Chapter 393
Athens was liberated, and Thrasybulus and the others who regained power restored the original democratic system of government in Athens. However, they did not retaliate against the supporters of the oligarchs' tyranny. Instead, they announced a political amnesty and strictly implemented it. At the same time, they also tried their best to bridge the conflicts and resentments between the commoners and the rich, and between the democrats and the nobles. This made the current Athens more united than it was during the Peloponnesus War. On the other hand, Thrasybulus and the others also adopted a cautious and gentle policy. They forgot about the betrayal of their former allies in the Delian League and treated every city-state equally. This caused these city-states to gradually gather around Athens through trade and diplomacy. Athens was not as domineering as it was during Pericles's reign, but its national strength was rapidly recovering to its former glory.
This was why Aesocrates admired Thrasybulus. Although he had contributed greatly to the revival of Athens, the people were afraid of his dictatorship and deliberately did not elect him as a general for a few years. Thrasybulus still offered advice and suggestions to the city-states without any complaints.
"Aesocrates, I believe you already know about Diónia's declaration of war against Rockley some time ago," Thrasybulus asked with concern. "You've been to Turií. Based on your judgment, do you think Diónia will go to war with Syracuse?"
"There will definitely be a war!" Aesocrates said without hesitation.
"Oh?" Thrasybulus was surprised that Aesocrates was so sure.
"I haven't been to Syracuse, but judging from Dionysius's brutal performance in Sicily, he has destroyed several Greek city-states in Sicily, including Catarnae and Leontini. This person is extremely greedy for land and has even sent people to disrupt the political order of Diónia. I'm afraid that he is the mastermind behind the assassination of the Archon of Diónia not long ago. It can be seen that Great Greece is his next target. Therefore, if Diónia wants to humiliate his only ally in Great Greece, how can he ignore it? He will definitely send reinforcements to fight against Diónia! And Diónia — "
"I don't think it's afraid of going to war with Syracuse. Even though it's weaker than Syracuse, the citizens of this city-state alliance are eager to go to war, like a cat that has seen a mouse. They'll join the war without hesitation, and they also have the support of Crotone, Lijim, and other Southern Alliances … They might even be preparing to deal a heavy blow to Syracuse in Greece."
"Like a cat chasing a mouse … Hehe, Isocrates, you're exaggerating. No one loves war." Serasiblos laughed, and the expression on his face relaxed. "I'm relieved to hear you say that. If Diónia can go to war with Syracuse, then the pressure on our anti- Sparta allies will be reduced. I hope that Diónia can defeat Syracuse and completely cut off Sparta's support, so that we can focus on dealing with Sparta. "
"Serasiblos, my thoughts are the exact opposite of yours. You'd better pray to Athens and let the two city-states suffer great losses," Isocrates said with a serious expression.
"Why?" Serasiblos was surprised.
"I won't deny that I have a good impression of Diónia," Isocrates said with his unique hoarse voice. Isocrates continued with his unique hoarse voice. "However, such a good impression is rather frightening when one thinks about it … it is no joke that the citizens of Dionia love to fight, because the Law of Dionia states that citizens would only be granted better lands if they have military merits. I believe you can understand the crazy things the Greeks would do for land. In fact, it was this law of Diónia and another immigration law that 'accepts free people as citizens of Diónia' (the Immigration Law of Devers) that attracted thousands of free people and foreigners to Diónia. In turn, these former free people who became citizens of Diónia or 'preparatory citizens' pushed Diónia to expand rapidly to obtain more land. Although Diónia doesn't devour the land of its Greek compatriots unscrupulously like Syracuse, it's obvious that its territory is expanding rapidly. In addition to taking in Greek free people to become citizens of Diónia, they even let the foreigners become citizens of their alliance … "
Serasiblos nodded. "I've read Aristophanes's' The Diónia Man '."
"The alliance of Diónia not only let the foreigners become citizens, but also let the leaders of these foreigners become senators of the Senate of Diónia and senior generals of the army! Because of this, the Bruti Mountains and Lucania Municipality have successively become the territory of Diónia. The current land area of Diónia is probably larger than that of Athens and Sparta combined.
