Chapter 208 Haroris
After sending Hiparinus away, Philistos sat on the wooden chair for a while...
When Dionysius' messenger came to Syracuse to protest, Dionysius and Philistos paid more attention to Dionysus, but they did not really regard Dionysius as an evenly matched opponent. And now he never imagined that 80,000 troops and more than 400 warships - such a powerful force that was enough to swept across Sicily was actually defeated by the independently supported Dionysians in Great Greece! If Dionysius and he had known such a bad result, they would have preferred to delay the attack for a few more months and have to make more preparations, but now it is too late to regret it! Only by doing our best to win this war, otherwise the fate of Syracuse——
The ruined Catane, Naxos, and Carthage who were forced to make peace appeared in Philistos' mind, and he couldn't help but shudder: the situation in Sicily is very calm today, but Who knows if this calm will breed a bigger storm?
He picked up his worries and prepared to invite the Minister of Finance to discuss the issue of the money and food needed for the second expedition, but saw Hiparinus, who had already left, rush in in a hurry, with a panic that could not be concealed on his face.
Philistos' heart suddenly "squeaked", and he saw Hiparinus hurriedly said: "I just received urgent news from my subordinates that the Dionysians have landed in Sicily, and they have captured them. Mayaro!"
The bad news came one after another, like a giant hammer hitting Philistos, making him dizzy, he propped up the wooden table with his hands, and asked astringently, "Is this news true?!"
"I think you will soon welcome Sikuli's messenger for help." Hyparinus said anxiously.
Philistos was stunned for a while, and suddenly shouted to his subordinates: "Quick! Quickly go and call me Harolis, Marcias, Callides and other adults and call them back!"
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The meeting room was still the same as before, but the atmosphere was even more solemn. The news that "the army of Syracuse was defeated in the battle" shocked everyone, but it happened in Greater Greece after all. But now that the war has reached Sicily, the sense of urgency is even stronger. What worried them even more was that Dionysus dared to send troops to land in Sicily, indicating that they had the confidence to completely defeat the Syracuse army in Great Greece. Dionysius was in a very bad situation in Great Greece.
"How many Dionians landed on Naxos?" Macias asked the most crucial question.
"According to my subordinate's report, there are about six or seven thousand people, and most of the soldiers wear all-black armor. Information about the Dionysian army shows that this is only worn by the soldiers of their so-called 'official legion'. And they attacked quickly. It took only over an hour for Meyaro to find the enemy and be occupied.
Although there were riots among those Naxos slaves, it can be seen that this is by no means an ordinary Dionian army! ' Hyparinus reminded extremely solemnly.
The other people's brows furrowed even tighter.
"Regardless of the strength of this Dionian army, we must destroy it as soon as possible!" Philistos looked at the crowd with a serious expression, banged on the wooden table with his left hand, and reminded loudly: "Our army The defeat in the Great Greece Battle may have made some Sicilian city-states have other ideas. Now, the news of the 'Dionians landing in Sicily' will only make the seemingly peaceful situation in Sicily turbulent, Nake The riot of the slaves of Soth is a proof! We must destroy this army as quickly as possible, and use a victory to tell the other city-states in Sicily, 'We Syracuse are still strong!'. Only in this way can we maintain The current situation, or if this panic spreads, it will cause us endless trouble!"
"I will immediately go outside the city to mobilize for war. At least 6,000 soldiers can be recruited immediately. In addition, a thousand mercenaries on Ortigia Island—"
Before Mathias could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Hiparinus: "The mercenaries on Ortigia Island cannot be mobilized, that is to ensure the safety of Lord Dionysius, his family, and everyone else. !"
Haroris rolled his eyes slightly.
"Can the civic soldiers in the city be summoned tomorrow?" Philistos turned his head and asked.
Haroris shook his head: "It's very difficult. The rioting outside the city hall has not subsided yet. I estimate that it will take at least three days to gather them in the square..."
"Do your best!" Philistos didn't have much hope for this, and he said to Marcias: "I will send someone urgently to inform these allies in the north, and let Taunis , Leotine, Catanay, Sikuli assemble the army, and you will lead the army north tomorrow, bringing these allied armies under your command along the way. The Dionysians invaded Sicily, took Meyaro, The next threat will be the rule of these city-states, and they should go all out. We will recruit troops to reinforce you later..."
