Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 914: Mago Threatens Syracuse

Only Secilian was still complaining. "Just take precautions?! Easy for you to say! From now on, our fleet will frequently use the route from Catana to the western part of the Island of Sicily. Whether our warships are patrolling the western waters or transporting supplies and troops to Selinus, they all have to pass Syracuse. Their fleet is like a lurking viper, ready to strike us at any moment. How exactly is our fleet supposed to take precautions against that?!"

Cyprolus's expression turned serious. "Your Sicilian Fleet needs material and personnel support, and I will do everything in my power to provide it!" he said, his voice dropping. "However, controlling the waters around the Island of Sicily and ensuring the coastal security of the territory is your fleet's responsibility. His Majesty even praised you as the 'great naval hero of the Kingdom of Daionia.' That is something you should be figuring out, yet you come asking a layman like me!"

Secilian was left speechless.

Cyprolus then looked toward Brelius, his expression softening. "Lord Brelius, on behalf of the people of the Sicily Territory, I thank you immensely for leading the Seventh Legion to our aid. I am confident you will work closely with Lord Prosous to successfully complete the mission assigned by His Majesty and achieve glorious deeds!"

Cyprolus phrased this tactfully. Considering Brelius's age, seniority, and status within the kingdom—Brelius was a Senator and a representative of the Bruttians, far outstripping the unbacked Leotychides in influence—Cyprolus deliberately avoided mentioning that Brelius should obey Leotychides, the commander in Sicily. Cyprolus was confident that Brelius, having served in the legions for over a decade, would act according to Military Law no matter how reluctant he might be. Since the founding of Daionia, no high-ranking general had ever disobeyed orders.

"Rest assured. Our Seventh Legion came to Catana to fight, and I will strictly follow Military Law!" Brelius replied straightforwardly.

Hearing this, Leotychides nodded.

...

After capturing Gela, Hasdrubal did not continue leading his forces east, as pressing further risked encountering the Syracusans. He vaguely remembered the Carthaginian Senate sending envoys for secret talks with Syracuse a few times. Unaware of the details, he did not know how to handle relations with them. Therefore, he simply stayed in Gela to wait for Mago to arrive with the main army, while dispatching a portion of his troops north to join the siege of Henna.

Mago was overjoyed upon consecutively receiving the news that "troops under his command have captured Minoa, Agrigento, and Gela" and "Syracuse has reclaimed Camarina and Pachynus." This meant the Carthaginian army could smoothly advance along the Southern Coast to directly attack Daionia's Sicily Territory.

However, he was equally frustrated, for Selinus had still not fallen. Its defenders fought tenaciously and responded with sound tactics, repelling the Carthaginian army's fierce assaults several times. This forced Mago to rest his army to restore their plummeting morale.

Judging by the current situation, it was highly unlikely Mago could capture Selinus in a short time with his present mixed force of forty thousand soldiers. From a cautious standpoint, he should conquer Selinus first before marching east. Doing so, however, would delay them significantly. Not only would it give the repeatedly defeated Daionian Army precious time to recover, but a prolonged delay could also invite unexpected variables. More importantly, he had promised the Senate that he would "conquer the entire Island of Sicily within a year." He had to hurry!

After turning the matter over in his mind, Mago finally made a decision. He would leave behind 5,000 Phoeno-Numidian Infantry and 1,000 Numidian Cavalry. He also ordered Imisere, the City Lord of Lilybaeum, to organize 5,000 allied soldiers of Sicily. All of them would station at the camp to continue the siege of Selinus, while he personally led a force of nearly forty thousand eastward along the Southern Coast.

Accompanying the march were not only slaves and registered freemen, but also a massive crowd of people from city-states like Mazara, Eryx, and Segesta. They were there not just to transport food and supplies for the entire Carthaginian army, but also for their own survival. During their time in Selinus, the Daionian Army had conducted large-scale harvesting and destruction of these city-states' farmlands—except for Palermos and Solus on the northern coast—putting them in danger of famine.

Mago had announced to them that as long as they transported supplies for the Carthaginian army, they would be allowed—depending on their performance—to harvest the farmlands of Greek city-states and villages along the way, such as Minoa, Agrigento, and Gela, to build up their household food reserves for the coming year. Because of this promise, they had eagerly joined.

While Mago had solved the army's supply transportation problem, it made the entire marching column overly bloated and slow. It took them two days just to reach Minoa.

