ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 365 Whispering
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of several people present changed.In public, only Philosanus dared to do this in Syracuse by praising the consuls of other city-states as more powerful than his own tyrant.

"It's a pity that I heard that Daves of Dionia was of low origin and was a sheepherder in the past (referring to the fact that Daves herded sheep and horses in Thessaly before becoming a mercenary)." Mathias said it first. .

Henipolis finally couldn't help but retorted: "Is Lord Dionysius born of a noble family?! I heard that before he became a plenipotentiary general, he was just an ordinary clerk in Syracuse. Lord Davos once said to me, 'Real heroes don't care about their origins, because they rely on their own abilities, not what their family has given them.'"

"Well said! This is what I admire most about Lord Dionysius!" Philistus praised loudly to cover up Mathias's gaffe: "Everyone here has achieved this through your own efforts. achieved the prestige it is today."

"Yes! Yes!..." Macias echoed repeatedly to cover up his embarrassment.

"Everyone -" Philistus quickly stood up with the wine, looked around, and said loudly: "Since I have been accompanying Lord Dionysius to negotiate with the Carthaginians these past few days, I am really busy and can't spare any time. Time, to the point of neglecting the distinguished guests from Dionia! With my friends here to accompany me, I punish myself with a drink to express my apology! "

"Okay!" Herolis raised his glass, and Leptinius, Mathias, and Philosanus also raised their glasses.

Ansitanos did not stand up to dissuade him, because he knew that Philistus said these words for Dionysius, and the wine certainly contained Dionysius's apology.

When Philistos and the others drank the wine in the glass, Ancitanos stood up with Henipolis, raised his glass and said: "I am very grateful to Lord Philistos for his kind invitation, Congratulations to Lord Dionysius for defeating the mighty Carthage many times with the assistance of all the adults. This is a great victory for Syracuse, and it is also the most exciting news that the entire Great Greeks have heard! Because Carthage, the greatest enemy of the Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean, has been severely damaged, the people of Sicily and Greater Greece will enjoy peace for a long time!" After finishing speaking, they both drank their drinks.

"Well said!" Philistus raised his wine glass again and shouted: "To Lord Dionysius! Syracuse is victorious!"

When others toasted to congratulate, Ansitanos on the opposite side noticed that Herolis's expression when speaking was not as serious and enthusiastic as the two next to him, and Philosanus did not follow suit, but shouted : "For peace in Sicily!"

Then Philistus made a gesture, and the musicians and dancers entered the hall, and the banquet officially began.

Amidst the beautiful melody and swaying graceful dance figures, everyone mingled and feasted...

When the music stopped and the dancer withdrew, Henipolis was almost full without realizing it under the sweet voice of the beautiful slave girl.He saw that Mathias opposite him was already having sex with the slave girl, which was extremely unbearable; Leptines was also flirting with the slave girl; only Herolis was still chewing elegantly and slowly; Philosanus even He dismissed the female slaves on the left and right; he turned around to see that the teacher Ansitanus next to him was eating very little and was watching the singing and dancing with a smile... Henepolis suddenly felt ashamed of his poor self-control.

At this time, Philistos on the main seat coughed twice, attracted everyone's attention to him, and then said: "Master Ancitanos, since the establishment of the Dionia Alliance, our two parties have basically There is no official diplomatic exchange, is Dionia sending you to Syracuse this time for friendship?"

coming!Ansitanos had been accumulating strength for a long time and was waiting for this moment. He immediately smiled and said: "Of course it is for friendship. Syracuse is a big state in Sicily, and Dionia is also a powerful alliance in Magna Graecia. Previously, one of the two sides was busy dealing with Carthage, and the other was repelling the natives in the mountains with all their strength. For various reasons, the two Greek forces who were so close to each other did not establish friendly contact and communication, so that regrettable things happened. ——" Ansitanos deliberately stopped talking.

No one in Syracuse spoke, but Philosanus asked curiously: "What is this regrettable thing?"

Ansitanos took advantage of the situation and took over: "Several senators of the Dionysian Senate were accused by the people of corruption and bribery. When collecting evidence of their illegal crimes, a large number of people from Syracuse were found in their mansions. of 'tetradrachms,' and some letters. These letters—" Ansitanos looked at Philistus.

Philistos has an expression of listening carefully.

