “It’s been a long time since Marco became the military commander of Carthage, why did the Iberian army in Palermos last yesterday? Did you just

leave and enter Lillibee?”

Mukru heard a trace of dissatisfaction in Leotizides’ words, and this time he thought for a while before answering cautiously: “It may be because we are here. For a period of time, soldiers were continuously sent to harvest the half-cooked wheat fields outside the city such as Mazara, Segsta, Liliba, and even Eryx. The Iberian army came from the north coast, probably to strengthen the Carthaginians here. The military force of the sect will restrain us from robbing the wheat…”

After Mukru finished speaking, seeing that Leotizides did not respond, he thought for a while, and added a sentence with great uncertainty: “It is also possible that …Cooperating with the military operations of the Carthaginians…”

After a while, Leotidides replied faintly: “The military operations of Carthage? … Besides landing in Sicily, what else can they do?”

Tagg Lu suddenly was shocked.

At this time, Leotidides stood up, looked at Mukru, and said in a deep voice: “You go and tell the cavalry regiment to send me the best reconnaissance cavalry, and carefully investigate Lilibe, Ernest and Leo for the past few days. Lix

…the movements of the enemies in these cities will be reported immediately as soon as there is an abnormality!”

“Yes!” Muklu’s voice was a little low in response, because he knew: from the current point of view, the Dionysian army and the Carthaginian army In comparison, the only weakness is the cavalry. The command of the UU Kanshu www.sonicmtl.com commander determined that the Fourth Cavalry Corps must pay a certain amount of casualties.

“…At the same time, send five reserve brigades to follow these reconnaissance cavalry to protect our reconnaissance cavalry from being attacked by Numibian cavalry.” In a word, there are 5,000 legions prepared for heavy infantry as a backing, and the safety of Dionia’s reconnaissance cavalry is guaranteed.

“In addition, you go and tell Myrtias, let him send more clippers, go deep into the waters further west in western Sicily, and explore the movement of the Carthaginian army across the sea.”

After Leotidides finished speaking, Mukru looked embarrassed and said, “Sir Commander, I came to the study to tell you that our fleet still did not send any warships like yesterday. Go to the western waters for cruising. According to the information I have obtained, the Sicilian fleet commander Miltias said to his admirals, ‘They are not familiar with the sea conditions here. Going out to sea in such bad weather is very likely to encounter them again. Like the bad luck before, he must be responsible for the lives of the crew of each warship, and he cannot let them die in vain without gaining a little battle. And in such weather, the Carthaginians are also worried. , there will be no major action…'”

Listening to what Mukru said, Leotizides’ face was terrifyingly gloomy, and he snorted softly: “This new Sicilian fleet commander has been swept away by that storm. I’m frightened, his courage is much worse than Cykrian! You still have to go to the port and tell Myrtias personally, saying that it is my order that he must send a clipper to patrol Sicily in the past two days. Western Seas!”