After listening, Pretacuba remained silent for the time being. As an elder of the Senate and a newly re-elected Sufet, he certainly could not lie with his eyes open and let others laugh at him.
Before he could think of what to say, El Akra continued to speak loudly, "As Lord Esaruba said, nearly one-third of our treasury revenue comes from Sardinia and Corsica. Now that we are at war, money is urgently needed everywhere. As the Sufet of Carthage, Lord Pretacuba, you should consider the huge war that our Carthage is involved in more comprehensively. First of all, you should consider how to protect the source of our treasury revenue to ensure that we can build more warships and buy more food in order to continue the war, instead of just satisfying Lord Margo's requirements!"
El Akra's words were straightforward enough that Pretacuba's expression changed.
At this time, another newly promoted elder of the Magonid faction, Sefakba, said angrily, "Don't you understand? The key to this war is in Sicily! It is in the east where Lord Margo is leading the army to fight fiercely with the people of Diónia! The consumption of this war is indeed huge, so we have to concentrate all our strength and fully support the army in Sicily. Let Lord Margo completely defeat the people of Diónia in Sicily as soon as possible so that he can free up his hands to support other battlefields.
Otherwise, even if we keep Sardinia, the army of Sicily will be defeated because the food transportation line is not guaranteed. This will change the originally advantageous situation of the war, causing the war in Sicily to be unable to end as soon as possible. That will not be worth the loss! "
Compared to El Akra, Sefakba's words were even more extreme. It immediately aroused the disgust of some of the elders in the hall. One of the neutral elders even said in a strange tone, "Lord Margo led 100,000 troops for half a month, but still couldn't take down a small town in Diónia. Wouldn't it take a few months or even more than half a year to attack Katanai and Naxos, which are more populous and have stronger defenses? With such offensive ability, how could he possibly end the war in Sicily as soon as possible?!"
"Yes, yes. The reason why we have to protect Sardinia first is because we have to consider that the war in Sicily will continue to drag on. We have to provide gold and silver for the army in Sicily first!" Another elder said half-seriously and half-jokingly.
"Is it because Lord Margo is worried that he can't drive the people of Diónia out of Sicily within a year? I'm afraid you want to help Lord Margo fulfill the promise he made in the Senate as soon as possible. That's why you don't care about the big picture and want to help him. "Another elder said with dissatisfaction.
Seifakba was so angry that he argued with them loudly, but Pretacuba found that more and more elders were expressing their dissatisfaction. Not only were there Hanoverians, but there were also many neutral elders. The whole hall became noisy.
Only then did Pretacuba realize that he had made a mistake. Sardinia and Corsica had been the territories of Carthage for a hundred years. All the nobles of Carthage had a close relationship with Sardinia. For example, El Akra, who had just fully supported the reinforcement of Sardinia, owned a silver mine in the mountains outside Sarros City in Sardinia. Three days ago, his family's cargo ship transporting silver from Sardinia back to Carthage was captured by Diónia's warship.
He had been emphasizing the priority of the war in Sicily, but he had inadvertently pushed the Magonid faction to the opposite side of the other elders. This caused the neutral faction, which had been supporting them since the beginning of the war, to sing a different tune. Even their own camp seemed to have some differences. For example, Santipoul and a few other Magonid elders had been silent since the beginning of the debate.
Pretacuba suddenly realized that Okridon's proposal at the beginning of today's meeting was probably premeditated! During this time, the Magonid faction not only gained a lot of prestige among the people of Carthage, but also had a lot of support in the Senate. Many proposals had been passed. With everything going smoothly, even Pretacuba himself was a little complacent and had completely forgotten how terrifying that person was.
Just as Pretacuba came to his senses and was anxiously trying to find a solution to the predicament, Hanover, who was sitting in front of the hall and had been quiet all this time, stood up.
The whole hall quickly quieted down.
"Should the new fleet go to support Sardinia or Sicily first?" Hanover looked around the hall and said slowly, "Whether it is the short-term effect or the long-term benefits for Carthage, reinforcing Sardinia should be the first choice. The difficulties that Sardinia has encountered are because the entire sea is controlled by the Diónia, so their defense is so passive. As long as we send our navy to repel the Diónia warships, Sardinia will restore order, and the trade route between Carthage and Sardinia will also be restored.
