Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

“Envoy of Theonia, I don't think you are here to learn and research Carthage's gods and goddesses.” Hanno said smilingly, “Unfortunately, our answer remained the same as last time. I fear you'll just be disappointed, as we, Carthaginians, will always abide by our agreement with Syracuse.”

“Lord Hanno, we Theonians do not want to embarrass Carthage and no longer have the intention of allying with you.” Ansitanos then said seriously, “Rather, I am here on behalf of Theonia's Senate in hopes to trade with Carthage.”

“What kind of trade?” Hanno asked with a jolt in his heart.

“Grain!” Ansitanos then bluntly said, “We are resisting Syracuse's invasion, but due to their massive destruction of our territory, the food supply of Theonia is now very tight. If we can't buy a large amount of grain from the outside, our army wouldn't last long and be able to fight! At that time, Syracuse could easily defeat our soldiers and occupy Theonia, achieving their goal of completely controlling Magna Graecia.”

Hanno jolted. He then pondered and said, “We can consider it if it is only the purchasing of grains. This year, plenty of rainfall and abundant grain blessed Africa, so we have a lot of surplus grain. However, I heard that the population of Theonia is quite large, and I fear that the amount of grain you need is not small. Moreover, your war with Syracuse had lasted so long that can you still have the money to purchase grain?”

“I have heard that Carthage is also desperate for money these days, and you can't give us favourable grain prices. Moreover, it is indeed true that our treasury is almost depleted, but our people have enthusiastically donated their treasured silver coins just to defeat Syracuse and restore peace to Magna Graecia, allowing us to afford to pay for the grain!” Ansitanos said passionately.

His words shook Hanno, not only because the Theonians showed their determination to fight Syracuse but also because the sentence, “Carthage is also in urgent need of money”, which has affected his sensitive nerves.

‘Why would a wealthy city-state such as Carthage be short of money too?!’ It was because of their several wars with Syracuse that had depleted their treasury. Furthermore, even though the war had ended, Carthage’s consumption continued. For Carthage to defend against the powerful Syracuse, the Carthaginian Senate decided to rebuild their defence circle in western Sicily, ensuring their city's safety. Hence they even appointed Mago as the military commander of Sicily and gave him some autonomy.

After Mago took his position, he began recruiting labourers and purchasing numerous materials to build the fortress. Thereafter, he recruited tens of thousands of mercenaries from Celtic, Numidia and the Iberian regions to make up for their shortage of troops due to the Carthaginian soldiers suffering heavy casualties in the war. For this reason, Carthage had to mint a large number of gold coins and silver coins with high purchasing power every month to pay the mercenaries, so they spent most of Carthage's monthly trade income and minerals from Iberia and Sardinia on this.

But this wasn't what concerned Hanno the most. Instead, it was the Magonids' allies who had started supporting Mago after the Carthaginians became nervous at the rampaging of the Syracusan army in Magna Graecia. A few days ago, Mago even sent a letter asking the Senate to grant him the authority to mint coins in Sicily, saving them trouble and potential danger from transporting large amounts of coins back and forth by ships, such as a storm sinking the ship…resulting in the Senate to debate this issue for several days.

Hanno became uneasy due to Mago's expanding power in Sicily, which threatened his political dominance in Carthage's Senate. After all, Hanno would never allow Mago to take back the dominant rule of Carthage that he had taken from the Magonids!

Ansitanos then added after he saw Hanno's brow furrowed and was deeply pondering, “Of course, with your permission, we would like to buy grains by paying part of it with Syracusan prisoners.”

“Syracusan prisoners?” Hanno was slightly puzzled as he wasn't entirely clear about the exact battle situation even though he got the news of the Theonian navy's victory.

“After our fleet defeated the Syracusans on the sea near Thurii, we managed to capture tens of thousands of Syracusan sailors. And these two times I came to Carthage, I could deeply feel the hatred of the Carthaginians toward the Syracusans, and the only way I could think to help them vent their hatred in their hearts is by turning these Syracusan captives into their slaves…” Ansitanos said calmly.

Hanno's eye's lit up at the thought of winning the goodwill of the Carthaginians just by exchanging grain for Syracusan slaves.

Of course, this was not what Hanno was most interested in. So he slightly leaned forward, looked at Ansitanos and asked seriously, “It's indeed amazing that your fleet defeated the Syracusans! However, can your army defeat their powerful army?!”

