Published at 13th of January 2024 9:46 am

Chapter 870: Deadline for defeating the enemy

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Mago was startled as he had never received this kind of treatment, which caused him to look at Pretasdrubal in confusion.

Pretasdrubal looked at him and said eloquently, “My Lord, we didn't arrange this; these were the heartfelt cheers of the people! Since the war broke out, we have suffered nothing but disastrous defeats, with the Theonian army ravaging our land in Sicily, their warships attacking our merchant ships bound for trade in western Sicily, and displacing the people in our colonies in Sicily. As a result, our trade has sharply declined. Now, they deeply realise that Carthage needs a hero to defeat our powerful enemy and restore Carthage's prosperity!”

“I see. I’ll make them watch then!” Mago turned serious as he raised his right hand and waved to the crowd around him.

The cheering became even more enthusiastic.

“Look, the king of Iberia is here, making himself out to be the hero!” Eshmounadon sarcastically said as he watched the group getting disturbed by the surrounding crowd.

“Hero?! He has to wait until he defeats Theonia!” Palteshmoun sneered

“With the more than twenty thousand troops he brought and the sixty thousand troops we have prepared for him here, along with the thirty to forty thousand in Sicily, which added up to a mighty force of more than one hundred and ten thousand strong. This makes it the most powerful army in the history of Carthage. Therefore, whoever commands this army is likely to achieve victory with ease!” Another elder said with disdain.

As the elders at the entrance of the Senate discussed, Hanno, who stood at the forefront, remained calm. However, despite not saying a word, waves constantly turned in his heart: After all, he had spent more than decades of effort to remove the Magonids' influence on Carthage, and even though he managed to chase the main family out of Carthage, he remains wary of Mago. But even after listening to the cheers resounding throughout the city, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Magonids still held great influence in Cartahge! The only reason the people of Carthage were so vocal was precisely because they were worried about the war in Sicily. So, if he had a capable general in his hand, how could the situation in the city become like this?

Looking at the approaching mago, Hanno felt both remorse and jealousy. Still, his expression remained calm because he couldn't leave a bad impression on the public as he was the culprit for obstructing Mago from leading the army.

“Welcome back, Lord Mago!” Hanno greeted loudly with a smile on his face, “Now that you have arrived, we finally have hope for our war with Theonia! Therefore, we have gathered enough citizen soldiers and prepared enough rations for you so that we can hear the news of your victory as soon as possible!”

Mago looked at the seemingly sincere smile on Hanno's face as he listened to his words but felt a pang of disgust in his heart that made him say, “With Carthage in danger, I would have come long ago if it weren't for someone's obstruction!”

Hanno's smile remained unchanged, acting as if he never heard that. He then invited them to enter.

Mago then entered the Senate with his head held high.

Eshmounadon approached Hanno with an angry expression, intending to say something, but Hanno winked at him to stop him.

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

In the Senate Hall, Mago addressed the elders with a grave expression. He briefly outlined their dire situation and expressed gratitude for their trust. He concluded with a passionate promise: I will exert every effort to reverse our current predicament, defeat the Theonian army, expel them from Sicily, ensure they respect our ally Rome, expand trade opportunities for Carthaginian merchants within Theonia, and compel them to reduce their navy's size, a direct threat to Carthage…

Mago's words aligned with the elders' wishes, so everyone responded with warm applause.

While everyone applauded, Eshmounadon suddenly stood up and said coldly, “It's an exciting speech! However, Muntebaal said the same thing a few months ago, but what happened in the end?!”

It was like a jar of cold water poured on the excited Mago. Furthermore, he became even more furious as the other party had compared him to that incompetent trash. Thus, he immediately refuted, “Muntebaal is a fool who was originally unqualified to command this war. If it weren't for some people's insistence, he wouldn't be able to serve as the supreme commander! Ultimately, he saw the war as a joke that resulted in a disastrous defeat, causing huge losses to Carthage. So shouldn't we pursue this and investigate?!”

Hanno knitted his eyebrows.

Eshmounadon laughed, “Incompetent, Muntebaal?! That's rather amusing. He spent many years fighting in Numidia without a single defeat, securing vast lands for Carthage. His accomplishments are on par with yours in Iberia, which is why the elders unanimously chose him as the supreme commander. Yet, we still punished him after his failure. If there's any objection to the Senate's decision on this matter, I'd like to ask Lord Hanno about the events over a decade ago. Back then, both you and Himilco suffered disastrous defeats at the hands of Dionysius, one after another, resulting in the death of nearly half of Carthage's citizens in Sicily. The loss was far greater than Muntebaal's recent defeat. Yet, did you face a punishment akin to Muntebaal's? Is that fair?"”

