So, hearing the news, Hasdruba's first reaction was: Oops, reinforcements from the Dionians are coming!

When he himself ran to the shore and saw the ships full of people leaving the port one by one, he realized that this Ionian coalition army, which had been fighting with him for more than 10 days, was actually trying to escape!

Hasdruba immediately rushed back to the camp and gathered his troops.

By the time the Carthaginian army arrived at the city with siege equipment, more than an hour had passed, and most of the Dionian fleet had evacuated most of the men, and only about 400 citizens of Jera (including some old people who were unwilling to abandon their homes) who had volunteered to stay behind to defend the city so that others could leave smoothly fought to the end, successfully securing the smooth evacuation of more than 30,000 people.

On the way back, the Sicilian fleet as an escort looked even stronger (because there were more than 30 Phoenician ships in the scene), so the Syracuse fleet was even less visible.

At dusk, the flotilla entered the port of Katanai.

Seeing the familiar docks and the few people on the docks to greet them, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion felt a little lost in their hearts, but they felt more relaxed: in the past few months, they had been fighting abroad, including the glory of the Battle of Minoa, the pride of wreaking havoc in the Carthaginian Sicilian sphere of influence, the sympathy for the destruction of the navy by the storm, and the humiliation of being defeated in the battle of Gera, after all, it was the worse and worse battlefield situation that forced them to return, which made them quite embarrassed to see their relatives.

Leotizides' ship docked at a specific pier, and when he disembarked, he met Sibulos, the wartime governor of Sicily and the administrator of Catanay, who had come to greet him.

"Welcome home, Commander Prosous!" Sipros smiled and saluted.

Leotizides returned the salute with an indifferent face and said, "The general of the defeated army, what is there to welcome." ”

Sipros was stunned for a moment, and then sincerely comforted: "Lord Prosus, 'You have completely defeated the Carthaginian army in the battle of Minoa, and captured Selinus, which has thrown the western part of Sicily controlled by the Carthaginians into chaos, completely disrupted the Carthaginians' plans, and forced the Carthaginians to postpone another attack on Sicily for several months, and your performance has exceeded Your Majesty's expectations, and you have successfully completed the tasks he has assigned to you...... It was His Majesty who said it in his letter. ”

"Your Majesty is writing a letter?!" At this time, Leotizides was a little moved.

"I, the dignified governor of Sicily, will lie to you?!" Cipros quipped, then pulled out the letter.

Leotizides immediately took it and began to read.

In the letter, Davos did praise Leotizides and his army for their outstanding performance in the previous period, and at the same time reminded that the Carthaginians had clearly made better preparations for another large-scale attack on Sicily, and that the Dionian coalition was too deep into the enemy's territory to not only not fight hard, but also to retreat at the right time to avoid being attacked by the Carthaginians in the empty rear. In the event of an unfavorable situation, it is even possible to abandon the friendly city-states on the south coast and stick to the territory of the kingdom......

This letter almost surprisingly foresaw the development of the situation in Sicily during this time, and Leotizides was shocked by Davers's superb strategic vision, but also complained a lot: why did this letter not come earlier?

"Oh, it's a letter from Your Majesty!" While Leotizides was still reminiscing, the letter in his hand had been taken by Seclian behind him.

"Your Majesty did not know that you were still alive and had returned to the fleet when you wrote this letter, otherwise the letter would ......," Sipros explained.

"It's ......better to know later," Sekrian replied casually, but the image of Miltias who had died in battle came to his mind, and he exhaled and hurriedly looked down at the letter: "...... Oh, and your Majesty also said that they had taken Rome, gained a large part of the territory of Latium, and had annexed most of the Latin city-states, and that the remnants of the Roman army had retreated to a few small towns, and that it would only take a month or two to end the war in Latium, and then lead the army south to Sicily to fight the Carthaginians to the death! He wants us to be able to defend against the Carthaginian army during this time and prevent them from destroying the Sicilian territory......"

