Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

I am very happy after I received the order of Lord Cypros in Hena! Brelu said sincerely: Lizaluru, Lord Epithenes, you don't know that the Carthaginians are taking Sikel The Horde has been devastated! Your presence gives us a chance to take revenge on the Carthaginians! Everyone has been waiting for you to come! Kleirou said, pointing to the Sikel soldiers who followed him, one of them All of them looked eagerly at the Dionysian marching troops with their flags fluttering, their uniforms neat and dignified.

The two legion commanders were also looking at the auxiliary troops gathered by Kleilu: most of them were Sikel light infantrymen wearing short-sleeved singles and holding javelins, and a small number of them were armed with leather shields and spears. Light armored soldier in black leather armor.

Seeing that the two legion commanders were puzzled by the dress of these light armored soldiers, Clayrou explained: They are all Sikel citizens who have joined the kingdom in the past few years. A reserve soldier of the Legion.

How many people do you have? Lizaru asked directly.

A total of 4,700 people, of which 780 people became citizens of Dionia, and the rest are all tribesmen. Crerou replied.

Lizaru and Epithenes looked at each other with a smile on their faces. King Davos said before that Kleilu would convene the Sikelians and help them fight, but they did not expect that Cleilu would convene so many soldiers, including the full 3rd Legion and the Lucania Reserve Legion. 16,000 men, plus nearly 1,000 additional Roman soldiers in the legion, added up to a total of 23,000 men.

For them, this is already a huge number, giving them confidence in defeating their enemies in the mountains.

Lord Two Legionnaires, it's getting late, let's get the soldiers into the city quickly, Kleirou reminded.

I think it's better to camp outside the city. We have two legions. I'm afraid we can't live in the city. Epithenes shook his head and said. When he saw the city from a distance, he had been there Observation, although Agilion was once the central town of the Sikel people, but the city wall is not too high, and it is still wooden, it seems that the area is not too large, considering that there are still residents in the city, so this suggestion is made.

Unexpectedly, Brelu said angrily: You don't know, when the Carthaginians were retreating, they forced the Sikel tribes in the city of Agilion and the surrounding areas to follow them to the west, and they cut off anyone who resisted. Head... Now Agilion is an empty city, and there are enough empty houses in the city to house the soldiers...

No wonder these Sikel warriors look so eager! Epithenes once again glanced at the soldiers standing behind Crayrou, and he thought it was a good thing, because hatred brings strength, and in the future, when these Sikel soldiers fought against the Carthaginians, they would certainly do their best to fight with the Carthaginians. go.

Do you know where the Carthaginians retreated? Lizaru was more concerned about the movements of the Carthaginian army.

According to some Sikel tribes, the Carthaginians retreated to Enna. What is the specific situation? I just called up the army and haven't done a more detailed investigation. Kleilu explained.

Select ten Sikel warriors who are very familiar with the mountainous terrain from your team, lead our reconnaissance team, and investigate the details of the enemy as soon as possible, so that we can make an attack plan as soon as possible. Lizaru immediately told Clay Ru made a request, and he also said to Epithenes: We should not rely too much on Izam, he has to serve His Majesty first, and then convey information to us,

There will inevitably be delays, and it may be faster for us to obtain information ourselves.

Epithenes nodded in agreement, and said, Let's advance to the city. The soldiers have been marching for a long time, and it's time to rest.

Enter the city! Lizaru waved back.

Standing at the forefront of the marching column, the bannerman of the Third Legion waved the banner of the Legion and led the soldiers to the gate of Agilion.

The warriors of Sikel, who stood at the head of the city and on both sides of the road, greeted them in their own way.

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Later, the army led by Davos arrived at Jera.

This famous Greek city-state on the south coast has now been burned to ruins by the Carthaginians. This is Margo's idea. Even if he leads the army to evacuate, he does not want the Dionians to use these empty cities.

Not only did Gera suffer this tragic accident, but Ekonum, Agrigento, and Minoa did not escape the same fate. Only Agilion was an exception. Konis' request, after all, Agilion is the town where his father lived, and he also expects that after the Carthaginians drive out the Dionysians, he will re-establish Agilion as the royal city of the Sikelians, He certainly didn't want it to be destroyed, and it wouldn't be good for him to establish his prestige among the other Sikel tribes.

