ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 549 Riot (Part [-])

Philistus was startled when he saw Herolis pick up a sharp sword, lift up his robe without hesitation, and make several bloody cuts on his arms and chest.

Following several low screams of pain, Herolis wiped a few pieces of his own blood on his body and face, then turned to look at Philistus, with a bit more fierceness in his originally firm eyes.

Philistus shivered unconsciously.

"Watch him, don't let him escape!"

"Yes, Master."

After Herolis finished his instructions, he immediately went downstairs.

At this time, the neighbors around Herolis and the citizens passing through the streets and going to the square had been incited by the servants arranged by Herolis in advance.

Upon hearing the news that "Lord Herolis is being attacked by mercenaries", the good image that Herolis has worked hard to build over the past few years and his hatred for mercenaries made almost everyone present flock to Herolis. Rollis's house just blocked the mercenaries who wanted to escape.

When everyone saw them, they no longer had any doubts about what the previous slaves had said. They immediately swarmed up and beat the mercenaries to death one by one.

At this time, Herolis rushed to them covered in blood and said very gratefully: "My good neighbors! Brave citizens of Syracuse! Fortunately, you arrived in time, otherwise I would have died in Dio In the hands of the mercenaries beloved by Nisius, thank you for saving my life!" As he said this, he bowed to everyone sincerely.

But at this time, people's expressions changed a little because of Herolis' reminder of "Dionysius's beloved mercenaries": Dionysius used mercenaries to maintain his power, but it caused Conflicts continued in Syracuse.To this end, he issued a decree, "Any Syracusean who actively provokes mercenaries who maintain order in the city-state must be severely punished by law!" Now they are not just provoking, but killing mercenaries...

Herolis saw the fear on their faces and immediately shouted loudly: "Why did Philistus send mercenaries to kill me?! Because yesterday the city hall received news from Magna Graecia,' Dionia wants to negotiate a peace with us, but Dionysius and Philistus want to reject Dionia's peace. They want to increase their troops and go to Magna Graecia to continue fighting with the Greek compatriots in Magna Graecia. Fight. I firmly opposed it and decided to tell the truth to the citizens who were summoned in the square today. Philistus knew what I was thinking, so he sent mercenaries to arrest me and even kill me. Kill me!"

At this point, Herolis increased his voice and shouted: "Citizens of Syracuse, do you want to be like the compatriots who were sent to Magna Graecia before, temporarily staying in a foreign land, having a home but not being able to Go back! Do you hope that the increased war taxes collected by the city-state will never end, forcing us to take our wives and daughters into exile in other countries because we cannot pay the heavy taxes? Do you hope to continue to live in your city-state, but Look at the faces of those foreign mercenaries, they are so cautious that they look like foreigners!...

Citizens, is this the Syracuse we want to build after we have spent countless hardships, sacrificed countless lives, defeated the powerful Athenian army, and repulsed the powerful Carthaginians? ! "

Herolis's heavy and passionate words touched the people present. The words that revealed the difficult living conditions of Syracuse citizens today were like a dagger piercing their hearts, immediately arousing everyone's fierce reaction: "No , this is not our Siracusa!"

"We don't want heavy war taxes!"

"We don't want war!"

"Mercenaries, get out!"

……

In the midst of the excitement, someone shouted: "Get out of here, Dionysius!"

The noise suddenly became quieter.In the past few years, the citizens of Syracuse launched two riots against Dionysius, but neither succeeded in the end. After the riots, Dionysius carried out bloody killings. The people of Syracuse feared Dionysius.

Herolis shouted at the right time: "Citizens, what are you afraid of! Dionysius is cruel, but he is now far away in Magna Graecia, and he is besieged by the Dionians together with the mercenaries he relies on. Xiliting, and our fleet has been defeated many times, it is no longer possible to safely transport them back under the threat of the Dionysian fleet! The mercenaries who stayed have been taken to May by Mathias. Yarrow, even the armies of neighboring countries around Syracuse have been taken away. Now in the city, except for the two thousand mercenaries guarding Ortigia Island and the thousand mercenaries stationed near the south gate of the main city and those despicable spies under Hyparinus, they have no more power! And we—"

Herolis excitedly lit his hands at the people who had surrounded the gate of his house: "There are tens of thousands of brave citizens gathered in the square, and countless people in the port area who are dissatisfied with the tyranny of Dionysius! The mercenaries will not be able to stop us! Dionysius’ lackeys such as Philistus and Hyparinus will not be able to stop us! This time, we will restore Syracuse’s freedom!”

