Chapter 563
Ediaruba looked at Margo's excited expression, but his heart was not moved at all. The hegemony of the Carthage in Sicily? I think it's the hegemony of the Magonid family in Sicily!
In fact, the Carthage people inherited the racial characteristics of the Phoenicians. They preferred business and trade rather than military invasion. For hundreds of years, the colonization and trade of the Carthage people in Sicily had been peaceful with the Greeks, except for a few conflicts. Until more than 80 years ago, Dillon, the tyrant of Syracuse, attacked Cimera, forcing the tyrant of Cimera, Tirilius, to ask for help from the patriarch of the Magonid family in Carthage and his close friend, Hamilka.
Hamilka happened to be angry that his mother's family had been treated unfairly in Syracuse (Hamilka's mother was from Syracuse). Without the unanimous consent of the Senate, he organized an expedition to Sicily out of his own pocket. In the end, they were defeated by Dillon in Cimera, and Hamilka died in the battle. Therefore, the Magonid family took it as their mission to defeat Syracuse. They also dragged the people of Carthage into the water. Since then, the people of Carthage and Syracuse have been fighting for decades …
Now that the Magonid family had lost their absolute rule in Carthage, they still wanted to encourage the people to participate in the endless war in Sicily … Ediaruba, who knew some inside information, scoffed at this. He coughed a few times and said coldly, "People are needed to fight a war. The two wars against Syracuse launched by your brother and you have caused Carthage to lose too many people. I'm afraid they are unwilling and unable to join a new war! "
Ediaruba's words directly hit Margo's sore spot, making him blush slightly. He said angrily, "I don't need the people to participate in the war. As long as there are enough mercenaries, I can lead the army to attack the city of Syracuse!"
Ediaruba laughed and said, "Lord Margo, it's easy for you to say. Enough mercenaries?! But they still needed enough gold and silver to pay their salaries! Right now, your mercenaries have already strained Carthage's treasury. If you want to recruit more soldiers, not only will the Senate not agree, the people will also oppose it, because it means a tax. Besides, too many mercenaries will also cause people to worry. Lord Margo, you just said, 'If we can't pay them enough on time, those mercenaries may riot.' "
Margo was speechless for a moment. After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Even if I don't increase the number of troops, I can definitely take back the city and land that I lost with the current army in Sicily! Lord Ediaruba, please tell the Senate to reconsider this matter! "
Ediaruba flatly refused, "Lord Margo, don't you know Carthage's current situation? Carthage needs to restore prosperity, and the people want to live a stable life. No one is willing to sacrifice their lives for those lands and inexplicable reasons that have nothing to do with them! We have finally reached peace with Syracuse. Now you want us to tear up the peace agreement with them and restart the war. This will not only anger the people of Syracuse, but may also arouse the dissatisfaction of the people of Diónia who have just established some contact with us. Carthage will not make such a reckless decision! "
Margo was irritated by his words, "Ediaruba, I used to think that you were a little stubborn and had your own independent opinions and views in the Senate. Now it seems that you are no different from those guys who rely on Hanno. Do you know what the people call them?!"
In the face of Margo's offense, Ediaruba suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "My opinion has always been based on the interests of Carthage. I will not consider who is in favor of it and who is against it. But Lord Margo, is this decision you made really for Carthage?! I want to remind you that the Senate, in view of this sensitive period, will send a senator to serve as the supervisor of Sicily, in case the mercenaries do not listen to the command and cause some accidents! … "
The meeting this time, the two parted on bad terms.
When Ediaruba left the governor's residence, he could still hear Margo's roar inside. He finally made up his mind and agreed to Hanno's private proposal: to send an envoy to reach an agreement with Diónia as soon as possible.
On the way to the port, he constantly met mercenaries with different accents and different clothes. This made him frown: there was no need for the Sicilian Military Defense Zone to exist at all. If peace and interests could be obtained through negotiation, why would there be a need to go through war …
… …
At night, the port of Syracuse was silent. Only the gentle sound of the waves gently hitting the dock could be heard.
A full moon hung in the sky, dispersing the darkness with its gentle silvery light. It also brought some safety to the voyage at night.
Dionysius, Phoebidas and the others quietly came to the dock. Leptineus had already prepared a ship for them.