“You are just spouting nonsense!!” Mago became extremely angry at Eshmounadon’s uncovering the scar of the past.

Hanno, on the other hand, showed a faint and indescribable smile.

Pretasdrubal immediately stood up and exclaimed, “Lord Eshmounadon, our army is currently mustering for a decisive battle against the Theonians, which determines the fate of Carthage. So why, at this critical moment, do you choose to speak these words that disturb the army's morale? What's your intention in doing this?!”

“Don't threaten me, Pretasdrubal. I don't have any other intentions besides simply posing a question to Lord Mago. However, his reaction was unexpectedly intense even before I could complete my question.” Eshmounadon dismissed Pretasdrubal's threat with a casual shrug and continued, “I meant to say that while making grand promises is easy, it isn't easy to put them into action. Given that we have invested all our treasury, taxes, and the gold and silver we have mined in this war into gathering so many of our citizen soldiers to go to war and secure the necessary military provisions, I would like to ask Lord Mago to specify a deadline for the fulfilment of his promise because we can't sustain this war indefinitely.”

Hearing that caused Mago to be taken aback.

Eshmounadon's words won the support of many elders. After all, the protracted disagreement between Mago and Hanno had lasted over a month, which had already delayed the war's launch. If he still delayed the war more now that he held a large army, the elders would be caught in a bind.

Even Adrusbal took the initiative to stand up and said, “Lord Eshmounadon is right. The rations required to feed over a hundred thousand troops is enormous, so we do need a more definitive timeframe in which all of Carthage could grit their teeth to provide the army with provisions during this period.”

Pretasdrubal cast a warning glance at Mago.

Mago thought setting a deadline would be a good thing if he could get Carthage's full support, but he hesitated a little when he saw Pretasdrubal gaze at him.

“It seems Lord Mago isn't very confident in his ability to defeat the Theonians,” Palteshmoun said mockingly.

Mago glared at Palteshmoun before his sharp gaze swept back to Hanno, who was also looking at him with a disdainful smile. He then said aloud in earnest, “We all know how powerful Theonia is, and the war between us wouldn't end in a short time. I understand your motive in bringing this up, and I'm more than willing to set a deadline as this won't just serve as a personal motivation but also provide hope for the people of Carthage…one year! Within a year, I'll exert every effort to drive the Theonians out of Sicily!”

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

The following day, as the main force of the Samnite Tribal Alliance entered Beneventum, they received news that the enemy was besieging Nola.

Upon receiving the report, Segobani urgently called for a war council and stated, “We must immediately engage Theonia and their allies' forces in the south, then return with the army to provide support for Nola.”

Lesguk naturally disagreed with this proposal as he patiently persuaded, “Great Chieftain Segobani, you should know how well-fortified Nola is. With its ample number of defenders, the enemy won't be able to take it swiftly. Therefore, there's no need for you to be overly anxious. On the contrary, with the numerous enemies outside Beneventum and having built a well-fortified camp, a direct, forceful assault on them would only result in us suffering substantial casualties and still won't ensure our success.

However, with Theonia travelling with such a large army so far, they would have a considerable problem supplying military provisions. So, as long as we send several troops to sneak into the mountains, bypass their camps and attack the route between Abellinum and their camps, we could cut off their supply route. Once the Theonians don't have enough to eat, they will definitely panic and be confused. At that time, it will be our opportunity to attack them. After we crush the main force of the Theonians this time, we will be in a much better position next.”

“I agree with Lesguk's opinion, as we should be cautious now that we have fewer troops!” Badani said, after all, the Theonian army is still not threatening Pentri's territory, and he certainly does not want to take any risks.

Konteruk, on the other hand, was more hesitant. Although Caraceni was much further away from the Theonian attack's range, as an elder staunchly defending Samnite's interests, adopting a cautious strategy was against his nature. However, the Caraceni warriors were already the smallest among the four major Samnite tribes and had sustained considerable losses, so he now needed to take the matter seriously. Thus, in the end, he, too, acceded to Lesguk's proposal.

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