men were killed in an ambush when Mago pursued the Romans. These feats were romanticised by Roman writers, and they were made possible by the Carthaginians' delay in following up their advantage. Second campaign In 211 BC, the Roman senate sent Gaius Nero to Hispania with 6,000 Roman and 6,000 allied infantry and 300 Roman and 600 allied cavalry. He landed at Tarraco, marched to the Ebro and took over the force of Tiberius Fonteius and Lucius Marcius. He then advanced against the enemy and occupied the two exits of the pass to Lapides Atri (Black Boulders), in Ausetanian territory, where Hasdrubal (Hamilcar's son) was encamped, thus shutting him in. Hasdrubal promised that he would take his army out of Hispania if Nero let him out of his position and asked him for talks the next day to put the terms in writing, which Nero accepted. Hasdrubal made the talks drag on for days. Meanwhile, his army gradually sneaked out of the pass at night. Finally, he left, too. Nero pursued him and offered battle, but he declined. Tribes in Hispania who had revolted after the defeat of the two Scipios showed no signs of restoring their allegiance. They decided to send a new commander-in-chief and increase the army in Hispania. There was uncertainty about the appointment, which demanded exceptional care. They decided to put the matter to the vote of the people. Publius Cornelius Scipio, the son and nephew of the two Scipios who had died in Hispania, who was only 24 and had not held high office, put his candidacy forward. He was elected unanimously. Livy did not explain the reason for the decision, or for this unprecedented election of a man below the required age for command. Scipio set off with a force he had formed out of the old army in Spain and reinforcements of 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Given his youth, Marcus Junius Silanus was appointed as his second in command to assist him. Scipio landed at Emporiae (or Ampurias, near the Pyrenees) marched to Tarraco and took over the army of Gaius Nero. He was met by envoys from all the friendly tribes. They reported that the tribes were unsettled due to the changing fortunes of the war. He visited these tribes and praised them for holding on after terrible blows and for keeping the enemy to the south of the Ebro, depriving