After sending off Hyparinus, Felistos sat down in a wooden chair and was stunned for a moment......

When the envoys of Dionya came to Syracuse to protest, Dionysius and Felistus, although they attached more importance to Dionia, did not really regard it as an evenly matched opponent. And now he never imagined that 80,000 troops and more than 400 warships - such a powerful force enough to sweep through Sicily would be defeated by the independent Ionians in Greater Greece! If Dionysius and he had known that such a bad result would be, they would have preferred to postpone the attack for a few more months and make more preparations, but now it is too late to regret it! Only by doing our best to win this war, otherwise the fate of Syracuse-

Felistus's mind was filled with the thought of the destroyed Catanay, Naxos, and Carthage, who was forced to sue for peace, and he couldn't help but shudder: the situation in Sicily is very calm now, but who knows if this calm will breed a bigger storm?

He gathered up his worries and prepared to summon the Chancellor of Finance to discuss the money and food needed for the second expedition, but when he saw Hipparinus, who had already left, hurried in again, and his face could not hide his panic.

Felistus's heart suddenly "chuckled", and he saw Hiparinus say urgently: "I have just received urgent news from my subordinates that the Dioonians have landed in Sicily, and they have captured Meyaro!" ”

Bad news followed, like a giant hammer hitting Felistos, making him dizzy, and he propped his hand on the wooden table and asked in a low voice, "Is this news true?!" ”

"I think you'll soon have a messenger for Sikuli asking for help." Hiparinus said anxiously.

Felistos was in a daze for a moment, and suddenly shouted to his subordinates: "Quick! Go and call me back with Herolis, Masias, Kalidemus, and a few other adults! ”

…………………………………

The meeting room was still the same as before, but the atmosphere was more solemn. The news of the crushing defeat of the Syracuse army in the battle shocked everyone, but it happened in Greater Greece after all. But now that the flames of war have reached Sicily, the sense of urgency is even stronger. What worries them even more is that Dionysa dared to send troops to land in Sicily, indicating that they were confident of completely defeating the army of Syracuse in Greater Greece, where Dionysius was in a very bad situation.

"How many Dionians landed in Naxos?" Macias asked the most crucial question.

"According to my men, there were about six or seven thousand men, and most of the soldiers were dressed in all-black armor, and the information about the Dionian army indicated that it was only worn by the soldiers of their so-called 'official legion'. And they attacked quickly, it only took a little more than an hour for Mejaro to find the enemy and be occupied, although there was a riot among the Naxos slaves, but it could be seen that this was no ordinary Dionian army! Hipparinus reminded with extreme seriousness.

The brows of the others furrowed even tighter.

"Regardless of the strength of this Ionian army, we must destroy it as soon as possible!" Felistos looked at everyone with a serious expression, knocked the wooden table with his left hand, and reminded loudly: "The defeat of our army in the battle of Great Greece may have made some Sicilian city-states have other ideas. Now, the news of the 'Dionian landing in Sicily' will only destabilize the seemingly calm situation in Sicily, as evidenced by the Naxos slave rebellion! We must destroy this army as quickly as possible, and with a victory we will tell the other cities of Sicily, 'We are still strong in Syracuse!' ’。 Only in this way can the current situation be maintained, otherwise once this panic is allowed to spread, it will bring us endless trouble! ”

"I immediately went outside the city to mobilize for war, and at least 6,000 or so soldiers could be recruited immediately. Also, a thousand mercenaries on the island of Ortigia—"

Before Masias could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Hyparinus: "The mercenaries on the island of Ortigea cannot be mobilized, and this is to ensure the safety of Lord Dionysius, his family, and all of you!" ”

Herrolis twitched imperceptibly.

"Can the citizen soldiers in the city be gathered tomorrow?" Felistos asked, turning his head.

Herrolis shook his head: "It's hard. The rioters outside the town hall have not subsided yet, and I estimate that it will take at least three days for them to gather in the square......"

"Do your best!" Felistos did not have much hope for this, and he said to Macias: "I will send an urgent message to these allies in the north, and ask Taunis, Leotinius, Catanay, and Sikuli to gather their armies, and you will lead them north tomorrow, and bring the armies of these allies under your command along the way." The Dioonians invaded Sicily and captured Meyaro, and the first threat to the rule of these city-states would be, and they should go all out. We'll bring in more troops to reinforce you later......"