The Carthaginians agreed to his request in order to continue to gain Arconis' allegiance.

Davos already knew about the destruction of Jera in advance, but because the Carthaginians retreated in a hurry and did not destroy the city patiently and thoroughly after burning, the walls of Jera were still relatively intact. .

Yesterday, Davos had ordered Cykrian to send ten warships to land here, and the crew carried out a more thorough cleanup and simple repairs to the entire city. Therefore, although it was already dusk when Davos led the army to arrive, the tired legionnaires did not need to build camps, but entered the city directly.

Moreover, Davos learned from the news that the mountain reconnaissance brigade continued to send back: there was no trace of the Carthaginian army within a few dozen miles, and only more than 1,000 troops were stationed in the only possible hostile city of Carmanlina. Soldiers of Syracuse, it is impossible to pose a threat to the Dionian army.

However, Davos still reminded each legion commander to strictly follow the requirements of camping in enemy-occupied areas during wartime, to arrange necessary defense facilities, and to arrange sentries and patrols to prevent the enemy from attacking at night.

And on this day, Alexis, commander of the Apulian theater, completed the deployment of the defense of the area under his responsibility (let the 11th Corps alert the Downey area, deter the newly subdued Samonei, and prevent harassment on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, the Ninth Corps was responsible for the defense of the Meshapi and Pucherti areas at the same time), leading the fully replenished Tenth Corps and the Third Cavalry Corps, and Four reserve battalions, with a total of nearly 14,000 people, boarded ships in the port of Tarantum and sailed to Sicily.

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The war lasted for almost a year, and there were not a few casualties among the citizens of Dionia. Even the Turii region with a population of nearly 30 was affected a lot. After all, it provided the first and second legions. The two legions were the main force of the battle, and the casualties were not small. After a period of time, a group of urns of dead soldiers and seriously injured soldiers were transported to the port by passenger ships.

At this time, the people of the Turii region were most afraid of being approached by officials from the household registration department, because it meant that their relatives had left them.

The Ministry of Military Affairs will, according to the roster, notify the next batch of citizens to be ready and ready to be called up for expedition at any time. Their families are no longer as uneasy as they were at the beginning of the war, with the hope of making their relatives repeatedly make military exploits and win awards and honors. .

The number of people wearing black veils began to increase in the city and outside the city, and the sound of weeping echoed on the Shibari Plain from time to time. Every day, there was an endless stream of people who went to the temples of Hades: there are those who prayed that the souls of their relatives who died in battle would be able to Those who arrived at Elysee Paradise safely, there are those who pray that their relatives who are still fighting can return home safely, and there are those who pray that the war can end as soon as possible...

The priests of Hades are also very busy. They not only have to carry out a grand columbarium ceremony for these citizens who died for the country, but also comfort their relatives in mourning, and solemnly assure them: Elysee Paradise is these heroic warriors. The final destination of the soul!

More often, they used divination and oracles to comfort the restless people.

The trade in several markets inside and outside the city began to decline significantly, mainly because the relatives of the deceased apparently did not have strong consumption in a short period of time, which was of course also related to Dionysian funeral culture.

Although due to the strength of the Dionysian navy, the sea routes are basically kept smooth, but the market downturn also directly affects the prosperity of the port. The reduction of merchant ships in the port directly affects the income of the people in the port. Affecting their purchasing power, leading to a weakening of spending power... This is a vicious circle caused by war.

The only luck is that this year has just been harvested, and people have enough surplus grain at home, and the fluctuation of grain prices in the market has little effect on them.

Only two markets became more prosperous at this time.

One is the weapons and iron market. Because the army won the final victory in several battlefields, most of the captured weapons were sold to domestic weapons merchants at low prices. The merchants sold them directly or sold them after being melted and cast, and the prices would be lower than usual. In order to establish merits and develop better in the kingdom in the future, most of the citizens of Dionia will buy some weapons and equipment as a backup when they go to the battlefield.

Another is the slave market. Of the captives captured by the Dionian army, a small number were not released for various reasons, such as crossing the Adriatic Sea by boat, attacking the former Messapi, Puchetti, Soldiers recruited by Downey's fugitives...these slaves were eventually resold to slave traders.