Hanno believed that many neutral elders opposed Mago's appointment as commander of the Carthaginian army for this reason, but this reason could not be publicly stated. Over the years, Mago had repeatedly complained to the Senate that the Iberian natives were numerous and fierce, and the army had suffered heavy losses, so he had to expand the army and demand that Carthage increase the soldiers' salaries to ensure their morale.
Hanno encouraged the Senate to agree to Mago's expansion of the army, but always delayed paying salaries on the grounds that "the war in Numidia is constant and the national treasury is tight," instead demanding that he find his own way.
At that time, Hanno gloated, thinking that even if Mago was not defeated by the Iberian natives, he would cause a mercenary rebellion due to insufficient money and food.
Unexpectedly, Mago survived. He not only conquered a vast area in southern Iberia, but his family also lived very well. Hanno felt regretful whenever he thought of this.
Many elders were not very clear about the inside story, but obviously some elders who did not belong to these two factions were thoughtful because of Pretakupa's words.
Seeing this situation, Tepanlaco reluctantly reminded, "Don't forget, the Dionysians have captured many of our citizens, and the army in Sicily is also in a difficult situation... Continuing to fight will only make their situation more difficult. This is a completely indifferent and irresponsible approach to Carthaginian citizens!"
"I believe that proposing a truce and peace at this time, allowing Dionysius to concentrate its forces to eliminate its powerful enemies, Rome and Samnium, thereby expanding its territory, increasing its population, and strengthening the kingdom's power again, is the most irresponsible approach to Carthage! If we choose to compromise, not only will Carthage be burdened with the crime of betraying its allies, but we will also miss the great opportunity to unite the allies and jointly attack Dionysius, making the already difficult Dionysius even more difficult to deal with! Oclito, do you think Dionysius will forgive us for tearing up the agreement and provoking the war just because we cease the war?! Think of Taranto! Think of Syracuse! When Dionysius has stabilized the north, it will organize an army of more than 100,000 to attack western Sicily, and after occupying it, it will send the navy to transport troops to Africa and launch a large-scale attack here! Attack Carthage!"
Pretakupa pointed to the ground, looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, if you want Carthage to become a free city in the Kingdom of Dionysius, then—send someone to negotiate peace!"
Pretakupa's words suddenly silenced the somewhat noisy venue.
After a while, Oclito said angrily, "I protest! Pretakupa is... this is malicious slander! All I ask for is a temporary truce... for... to save our captured citizens! ..."
Oclito's stammering words made Hanno frown. He knew he could no longer remain silent.
He must not allow his side, which was already in trouble, to fall into the embarrassing situation of being accused by others. So he stood up.
Suddenly, everyone in the venue focused their attention on him.
"Whether Oclito requests a temporary peace with Dionysius, or Pretakupa insists on continuing the war, everyone is for the benefit of our Carthage, but their views are somewhat different." Hanno looked serious and said in a deep voice, "Now Carthage is in a difficult situation. The army has been defeated miserably, citizens have been captured, and the territory of Sicily is being invaded by the Dionysians... We should work together to overcome the difficulties, instead of arguing endlessly here for personal grievances, regardless of the interests of the city-state! I suggest sending envoys to Sicily to ask the Dionysians to redeem our captured citizens, even if it requires us to pay a large amount of grain.
At the same time, although I have had conflicts with Lord Mago in the past, what is personal gain or loss in the face of Carthage's national interests? Since Lord Pretakupa strongly recommends Mago to serve as the new commander of the army to fight against Dionysius, and most of the elders present also believe that he is the most suitable candidate, I have no objection to this. Therefore, I suggest that the Senate appoint Mago as the new commander of the Carthaginian army to fight against the Dionysians in Sicily and win victory for Carthage! ..."
After Hanno finished speaking, Oclito was stunned, Pretakupa was suspicious, and the elders on both sides were surprised. Suddenly, the venue fell into a strange silence.
"Clap! Clap! Clap! ..." Esyaruba's applause broke the silence of the venue, and some elders followed suit and applauded. With a formidable enemy at hand, the two major political forces in Carthage were able to bridge their differences and jointly fight against the enemy. This was what any elder who was worried about the safety of Carthage wanted to see, so they unreservedly gave their applause to Hanno, completely forgetting that it was Hanno's refusal of Mago's participation in the war and personally appointing Monte Adorno as the commander of the army that led to a disastrous defeat.
As the applause rang through the venue, Hanno breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had to make concessions to the Magonid family, he also temporarily avoided the accusations of some elders against him and regained the initiative.
..........................
After Leotichides won the battle of Minoia, he easily captured the Carthaginian camp and seized a large amount of supplies, including mountains of grain, which greatly alleviated the problem of tight grain supply for the Dionysian army and navy in Sicily. The Dionysian troops chasing the defeated soldiers occupied Germa and enjoyed the hot spring bath. In order to prevent being attacked by going deep alone, under his order, all of them returned to Minoia.
The next day, Leotichides began to reorganize the troops, treat the wounded soldiers, and transport supplies... At the same time, he closely monitored the enemy's movements.
As a result, the intelligence returned by the scouts surprised him. The Carthaginian defeated soldiers did not all shrink back to Selinunte. Most of them retreated to Lilybaeum, and only a small part remained in Selinunte, including the remaining soldiers of the Carthaginian Sacred Band.
Leotichides immediately realized that this was another favorable opportunity. In order to avoid scaring away this enemy force, he sent 4,000 heavy infantrymen of the Eighth Legion to board a fleet and land on the beach west of Selinunte under the protection of naval warships to cut off the retreat of the defeated soldiers. At the same time, he led an army of 20,000 men and advanced westward along the road by the sea.
Defending the city of Selinunte was the Sacred Band led by Millefiori and some Carthaginian citizen soldiers. This was not Monte Adorno's original intention.
Originally, after the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Minoia, most of the Carthaginian defeated soldiers fled to Selinunte. After spending a night in fear, Monte Adorno, who was physically and mentally exhausted, wanted to continue leading the troops to flee westward, but Millefiori clearly expressed his opposition.
As Hanno's son-in-law, Millefiori felt that this failure would have a great impact on the Hanno faction. If he ignored the strong retention of the allies and abandoned the allies, allowing the Dionysians to invade Carthage's sphere of influence, then he would never have a good end after returning to Carthage. Besides, there were still many defeated soldiers lost in the mountains, and they also needed to stay in this city for a period of time to wait for their return. After all, Millefiori, as a descendant of a noble Carthaginian family, had his own pride and persistence.
Because the failure of this battle reduced Monte Adorno's prestige, some defeated soldiers were willing to stay with Millefiori. After repeatedly persuading him to no avail, Monte Adorno angrily abandoned them and hurriedly retreated to Lilybaeum with an army mainly composed of Numidians.
Millefiori was actually very uneasy in his heart, but when he learned that the Dionysians had withdrawn their troops from Germa, he breathed a sigh of relief. In addition, with the continuous return of defeated soldiers, the strength of the troops in the city of Selinunte reached 3,000, which gave him some confidence.
At this moment, Millefiori received news that an army of several thousand Dionysians had landed west of Selinunte.
While he was panicked, he also received an emergency battle report that tens of thousands of Dionysian troops were departing from Minoia and advancing westward along the coastal road at a rapid pace.
Millefiori immediately realized that Selinunte, where he was located, would become the first target of the Dionysians' attack.
What to do? Millefiori, who had just experienced a disastrous defeat, was in a difficult choice. Take advantage of the fact that the enemy had not yet arrived and lead the troops to retreat immediately? But he had confidently told Monte Adorno before that he would defend Selinunte. Now that he was slipping away without fighting a battle, he did not know what kind of face Monte Adorno would use to mock him; Stay and defend? With the 3,000 troops in the city, plus the citizens of Selinunte, perhaps they could defend for a few months.
However, some of Millefiori's captains expressed their opposition, believing that the soldiers had just experienced defeat, their morale was low, and the defeated soldiers came from multiple troops, making it difficult to command the battle, let alone cooperate tacitly.
