Published at 14th of July 2023 5:56 am

Chapter 811: Phryntors Concern

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After pausing momentarily, Davos said, “The second are the sailors. Since a trireme requires nearly two hundred sailors, they would need nearly twenty thousand sailors for a fleet of a hundred triremes. It shows that a navy is a military force that needs the support of a large population, but the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians aren't a race with a large population. On the other hand, the Numidians were not a seafaring race and were more careless by nature, which would inevitably decrease their fighting capability. While we-”

Davos smiled, “Let's not mention the official and preparatory citizens; once the navy starts recruiting new sailors, those freemen will clamour to join as they hope to become citizens as soon as possible.”

After saying that, Tolmides and Mithridates laughed as Davos' words completely dispelled their concerns. However, Phryntor didn't smile like he had something on his mind.

Davos noticed it and asked, “Phryntor, do you have something in mind? Speak up.”

After a long moment of pondering, Phryntor said, “My lord, although we currently hold the advantage in Sicily as the Carthaginians lost in the battle and their fleet destroyed from the naval battle and storm, the repeated failures would make the Carthaginians panic. So unless they don't think about asking for a peace negotiation, then they would definitely give their all to win the next battle. Because of that, Prosous and the army he leads in Sicily would face a larger number of soldiers, with stronger morale, and their commander would never be a mediocre general-”

“Wait!” Tolmides interjected, “Our fleet already holds the naval advantage in Sicily, so we can completely cut off the Carthaginians' route to Sicily, making it difficult for them to land even if they raise another massive army.”

“Although challenging, it isn't impossible for the Carthaginians to land in Sicily. After all, even with our fleet's advantage, we still can't completely cut off Sicily from Carthage.” Phryntor calmly explained, “The sailors need food, water and rest, so we would need to have the warship return to the military port at night for maintenance to keep it in good operation condition… But in Sicily, our only military port, except for the one in Catania, is in Messina in the north. Meanwhile, our only allies with good military ports for our fleet to stay in are Agrigento and Gela. So even if our fleet in Sicily departs Messina or Agrigento in the morning, it would probably already be late afternoon by the time they arrived at the westernmost point of Sicily…

And with our fleet in Sicily significantly reduced, we cannot split them into a sub-fleet with strong combat capability to take turns in patrolling. So the Carthaginians would still have enough time to deliver supplies and reinforcements to Sicily.”

“Our fleet in Sicily can just send scouting ships to take turns to monitor the western waters of Sicily-” Before Tolmides could finish his argument, he suddenly realised that even if the scouting ships found the enemy, they would still need to return to the military port to report. But by the time the fleet arrived, the Carthaginians' fleet might have already entered the port.

So, he corrected his remark and said, “Mithridates, couldn't we station some warships in Selinus and Minoa?”

Even when faced with Tolmides' gaze, Mithridates, as the navarch, dared not speak rashly in front of Davos. After pondering carefully, he said, “The war report shows Selinus doesn’t have a military port. And even if we can station warships in common ports, it is only for a short time as it would damage the warships' longevity and affect their fighting capability. The army in Sicily could certainly build a simple military port in Selinus, but that would take time.”

Mithridates' remark that having the ship stay in a common port for too long would damage its longevity was actually directed to Davos. Then he deliberately changed the subject, “As far as I know, the best military port at the western end of Sicily is in Lilybaeum.”

Tolmides shook his head and said, “Lilybaeum is an important Carthaginian military town in Sicily, just like Motya previously. Hence taking it down will be challenging with the forces available to Prosous alone.”

Phryntor followed up, saying, “Despite Prosous' successful campaigns, the enemy has now gathered their forces in Lilybaeum and Palermos. And even though Prosous could determine the victor over Sicily by conquering Lilybaeum, just like Lord Tolmides' pointed out, the Eight Legion alone couldn't pull it up, especially since we cannot send additional troops to Sicily now. And if he were to attack the other towns, it would be futile and only scatter our soldiers. Thus, the situation in Sicily can be described as a stalemate.”

After saying that, Phryntor earnestly suggested, “Your Majesty, we should now change our army’s strategy in Sicily!”

