Originally, the soldiers of Syracuse were informed by the officers in the morning that Master Dionysius had contracted a fever and was resting in bed in the mansion, and could not come out to patrol for the time being.

But the Dionicians' shouts were so loud that "Dionysius fled alone" had already disturbed them, and that "the city of Syracuse had been attacked" had shocked them even more. Not only were the soldiers frightened, but the officers couldn't sit still. As a result, many Syracuse citizens and freedmen gathered in Siriting Square to discuss the rumors nervously......

Eventually, they decided to meet with Dionysius to confirm the rumors. A procession of several thousand men blocked the temporary residence of Dionysius.

At this time, in the mansion, Fasipesas, Reptignes, Androstines, and several other generals were in a hurry like ants on a hot pan.

When Fasipezas heard these rumors, he was taken aback: the news of the departure of Dionysius was known only to those who were seated, how could the Dionians know about it?! Could it be that someone is connected to Dionia?! Secondly, Dionysius said that he had rushed back to Syracuse because the Dioonians had landed in Mejaro. But now the Dioonians say that they have captured many of the Sicilian city-states and are attacking the city of Syracuse. Although the words of the enemy should not be believed, but now that I think about it, even if the Dionians landed in Sicily, Masias could have dealt with it completely, but Dionysius walked in such a hurry, is it really possible...... After all, the Dionians accurately told the truth that Dionysius had left.

Fasipesas's mind was full of thoughts, and the rest of the people also had their own thoughts, the atmosphere in the room was calm, but the outside was noisy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the soldiers are instigated by the rumors of the Dionians, and they have to meet Lord Dionysius, what can we do to quell this chaos?!" Fasipezas asked anxiously, first breaking the silence.

"Of course you can't let them in, if you let them know that Master Dionysius is indeed gone, it will definitely cause chaos!" A general said in a firm tone.

"But how can you stop them from coming in?!" Fasipesas said worriedly: "There are thousands of soldiers outside, and once they lose their patience, it is impossible for the escort to stop them!" ”

"It is better to send someone out and swear to them in the name of God, 'Lord Dionysius has not left at all, but he is seriously ill, and their entry will affect the treatment of the adults, and when the adults are cured, they will naturally meet them.'" Detective Leader Androstini suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Fasipesas's eyes lit up, then he looked around at the crowd and asked, "Who wants to convince the soldiers?" ”

Everyone stopped talking, and their eyes were either looking up or down, or they didn't make eye contact with Huasi Peisas.

"Lord Androstini?" Fasipesas asked in a hurry.

"I'm just a small person in charge of gathering information for Lord Dionysius, how can I believe the soldiers when I say it." Androstini shrugged his shoulders and politely refused.

Fasipesas thought about it for a while, and moved his gaze to the younger brother of Dionysius beside him: "Master Leptinies? ”

The honest Reptines hurriedly shook his head and said directly: "I will never make such a false oath in the name of the gods!" ”

Fasipezas immediately became angry and thought to himself: As the younger brother of Dionysius, you are not willing to do it, but others are willing! What a blasphemy!

When Fasipezas turned his gaze to the other generals, one of the generals said impatiently: "General Fasipes, when Lord Dionysius leaves, but the power to command this army is handed over to you, and you don't convince the soldiers, do you still let us go?!" ”

"Yes! Oh, yes! Now you have the most power and prestige among the soldiers in the city of Xiliting, and there is no better candidate but you! ”

Several generals were talking nonsense, and Fasi Pesas "chuckled" in his heart, and he felt a strong jealousy in the words of his colleagues.

At this time, Androstini and Reptines also expressed their approval. They came to an agreement so quickly because they knew in their hearts: this was a dangerous errand! If tens of thousands of citizens and freemen of Syracuse are deceived by lies, the executor will inevitably arouse the anger of the people of Syracuse, who will not only be ostracized in the city of Syracuse, but may even be punished by the people for "blasphemy......

Of course, Fasipesas was well aware of the stakes, and watching these people in front of him quickly unite and isolate themselves made him feel a sense of sadness in his heart...... Once an ordinary citizen of Syracuse, he was able to become Dionysius' trusted general, precisely because of his vision, skill, and ability to adapt to changes, he did not only flatter Dionysius, but always made choices in his favor when it mattered.

