The Devers had no doubt about Cypross's ability, so he only gave him a brief reminder before he shifted his gaze to the front and said in a heavy tone, "Everyone, before we march towards Carthage's army, we and all the soldiers who are about to fight against the enemy have an important thing to do. Go to Paragonia and pay our respects to all the soldiers of the First Brigade of the Seventh Legion and the two reserve brigades of Katanai who defended the city tenaciously and finally died heroically in battle!"
… …
After the military conference, the Devers stayed behind to express their sincere gratitude to Cypross and Leotychides, thanking them for shouldering the heavy responsibility of defense alone when the main forces of Diónia were unable to reinforce Sicily. Not only did they successfully resist the invasion of Carthage's army, they ensured the integrity of the territory of Sicily, but they also dealt a heavy blow to Carthage's army, which greatly exceeded the Devers' expectations.
In the face of the Devers' generous praise, Cypross was very humble. "Lord Prosous contributed the most to Sicily being able to hold on until Your Majesty arrived. If not for his decisive attack, defeating Carthage's army in Minoa, capturing Salinus, and disrupting the entire western region …"
Leotychides interrupted, "If not for Lord Cypross's full support and guarantee, I would not have dared to lead the army to attack, especially when Carthage's army invaded the Katanai Plains. It was all because of Lord Cypross's understanding and reassurance of the people in the city that I was able to defend Katanai until today …"
The Devers looked at the two of them with a smile and said, "Everyone says that Prosous is difficult to approach and not easy to deal with, but I see that both of you are working very well together!"
Cypross looked at Leotychides and defended him. "Your Majesty, everyone may have misunderstood. Lord Prosous is not sociable because he devotes all his energy to military research."
"Of course I know that." Devers smiled, then took the opportunity to change the topic to the upcoming battle. "What do you guys think about attacking Syracuse?"
After staying in Katanai for so many years, Leotychides had, of course, pondered over how to attack this neighbor that had many disputes with Katanai in his spare time. He even disguised himself and went south several times to secretly investigate the city defense of Syracuse. After receiving the appointment from the Devers, he had a preliminary plan of attack in his mind. Therefore, he immediately said, "Your Majesty, according to previous intelligence, Syracuse can organize at least 20,000 soldiers. If it is to defend the city, the number of soldiers will only be more. However, the citizens of Syracuse lack sufficient military training. Moreover, they have not experienced any major battles in the past ten years, so they lack sufficient combat experience. They definitely do not dare to leave the city to fight us. They only know how to defend the city. Although the walls of Syracuse are tall and sturdy, I am confident that I can take them down. "
At this point, Leotychides turned around and yelled at Tagrou who was waiting outside the door, "Bring me the defensive map of Syracuse from my room!"
Leotychides suddenly yelled in front of the Devers. This behavior was extremely rude, but the Devers did not mind. He even stopped Heniboris from reprimanding him and listened attentively to the young commander who was already immersed in his thoughts.
"As Your Majesty will lead the army to the west to fight against the Carthage, the east is temporarily free from the threat of the Carthage. Moreover, it is currently the slack season. We can gather more people from Naxos, Siculi, Katanai, Leontini, Taunis, Sikere, and even Agrigento and Jella who have fled to join in the siege of Syracuse …"
While Leotychides was talking incessantly about his ideas, Tagrou had already brought over the wooden map. He immediately placed it on the table and pointed at it, saying, "Your Majesty, please take a look! Syracuse is a large city with a large area. Its walls are not short either, but more than half of them are built on the coast and hills. There are two main sections that are suitable for an army to attack the city. The first section is the eastern wall, mainly the section near Herksa Gate near Taunis. This section is about a mile long. The other section is the western wall, from Pusksa Gate south to the main port of Syracuse. This section is about four miles long …
My plan to attack the city is … the main force formed by the 7th and 8th Corps will set up camp here. "Leotychides pointed at the flat area between the west of Syracuse and the Arapus River on the map.
"But there is the Luximei Swamp nearby! It is very easy for the soldiers to be infected with the plague! " Cypross, who was also looking at the map, had a change in expression. He loudly reminded, "You must know that Carthage's army had attacked Syracuse twice in the past, but they were all tormented by the plague and eventually suffered a crushing defeat."
