Chapter 234 Division of Powers

But before Okleton's words were finished, Martius said again: "Your Majesty, I still have a few letters here, which were sent with the battle report."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier, show it to me!" Davos criticized pretending to be angry, pretended to read the letters, and then said to Okriton, who was looking at him, "This is Taunis, Lieutenant Letters from Otini, Sikuli... and other city-states requesting an alliance."

Okriton shook his hands, took these letters, and after reading the first and second letters, he was no longer in the mood to read them. Of course, he could see that these letters were real, and he could show it just by one thing: from the signature at the end of the text, there were a lot of names written all over the place, and there were even handprints and graffiti.

He could imagine: among the leaders of a city-state riot, there are both upper-class citizens, whose handwriting is very elegant; there are ordinary civilians, who are not literate, and their writing is crooked; there may also be free people or slaves, Of course, the illiterate can only do graffiti. These mobs had just driven away the forces of Dionysius, and they wrote in such a hurry, I am afraid not only want to get Dionia's force protection, but also want to get Dionia in the city-state election in the future. support and win more interests for the groups they represent.

If a distraught Okredon had taken the time to read the letters, he would have found that there was no letter from Katanai.

In fact, there was, but Davers didn't take it out. Catane's letter was from Antrapolis, in which he emphasized that the people and free people of Catane, and even a small number of slaves, under his repeated exchanges and persuasion, Agree to allow Catane to join the Dionysian League...

That's why Davers didn't take the letter out. In addition, there is a letter from a city-state also asking to join the alliance, that is Naxos. Yes, the former exiles, after taking back their homeland, decided to rebuild the city of Naxos and dedicate it to Dionysus.

The two cities of Catane and Naxos were once destroyed by Dionysius, so the people here know better than the people of other Sicilian city-states that peace and tranquility are far more free and dangerous than what seems to be Independence is more important, so under the guidance of Antrapolis and his men, they willingly chose to join Dionia, the Greek city-state alliance that could defeat the terrifyingly powerful Syracuse and make them No longer displaced.

Okredon handed the letter back to Davos in a trance, and at the same time persuaded in a lack of confidence: "King Davos, even if Dionia defeated Syracuse and won the final victory, but your The first task should be... It should be to restore the prosperity of Great Greece. The relationship between the various city-states in Sicily is complicated, as well as the contradiction between the local indigenous Sikaers and the Greeks, and Dionia rashly intervenes. This island, which is completely unfamiliar to you, can easily be involved in the quagmire of conflicts between various city-state forces, which will actually hinder the development of Dionia..."

"Thank you for your concern and reminder, Lord Okriton.

Davos smiled slightly and asked back: "In the army of Siracusa's invasion of Great Greece, there are citizens from city-states such as Leotine, Taunis, Catane, Sikuli, etc. If Dionia Refuse these city-states to join the alliance, what do you think they will do? "

Okredon was stunned, and before he could answer, Henepolis interjected next to him: "They must suspect that Dionysus still hates that they once assisted Syracuse in the invasion of Great Greece, and they are worried that we will retaliate. They, out of panic, will probably reunite with Syracuse in order to fend off a possible threat."

"Yes, allied with a brand new Syracuse without the tyrant of Dionysius, it's like wine from one clay jar poured into another empty jar, the taste is still the same, the result is still the same Is it Syracuse or the ally of the Greek city-states in Sicily, is this what Carthage wants to see?!" Davos asked again.

Okleton had to admit in his heart that this situation is very likely to occur, and he said eagerly: "You...you can tell these city-states that you have no intention of attacking them, and you can also sign...sign a friendly agreement with them. …”

Davos chuckled lightly, leaned his body against the back of the chair, and said slowly, "Lord Okleton, did Carthage take the initiative to sign a friendship treaty with the neighboring small Phoenician city-state?"

Okredon was stunned for a moment, and then he understood Davos' intention: the lion never cared about the feelings of the cattle and sheep. The big state has its own majesty. Rakuza's Dionia is already a powerful country with far-reaching reputation, and of course he won't do such a foolish thing to lose his worth.

