ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 367 Dionysius' Plan (Subscribe)

Back at the hotel, Helipolis, who was still in excitement, followed Ansitanos into the room and couldn't help but ask: "Teacher, is that Syracuse spy Hermes Dionysius?" Assigned, or sent by his opponents?"

"What, are you confused?" Ansitanos laughed.

"Originally, I firmly believed that Dionysius was the instigator, but after hearing Philistus and the others' excuses..." Henepolis scratched his head.

"I can only say that Philistus acted so well that he deceived you. A person with Philistus's status probably has several scribes under him, and the handwriting is of course different. What's more, he has already Precautions were taken, and even the signature was written by someone else. Polyxes had never had any contact with him before, so it was normal for him to be kept in the dark." Ansitanos smiled contemptuously: "In fact, their The performance is not perfect. If you observe carefully, you will find that the minister opposite, Herolis, looked a little unnatural when Philistus was defending. Obviously, they did not fully communicate..."

"Oh, so that's it!" Henipolis recalled the scene at that time, suddenly realized, and then said angrily: "But teacher, why didn't you expose him on the spot?!"

"Why expose it?" Ansitanos smiled: "The strenuous performance of Philistus and several other guests just shows that they are scrupulous about Dionia and do not dare to fall out with us. This is Good thing. The next thing is to see if Dionysius is willing to sign the covenant we proposed..."

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The next day, Ansitanos met Dionysius himself.

In a spacious, but not gorgeous, and even somewhat simple palace, the tall and handsome Dionysius (this was one of the reasons why Democrates, the hero of Syracuse who resisted the Athenian army, married his daughter to him ) received Ancitanus.

As the rumored cold master of Sicily, he warmly welcomed the arrival of the Dionysian envoys with a close attitude. At the same time, he apologized for not being able to meet them in time, and said: "I have I learned from Philistus that Dionia wanted to sign an alliance with our Syracuse. This is a very good thing! You must know that Syracuse has fought wars repeatedly, whether it is the treasury, food or The population has suffered a great loss and is in urgent need of recuperation. I am very grateful that Dionia can lend a helping hand at this moment! I will send Philistos as a representative to discuss the alliance with you in detail. I hope that Syracuse and Dionia can Neia can have friendly exchanges from now on and set a good example for other Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean!"

The meeting was short, and Ansitanos soon left the island of Ortygia with a mixture of doubts and joy.

Philistus, who returned after sending away the Dionysian envoys, asked Dionysius with the same doubts: "My lord, are you really ready to form an alliance with Dionysian?"

"Philip." Dionysius called his important minister's nickname affectionately, and said in a deep voice: "At the banquet at your house last night, as the Dionysian envoy, he said something right, 'Carthage Although they suffered heavy losses, they are powerful in Africa, and are now exploring the Iberian Peninsula. I heard that they also sent a fleet to sail west, passing the Pillars of Hercules, to explore our unknown land... Next time , if Carthage comes back again, its power will definitely be stronger than this time. But Syracuse is limited to this small island of Sicily, and its territory will not increase much unless it expands outwards!"

Philistus had discussed this issue with Dionysius many times. Of course he knew where Dionysius’ expansion goal was, but he still worriedly reminded: “It’s just that Dionia’s power is not weak, and it basically united the other city-states and natives of southern Italy."

"You are right." Dionysius nodded cautiously: "With your help, I took the position of the all-powerful general. I already had the idea of ​​conquering Magna Graecia in the future, so I did this. Married Doris (the daughter of noble Locri). But I never expected that in just a few years, a Dionian alliance would arise in Magna Graecia!"

Dionysius showed annoyance on his face, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Maybe that Davos really got the favor of Hades, but so what! Although the Western Mediterranean is large, it can only accommodate one Greek overlord. !”

"It's just that we have just ended the war with Carthage and still need to rest... Should we take a break for now?" Philistos reminded in a low voice.

