Chapter 572
Based on the map, Diónia's territory in Sicily was the smallest among the three forces. In fact, the Devers had played a trick. He did not include the entire Catania Plain, and the eastern part of the plain was already under the control of Antraporis.
"The other city-states, such as Agrigento, Gela, Tyndaris … are all neutral, serving as a buffer zone for Carthage, Syracuse, and Diónia," the Devers said seriously as he pointed at the icons on the map.
Ocridon looked at the map carefully, and suddenly asked, "Does Messina also belong to these neutral city-states?"
Although Messina's territory was not large, it was located in an important location, so it was considered a relatively important city-state in Sicily.
"Of course not!" The Devers said without hesitation, "The citizens of this new Messina are colonists from Locri and Medma. They are Dionysius's accomplices. In this war, they helped Syracuse to block the Strait of Messina and attacked the port of Lijim many times. Lijim suggested to Diónia that they should attack Messina to ensure their own safety. The Senate of Diónia has agreed to their request to send troops together … "The Devers once again concealed the fact that Diónia and Lijim had decided to jointly govern Messina.
Carthage was not a Greek city-state. Its two most important shipping routes did not pass through Messina, so it did not care too much about this. Ocridon looked at the map and thought about the Devers's suggestion. After a long time, he raised his head and said, "Honorable King of Devers, the Senate of Carthage sent me here mainly to revise the treaty of friendship signed between Diónia and Carthage. At the same time, I also wanted to understand how Diónia's next step in the war against Syracuse would be carried out. I didn't expect … I didn't expect you to give me such a big … hmm … surprise! However, this is beyond my authority. I must bring your proposal back to the Senate and let them decide whether to accept it or not. "
Devers expressed his understanding, but at the same time, he said calmly, "I hope Carthage's reply will be quick, because the people of Syracuse in West Ritter City will probably surrender after a few days." The Devers were confident in their words. The news of "Dionysius's escape" had been leaked, and the soldiers in the city were in a panic. Syracuse had no choice but to send someone out to negotiate for peace. And the Devers took the opportunity to tell the messenger about the latest battle situation in Sicily. Regardless of whether he believed it or not, there was bound to be a bigger storm in the city of Sirius.
When Okliton heard this, he was greatly shaken. He understood what the Devers were implying. The surrender of the Syracuse people in the city of Siletina meant that the war between the South and Italy was basically over. At that time, when Carthage negotiated with the Diónia that had recovered, the conditions would probably be different.
… …
After sending off the Carthage messenger who left in a hurry, Henepolis hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, will the people of Carthage agree to your proposal?"
"From the behavior of the messenger just now and the situation of Carthage that we have investigated during this period of time, the people of Carthage City are indeed weary of war. Even if the current situation in Sicily is very favorable to Carthage, I'm afraid many people in the Senate of Carthage will not agree to start a war …" Devers recalled a lot of information about Carthage that he had read before, and said, "Things that can be obtained through negotiation, the people of Carthage who value efficiency will not be stupid enough to use force to solve it. Moreover, Carthage should understand that occupying the whole of Sicily is not beneficial to it, but it will bring great harm to it. "
"Why?" Henepolis asked curiously.
"You can understand the reason if you think about it."
"… Uh … Is it because it will incur the wrath of the entire Greek world?"
"That's right. If Carthage occupies the whole of Sicily, not only Greece, but also Greece will be directly threatened by a foreign race. How can we, the Greeks, accept such a situation!? Carthage should be able to feel it during the war against Syracuse. Not only is it fighting against Syracuse, it's also fighting against the Greeks in Italy, and the Greeks in Greece … "Devers said meaningfully.
"Oh, of course a city like Carthage can't defeat the power of the entire Greece. No matter what, it will fail in the end. "
"Henny, your teacher has been interested in Carthage recently. He has collected a lot of information about it. Have you read it?" Devers changed the topic and asked.
"Your Majesty, it's not like you don't know that I've always been in Laos. How could I have the time to visit my teacher?" Henepolis felt a little sad when he mentioned Laos.
"I've read the information and discussed it with Ancitanos. I realized that the Phoenicians had quite a number of colonies in the Western Mediterranean Sea, and they colonized much earlier than us, but why do we only know about Carthage?"
"Yeah, why?" Henepolis asked curiously.
