Until there was no more Carthage ship on the sea, the warships of the Sicilian fleet stopped this extremely physically exhausted rampage and began to rescue the crew of the Dionian who fell into the water and placed them on the Carthage warship captured by the fleet infantry...

During the whole process, the Carthaginian people on the shore went from being excited at the beginning to panic to choking, to the end of the crowded beach with thousands of people was silent...

They had heard of the disastrous defeat of the army in Sicily, and the attack and destruction of the allies of Carthage... Although they were worried, they were not as good as today as they did today to witness the Dionian Navy defeating their fleet and raging in the sea where they depended for survival. The strength of the enemy made each of them shudder...

It was not only the Carthaginian people who suffered a major blow, but also the elders who watched the battle on the breakwater walls. Because they stood closer, saw clearer and thought more, they were hit harder.

Fortunately, all Carthaginian noble elites who have been tempered in politics for many years. After a period of silence, Hannor sighed long and said with a heavy expression: "We should start a ceasefire negotiation with Dionia immediately. In order to achieve peace as soon as possible, I think we should make appropriate concessions to the conditions proposed by Dionia."

This time, Hanno's proposal immediately received many responses from the elders: "Hanno is right! Now that our navy is over, the army is trapped in Sicily. For the safety of Carthage, even if we pay some price, we must cease the battle with the Dionians as soon as possible!"

"Prices some price?! I'm afraid that the people will know that they will never agree, and they will also come to the Senate to protest!"

"You are too high to see those lowly people. I believe that after watching today's naval battle, they will definitely demand more urgently than us to stop this war!"

...

Amid the response of the elders, the Margonids led by Pretakuba remained silent. After all, the failure of this naval battle made them deeply realize that the army led by Mago Sicily would be in a greater dilemma, and peace talks were the only way to help them escape from danger.

At this time, Tepanraco was not going to let them go. He said with a heartache: "My dear masters, today we have all witnessed the defeat of the navy. It can be said that this war... We, Carthage... were completely defeated... In order to negotiate peace, we will pay a heavy price! Should we reflect on this carefully? Lord Hannor, Lord Ocreton... and many other veterans repeatedly emphasized that "Dionia's army is strong and launching a war is not good for Carthage. I hope to maintain peace! Why do some people insist on fighting, which led to such a bad situation today! Shouldn't we hold them accountable?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked and subconsciously looked at Pretakuba.

"Declaring war on Dionia was a resolution unanimously passed by the Senate." Pretakuba replied coldly.

"If you hadn't frequently incited the people to put pressure on the Senate, that resolution would have been impossible. And... the case of the stolen and sold the Iberian silver mine by the merchant ship by Dionys was also suspicious. I propose that a detailed investigation should be conducted again. Some people should not escape punishment for crimes that harm the interests of the city-state for their own interests, and let those of us who truly love Carthage bear the anger of the people innocently!"

Tepanrako's words reminded the elders around them, making them illuminate: the failure of this war and the heavy price that may be paid in the future will inevitably arouse the anger of the Carthage people. The Senate does need a scapegoat to bear this huge responsibility. The Margo who actively launched this war is undoubtedly the best goal, not to mention that the Margonid family, whose strength and prestige were severely hit in the war, also made them less awe.

Therefore, many veterans expressed their agreement one after another, hoping that the Senate would conduct a detailed investigation on the "inciting the people to launch a war against Dionia and the divestment and sale of Iberian silver mines by merchant ships". If there is indeed a conspiracy behind it, severe punishment will be imposed.

When more and more elders agreed with Tepanrako's proposal, Pretakuba saw the cold gaze from Hanno. He suddenly understood: since the outbreak of the war, the biggest enemy of the Margonid family has not blocked Lord Mago too much, but is waiting for the most fierce knife to be released at this most critical moment.

He felt a little panicked and defended loudly: "Have you all forgotten! The reason why Carthage launched a war was because Dionia declared war on Rome, and Rome was our ally, and we must fulfill the covenant! Lord Aesyaruba, do you think this is the case?!"

Faced with the help-seeking gazes from Pretakuba, the white-haired neutral leader coughed a few times, turned his head to look at the others, and said: "Everyone, we should immediately send people to rescue the crew who fell into the water, repair the damaged warships, bury the warriors who died in battle and appease the people who lost their loved ones... and discuss what concessions may be made in the armistice negotiations with Dionia, and send the negotiating messengers... There are so many things that we need to complete immediately... Uh... what you just talked about can be discussed after these things are completed..."

