Chapter 974
Not long after, the soldiers gathered in twos and threes, and the content of everyone's conversation changed. "Do you know? I learned a shocking piece of news from Hictas' most trusted servant, Falba, the day before yesterday."
"What shocking news?!"
"Hictais secretly met with the messenger sent by the King of Diónia in his living room!"
"What?!"
"Hey, shut your mouth. Don't talk nonsense and tarnish Lord Hictais' reputation!"
"It's true! I heard it from the drunk Falba in the tavern. He also said that the messenger from Diónia brought the promise from the King of Diónia. As long as Lord Hictais leads the people of the port area to surrender to the Kingdom of Diónia, then we can immediately become citizens of the Kingdom of Diónia. We can have a fertile land and can take up various public positions in the kingdom according to our abilities. Our children can also enjoy an almost free education. We can also serve in the military (the Greeks are proud of serving in the military, but this mainly refers to cavalry and heavy infantry. For the poor and free people with low status, they can only serve as light infantry and sailors. There is no honor to speak of). We can also receive rewards according to our military achievements and even be promoted to become generals … "
"Just like the current Katanaeans?!"
"Yes, by then, we will be citizens of the Kingdom of Diónia like the Katanaeans and naturally enjoy the same rights!"
As Katanaeans' neighbors, the people of the port area not only witnessed it develop from ruins into a bustling city over the past 10 years, but also learned from the sea merchants that the Katanaeans lived a generous and free life. They had long been envious of them. Many of the Katanaeans were originally free people and even slaves living in the port of Syracuse.
They can live such a rich life, why can't we? The people of the port area felt puzzled and unwilling more than once. Now that the opportunity seemed to be in front of them, the audience couldn't sit still.
"Did Hictais agree?!"
"Sigh, if he agreed, we wouldn't be here. But haven't you noticed that his mood is a little off these days? "
"Oh, no wonder I felt that he was acting weird these days. I met him on the road and greeted him, but he didn't seem to hear me. He was thinking about something with his head lowered …"
"Hey, I said we're citizens of Syracuse, and Diónia is our enemy. Hippolytus was right to refuse them! He should have seized the emissary immediately and sent him to the council! "
"That's right, Hictas is confused. If the other generals know about this, he won't be able to explain himself. He might even be punished and lose his position as a general!"
"Don't be so full of yourself. Since when did the people in the city treat us as citizens of Syracuse? They took away our land and only gave us a small number of seats in the council. Many of the proposals related to our interests couldn't be passed! … "
"That's right! That's right! If the people of Syracuse don't welcome us, why should we risk our lives to protect it? Do you know, in the past, the lives of the people in the port were even more miserable. We were oppressed by the people in the city. Let alone owning land, we didn't even have the right to participate in the citizens' assembly. We were only slightly better than slaves. It was with the help of the people of Diónia that the people in the port united and forced the council to make some concessions. We obtained some rights, but are these enough to satisfy us?! "
"If you want to live the life of the people of Katanai, this is a great opportunity! They heard that the people of Diónia have captured the Euryalus Fortress and the people in the council were terrified. They have sent all the men in the city to defend against the attack of the people of Diónia. Otherwise, they wouldn't have transferred us to the most sacred place in the city as a backup. As long as Hictais leads us to pledge allegiance to Diónia, we can help Diónia seize Syracuse and truly become their citizens! "
…
Hictais once thought that Artemis was the only Diónia spy lurking in the city of Syracuse, but he was wrong. Perhaps in the Afrika and Iberian region, the intelligence department of Diónia was too far away to arrange manpower. However, how could Aristiras ignore such a strategically important neighbor like Syracuse who had so many grievances with Diónia? For more than 10 years, there were no less than 10 subordinates arranged to lurk in the port area. Who knew how many port people were influenced by them and had a good impression of Diónia. Therefore, once Artemis and the others began to implement their plan, soon the soldiers in the entire square were discussing about the "secret conversation between the envoy of Diónia and Hictais".
