Davos stared at the confident Cykrian, and after a while, he smiled: "This is the Cykrian I know, and I look forward to the news of victory you will bring me!"
After Cykrian left, Davos pondered for a while, and then sent someone to call Thormid and Printoles.
"What do you think of the transfer of the Third Fleet to Sicily?" Davos asked directly.
Thormid knew that Davos had called Cykrian before. Although he didn't know what Davos had talked to him, he heard that he was in a good mood when he left, so he asked carefully. : "Your Majesty, why did you think of transferring the Third Fleet?"
Davos glanced at him and said: "Our current strategy is to cut off the sea transportation line of the Carthaginian army, let the Carthaginian army fall into the predicament of lack of food, and finally be defeated by us. But from yesterday's Sicilian fleet suffered In terms of setbacks, although our navy has an advantage, it is not an absolute advantage. The Carthaginian navy still has a lot of strength and can still pose a great threat to our fleet, and the coastline in the western seas is complicated. , Let our dominant fleet be busy cruising the long sea every day, very passive, and also suppress the Sicilian fleet to play its own advantages, but if they take the initiative to attack, they cannot block the sea area, so that the Carthaginians can continue to Sicily offers aid…”
"The main reason is that the navy in Sicily is not strong enough to take into account the attack and blockade at the same time." Printols said.
"That's right." Davos nodded and said, "The original mission of the Third Fleet was to harass Sardinia and block the route between Carthage and it. But if we transfer the Third Fleet to Sicily, we can There are enough warships to cut off Carthage's external shipping routes, and the effect is even better, because our ultimate goal is to defeat Carthage, as long as we concentrate on destroying this Carthaginian army in Sicily, everything will be fine. Problems were resolved…”
After listening to Davos' analysis, Tormide was persuaded, but he reminded: "Your Majesty, after the 3rd Fleet is transferred to Sicily, who will be in charge of the command of the entire navy?"
Davos understood what he meant: If it was before, there would be no problem with Cykrian serving as the commander of the entire navy, but in this war, Midorads stood out and won successive victories, becoming another star in the navy. The heart is naturally much higher than before.
Davos pondered for a while and said, "Midorades used to be Cykrian's subordinate, so it is more secure to have Cykrian as the commander, but Midorads has a more stable character, should... arrange them this way. , let the Third Fleet be mainly responsible for cruising the Sicilian waters, while the Sicilian Fleet is mainly responsible for attacking... Of course, this is just a suggestion, how to implement it, it is still necessary for Sekelian and the others to come over and discuss together."
"Your Majesty, why don't the Third Fleet be stationed on the north coast." Plintors suggested: "The reason why the Carthaginians were able to successfully transport the baggage to Sicily this time is that the Sicilian fleet was fooled. On the other hand, the coast north of Eryx is far from Serinus, where the Sicilian fleet is stationed. Starting from the port of Serinus, when the fleet reaches Eryx, it will take more than three hours at the fastest. It will take more than 5 hours to reach Palermus, and the Carthaginians may continue to use this time in the future, targeting the coast north of Eryx, to transport rations for the Sicilian army. The three fleets stationed on the north coast can better monitor the sea near Palermos, Solus, etc., making this attempt of the Carthaginians impossible.
"The friendly city-state on the north coast of Siedium is the closest to Solus and Palerus, but it is a small city. I am afraid there is no good naval port to accommodate our third fleet, and the situation of other friendly city-states on the north coast is similar. , I am afraid that the only town on the north coast that can accommodate the Third Fleet is Messina, but it is too far to the west, and it is not as good as Serinus." Thormid raised his objection.
Davos was greatly moved by Printols' proposal, and even with Thormid's reminder, he still said: "There is no military port on the north coast, so we can build a simple one first, we are not doing that here. ."
Seeing that Davos agreed with this suggestion, Thormid did not raise any further objections, but raised another matter: "Your Majesty, you asked the Ninth Army to assist the Third Fleet in attacking Sardinia before, I am afraid they have already Start the operation, if the 3rd Fleet is transferred back to this time, will the Ninth Army be returned to Apulia?"
