Chapter 702
Of course, the amount of compensation was not small. In the many negotiations with Diónia, Hérolis was forced to agree to pay the war reparations. This was why he wanted to concentrate his power to develop Syracuse as soon as possible, and let Syracuse walk out of the quagmire of defeat as soon as possible.
However, the people of Syracuse discovered that some of the released Syracuse militia and sailors were missing.
Hérolis immediately sent people to negotiate with Diónia, but the reply of Diónia officials made them feel helpless. Due to the fierce attack of the Syracuse army, Diónia was already on the brink of destruction. In order to obtain food support from Carthage, they had no choice but to agree to the other party's request, and provide some Syracuse prisoners to Carthage.
Hérolis had no choice but to make an issue of the war reparations, and strongly requested that Diónia reduce the amount of compensation.
However, the people of Syracuse felt that Hérolis did not do his best, and allowed the people of Syracuse to become Carthage's slaves.
The people were disappointed in him, and this included many civilians in the port area, because many of the prisoners that did not return were sailors of Syracuse.
At this time, Devers ordered the spies hidden in Syracuse to spread unfavorable rumors about Hérolis, because Devers knew that many of the decisions made by Hérolis were correct, but he did not want to see Syracuse rise again.
Therefore, the people's dissatisfaction and suspicion towards Hérolis grew, and many people spread rumors that Hérolis wanted to become the second Dionysius.
During this period of unrest, according to Hérolis's proposal, Fasipexus, Damocles … these former generals and ministers under Dionysius, who should have been severely punished, suddenly escaped from prison, and led some dissatisfied people out of Syracuse. They met up with Masias's mercenaries in the mountains to the west, and actually occupied the small city of Ackley to the west of Syracuse.
Of course, Hérolis could not allow the remnants of Dionysius to cause trouble in Syracuse's territory, so he decided to personally lead an expedition. Before he left, he ordered Falcus, Kucias, Stesicos and the others to guard Syracuse. After all, he knew that the political situation was not stable recently.
Unexpectedly, when Hérolis led his troops to Ackley and was about to attack the city, he received bad news. There was a rebellion in Syracuse. Not only did the citizens re-elect a general, but they also unanimously passed a proposal to put the dictator Hérolis on trial.
How could Harrolis be so easily ousted from power in Syracuse? That was because of the support of Falcus, Kucias, Stesicos and the others.
It turned out that these close friends of Hérolis deeply felt that after Hérolis became the leader of Syracuse, he had become arbitrary and did not listen to their opinions. Although they were also members of the executive committee, they had almost no real power, so of course they were dissatisfied. Coupled with the influence of the rumors in the city, they were very worried that Hérolis would really become a dictator. Therefore, after Hérolis led his troops out of the city, under the persuasion of Teagenis, they resolutely chose to cooperate with the democrats and abandon Hérolis.
When Hérolis heard of the chaos in the city, he immediately led his troops back, wanting to quickly calm the situation. Who knew that before they even reached the city of Syracuse, more than half of his soldiers had fled.
Seeing that things were not going well, Hérolis could only take his confidants and escape from Syracuse by boat.
He did not choose to escape to the Kingdom of Diónia, which had helped him overthrow Dionysius, nor did he choose to escape to the former ally of Syracuse, Sparta. Instead, he chose to escape to the former mother state of Syracuse, Corinth. It was now the third year of the Kingdom of Diónia (391 BC), and the Corinth War was nearing its end.
In order to prevent a situation like Hérolis's, the democrats in power in Syracuse elected 25 generals, led by Stesicos and Falcus, to manage the affairs of the city. They also abolished some of the laws that Hérolis had enacted when he was in power, including "war reparations to Diónia, and the land allocated to the civilians in the port area has also been taken back …"
This not only worsened the diplomatic situation in Syracuse, but also made the people in the port area very angry.
At the same time, Teagenis also proposed to increase the punishment of the citizens who had worked for Dionysius. This caused many people in the city to panic.
The King of Diónia's Devers ordered the Eighth Legion in Catanai to deploy troops to the northern border of Syracuse, as if they were going to attack Syracuse.
In the end, the new generals of Syracuse gave in and had no choice but to increase the amount of war reparations. As for the rioting civilians in the port area, Teagenis and the others mercilessly sent troops to suppress them.
It was at this time that Fasipizas and Masias led the rebel army in Aklai to Syracuse, shouting the slogan "We will avenge the citizens who had worked for Dionysius". This slogan was accepted by many people in Syracuse.