"With the armies of these allies joined, especially the Catanay, I think it's enough to deal with the Dionians!" Masias said confidently, "I'll rush back now to gather the soldiers." With that, he simply got up and walked out.

"Lord Calidmus, you sent these allies to the south, urged them to provide troops as soon as possible, and as soon as you have gathered your troops, lead them to Mayaro!" Felistos continued.

Calidmus knew that the situation was urgent, and did not argue with Felistus, so he immediately agreed.

………………………………

Herrolis managed to persuade the people gathered outside the town hall to dissuade him, and returned to his mansion exhausted, it was already dusk.

When the door closed, his seemingly exhausted energy immediately recovered, and he hurried to his study, followed by his most trusted slave, Teesta.

As soon as he sat down, Jerolis hurriedly asked, "Is there any news over there?!" ”

"Yes, master." Teesta cautiously handed over a piece of papyrus that had been folded into small squares.

Herrolis hurriedly opened it and saw that it was a dense and strange symbol to outsiders, but he knew very well that it was the mysterious "Davers number" that was popular in Dionia.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and said to Teesta, "You go outside and wait for a while." ”

After Teesta exited the study and closed the door, Herolis took out the book "History" from the bookcase, and according to the numbers provided on the note, he found the corresponding page number, line number, and first few words one by one, but this is not the end, a few small ink dots at the front of the note indicate that the real goal is to count the words found to the back, and connecting these words is the message that Dionia's intelligence chief in Sicily wants to convey, and making such a complicated secret document is just for even if Herolis's henchman slave is captured, The note was taken away, and Hyparinus probably couldn't understand the secrets it contained, and if he was not careful, his men might even throw it away as a scribbling object for slaves.

In fact, it took him days to learn about it, and he had to sigh that the Dionians were so painstakingly and meticulously ordered in this regard that they were far better than Syracuse, who had a history of secret spies for decades, and gave him some confidence in Dionia.

And now the Dionian's performance on the battlefield made him more sure of this.

After reading the secret letter, he wrote a reply in this way, called Teesta in again, and instructed: "To-morrow morning, you will bring two jars of wine to Philosanus, and tell him personally, 'Let him go out and walk more when the weather is warm.'" ’”

Tituta immediately repeated the words of Herolis, who nodded in satisfaction and carefully handed him the folded papyrus: "After the wine is delivered, you will rush to the winery and take up the town, and as soon as someone has the code, you will give it to him." ”

"Understood, master." Tista was already familiar with this, but after accepting the order today, he did not leave immediately, but asked hesitantly: "Master, I heard that Dionysius has been defeated in Great Greece, will Dionysius' rule here be overthrown?!" ”

Looking at the longing in Tista's eyes, Herolis knew in his heart that he, a slave, was originally a citizen of Catanay, but because of Dionysius's large-scale invasion, his home was destroyed, his relatives were killed, and he became a slave himself, and his hatred for Dionysius was deep. It is precisely because of this that Herois will trust him and let him do these things. ”

"Yes!" Herois said without hesitation, and saw Teesta happily go out.

At this time, a picture from a few months ago came to the mind of a merchant who was said to be from Cyrenaica to buy wine, and because of the large quantity, Herolis decided to negotiate with the merchant himself.

On the day of the meeting, the young merchant retreated, and then said with a solemn expression: "Dear Lord Herolis, I am a citizen of Dionia, my name is Antrapolis, and I have brought you a sincere greeting from Lord Davers, the Archon of Ionia......"

Use Jerolis to deliver messages from the wine shops outside the city, and then have the slaves hang out in the harbor on a regular basis to divert the attention of the intelligence services...... It was his idea.

It's going to be decided in a few days! Nervous and excited, Herois clenched his fists......

…………………………………

Upon hearing the news that "Shiros is going to storm Medma", Davos sent some engineers led by Auropes, who already had some experience in studying the siege towers in Syracuse, and happened to use Mademar as an experiment.