"The main content is to communicate with Polyxis, the convicted senator of Dionia, 'how to disrupt the order of the Dionia alliance, cause riots among the people, and oust the consul Davos...' and so on. The signature of these letters is Philistus." Ansitanos looked at the host of the banquet again: "The letter also mentioned that 'he was ordered by Lord Dionysius.' Polyxi Spaniard himself admitted that 'it was with the support of Syracuse that he dared to carry out these actions that betrayed the alliance so boldly.'"

"Is there such a thing?!" Philistus looked astonished: "I have never written a letter to anyone named Pol...Polyxes. This is really...Lord Ansitanos, what are you doing?" Bring those letters you spoke of?”

"I brought it." Ansitanos was already prepared. He took out a letter from the baggage he carried and handed it to the slave girl beside him.

Philistos eagerly took the letter, opened it, and then showed a relieved smile: "Lord Ansitanos, if the handwriting and signature of every letter in your hand are the same, I can definitely tell you You, these letters were not written by me!"

"Oh?!" Ansitanos looked surprised.

"Go and get some copies of the letters signed by me from my study." Philistus immediately ordered his slave.

"Show me this letter." Herolis next to him spoke, and Philistus handed the letter to him.

Just when the slave went to get the letter and the banquet fell into silence for a while, Herolis took the letter and said: "...Well, Lord Ansitanos, I was very shocked to hear the news you just said. But I want to try my best to stand on the sidelines and express my own judgment. Philistus is a self-reliant and noble scholar. He does not bother to do such despicable things that only despicable people can do. It is also impossible to go with the greedy and dirty Dionia elder Bo...Bo..."

"Polyxis." Leptines reminded from the side.

"For Polyxis, it is impossible for Philistus to communicate with him in letters. As a plenipotentiary general, Lord Dionysius is very happy to see that Dionia has a consul with a similar status to him. It makes him feel that he is not alone in this vast Western Mediterranean, so why would he do anything to undermine the rule of Lord Davos!"

"Yes, my brother would never do such a thing!" Leptinius emphasized loudly.

"I wonder if this is the case -" Philistos pondered for a while and analyzed seriously: "Lord Dionysius single-handedly created today's powerful Syracuse and transformed the Greek city-states in Sicily. They were united together, but they were also hated by many people. I think you all know that when the Carthaginian army came to the city of Syracuse a few years ago, some people in the city incited the people to riot and wanted to Lord Dionysius was ousted. Although the situation was finally calmed down, in fact, there have been rumors circulating in Syracuse over the years, and even small riots and assassinations occurred one after another. Otherwise, the plenipotentiary general would not live on this island. The defense is so tight.

These people are like poisonous snakes, hiding in caves, ignoring the peace and stability of Sicily, and seizing any possible opportunity to attack Lord Dionysius and our supporters.The Carthaginians were defeated, but there is a Dionian alliance in Great Greece that is similar in strength to Syracuse. If there is a war between Syracuse and Dionia, then they will have the opportunity to start from the dark again. Come out and create unrest in Syracuse to achieve their goals..."

"You are saying that this matter was done by the opponents of Lord Dionysius, and then framed the blame on you, Lord Philistus?" Ansitanos asked with a half-smile.

"It's very possible." Philistos replied seriously.

"Then, Hermes, a citizen of Syracuse whom we also captured in Thurii, has fully admitted that he was assigned by Lord Dionysius to go to Thurii to bribe Polyxes and others to engage in How to explain the sabotage of Dionia?" Ansitanos's mouth showed a hint of ridicule.

"Hermes?" Philistus was a little confused and asked several others: "Do we have such a citizen in Syracuse?"

Henipolis couldn't help but said loudly again: "Don't pretend, we have investigated in detail. Hermes is a citizen of Syracuse and lives in the central area of ​​the city, in the merchant gathering area next to the Temple of Apollo. He has two sons, and he is also the secretary of Lord Herolis, am I right?"

"Is this true?!" Philistos was shocked, and Herolis looked even more surprised. He turned his head to look at Philistos, and after the two eyes met, he said hesitantly: "... ...I do have a clerk named Hermes under my command, but... I went to Cyrenaica a year ago, and when I came back, I heard that he had already been punished for corruption and lost his position... If Turui If it was the same person who was caught, I really didn't expect him to go to Turui. If you don't believe me, you can check the court records, his criminal record half a year ago..."

"This is really troublesome!" Philistus suddenly said loudly, his expression becoming extremely serious.

"What's wrong?" Leptinius asked in confusion.

"If Lord Ancitanos said that Hermes was the same person as Lord Herolis' former clerk, it means that those opponents may start to consciously lurk and become public officials of the city-state of Syracuse!" Fei Listos said with a solemn expression.

(End of this chapter)