"Of course I know the dangers of the Luximei Swamp." Leotychides explained confidently, "It is almost November now. The weather is starting to turn cold, and the number of mosquitoes has decreased. Moreover, the citizens of Syracuse have been constantly developing the swamp, and its area is much smaller than it was ten years ago. Moreover, our soldiers have been specially trained to deal with such harsh terrain in their daily military training. I think it will not cause any problems for the army to set up camp! … "
Upon hearing this, Devers recalled the battle report he had received from Samonese when he was in Rome. Alexis led the army into the mountains and also set up camp near the swamp. There were no major problems.
So, he agreed and said, "As long as you are fully prepared, I think it should not be a problem for the army to set up camp here. Continue."
"Another army made up of some of the reserve soldiers from our Sicilian territory, the soldiers from our allies and allies will be stationed near Taunis. According to the treaty, the commander of such a mixed army must be a general of Diónia, and the high-ranking generals have basically all been appointed. In order to ensure that the attack on the east of Syracuse can be carried out smoothly, I think …" Leotychides hesitated for a moment, which was rare for him, "Can Breru temporarily take up this position?"
Both Devers and Cypross were shocked when they heard this.
Devers looked at him with interest. They all say that Prosos is cold, but I didn't expect him to be so compassionate. He wants to use this opportunity to let Breru perform a meritorious deed and reduce the public's criticism of him, so that he can reduce his punishment after the war ends.
Being stared at by Dyvers, Leotizides felt slightly unnatural. The reason why he made this suggestion was partly because of the upcoming battle, but more importantly, it was to make up for the guilt in his heart. Because in this military conference, he suddenly realized that under the pressure of the Carthaginian army, no matter who was in Brereu's position, they would face the same predicament. Brereu led the 7th Legion to help, and it just so happened that he took the brunt of the problem for him.
Devers coughed dryly. "I can understand your feelings of wanting to help Breru. But if we let him lead the army, it will confuse everyone, and the previous punishment will be meaningless. So, I cannot agree to it. The commander of the army on the east can be Zantiparis. He led a mixed army to conquer the towns of Samonese in Campania, and should have some experience in this. During the attack on Syracuse, you will temporarily take his place as the commander of the Seventh Legion. "
"Yes, Your Majesty." Leotychides's expression did not change. "I heard that when Your Majesty led the army to Katanai, there was a team of a few hundred engineers and skilled craftsmen. I hope that Your Majesty can let this team assist us in building various siege weapons to reduce the difficulty of the siege, and thus put more pressure on Syracuse."
"Of course, that's not a problem." Devers nodded in agreement, and then asked, "Your attack will be focused on these two sections of the wall, but I'm afraid you won't neglect the other sections of Syracuse's walls, right?"
As expected of a general who had won every battle, his senses were sharp! Leotychides thought for a moment and said, "Apart from the wall on the coast, the other sections of the wall are built on high ground, making it more difficult to attack. However, I'll also send soldiers to attack, distract Syracuse's forces, and confuse them …"
On the map, the east and west sections of Syracuse's walls were along the edge of Eppole Highlands, extending diagonally to the north and finally converging, looking like a pointed hat. Leotychides pointed at the point where the walls converged, and said in a deep voice, "It's said that when Athens besieged Syracuse, the people of Syracuse realized that they must not let the enemy occupy the highest point of the city, Eppole Highlands. Therefore, after Dionysius became the overlord, he mobilized the people of Syracuse to surround the entire Eppole Highlands with walls, making it a part of the city. The highest point of the city is the west side of the Euryalus Peak.
Dionysius called this place the 'key' to Eppole and Syracuse, which was why he built a fortress here. However, Eppole was sparsely populated, and this place was even more uninhabited because it was five to six miles away from the main city of Syracuse, making transportation inconvenient. Although Dionysius believed that its location was important, no enemy had attacked this place all these years, and the people of Syracuse didn't seem to care about it.
I've investigated this place a few times, and the walls on the west side of the Euryalus Peak have been in disrepair for many years. The number of sentries on the walls never exceeded ten, and most of them stayed in the fortress, rarely patrolling the entire section of the wall. It seems like they're very confident in the defense of this area. However, the west side of the Euryalus Peak isn't more than 200 meters high, and it's not difficult to climb. "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
