"So you're going to have the Mountain Scout Brigade raid this section of the wall and open the gap in the defenses of the walls of Syracuse?" Davers suddenly interjected.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I hope you can get Izzam to lead some of the Ridge Scout Brigade soldiers to assist us in the siege! Leotizides took over and made a request.

"It seems that the Mountain Scouting Brigade is about to make a name for itself in Sicily after its repeated exploits in the Latin region! I agree to have 500 Mountain Scout Brigade soldiers temporarily follow your orders during the assault on Syracuse. Davos nodded happily in agreement, because he felt that Leotizides' battle plan was feasible, and also reminded: "Syracuse is a big city, even if the mountain reconnaissance team occupies the fortress on the west side of Yuliarus, but you just said that this area is narrow and difficult to travel, and it is remote, after the Syracuse people get the news, they can also use their sufficient military resources to blockade this small area, and then recapture it...... Therefore, how to use this victory to expand the results of the battle, and finally occupy the whole city, you need to think and deduce carefully again and again to refine your plan. ”

Leotizides listened, thoughtful.

"What else can I help with?" Davers asked again earnestly.

Leotizides shook his head at first, then suddenly remembered something, and said: "Your Majesty, I am worried that when we break through the city of Syracuse, the Greek Kuza will hold on to the island of Ortigia. Ortiguia Island is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and I am afraid it will not be able to conquer in a short time. ”

Ortigia ...... Davers subconsciously touched his chin, he vaguely remembered that in the history of his previous life, the Romans were blocked by the island of Ortigia, and it took several years to finally capture the city of Syracuse, in which Archimedes played a great role.

He waved his hand and said, "If this really happens, there is no need to storm Ortigea Island and besiege it. In fact, it was also relatively easy to besiege, and only a wall was needed to build a wall on the isthmus to isolate it. By occupying the main city of Syracuse and occupying its port, we have completely eliminated the potential threat to us from the Syracuse Army and Navy, blockaded the island of Ortigia for a year or two, and it will eventually surrender. ”

"Your Majesty, when that time comes, with the population and food situation on the island of Ortiguia, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to hold out for a year or two." Sipros interjected with a smile.

"By the way, Sipros, what advice do you have for attacking Syracuse?" Davers looked at him.

Sipros said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, there have been two times in the past 20 years that the city of Syracuse has really been captured, both of which came from civil strife (referring to the riots in the city during the Southern Italian War that overthrew the rule of Dionysius and the resurgence of Herois in the city a few years later), I think this time to attack Syracuse, can you think of a way in this regard?" ”

Davers's eyes lit up, and this was exactly what he wanted, so he smiled and encouraged, "Can you tell us more about your thoughts?" ”

"Your Majesty, although the strength of Syracuse has recovered in the past 10 years, compared with the reign of Dionysius and Herolis, Syracuse today lacks a strong political figure, and in peacetime it is the Generals' Executive Council and the Council that hold power in Syracuse, and it is the Generals' Executive Council that plays an important role during the war, and this committee is composed of 20 generals.

According to the information I have received, it is composed of three major forces, the democrats led by the chief general Teagenis, the centrist faction composed of former comrades-in-arms of Herolis and important officials during his reign, and the port civilian faction, which represent the interests of some of the people of Syracuse......"

Sipros, who had been the governor of Catane for many years, also had a deep study of this close neighbor to the south, and he summed up his usually thoughtful thoughts: "Whether it was Dionysius as a tyrant or during the reign of Jerolis, the democrats were suppressed and were the weakest faction, but it was precisely because of this that Teagenis remained chief general; The centrists were the strongest, but also the most complicated, they were all people who had benefited greatly during the reign of Herolis, but some were in favor of Herolis's way of governing, others were disgusted, and even provoked rebellions, including Herolis's former close friends, so they often did not reach agreement in the council; And the port civilians are pie"

Sipros paused and said meaningfully: "It was with our help that they were united and formed a powerful force that played an important role in the later stages of the Southern Italian War. However, as an independent political force, they were naturally squeezed out by the traditional forces of Syracuse, and it can be seen from the composition of the Generals' Executive Committee that the number of port civilians to serve as generals never exceeded three, which was very disproportionate to their strength.