The first person to discover the abnormality in the square was not Hictais who had been thinking about the problem on the platform, but his enemy Celekekus in the square. As one of the senior officers of this unit, he was shocked after hearing the content of the soldiers' conversation. However, he immediately realized that this might be a good opportunity for him, so he hurriedly invited a few senior officers who were also at odds with Hictais to come to the platform and questioned him aggressively, "Hictais, so you have colluded with Diónia and are preparing to betray our Syracuse!"
The absent-minded Hipketas was startled by Celekekus' words. After a moment, he came back to his senses. Glaring at Celekekus and the others, he said angrily, "Celekekus, have you lost your mind for the sake of the position of Generalissimo? Colluding with foreign enemies is a great crime of treason. Don't blame me for being impolite if you slander me like this! "
Celekekus was not afraid at all and sneered, "I'm not slandering you. Use your ears and listen carefully to what the thousands of people in the square are saying! They are all witnesses to your judgment of the enemy! You don't have to be angry at me. When the council sends someone over … Haha … You will have the chance to be angry! "
Celeikkus laughed wantonly, taking the opportunity to vent the resentment he had been suppressed by Hicktas. He and Hicktas had been fighting for years, so he had a better understanding of him. Just by looking at the sudden change in Hicktas' expression when he was suddenly questioned, he knew in his heart that this matter was likely to be true!
Hictais' expression changed when he heard this. Without waiting for him to defend himself, Celekekus, who already had an answer in his heart, did not want to argue with him anymore. He turned around and walked down the platform, ready to return to his unit and wait for the council to deal with Hictais. Then, he would smoothly take over the long-awaited power. However, a group of people blocked his way.
"Zamoratis." Celekekus raised his head proudly and said disdainfully, "Your uncle is finished. No one will protect you in the future. If you go against me again, don't think about staying in the port anymore. Get lost!"
Zamoratis looked at him coldly, "I'd like to see who is in the port."
Before he could finish his words, a man beside him suddenly rushed forward, took out a dagger hidden in his arms, and stabbed Samoratis's chest several times in a swift and agile manner.
Celekekus immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. Unable to speak, he suddenly fell to the ground, no longer alive.
Zamoratis was stunned by the sudden change in front of him and could not react for a moment, "You … What are you doing?!"
The high-ranking officers who were following Celekekus panicked and cried out, "Murder! Murder! " They wanted to turn around and escape, but they were caught by Artemis, who was already prepared.
Then, Artemis patted the assassin on the shoulder and praised loudly, "Good job! You deserve the credit today! "
The assassin smiled. The blood on his face intertwined with his dark skin, making him look a little scary, "Thank you, boss!"
"Krizkus!" Zamoratis finally recognized the assassin and was very surprised.
This Krizkus came to the port of Syracuse two years ago. He claimed to be a refugee from Greece and had been working as a laborer in the port. He was simple and honest, always doing the most work and getting the least pay. He was also often bullied. When Krizkus heard about this, out of kindness, he took the initiative to let his men bring him to the port under his jurisdiction and treat him fairly … However, he did not expect such an honest person to be such a vicious person. He seemed to be Artemis's subordinate … Thinking of this, Zamoratis could not help but feel his hair stand on end.
At this time, Artemis seemed to know what he was thinking and said to him seriously, "This is the only way to force your uncle to make up his mind as soon as possible!"
After saying that, he strode towards Hictas.
Zamoratis hesitated for a moment, but he followed closely.
Chiktas had already understood the situation on the square and saw what happened just now. Facing Artemis, he seemed relatively calm at the moment. "Did you arrange all this?" he asked.
Artemis understood what he was referring to, but did not respond. Instead, he said, "Selekekus has already sent someone to the council to inform them, and … look."
Artemis pointed at the square. Some of the soldiers led by Selekekus saw their captain was killed and wanted to rush to the platform to seek justice. However, they were forcibly stopped by Zamoratis's men. Both sides had already clashed.
"Not only for yourself, but for the people of the port of Syracuse. You must make a decision immediately!" Artemis said in a deep voice.
"Do the people of Diónia really care about the people of the port of Syracuse?!" Hictas was depressed and could not help but mock Artemis.
"Uncle!" Zamoratis could not help but speak up.
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