In Rome, the failures of Pison coming after those of Manilius and Censorinus cause great discontent. The popularity of Publius Scipio becomes such that; presenting himself only to the curule aedility, he was elected consul despite his young age. He is not yet the 43 years old required by law; but under the pressure of the people, the senate is obliged to ratify this election and to send Scipio in Africa where it arrives in - 147. Barely landed in Utique, the new consul must fly to the aid of Mancinus who is about to surrender to the enemy. Returning to his headquarters, he hastened to send the latter back to Rome; then, he is forced to note that in his absence the army has become a collection of looters and thieves. The exercise grounds are transformed into warehouses for the traffickers and the soldiers sell there the fruit of their plunder; the women of bad life circulate freely throughout the camp and at night go from one tent to another to sell their charms. Scipio gathers his soldiers and admonishes them sharply
"You lead a life of thieves rather than a life of soldiers. You have become more accustomed to trading than fighting. In the midst of war you desert your camp to run around; you only think of pleasures... I want all the people in the camp who are not part of the army to go out today... Insubordination will be severely punished. »
Once order was restored, Scipio plans to resume military operations. At night, he manages to surprise Megara which is the northern suburb of Carthage where the rich inhabitants of the city own villas scattered in the middle of gardens and farms. But this outer part of the city being dotted with canals that intersected in all directions, the Roman general did not dare to venture his legions there to storm the city, in stride.
Hasdrubal only realizes at dawn how poorly guarded this sector was; But it's too late; the peasants are already arriving to take shelter inside the walls. Furious, he had all the Roman prisoners brought to the rampart overlooking Megara and ordered them to be tortured in horrible tortures. According to Appian, who recounts these facts, “it was in order to deprive the Carthaginians of all hope of making peace with the Romans and thus force them to expect their salvation only from their arms”. The reaction is not what is expected. The people are frightened at such cruelty, and the senate remonstrates earnestly with Hasdrubal; the latter, who feels strong enough to establish a regime of terror, retaliates by having a few senators executed.