The crowd was inspired by Herolis and gained confidence. They surrounded Herolis and shouted: "Down with Dionysius and let Syracuse be free!..." and moved towards the square.

Along the way, there were citizens carrying armor on their shoulders and carrying shields and spears who were encouraged by them to join them. There were also celebrities and nobles such as Philosanus who brought fully armed tribesmen to strengthen their ranks... When they arrived at the square, Hero The team led by Leith has grown to nearly a thousand people.

People are social animals that follow the crowd, not to mention that citizens suffer from heavy taxes and wars. Therefore, when Herolis stood on a high platform and gave a speech, and there were thousands of people cheering, the citizens who came to participate in the war mobilization basically Everyone joined the riots, and even the patrol members responsible for maintaining order mostly defected.

Dozens of mercenaries who were monitoring the abnormal situation in the square fled early when they saw that the situation was not good.

Herolis and the others have carefully analyzed the reasons for the failure of the last two riots. In addition to the Spartans' obstruction, it was also related to the lack of clear plans during the riots, the citizens' actions were chaotic, and their opinions were not unified. Therefore, this time Herolis Leith and the others learned their lesson and made detailed riot plans in advance.

After receiving the support of nearly 2000 citizen soldiers in the square, Herolis immediately sent [-] people to capture the city hall.

There were originally two hundred mercenary guards outside the city hall, but a small number died at Herolis' home, and some were sent to the square. As a result, most of them did not escape, leaving the city hall with only a hundred guards. How could they be defeated? Withstand the surging two thousand citizen soldiers.

The citizen soldiers easily defeated their defenses and killed them one by one. They then rushed into the city hall and arrested all the officials who were still working.Because the citizens resented their complicity, most officials were either killed or beaten to death.

Herolis led more than 8000 citizen soldiers to quickly move westward, attempting to attack the mercenaries stationed at the city gate.

At this time, a thousand mercenaries who received reports from spies and guards who fled to the city gate area heard about the turmoil in the city.You must know that their main responsibility is not to defend against foreign enemies, but to suppress the riots in the city and maintain the rule of Dionysius. Therefore, although most of the former mercenary citizens outside the city have been taken to Mearo, Attack the invading Dionians, but the remaining mercenaries quickly gathered without hesitation and marched towards the square, hoping to nip the turmoil in the cradle before it became too big.

However, Herolis took advantage of the great opportunity created by war mobilization and army formation, and quickly gained the support of tens of thousands of citizens. He also led a force seven to eight times that of his opponent to fight.

The two sides met in a narrow street.Since the overwhelmingly superior force of the citizen soldiers is unable to deploy, the mercenaries' strict organization and rich combat experience have been brought into full play, and such a dangerous situation also forces them to attack fiercely as soon as they come up. The citizen soldiers, who were not even appointed as team officers, were unable to advance even an inch, and for a while they actually gained the upper hand.

.......................................

At this time, Hyparinus and his party were still blocked at the exit of the isthmus. Instead of dispersing, the crowd showed signs of increasing. They not only blocked Hyparinus' way out, but also blocked his way out. Hyparinus felt strongly uneasy about the fact that he had blocked the way for outsiders to enter the island of Ortygia.

But at this moment, he did not dare to jump off the carriage, led his entourage and guards into the crowded crowd, and rushed to the city hall.Because he had the intuition developed from his years of engaging in secret affairs, he knew that he was hated by the people of Syracuse, and if he rashly broke into the rioting crowd in front, he would most likely be attacked.

So he immediately returned to Ortigia, quickly came to the mercenary camp, and asked them to send troops to disperse the troublesome crowd.

The mercenary leader did not agree, because these two thousand mercenaries only obeyed the orders of Dionysius. Their main task was to guard the island of Ortygia and protect the safety of Dionysius and his family.No one else, not even Dionysius' brother or father-in-law, had the power to mobilize this army.

Hipparenus had no choice but to persuade his daughter Aristomachi to hold Dionysius' son and come to ask the mercenary leader.

The mercenary leader agreed to send two hundred soldiers to drive away the troublemaking people. The spies finally entered the isthmus and met Hyparinus.

Hyparinus then learned that Herolis had led the citizens in the city to launch a rebellion, and he was immediately shocked.

While he scolded Philistus, he should have listened to his advice and arrested Herolis; at the same time, he reminded the mercenary leader to defend Ortygia Island with heavy troops, protect the core area of ​​Dionysius, and at the same time sent Messengers rushed to Meialo to ask Mathias for help.

　Thanks to Zhan Billy and Wen Ang for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)