Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 355: The Battle of Carthage (1)

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After giving the order, Morbal led the other ships towards the Dionia fleet.

"General, the Carthage fleet has rushed towards us, and the number is equal to ours!" The lookoutman on the main mast of the flagship reported to Midolades the semaphore from the front.

Midolades realized that the plan had been successful, the Carthage fleet had been lured out of the port, and the decisive battle was in sight, so he shouted: "Blow the bugle! Raise the sky with stars and the red flag!" /

Midolades’ words were introduced into the flagship bottom warehouse. These third fleet sailors have been awarded several times by King Daves and the Ministry of Military Affairs for their repeated military exploits during this period. The morale is very high. I heard that the fleet With the orders given by the chief, all of them were refreshed, geared up, and ready to do their best.

At this time, the captain's voice came from the deck again: "The warship moves forward! Increase the speed of the paddle!"

"Attention! Speed ​​up the paddle speed!" The captain immediately repeated the command aloud to remind all the crew.

The piper played the high-pitched double-pipe flute, and the sound of the flute gradually accelerated. The oarsmen on the first floor listened to the rhythm, pushing the oars backwards and forwards, and the sailors on the second two floors followed suit. Followed the first layer of action...The flagship that was basically at a standstill began to move forward, as did other warships.

The warships of the 1st Squadron immediately stopped playing with the few remaining Iberian cargo ships and adjusted their bows after hearing the bugles from the rear and seeing the semaphores. , Heading towards the Carthage fleet leaving the port to the east.

The captains of the 10 or more Carthage warships that rushed in front heard the frequent trumpets from the rear, and then saw that they were spreading out in front of the array and quickly pressing on the overly protruding self. The Dionia Fleet couldn't help being frightened, and subconsciously ordered the sailors to slow down and wait for the warships from the rear to come, so as to integrate into the formation and attack together.

Although the formations are also being deployed in advance, due to the existence of these more than 10 Carthage warships, the two sides are already only one mile apart, and Dionia's starry star formation is almost complete, and The double-column fleet of the Carthage fleet is still in its rudimentary form.

The situation is a bit urgent, but Morbal didn’t panic, because he heard Barrickos’s presumptuous laugh: “Old man, let’s go up first! The people in the port are watching us, you have to let your Work harder, otherwise you will behave badly in this battle. After returning to the port, I am afraid you will be scolded to death by the people! Hahaha..." A small Jiatai Chi merchant ship is from the side of the flagship. As he drove past, Baricos, who was manipulating the sails, was laughing out loud.

Morbal did not express dissatisfaction with Baricos' arrogance, on the contrary, he faced Baricos and solemnly saluted him.

When almost all the Carthage merchant ships passed by the Carthage warship, the owner was speaking loudly to inspire the sailors, and the warship captains were also going to the Carthage merchant ships that passed them. Military salute, watched these small merchant ships less than one-fifth of the length of the warships, and their petite masses rushing to meet the Dionia fleet. While being encouraged to fight, they were also worried about them.

But there was no fear on Barricks’s face. He maneuvered the sails flexibly, and with the weak southwest wind, the entire merchant ship hurried forward like an arrow. He shouted Writing: "Dionians, your Grandpa Carthage is here again!"

Faced with the approaching and taller Dionia warship, his spirit became more and more excited, because he could once again humiliate the Delonia.

When Midolades learned from the watchman that the Carthage fleet had let some merchant ships rush to the forefront of the fleet, he was surprised: Although he knew that the Sicilian fleet had suffered a failure before, it was because Some Carthage merchant ships with superb ship handling skills played an important role in it, but what he didn't expect was that the Carthage fleet would also involve these non-combat ships in the official battle. This was really unheard of!

"Tell the warships to ignore these merchant ships, maintain the fleet formation, speed up, and face the Carthage fleet!" Midolades said in a deep voice.

The captain of the flagship reminded with some embarrassment: "General, these orders of yours...it's not easy to convey!"

Midolades immediately understood that over the years, the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Navy have gradually explored and improved the fleet flag language system under the instructions of King Daves, but they never thought that civilian ships would participate in the battle. , Of course, there is no semaphore in this regard.

Midolades thought for a while and said: "Blow the bugle, raise the green flag, and urge the fleet to speed up!"