The Carthaginians always considered their navy the strongest in the western Mediterranean. Even though they lost badly, they were unwilling to accept their defeat only because their loss wasn’t due to a real battle at sea. Instead, it was because their sailors couldn't board at all due to the sudden attack or the ballistae attacking them while they were stuck in the bay. Thus even though Theonia's victory in the naval is surprising, it did not bring a considerable shock to Hanno as the massive land army of Syracuse was the one that frightened the Carthaginians.

“Lord Hanno, if you know Theonia, you should know that our King Davos has never lost a battle since the founding of Theonia Union. Moreover, he had even won against larger enemy troops with only less on many occasions. And the only reason why Theonia even suffered some setbacks earlier in the war was that his majesty King Davos led his army to fight against the Samnites in the north. But after he led back his troops to Thurii, we won the naval battle due to his planning.

Before I left Thurii, King Davos led his army to Crotone to defend against the Syracusan army. Although the Syracusans are more than our soldiers, all our soldiers and officers have full confidence in his majesty Davos and are willing to obey his orders to fight the Syracusans to death! So as long as we have enough food, I believe we will be the one to get the final victory!” Ansitanos excitedly spoke, which is rare.

Hanno stroked his beard with glistening eyes. Although he had never commanded an army, he discussed the war situation in Magna Graecia with his subordinates familiar with the military and the statesmen who were close with him. Suppose Theonia could really defeat the Syracusan army, plus the disastrous defeat of their navy. In that case, the Syracusan soldiers who invaded Magna Graecia may not be able to return to Sicily again. So does Carthage still need to worry about Syracuse, who had suffered a significant loss in strength?! Furthermore, Carthage's security to the north is guaranteed, so they wouldn't need to be guarded against Syracuse in Sicily, let alone spend money to maintain numerous mercenaries. Besides, he would be able to revoke Mago's position as commander of Sicily!…

After numerous thoughts flashed through Hanno's mind, he smiled and said, “You should go to the Senate first thing tomorrow morning. After I invite you inside, I want you to say to the statesmen what Theonia wants.”

Ansitanos was overjoyed when he heard Hanno as the purchase of grain would definitely be approved by Carthage's Senate.

“Thank you, Lord Hanno!” Ansitanos exclaimed gratefully.

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

That same night, the news of Syracuse's tragic defeat reached Terina, causing panic among the city defenders. Fortunately, it was too late at night, and they were afraid of encountering accidents while withdrawing to Scylletium in the dark.

Early the following morning, more than 3,000 Terina defenders began to prepare to retreat.

But soon after they left the city, a disaster struck: More than a thousand Hipponians were reluctant to go to Scylletium. Instead, they only wanted to return to their city-state in the south.

After some bargaining and argument, the Syracusan strategos reluctantly agreed, and by the time they resumed their retreat to the east, more than an hour had passed. But since they were carrying a lot of looted supplies, their movement slowed down. So, just after they crossed the Allaro River, the Theonian scout spotted them.

Ledes, who received the report, immediately sent someone to report to Davos in the rear while urgently leading more than a thousand cavalries to attack and harass them to delay their retreat to Scylletium.

After receiving the report, the first and second legions at the forefront of the marching column also sent the light-armoured soldiers and light infantry brigades for interception.

So when the two thousand or so defenders spotted the Theonian scouts, they felt dread. Thus, under their officers' strict orders, they donned their armour, grabbed their shields and spears, and even abandoned their extra spoils to increase their marching pace.

However, the rugged mountainous road wasn't easy to traverse. After half an hour later, the defenders were only 5 kilometres away from Scylletium, but the Theonian cavalries had already arrived.

But before the cavalries could even throw their javelins, the thousand Caulonian soldiers suddenly knelt and surrendered, leaving the already panicky Syracusan defenders panic even more.

Seeing the situation, Ledes decisively ordered the cavalry to immediately attack the enemy, resulting in the Syracusan defenders collapsing immediately. Under the pursuit of the cavalries, the Syracusan defenders were either killed or captured, with only a few hundred of the thousand men eventually fleeing back to Scylletium.

But the most unlucky ones were the Hipponians, who retreated to the south as they ran into the Rhegian army landing on the northern coast of Hipponion.

So how could Pheidon let go of this great opportunity of having the number advantage? Thus he immediately led the army to attack.