More importantly, one of the captains pointed out that to defend Selinunte, there must be a sufficient supply of food, but the food reserves in the city of Selinunte were insufficient, and it was feared that they could not support the army's long-term defensive operations.
It turned out that when the Carthaginian army marched eastward, they took away the city's stored grain when they passed through Selinunte. As a result, the Battle of Minoia caused all the supplies stored in the Carthaginian camp to be seized by the enemy.
Millefiori, who lacked experience and was worried about the war, suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake after hearing this, but it also gave him a reason to return to Lilybaeum without being blamed.
Just as Millefiori was gathering his troops and preparing to withdraw, the Selinunte high-level officials received this news and immediately came to dissuade him.
Millefiori had to spend some time persuading them. Finally, under the offensive of the Selinunte people's words and tears, he had to give up his efforts, send soldiers to disperse them, and prepare to forcibly leave the city.
This infuriated the Selinuntines, who shouted angrily, "If the Carthaginians dare to leave, Selinus will immediately surrender to Daonia!"
Hearing this threatening remark, Milerfio hesitated again.
Just as the two sides were arguing, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion, who had landed, had arrived at the walls of Selinus.
Upon hearing the news, Milerfio climbed onto the city wall and saw the enemy outside, clad in black helmets and armor, with well-ordered ranks and high morale. He immediately recalled the scene of his own Sacred Band army being defeated head-on and pursued by this Daonian legion, and a chill ran down his spine. He lacked confidence in his ability to lead this remnant army out of the city to repel the enemy, or to successfully evade their attacks and return to Lilybaeum.
After an urgent discussion with his equally apprehensive officers, Milerfio decided to remain in the city and urgently dispatched messengers to Lilybaeum for reinforcements.
The messenger arrived at Lilybaeum and reported to Montoadeno that "the Daonian army is advancing towards Selinus, and the return route of Milerfio's troops has been cut off," and informed him that Selinus was running short of military rations and hoped that Montoadeno could send troops to rescue them.
Montoadeno, who had somewhat recovered from yesterday's disastrous defeat, did not, as Milerfio had expected, utter sarcastic remarks. On the contrary, considering the Senate's possible punishment for his defeat, he had to repair his relationship with Milerfio for the sake of his own life. Therefore, he immediately issued a rescue order, instructing the generals to quickly gather troops. This time, he would personally lead the army to Selinus for rescue.
However, this back-and-forth, including the time consumed in between, was enough for the main force of Daonia to reach Selinus. Therefore, Montoadeno saw the Daonian army lined up and waiting outside the city, and he had no choice but to brace himself for battle.
The bugle sounded, and the two sides engaged in battle. Before long, the Numidian soldiers, with their low morale, were quickly defeated. Although this time the battle took place in a vast area, allowing the Numidian cavalry to demonstrate their abilities, it did not affect the overall situation.
Montoadeno's reinforcements were routed, and he fled back to Lilybaeum in a panic. The Daonian army suffered only minor losses, which completely dispelled Milerfio's thoughts of joining the battle from the city walls.
Leotichides did not allow his soldiers to relentlessly pursue Montoadeno's routed troops, but instead had the army build camps outside Selinus, seemingly intending to completely besiege this city-state, which had once caused a decade-long war between Carthage and Syracuse.
During this time, Montoadeno, who had fled back to Lilybaeum, did not give up his efforts. He sent a messenger to Panormus, ordering Hasdrubal to lead the Iberian troops to rescue Selinus.
Hasdrubal had never been particularly obedient to Montoadeno's orders.
Now, having heard that the main Carthaginian force had been disastrously defeated by the Daonians despite having superior numbers, he was even more dismissive of Montoadeno.
Poor Milerfio watched as the Daonian camps outside the city grew larger and more fortified day by day, and even heard from scouts that "the Daonians are building super siege towers in the camps." His mood naturally became more anxious with each passing day.
The only consolation was that the Daonian naval blockade was not yet very tight, and the swift ships sent by Selinus repeatedly evaded the enemy's interception and went to Carthage for help.
Several days later, the Carthaginian Senate finally stopped arguing and reached a resolution: to dismiss Montoadeno from his position as commander of the Carthaginian army and send him back to Carthage for trial. The Iberian governor Mago was appointed as the new commander-in-chief. In the period before his arrival, the senator Bomilcar would temporarily take over his duties and urgently handle the affairs of the Sicilian army.
Bomilcar belonged neither to the Magonid faction nor was he close to Hanno, but belonged to the neutral faction in the Senate. However, unlike Aesiaruba, he had good relations with the other two factions. Perhaps for this reason, his election as acting commander was recognized by most senators.
After receiving the appointment, Bomilcar immediately sailed to Lilybaeum, incidentally announcing the Senate's decision to Montoadeno. Having long anticipated this outcome, Montoadeno was taken away by the guards without resistance. After all, as the head of a prestigious Carthaginian family, his resistance or escape would seriously affect the future of his relatives and the reputation of his family.
Bomilcar personally escorted Montoadeno to the port.
Before boarding the ship, Montoadeno, his face pale, could not help but remind him: "...The Daonians are different from the enemies we have encountered before. Their soldiers are brave in battle, and their generals are also cunning. Our Numidian troops are of questionable combat effectiveness, so even if we outnumber them, we must be vigilant in battle!"
Bomilcar thanked him for his reminder.
Finally, Montoadeno sighed, "The Senate has been worried for so long, and they have still allowed the foreign leader Mago to become the commander of the Carthaginian army! This is not a good thing for Carthage!"
Bomilcar watched Montoadeno board the passenger ship in silence, then he turned and returned to the city of Lilybaeum. The next thing he had to do was to resolve the conflict between the Carthaginian fleet and the Iberian fleet.
Because the Iberian fleet was built by the Magonid family themselves, Mago was unwilling for the fleet to be controlled by the Senate. Therefore, Adhermicas, the fleet commander who was a relative of the Magonids, was unwilling to subordinate the fleet to the Carthaginian fleet and accept the command of the fleet commander Annobas.
In his capacity as acting commander, Bomilcar invited Annobas and Adhermicas to the governor's residence in Lilybaeum to discuss matters, and solemnly announced to them the Senate's decision: the Iberian fleet would accept the command of the Carthaginian fleet commander Annobas, which was a prerequisite for Mago to take over as commander of the Carthaginian army.
Adhermicas looked at Annobas, who gave him a friendly smile.
Adhermicas was not fooled by his smile. He had heard from Mago in Iberia that Annobas was not friendly to the Magonid faction. Of course, he had once been close to the Magonid family in the Senate, which was why he became the commander of the Carthaginian navy more than twenty years ago when Himilco led a large army to attack Syracuse. He had also defeated the main Syracusan fleet led by Leptines in a naval battle. However, the Carthaginian army suffered a disastrous defeat under the walls of Syracuse, and Himilco, in a desperate situation, secretly negotiated with Dionysius. To maintain secrecy, he did not inform Annobas. As a result, Himilco led his confidants on a dozen ships and successfully escaped, while the Carthaginian fleet led by Annobas was besieged in the Great Harbor of Syracuse and almost completely destroyed. With the desperate rescue of his subordinates, he barely escaped with his life on a swift ship. From then on, he hated the Magonid family and became a neutralist.
In fact, it was precisely for this reason that the Senate continued to entrust him with the important task of commanding the Carthaginian fleet, in order to check and balance Mago, who had already gained powerful military strength.
Although Adhermicas knew Mago's desire for the position of commander of the Carthaginian army, he felt uneasy about placing the Iberian fleet under Annobas' command. However, the recent naval defeat had eroded much of his toughness, and he did not dare to directly object, so he said, "This fleet was built by Lord Mago himself, and I cannot make a decision without obtaining Lord Mago's consent."
Bomilcar did not insist, but immediately sent a messenger to Iberia to seek Mago's opinion. During this time, he also sent a messenger to Hasdrubal, who was stationed in Panormus, hoping that this promising young general could lead his troops south to relieve the besieged Carthaginian army.
