Chapter 279 Discussion of Carthage's New Fleet

But in the Senate of Carthage, the atmosphere in the venue was not as relaxed as people imagined, but also very solemn.

In the Carthage Sofitel election that just concluded in October, Oklahoma City was re-elected again, but at the moment, standing in the center of the Senate venue, he was not happy after winning. Instead, he said to the crowd with a dignified expression: "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you have already received the news. Our Phoenician allies in Sardinia, Albia, Saros, St. Ibinia, and Calaris, have successively sent envoys to ask us for help. We are stationed at The Sardinian judges also sent back detailed news that the Dionians, who were as greedy as hungry wolves, set their sights on Sardinia after capturing Alenia in Corsica.

They sent a fleet, not only cruising in the Sardinian waters, but also frequently landing on the coasts of various towns on the island, sending troops to attack villages, destroying mines, and even inciting slaves and launching riots... Now Sardinia The situation on the island is becoming chaotic, and the people of the allied countries are also very panicked. As the allies of the Phoenician city-states in Sardinia, we in Carthage cannot see them in a difficult situation. Should we send reinforcements immediately? your opinion. "

"Does this need to be said?" The neutral leader Ace Yaruba stood up and said solemnly: "The most important pillar of our Carthaginian treasury revenue is the precious metal trade, and Sardinia and Corsica are our Carthaginian treasuries. One of the important sources of the precious metal trade in Taiji, not to mention that Sardinia is also one of the important sources of business income for our Carthaginian merchants, so we must not only send troops immediately to rescue Sardinia, but also save the country. Alenia of Signia is recaptured."

Ace Yaruba has a high prestige in the Senate, and Sardinia is indeed related to the fundamental interests of Carthage, so his speech has received a lot of responses from the elders.

Taipanlako immediately took over the conversation and made a positive suggestion: "Ladies and gentlemen, there is already a Phoenician coalition army of tens of thousands of people on Sardinia, and the Dionysians do not dare to compete with it. It's just that the cunning Dionians always use warships, avoid their garrison, and attack areas where the defense is empty.

Therefore, considering that the battle in Sicily is currently underway, and our troops are very short, we can not send troops to Sardinia, but we must send a fleet to repel Dionys, who is constantly harassing Sardinia. sub-fleet, in order to ensure the safety of Sardinia. After defeating the Dionysian fleet, some of our soldiers, along with the Sardinian army, will be transported to Corsica to retake Alenia. "

Many elders thought that Taipanlako was justified, but some people raised questions: "Before, our fleet was destroyed by the storm, and the new fleet that has been under construction does not know how it is going? Is it ready to go to sea?"

"I think it's more appropriate for our naval commander to answer this question." Okriton said, looking at Annobas who was sitting at the back of the venue.

These days, Annobas has been rushing between the ports of the Phoenician allies in Africa. He received a letter from Hanno and rushed back to participate in this senate meeting. At this moment, he stood up and said loudly: " Ladies and gentlemen, since the Senate issued the decision in June that Carthage and its allies will build warships, all the shipyards in Carthage and Africa and the Phoenician city-states are stepping up the construction of warships. What I have now The situation is that 195 three-deck oar warships have been built, and they are starting to be crewed and preparing for trial voyages."

"How long will it take to go to sea to fight?" An old man asked impatiently.

"Generally speaking, it takes at least three months for a new fleet to have the ability to go out to sea." Annobas said this, and saw a smile on the corner of his mouth when many elders in the field showed disappointment: " However, the current situation is rather special, because that storm destroyed our warships, but left behind a large number of sailors with rich combat experience. They only need 10 to 15 days to become familiar with the new ships, and then they can Form a fleet and go to sea to fight."

"That's great!" The elders looked happy, and some even shouted. During this time, due to the threat of the Dionysian warship in the northern waters, the Carthaginians were a little trembling even when they sailed to sea. Never been so frustrated.

"15 days is too long, our allies can't wait that long, I suggest no more than 7 days at least! Within 7 days, Lord Annobas, please form a fleet as soon as possible, go to Sardinia, protect its waters, and attack Repel the invasion of Sardinia by the Dionian fleet, and then return to Lillibe to protect the safety of the Carthage and Sicily routes." Okriton asked with a serious expression: "Lord Annobas, can you do this? Are you there?!"

