Crotocatax scratched his head with his hand, a rare childish expression appeared: "said I was doing well, but pay attention to safety ... because my father wrote me back."
Asistus smiled heartily and said, "You just hurried to find out just now, I haven't even had time to eat dinner, and today is the first day of the new year. You can accompany me for dinner. Then, while we are eating, we are discussing how to hold a fishing match tomorrow, and I decided that it will be up to you to organize it. "
"Me?" Klotoka Catax was surprised.
"No confidence?" Asistus looked at him with a smile.
"No problem!" Klotoka Catax responded immediately.
……………………………………
Dionysian shocked Okliton by adding two new negotiation conditions. Where did he dare to continue the negotiations? He shimmed that the matter required a decision by the Senate, and returned to Carthage by boat without stopping for a while. The matter was not immediately reported to the Senate, but was first reported to Hanno.
That night, several important Hannover veterans, such as Taipanlaco, rushed to the Hannover residence.
When Okliton repeated his negotiations with the Dionysians in Sicily, the look on everyone's face became dignified.
"Master Hano, the Dionysians have proposed such harsh negotiation conditions, this is a provocation to us, and we must not agree! If the Dionysians are forced to persecute us, we will stop the negotiation!" Delai said first Vika, who is the most active supporter of Hanno's "Inland Expansion Policy," and of course received a friendly rebate from Hanno, bringing his family to theveste, a town in East Numbia , Inland south of Carthage) occupies a large area of land.
"If we do n’t negotiate, the Dionysians can continue to wipe out our remnants of Sicily, take the whole of Sicily as their own, and then regroup the army, land in Africa, and attack our Carthage ... not We want to negotiate, but the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the situation is so severe that we have to negotiate! "Said Samos, with a sigh of dim sigh, who is the most military-savvy Hanoi since Monte Adler. Today Led by thousands of Carthage militias, he is stationed in East Numbia, suppressing the rebellion and stabilizing order. This time he was called back specifically, which shows that Hanno attaches great importance to it.
"Dionians want Corsica, Sardinia, western Sicily! Now they want southern Iberia, and they want us to return the land in Numbia! ... if we all agreed, let us Can you meet the Dionysians? No, our weakness will only fuel their greed. Not only will they increase new negotiation conditions, they will even send troops to land in Africa to threaten us Carthage! Since the situation has already So bad, why don't we become more rigid, but make the Dionysians a little bit sceptic! "Drevika countered.
Hanno listened to the debate between the two, and did not make a stand. He turned his head and asked, "Tepranak, what is your opinion?"
"The key question now is, first of all, if we really need to determine if the Dionysians really want to negotiate with us? If so, then we will go to great lengths to negotiate with them, with a view to In the end, we have a truce that is not bad for us; if not, then we must prepare for the war and prepare to defend against the invasion of Africa by the Dionian army! "
After hearing that, Hanok looked at Okliton again: "You and the Dionysians have been negotiating for some time. In your judgment, do the Dionysians want peace talks or not?"
The question was very heavy. Okridon did not answer immediately. He pondered for a while before he said, "I have only seen this in the beginning when I negotiated with the Dions. On their King's side, he behaved kindly towards me, but after several times I asked to see him again, they were rejected. I don't think it was because his anger against us was increasing. It was because He wanted to negotiate with Carthage, fearing that, under my begging, he would make a decision that would interfere with the plans of the Dionysian negotiator.
Secondly, I deliberately provoked Dionysian's negotiating ambassador several times and threatened to ‘stop negotiations and let the Carthaginians prepare for the battle and fight Dionia to the end! ’But when I appeared in the negotiating room on the second day, Dionysian ’s negotiating officials were still waiting there, although they said sarcasm, but let the negotiations continue. According to my observations, the official was a proud man, but being able to be so patient just shows that they are looking forward to the negotiations.
However, it is understandable that Dionysians want more in the negotiations, just as we want to pay less in the negotiations. So in the negotiations, we are all watching the development of the war situation, but unfortunately Marco failed, the Dionysians have a greater advantage, and they certainly want more.