Bomilcar's humble tone was very pleasing to Hasdrubal, and he almost immediately decided to lead his troops. Fortunately, Gisgo reminded him from the side, "If we defeat the enemy and rescue our allies, who will get the credit? Perhaps the Senate will think that Bomilcar can command us even as commander, so there is no need for Lord Mago..."
Hasdrubal listened to his advice and did not respond to Bomilcar, but continued to lead his troops to stay in Panormus and observe the situation.
Bomilcar could do nothing about it.
But a few days later, Mago's reply arrived: he agreed to Bomilcar's suggestion to let the Iberian fleet obey the command of the Carthaginian naval commander Annobas, but demanded that Annobas not interfere in the management of the fleet.
As a result, the Carthaginian fleet and the Iberian fleet were unified under the command of Annobas, bringing the total strength of his navy to about 540 warships, including 432 triremes, the main force of combat, which was a formidable force.
At the same time, Bomilcar's task for Annobas also arrived: Given the critical situation in Selinus, Lilybaeum must urgently transport food and soldiers to it, and the Carthaginian fleet was required to escort the fleet.
In fact, during this period, the Daonian army had launched several attacks on the city of Selinus, and Milerfio had repeatedly sent swift ships to Lilybaeum for help. Although the Carthaginian Senate had transported the first batch of 4,000 mobilized Carthaginian citizen soldiers to Lilybaeum, Bomilcar dared not lead his army to rescue them by land, given the current state of the Carthaginian army. He turned his attention to the sea, where the Daonian military strength was relatively weak, and transported reinforcements to Selinus by sea to strengthen Selinus' defenses, using it to hold off the enemy and wear down their strength, in order to wait for Mago to arrive with a large army.
But Annobas had repeatedly rejected Bomilcar's request, on the grounds that: the command of the Iberian fleet had not yet been resolved, and it would be difficult to coordinate on the battlefield, which could easily lead to failure. And the strength of the Carthaginian fleet alone was not enough to match the Daonian fleet.
Although the Carthaginian fleet had been docked in the military ports of the city-states on the western tip of Sicily, Annobas had been paying attention to the movements of the Daonian Sicilian fleet and had some understanding of its strength. Of course, on the other hand, he was also urging Bomilcar to resolve the issue of the Iberian fleet as soon as possible.
Now that the problem was resolved, Annobas still remained inactive, so Bomilcar naturally had to send someone to question him.
In response, Annobas explained that the Iberian fleet had just been integrated and needed some time for training to improve understanding and coordination.
A few days later, Annobas finally arrived in Lilybaeum and told Bomilcar, "I have gathered all the warships. Tomorrow, I can escort your troop transport fleet to reinforce Selinus. I hope you are ready now."
"Tomorrow?" Bomilcar looked at the sky outside the window, which was heavily overcast with thick clouds, and felt uneasy. He hesitated and said, "I heard from my men that experienced sailors in the port have judged from the recent weather that the southwestern sea area of Sicily will not only have continuous rain in the next day or two, but also have large waves, which will pose a certain risk to ships sailing at sea."
Annobas replied calmly, "Precisely because there is risk, the Daonian fleet is likely to hide in the port and dare not go out to sea. Only then can our fleet smoothly enter the port of Selinus."
"But what if the Daonian fleet does come out?" Bomilcar cautiously asked.
"That is precisely the great opportunity I have been waiting for to defeat the Daonian fleet!" Annobas said confidently, with a glint in his eyes, "Whoever is more adapted to the sea conditions here, whoever has better ship handling skills, whoever is more familiar with this sea area, will win this naval battle! And our Carthaginian sailors undoubtedly have the advantage in controlling the warships!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The next morning, the Carthaginian sub-fleets, having received their orders, set out from their respective ports and gathered on the sea near the port of Lilybaeum. Inside the port, hundreds of laborers and slaves were carrying grain onto the cargo ships docked at the pier, while teams of soldiers were orderly boarding the passenger ships…
Countless ships crowded the port, and countless laborers were busy among them… Such a busy scene was reflected in Bomilcar's eyes, but a few traces of tension inevitably appeared on his face. "Annobas, the safety of this fleet next is all up to you!" he said expectantly to the naval commander beside him.
Annobas said calmly, "Don't worry! As long as we work together, even if the Daonian fleet appears, we have the confidence to send them to the sea to feed the fish! Don't you agree, Admica?"
"Yes, General Annobas, the Iberian fleet is happy to defeat the Daonian fleet under your command and create convenience for Mago's land offensive," Admica replied seemingly respectfully.
Bomilcar turned his head to look at these two important figures in the Carthaginian fleet, frowned, and stopped himself from speaking.
At this moment, Annobas said, "The wind is rising."
"It's a northwest wind," Admica immediately added.
Bomilcar saw ripples on the sea in the port, and then he felt a coolness on his face. He quickly reached out and touched it—it was raining!
In an instant, the beach under his feet was covered with dense small pits from the raindrops. He couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he had made preparations for the fleet to protect against the rain in advance.
The rain also led to the acceleration of the entire fleet's preparation work. Before long, Semimre, the lord of Lilybaeum, rushed over to inform Bomilcar that the fleet was ready.
"Let's board the ship too and prepare to set off!" Annobas said, and walked towards the military port not far away. Admica followed closely behind. The Iberian fleet was docked in the military port, as well as a special warship, which was Annobas's flagship—the Double-Headed Dragon.
Before the rise of Syracuse, Carthage was already a maritime power in the western Mediterranean. A hundred years ago, all the city-states in the western Mediterranean knew that Carthage was the maritime hegemon of the western Mediterranean. Even though wars had occurred with Syracuse in the past few decades, with victories and defeats on both sides, Carthage had never suffered a defeat in a true naval battle (Carthage's two disastrous naval defeats were when they were trapped in the harbor and unable to exert their advantages). What the Carthaginian navy relied on was not only its vast population reserve with rich sailing experience, but also its technological advantages accumulated over hundreds of years. The Carthaginians had always been at the forefront of naval technology innovation in the Mediterranean.
Especially in the past ten years, Daonia replaced Syracuse and became the hegemon among the Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean. The strength of its navy actually made Carthage feel threatened. Although Carthage's focus had shifted to developing inland in Africa, maritime trade was the foundation of Carthage. It was the maritime advantage that led to Carthage's strength and prosperity. How could they easily hand it over to others? Therefore, Carthaginian shipbuilders developed the four-tiered oar warship.
This was a warship that was taller, longer, and wider than the main warship popular among various forces in the Mediterranean—the three-tiered oar warship. It had up to 250 sailors, with four rows of oar seats on each side. Therefore, its top speed was slightly slower than the three-tiered oar warship, and its overly heavy hull made it less flexible in turning. However, its wide deck could accommodate a large number of soldiers for melee combat. Moreover, because of its huge hull, the Carthaginians reinforced it, so it had extra protection when facing ramming tactics. At the same time, it rarely used ramming tactics in combat, but relied more on grappling hooks to fix itself to enemy ships and carry out boarding operations. This was obviously a warship designed for the Daonian navy.
Of course, the Carthaginians, who had been using traditional naval tactics and traditional warships for hundreds of years, held a cautious attitude towards this new warship. So far, only 20 ships had been built, scattered among the various sub-fleets, and even used as flagships by the naval generals.
The flagship that Annobas was on was different. It was a huge warship pieced together from two four-tiered oar warships. Carthaginian shipwrights spent three years solving many technical problems before developing it. It reduced the height of the hull, and used the strongest planks to tightly weld the two bottoms together from bow to stern. Then, tall turrets were built on the wide deck, becoming a true sea fortress. The turrets were manned with enough crew, soldiers, and archers, which would be a disaster for any enemy ship wanting to board.
Of course, its slow sailing speed was also beyond doubt.
The Double-Headed Dragon was a sea monster in Carthaginian legends. It often stirred up huge waves, sank ships, and devoured crew members. It was the nightmare of Carthaginian children when they were young. The Carthaginians named the flagship of the Carthaginian fleet the Double-Headed Dragon, obviously with great expectations.
