ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 568: Division of Power (continued)

Judging from the map, Dionia's territory in Sicily is actually the smallest among the three forces.In fact, Davos played a little trick. He did not include the entire Catania plain, and the eastern part of the plain was actually under the control of Antrapolis.

"Other city-states, such as Agrigento, Gela, and Tyndares... are all neutral city-states, serving as buffer zones for Carthage, Syracuse, and Dionia." Daves wrote with a pen Clicking on each icon on the map, he said seriously.

Okriton looked at the map carefully and suddenly asked: "Do these neutral city-states also include Messina?"

Although Messina's territory is not large, its location is important, so it is considered a relatively important city-state in Sicily.

"Of course not!" Davos said without hesitation: "The citizens of New Messina are all colonists from Locle and Medema. They are Dionysius's accomplices. In this time During the war, he assisted Syracuse in blocking the Strait of Messina, and also attacked the port of Lijim many times. Lijim made suggestions to our Dionia and decided to attack Messina to ensure its own safety, Dionia senator The Senate has agreed to their request to jointly send troops..." Davos once again concealed the fact that "Dionia and Lijim decided to co-administer Messina."

Carthage is not a Greek city-state, and its two most important waterways do not need to pass through Messina, so it does not care too much about this.While looking at the map, Okriton thought about the suggestion that Davos had just made. After a long time, he raised his head and said: "Dear King Davos, the Carthage Senate sent me here mainly to revise Theo. The friendly treaty signed between Dionysia and Carthage, and at the same time, let’s find out how Dionysia’s war against Syracuse will proceed next. I didn’t expect... I didn’t expect you to give me such a big one... Well... ...Surprise! However, this is beyond my scope of authority. I must take your proposal back to the Senate and let them decide whether to accept it."

Davos expressed his understanding, but at the same time he said unhurriedly: "I hope Carthage's reply can be faster, because the Syracuse people in Xiliting City may not be able to hold on for a few days before they surrender." Davos's confident words were well-founded. News of "Dionysius' escape" had been leaked. The soldiers in the city panicked, and the Syracuseans had to send people out to negotiate peace.And Davos took the opportunity to tell the envoy the latest war situation in Sicily. Whether he believed it or not, there would definitely be a bigger disturbance in Sicily City.

Hearing this, Oklaton was greatly shocked.He understood the implication of Daves' words. The surrender of the Syracuse people in Xiliting City would mean the basic end of the South Italian War. By then, Carthage would negotiate with Dionia, which had already calmed down. , the conditions may be different again.

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

After seeing off the Carthaginian envoy who left in a hurry, Henepolis asked hurriedly: "Your Majesty, will the Carthaginians agree to your proposal?"

"Judging from the performance of the envoy just now and the situation in Carthage we have investigated during this period, the war-weariness in Carthage is indeed serious. Even though the situation in Sicily is now very favorable to Carthage, the Carthage Senate I am afraid that many people in the country will not agree to launch a war..." Davos recalled a lot of information about Carthage that he had read before, and said: "The Carthaginians who value efficiency can get things that can be obtained through negotiation. How could they be stupid enough to use force to solve it? What's more, Carthage should understand that occupying the entire Sicily will not only be of no benefit to it, but will also be extremely harmful."

"Why?" Hennipolis asked curiously.

"You can see why when you think about it."

"...Uh...Is it because saying something like this will incur the anger of the entire Greek world?"

"Yes. Carthage occupies all of Sicily. Not only our Magna Graecia, but also the mainland of Greece will be directly threatened by a foreign race. How can we Greeks accept this situation! Carthage's past relationship with Syracuse You should be able to feel this during the war. It is not only fighting against Syracuse, but also fighting against the Greeks in Italy and the Greeks in mainland Greece..." Davers said meaningfully.

"Oh, of course Carthage as a city-state cannot defeat the power of the entire Greece. No matter what, it will eventually fail."

"Heney, your teacher has been interested in Carthage recently and has collected a lot of information about it. Have you read it?" Davers changed the subject and asked.

"Your Majesty, it's not like you don't know that I have been in Laos before, so I never had time to visit the teacher." Henipolis felt a little uncomfortable when he mentioned Laos.

"After reading these materials and discussing with Ancitanos, I realized that the Phoenicians had many colonies in the Western Mediterranean, and the colonization time was much earlier than our Greeks, but why do we only know one Where is Carthage?”

"Yes, why?" Hennipolis asked with interest.

Davos explained in detail: "Because the way the Phoenicians colonized was different from that of the Greeks. The Greeks colonized because there were too many people and too little land to support a larger population. They were forced to colonize in order to survive in order to obtain new products. The land can survive...Phoenician colonization...No, it should not be called colonization, but a commercial behavior. The Phoenicians ventured to the Western Mediterranean hundreds of years ago in order to obtain high profits. After exploring, they discovered silver mines on the Iberian Peninsula and precious metal mines in Sardinia... In order to collect these precious metals and transport them back to the Phoenician soil, they built many mines on the coast of Africa and western Sicily. Shop.

