"Your Majesty, you don't know that Hilos has been urging us to travel for the past two days in order to gain time. We didn't expect that he would catch up." Henipolis interrupted.

"The opportunity is for those who are prepared." Davers whispered thoughtfully, looking back at Henipolis: "Let's go, go to the big tent with me and have a good talk about what you said..."

……………………………………

The next morning, when Davers led the army gathered from the former Syracuse Camp and Asprestum and marched towards Siliteng, the passenger ship Ansitanos had already bypassed the southwest corner of Sicily. The strong south wind blew the sails, causing the passenger ship to sail quickly towards the continent of Afiliga in the south of Sicily.

Ansitanos set out with Seclian's fleet a few days ago, and after passing the Messina Strait, he was separated from the fleet.

There are no warship patrols from Syracuse on the north coast of Sicily, and the passenger ships are moving smoothly. There are countless merchant ships coming and going on this route, which makes the helmsman of the passenger ship have to be nervous and carefully control the rudder to avoid collisions.

It was almost noon, and the outline of the land appeared in front of it. Where thousands of ships gathered was Carthage, a powerful city-state established by the Phoenicians on the continent of Apheriga.

Carthage is located on a peninsula made of a series of sandstone hills.

On the northeast and southeastern borders of the city, two narrow, wing-like lands extend outwards. The latter piece of land almost divides the sea in two, thus surrounding a huge lagoon (now Loch Tunisia). A row of continuous and steep sandstone cliffs protect the northern part of the peninsula, while the vast coastal plain in the south is protected by a series of solid city walls, trenches and barriers.

In the northeast corner of the city, there are two magnificent harbors on the side of the lagoon facing the sea. The outside of the harbor is surrounded by long and tall walls, and it also serves as a breakwater. The two harbors are interconnected, and the shared sea entrance is 21 meters wide and can be closed with iron chains.

The first harbor supplier ship was docked. The dock area was built with huge sandstone stones, which was strong and durable. Behind the dock was a row of tall and wide warehouses, countless workers pushed tackles and transported various goods between the dock and the warehouse, flowing endlessly.

After entering the Commercial Port, merchant ships docked to the dock one after another. The middle channel was not allowed to be occupied for a long time because it was left for Carthage warships to enter and exit. The military port was inside the Commercial Port, separated by a very high double-layer wall, with only one water gate connected to it, and its width was only for two three-layer oar warships to enter side by side...

The passenger ship Ansitanos was on was observing the bow while docking. Even though he got on the shore, he still looked inside, but the tall and thick double walls blocked his sight and could not see clearly the situation inside the military port.

However, when I came last time, Ansitanos had learned about some of the situations of the military port from the locals: it is said that it is a circular military port, a genius design made by Carthage's architects based on the specific terrain of the port. He used the available space to the greatest extent. The military port is surrounded by a small island, and huge marinas are located in the distance between the harbor and the island. There are dry docks everywhere on the embankment, and it is said that it can easily accommodate more than 300 three-layer oar warships...

Ansitanos got ashore and walked into the city with his followers.

In the noisy crowds in the port area, all races from the Mediterranean are gathered, and even some races from outside the Mediterranean can be seen here, such as: extremely tall and fair-skinned Germans, British people with indigo patterns on their bodies, and dark skin as dark as night. It is said that they are tribes near the steep peaks of the steep peaks that are called "the two-wheeled chariot of the gods" by Carthage adventurers (that is, the present-day Cameron Mountain).... These are unimaginable, but full of yearning for "the world outside" that Ansitanos, a historian.

In the Mediterranean, only Carthaginians have the ability to do this! While sighing, Ansitanos also looked at the strange gazes that pedestrians often cast from time to time.

Many Greeks did business in Carthage, and some even settled here, but Carthage's several wars with Syracuse caused heavy casualties among Carthage's citizens. Therefore, the Carthages' attitude towards the Greeks changed. It is said that the Greeks who settled in Carthage were expelled, their property was confiscated, and some were beaten to death on the spot. The situation only improved recently.

The main urban area of ​​Carthage is built on a hill, namely Mount Bilsa, and the top of the mountain is Carthage's Acropolis.

