Chapter 552
As one of Dionysius's earliest supporters, after Ortygia became Dionysius's' Citadel ', Harrowless had also been invited by Dionysius to move to Ortygia. However, he had tactfully refused several times. The reason was that after his ancestors had colonized Syracuse, they had lived here for generations and had never moved, so they were used to life here. Furthermore, he did not sleep well and was easily awakened by loud noises. The waves on Ortygia were too loud at night for him to get used to.
Dionysius did not insist, but perhaps this was the beginning of his dissatisfaction with Harrowless.
Harolis's mansion was not too far from the city hall. Walking on the west side of the square, through the street of the theater, and then walking two hundred meters to the west, past the wealthy district, his house was located near the junction between the commoner and the wealthy district.
Philistos strode forward while his guards carefully guarded him in the center. These guards were all mercenaries. In Syracuse, they were ostracized and even hated by the people, so they were very loyal to Dionysius.
The slave who opened the door saw Philistos knocking and hurriedly welcomed him in, saying, "Master is resting in bed."
"Is Harrowless's injury serious?" Philistos asked with concern.
"Master's head is broken, and there's a lot of blood! The doctor just came to see him and said that Master needs to rest … Oh, that scene was terrible! Those thugs who should go to Hades! Sir, you must capture them! … "
Philistos frowned. He did not answer a lowly slave's request, but Harrowless was seriously injured and unable to work, which was not good news for him.
Arriving at the main hall of the mansion, Philistos prepared to go upstairs.
The slave had a troubled expression, glanced behind him, and said, "Sir, look …"
Philistos had been preoccupied with his thoughts and did not pay attention for a moment. Only now did he realize that regardless of whether it was a Greek commoner or a noble, according to tradition, the upper floor of the main building was the bedroom of the head of the family and his female relatives. Outsiders were generally not allowed to set foot there. He himself was a good friend of Harrowless and often visited here, but he had never been upstairs, but today was an exception.
Thinking of this, he turned around and said to the guards who were following closely behind him, "Wait here, I'll go up."
The guards hesitated for a moment and then agreed. They were all Greeks, so of course they knew Greek traditions. Besides, they had been here many times before with Philistos, and there had never been any problems.
Since Felistos was the only one going upstairs, the slave didn't dare to stop him. He hurriedly called for another slave to take care of the 20 guards in the hall while he led Felistos upstairs.
Of course, Philistos could not just walk into Hrorelis's bedroom. If there were women serving Hrorelis inside, the situation would be awkward. With his status, it was impossible for him to act so recklessly, so he let the slave go in and report.
"Sir, the master invites you in." Until the slave came out of the bedroom, he said respectfully.
Felistos walked in. As soon as he stepped through the door, he caught a glimpse of two shadows on both sides of the door. He was shocked, and before he could react, his arms were clamped hard.
Just as he was about to scream, a ball of linen was stuffed into his mouth.
He was pressed to the ground, his hands tied behind his back with ropes, but he straightened his neck and stared straight at the large bed in front of him.
Hrorelis, who had been lying on his side on the bed, had already turned over and sat up. His movements were so agile that it was impossible to tell that he was injured. In fact, there was no bandage on his head, nor was there a trace of blood.
Felistos now knew that he had been tricked.
Hrorelis looked at him with a complicated expression and said in a low voice, "Felistos, I'm sorry. For the sake of Syracuse, I can only temporarily imprison you!"
Felistos glared at him angrily, his gagged mouth emitting a whine.
"Help him sit up." Hrorelis gestured.
The two men immediately pulled Felistos up and pressed him down on a wooden chair.
At this moment, the sound of fighting came from upstairs. Felistos, who had been struggling, suddenly quieted down. He tilted his head towards the door and listened.
Hrorelis saw through his thoughts and sneered, "Don't have any expectations for these mercenaries. Since I've made up my mind to keep you here, how can I forget these lackeys of Dionysius? No matter how powerful they are, I have hundreds of warriors waiting for them here! Once they enter my house, they'll be like rats in an iron cage. How can they escape! "
As soon as Hrorelis finished speaking, Felistos snorted.
