Sekrian smiled: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I'm also a senator of the Senate, how can I mess around regardless of the overall situation!" ”

Davers also smiled: "I am very relieved to have you in the southern sea!" But after you have complete control of the sea in Sicily, don't completely block the sea passage between Carthage and Sicily. ”

"Why?" Sekrian was stunned for a moment and blurted out.

"Because we need to give hope to Carthage, so that they will continue to consume their own resources and send the citizens of Carthage to Sicily......" Davers's eyes gleamed.

……………………………………

"General, how can you allow Hasdruba to lead his army to attack the north coast of Sicily alone!" Millefio broke into the tent of the barracks and questioned Monteadeno in a loud voice.

Monteadeno did not rebuke Millefio for his rudeness, he shrugged his shoulders and asked helplessly: "What can we do if we don't let him go?" Just because he refused to send his troops as the vanguard, he quarreled with me here for three days, which seriously affected my command of other troops, can I punish him with military law?! ”

Milofio was speechless for a moment, and he immediately realized that Hasdruback was the most important member of the Magonid family, and it was not something Monte Adno dared to do because of a dispute over military views. If it really wants to be carried out, it may instead give Marco an excuse to withdraw the army that went out, and Monte Adno is a mouse-thrower.

Millefio reluctantly said, "We can report Hasdruba's rude refusal to obey military orders to the Senate and let them punish him!" ”

Monte Adno secretly shook his head in his heart: Millefio is still too young, and before this battle starts, he suggested that he should ask the Senate for help, doesn't this make the senators feel that they are too incompetent, and how can Hanno rest assured that he will be in charge of the army!

Thinking of this, a sneer appeared on his face: "Actually, it's a good thing that Hasdruba wants to lead the army to attack the north coast. If he attacks with all his might, it will be just right for us to attract the attention of the Dionian army and distract them; If he does not move forward, he will be completely looked at by the Senate and the people, and when the time comes, it will only disgrace the Magonides family when compared with the results we have achieved. I believe that if Margo, who values the family's reputation very much, knows, he will definitely ask Hasdruba to attack desperately. ”

Millefio thought for a moment and smiled.

"How are your soldiers doing?" Monte Adno asked with concern.

"They all want to fight!" Millefio replied dryly.

"That's good." Monteadeno nodded with satisfaction, knowing that the Holy Order army led by Millefio was the main force of this Carthaginian army: "Go back and get ready, we will soon attack east along the south coast." ”

"Yes, General!" Millefio excitedly said goodbye and left.

Seeing off Hanno's son-in-law, Monte Adno breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to ask the servant to bring a jar of wine, when the guard came in and reported: "General, the chief of Siquell named Aconis has come again to ask for an audience. ”

"Nope!" Monteadeno waved his hand impatiently: is it worthwhile for a Siquel chieftain who has lost his people and is fostered in the city of Liliby like a lost dog?

Hasdruba, with his complex force of 20,000, soon left Liliba by ship and quickly headed north, landing in Panormus, a seaside city-state in northwestern Sicily.

It was a Phoenician-founded city-state that had always been ruled by the Carthaginians, and Hasdruba's family prestige gave him a warm welcome, but the populace was surprised to see that there were not many Phoenicians or Carthaginian citizens in this large ranks, and they were basically all aliens in different clothes, so they refused to let him near the city.

Fortunately, the flat land around Palermos was the widest of the towns on the north coast, so Hasdruba and Kisgow led their troops to build a makeshift barracks outside the city.

Because of its geographical location and environment, at the suggestion of Kisgow, Hasdruba decided to use it as a rear base for his troops, so he spent a few more days completely building the camp, stockpiling food and baggage, leaving a few soldiers to garrison, and began to lead his army to the east.

This time the army traveled by land, and after just over two hours of marching, they reached another Phoenician town, Solus. The reason why Dionysius's army and Margo's Carthaginian army fought here for months was not because it was a large city, but because the small town was completely blocked by the land passage from the mountains to the coast, making it difficult to attack.

Hasdruba's army stopped here for a while, and then continued on the road, which was more difficult to follow, with the sea on the left and the towering mountains on the right, with an average altitude of about a thousand meters, and this passable passage by the sea was also undulating, less than two miles at its narrowest point, and the march of the whole army slowed down.