Note that this is a trading post, not a town!Most of the Phoenicians in the merchant houses were engaged in metal processing and transshipment trade. In order to meet their daily needs, they had to trade with neighboring indigenous people and our Greek city-states. Therefore, the Phoenicians were the most powerful people in the Western Mediterranean. A race that can blend into the local environment and live in harmony with the surrounding foreign races.Even though a royal battle broke out in the Phoenician mainland, some members of the Tire royal family fled to Carthage, which led to the rise of Carthage, replacing the mother state of Tire in the Phoenician mainland and becoming the new trading center of the Phoenicians in the Western Mediterranean. , the Carthaginians and the Greeks live in harmony—”

"Wait a minute, Your Majesty. The Carthaginians are full of malice towards the Sicilian Greeks and have repeatedly invaded Greek territory. Moreover, they have sacrificed children and behaved uglyly!" Henipolis interrupted Davos rashly. Said angrily.

Davos didn't care. He smiled softly: "It is Carthage's custom to sacrifice children. I will not comment. But according to your teacher's conclusion after reviewing the information, 'it is precisely how many of us Greeks It took the initiative to attack Carthage's allies, which led to its counterattack.'

A hundred years ago, Prince Dorius of Sparta claimed that the land near Eryx in western Sicily had been the resting place of his ancestor Heracles, so he wanted to build a city there.Elyx was the religious center of the Carthaginians in Sicily. How could it be possible for the arrogant Spartans to build the city, so Carthage launched a war and drove away the Greek coalition forces brought by Sparta.

Decades ago, the army commanded by Dilon, the tyrant of Syracuse, launched an attack on Himera, a friendly ally of Carthage, which attracted reinforcements from Carthage.After Dillon defeated Carthage, he exaggerated the war into a great victory comparable to the Greek coalition's defeat of the Persians.

In recent years, the terrifying image of the Carthaginians was probably deliberately spread by the people of Syracuse in order to force other city-states in Sicily to unite around it..."

"Your Majesty, are you saying that this is all a trick of the Syracuse people?!" Henipolis was extremely surprised.

"The Carthaginians' mother-states, Tire and Sidon, cannot provide a steady stream of new immigrants like the Greeks. The Carthaginians, who do not have a large population, may always be wary of the Greek immigrants coming from the Eastern Mediterranean. The covetousness of western Sicily is exposed, so they have to show force from time to time to deter these people from their greed..."

After Davos finished speaking seriously, Henipolis chuckled: "Your Majesty, when you talk like this, it feels like you are not a Greek."

Davos said with a straight face: "Only from a neutral position can you understand the true feelings of the Carthaginians. I think Carthage at this time will be willing to accept the friendship of a powerful neighbor in Greece!" Davos said this, but what he was thinking in his heart was: At this time, Dionia can't afford to offend Carthage, which has strong war potential. Don't wake it up, and let him continue to do business, trade, and trade with peace of mind. Run the farm.

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

Dionysius's ship took advantage of its familiarity with the east coast of Sicily to lead the pursuing Diorian clippers into the reef area, thus escaping their pursuit.When passing Taunis, the boat bypassed the blockade of the Dionian fleet and finally arrived at Ortygia Island.

The island of Ortigia is surrounded by the sea on three sides and is surrounded by cliffs and walls. Its defenses are quite tight.It also has its own small port, but unless permission is obtained from the people on the island, ships can neither dock nor enter the island, but for Dionysius, this is not a problem.

As soon as Dionysius landed on the island, Hyparinus, Callidemus, and the mercenary leader Megycoris arrived one after another after receiving the news.

"Blessed by Apollo! Master Dionysius, you are finally back! While you were away, Herolis launched a rebellion. He instigated..."

After listening to the long-winded narrative of Minister Callidemus, Dionysius's heart sank to the bottom. When he saw the Dionysian fleet on the sea near Taunis, he had a very bad feeling in his heart. Premonition, now the premonition has become a reality, he did not expect the situation in Syracuse to be so bad: the coalition led by Mathias was defeated by the Dionian army, and almost all the city-states north of Syracuse rebelled. out of Syracuse's control.Except for the island of Ortygia, the entire city of Syracuse has become the domain of rebels...

The more he listened, the more annoyed he became, and he couldn't help shouting: "So much nonsense! Stop talking!"

Callidemus immediately fell silent.

Dionysius stood there gasping for air, sorting out his chaotic thoughts a little, and looked up at his father-in-law: "Where is Philistus?!"

　Thanks to Vanishing Maple, Yi Jian 68, Zhan Billy, and Death Beast Sky Suzaku for their rewards!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)