However, the main problem of the war in Sicily is not just the problem of losing the advantage of the sea. The important thing is that our army has been blocked on land for a long time. Even if we send a fleet, they can't fight on land. The problem can't be solved immediately, right? "
"That's right, Lord Hanover is right!"
"Lord Hanover is still the one who sees things clearly!"
"There's no need to argue anymore. We choose to support the new fleet to go to Sardinia!"
…
The hall suddenly became noisy.
Pretacuba anxiously said loudly, "Lord Hanover, you're wrong to say that! The key to our war with Diónia is still in Sicily. As long as Sicily wins, the other problems will be solved, so supporting Sicily — "
"Pretacuba!" Hanover shouted. Like a sleeping lion on the grassland suddenly showing its might, the whole hall became quiet. He looked straight at the head of the Magonid Family in the Senate and said with a straight face, "In order to let Carthage win this war, I have tried my best to cooperate with you, but your performance has disappointed me. For the sake of the interests of the Magonid Family, you did not even hesitate to ignore the interests of the entire Carthage. This is clearly reflected in the issue of 'sending the new fleet to support Sicily'.
And the so-called reorganization of our Carthage army by Margo last time also reflects this. Why can such a large army not take down a village in Diónia for a long time? Isn't it because Margo replaced all the Carthaginian generals in the army and replaced them with Numibian generals who followed him in Iberia? That's why this happened! Can these Numibians be loyal to Carthage? Can they order their compatriots to fight to the death with Diónia at the risk of their lives?
Margo led the army from the beginning to the current stalemate. Isn't the removal of the generals of the Carthage army without authorization the main reason for this situation?! Then what makes me very puzzled is that the war has just begun. Why is Lord Margo so anxious to replace the generals of Carthage who are loyal to Carthage and insist on replacing them with Numibian generals who have been following him but have no feelings for Carthage?! "
Under Hanno's repeated questioning, Pretacuba was speechless for a while, but he broke out in a cold sweat.
Seymour hurriedly retorted, "That's because the generals of Carthage are incompetent in battle. Only by replacing them can the combat effectiveness of the army be improved! That's why our army was able to successfully conquer the Greek city-states on the south coast. "
As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the hall.
The elders stood up and retorted, "After replacing the Carthage general, why can't the 100,000 troops take down a small village in Diónia?! This is called improving the combat effectiveness! "
"I propose that the Carthage army, which has spent a lot of revenue from the treasury, must be made up of Carthage citizens as generals. Otherwise, how can the safety of the city-state be guaranteed!"
"Now Lord Margo is leading an army composed of aliens, most of whom are officers. Is this still Carthage's army?! We must reinstate the previously replaced Carthage general, otherwise we will no longer provide any support to this army! "
…
Faced with the surging emotions of the elders, Pretacuba's face completely changed.
Also watching the scene, and deliberately looking at the solemn leader of the neutral faction, Acyaruba, Hanno sneered in his heart. He had been quiet for so long, just for this day. Margo had made a big mistake when he replaced the generals of Carthage, because most of the generals were Carthage nobles. But at that time, he did not let the elders close to him impeach him. As a result, today, the rampant Margo faction had indeed made a mistake in the use of the new fleet. Only then did he act decisively, forcing the neutral elders to see the true face of the Margo faction. As their support for him weakened, the leadership of the Senate would return to his hands.
Thinking of this, Hanno said loudly again, "My lords, please listen to me."
The noisy hall quickly regained its silence, but Pretacuba was alarmed.
"At this point in the meeting, the result is relatively clear. The new fleet will first reinforce Sardinia, and then look for opportunities to recapture Alenia. This is not only to ensure the income of the treasury, but also to enable us to continue fighting with Diónia. At the same time, we are fulfilling our obligation as the leader of all the Phoenician city-states in the western Mediterranean. Now, not only are all the Phoenicians paying attention to this war, don't forget that there are also people from the mother country in Hadrumentum who are listening to the news (referring to the remnants of the fleet sent by the Eastern Phoenicians). If we don't do this, we will inevitably lose our prestige. Will we still be able to command the other Phoenician allies in the future?! "
Hanno's careful political considerations made many elders involuntarily nod their heads.
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