Chapter 236 Dilemma

"After the riots started, no one saw him. According to the information reported by my spies, he was probably imprisoned by Haroris," said Hiparinus.

"Damn Heroris! I should have chopped off his head and hung his body on the top of the city to warn those who have evil intentions! This time I will kill his entire family and ask the temple priest to curse his soul. Sinking in the river Styx forever!..." Dionysius cursed loudly to vent his anger and annoyance: without Philistos, it would be like cutting off one of his arms, leaving many of his The plan could not be implemented, because he quietly returned to Syracuse, and did not intend to appear in public to avoid being criticized by the public, and many things could only be carried out by Philistos. Now that Philistos is away, who can he rely on? !

"Herolis is outside, with an army of tens of thousands of people in his hands. If you have the ability, you can defeat him and kill him! What's the use of just yelling here!" Hiparinus said coldly. Among these people now, he is the only one who dares to embarrass Dionysius in person. Philistos sometimes criticizes, but he will never be as mean as him, just because he is not only Dionysius His father-in-law is also a staunch supporter of Dionysius. When Dionysius was in the most difficult time, he spent all his wealth to support Dionysius' election campaign, and bought a large number of citizens for him, He was elected as the general of the army of Syracuse, and led the citizens against the Carthaginian army, thus embarking on the road of a dictator.

Dionysius stared at Hiparinus, his chest heaving sharply, as if he was about to vent his anger at any moment, and Callidmus took a few steps back in fright. But Dionysius finally held back. He snorted heavily, turned his eyes to Megicollis, and asked in a deep voice, "How is the defense of Ortigia Island?"

"My lord, the rebels once attacked the city wall of the isthmus, but they suffered heavy casualties and failed to reach the city head, so they did not attack here again, but built a new city wall at the exit of the isthmus, trying to block us. outside the city."

"Have you tried to lead an army into the Isthmus?"

Megicollis didn't speak, and turned his eyes to Hiparinus.

"I told the mercenaries of Megicolis not to attack!" Hiparinus said without evasion: "The situation was dangerous and the situation was very chaotic. The first thing I want to ensure is that the mercenaries of Ortigia Island Safety!"

This time Dionysius didn't get angry. He was silent for a while, and then said loudly: "Well... Lord Hiparinus, you are doing the right thing! Megicollis, thank you very much for your hard work with the mercenaries. Ortigia Island, let us have a place to live!"

"My lord, it is our mercenary duty to defend Ortigia Island!"

"Is Marcias alive or dead now?" Dionysius asked again about the whereabouts of another right-hand man.

"According to the news reported by the spies,

He led the rout and fled back to the villages and towns established by the former mercenary citizens outside the city, but without giving him a chance to rest, he immediately dispatched tens of thousands of troops to attack the former mercenaries and their families on that land. In the attack, Macias was no match, and led his men to retreat to the western mountains. "Hiparinus said blankly.

"It's alright if you don't die..." Dionysius couldn't think about contacting Marcias for the time being, and his mind turned to another question: "What about our fleet?"

"The sailors of the port took part in the rebellion, they imprisoned Palonisus, took the warships for themselves, and united with the rebels of Haroris, and defeated the thousand men who were guarding the gates of the city. Mercenaries, and also responsible for clearing the mercenaries outside the city... but these sailors had some quarrels with the rebels in the city."

"What quarrel?!" Dionysius thought.

"According to the report of the spies, it is said that the sailors of the port hoped to obtain all the land of the former mercenary citizens, and hoped to obtain more political rights, but they were opposed by Hololis..."

Dionysius took note of the incident and asked another question of his greatest concern: "Where are Dionysian's army now?"

"They once went to Taunis, assisted the rebels, took control of the city, and then they seem to have gone north again. Now all passages in Syracuse and the north are blocked, and it is impossible to know the situation there in detail." S said.

The Dionians are quite cautious! When Dionysius thought of this, he felt a little anxious. After all, tens of thousands of Syracuses were still thrown by him in the Celestial Court, blocking Dionysian's main force for him. Before the people solve the problem of Sirius, they will recapture the city of Syracuse. Once Dionia's main expedition across the sea, he will be in danger!