Dionysius patted Fasipesas's shoulder in a rare intimate manner and said solemnly, "Fasipesas, there is no need to send us off anymore, in case the soldiers notice anything unusual. During this period, I will leave the troops here to you. I will bring reinforcements as soon as possible! "
The heavy responsibility that Dionysius gave to Fasipesas made him feel a lot of pressure. After only half a day, there were a few more wrinkles on his forehead. But at this time, he could no longer complain about his depression, and could only send his blessing. "My lord, may Apollo bless you with a smooth return to Syracuse!"
"Don't forget to hide the news of my departure from the soldiers for the time being to avoid chaos in the troops!" Dionysius reminded again.
Fasipesas nodded to show that he understood.
Seeing that Fasipesas turned to leave, Dionysius quickly retracted his gaze and said to Leptineus who was beside him, "How is Diónia's blockade of the port now?"
"According to the report from the sentries at the lighthouse, there are only three or four Diónia clippers outside the port. They cannot possibly seal off such a wide sea at night. With Lactius's skills, he can easily break through their blockade!"
After listening to Leptineus's confident words, Dionysius relaxed a little. He looked at this brother of his. Usually, his mediocrity and incompetence made him angry and helpless, but his loyalty and meticulous execution of orders made him feel at ease. That was why he had sent his other brothers to other cities as overlords, and only left this one by his side … Now, looking at this simple and honest brother of his, there was no longer any resentment in his heart, only affection. He said in a low voice, "Pay close attention to the movements in the city. If anything goes wrong, immediately lead the fleet out of the port and return to Syracuse!"
"Ah!" exclaimed Leptinus, almost in his astonishment.
Dionysius glared at him fiercely and squeezed his hand hard. He said in a low voice again, "Remember!"
Leptinis nodded warily. "Yes, Sir! Yes! "
Dionysius ignored him. With the help of his guards, he jumped onto the swaying clipper.
"Are you done?" Phoebidas was already on the boat, and asked meaningfully.
Dionysius nodded.
"Will you come back?" Phoebidas's questions were always straightforward.
Dionysius's expression changed slightly. He ignored Phoebidas and said to Lactius at the stern, "Set sail!"
Lactius immediately ordered the sailors to untie the ropes and raise the sails. Although the wind was blowing from the east instead of the south, it was not a problem for the experienced Lactius. He skillfully maneuvered the rudder, and the clipper sailed out of the port like an arrow.
Dionysius could not help but look back, and saw Leptineus still waving at him from the dock.
Dionysius's expression darkened. Of course he wanted to lead the reinforcements back to Syracuse, defeat Diónia, and win back his and Syracuse's reputation. But judging from the various signs, the difficulties he would face after returning to Syracuse would not be limited to a Dionic army of a few thousand. The most important thing was to ensure that his authority in Syracuse would be stable amidst all the difficulties he might encounter! Without power, he and his family would die a horrible death!
Dionysius was very clear about this. In order to achieve this goal, he could give up everything else!
… …
Syracuse's allied forces surrounded the First Legion of Diónia and the refugees. It looked like they were about to defeat the landing force in one fell swoop, but the continuous news of riots in the allied forces threw Syracuse's allied forces into chaos. In the end, they had no choice but to retreat. The First Legion of Diónia took the opportunity to counterattack, causing the retreat of Syracuse's allied forces to turn into a rout.
Masias led the cavalry south for more than 20 miles, and only stopped when they entered the vast Catania Plains. They began to send out cavalry to gather the scattered soldiers, and only gathered more than 4,000 soldiers by dusk.
At this time, a scout reported: the city of Katanai had sent troops to attack and capture the scattered soldiers.
For safety, Masias had to lead the scattered soldiers to the west.
They passed by a few villages. In fact, these villages originally belonged to the Katanai mercenaries, but the slaves attacked their former owners, and then followed the successful rioting team into the city of Katanai. They also took away the food stored in the villages.
Apart from seeing a ground full of corpses, the scattered soldiers did not find much food to eat. Although the Katanai mercenaries were furious, they could not even protect themselves at the moment, and could only cry in silence.
The dispirited soldiers endured hunger and exhaustion, and staggered forward in the night. Finally, at the southwest edge of the Katanai territory, they found a village that was not affected by the rioting.
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