ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 541 Herolis
After seeing off Hyparinus, Philistus sat on a wooden chair and was in a daze for a while...

When Dionia's envoys came to Syracuse to protest, although Dionysius and Philistus paid more attention to Dionia, they did not really regard it as an evenly matched opponent.But now he never expected that 8 troops and more than 400 warships-such a powerful force that could sweep across Sicily would be defeated by the independently supported Dionians in Magna Graecia!If Dionysius and he had known that it would be such a bad result, they would have preferred to postpone the attack for a few more months and make more preparations, but now it is too late to regret!Only by trying our best to win this war, otherwise the fate of Syracuse——

Philistos thought of the destroyed Catanai, Naxos, and Carthage who was forced to sue for peace, and couldn't help but shudder: The situation in Sicily is very calm now, but Who knows whether this calm will breed a bigger storm?
He put away his worries and prepared to summon the Minister of Finance to discuss the money and food issues required for the second expedition, but he saw Hyparinus, who had already left, hurried in again, with unconcealable panic on his face.

Philistus's heart suddenly "thumped" when he saw Hipparinus saying urgently: "I just received urgent news from my subordinates that the Dionysians landed in Sicily and they captured Mayaro!"

The bad news came one after another, like a sledgehammer hitting Philistos, making him dizzy. He supported the wooden table with his hands and asked in a harsh voice: "Is this news true?!"

"I think you will soon receive Sikuli's messenger asking for help." Hyparinus said anxiously.

Philistus was stunned for a moment, and suddenly shouted to his subordinates: "Quick! Go and call Herolis, Mathias, Callidemus and other adults back to me!"

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There were still the same few people in the conference room, but the atmosphere was more solemn.The news that "the army of Syracuse was defeated miserably in the battle" came and shocked everyone, but it happened in Magna Graecia after all.But now that the war has reached Sicily, the sense of urgency is even greater.What worries them even more is that Dionia dared to send troops to land in Sicily, which shows that they are confident to completely defeat the Syracuse army in Magna Graecia. Dionysius's situation in Magna Graecia is very bad.

"How many Dionians landed on Naxos?" Mathias asked the most critical question.

"According to reports from my men, there are approximately 7000 people, and most of the soldiers are wearing all-black armor. Information about the Dionian army shows that this can only be worn by soldiers of their so-called 'formal legion'. Moreover, they attacked quickly. It only took more than an hour from the discovery of the enemy to the capture of Mayaro. Although some of the Naxos slaves rioted, it can be seen that this is by no means an ordinary Dio. Nigerian army!" Hipparianus reminded extremely seriously.

The other people's brows frowned even more.

"No matter how strong this Dionysian army is, we must destroy it as soon as possible!" Philistos looked at everyone with a serious expression, banged the wooden table with his left hand, and reminded loudly: "Our army The failure of the Battle of Magna Graecia may have given some city-states in Sicily other ideas. Now, the news of the 'Dionians landing in Sicily' will only make the seemingly calm situation in Sicily become turbulent, Nack The rebellion of the Sos slaves is a clear proof! We must destroy this army as quickly as possible and use a victory to tell other city-states in Sicily, 'We are still strong in Syracuse!'. Only in this way can we maintain our strength. The current situation, otherwise once this panic spreads, it will bring us endless trouble!"

"I will immediately go outside the city for war mobilization. I can recruit at least 6000 soldiers immediately. In addition, there are a thousand mercenaries on Ortigia Island——"

Before Mathias finished speaking, he was interrupted by Hyparinus: "The mercenaries on Ortigia Island cannot be mobilized. They are to ensure the safety of Lord Dionysius, his family, and all of you." !”

Herolis raised the corners of his eyes imperceptibly.

"Can the citizen soldiers in the city be summoned tomorrow?" Philistus turned around and asked.

Herolis shook his head: "It's difficult. The people making trouble outside the city hall have not calmed down yet. I estimate that it will take at least three days to gather them in the square..."