The Double-Headed Dragon sailed out of the military port. The entire sea outside the military port was already full of warships overlapping each other, rising and falling in the surging tide, as if it were a floating forest. The addition of the Iberian fleet further expanded the area of this "forest."
Annobas divided the huge fleet into three parts: the front, middle, and rear. He himself was in the middle, and the Iberian fleet was in the rear, seemingly showing his impartiality.
At the same time, given that there were some waves at sea, he ordered the entire fleet to stay away from the coast, widen the distance between the warships, and lower the sails, but to maintain a high degree of concentration to prevent being separated from the team.
When a dozen bugles sounded on the mast of the four-tiered oar warship at the forefront of the Carthaginian fleet, this huge fleet, which was ten miles wide in the front and ten miles long in the longitudinal direction, began to advance along the coast towards Selinus. They were to open up a safe sea passage for the fleet behind them.
Strangely enough, when the fleet began to move, the waves gradually calmed down and the rain stopped. The crew members believed that this was the sea god protecting them and were very excited.
From Lilybaeum to Selinus, the land distance was more than 90 miles, and the sea route was even longer. Moreover, due to the influence of the waves, the Carthaginian fleet did not arrive near the sea off Selinus until noon.
Annobas ordered the fleet to be arrayed on the sea east of Selinus and remain vigilant.
After issuing the order, he sat in the spacious and comfortable turret, eating a steaming lunch while talking to his men. There was no tense atmosphere of a war that could break out at any time, and he could not feel the slightly chilly sea breeze outside.
In fact, Annobas was somewhat conflicted. The Iberian fleet had just been integrated and needed time to integrate, and they had also suffered a defeat before and needed time to restore their morale. But at the same time, as a proud Carthaginian naval general, he also longed to personally test the strength of the Daonian navy, which had maintained its strength in the western Mediterranean for many years, and frustrate its spirit, and let them taste the power of the Carthaginian navy.
He took two sips of pulp water, took the cloth towel handed over by the slave, wiped his mouth, and then stood up. He was already over 50 years old, and his digestive ability had declined. He usually didn't eat much, but today he ate more unconsciously, and his stomach was a little uncomfortable. He paced back and forth to help digestion.
At this time, the captain of the Double-Headed Dragon came in to report, "General, the fleet has begun to enter the port!"
"Is there anything discovered in the east?" Annobas asked.
"No reports have been received yet."
"I hope the fleet can unload the cargo faster so we can return earlier. The weather now is really worrying!" The adjutant said worriedly, "Even if the Daonian fleet discovers us, I'm afraid they won't dare to come out."
Annobas didn't speak, but silently looked out the window. The clouds almost completely blocked the sunlight. It was noon, but it seemed like dusk. The sky was full of dark clouds, and the sea was dark. In the distance, the sea and the sky were the same color, making it impossible to see far. Although the rain had stopped and the wind had stopped, the air was filled with a strong sense of water vapor.
"Go and urge the fleet to speed up the progress!" Finally, Annobas said.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
On the mast of the four-tiered oar warship at the forefront of the Carthaginian fleet, the lookout man held the wooden pillar tightly with both hands, struggling to look forward. The dark clouds hanging above his head made him a little frightened. He complained in his heart to the captain, "In such terrible weather, how could the Daonian fleet go to sea? There's absolutely no need for me to stay on the mast all the time. If it rains heavily or thunders, it's not a joke!"
Suddenly, the lookout blinked, hooked his right hand and foot around the mast, leaned his entire body forward, put his left hand on his forehead, and widened his eyes: in the dim sky in the distance, several black dots appeared on the sea… After a while, the black dots doubled, and after another while…
The lookout shuddered and immediately shouted, "Enemy ships sighted! The Daonian fleet is coming!!!…"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The news that "the Daonian Second Fleet defeated the Iberian fleet on the northern coast" made Sekerian itch unbearably. Although as the commander of the Sicilian fleet, he also had a share of the victory in this naval battle, he disdained to steal Flarios's battle achievement. But the Carthaginian fleet never appeared on the southern coast, making it impossible for him to have a decisive battle with it.
At this time, because the land troops were going to attack Selinunte, he saw an opportunity, so after discussing with Leotichides, he formulated a plan: to lure the Carthaginian fleet to rescue from the sea by besieging Selinunte, so as to achieve the goal of fighting a decisive battle with it.
In order to ensure the victory of the decisive battle, Sekerian also transferred the Second Fleet stationed in Messina, making the Daonian fleet warships in Sicily reach 600, including 485 triremes. This is a huge number, and Sekerian firmly believes that the Carthaginian navy cannot compete with it at all.
Sekerian sent many fast ships to the southern coast of Sicily every day, and some even ventured to the western coast to scout the enemy's situation.
However, for several days in a row, the Carthaginian fleet remained silent. Leotichides couldn't sit still any longer, because although the Daonian army was feigning an attack on the city of Selinunte, it still caused some soldiers to be killed or wounded every day. Moreover, after a long time of stationing troops under the city, the army of Lilybaeum not far away was also ready to move. Although its strength was not very strong, the Iberian army in Panormus made him feel worried, and besides, its distance was not too far. Once several Carthaginian armies attacked at the same time, the Daonian army, which did not have a great advantage in strength, would be in trouble. Therefore, Leotichides believed that they could no longer wait and must immediately take Selinunte with all their strength, so that the Daonian army could gain a foothold in the western Sicily controlled by Carthage.
Sekerian of course objected, his reason being: as long as the Carthaginian fleet is defeated, the Daonian navy can gain absolute advantage at sea, and the coast of western Sicily will be under the control of the Daonian Sicilian fleet, which will be of greater help to the land troops.
He persuaded Leotichides to be patient and wait a little longer.
The two sides argued endlessly, but a letter from Davos and the Ministry of War resolved their dispute.
In the letter, Davos asked Leotichides to strengthen the attack on western Sicily. As for Sekerian,
Davos's request was even higher, hoping that he could completely defeat the Carthaginian navy, cut off the sea connection between Carthage and Sicily, and even threaten the Carthaginian mainland.
Therefore, this letter forced Leotichides to agree to continue to implement the plan to "lure the Carthaginian fleet".
Early this morning, the movement caused by the large-scale gathering of Carthaginian warships in the waters of Lilybaeum could not escape the eyes of Daonian fast ships.
When this news was quickly transmitted back to Agrigentum, Sekerian was overjoyed and immediately ordered: all warships assemble and prepare to set off!
Although Flarios reminded him with some concern: "Commander, the weather conditions at sea today are not very good!"
But Sekerian has always been known for his bold and decisive combat, and even in middle age, this characteristic has not diminished. Moreover, he has finally waited for this opportunity, so how could he allow it to be missed, so he resolutely said: "The Carthaginians dare to go to sea, why can't we!"
In early March of the 14th year of the Daonian Kingdom (that is, 379 BC), at noon on the third day after Davos led a large army, left Thurii, and went north to Latium, the Daonian Sicilian fleet encountered the Carthaginian navy in the waters near Selinunte.
Under the strange weather of dark clouds, gloomy sky, but no wind and waves, this naval battle, which can be said to be the largest in Greek history, began.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
After learning of the appearance of the Daonian fleet, Annoabas was a little surprised, but at the same time he was relieved. He stared out of the window, pondered for a moment, and quickly made a decision: "The front warships will advance to meet the enemy according to the original route; the middle warships will move eastward, and spread out as much as possible on the right side of the front; the Iberian fleet in the rear will closely follow the front fleet to prevent Daonian warships from breaking through the interception and attacking the rear fleet.
Annoabas made such a deployment because, according to his understanding of this sea area, although it is calm now, judging from the weather, it is likely to be windy and rainy, and the possibility of a southwest wind is high. Therefore, Carthaginian warships must first occupy a favorable position to facilitate later operations.
Sekerian did not consider that far, he deployed the main First Fleet on the side closer to the coast, and sent Flarios to lead the Third Fleet to meet the Carthaginian flanks that were constantly expanding outward.