Devers explained in detail, "Because the way the Phoenicians colonized was different from the Greeks. The Greeks colonized because they had too many people and could not support more people. In order to survive, they were forced to colonize in order to obtain new land and be able to survive … The Phoenicians colonized … No, it should not be called colonization, but a kind of commercial activity. In order to obtain high profits, the Phoenicians ventured to the western Mediterranean Sea hundreds of years ago. As a result, they discovered the silver mines on the Iberian Peninsula and the precious metal mines in Sardinia … In order to collect these precious metals and transport them back to Phoenicia, they built many merchant inns on the coast of Africa and the west of Sicily.
Please note that it's a merchant house, not a town! Most of the Phoenicians in the merchant houses were engaged in metal processing and transshipment. In order to satisfy their daily needs, they had to trade with the neighboring natives and the Greek city states. Therefore, the Phoenicians were the race that could blend into the local environment the best in the Western Mediterranean Sea. They lived in harmony with the other races around them. Even though there was a royal war in Phoenicia, which caused some members of the royal family of Tyre to flee to Carthage, which led to the rise of Carthage and replaced Tyre as the new trading center for the Phoenicians in the Western Mediterranean Sea, the people of Carthage and the Greeks lived in harmony — "
"Wait a minute, Your Majesty. The people of Carthage are full of malice towards the Greeks of Sicily. They have repeatedly taken the initiative to invade the territory of the Greeks, and they have even sacrificed children. Their behavior is ugly! "Henepolis interrupted the Devers's words and said angrily.
The Devers did not seem to mind. He smiled gently and said, "It is their custom to sacrifice children in Carthage. I will not comment on it. However, according to the information that your teacher came up with, it was precisely because we, the Greeks, had taken the initiative to attack the allies of Carthage several times, which led to their counterattack. "
A hundred years ago, the Prince of Sparta, Dorius, claimed that the land near Eryx in western Sicily used to be the resting place of his ancestor, Hercules. Therefore, he wanted to build a city there. Eryx was the religious center of the people of Carthage in Sicily. How could they allow the arrogant Sparta to build a city there? Therefore, Carthage started a war and drove away the Greek allied forces brought by Sparta.
A few decades ago, the army led by the tyrant of Syracuse, Dillon, attacked Carthage's ally, Himmera, and only then did they attract the reinforcements of Carthage. After Dillon defeated Carthage, he exaggerated the war into a great victory that was comparable to the victory of the Greek allied forces over the Persia.
These years, I am afraid that the terrifying image of the people of Carthage was deliberately spread by the people of Syracuse to force the other cities of Sicily to unite around them … "
"Your Majesty, are you saying that this is all a trick of the people of Syracuse?!" Henepolis was shocked.
"The mother cities of the people of Carthage, Tyre and Sidon, are unable to provide new immigrants like the Greeks. Perhaps the people of Carthage, who do not have a large population, are always on guard against the Greek immigrants from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea who are coveting Western Sicily. Therefore, they have to show their strength from time to time to deter the greed of these people …"
Devers finished with a straight face. Henepolis burst out laughing, "Your Majesty, you sound like you're not a Greek when you talk like this."
Devers said with a straight face, "Only by standing in a neutral position can one understand the true feelings of the people of Carthage. I believe that at this time, Carthage will be happy to accept the friendship of a powerful neighbor from Greece!" Although that was what Devers said, in his heart, Diónia could not afford to provoke the powerful Carthage at this time. Let's not wake it up. It's better to let it continue to do business, trade, and manage the farms in peace.
… …
Dionysius's ship made use of its familiarity with the east coast of Sicily to lead the Diolyan Clipper into the reef area, thus shaking off their pursuit. When they passed by Taunis, they avoided the blockade of the Dionysian fleet and finally arrived at Ortygia Island.
Ortygia Island was surrounded by the sea on three sides. There were cliffs everywhere, and there were also city walls built on top of them. The island's defense was quite tight. It also had its own small port, but without the permission of the people on the island, the ship could not dock nor enter the island. But for Dionysius, this was not a problem.
As soon as Dionysius arrived on the island, Hipparinus, Calidemus, and the mercenary leader Megyicolis rushed to the island.
"Apollo bless you! Lord Dionysius, you're finally back! While you were away, Herolis started a rebellion, he incited … "
After listening to Calidemus' long-winded narration, Dionysius's heart sank to the bottom. When he saw the Dionysian fleet near Taunis, he had a bad feeling. Now that his premonition had become reality, he did not expect the situation in Syracuse to be so bad. The allied forces led by Masias were defeated by the Dionysian Army, and almost all the city-states north of Syracuse rebelled and broke away from Syracuse's control. Apart from Ortygia Island, the entire city of Syracuse had become the domain of the rebels …
The more he listened, the more annoyed he became. He could not help but yell, "So much nonsense! Stop it! "
Calidemus immediately fell silent.
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