Under the advocacy of their consul, roads and bridges are being built in Diónia, and the belief in Hades is being promoted. They even built temples for the foreigners, schools, academies, attracted scholars and doctors, and popularized a rugby game in the whole of Diónia … If there's no interference, according to the development trend of Diónia, a powerful city-state alliance may appear on the peninsula of Italy in ten years. Not only will it far exceed the cities of Greece in terms of territory and population, but it's also not weaker than our Athens in terms of trade and culture. However, it's already very different from the traditional culture of Greece … "
After listening to Isocrates' words, Serasiblos' expression became solemn. He pondered for a while and said, "Isocrates, aren't you thinking too much? You have to understand that any force that expands rapidly cannot expand forever. It will either collapse due to internal problems, or it will be thwarted by external forces. A long time ago, Agos, Persia before the War of Hippocrates, and even us before the war with Sparta were all like this. People eat too much and their stomachs will be bloated, so it is the same for countries. "
"But Serasiblos, I'm afraid Diónia will be an exception." Isocrates reminded him anxiously. "Because this alliance adopts a political system that is completely different from any country and city-state in the Mediterranean Sea."
"Oh? What kind of political system does Diónia have? "Serasiblos asked with interest.
"According to my observation there, Diónia is said to be a city-state alliance, but in fact, those city-states that belong to it are not city-states at all, but cities that are directly ruled by the Senate of Diónia. The Senate of Diónia holds the highest power. It sends senators to serve as the governors of cities such as Turií, Cosenza, Grumentum, and so on. They are responsible for the internal affairs of the cities. The city's taxes and taxes are handed over to the Senate. The city's army is managed by an organization under the Senate called the 'Ministry of Military Affairs'. These cities have no independent administrative ability and are completely under the command of the Senate of Diónia … "
"This … is a bit like Persia." Serasiblos pondered and just said a sentence, but was interrupted by Isocrates. "Diónia is different from Persia. As far as we know, the governors and governors of Persia have considerable autonomy. Other than paying taxes and providing troops, the king of Persia has no other way to control them. So a few days ago, the governor of Persia's Asia Minor, Farabazos, made a decision on his own. He gave the fleet built with Persia's money to Athens for use. He also agreed to let Athens rebuild the city wall to protect the port of Piraeus. If it's any governor in the Diónia alliance, it's impossible for him to make such a decision because the Senate of Diónia has a firm control over everything. In my opinion, it can effectively concentrate all the resources, population, and gold and silver in the territory to do something that other city-states and countries can't do. "
After listening, Serasiblos pondered for a long time with a solemn expression. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said with a smile, "Isocrates, I originally invited you to talk about whether Diónia can start a war with Syracuse. I didn't expect you to talk about the threat of the Diónia alliance. Since Diónia is so powerful, it seems that we don't have to worry about Syracuse anymore. We need to strengthen diplomatic relations with Diónia and hope that it can help us to deal with Sparta. "
Seeing that Serasiblos did not seem to take his words seriously, Isocrates wanted to say something more, but Serasiblos said seriously, "Isocrates, you have to understand that the focus of Athens now is to take advantage of the support of Persia and the overall situation is in our favor. We have to concentrate our strength to defeat Sparta as soon as possible and weaken this long-time enemy of Athens! There are so many city-states and races in the Mediterranean Sea, each with its own unique system. We don't need to worry about this or that at all. Only the Goddess of Destiny can control the future. No one can tell. As long as we, Athens, can maintain the unity and stability of our city-state, handle the relationship with other city-states, develop our trade, strengthen our armed forces, Athens will still be the glorious Athens. We're not afraid of anyone! "
Serasiblos' words just happened to hit the heart of Isocrates, the oratorical educator who believed in the concept of "Athens is supreme". He said sincerely, "You're right, Athens will reforge its glory!"
… …
At the beginning of August, the great leader of Potentia, Puamoth, received an invitation from Diónia to participate in the celebration of Hades. Like in previous years, he politely refused and still sent his brother, Boret, to participate.
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