His idea was: to do his best to break through the enemy in front, and put on a posture of attacking the fleet behind to rescue Selinunte, forcing Carthage to shrink its formation to rescue, which not only consumed the enemy's physical strength, but also made the Carthaginian ship formation chaotic.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Toot! Toot! Toot!…" The speed at which the sailors pushed the oars kept increasing with the sound of the double-barreled flute. The crow warships in the front row of the Daonian ship formation were advancing rapidly. The seawater split by the bow of the ship fell again and again on the drawbridge erected next to the foremast, splashing water, almost making this 12-meter-long wooden bridge a breakwater for the warship.
Stefa Kas, during the South Italian War, he was still a sailor in the Daonian Navy. What he was proud of was that he experienced all the battles in which this newly built fleet defeated the powerful Syracuse Navy. Now he is the commander of the Second Squadron of the Daonian First Fleet, commanding his flagship to charge at the front of the ship formation, about to engage with the most powerful maritime hegemony in the western Mediterranean—Carthage.
But he was far less excited than the sailors, but calmly watched the Carthaginian warships rushing towards him. He felt that the opponent's speed was not very fast, and the experienced him immediately realized: the opponent was probably not prepared to collide head-on with his warship, but controlled the warship's inertia so as to flexibly bypass the front and avoid being hooked by the crow's drawbridge. After all, the Daonian Navy's unique tactics are no longer a secret, and besides, the Carthaginians have previously lost in naval battles, and they are probably prepared.
"Interception preparation!" Stefa Kas decisively issued an order loudly.
The drawbridge operator at the bow of the ship, the boatswain in the cabin, and the helmsman at the stern immediately repeated the order, and all the crew members maintained a high degree of tension and concentration.
The two warships were rapidly approaching.
Stefa Kas looked ahead, judging the best time to act, and suddenly he shouted: "Intercept to the left!"
The helmsman steered the rudder, the oars of the sailors on the left were weakened, and the oars of the sailors on the right were strengthened, and the warship quickly slanted to the left front.
This is a very dangerous tactical maneuver, actively exposing the waist of the warship to the ram of the enemy ship, which is undoubtedly a major taboo for today's naval warfare. Even for the Daonian warship with a crow's drawbridge, it is quite dangerous, because the distance is too close, and the enemy ship is moving forward at high speed. If the crew is not focused enough and does not cooperate well, the drawbridge may not be lowered in time, and the warship may have been hit by the opponent.
But Stefa Kas is full of confidence in the technology and tacit cooperation of his crew. This confidence comes from the result of rigorous training day after day, year after year.
Even so, the drawbridge operators are still operating with high tension: some are quickly rotating the drawbridge according to the direction of the enemy ship's attack; some are quickly loosening the ropes tied to the mast, while tightly holding on to it, while staring at the rushing enemy ship, shouting in their mouths… Everyone's faces are covered with sweat, and the muscles on their arms are protruding due to tension.
The Carthaginian captain had originally prepared to let the warship deflect to avoid the attack of the opponent's crow's drawbridge, but the sudden crossing of the crow warship in front was beyond the Carthaginian captain's expectation, and he was stunned for a moment.
With this daze, the warship had already rushed out a few meters.
He immediately understood and hurriedly gave the order: let the warship turn right.
The Carthaginian sailors reacted quickly, and the rushing warship turned its head to the right quickly.
But it was already a little late. The direction of the Daonian warship's advance was exactly the same as that of their warship, and it stuck to it with undiminished speed.
The crow's drawbridge was immediately lowered, and 40 fleet infantrymen on board rushed out of the cabin, passed through the drawbridge, and entered the enemy ship.
After Annoabas knew the combat characteristics of the Daonian fleet, he was not unprepared. During this period, he had Carthage and its allies make a large number of daggers and equip them to the sailors, because only this kind of light and small weapon would not affect their rowing, and at the same time, it would give them a little ability to defend themselves and fight back.
However, it is impossible to give full play to the advantage of a large number of people on a narrow warship. Most of these Carthaginian civilians who serve as sailors have not undergone formal infantry training, and they are completely unable to match the Daonian fleet infantry who are rushing in aggressively.
Except for not wearing the standard equipment of the Daonian Legion's heavy infantry, the training intensity of these Daonian fleet infantry is not weaker than that of the army at all. Not only do they need to master the short sword stabbing technique, the shield and sword combined attack technique, the chessboard formation, the javelin and charge, the squad team battle cooperation… In addition, they also put more effort into two training: rapid landing operations and long-distance swimming.
Therefore, the Daonian fleet's fleet infantry can be said to be well-trained. The Carthaginian sailors equipped with daggers caused them a little trouble, but they were quickly disintegrated under their swift attacks.
After dozens of sailors had been stabbed and felled, the Carthaginians on this warship chose to surrender.
But this time, Secelian was determined to fight the Carthaginian fleet to the death, so he issued an order before the battle: all warships were required not to expend energy or disperse their forces to capture enemy ships during the battle, but to ensure sufficient manpower was continuously invested in the battle until the end.
Therefore, the fleet's infantrymen cut the arms of the captured Carthaginian sailors one by one, rendering them unable to row, and then evacuated the enemy ship.
At the same time, many Daunian warships also adopted interception tactics, but only a small number of Carthaginian warships were captured by the raven drawbridge, and most of the Carthaginian warships avoided it in time, which shows the experience and ability of the Carthaginian navy. They nimbly circled around the front of the Daunian warships and turned to attack their sterns.
The Daunian warships also had countermeasures for this, and they also circled around with the opponent, always keeping their bows facing the enemy ship.
Thus, a very peculiar battle scene appeared: both sides' warships were patiently circling, the Carthaginian warships on the outer circle, and the Daunian warships on the inner circle. In theory, the Daunian sailors consumed less energy and were more labor-saving, but the difference could not be seen in a short time.
Of course, the Daunian warship was located in the center, with little room to maneuver. Once another enemy ship joined the battle, it would be difficult to avoid being hit. However, in this naval battle, the Daunian warships outnumbered the enemy, not only intercepting the engaging enemies one by one, but also increasing the intensity of the attack. Because Secelian was not prepared to engage in a prolonged battle with Carthage, although he did not know much about the situation in this sea area, the bad weather made him want a quick victory.
Thus, the second wave of Daunian attacks came: one after another, fast trireme warships rushed into the battle area like sharp arrows.
Ilios was the captain of a fast trireme warship. He used to be a commoner in the port of Lechaeum in Corinth. Three generations of his family lived by fishing and selling fish, barely making a living. However, during the Corinthian War more than ten years ago, the Spartan King Agesilaus led his troops to raid many ports and towns in the Corinthian Gulf. Like other fishermen, his family's greatest property—two fishing boats—was forcibly taken away by the Spartan allies. After the end of the war, the impoverished Ilios heard that the Daunian kingdom across the Adriatic Sea was calling on Greeks to colonize and would distribute land...
Having reached the end of his rope and almost sold himself into slavery, Ilios and his family, like many fishermen from the Corinthian Gulf, risked boarding the Daunian passenger ship that was docked in the port of Lechaeum to transport displaced people... In the end, the result was good. Ilios also joined the Daunian navy, and because of his superb ship handling skills, he later became a captain in the First Fleet.
Due to the weather, the Daunian fleet also increased the spacing between the warships, which gave the fast trireme warships more room to exert their combat power.
Ilios had long been eyeing an enemy ship in front that was entangled with his own raven warship. He commanded the warship to rush forward quickly, trying to sneak attack the stern of the opponent.
Unexpectedly, the opponent had already noticed it, avoided it in time, and then flexibly avoided the approach of the raven warship. Obviously, the enemy ship considered it unfavorable to fight two against one and began to accelerate backward, in order to distance itself from the slower raven warship and solve the trireme warship without a drawbridge first.
The captain of this Carthaginian warship obviously believed that: as long as it was not a raven warship, the Carthaginians would be sure to win in a normal warship battle.
At this time, Ilios's warship had already turned around and began to pursue closely.
