Chapter 954
The people of Syracuse breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they were puzzled. What was Diónia up to?
Not long after, another scout came to report: Diónia was holding a pledge ceremony, and their roar of "revenge" could even be heard by the people living at the northwestern border outside the city.
The councilors immediately became nervous again.
At this time, Teagenis finally made a suggestion. "Everyone, Carthage's army has breached the small city of Paragonia and killed all the Diónia soldiers in the city. Coupled with the previous invasion of the Catania Plains and the wanton destruction, it will definitely enrage Diónia's reinforcements. They are the real target of Diónia's revenge!
As for us, Syracuse, we were only forced to attack Diónia's ally Taunis under the threat of Carthage's army. However, we remembered our past friendship with Diónia and never attacked with full force, so Taunis is still safe and has not suffered many casualties.
Now, we should thank Diónia's reinforcements for forcing Carthage's army to retreat. Without the threat of Carthage, Syracuse's safety is guaranteed, and we can restore peace with Diónia! ... "
Some of the generals and councilors were stunned. Previously, the alliance with Carthage and the declaration of war against Diónia was mainly proposed by this chief general. Now, in his words, Syracuse was the victim. This was too good at twisting the truth!
But after hearing Teagenis's reminder, more people rushed to say, "Yes, yes, we have never declared war against Diónia, nor have we directly attacked Diónia, so there is no question of asking for peace. The people of Diónia should thank us. It is because of our past friendship that we did not attack seriously, delaying Carthage's attack and saving Catania. "
"Let us maintain peace with Diónia for the time being. Let Diónia and Carthage fight with all their might. When they are all injured and exhausted, it will be our chance for Syracuse."
…
"But we've occupied Camanlina and taken control of Paccinus. I don't think Diónia will turn a blind eye to this," someone objected.
"Not attack, but protect. It is precisely because Syracuse protected Paccinus and Camanlina from suffering like Gela and Agrigento. They should be grateful to Syracuse, not to mention that they are not allies of Diónia. Based on this, I don't think Diónia will have much of a reaction to this. Of course, this requires our emissary to go to Catanay and lobby them … "
Finally, the Council of Syracuse passed a proposal that an emissary should be sent to Catanai to express goodwill to Diónia, and at the same time to ascertain the attitude of the Diónia.
The last time he negotiated with Margo, Teagenis personally came because he was confident that Carthage would not harm him. But he did not dare to be so careless with Diónia, so he recommended Sebonus, a member of the Democratic Party who was very close to him, to go to Catanai.
That night, while he was waiting anxiously, a servant came in and told him, "Sebonus wants to see you."
Teagenis immediately rushed to the door and personally led him into the study.
"How did the emissary go? How is the attitude of the Diónia towards Syracuse? Did they agree to maintain peace with us? … "
Teagenis looked anxious, completely different from the calm and collected him during the day. This is probably the real mentality of the chief general in the current situation … Sebonus thought in his heart, but he did not dare to slack off. He said, "General, after I arrived at Catanai, I did not see the king of Diónia, but I saw the former governor of Catanai, Cypross, who was said to have been promoted to governor of Sicily. His attitude towards me was lukewarm, and indeed, as you expected, he did not mention anything about Camanlina and Paccinus. However, in response to our request that the two sides restore friendly relations, Cypross said, 'Let us punish Falekus, Stesicus, and Kucias, then we will talk about restoring friendly relations.' "
"Punish Falekus, Stesicus, and Kucias? Why?" Although Teagenis vaguely aware of the reason, he still asked.
"General, how could you forget that it was them who led the army to besiege Taunis, and Taunis is an ally of Diónia. Of course, Diónia has to stand up for it!" Sebonus reminded.
Back then, Teagenis led the army to raid Camanlina, then forced Paccinus to surrender, and then successfully negotiated with Carthage, thus gaining a great reputation. This made the neutral generals jealous, so in the following military operations, they, who made up the majority of the General Executive Committee, strongly requested to be the commander-in-chief of the army. On the one hand, Teagenis did not want to fall out with the neutral generals. On the other hand, he considered that the following war would be led by Carthage, and the Syracuse army would only be a support. There was not much to be gained. So he chose to give in.