"Can't wait any longer!" Dionysius shook his head: "The Dionysian Alliance is indeed developing rapidly, and it increases by one point every year. I have studied Dionysian carefully, and I have to say that the one called Diver The young people in Sri Lanka are very good at dealing with the indigenous people. Some of the methods we use to deal with the West Kells are still learned from them. At their current rate of rise, the Samoni people in the north of Dionia may not be able to stop their expansion. Their power will spread to the north until they own the whole of Italy. What will we do in Syracuse then? Will we become their tributary?!" Dionysius's eyes flashed with coldness, he clenched his fists and waved heavily, his tone He said firmly and forcefully: "We must concentrate all our efforts to destroy them while they are still not strong and internally unstable!"

"Are we still talking about the alliance with Dionia?" Philistos asked again.

"Talk, why not talk! A non-aggression treaty of friendship can be signed, which will just make them relax their vigilance. As for the alliance - hum, Syracuse has never been in the habit of signing an equal covenant with other Greek city-states!" Dio Nisius said coldly.

He apparently forgot about Sparta.Of course Philistus would not be stupid enough to correct his mistake. He nodded and said, "I understand."

"And...the negotiations with Carthage need to be accelerated...uh..." Dionysius paced back and forth, thinking over and over again, and finally made up his mind: "We can bring Selinus and Pano The land west of Mus (west of Sorus) was returned to them, but they had to pay large war indemnities, open their grain markets to us and provide fair wheat trade, and they had to sign a longer peace. The treaty... This is the price they paid for breaking the agreement and provoking war again (actually, this time it was Dionysius who started the war). That’s roughly what it means, you bring people to negotiate, and we must negotiate as soon as possible!”

Philistos nodded in understanding.

"Okay, that's all." Dionysius motioned to Philistus to carry out these instructions immediately.

Philistos hesitated for a moment and said: "Uh... Sir... Regarding Hermes, the Dionysian envoy said that he can be returned to us. You see..."

"Why do we want him to come back! What should we do with him when he comes back?!" Dionysius's face darkened and he said with anger: "Looking at his cowardly performance at the Thurii public trial, it makes me feel sick. ! Tell them that Syracuse respects the laws of Dionia, and since this man committed a crime in Thurii, we support him being punished by the laws of Dionia!"

Philistos sighed secretly and walked out of the hall. He thought of Ansitanos, who had a great conversation last night because of their common hobbies. A feeling of guilt came to his mind. He looked up at the sea in the distance, and in his heart He said apologetically: Ancitanos, I'm sorry!I'm all for Syracuse...

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While Ansitanos was negotiating with Philistus, at Thurii, Davos received Cyclion in his study at home.

"Lord Consul!" Seclian gave a solemn military salute upon meeting him.

"Seglian, our hero! I have told you many times, this is not a training ground, there is no need to be so formal." Davos looked at the young naval commander. Several years of training have made him proud. His face became a little more steady, he nodded secretly, smiled and gestured: "Sit down quickly! Sit down and talk about things!"

Seklian sat upright facing Davos.

"Will Anilus's sentencing this time have any impact on the sailors of the Navy?" Davos asked directly without any further greetings.

"Basically there is no impact." Sekerian immediately replied: "The soldiers all knew En'anylus' crime through the public trial. In addition, En'anylus seldom participated in training and rarely led the soldiers in person. So everyone is training as usual, and there is nothing abnormal. But we have a worry, can the trireme that will be built this year be launched on time?"

"There is no need to worry about this. Anyilus's violation of law does not involve his family or the shipyard. The Senate has already sent people to appease them, and they have also made a guarantee. The Senate's plan for the navy is five three-story ships per year. Not only will the launch volume of paddle warships remain unchanged, it will only increase in the future, not decrease!" Davos promised him.

"That's great!" Sekerian suggested excitedly: "The decision made by the Senate is correct! Although we now have 30 triremes, if we want to protect two On the coast, it is safe to at least double the number of warships."

Davos nodded, stroked his chin with his hand, and began to think about something.

Seclian thought that the request he had just made made the consul who appreciated him feel embarrassed, and he felt a little nervous in his heart.

At this time, Davos said: "If you count the warships of the Dionian alliance city-states such as Metapontum, Heraclea and Lijim, as well as the southern Italians such as Crotone and Siliting, etc. Alliance warships, what do you think of our naval strength?”

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(End of this chapter)