Both sides began to speed up their oars and chased each other, and soon left the raven warship behind.
Looking at the enemy ship following closely behind, the Carthaginian captain shouted loudly: "Turn right and turn around!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sailors immediately reacted.
The Carthaginian captain's plan was: his sudden turn would cause the fast-moving enemy ship to be pushed forward by the inertia of its speed under the unexpected circumstances, thus leading to a change in offense and defense.
But at this moment, he suddenly widened his eyes: because the enemy ship's speed had increased again, almost as if it was floating on the sea, rushing straight towards him.
His decades of warship sailor career told him that the fastest speed of a trireme warship would not exceed 13 knots, which he used to formulate tactics, but the ship behind him obviously exceeded this speed (the instantaneous speed actually reached 15 knots). The Carthaginian warship had to reduce some speed in order to turn around, so he watched in shock as the dark bronze ram of the enemy ship slammed into the stern of his warship at an extremely fast speed.
With a loud "bang", the huge impact force caused the dozens of meters long Carthaginian warship to turn half a circle in place, almost capsizing.
The captain fell heavily on the deck. Ignoring the pain, he quickly hugged the mast beside him.
The sailors in the cabin staggered and exclaimed, mixed with a shrill scream. It was the helmsman at the stern who did not have time to escape, and his chest was pierced by the broken planks, blood splattering everywhere. He was obviously not going to survive.
The warship's upturned stern was directly broken off, and seawater poured in from the crack.
The Carthaginian sailors had no intention of rowing at this time. The experienced ones immediately broke their oars, took the oar heads, rushed to the deck, and jumped into the sea.
After the fast trireme warship hit the enemy ship, it circled half a circle again to confirm the results. Only then did Ilios loudly announce: "Brothers, one sunk!"
Cheers immediately erupted in the cabin.
"Captain, there's a big one coming!" At this time, the lookout on the mast shouted urgently.
A big one?! Ilios was stunned at first, but immediately understood: the warship bigger than the trireme could only be the rumored quadreme!
Although he had never seen it, the Daunian Ministry of Military Affairs had always regarded Carthage as its strongest enemy, and spared no effort in collecting and studying its military intelligence. How could he not know about the new achievements of the Carthaginian navy in recent years? It had conducted special analysis on the advantages and disadvantages of this larger and taller warship than the trireme, and had also specially asked the captains of each warship to learn and understand it during training.
So Ilios immediately had an idea: "Bypass it, find another target. The clumsy quadreme can't catch up with us!"
However, the lookout on the mast continued to shout: "The quadreme is turning and heading towards a raven warship diagonally in front of us. It's connected to the enemy ship!"
Ilios's heart tightened: It is said that the Carthaginian quadreme is equipped with 50 to 60 infantrymen who can carry out boarding operations, and the raven warship in front is fighting with the enemy ship. If it encounters its pincer attack again, the situation will be very dangerous.
"Right front, full speed ahead, catch up with that big ship!" He decisively issued the order.
The sailors, still in the midst of victory and excitement, immediately pushed the oars hard, and the warship drew an arc of water on the sea, accelerating forward.
Soon, Ilios saw the full picture of the Carthaginian quadreme: its wide hull was fully two meters higher than his own warship, and the middle of its flanks protruded outwards with a layer of oar shed, as if it were the skirt of the warship, and the dense oarsmen inside could be vaguely seen...
Ilios carefully counted and indeed found that there were four layers of oars.
The Carthaginian quadreme obviously also saw the approach of this Daunian warship, but it continued to sail towards the raven warship in front without dodging or avoiding, with full confidence.
"Charge speed! Break its oars!" Ilios calmly issued the order. The reason why he did not issue the order to ram was because he remembered that Commander Secelian had emphasized that this type of warship has a relatively strong hull and is said to be able to withstand several impacts.
So Ilios was afraid that he would not be able to sink it, and instead, because he was close to the enemy ship, he would be attacked by boarding.
The warship's speed was quickly increased to 13 knots, and it was still climbing, quickly catching up with the enemy ship.
The helmsman nervously controlled the rudder, ensuring that the warship was facing the right side of the opponent's hull without deviation.
"Stow oars!" With Ilios's order, the oarsmen skillfully retracted the oars into the hull, and the warship rushed forward according to inertia, preparing to brush past the enemy ship.
Unexpectedly, the Carthaginian sailors also retracted their oars in time and skillfully, although they had more oars. Moreover, the archers on its deck also shot arrows at Ilios's warship, and also threw down more than a dozen rope hooks.
In order to increase the speed of the fast trireme, the sides of its deck were not built with railings. Except for the mast, the deck was bare, and there was no place for the rope hooks to hook onto.
Instead, the arrows that were shot down hit the lookout at the top of the mast, and he fell straight onto the deck. A few arrows also passed through the gap in the center of the deck and fell into the cabin, causing several screams.
The Daunian sailors were slightly flustered.
Fortunately, the fast trireme was very fast. Before the enemy could shoot the second round of arrows, it had already brushed past the enemy ship and rushed to the front.
Ilios, who had emerged from the cabin, immediately ordered the warship to turn back, posing as if it was going to continue the attack.
However, the Carthaginian quadreme ignored its provocation and continued to maintain its course, continuing to approach the raven warship in front.
The infantry of the raven warship had already rushed out of the bottom cabin of the enemy ship and began to accelerate back to their own warship. However, this quadreme enemy ship was only more than ten meters away from them, and there was no time to avoid it.
At this time, another lookout on Ilios's warship, who had just climbed up the main mast, suddenly shouted excitedly: "Captain, another fast warship! Another fast warship is about to hit—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ilios heard a loud "bang", and the huge hull of the quadreme in front of him seemed to sneeze, shaking all over, and the forward speed suddenly stopped, and the exclamations of the sailors on board were endless.
Although the huge hull of the quadreme in front blocked the line of sight, making it impossible to see the situation on the other side of the enemy ship, Ilios knew through the lookout that his comrades had bravely rammed the enemy ship with their warship.
However, this risky approach also put them in a dangerous situation because the enemy ship did not capsize and quickly regained order.
Ilios could see many infantrymen with spears pouring out onto the deck of the enemy ship.
The enemy is going to board us! Ilios felt a tightening in his heart, and the words that Sekelian, the commander of the Sicilian fleet, often said to them during training suddenly appeared in his mind: "The army always says that we navy only know how to fight alone and don't know what cooperation is... They simply don't understand!
If a warship doesn't have the close cooperation of the captain, helmsman, sailors, lookout... and skillful control of the warship, can it defeat the enemy!
As for a fleet, the Raven warship is like a bear, brave and forward, charging and sweeping away all obstacles; the swift trireme is like a wolf, moving quickly and agilely, seizing the opportunity to give the enemy ship a fierce impact; the fast ship is our horse, timely conveying various orders and messages... All warships must cooperate closely and do their best to kill the enemy to ensure the victory of a naval battle!
And in my fleet, I want to make an even higher demand.
On the battlefield, each warship must help each other and make up for each other's shortcomings.
If anyone sees their own warship in trouble and doesn't go to rescue it, if I find out about it afterwards, I, Sekelian, can guarantee to the captain of that warship that he won't even be able to become a citizen of Daonia!..."
"Full speed ahead! Target—the hull of the enemy quadreme on the right front! Prepare to ram!" Ilios roared, gritting his teeth.
"Ramming speed!" the boatswain shouted immediately.
The piper straightened his chest again, puffed out his cheeks, and played non-stop.
Despite some fatigue, the sailors' faces showed a mixture of tension and excitement: We are going to sink that huge warship!
They once again used their somewhat sore and numb hands to push the oars with all their might.
The warship's speed was soaring rapidly.
Ilios watched the enemy ship in front of him rapidly enlarge in his eyes, and he shouted: "Ram!!!" He hurriedly hugged the mast tightly with both arms.
The sailors in the cabin heard the warning and immediately tightened their oars, leaned down, and gripped the copper rings on the ship's planks on both sides of the seats with both hands.