After joining up with Bomilcar's army, they continued their advance.

Upon arriving at Agrigento, they received a piece of good news: Hasdrubal had captured Henna, and most of the Sicel Tribes there had chosen to submit.

Mago's joy did not last long before he received bad news: the Theonians had attacked his supply convoy.

The Carthaginian army was so massive, and Mago so eager to press forward, that the entire column wound along the Southern Coast for over twenty li, leaving the supply convoy trailing at the rear. Consequently, the Daonian Sicilian Fleet landed on the beaches between Minoa and Agrigento. Disembarking naval infantry attacked the column, killing and wounding many laborers and Phoenician citizens while burning a substantial amount of food and supplies. If not for the timely arrival of the Numidian Cavalry, the Carthaginian army's losses would have been even greater.

This forced Mago to slow down the march and assign troops to properly guard the supplies.

Ten days later, the Carthaginian army finally arrived in Gela.

After resting for a day, Mago led the massive army of nearly 100,000 men further east, eventually besieging Camarina.

Hearing this news, the Syracusans were horrified. They hurriedly dispatched an envoy to meet with Mago, conveying that Syracuse was already allied with Carthage and that Camarina was now a Syracusan ally. They stated that Camarina harbored no hostility toward Carthage and would grant the Carthaginian army smooth passage, pleading with him not to attack it.

Mago scoffed at the envoy's request. He declared arrogantly, "As the military commander of Carthage, I have no idea when Syracuse suddenly became an ally of Carthage! If the Syracusans truly wish for this, have your general come here and talk to me in person!"

The Syracusan envoy brought these words back to the Council, causing an uproar among the generals and councilors. Many believed that the Carthaginians were burning bridges, intending to break the treaty and use this opportunity to conquer Syracuse along the way.

Others took the chance to blame the chief general, Theagenes. They accused him of foolishly believing he had gained benefits for Syracuse when, in reality, he had only angered the Carthaginians. Now that the massive Carthaginian army was encroaching on Syracuse, they insisted that if war broke out, Theagenes must bear full responsibility.

Theagenes defended himself, arguing that Mago had been in Iberia before this and was likely unaware of the secret diplomatic exchanges between Carthage and Syracuse. He volunteered to go speak with Mago personally to clear up the misunderstanding between them.

...

The next day, Theagenes rushed to Camarina. Before he even entered Camarina's territory, he spotted the Carthaginian camp. Countless tents were linked together, camp after camp, covering who knew how many li. If it weren't for the myriad of sturdy soldiers of varying appearances walking among them, he would have thought he had stumbled into a sprawling, massive city.

The more Theagenes looked, the more alarmed he became. Led by Carthaginian guards, he walked for a full hour before finally reaching Mago's grand tent.

Just as Theagenes had anticipated, after he bowed and stated his name, the rugged-looking Carthaginian commander showed neither proper courtesy nor warmth. Instead, Mago said dismissively, "It seems you Syracusans are taking this quite seriously, actually sending your chief general to negotiate. This will save us some time. Once we reach an agreement, we can implement it immediately."

"Syracuse and Carthage have long since reached a Friendship Agreement. General Mago might not be fully aware of this—" Theagenes tried to explain.

"No, I am well aware. Someone from the Senate told me," Mago said, raising his brows and staring directly at Theagenes. "They said your attitude during the negotiations was completely ambiguous. Although you promised you would never join Daionia or attack Carthage, you also refused to lead an army to attack Daionia. You were only willing to provide material support, allow us to camp on Syracusan territory, and guarantee our safe passage through Syracuse and its allied lands..."

"That is correct. This is what your Carthaginian envoy agreed to and signed—" Before Theagenes could finish, Mago roared, "That agreement is bullshit! Do you see the army outside?! We don't need Syracuse to provide supplies; we can take them ourselves! As for allowing us safe passage through Syracuse, that's an even bigger joke! Even if you don't allow it, my massive army can pass through safely all the same!"

"But that would mean war! War with Syracuse! While fighting Daionia, Carthage would also have to guard against attacks from the Syracusan army from your flanks and rear. This would undoubtedly slow down your progress in capturing Catana, allowing Daionian reinforcements from Magna Graecia to arrive in time," Theagenes replied calmly.

Mago sneered. "If it really comes to that, will Syracuse become an ally of Daionia?"

Theagenes hesitated for a moment. "If Carthage views Syracuse as an enemy, then we... naturally will."