In the past two years, the situation has changed a bit. Originally, the people of Syracuse elected Taiagenis as the chief general in order to maintain the stability of the political situation in Syracuse, but they all underestimated Taiagenis's ability to disrupt the situation. He recaptured and repaid some of the benefits that Herolis had given to the civilians of the port, making him more and more popular among the people of Syracuse;

On the other hand, he took advantage of the contradictions between the centrists, divided and co-opted, so that some centrists agreed with him on certain interests, so that he spoke more and more heavily in the Generals' Executive Committee and the Council, and was even able to persuade them to make Syracuse ally with Carthage and declare war on us Dionia......"

Of course, Davers also knew something about the situation in Syracuse, and he said in a light tone: "It seems that this General Teagenis is very ambitious!" He wanted to win himself more prestige through this war, maybe he wanted to become the second or even the second Dionysius in Jerolis. ”

"This is also the tradition of Syracuse, who is always torn between democracy and dictatorship. In times of peace, the first form of government is chosen, and when there is a crisis, there will be people who want to dictate. Cipros added.

"If you want to be a dictator in Syracuse, you must have strong perseverance and super courage, and this Taiagenis" The corners of Davers's mouth turned up slightly: "Although he acted quite urbanly, and he was cunning and changeable, which allowed him to achieve some goals, but it was all some cleverness, at least now I have not seen him have the strategic vision and courage like Dionysius and Herolis, I am afraid he definitely did not expect that the Carthaginian army would retreat so quickly, let Syracuse face our anger alone." ”

"Your Majesty, it is true that the political arena in Syracuse is now divided into factions, crowded with each other, and the relationship is complicated, and there is also a strong antagonism among the people, and there is a lack of a strong figure to lead and bridge them, but based on the tradition of Syracuse, we do not know whether the initiation of the war has led to more intense internal contradictions among them, or has it instead prompted them to unite together?" Cipros reminded solemnly.

"Is it just because the war might lead to greater unity among the people of Syracuse that we should stop attacking them?!" Leotizides listened for a long time, and couldn't help but retort: "As long as there is a complete battle plan and well-trained soldiers, these things don't need to be considered much at all, and the city of Syracuse will be breached by us." ”

"Don't get excited, Prosous." Davers stretched out his hand, made a gesture of gentle downward pressure, and explained, "Sipros just wants to cause chaos in the city of Syracuse, weaken their defenses, and allow us to capture the city as quickly as possible. ”

Speaking of this, he looked at Sipros: "Are you going to co-opt the civilians in the port of Syracuse and destroy the friendly relations between the democrats and the centrists?" ”

"Your Majesty is wise!" Sipros flattered, and then said: "The civilians of the port of Syracuse have been suppressed all these years, and there must be a lot of resentment, and most of them are poor and freed, they are not attached to the glory of Syracuse, and are more likely to be moved by interests. We used to have a good relationship with them, but now we can trust them to make the right choice if we give enough commitment.

Some of the methods taken by Theagenis against the centrists in the past may have led to the dissatisfaction of some people, and now his plan has failed, so that Syracuse is attacked by the kingdom alone, as long as His Majesty asks Xenofenis to send people to quietly incite the people in the city of Syracuse, there will naturally be people who seize the opportunity to criticize Theagenis...... "The plan of Sipros needs to rely on Xenophanes, the head of the intelligence service in Sicily, to carry it out, but the intelligence service is directly under King Davos, and he has no right to command them, Only Davers can be asked for instructions.

After listening to this, Davers thought for a while, and said: "Both of you have a good suggestion, we take political means to undermine the unity of the people of Syracuse, and a military offensive can successfully promote us to win over and divide the enemy, and thus accelerate the conquest of Syracuse...... Therefore, I have decided that the two of you and Xenophanes will form a team of operations against Syracuse, with Sipros in charge, to work together on a well-developed plan, and to coordinate their execution with each other until the conquest of Syracuse. Prosous, what do you think? ”

Leotizides was a little ambivalent, he didn't want his military command to be disturbed, but he also knew that if this plan was successful, the capture of Syracuse would be much earlier, and he would be able to participate in the attack on the Carthaginian army earlier, and realize his wish to avenge the death of the soldiers in Palagonia as soon as possible, he subconsciously looked at Sipros.