In the Acropolis, there is the entire Esmon Temple, famous for Africa. The temple is not the supreme god of the Phoenician city-states in the Eastern Mediterranean, Melekat, but another high-level god, Bar Hamon. In the minds of the Carthaginians, Bar Hamon is the king of the furnace, the lord of the crescent moon, and the guardian of Carthaginians. His huge bronze statue with a long robe, a conical headdress, a spear in one hand, and a palm upward in the other hand, standing in the center of the Acropolis, overlooking the city of Carthaginians. The position of the second god Tanit in the Carthaginians is not inferior to her husband. She is the female protector and guardian of the city, and is also enshrined in the Temple of Esmon.

With the Esmon Temple as the center, the city of Carthage is arranged radially along the mountain.

Ansitanos walked towards the center of the city and was simply climbing a mountain. The narrow streets, steep slopes, and crowded crowds forced him to be careful to avoid falling.

In comparison, the housing of Carthage citizens is almost all six-story high-rise buildings. They stand in rows on both sides of the street, most of which are made of huge sandstone strips and white plaster on the surface. Not only can they ensure that they are protected from the erosion of the natural environment, but they also shine like marble under the sunlight. The exterior walls of a few houses are directly built of marble, with gorgeous colors and unique patterns, which is amazing. The more you go to the city, the more obvious this situation is, and the wealth of the Carthage people can be seen.

After passing through the narrow street, the front suddenly opened, and Carthage City Square was right in front of you: this square is actually behind the military port, not far from Ansitanos landing, but because you have to bypass the military port, you have a longer journey. There are Carthage Senate and the Temple of Melekart around the square.

Instead of going to the Senate, Ansitanos walked straight through the square and arrived at another block, which was different from other blocks. Not only were the roads wide and there were no high-rise buildings, but they were all courtyards, and each courtyard occupied a large area.

According to memory, Ansitanos came to the door of a luxurious mansion, where one of the two Sophits of Carthage (the Supreme Consul) lives, and now the true ruler of Carthage - the "great" Hanno.

The last time Ansitanos visited Carthage, he also visited Hanno first. Unfortunately, Hanno was at the manor outside the city and could not meet, so this time Ansitanos hoped that he would have good luck.

In fact, Hanno had been in the city for a while, because the constant news of victory from the Syracuse army in Great Greece made the elders of the Carthage Senate uneasy, and they were always paying attention to the progress of the war in Great Greece. When the servants came in to report, Hanno was lying naked on the comfortable sofa, naked in the warm sunshine, and a young maid next to him was applying oil to massage him.

The messenger of Dionia asked for a visit! Hearing the words of his servant, Hanno fell into deep thought. Now it is different from the past. As the only force in Great Greece that was still fighting against Syracuse, the news that "the fleet of Dionia defeated the Syracuse Navy in the Turiyi Sea" just came to confirm their strength, which forced the Carthaginians to abandon their previous contempt and face up to this emerging Greek city-confederacy alliance that they did not know very well.

"Take him to the living room and wait for me," Hannor said.

When he put on his gorgeous robe and walked into the living room, he saw Ansitanos standing in front of the statue of Bar Harmon, staring at the god with a focused expression.

"Did the Greeks also respect our Carthage gods?" Hannor said, walking towards his master.

"Dear Lord Hannor!" Ansitanos hurriedly saluted him solemnly, then returned to his seat, and said neither humbly: "I am a little curious about the god Bar Harmon of Guibon because Sophocles once mentioned 'your Bar Harmon is very similar to Kranos' (Sophocles is a famous Athenian playwright and has passed away)."

Hanno snorted, his face covered with anger: "Silly Greeks, when the Phoenicians created a prosperous trade in the Mediterranean hundreds of years ago, you Greeks were still huddled on the pitiful and barren land. And when we Carthaginians sent a fleet across the Pillar of Hercules and sailed far away from the ocean, you Greeks had just established a city-state in the Western Mediterranean. If you have a little brain, you can tell that it is your god like our god..."

"What you said may be correct, it would be better if there was more evidence to prove it! Can you show me some information about this?" Ansitanos did not refute, but asked seriously.

Hannor was a little stunned. He thought the envoy of the Dionia would argue with him angrily. The serious and realistic attitude of the other party gave him a hint of affection and curiosity.
Chapter completed!