Sekrian was taken aback: "You're going to give up Selinus?!" ”

"Of course, the city of Selinus must not be abandoned, otherwise the 100,000-strong army of Carthage can easily pass through here and march eastward, and you will lose the naval base that can gain a foothold in western Sicily, and the threat to the western coast of Sicily will be greatly reduced." Leotizides explained with rare patience: "However, it is not possible for our main forces to remain in the city of Selinus, so that the Carthaginians can confidently and boldly attack the empty places of our defenses. My plan was to leave a few thousand soldiers to defend the city of Selinus, and I would sail to Gera with more than 10,000 soldiers, the main force of the Eighth Legion, to unite the armies of the friendly nations and defeat the Carthaginian army that was attacking Agrigento, and to remove its threat to our Dionian territory and our friendly city-states. ”

"With only a few thousand soldiers to defend Selinus, can you hold off the Carthaginian army?" Sekrian was worried.

"During this time, we have been strengthening the city defenses, and it should be no problem to hold it for more than a month, and then the situation of the battle may change." Leotizides said calmly.

After hearing this, Sekrian pondered for a while before he made up his mind: "Since you have decided to carry out this plan, as a military force that also protects the security of the Sicilian territory, we in the Sicilian fleet can assure you of two things.

First, our fleet will do its best to cooperate with the defenders of Selinus to defend the city, such as intercepting Carthage's grain ships, sending fleet infantry to attack the rear of Carthage's army, and even sending fleet infantry to assist you in defending the city in the most dangerous times; Second, I can assure you that if Selinus is breached, our navy will do its best to allow the remnants of the defenders to evacuate safely and return to Catania. ”

Leotizides was a little moved, and even his voice fluctuated a little: "Thank you very much!" ”

"Thanks to me, quickly defeat the Carthaginian army attacking Agrigento." Sekelian replied with his head held high.

Sending Sekrian away, Leotizides stood at the door of the hall in a daze, and Mukru said with a smile on the side: "It is said that Sekrian is arrogant and difficult to speak, but it seems that he actually understands things very well. ”

Leotizides did not answer the question, returned to his seat again, picked up the map and looked at it carefully.

Mukru chuckled secretly: Compared with Sekrian, a celebrity in the navy, the commander in front of him is even more difficult to contact.

Mukr knew that Leotizides could spend most of the day just by looking at the map, so he hurriedly called for the servants to bring breakfast to the hall.

Leotizides quickly finished his breakfast and then asked Mukru to arrange reinforcements for Agrigento.

As soon as Muqru stepped out of the hall, he was confronted by Sekrian, who was walking quickly.

"Lord Secrean, you are"

"Just received a report from the clippers, the Carthaginians have captured Agrigento!" Sekrian said with a solemn face and walked into the hall.

"Agrigento is lost?!" Leotizides stood up suddenly.

"The Carthaginians not only captured Agrigento, but also slaughtered the entire city, and only a small part of the Agrigento people fled by boat to Econom." Sekrian said in an accentuated tone, "Your plan to transport reinforcements is no longer in order. ”

Although this sudden news disrupted Leotizides's plan, it did not make him panic too much, he groaned for a moment, and then said: "Please continue with the plan to transport troops, but the destination will be changed to Gera." ”

After the Carthaginian army occupied Agrigento, the city-state to the east was Ekonom, but the small city was completely defenseless, next to it was Gera, and to the west was Minoa, why only to reinforce Gera and not Minoa? Secrean still understood this, because after the Carthaginian army besieged the city of Selinus, Leotizides considered that Minoa was also facing the threat of the Carthaginians (Germe between Selinus and Minoa was only a small town without walls, and there was no army at all), so he did not let him send reinforcements, and now his defense forces in the city can support at least for a while.

Thinking of this, he asked solemnly, "After sending reinforcements to Jera, are you still ready to continue the next plan?" ”

Leotizides did not hesitate: "As long as the Carthaginian army in Agrigento continues to attack Econom or Gera, we must rush to fight it, this is our only chance!" ”

Sekrian looked at Leotizides, who was expressionless, and he suddenly admired this man's decisiveness in the face of difficulties, and felt that he was somewhat similar to him in some ways, he coughed, stood up, and said: "Well, when you are going to lead the army, please inform the Sicilian fleet to escort you." ”

After Sekrian left, Leotizides turned to Mukru and said in a deep voice: "Send a messenger to Katanay at once, and ask Sipros to apply to the Ministry of War to transfer the 7th Army to Sicily." ”

"Huh?" Mukru was a little surprised, through this period of contact, he knew that Leotizides was a proud commander, if it wasn't for the critical moment, he wouldn't have asked the Seventh Legion for help, and now it was a critical time?

