Printors smiled at him and nodded.

Alexis smiled back.

At this time, I heard Davers say: "I was also a little moved by this proposal at first, but finally gave him up, why?" Because according to intelligence, the mountainous region of western Sicily, centered on Kefaro Ition, is higher and more complex than the eastern mountainous area, and it will be more difficult for our Dionian army, which is dominated by heavy infantry, to fight and march, and because of the distance from Catanae, the transportation of supplies is a big problem.

In addition, you should know that there are more than 40,000 Iberian troops in the Carthaginian army, and these soldiers are either from the Iberian mountain tribes, or they have been fighting in Iberia with Carthaginian generals for many years, so they have strong combat effectiveness in the mountains, and more importantly, the current Carthaginian military commander Marco became the governor of Iberia 10 years ago, and has fought in that wild mountain region for 10 years, and he has more experience in mountain warfare.

If we had fought the Carthaginians in the mountains, although we had avoided the superior cavalry of Carthage, the outcome would still be uncertain, and we would have absolutely gained an absolute advantage in strategy, and there was no need to risk a large-scale battle in the mountains, knowing that it would most likely decide the fate of the kingdom! ”

Davers's cautious words made Alexis, Oliver and others ponder, and also made Amintas, Matonis and others wonder: What absolute advantage do we have?

"The Navy, of course! Our fleet has absolute superiority! Sekrian said confidently and loudly.

"Sekrian is right, our advantage is in the navy!" Davos said in a firm tone, and then took out a papyrus scroll: "At the beginning of the banquet, I received a battle report from the Third Fleet, which had defeated the new Carthaginian fleet in Sardinia two days ago!" ”

Hearing the news, everyone was overjoyed, and Sekrian rushed forward, took the battle report, and after reading it quickly, he couldn't help but praise: "What a Midorades!" In the crisis situation of being caught by the opponent's superior warship, the Carthaginians suffered a crushing defeat! ”

While the generals were looking at each other, Davers said in a deep voice: "The Carthaginian army of more than 100,000 people is gathered in Sicily, and the military rations consumed every day are very huge, and their colonial cities and Phoenician allies in Sicily cannot meet their military food supplies, not to mention that Prosous also destroyed the farmland of these city-states and cut their wheat, and they even have difficulties in their own survival, so Carthage can only collect grain from the continent of Africa, To meet the daily needs of this huge army by sea—"

"Your Majesty is right! As long as our Sicilian fleet completely cuts off the sea transportation line between Carthage and Sicily, we don't need to fight it head-on at all, and no matter how many Carthaginian soldiers there are, they can only starve to death on this island! Sekrian interjected loudly.

Davers didn't care, but said to him with a serious expression: "So next...... After the Sicilian fleet was replenished with newly built ships, I asked the Sicilian fleet to strengthen the blockade of the western part of Sicily, intercepting all incoming ships!

This task is not easy to complete, although our navy has the advantage, but Carthage will definitely do everything possible to open up the route for the victory of this war and for the lives of these more than 100,000 Carthaginian soldiers, and the Sicilian fleet will inevitably be attacked by Carthage from the sea! Sekrian, can you complete this task?! ”

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will let the Carthaginian fleet come and go!" Sekrian replied confidently.

"I'm sure you can do it!" Davers encouraged him, and reminded him softly, "But I hope you can be more cautious and not have another fleet destroyed by a storm." ”

"Yes......" Sekrian replied with a bowed head.

"Your Majesty!" Amintas asked eagerly, "According to your plan, is there no need for our troops to take the initiative?!" ”

"Yes!" Davers's categorical answer made the faces of Amintas, Mattonis, Oliver and other senior generals show more or less loss.

Davers took their expressions into his eyes, then looked at Alexis, who was silent, and asked, "Alexis, what do you think?" ”

Alexis looked around and said in a heavy voice: "Your Majesty, this war has been going on for more than a year, the soldiers have fought hard in the north first, and now they have come to the south, and they have not been able to rest, and they have paid considerable casualties, as far as I know, almost the entire city of Turiyi alone wears black veil......

Now that we are going to fight the more powerful Carthage, I thought that we would inevitably pay more casualties than before, but this strategy of your majesty will allow our soldiers to not only reduce casualties, but also achieve the ultimate victory, and this is where your majesty is far superior to us militarily! Alexis praised from the bottom of his heart.