In fact, Okriton had discussed with Annobas in advance, and Annobas also put on a thoughtful look. After a while, he nodded solemnly: "I will do my best to do it!"

"Okay, my lords, now let's reinforce Sardinia." Before Okleton could finish his words, he was interrupted by Pretakuba loudly: "Wait a minute! The newly established fleet should not be the first. They were sent to Sardinia, but should go to Sicily! Sardinia was guarded by more than 10,000 Phoenician soldiers, and the Dionians only dared to harass, but did not dare to directly attack the city-states on the island. Security is actually guaranteed, and the situation is not as serious as they say.

And now the most important issue concerning the life and death of our Carthage is not Sardinia, but Sicily! The 100,000 army led by Lord Magog has invaded Dionia's territory in Sicily and is fighting fiercely with the enemy, but the problem now is that because we have no maritime advantage, the transportation of rations and baggage can only be transported by land. , Due to the long distance and uneven terrain, it required a lot of labor, which not only increased the consumption of military rations, but was also attacked by the Dionysian fleet from the sea several times.

Moreover, the main force of our army is far in the east of Sicily, and the defense behind it is relatively empty. The messenger has come here to ask for help, and why are we only talking about Sardinia today? ! I propose that the newly established fleet must be dispatched to the Sicilian waters immediately to regain our maritime superiority and ensure that the army led by Lord Margo can successfully drive the Dionias out of Sicily!

Due to Marco's achievements in Sicily, Pretakuba was once again elected as Sofitel this time, and it also greatly increased his weight in the Senate. For a while, there were discussions in the venue, but no one clearly expressed opposition.

At this time, Taipanlacco asked loudly: "If the new fleet is sent to Sicily, when will Sardinia's request for reinforcements be resolved?"

Pretakuba glanced at him and said, "At least we will not consider this issue until Lord Margo leads the army to drive the Dionians out of Sicily."

Taipanlacco sneered and said with a slight sarcasm: "Master Margo led an army of 100,000 people, and the Syracuses assisted, so far, they have not been able to capture a small one in Dionia. In the village, most of the soldiers are still blocked on the outskirts of the Catania Plain. If we want to wait until he captures Catane and Naxos, when will we wait? I am afraid that all the mines in Sardinia will be changed. It's in ruins!"

Pretakuba immediately retorted: "The reason why our army is attacking slowly now is precisely because the transportation of military rations and cargo is holding back, so it should be more"

"Our fleet must go to Sardinia first!" a younger elder suddenly stood up and interrupted him loudly.

Pretakuba took a closer look, but it was El Accra, a freshman of the neutral faction. His heart suddenly tightened, and he suddenly felt a little uneasy.

"Lord Pretakuba, you have been emphasizing the importance of Sicily just now, requesting that the new fleet be put into Sicily, but do you know how this fleet came from?!" El Accra waved his hand excitedly, Said: "A large amount of wood was cut from the Iberian peninsula and shipped to Carthage and other Phoenician city-state ports by ship, and then all the shipyards were started and construction was accelerated, so many can be built in just a few months. of warships, do you know what the most important reason is?!

It's money! At the beginning, it was you who said at the meeting of the Senate, 'Although your Margonides control the southern part of Iberia, we have to make some concessions to get the local natives to agree with us to safely cut down a large number of trees', In the end, you persuaded the Senate to let the resolution pass, and Carthage would allocate a portion of the treasury revenue to finance Iberia every month to obtain timber for ships!

Although our Carthage prestige is very high, and the various Phoenician allies are also very cooperative, but those shipyard owners and those craftsmen stop other businesses and build war ships for us every day, is it free? of course not! Even if they wanted to, we Carthaginians would not discredit ourselves! We paid a lot of gold and silver to ensure the quality of the build, but also to ensure that they will continue to build warships for us.

After the fleet is established? It takes money to hire sailors! It takes money to provide rations! The ration and baggage provided to the entire Carthaginian army required money! Lord Pretakuba, please tell me where the money comes from? ! "

After listening to Pretakuba, he remained silent for a while. As the elder of the Senate and the newly re-elected Sophie, of course he couldn't open his eyes to talk nonsense and make others laugh.