Now, after listening to Sebonus, Teagenis felt a little lucky, and at the same time, he fell into deep thought.
"General." Sebonus took a few steps forward and said in a low voice, "This is a good opportunity! Falcus and the others have dominated the committee for many years, causing so much trouble for you, and seriously hindering your supporters from entering the committee. Now may be a good time to solve this problem … "
Teagenis looked up at him. "But the Diónia did not say that after punishing Falcus and the others, they would restore their friendship with Syracuse."
"But they did not show any obvious malice towards us. We have to try," Sebonus continued to persuade.
Teagenis did not respond for a moment. After thinking for a while, he said hesitantly, "Be careful of Diónia's tricks! How about this … Tomorrow, in the council, other than telling the truth about your trip to Katanai, do not say anything else. I will also inform our people in advance not to speak carelessly. Let's see how the others react, and then decide what to do … "
… …
The next day, in the Syracuse council, when Sebonus stated Diónia's request, the entire hall was in an uproar.
Kuchias was the first to jump out in exasperation, accusing it of being a ridiculous request.
Some neutral councilors also expressed their opposition, believing that it was a humiliation to Syracuse.
Of course, there were also people who suggested that it was fine for Syracuse and the other generals to suffer a little for the sake of Syracuse's interests. After all, they only needed to put on a show to satisfy Dionia. Then, Syracuse would be able to avoid Dionia's attack.
A few councilors from the port's civilian faction expressed their agreement.
Both sides argued endlessly.
The democrats, led by Teagenis, had been watching from the sidelines.
When it was almost noon, the council suddenly received news that there was a lot of panic and movement among the people in the city!
As it turned out, there was a sudden rumor among the people in the city: tens of thousands of Diónia's army was about to attack Syracuse, and this terrible consequence was caused by Teagenis! It was his forceful request to 'form an alliance with Carthage and declare war on Diónia' that angered the Diónia. In the end, the Carthage that he relied on retreated without trust, putting Syracuse in danger. Teagenis had to take responsibility for this! And punishing Teagenis might appease the anger of Diónia …
The rumor quickly spread throughout the city, and the people gathered together to discuss it.
This news shocked the democrats, especially Teagenis. He knew that if this matter was not handled well, it would greatly affect his prestige, so he proposed to temporarily adjourn the council and send someone to appease the people first.
But at this time, Falkus and the others expressed their opposition, especially Kucias, who angrily pointed out, "If we want to appease the anger of Diónia, the one who should be punished the most is Teagenis, because he is the one who caused all this! And as the chief general of Syracuse, not only did he not fulfill his duty, but he also brought disaster to Syracuse. He is no longer worthy of this sacred position! ... "
Kucias's words caused a huge uproar.
The democrats, led by Teagenis, were now even more certain that the rumor in the city was most likely created by Falkus and the others to divert the conflict and damage Teagenis's prestige.
Thus, Teagenis was the first to attack Falkus and the others, and the other democrats also began to support him.
Falkus and the other neutral generals and councilors did not dare to show any weakness, and they all accused the democrats.
The originally orderly debate turned into a fierce quarrel, especially since Falcus had long been dissatisfied with Teagenis. He simply revealed all the dirty things Teagenis had done to the neutral party over the past year or so, such as recruiting, sowing discord, and bribing, one by one.
Teagenis also did not want to be outdone, and he accused Falkus and the other neutral parties of joining forces to ostracize him when he was the chief general, and that they had secretly threatened him to ally with them to suppress the port civilians together...
The hall was filled with curses, and there was no order at all. The curses even turned into fights.
Only a small number of councilors from the port civilians, led by Hictas, watched on expressionlessly.
In the end, no agreement was reached, and the meeting had to be adjourned early.
Not long after, what happened in the meeting spread throughout the city of Syracuse, and also affected the people in the city. Under the instigation of some people, the supporters of the neutral party began to criticize Teagenis for his hypocrisy, and claimed that the council should punish him to end the war.
The people who supported Teagenis had the opposite view, and a dispute arose between the two sides, which then turned into a conflict.
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