When Davers heard this, he felt a little ashamed. In fact, before the banquet, he had the idea of waiting for all the armies to converge and then looking for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Carthaginian army, which may be the ambition of every commander with heavy troops, but the success of the Third Fleet made him rejoice and realize the absolute superiority of the navy, so he was determined to carry out another plan in his heart to the end.

At this moment, he coughed lightly and said, "Alexis said very well, the purpose of war is to protect the interests of the kingdom, not to pursue the pleasure of killing, and we must do our best to ensure that these soldiers who trust us and fight for the kingdom with all their hearts can return home safely." ”

Davers's gaze swept over the faces of Amyntas, Matonis and others, and continued: "If our army does not take the initiative, it does not mean that we can relax our vigilance, and the Carthaginian army is very likely to take the initiative to attack us in order to survive. To this end, we must speed up the construction of the camp and build more defenses so that our soldiers will have an absolute advantage in the defense.

In addition, even if this Carthaginian army in Sicily is defeated, this war will probably not end immediately, and you must be prepared to march to Africa and to southern Iberia, so in the meantime you must do everything possible to keep the morale of the soldiers good, and not let them slack off, but also strengthen the training of the Roman soldiers, the Samonai warriors, and the Pothenian warriors, so that they can become familiar with our banners, orders and tactics as soon as possible, which will be conducive to future battles. ”

Davos's words lifted the spirits of the generals, so when Davers asked again, "What else do you have to say?" Everyone agreed to carry out the plan drawn up by Davers.

Seeing that everyone had a unified understanding, Davers smiled, and he said: "There is another advantage for us to carry out this plan, we can use fewer troops to defend against the attack of the Carthaginians with more troops, and depending on the development of the war, we can divide some soldiers to support Selinus, Enna, or Prosious, or even attack the empty rear of the Carthaginian army."

Ladies and gentlemen, because of the advantage of the sea route, we seem to be on the defensive side, but in fact we are in the driver's seat, and the Carthaginian army will surely be defeated by us! ”

……………………………………

On the west bank of the Pletany River, in the camp built by the Carthaginian army, Margo's roar was heard from inside the Chinese tent: "Damn Anobas, you fool! ……”

Bomilca, who had heard the news, walked into the tent and saw Margo draw his sword and slash at the table.

"What's going on?" Pomilka asked softly.

"Look, this is the most capable naval general in Carthage that you trust!" Margo angrily threw a papyrus roll on the table.

Pomilka picked it up, and after reading it, his face changed dramatically, and he asked, "Is this true?" ”

"This is written by the clansmen of our Magonid family, who are captains in the newly formed fleet, of course true!" Margo took the glittering saber and sat back on the wooden chair, glaring at Pomilka with angry eyes: "Anobus himself is incompetent, and he has set up the wrong ship formation, which has led to a crushing defeat of the fleet, and the whereabouts of Admira are unknown!" According to one of my people, after they fled back to the port of Saros, Anobas's reprimand, threatening them not to reveal the entire process of the naval battle, apparently in order to get away with it!

He's delusional! I am going to write to the Senate about the true picture of the naval battle and ask that he be brought back to Carthage to be tried and punished! You signed it with me! ”

"This ......"

As soon as Pomilka showed a hesitant look, Margo snorted heavily: "You don't want to?!" ”

"The new fleet, in its upper hand, has suffered a defeat instead, and Anobus should have been interrogated by the Senate, and I am willing to sign it with you." Pomilka said worriedly: "But now is the time of the war, and the sudden change of the commander of the navy will probably have a great impact on the entire fleet......

Margo sneered: "In my opinion, replacing him is a huge help to the navy!" Let me ask you, has our fleet in the Western Mediterranean ever won since he became commander-in-chief?! ”

Pomilcar was speechless, for it was true, that since the beginning of the war, the Carthaginian fleet had been defeated in successive battles, and now it was confined to the harbor, not daring to compete with the Dionian fleet.

"After the fleet was destroyed by the storm, Anobas should not have been allowed to continue to be the commander of the navy, let alone the new fleet that had been built with great difficulty to go to the island of Sardinia, all because of Hanno's selfishness, but Carthage paid such a big price! It can't go on like this anymore! It can't go on like this anymore!! Otherwise, as soon as the entire sea area is controlled by the Dionian fleet, our army will be completely finished!! Margo pounded the table in pain.