Moreover, in my conversation with the Dionysian negotiating officer, I discovered that the Dionysians defeated the army of Margo's commander this time without paying a great price ... I have carefully observed the Dionysian soldiers I have seen , All of them are arrogant and can't see the slightest expression of warfare ... "
A few people in the room were all changed.
After a while, Taipanlaco reluctantly reassured: "... Maybe they pretended to act out and show you, and then put pressure on you."
"Stupid Brother! He is a sinner of Carthage!" Drevika yelled angrily.
Hanno, who was inextricably in conflict with the Magonades in the Senate, didn't blame Mago at this time, but sighed anxiously: "Drevika, you said well before, the Dionysian Greed can be changed. Perhaps the Dionysian King did have a willingness to negotiate before, but as the strength gap between the two sides widens, it is inevitable that they will not have other ideas! From the current situation, we must Acknowledging that Dionysians have absolute advantages in both the navy and the army, we must first do everything we can to strengthen the armed forces of Carthage and dispel the Dionysians' desire to destroy us! What's your suggestion, Charles? "
Samos hesitated and didn't answer for a while.
"What time is it now, just say anything!" Hanno was a little impatient.
"Master Hanno, then I'll say it." Samos simply went out and said straightforwardly: "The Sicilian army suffered a fiasco defeat, and the entire sea was completely blocked by the Dionysian navy. The remaining army on the island is no longer There may be any hope of escape, and eventually it will inevitably surrender to the Dionias. Now the Dionias have proposed such harsh negotiation conditions, and it is impossible for them to release the captives until an agreement is reached. After the Oniyaans solved the Sicilian problem, they really landed in Africa and launched an attack on Carthage. How many soldiers can we organize to defend Carthage? How much food do we have to protect Carthage in Dai? How much longer will the Onyar siege be supported? How much foreign aid can we provide to help us when Carthage is in danger? ... "
Some interlocutors in Samos's face turned abrupt.
As a Sofitel this year, Okridon coughed a few times and reluctantly said: "After the first time Carthage's young citizens landed in Sicily following Monte Ardino, they suffered considerable injuries. Since then, my brother forced us to recruit more than 10,000 civic soldiers, who are now trapped in Sicily. At the same time, there are nearly 8,000 citizens stationed in Numibia under your command.
If the city wants to forcibly recruit again, I am afraid that it can organize up to more than 4,000 people, including the elderly and young people. There are not many citizens, more slaves, especially the Numibians. The Phoenicians are only a small race throughout the Mediterranean, so for centuries they have better civilization and technological capabilities than the Greeks. , But it has basically been in the doldrums during the conflict of immigrants in the Western Mediterranean, and this is the main reason.).
However, I can guarantee that the food is adequate. Due to the blockade of the Dionysian fleet, most of the rations we collected from Numbia and our allies to supply the Sicilian army could not be delivered, enough for our citizens in the city for three months. The above food, and do not forget that there are food in the people's homes. Persistence for six months under the siege of Dionysians is absolutely no problem!
As for the foreign aid you mentioned ... The entire Phoenician city-state in Africa is our carthage's help ~ www.novelhall.com ~ The Dionysian army will not be able to move on this land. "
Oklaton ’s relief was obviously not effective, Samos still looked dignified, and said in a deep voice: "Although the city of Carthage has lagoons and hills as a barrier, 4,000 people are not enough to withstand the attacks of Dionysians. The 8,000 soldiers stationed in Numibia should be transferred back to strengthen the city's defence.
In addition, what the Phoenician Confederate that Lord Crichton just said is our help, I do not agree with it. I just think that the Phoenician Confederation of Africa will be our burden. Most of their young citizens are drawn by us. In Sicily, once the Dionysian army actually landed in Africa, the Phoenician allies without the strength to protect themselves may ask us for help. Should we send reinforcements?
If sent, it will not only weaken our defensive forces, but also put the reinforcements in danger of being attacked by Dionysian forces at any time; if not, will the Phoenician allies trust us? Maybe they will fall directly to the Dionysians! and also--"
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