"What about the city-states on the south coast? Did you go to them for help?!" Dionysius asked anxiously, this was where he was most likely to get reinforcements, and where his hope was.

"When the big riots broke out in our city-states such as Syracuse, Catane, Leotine, and Taunis, there were also a lot of commotions in the city-states on the south coast. Lord Caledems once risked his life. Going to Gera, Agrigento...for help, they were all rejected," said Hiparinus.

"My lord, these city-states have said, 'In order to help the lord to attack Great Greece, they have sent a lot of soldiers. In order to repel the Dionysians who landed in Sicily, they have sent many young and middle-aged citizens, but most of them have not been seen. Come back, now that the people in the city-state are rioting and the political situation is unstable, it is impossible for them to send reinforcements.'" Karidemus said helplessly.

"Even Kamanlina refused to send troops?!"

Facing Dionysius' cannibalistic eyes, Callides nodded tremblingly: "Yes... yes..."

"Damn it!" Dionysius scolded: other city-states can understand that the tyrant of Camerina is his own brother Leputin, who was personally supported by him, and he is also against Syracuse's tyrant. Turning a blind eye to the chaos, does this idiot think that if I fall, he will be fine? !

Dionysius was angry with his short-sightedness, but there was a sense of powerlessness in his heart: the entire Syracuse rebelled, he lost many civic soldiers and the support of sailors, and even the allies ignored him , can only these two thousand mercenaries be able to regain their former throne of power?

Dionysius was a little dazed. He felt like a big fish stranded on the beach. He had enough energy, but he couldn't use his strength, and he was in danger of drying up and dying at any time.

At this time, Kali Demus asked a mysterious question: "My lord, do you know what happened to the army in the expedition to Great Greece?"

Dionysius stared straight at him.

The people around him knew very well that Dionysius was a deserter, so no one sanely mentioned it, but Calidemus mentioned the most taboo thing about Dionysius.

"I...I...I mean that if the army in Greater Greece can return, it can be recaptured...recaptured..." Under Dionysius' cold gaze, Callides tussled with teeth. .

"What you said makes sense." Dionysius was expressionless, his tone was calm: "In this case, I will send you to Siri Court to negotiate with the new king of Dionia, and I authorize you to do whatever he proposes. You can agree to any request, as long as you can bring the soldiers back safely as soon as possible, you'd better go now!"

"Ah! Me?! Now?!—" Callidmus was terrified, trying to escape the patrols of the Syracuse rebel warships, break through the blockade of the Dionysian fleet, and reach the Celestial Court... ...this is at risk of life!

But Dionysius could no longer let him speak, and let Megicollis and the guards take him to Captain Laktinus.

Although Dionysius did not think that the shrewd King Dionysus would make such a mistake, in his heart, he still held such a fluke. As long as he can return, he can easily retake Syracuse!

"I've been on the boat for two days, and I'm a little tired. Let's take a rest first, and keep secret about my return--" Dionysius covered his head in one hand, and warned the people around him a little tiredly: "Not only It was kept secret from the rebels in the city, and also from Ortigia Island, because the rebels captured most of the city hall officials, and their families on the island are worried!"

"Have a good rest, Tomaki and the children need your comfort too, they've been terrified these days!" Hyparinus sighed.

Dionysius turned to look at Phoebe Das, who had been silent for a while: "Come with me, I have something to discuss with you."

"Okay!" Phoebe Das replied simply.

On the way to the palace, Dionysius said frankly: "Now you already know the situation in Syracuse, and even the whole situation in Sicily. To be honest, the situation this time is more dangerous than the last time. The rebels in the 1970s probably also colluded with the Dionians, otherwise the entire east coast of Sicily would not have rioted on the same day, and it happened at the most critical moment, don't you think?"

"It's very possible." Phoebe Das squeezed out a sentence with an indifferent expression.

Note:

Historically, Dionysius finally chose his son Dionysius the Younger by his relationship with Lady Doris, the belle of Locri, as the heir to the tyrant of Syracuse, rather than the daughter of Hyparinus The possible reasons for the two sons born to Aristomachi are: on the one hand, these two sons are indeed mediocre and ill-behaved; Worry, and possibly out of revenge for Hiparinus' insults to him over the years. When he appointed his heir, Hyparinus had died.