Amidst the exclamations of the enemies on the quadreme, the warship slammed fiercely into its hull.
With a loud "bang", the hull shook violently, and the Carthaginian infantrymen who were standing on the deck preparing to jump to the other side of the Daonian warship were pushed by a huge force, and many people fell directly into the sea.
The bronze ram of the fast warship broke through the planks of the enemy ship's side,
But it failed to further expand the gap, because there was another layer of planks inside, although it was cracked, it was not broken, and seawater could only seep in little by little, but it prevented the fast warship from advancing.
Seeing this situation, Ilios immediately shouted: "Retreat! Retreat quickly!..."
He had to take advantage of the enemy's confusion on the ship to disengage from the enemy ship and ram again, otherwise he would fall into the same predicament as his teammates on the other side.
But the Carthaginians also reacted quickly, and just as the Daonian sailors began to row backwards, arrows flew down.
The distance was too close, Ilios couldn't dodge in time, and was hit by three arrows in a row.
He immediately groaned and fell into the cabin, and was timely supported by the boatswain.
Some sailors in the cabin were also hit by arrows, and the screams made the sailors a little chaotic.
"Don't panic! Row backwards together! Piper!..." the boatswain shouted loudly.
"Dee! Dee! Dee!..." The high-pitched sound of the double-barreled flute rose, covering up the screams, and also made the sailors a little calmer.
Just as they began to row, they heard a loud exclamation again from the enemy ship in front, followed by another loud "boom", and the enemy ship shook violently again.
The force was transmitted to the Daonian warship connected to it, and the sailors fell to the east and west, in a mess.
Ilios woke up in the shock.
It turned out that as the captain of the warship, he was wearing a leather helmet and armor as required.
The two arrows on his chest were blocked by the leather armor, and he only suffered some skin trauma.
His arm was pierced by an arrow, and the pain made him faint.
"What... what happened?" he asked, enduring the pain.
"It's the Raven warship! It rammed the head of this enemy ship!" the lookout slid down from the mast and reported to him.
"Captain! The enemy ship is broken! It's taking on water!" the lookout on the foremast also ran in and said excitedly.
It turned out that both sides of the Carthaginian quadreme were rammed by the fast warship, and were clamped and unable to move.
Then it was rammed head-on by the Raven warship, and the powerful reaction force forced the somewhat broken hull to have intimate contact with Ilios's warship again.
In the muffled sound of "Gaga Gaga", the bronze ram pierced into the bottom cabin...
The Carthaginian sailors fled in panic.
"Quick! Quick! Retreat!..." Ilios shouted urgently.
When the sailors rowed, several Carthaginian soldiers had already jumped onto the deck in panic.
After pulling away from the enemy ship, Ilios directed the sailors to pick up wooden oars, and relying on the advantage of numbers, drove these Carthaginian people into the sea.
At this time, Ilios breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm.
The boatswain hurried over and used a dagger to cut off the arrow shaft on his left arm.
As for the arrowhead, he could only wait until the end of the war to go ashore and let the medical camp dig it out.
At this time, the enemy ship in front had tilted to the left, and the crew members jumped into the sea like dumplings...
Seeing this situation, Ilios sighed: "This is indeed a good ship! But it's not very suitable for combat..."
"Captain, look!" the boatswain reminded.
Ilios turned his head and looked, only to see a swift trireme coming out from behind the enemy ship and heading straight towards him.
Ilios quickly saw the number painted on the side of the ship and the person on the deck who was saluting him.
Ilios immediately smiled and said: "I was wondering who was so bold, it turned out to be him!"
Ilios endured the pain, raised his right hand, and returned a military salute.
At this time, the Raven warship also turned around, and its captain stood on the deck, also saluting...
Behind the three Daonian warships, half of the Carthaginian quadreme had sunk into the sea, and many struggling crew members were floating on the sea...
Although the three captains did not shout, the excitement was rippling in their hearts: They had not discussed it beforehand, but they worked together to sink this behemoth, which was a great honor!
The three ships only touched each other once, and soon each went to find the next target to attack...
.................
The Daonian First Fleet surged forward, launching a fierce attack on the Carthaginian fleet.
The two sides fought each other, and the First Fleet had the advantage.
In just over ten minutes, they broke through the ranks of the Carthaginian forward fleet, forcing the Iberian fleet to join the battle, but this fleet, which had previously suffered a defeat, performed even worse in the face of the Daonian warship's attack.
Half an hour later, the leading warships of the Daonian First Fleet had rushed out of the Carthaginian ship formation and rushed directly towards the fleet not far behind it.
This fleet was full of grain and soldiers, with as many as 300 ships, which made it impossible for the port of Selinus to accommodate them all in a short time, so the fleet had been lined up outside the port.
Although the laborers in the port were speeding up their progress due to the weather, they did not expect the Daonian warship to rush over so quickly, and the ship owners in the fleet were immediately frightened.
They panicked and ordered the sailors to immediately sail their ships into the port to avoid the enemy's attack.
As a result, the entire fleet was in chaos, and the ships rushed in one after another, resulting in congestion outside the port.
Even in the squeeze and collision, some ships capsized...
Anno Bars, who was behind the flanks of the ship formation, was shocked when he received the urgent report from the fast ship.
He had already left enough warships in the front of the ship formation, thinking that he would have enough time to deal with the Daonian fleet, but he did not expect that in less than an hour, he was completely at a disadvantage.
He did not blame the incompetence of the forward fleet and the Iberian fleet, because on the flanks, the central fleet also felt the pressure of the Daonian warship's attack.
Although he led more warships than the opponent on this side.
Although the Daonian Second Fleet was ordered to defend the flanks, Fra Larios still adopted offensive tactics.
The huge hull of the Double-Headed Dragon flagship made the Daonian warship avoid it, and because of its slow speed and clumsy turning, it could not catch up with the enemy ship.
It simply did not participate in the fight, but gradually became a safe area in the ship formation.
Anno Bars stood on the top of the ship building, looking down and observing the surrounding battles.
He was shocked to find that the Daonian Raven warship and a smaller, but faster, trireme cooperated tacitly, causing the Carthaginian warship to suffer a lot.
Therefore, how dare he send warships to rescue the fleet in the port at this time.
On the contrary, after a painful choice, he believed that it would be better to let the fleet pass the Daonian fleet's troops, which would not only reduce the pressure on the battlefield, but also be more conducive to the Carthaginian fleet's counterattack.
As for worrying about the Carthaginian ship owners' complaints to him afterwards, he had to ensure that he won this naval battle first, otherwise there would be a penalty from the Senate for his defeat, and this would not be a difference.
He simply ignored the fleet's request for help.
"General, a warship over there has been rammed and sunk!" the lookout on top of the mast shouted loudly.
Anno Bars frowned and did not respond.
He did not plan to let the flagship sail there again.
The Double-Headed Dragon had already rescued many sailors, and now the flagship was full of people, it had simply become a haven.
The war situation is worrying! He sighed and felt a little cold on his body.
Cold?
He was stunned, and then looked at the sea, the sea was rippling.
The wind is rising! And it's still a west wind! He was ecstatic.
The wind is getting stronger! It would be even better if it was stronger! Anno Bars prayed in his heart.
As if in response to his words, the ripples of the sea soon turned into waves, and each wave was higher than the last.
Before long, the entire huge Double-Headed Dragon flagship began to rise and fall with the sea...
"Thanks to the blessing of Melqart!" Annobas repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the supreme god of the Phoenicians, filled with joy. The reason he didn't thank Baal Hammon, the patron god of Carthage, was because Baal Hammon was the lord of lava, and water and fire were inherently incompatible, so naval warfare was not within Baal Hammon's domain.
Annobas happily believed: the Dionian crow ships were top-heavy and prone to capsizing in strong winds and waves; those fast trireme warships were similarly small and light, making them difficult to control in rough seas. Moreover, the Carthaginian warships had the advantage of being upwind on the flanks, presenting an excellent opportunity for the Carthaginian fleet to counterattack!
