Chapter 34 The Plan of Dionysius

Back at the hotel, Helipolis, who was still excited, followed Ancitanos into the room, and couldn't help asking, "Teacher, is that Syracuse spy Hermes Dionysius? Assigned, or sent by his opponents?"

"Why, are you confused?" Ancitanos laughed.

"Originally, I firmly believed that Dionysius was the messenger behind it, but I can hear Philistos and the others' defense..." Henepolis scratched his head.

"It can only be said that Philistos' acting was so good that he deceived you. For a person like Philistos, there are probably several secretaries under his command, and the handwriting is of course different. I took precautions, and even the signature was written by someone else. Polyxis has never had contact with him before, and it is normal to be kept in the dark." Ancitanos smiled contemptuously: "In fact, their The performance is not perfect, if you observe carefully, you will find that the minister named Haroris on the opposite side looked a little unnatural when Philistos defended, obviously they did not communicate well..."

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

"Why expose it?" Ancitanos smiled: "The laborious performance of Philistos and several other guests just shows that they have scruples about Dionia and dare not fall out with us. Good thing. It's up to Dionysius to sign the covenant we proposed..."

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The next day, Ancitanos met Dionysius himself.

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

As the rumored ruthless Sicilian host, he warmly welcomed the arrival of the Dionysian envoys with a friendly attitude, and apologized for his failure to meet them in time, saying: "I have It's a very good thing to learn from Philistos that Dionia wants to sign a covenant with our Syracuse! You must know that Syracuse has been fighting again and again, whether it is treasury, food or The population has lost a lot 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 Syracuse and Dio Nia can be friendly from now on and set an example for other Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean!"

The meeting time was short, and soon Ancitanos left Ortigia Island with some doubts and joy.

Philistos, who had returned from the Dionysian messenger, asked Dionysius, "Sir, are you really going to form an alliance with Dionysus?"

"Phili." Dionysius affectionately called the nickname of his important minister's name, and said in a deep voice: "At your banquet last night, as an envoy of Dionysus, there was a saying that was good, 'Carthage' Although they suffered heavy losses, they were powerful in Africa, and now they are developing the Iberian Peninsula. I heard that they also sent a fleet to sail westward, through the Pillar of Hercules, to explore our unknown land... Next time , Carthage will make a comeback again, and its power must be stronger than this time. However, Syracuse is limited to this small island of Sicily, and the territory will not increase much unless it expands outward!"

Philistus had discussed this issue with Dionysius many times, and of course he knew where Dionysius' expansion goal was, but he still worriedly reminded: "It's just that Dionysius' power is not enough. Weak, and it basically unites the other city-states and natives in southern Italy."

"You're right." Dionysius nodded cautiously: "When I took the position of the plenipotentiary general with your help, I already had the idea of ​​conquering Great Greece in the future.

That's why she married Doris (daughter of a nobleman of Loclery). But I never imagined that in just a few short years, a Dionysian alliance has emerged in Greater Greece! "

Dionysius showed annoyance on his face, he gritted his teeth and said: "Perhaps that Davos is really favored by Hades, but so what! Although the Western Mediterranean Sea is large, it can only accommodate the next Greek overlord. !"

"It's just that we just ended the war with Carthage, and we still need to rest... Is it possible to take a break for a while?" Philistos reminded in a low voice.

"It can't be delayed any longer!" Philistos shook his head: "The Dionysian Alliance is indeed developing rapidly, and it increases by one point every year. I have carefully studied Dionysus, and I have to say that the one is called Dave. The young people of Sri Lanka are very good at dealing with the natives, and we still learn from them some of the ways we deal with the Sikel people. With their current rate of rise, the Samonais in the north of Dionia may not be able to stop their expansion. Their power will continue to spread to the north until they have the whole of Italy, what will we do in Syracuse? Become their subordinate?!" Dionysius's eyes were cold, clenched his fists, and waved heavily, his tone He said firmly and toughly: "We must concentrate on destroying them while their strength is not yet strong and the interior is still unstable!"

"Then what about the alliance with Dionia?" Philistos asked again.

"Talk, why not! A non-aggression friendly pact can be signed, just to let them relax their vigilance. As for alliances - hum, Syracuse has never signed a habit of equality pacts with other Greek city-states!" Dio Nisius said coldly.

He apparently forgot there was Sparta. Philistos certainly wasn't stupid enough to correct him, he nodded and said, "I see."

"And... the negotiations with Carthage need to speed up... uh..." Dionysius paced back and forth, after deliberation, and finally he made up his mind: "We can put Serinus and Pano together. The lands west of Mus (west of Solus) were returned to them, but they had to pay large war reparations, to open up the grain market to us, and to provide us with a fair trade in wheat, and they had to sign a longer term peace Treaty... This is the price they paid for breaking the agreement and provoking war again (in fact, this time it was a war provoked by Dionysius). This is roughly what it means, you bring someone to talk about it, and it must be settled as soon as possible!"

Philistos nodded in understanding.

"Okay, that's all." Dionysius motioned to Philistos to execute these instructions immediately.

Philistos hesitated for a moment and said, "Uh... Your lord... Regarding Hermes, the Dionysian envoy said that he could be returned to us, you see..."

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

Philistos sighed secretly and walked out of the hall. He remembered Ancitanos, who had a good conversation last night because he had a common hobby. A sense of guilt came to his heart. He looked up at the sea in the distance. Said apologetically: Ancitanos, I'm sorry! I'm all here for Syracuse...

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While Ancitanos was negotiating with Philistos, in Turii, Davos received Cykrian in his home study.

"Lord Consul!" Sekelian gave a solemn military salute as soon as they met.

"Segrian, our hero! I've told you many times, this is not a training ground, so there's no need to be so formal." Davers looked at the young naval commander, and his years of training made him proud His face became a little more stable, he nodded secretly, smiled and made gestures: "Sit down! Sit down and talk about things!"

Cykrian sat upright facing Davos.

"Does the sentence of Enanilus have any effect on the sailors of the Navy this time?" Davers asked bluntly instead of greeting.

"Basically, it has no effect." Sekelian replied immediately: "The soldiers knew about Enanilus' crimes through the public trial. In addition, Enanilus seldom participated in training and rarely led the soldiers in person. So everyone is training as usual, and there is nothing unusual. However, we have a concern, will the new three-deck oars be launched this year?"

"There's no need to worry about this. Enanilus' violation of the law does not involve his family and 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-tier ships per year. The launch volume of the paddle warship will not only remain unchanged, it will only increase in the future, not decrease!" Davos promised him.

"That's great!" Sekelian suggested excitedly: "The decision made by the Senate is correct! Although we have 30 three-tier oars now, but if we want to protect the good things, 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.

Sekelian thought that the request he 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 Cilitin. Allied warships, what do you think of our naval strength?"