Leotizides didn't seem to realize that his words were stirring up waves in the adjutant's heart, and he still explained blankly: "The Carthaginian army that occupied Agrigento did not have only two options: attacking Econom or Minoa, they could also go directly north into the mountains again, join up with the army there, capture Enna, and then go east, break through the defenses of Hena and Hebita, and invade the Catanian plain......"

Mukru felt nervous by Leotizides' analysis, he thought for a while, and said: "If the Carthaginian army does not go to the south coast, but directly opens through the central mountains, this is too risky, right?" ”

"It's a bit risky, but we have to be on guard." Leotizides pointed to the map and said: "Now our main army is in Selinus, and there are only a few thousand soldiers in the Catanian plain, and they still have to guard against Syracuse in the south, and they have no spare strength to support the Sichael. To tell the truth, in my mind, the Sikerians are far more important than these Greek city-states on the south coast, once the Carthaginians occupy this area, this large area from Naxos to the ally Leotine will be threatened by the Carthaginian army, and it will be difficult for us to prevent them from invading, so in order to ensure the safety of the Sicilian territory, to ensure that the people can harvest grain smoothly during the autumn harvest, so that our Eighth Army can fight the Carthaginian army without scruples, we can only let the Seventh Army go south and sit on the Catanian plain. ”

"I see, I'll arrange it right away!" Muqru replied.

…………………………………………

In the big tent of the Chinese army in the Carthaginian camp, Margo listened to the messenger returning from the city of Selinus, frowned and said, "The crew can be exchanged, but those soldiers can't. ”

"My lord, but the Ionians have taken nearly 10,000 Phoenician sailors, far more than the number of Ionians we have captured, so they asked us to take prisoner Greek soldiers as well."

"Are you my messenger or the messenger of the Dionians! Put these soldiers back and strengthen the Dionian army, am I a fool! I don't agree with this, you go back and talk to them. ”

When the envoy saw that Marco was angry, he could only say yes.

Watching the envoy leave the tent in embarrassment, Margo sat on the chair and gasped, and after his mind calmed down a little, he said to the adjutant next to him: "Go and tell him that I have agreed to this agreement, and immediately arrange for the exchange of prisoners." ”

"Didn't you just say that, my lord?"

"Go and execute, isn't it just 2,000 Greek soldiers, give them to them! I'd like to see how the Dionians can resist the onslaught of my 100,000-strong army! ”

"Margo-sama, what makes you so angry?" The tabernacle was lifted, and Pomilka entered.

"Of course, the Phoenicians from the mother country!" Margo's eyes widened, and he said mockingly: "In the case of dominance, they were actually repelled by the Dionian fleet, and wasted such a great opportunity in vain, these people are really stupid!" ”

"This naval battle is indeed very regrettable, the fleet of the mother state obviously underestimated the Dionians, but after this battle, the Dionian fleet may not be able to harass the western seas for the time being, and our Carthage and the surrounding allies can breathe a sigh of relief! For that alone, we should also be grateful for coming all the way here to help our home fleet! Pomilka laughed and reminded him, "Not to mention that our mother state has brought more than just a fleet, they have promised to continue to provide us with gold, silver, and supplies to help us finally defeat the Dionians!" ”

Margo snorted, it was because of this that he changed his mind, otherwise these people would only affect his prestige by protesting to the Carthaginian Senate every day.

"You called me, what's the matter?" Pomilka asked with a smile again.

"Oh, that's right." Brother Ma then remembered, motioned for Bomilka to sit down first, and then said solemnly: "Although the Phoenician fleet was repelled by the Dionian fleet, they still succeeded in preventing the Dionian plan to reinforce Agrigento in time...... Although I have not yet received the news, I believe that Hasdruba, with more than 20,000 soldiers, will be able to take the weakened city of Agrigento very quickly. Now that the situation is in our favor, our huge army should not all be gathered under the city of Selinus, but should seize this advantageous opportunity to continue to expand the victory, so I hope that you will lead the army to attack Minoa! ”