"It seems that you don't believe me. After all, I'm a key target of Hipparinus' surveillance. How can there be so many warriors in my house?!" Hrorelis said with a slight smugness, "Don't forget, yesterday morning I specifically asked you to persuade the nobles in the city to take the lead in sending their people to participate in this second cross-sea expedition. I remember that you happily agreed at the time. But do you know, whether I go to their mansions or invite them to my house, they all come and go in carriages, and the carriages can't only seat one person … "
When Felistos heard this, the light in his eyes dimmed a lot, but then he widened his eyes again and glared at the good friend he once trusted sitting by the bed.
Hrorelis felt the emotions in his eyes and said again in a low voice, "Felistos, I remember once at a banquet you held, you said to me proudly, 'Syracuse under Dionysius's rule is stronger than ever. Not only will no city or force dare to invade our city, but Syracuse will also become the most powerful city in all of Greece, and even the entire Greek world, earning more glory and wealth for its citizens! And what we need to do is to help Dionysius achieve and maintain this great goal for a long time! ' I echoed your words at the time, and now I tell you, my true thoughts … "
Hrorelis looked at him and said calmly and solemnly, "Back then, like you, I was a supporter of Dionysius. Because when Syracuse faced the invasion of the Carthage and the political situation was in chaos, only Dionysius had the ability to raise morale, unite the citizens, repel the Carthage, and stabilize the constantly turbulent political situation in Syracuse. So we fully supported him to become the full-fledged general of Syracuse! In the past few years, he has continuously expanded the territory of Syracuse, forced the Carthage to sue for peace with us, freed the Greek city states of Sicily from the threat of Carthage, and made Syracuse the overlord of Sicily. Even the Greeks tremble when they hear his name, and even Sparta has changed its previous arrogant attitude and negotiated with us in a friendly manner … I know that this is the glory of Syracuse that you have always wanted to see, and for this, you have fully supported Dionysius! "
Hrorelis sighed and said in a serious tone, "But what I expect is different from what you expect, and what I see is also very different from what you see.
What I see is that Dionysius destroyed Naxos and Katanai, who were once friendly with Syracuse, just because Syracuse needs more land, people, and slaves!
What I see is that Dionysius could have clearly driven the Carthage out of Sicily in one fell swoop, completely eliminating the threat of the Carthage on this island, but he negotiated for peace with the Carthage when he had the absolute advantage, for the sake of the usurper's throne!
What I see is that many Syracuse democrats who opposed Dionysius in the past were tortured and killed with the crime of 'traitors'. Even their families were not spared. Even Felosanus was thrown into the stone prison after he made a joke!
What I see is that the people of Syracuse are living in poverty because of the continuous increase in war taxes, and the people in the city have become abnormally careful when they speak and do things because of the rampant mercenaries and Hipparinus' surveillance! But Dionysius drove out the people who had lived on Ortygia Island for decades, even hundreds of years, and turned the entire island into his palace! "
Hrorelis became more and more agitated as he spoke, his face filled with grief and indignation. "Dionysius is no longer the hero who wholeheartedly wanted to save Syracuse, but a demon whose hands are stained with the blood of the people of Syracuse and his Greek compatriots in Sicily to protect his own power! Under his dictatorship, Syracuse is no longer the great motherland that allows us to be rich and exercise our rights freely, but a tool for Dionysius to fulfill his personal desires! To fulfill his personal greed, he drove the seventy to eighty thousand people of Syracuse to take a huge risk to invade Greece, which has never had any ill intentions towards Syracuse, and left the bones of tens of thousands of people in a foreign land! If we do not take action now, Syracuse — our great city will eventually fall in the hands of Dionysius! I was the one who supported him to take the position of the tyrant back then. Today, I will do my best to make up for the biggest mistake I have made! "
After saying these words that had been bottled up in his heart for years, Hrorelis felt his entire body relax, and he stood up with a determined expression.
"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! … "Philistos stared at him nervously, shaking his head vigorously.
Hrorelis ignored him and turned his gaze to the muscular man behind him. "Go down and see if the mercenaries have been killed."
As soon as he finished speaking, his trusted slave hurriedly ran up the stairs. "Master, most of the guards have been killed. Only a few managed to break through the encirclement and are trying to run out of the house!"
Hearing this, Philistos' eyes burned with hope.
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