It wasn't until about 3 p.m. that they stepped out of the narrow stretch of coastline and onto the soft land, with low hills in front of them.

Hasdruba was in a mood because his guide had told him that Himera was ahead.

Hasdruba immediately ordered the army to rush to the banks of the Himera River, build a temporary camp, and prepare for the night.

And he and Kisgow rode fast horses and led the guards to this place of great significance to the Magonid family.

A few decades earlier, his predecessor Hamilcar had led a Carthaginian army to besiege the largest Greek city-state on the north coast of Sicily, only to be defeated by the then tyrant of Syracuse, Dillon, with reinforcements.

More than a decade ago, Hasdruba's father, Shimilko, led the Carthaginian army to Sicily again and captured the city-state that had brought shame to the Magonides. Hamon's altar comforts the souls of the ancestors and washes away the shame of the past by performing the ritual of blood sacrifice of thousands of captives.

When Hasdruba and the others arrived, there was no longer the city of Himara, but a ruin overgrown with grass, and only the river called Himara, which flowed through the ruins.

On the east bank of the Himera River, there were one or two Greek villages, whose people were fleeing east with their families.

The guards were about to come forward to chase and kill, but were stopped by Hasdruba: "Don't worry, they won't be able to run in the end!" ”

He turned over and dismounted, and wandered slowly in the ruins for a while, and when the follow-up troops arrived at the riverbank one after another, he said to Kisgow with a solemn expression: "When I am victorious, I will build an altar here, and this time it will be our turn to wash away the shame of the family!" ”

Kisgow nodded solemnly as well.

………………………………………

Early the next morning, Hasdruba assembled his troops and continued his march, leading the group on horseback.

Ahead was the River Himera, and further east it was under the influence of the Greeks, and the crossing of this river by the Carthaginian army meant that war was declared on the Greek power in Sicily.

Hasdruba did not hesitate to cross the Himera River, thus beginning the war between the two largest powers in the Western Mediterranean, the Kingdom of Ionia and Carthage.

By noon, the Carthaginian army marching along the coastline halted its advance, blocking their way through a Greek town of Cephaloedum.

Compared with the city of Soruth, the terrain of Cerrodium is more precarious, with a mountain peak of 300 meters above sea level on one side of the sea, a continuous mountain range with an average altitude of four or five hundred meters on the inland side, and the narrowest point of the lowland in the middle is only 400 meters, and the city of Cerrodham is in the middle.

As soon as Hasdruba saw that the terrain was dangerous, he ordered his troops to form a dense column in front of the city (because the terrain was too narrow to spread out head-on), which stretched for several miles, sounding trumpets and thundering drums, and the soldiers roared in unison, and the sound was earth-shattering.

He then sent his men to persuade him to surrender, otherwise he threatened to slaughter the city, but he sternly refused.

Hasdruba then ordered his troops to retreat a mile and begin preparing siege equipment while building a makeshift camp.

When Dionysius attacked Carthage's many towns in Sicily, the Carthaginians had enough of ballistas, bellied bows, and siege towers, and they had been concentrating on research and development all these years. Carthage is, after all, a powerful city-state, and its civilization is no less than that of Greece, in addition to the super siege because of the complex process, the need for more manpower, and the difficulty of production, such as ballistae, belly bows and other siege equipment can already be made by themselves, and can also be used to aid allies, such as Rome.

Soldiers began assembling ballistas and bellied bows, and chopping down trees to make ladders and siege vehicles.

The Cerrodium also sent messengers from the harbor to Millai to ask for help from the Dionians.

The next day, Hasdruba led his army to attack the city of Cerrodîme.

The people of the city had been reminded by the Dionians half a month earlier, and under the guidance of the Dionians, the city had been reinforced, and the narrow terrain prevented the Iberian forces from taking advantage of their large numbers, and they could only attack its western walls, which also allowed the Cerrodium to concentrate their forces on defense.

After a day of fierce fighting, the Iberian army had to gather its troops and return to their camps.

On the second day, Hasdruba led the army to fight again, but the siege was still unsuccessful.

This was the case for days.

……………………………………………

And just two days after the departure of the Iberian army, Monteadeno led the Carthaginian army from Liliba and marched east along the road to the south coast.

The army reached Mazara first in the afternoon.