Although Tolmides and Mithridates got startled, Davos remained calm and sat in his seat, remaining silent for a long time. He understood that Phryntor's words were a gentle reminder of his mistake in his previous instructions to Prosous.

At the start of the war with Carthage, Davos had remained cautious about the war in Sicily because he wanted to focus his attack on Rome, so he ordered Prosous to only defend their territories in Sicily. But after the Eight Legion's great victory over the Carthaginian army at the Battle of Minoa and the naval victory on the sea of Cephaloedium, he realised that the Carthaginians only looked strong and thus changed his strategy into allowing the land and naval forces in Sicily to attack with all their strength to take advantage of the enemy's great loss to weaken the Carthaginian forces in Sicily even more and increase the chances of victory for the next decisive battle against Carthage.

Even now, Davos expected Prosous to perform another miracle and expel the Carthaginians from Sicily once and for all.

‘The army in Sicily had performed admirably and met expectations with the war until now, apart from that storm…but have I become overly optimistic due to the successive victories? After all, we are facing Carthage!’ Davos glanced at the staff officer he held in high regard, understanding what Phryntor meant – to remind him that Prosous' army in Sicily was incapable of conquering the western end of Sicily. On the contrary, they are in a dangerous situation with Prosous’ army deep inside enemy territory and having insufficient troops.

Thanks to Phryntor's reminder, Davos remembered the still intact Iberian army. Furthermore, he realised that the Carthaginians' consecutive defeat would likely pave the way for the Magonids to regain control of Carthage's power. And unlike Hanno, the Magonids are known for their aggressiveness, higher regard for Sicily, and extensive warfare experience, which was further exemplified by the Iberian army's successful capture of the city of Cephaloedium.

Based on Davos' knowledge of Carthage, he understood that the Carthaginians would require significant time to raise another large army since the Carthaginian elders would argue in the Senate, further delaying their mobilisation efforts. Consequently, even if Mago managed to have the army land in Sicily, it would be at least a month or two later. So they would just waste the opportunity if they simply have Prosous withdraw and assume a defensive stance. Considering Prosous' exceptional capabilities, he had the potential to further escalate the situation at the western end of Sicily during this time. This would force the Carthaginian army to expend more energy and time stabilising the region upon their arrival, providing Theonia with valuable extra time…

Even after pondering for a while, Davos still couldn't make up his mind. So he said, “Tell Prosous our concerns and make him more vigilant. He can decide whether to continue the offensive or retreat to defend since he is the commander of the Sicilian theatre!” Davos decided to trust Prosous' ability after his repeated miracles and victories.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Tolmides while glancing at Phryntor, his expression tinged with envy and jealousy. After all, Davos seldom altered his military decisions due to others' persuasion, yet he had made a concession this time…

While Tolmides was lost in his thoughts, Davos stared at Phryntor and warned, “In the future, you should present your suggestions directly instead of waiting for me to ask! Remember, war involves the survival of a nation, and modesty and courtesy can result in the loss of hundreds or thousands of soldiers' lives! Do you understand?”

With a startled expression, Phryntor saluted while feeling ashamed and said, “I understand, Your Majesty. I will take care next time!”

Tolmides once again looked at him enviously.

.............

After the war council, Davos summoned the newly promoted statesmen of the kingdom, Alkibidas – his brother-in-law and Miciales, the shipbuilding merchant of Thurii.

Davos summoned these two renowned merchants in the shipbuilding industry of the Kingdom of Theonia in hopes they would collaborate and expedite the construction of warships faster. Given the strained treasury, he also sought their agreement to temporarily place the shipbuilding costs on credit, with the assurance of future compensation after the war. This could include benefits such as easing restrictions on logging for their workshop.

Regarding Miciales, Davos emphasised that Enanilus, who had already been released from prison and had been staying at his home, had received sufficient punishment for the crime he committed. With the kingdom expanding and a shortage of officials, Davos believed that Enanilus, who had previously served as a statesman and fleet commander of the navy, possessed valuable administrative experience and could return to serve the kingdom once again.

Upon hearing Davos' words, the thrilled Miciales immediately promised to do his best to persuade Enanilus to serve again.

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