"With the troops of these allies joining in, especially Catane, I think it's enough to deal with the Dionians!" Mathias said confidently: "I'll rush back now to gather soldiers." After speaking, he He got up quickly and walked out.
"Lord Callidmus, you are dispatching these allies to the south, urge them to provide troops as soon as possible, and immediately lead them to Mayaro after gathering the troops!" Philistos continued.
Knowing that the situation was urgent, Kali Demus did not argue with Philistos, and immediately agreed.
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Haroris finally persuaded the people gathered outside the city hall to retreat, and returned to his mansion exhausted. It was already dusk.
When the door closed, his seemingly exhausted energy immediately recovered, and he hurried to his study, followed by his most trusted slave, Teasta.
As soon as he sat down, Haroris hurriedly asked, "Is there any news over there?!"
"Yes, Master." Tista hurriedly handed over a piece of papyrus folded into small squares.
Haroris hurriedly opened it and saw that to outsiders, there were dense and strange symbols on it, but he knew very well that it was the mysterious "Davos Number" popular in Dionia.
He suppressed the excitement in his heart and said to Tista, "You go outside and wait for a while."
After Tista exited the study and closed the door, Haroris took out the book "History" from the bookcase, and found the corresponding page number, line number, and word one by one according to the numbers provided on the note. But this is not the end. The small ink dots at the front of the note signify that the real goal is to count the words that are found. Connecting these words is Dionysian in Sicily. The information to be conveyed by the intelligence chief, such a complicated confidential document, is to ensure that even if Haroris' confidant slave is captured and the note is taken away, Hiparinus may not be able to understand the secret contained in the note at all. If careless, Hyparinus' men might even throw it away as something the slaves doodled on.
In fact, it took Hololis to study hard for several days before he mastered it, so he had to sigh: The Dionysians are so thoughtful and orderly in this regard, far better than a few Syracuse, who has been a spy for ten years, gave him some confidence in Dionia.
And now the performance of the Dionians on the battlefield made him more confident about it.
After reading the secret letter, he wrote a reply in this way, called Tista in again, and ordered: "Tomorrow morning, you will bring two jars of wine to Philothanus, and tell it yourself. He, 'It's warmer, let him get out more.'"
Tituta immediately narrated the words of Haroris again, Haroris nodded with satisfaction, and carefully handed the folded papyrus to him: "After the wine is delivered, go to the wine shop and sit in town, Once someone matches the code, you give this to him."
"Understood, Master." Teasta was already familiar with this, but after receiving the order today, he did not leave immediately, but asked hesitantly: "Master, I heard that Dionysius has been arrested in Great Greece. Defeated, will Dionysius' rule here be overthrown?!"
Looking at the longing in Tista's eyes, Herolis knew in his heart: he, a slave, was originally a citizen of Katanai, but because of Dionysius' large-scale invasion, his home was destroyed, his family was killed, and he himself became Slave, his hatred of Dionysius was deep. It is precisely because of this that Hololis will trust him and let him do these things. "
"Yes!" Harolis said without hesitation, seeing Tista go out happily.
At this time, a picture from a few months ago appeared in the mind of Herolis: At that time, a merchant who was said to be from Cyrenaica wanted to buy wine. Due to the excessive quantity, Herolis decided to personally and The businessman talks.
Unexpectedly, on the day of the meeting, the young businessman turned his back and said solemnly: "Dear Lord Herolis, I am a citizen of Dionia, my name is Antrapolis, and I bring With the sincere greetings from the Dionysian Archon, Lord Davos..."
It was his idea to use Haroris to pass the news in the wine shop outside the city, and then let the slaves often hang out in the port to divert the attention of the intelligence service... It was his idea.
The winner will be decided in a few days! Horolis was both nervous and excited, and he clenched his fists...
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Knowing that "Heros is going to attack Medema", Davos sent some engineers headed by Orops. They have already gained some experience in studying the siege tower of Syracuse. Marais to do the experiment.