"The Ninth Legion..." Davos thought for a while and said, "Then let the Ninth Legion act with the Third Fleet... The Carthaginian army is now concentrated on the south coast and the territory of the Sikanians, and the defenses on the north coast are empty. , the Ninth Corps can completely raid Solus, or even Palermos. Once successful, it will not only give the Third Fleet a better port, but also shorten the fleet's cruising distance, which is more conducive to blocking the western seas. If it fails, the Carthaginians can also be scattered... Henepolis, write immediately in my name to Midorades and Tigtinos, and ask them to lead the army to Seedium as soon as possible. "
"Okay, Your Majesty." Henipolis swiftly cut a piece of papyrus, then picked up the pen and started writing.
At this time, Martius walked into the big tent: "Your Majesty, the battle report sent from Syracuse."
Davos took the papyrus roll tied with black rope, and after reading it quickly, he glanced at the other people in the tent with a smile on his face, and exclaimed excitedly: "Okay! Well done Prosous! Everyone, tell me Good news for you, the main city of Syracuse has been captured by us!"
… … … … … … …
On the day that Sekelian went to Minoa to be criticized by Davos, in the middle of the west coast of Sardinia, five Carthaginian cargo ships arrived outside the port of St. Ibinia, in the middle of the west coast of Sardinia. This is very common during this period of time, because the harassment of the Dionysian fleet in Sardinia forced many Carthaginian merchant ships to carry goods to take advantage of the Dionia fleet before it came to Sardinia. During the cruising of the sea, they rushed to the ports of the Phoenician towns on the island to transport the cargo that was accumulated in the ports.
Due to the fact that the cargo ships were all Phoenician-looking crew members, and due to the lack of time, the patrol boats did not check carefully, and they were allowed to enter the port.
In the early hours of the morning, in the north-central position of the west coast of Sardinia, the Third Fleet, which had originally been traveling south along the coast, suddenly approached the sea.
The near-coastal reefs here are densely covered, and the shores are mostly cliffs and cliffs. There is no suitable place for boats to dock. However, there is a Mannu River (Mannu) that enters the sea from here. It is especially obvious that the mudflat is covered with slippery and soft black silt, people stepping on it, it is easy to fall into it, and it is very difficult to pass.
However, the Third Fleet was fully prepared. The crow warships entered the tidal flat on the north bank of the estuary one by one. The infantrymen of the fleet carefully disembarked and placed them on the tidal flat with bundles of wheat straw prepared in advance. Planks were then laid on top, and soon a boardwalk was erected leading to the river bank.
The soldiers of the mountain reconnaissance team of the Ninth Corps walked at the forefront. They staggered on the planks, and finally reached the bottom of the river bank. Using the climbing tools they carried, they easily climbed the not too steep river bank, and then lowered ten times. Several rope ladders had been prepared, and the following fleet infantry quickly climbed up.
After more than half an hour, 4,000 fleet infantry boarded the north bank of the Mano River, and then moved quickly inland, ready to raid sant-imbenia not far from the coast.
The city of St. Ibinia is a Phoenician metal processing center in Sardinia. It was originally a town of the Sardinian indigenous Nuraghi people hundreds of years ago. Rich in iron and silver ore, they used these precious metals early to trade with the Etruscans, who were then located in central Italy, on the Italian peninsula across the Tyrrhenian Sea.
After the Phoenicians colonized this island, through trade, marriage, assimilation, war and other means, the original native Nuraghi people in Sardinia basically retreated into the mountains in the north a hundred years later, and the south became Phoenicia completely. The territory of the base people. Apart from the city of Olbia at the northeastern end, St. Ibinia was the most northerly town of the Phoenicians, who developed it into an important metalworking on the island of Sardinia center.
St. Ibinia is located in low hills not far from the coast, and is close to a river called Temo to the north. Due to the relatively flat terrain around it, the mines established by the Phoenicians in the north The output and the ore dug in the mountains are relatively easy for the Nuraghi people to pull here to trade. The St. Ibinians then processed and smelted the ore into metal ingots, which were loaded on ships through ports on the Temo River, and transported to Carthage or elsewhere. The annual precious metal production in Santa Ibinia accounts for more than half of the metal production of the entire Sardinia island. Because of this, St. Ibinia was very important to the Phoenicians in Sardinia and to Carthage.
In the past, when the Carthaginian navy dominated the Western Mediterranean, Sardinia was safe, and the Phoenicians on the island could fish, farm and develop metal processing without worrying about the invasion of foreign enemies. However, since the war between Carthage and Dionia, the navy has always been at a disadvantage, and the security of Sardinia has also been threatened. Landing at sea, the raiding of Sardinia by the Dionians had never occurred near St. Ibinia.