Pretakuba's heart sank to the bottom. Although Aisyaruba spoke perfunctorily, he could hear his support for Tepanrako's proposal.

Hannor stroked his beard with his hands, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face.

As the sun sets and night falls, countless ships are still busy on the sea near Carthage. The shouts and crying sound throughout this once largest city-state in the Western Mediterranean, which lasts for a long time...

In this naval battle, about 180 warships on Carthage's side, 390 warships on the two fleets of Dionia, and a total of 570 warships participated in the battle. For most of the fierce battle, the Carthage's fleet lost 135 warships, its naval commander died in battle, and the Third Fleet of Dionia also lost 76 warships. Its flagship was also sunk. Midolades was trembling cold when he rescued it from the sea. In the previous history of naval battles in the Mediterranean, the loss rate of both sides was unprecedented.

However, the Third Deonia Fleet was exchanged for the near-destruction of the Carthage fleet at a heavy price of more than half of the casualties. It is difficult to recover in a short period of time, and it is even more impossible to pose a threat to the Deonia Navy. This allows the Deonia Navy to travel boldly in the waters of Afilica and directly oppress and blockade the city of Carthage. This is a major strategic victory.

Therefore, after receiving the news of this naval battle, Davers was very excited and publicly commended the two fleets for their uninterrupted unity and cooperation, and did not fear sacrifice, and won this important victory for the kingdom. He called on the entire army to learn from them, and promised that all crew members participating in the war would remember a great contribution. At the same time, he would urge the Ministry of Military Affairs to make up for the damage to the Third Fleet as soon as possible to complete the construction of the system.

Two days later, Ocreton, who was the Carthage negotiator, rushed to Minoa, hoping to restart the peace talks.

Davers agreed in person, but secretly instructed Heniporis to delay time as much as possible during the negotiations.

After learning that King Dionys was still welcoming the peace talks, the Carthage Senate immediately passed a resolution and sent an envoy to the Carthage camp in Selinus to inform Mago, asking him to suspend his attack on Selinus to ensure the smoothness of the peace talks.

But Mago got more news. Pretakuba had sent people to remind him: in the past few days, the people of Carthage not only strongly called for the cessation of war and restoration of peace, but also expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the initiation of the war against Dionia; the Senate was also undercurrent, saying that it was to respond to the demands of the people and was ready to initiate an investigation into a series of events that occurred before the war, and its goal was obviously aimed at the Margonid family led by Mago.

After receiving this news, Ma Ge realized the danger. After discussing with his family's generals, he resolutely made a decision: he would never obey the Senate's resolution, and would stop rectifying the Numibians in the camp, and start the attack on the city of Selinnus again.

He decided to use a victory to regain the prestige of the Margonid family in Carthage.

After receiving the news that "Margo led his army to start an attack on Selinus City", Davers learned the general reason through other channels and immediately asked Heniporis to question Ocreton: Since Carthage is already in arbitrage negotiations with Dionyha, why is it still ordering the Sicily army to launch an attack on Selinus! Dionyha doubted his sincerity in the negotiations and decided to suspend the negotiations until the Carthaginian army in Sicily truly eliminated its hostility to Dionyha.

Ocreton wanted to refute Henipolis: while the negotiations, Dionia also allowed the fleet to continue to cruise in the Sicilian waters, and even went deep into the Carthage waters, posing a great threat to the entry and exit of port ships!

However, the current war situation is extremely unfavorable to Carthage. Ocreton shoulders the heavy responsibility and urgently needs to reach an agreement as soon as possible to safeguard the security of Carthage's basic land. Therefore, he dare not say such a tough word. Instead, he earnestly promised: the attack on Selinrus was definitely not due to the instruction of the Senate. It must have been done by Ma Ge privately. He would immediately rush to Selinus to stop Ma Ge's hostilities, and the Senate would also punish Ma Ge, hoping that the negotiations would continue after the matter was handled.

Henipolis, who received Davers' instructions, certainly welcomed this.

Although Ocreton was confident in Minoa, he was actually not confident that he could convince the noble and stubborn patriarch of the Margonid family to stop attacking Selinus.
Chapter completed!