Under the expectant gaze of everyone, Fasipesas was silent for a long time, he deliberated in his heart, and finally made up his mind, but his face remained calm, and he stood up and said: "Okay, I'll go out and convince the soldiers." ”

Everyone looked happy as they watched Fasipe walk out of the mansion with heavy steps.

"Wouldn't that be a bad idea?" Reptines said with some reluctance.

The others ignored him.

Suddenly, a louder roar erupted from outside the mansion, allowing everyone inside to hear it clearly.

"We're going home!! We're going back to Syracuse!! ……”

What's going on out there?! Androstini felt uneasy.

At this time, the guard broke in and said in a panic: "Ladies and gentlemen, Fasipisas ...... General Fasipesas announced to the soldiers, 'Master Dionysius has left the Cilician court, and he will return soon with Sicilian reinforcements!' ’”

"What?!"

"Damn Fasipes! How could he tell the truth! ”

……………………………………

"Lord Ocleton, get around this headland, and Crotone will be almost there!" The captain shouted.

Ocliton nodded, in understanding. As the patriarch of the Carthaginian Senate, Ocleton was Hanno's confidant, and this time he had come to negotiate with Dionya on Hanno's orders.

Dionia, a coalition of Greek city-states that was not originally taken seriously by the Carthaginians, surprised the Carthaginians in this South-Italy War, not only defeated the invincible Dionysius at sea and on land, but also sent troops to land in Sicily...... When the news reached Carthage, the people were in an uproar, especially when they saw that Carthaginian merchant ships had brought back hundreds of tons of grain and thousands of Syracuse captives.

In contrast, the Carthaginian public's favorability of the Ionian League had increased dramatically, and the senators were talking about the sudden change in the situation between Greater Greece and Sicily. Hanno sent Ocleton to Dionya in the hope of finding out the tone of the alliance of city-states that had just concluded a friendly agreement, to see if an alliance could be reached to protect Carthage's interests in Sicily, and at the same time to give Hanno reason to propose in the Senate that he "remove the governor of Sicily".

Ocriton learned from the Carthaginian emissaries who had accompanied the grain ship to Turriy that the Dionian army was besieging Siritin, and that their new king, who was truly in charge, was also in the army, so Ocriton canceled his plan to go to Turriy and prepared to go directly to the Dionian camp in Cyritin. However, if the port of Silitin was in the hands of the Syracusens, and if he forcibly landed on a nearby beach and let the precious city of Bolton be drenched in the sea, Ocriton thought that this would really damage the image of an emissary of a great city-state, so he decided to let the ship dock at the port of Crotone, and by the way, see what was going on in the famous city-state of Crotone after the bloodbath of the Syracuses.

Riding around the promontory, Ocliton saw seven or eight three-layer oared warships lined up in double columns on the sea ahead, sometimes charging, sometimes retreating, sometimes circling, and the columns cooperated with each other, often changing from parallel to staggered...... Apparently, this is the Dionian fleet conducting training.

Ocleton looked for a while, but did not find the "Raven" warship that had defeated the Syracuse fleet rumored to be victorious, so he was not interested.

The boat was about to turn into the harbor when a clipper approached them and stopped them.

Ocleton noticed that the other party's sail was also painted with the symbol of the Ionian Alliance with "black hair entwined with a double-strand fork", and he was slightly shocked: Crotone was so dependent on Dioonia that even the port patrol was in charge of the Dionian fleet?!

After asking about the purpose of Ocriton's arrival, the patrol ship took the initiative to navigate ahead.

Once in the harbor, he realized why it was the Dionian fleet patrolling the waters of Crotone. I saw that most of the pier piers had been burned, the beach was full of wreckage of ships, there were still a lot of charred black planks floating on the sea, and the land was full of debris and broken walls, and it was pitch black......

Witnessing all this, Ocleton could not help but recall the tragedy caused by the people of Syracuse after the conquest of Motia, and could not help but curse: "Damn Dionysius! For such tyranny, the gods will condemn him! ”

There were not many ships in the harbor, mostly merchant ships from Dionia, carrying some of the necessities of life that the Crotone people urgently needed: olive oil, asphalt, clay pots, furniture, ironware, ......

Occlixon's ship docked at a relatively intact dock, and the Carthaginian emissaries disembarked and followed the captain of the patrol ship.

Although the houses are in ruins, there is hardly any rubble to be seen on the streets. From time to time, you can see old people and women cleaning up the garbage in the city, and at the same time picking up some useful items in the ruins of houses......