"Ooo!…" The war horn sounded again on the flagship Double Dragon, its originally high-pitched sound now sounding low and hoarse on the cloud-covered, gloomy sea.
Annobas braced himself against the railing, standing on the high deckhouse, letting the strong sea wind buffet his body. He constantly scanned the surrounding sea, the warships of both sides pitching and rolling forward in the waves…
He didn't know if his men could hear the horn, but he firmly believed that the experienced Carthaginians would seize this advantageous moment and gradually turn the tide!
"General, the wind and waves are getting stronger, should we retreat first?!" The deputy, one hand holding his helmet for fear of it being blown into the sea by the gale, walked to Annobas's side and said anxiously in a loud voice.
"Retreat?!" Annobas seemed to have heard a joke. He pointed forward, facing the sea wind, and said loudly, "Look!"
Just ahead and to the side, a crow ship with its foremast still holding a drawbridge clumsily climbed over a wave, immediately followed by another wave crashing down… By the time the wave passed, the warship had already capsized onto the sea.
"Hahaha…" Annobas laughed heartily: "Did you see that? What a great opportunity! Even if we retreat, we'll retreat after defeating the Dionians!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
The same advice was given on the Dionian flagship, but Secilian no longer had his previous high spirits. He had anticipated that the weather would be bad, but he hadn't expected the wind and waves to be so strong, causing great difficulties in maneuvering the fleet's warships. He no longer had the mind to complain about why Poseidon, after accepting their devout prayers and generous offerings before the battle, was now helping the foreigners just as the fleet was about to achieve victory.
At this moment, what troubled him the most was that even if he issued a retreat order, the entire fleet was so widely dispersed, even deep into the waters outside the port of Selinunte, that in such adverse weather conditions, a mere retreat order from him would not be enough to make them retreat.
Just as he was frowning and pondering,
"Boom! Boom! Boom!…" Continuous roars echoed in the sky, as if thousands of large drums were being struck above the clouds, startling everyone.
Immediately afterward, streaks of silver-white lightning flashed across the sea, spanning the space between heaven and earth. The dark clouds grew darker and lower, pressing straight down towards the sea. And the waves became more and more active, rising higher and higher, as if they were huge mouths of beasts, trying to devour the lightning.
Torrential rain accompanied by gale-force winds plunged down, instantly plunging the world into darkness.
Whether Carthaginian or Dionian, no one was in the mood to row or fight at this moment. They didn't even dare to look out at the sea, because the sea had now become an endless abyss, its boundless darkness seeming to devour people's souls… All the crew members, including the generals, could only huddle in the cabins, constantly praying to the sea god for protection in trembling voices.
"Crack!" With a loud noise, a bolt of lightning struck in front of the Double Dragon flagship. Annobas, sitting in the tower, happened to glance out, and his originally pale face turned even paler: in the silvery light of the lightning, he saw a giant wall rising from the sea not far away, more than ten meters high, crushing towards them like an overwhelming mountain…
Annobas was struck with terror. The commanding and confident leader, full of faith in Carthaginian navigation technology, had vanished without a trace, replaced by a dazed mumbling: "How is this possible! How is this possible! It's not winter, how can there be a storm in the southwestern waters of Sicily!…"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The unpredictability of nature is beyond human prediction.
In the face of the power of heaven and earth, even the largest warships seemed extremely small. In the gales and huge waves, these ships were either smashed by the waves and sank to the bottom of the sea, or thrown into the air and smashed to pieces…
The storm lasted until dusk, finally ceasing its rage. The heavy rain disappeared without a trace, the gale turned into a warm breeze, and the sky was so clear that not a single cloud could be seen, dyed golden-red by the setting sun… The sea showed its gentle and beautiful side.
But when the gaze turned to the receding coastline, the scene was appalling: the beaches were densely covered with human bodies bleached by the seawater and countless remains of warships; and in the receding seawater, countless human bodies and broken planks were also floating…
Such appalling scenes were not only common on the coast of Selinunte, but also extended to the coasts of Mazara and Gela, and even further afield…
Leotychides, whose army was stationed north of the city of Selinunte, had been worried about the safety of the Sicilian fleet. So, after the storm subsided, he immediately sent troops and medical units to seal off the coast near Selinunte and began emergency rescue operations.
When the doctors and nurses had spare capacity, they would also treat the Carthaginians, as long as they had a breath left.
The Carthaginian colonial cities and allies on the south coast, as well as the Greek city-states, also sent people to the coast to search for survivors…
Both Carthaginian and Dionian sailors had been at sea for many years and had experienced many gales and waves, so they might have been able to escape the storm that lasted for several hours, but the warships they sailed were unlikely to be revived. In this large-scale naval battle, the Dionian Sicilian fleet deployed about 600 warships, and the Carthaginian fleet had more than 500 warships participating in the battle. As a result, neither side was the victor, and all the warships were probably destroyed by the storm.
And for Carthage, what was even worse was that nearly half of their passenger ships responsible for transporting soldiers and supplies failed to enter the port in time, either being attacked by Dionian warships or ravaged by the storm, and eventually perished in the belly of the fish.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Before the news of the "annihilation of the Dionian Sicilian fleet" reached Magna Graecia, Deiphobus, who was unaware of this, had just led his army to Laos.
Today's Laos has undergone great changes compared to a dozen years ago. Including the allied Campanian League, on the west coast of Italy, Magna Graecia is in the south, and Lucania and Campania are in the north. Laos is located at the midpoint of this long coastline. And on land, it is also a transportation hub for Lucania and Bruttium. Therefore, due to its superior geographical location, coupled with the painstaking efforts of several administrative officers, and the support of the Senate, Laos has become a prosperous port city in the kingdom.
Although its arable land area is small, the city's population has reached more than 50,000, not counting the freemen and slaves in the port. It is precisely because its port is developed and there are many merchant ships that this huge army can be transported to Latium by sea with as few merchant ship trips as possible.
During the army's entry into the city, Croto Catakes curiously looked at the scenery inside the city, and was also puzzled by the strange dress of Henipolis beside him: "Uncle Heni, it's not a battle now, don't you feel stuffy wearing a helmet, fastening cheek guards, and adding a face guard outside?"
Henipolis said in a muffled voice: "Don't talk to me!"
Deiphobus in front turned around and smiled teasingly: "Your Uncle Heni doesn't want people here to know that he's back."
"Why? Uncle Heni used to be the governor of Laos!" Croto Catakes was even more curious.
Deiphobus shrugged and did not answer.
In fact, since Henipolis served as Deiphobus's secretary in the later period of the Southern Italy War, he has never been to Laos once, which is a concern for him.
In fact, the Arolobus rebellion and the subsequent civil unrest in those years greatly reduced the population of Laos. More than half of the current residents of Laos are immigrants who came later. Among them are descendants of Sybaris, Greeks, Lucanians, Bruttians, Campanians... A veritable multi-ethnic mixed city.
And now the original Laotians are no longer the bottom of the city-state who had no money or power more than ten years ago, but are kingdom citizens who own land, operate sea trade, can hold public office, participate in city council elections, and make their own suggestions. Therefore, they are grateful to the Dionian kingdom and king who can make earth-shattering changes to their status. When they heard that King Deiphobus was leading his army to Laos, the city residents brought their families and occupied positions on the roadside early in the morning, just to be closer to him when the king arrived, to see him more clearly, and to let him hear their cheers.
In a burst of cheers of "Long live King Deiphobus!!! Long live the Kingdom!!!", the people also discussed excitedly: "Look! The one in the middle wearing a long-tailed feather helmet and golden armor is His Majesty Deiphobus! Look, how majestic and solemn he is! More than ten years ago, when His Majesty led his army through Laos and went north to fight the Samnites, I saw him once. More than ten years have passed and his appearance has not changed at all. He is still so young, he deserves to be a descendant of Hades!"
"Who is the young general next to His Majesty? He seems to have a very close relationship with His Majesty!"
"I heard from the Thurii merchants in the port that Prince Croto Catakes will also participate in this expedition. This young man should be him."