Therefore, Teagenis led the unstable civilian soldiers out of the city to fight, but they were defeated by the rebel army of Fasipizas, who outnumbered them. They had no choice but to retreat into the city to defend.
Fasipizas and Masias were both experienced generals, and they were very familiar with the city of Syracuse. Fasipizas pretended to attack the southern city of Syracuse, while Masias quickly led a small number of elite soldiers to the north, bypassing the mountains, and rushed to the northern city wall of Syracuse. They launched a sneak attack on Herksa Gate, broke into the city, and entered the Popicle area.
The people in the city were shocked.
However, at this critical moment, the executive committee of 25 generals was discussing who should be held responsible for the loss of the city. At the same time, they were debating on how to defend against the enemy, but they could not come up with a concrete plan. It was not until Masias's army approached the inner city that the generals hurriedly gathered their troops to face the enemy. Naturally, they failed again.
The panicked democrats had no choice but to retreat to Ortygia Island, while Fasippersas took the opportunity to enter the city and meet up with Masias. The original mercenaries under his command took the opportunity to retaliate in the city, causing the people to suffer unspeakably.
Far away in Corinth, Harolis had been paying attention to the developments in Syracuse. At this time, after learning of the tragic situation of the people, as a patriot, how could he stand by and do nothing? Therefore, he requested some reinforcements from the government of Corinth, and led them back to Ortygia.
It was already the sixth year of the Kingdom of Diónia (388 BC). The people of Syracuse warmly welcomed the return of Harolis, and begged him to forgive their betrayal.
On the island of Ortygia, Harolis gave a heartfelt speech. He said, "No matter how the people of Syracuse treat him, he will come to protect this country and its people without hesitation. If he cannot save his mother, he would rather die on the ruins of his country! … "
The people of Syracuse, including his former friends and political enemies, were deeply moved by his words. The people all shouted, "Save Syracuse!!! Save Syracuse!!! … "
Harolis saw that the morale was high, and the people could be trusted. He immediately formed an army, opened the long-closed city gate of Ortygia, rushed out of the isthmus, and launched a fierce attack on the rebel army.
Fasipizas and Masias hurriedly led their troops to meet the enemy.
When the people in the city heard that the leader was Harolis, they all responded.
The rebel army was defeated, and in the end, Masias died in battle. Fasipizas was also captured, and the rebel army was basically wiped out.
Harolis, who had won a complete victory, had his prestige greatly increased. Therefore, he did not hold a public meeting, and brazenly abolished the General Executive Committee, and stripped Tiagenis, Falcus, and the other 25 generals of their power. The people actually did not object to this.
And this time, when he regained power, Harolis clearly wanted to establish a political system in Syracuse similar to Diónia, but at the same time mixed with Corinth's system.
This was a political system where a few elites ruled the majority. For this reason, he relied more on Corinth to help him complete this task.
Over the past few years, the turmoil in Syracuse had caused the people to suffer greatly. Furthermore, Harolis had reinstated the law he had enacted in Syracuse, and many people had benefited from it. Therefore, the people had tacitly agreed to Harolis' change of government, which seemed to be a dictatorship, and did not express strong opposition. And Harolis's political enemies such as Tiagenis, Falcus, and the others did not have the support of the people, and they could not cause any big waves. The political situation in Syracuse began to stabilize.
Harolis's rule also gradually stabilized, but this stability was pregnant with danger.
Among the Corinth people who followed Harolis to Syracuse, there was a young noble named Andmarkus. Because of his bravery in battle, he was recognized by Harolis, and became the chief of the city guards to protect the safety of Syracuse. At the same time, he also served as Harolis's palace captain. But he was jealous of Harolis's achievements, and vainly tried to replace him.
In the eighth year of the Kingdom of Diónia (386 BC), when Harolis went to the Temple of Apollo to offer sacrifices, an assassin bribed by Andmarkus assassinated the general of Syracuse. Then, Andmarkus seized the opportunity to usurp the supreme power of Syracuse.
In order to consolidate his power, he wantonly promoted Corinth people, and the people of Syracuse complained about this.
A few months later, during the harvest celebration of Demeter, Harolis's widow publicly revealed the truth of her husband's assassination.
The people were angry, and they gathered together to overthrow Andmarkus's rule.
Andmarkus also gathered his army to suppress them, but in the end, he suffered a crushing defeat and died in the chaos.
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