"Try your best!" Philistus didn't have much hope for this at first, and he said to Mathias: "I will send people to urgently notify the allies in the north and let Taunis , Leotini, Catanai, and Siculi gathered their armies. You will lead the army north tomorrow and bring the armies of these allies under your command along the way. The Dionians invaded Sicily and occupied Mearo, Next, the first 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 joining of the armies of these allies, especially Catanai, I think it is enough to deal with the Dionians!" Mathias said confidently: "I will rush back to gather the soldiers now." After that, he He simply stood up and walked out.

"Lord Callidemus, you send an envoy to these allies in the south to urge them to provide troops as soon as possible, and after gathering the troops, immediately lead them to Mearo!" Philistos continued.

Callidemus knew that the situation was urgent and agreed immediately without arguing with Philistus.

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Herolis finally persuaded the people gathered outside the city hall and returned to his mansion exhausted. It was already dusk.

When the door closed, his seemingly exhausted energy immediately returned and he walked quickly to his study, followed closely by his most trusted slave, Teesta.

As soon as he sat down, Herolis asked hurriedly: "Is there any news over there?!"

"Yes, Master." Teasta quickly and carefully handed over a piece of papyrus folded into small squares.

Herolis hurriedly opened it and took a look. To an outsider, it was densely packed with strange symbols, but he knew very well that it was the mysterious "Davos Number" that was popular in Dionia.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and said to Teasta: "You go outside and wait for a while."

After Testa exited the study room and closed the door, Herolis took out the book "History" from the bookcase, and found the corresponding page number, line number, and first few words 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 indicate that the number of words found is the real goal. The information that the person in charge of the intelligence wants to convey is that even if Herolis' confidant slave is captured and the note is taken away, Hipparianus may not understand the secret contained in the note at all. If they were not careful, Hyparinus's men might even throw it away as the scribblings of slaves.

In fact, Herolis spent several days studying for this before he could master it. He once had to sigh: The Dionians are so painstaking, careful and orderly in this regard, which is far better than the several people who have already done it. Syracuse, who has a history of ten years of secret espionage, gave him some confidence in Dionia.

And now the performance of the Dionians on the battlefield makes him more confident about it.

After reading the secret letter, he wrote a reply in this way, called Teesta in again, and ordered: "Tomorrow early morning, you will send two jars of wine to Philosanus, and tell him personally He said, 'The weather is getting warmer, let him go out and walk more.'"

Tituta immediately narrated Herolis' words again. Herolis nodded in satisfaction, and carefully handed him the folded papyrus: "After delivering the wine, you rush to the wine shop to sit in charge. Once someone matches the code, you give this to him."

"Understood, Master." Teasta was already familiar with this, but today after accepting the order, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he hesitated and asked: "Master, I heard that Dionysius has been captured in Magna Graecia. If defeated, will Dionysius’ rule here be overthrown?!”

Looking at the longing in Teasta's eyes, Herolis knew clearly in his heart: This slave was originally a citizen of Catanai, but because of Dionysius' massive invasion, his home was destroyed, his relatives were killed, and he became a Slave, he had a deep hatred for Dionysius.It was precisely because of this that Herolis trusted him and let him do these things. "

"Yes!" Herolis said without hesitation, and Teesta walked out happily.

At this time, a picture of a few months ago appeared in Herolis' mind: At that time, a businessman who was said to be from Cyrenaica wanted to buy wine. Because the quantity was too large, Herolis decided to personally negotiate with him. The businessman talks.

Unexpectedly, on the day of the meeting, the young businessman backed away from the left and right, and then said with a solemn expression: "Dear Lord Herolis, I am a citizen of Dionia, and my name is Antrapolis. I bring Thank you, Mr. Davos, the consul of Dionia, for your sincere greetings..."

It was his idea to use Herolis's wine shop outside the city to deliver news, and then have slaves hang out at the port frequently to divert the attention of the intelligence department...

The winner will be decided within a few days!Herolis was nervous and excited at the same time. He clenched his fists...

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After learning that "Hiros was going to attack Medema", Davos sent some engineers headed by Orops. They had already gained some experience in studying the siege tower of Syracuse, and they happened to use Medema. Let's do the experiment.

　Thanks to Yijian68 for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)