Okleton felt a fever in his face, and heard Davos say again: "In addition, the strength of Syracuse is far greater than that of other city-states in Sicily, including the city-states attached to Carthage. No matter whether Syracuse is What kind of government, who will govern, as time goes by, it will naturally attract the surrounding city-states to move closer to it, and then the Syracuses will also be a threat to Great Greece and Carthage! Therefore, Catane , Leotine... These city-states require an alliance with Dionia, which can make the central area of ​​the east coast of Sicily closest to Greater Greece out of the sphere of influence of Syracuse, known as the southern security barrier of Greater Greece. If Syracuse wants to invade Greater Greece, it must first conquer this area to the north of it, then the war will start there, and no more damage to Greater Greece! So we Dionia will anyway Agree to their demands and form a solid alliance with them!"

Listening to Davos' firm words, Okriton suddenly realized a question: "Didn't Dionia plan to destroy Syracuse?"

"Destroy Syracuse?" Davos said as if he had heard a joke: "What even Carthage can't do, how can Dionia, who is now scarred, do it! We just Just do what you can to weaken Syracuse for the safety of Greater Greece."

After listening to Davos' answer, Okriton was both moved and regretful, and he was a little uneasy about Dionia's insistence on accepting those Sicilian city-states: this was the first time in hundreds of years Foreign forces set foot in Sicily! The Athenian invasion during the Peloponnesian War does not count, after all, it is too far away, and Great Greece is different, only separated by a strait a few miles away...

"Lord Okreton, do you know what kind of geometry is the most stable?" Davos asked suddenly.

Geometry, a knowledge developed for calculating land area, has been highly praised by Greek scholars who like to study natural science. Some Athenian scholars once declared: Geometry is the foundation of all knowledge!

"What?" Okriton, who had come to his senses, didn't expect Davos to ask an outrageous question, and was stunned again.

"It's a triangle." Davos said bluntly: "Why are Carthage and Syracuse constantly fighting in Sicily? Because you are the only two powerful forces in Sicily."

Davers stretched out two fingers: "As long as they touch each other, there will inevitably be a war due to conflict of interest, and there is no room for manoeuvre. But if Dionys is joined—" Davers raised another finger , supporting it into a triangle: "The three parties will restrain each other, but will reach a long-term peace! Because one party wants to wage war on the other party, it has to take into account the threat of a third party to it."

Okriton stared at his fingers, and hesitantly said after a while: "It is also possible that two forces unite and attack one force."

Davos smiled: "This war has made Dionia and Syracuse enemies, and it is impossible to join forces to attack Carthage, do you think?"

Okleton didn't speak, but he was thinking in his heart: Syracuse burned Crotone, slaughtered Cilidia, and destroyed Dionia's territory. The great Greeks really hated them! That's why Dionia sold some of the captured citizens of Syracuse to us in Carthage. If the people of Syracuse knew about this, they would definitely not spare Dionia...

"Will Carthage and Syracuse join forces to attack Dionia?"

Okredon shook his head: Decades of war had made the hatred between the two city-states too deep.

"Dionia wants to unite with you Carthage to destroy Syracuse, but the current situation is impossible. In a few decades, there may be two forces that can unite, but the distribution of interests is always Uneven, a third party will always find a loophole to break this union, so the peace of Sicily can be guaranteed for a long time, and this guarantee is also in the interests of your Carthage, are you right, Ok Lord Ritton." Davos said gently.

From the heart, Okriton felt that Davos had some truth in what he said, but such a major matter was beyond the purview of his ambassador, so he remained silent.

But Davos obviously didn't plan to just let it go: "Heney, go get the map."

Henepolis placed the map of Sicily on the wooden table, and Davos picked up the pen and said, "I think the west of Palermos and Serinus is your Carthaginian sphere of influence."

As he said that, he "cut" a large western corner of Sicily with a single stroke, and then he said: "Syracuse south to the north of Camanlina belongs to the sphere of influence of Syracuse."

With another stroke, he "cut" a small southeast corner, and at last he said: "Tauromenion, Naxos, Sikuli, Catane, Leotine, Taunis are attached Dionia." Saying this, he carefully drew a narrow strip along the east coast of Sicily.