Sipros took the opportunity to take over and said, "In order to complete the task assigned by His Majesty, we will hold a military meeting in a moment to formulate a new plan to deal with the next attack of the Carthaginian army, and I have informed the commander of the Seventh Army, Breru, who is rushing from the new army camp to this side. ”

Leotizides' expression moved slightly: "I have no opinion. ”

"Wait a minute." Secrean turned back to his men and instructed them: "When the soldiers and civilians have disembarked, don't wait for me, the fleet will immediately return to the Catania naval base not far to the south to rest, I-"

Sipros interrupted him, "Lord Sekerian, before you let the fleet crew return to base, please let them go ashore and assemble in formation and walk around the city of Katanai. Lord Leotizides, the soldiers of the 8th and 4th Cavalry Corps were also invited to enter the city in the same procession. ”

"What do you mean?" Sekrian felt something strange.

Leotizides looked at Sipros with the same puzzled look.

"Although the war is far from over, the people of Catana are already waiting in the city, ready to warmly welcome the returning soldiers and crews for their heroic fighting outside for the past few months and for ensuring the safety of our homeland!" ”

Hearing this, Sekrian and Leotizides both subconsciously glanced at each other: whether it was the Eighth Legion, the 4th Cavalry Corps, or the Second Fleet to which the Sicilian Fleet belonged, more than half of the soldiers and crews were from Catanay, and there were many casualties from the beginning of the war to the present, especially on the fleet side, and even lost two commanders, so the crew members were a little afraid to see the people of Catanay, afraid to hear their cries of losing their loved ones. But Cipros had organized such a simple triumphal ceremony, which was undoubtedly a good morale boost for the soldiers and crews who had been defeated, forced to return home, and depressed.

So Leotizides said coldly: "I will gather the soldiers and let them march into the city, but I will not participate. ”

"Me too." Remembering something, Sekrian turned back to the people who were disembarking at the distant pier and reminded, "Don't forget them." ”

Sipros understood what he meant, what would they think when they saw that these refugees from Minoa, Gera, and Agrigento had lost their homes, lost their loved ones, and were in a time of grief and pain, and were at a loss, while Catanay was cheering for the return of the soldiers.

Cipros said unhurriedly: "Don't worry, for them, I have sent officials to be in charge, and I will not let them enter the city for the time being." ”

……………………………………

In the evening, five people sat in the council of the Administrator in the town hall of Catanay: Sicilian Governor Sipros, Sicilian Commander Leotizides, Sicilian Fleet Commander Sipros, Commander of the Seventh Legion Breru, and Commander of the Fourth Cavalry Corps Assitmis.

In fact, Breyru had already arrived in Catanay, but he did not go to the port with Sipros to greet him, and Hypros had to make up a white lie.

However, after the meeting, Breyrou still expressed his admiration for the battles that Leotizides had fought during the past period, and spoke in a more appropriate tone, except for the slightest mention of the "Seventh Army coming to Sicily, under the command of Leotizides".

Sipros coughed dryly, his gaze swept over the other four, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, you have all read Your Majesty's letters, how to resist the attack of the Carthaginian army in the next month or two, prevent them from causing damage to the territory of Sicily, so as to welcome the arrival of the army led by Your Majesty to counterattack and encircle the Carthaginians, this is the question we are going to discuss today...... Let's start with your opinions. ”

"I don't have any suggestions right now." Breyrou took over first, but said humbly: "Because according to the operational principles of the "Dionian Military Law", it is necessary to understand the specific situation of the battlefield in order to formulate a correct battle plan, our Seventh Army has just arrived in Catanay, and we still have no understanding of the situation here. Master Prosus, who has been in Sicily for so many years, and who has led his army to fight the Carthaginians for several months, must have a very deep understanding of the Carthaginian army, can you please give us a detailed introduction to the situation first? ”

Sipros frowned slightly, although Breru spoke very politely, but this politeness showed an equality between the two, but the reality was that according to the orders of King Davers and the Ministry of War, Breru led the Seventh Army to Sicily to accept the command of Leotizides, and they had a superior relationship.

Leotizides' expressionless face could not see anything abnormal, and he said very simply: "In the past few days, I have seriously thought about the battle experience with the Carthaginians during this time, and made some analyses and summaries, just so that you can listen to it, so that you will not suffer losses in the subsequent battles." ”

Leotizides stood up unyieldingly, looked at Brerou, and said seriously: "In the past few months, the Carthaginians have twice sent large armies to attack Sicily, and in terms of combat effectiveness, the first army and the second army are not one army at all.