Midolades hoped that the ships under his command would ignore the provocations of the Carthage Merchant Marine, but he obviously overestimated the ability of the captain and crew to strictly enforce the orders. Although the Third Fleet was established for many years, Most of the crew members had no combat experience before this war, and their successive victories raised their hearts high. Now this is the first time facing Carthage, who boldly shuttles between warships. The provocation of the merchant ships, peeing, spitting, and ridiculing loudly at them...All kinds of humiliating methods were unbearable even for Sicilian Fleet Captain Sekelian, let alone these **** The captain and crew members.

In the beginning, some Dionia warship captains saw these weak merchant ships approaching their warships. Although they were still worried about the command issued by the flagship, they couldn't help but let the warship deflect a little. The enemy ship pressed over. They thought that the waves generated by the warships alone were enough to cause huge turbulence or even overturning of these boats. If the hull of the ship was touched lightly, it would be broken into pieces.

But when most of the Carthage merchant ships lightly avoided the collision of the Dionian warships and made greater ridicules, some Dionian captains and crew members were ridiculed. When they got up, they didn't let the warship make more moves, but continued to squeeze the merchant ships, but in this way, the space between ships was shortened.

The shrinking space has indeed brought a lot of trouble to the Carthage merchant ships. The waves caused by the rapid approach between the two warships caused some merchant ships to bump up and down violently, even if they escaped. In addition to the squeeze, because he lost his flexible control of the ship for a while, he couldn't avoid the collision of the warship coming up behind him.

However, the sacrifice of the Carthage merchant ship caused a lot of chaos in the entire fleet of Dionia's Third Fleet. The ships blocked each other and the speed had to be slowed down..... .

Midolades learned of this situation in the rear, and was anxious and angry, but there was no immediate effect. He could only order the captain to raise the three green flags at the same time and let the bugler sound for a long time. The bugle is used to warn all warships that they must strictly enforce their orders.

Just as the Dionian fleet was trying to regain the ship formation, the Carthage fleet had lined up their most familiar double-column formation. The morale of the crew was struggling to slide the oars, and the ships moved quickly. The Dionian fleet rushed forward.

At noon, the 130 warships of the Carthage Fleet and the 143 warships of the Dionian Third Fleet officially kicked off the battle on the sea near the port of Carthage.

The people of Carthage are already crowded along the coast not far from the naval battle. Utica and other Phoenician allies are also coming after hearing this. The entire beach has three floors and three outer floors. It has completely become a sea of ​​people.

Everyone hoped that the Carthage Fleet could beat the Dionian Fleet, which threatened the safety of their homes. The people of the Port of Carthage even shouted the name of Baricos in unison, even though this arrogant man used to behave. The ship owner told them to stay away from him, but his bold and adventurous actions last time and this time won the respect of the people and were even regarded as heroes by young people.

Compared with the hustle and bustle of people on the coast, the Tai Chi elders standing on the breakwater watching the battle are much quieter and the atmosphere is more solemn.

"Annobus, do you think this naval battle...can we win it?" Tepanlaco asked the former navy commander in a low voice under the motion of Hanno's eyes.

If Hanno and Morbal hadn’t tried to protect him, Annobas would probably not be able to escape the severe punishment of the Senate. Now, although he managed to escape, he has been left idle, even as a veteran. Deprived, this time if it wasn't because the veterans were too close to the victory or defeat of the naval battle, a naval expert who could accurately judge the battlefield situation was needed to provide advice, and he would not be called from home.

But at this time, there was no depression on Annobas’s face, but excitement: "The tactics arranged by Lord Morbal are very effective. Our merchant ships have disrupted the formation of Dionia, our fleet. I’m seizing this great opportunity to launch an offensive, and I must have an advantage right from the beginning..."

After listening to this, Tepan Lako let out a sigh of relief, and said hopefully: "I hope this advantage can be maintained until the end, and finally we can win this naval battle!"

I have returned to Okriton in Carthage to listen and exclaimed: "If this naval battle is won, our negotiations with Dionia will become much easier!"

After he returned to Carthage, when the Senate stated Dionia’s harsh negotiation conditions, the senators were in an uproar. Almost everyone expressed resentment towards Dionia’s demanding requirements, but expressed After the conclusion, everyone showed different attitudes on whether to continue the negotiation.

The Hannoists believe that: This is the first time Dionia has proposed the terms of the peace talks, and Carthage can fully fight for reasons in the subsequent peace talks, and finally the two sides reached an agreement. However, judging from the current battlefield situation, Dionian’s army has a clear advantage. If the situation does not change and a peace agreement is finally reached, Dionian will definitely gain a little more benefit. This is helpless. The Senate must recognize the fact and accept it.