A good person is good because he is wise, and a bad person is bad because he is stupid. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

- Plato (one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of Western culture)

As it turned out, the disarmament of the ancient city-state of Syracuse had reached a very terrible level; Or rather, the people of the city-state of Syra believed in Hannibal too much, and they were still basking in the joy of being ready to celebrate the victory in the decisive battle!

When Oscar led the army into Great Sicily, the elites of the towns of Great Sicily also opened the city gates to welcome Oscar's army; Such a scene directly stunned Oscar and Mary.

Later, after careful inquiry, it became known; It turned out that these towns of Greater Sicily had Oscar's army as Hannibal's. They thought that Hannibal's army had successfully defeated the House of Augustus and passed through Great Sicily!

Facing the Great Sicilian town of the wrong army, Oscar did not reveal the identity of himself and others, but helplessly looked at the lion banner of the Augustan family carried by his family's army, and shook his head silently.

After receiving the town's offer of supplies, Oscar continued in the direction of Syracuse; As a result, one town after another opened its gates to warmly welcome the arrival of Oscar's army, and Oscar doubted the intelligence of the Great Sicilians.

After encountering five such towns in a row, Oscar did not waste any more time; Even if there were such towns on the road, Oscar led his army all the way by, and there was no intention of stopping at all.

In this way, Oscar led his army all the way to the ancient city of Syra; The defenders of the ancient city of Syrac, however, were unaware of the arrival of Oscar's army. It wasn't until Oscar's army appeared within three miles of the city wall that the defenders on the city wall sounded an urgent horn.

This is not to say that the defenders on the city walls could perceive from a distance of three miles that the army coming from afar was not Hannibal's, but the army of the House of Augustus; It's just that the appearance of this army was enough to shock the defenders on the city walls.

You know, when Hannibal led his army to coerce the ancient city of Syractic to join his chariot, he did not really lead the army into the territory of the ancient city of Syracuse; Even when Hannibal's army passed through the city-state of Syractic, it was near the border.

In fact, what independent power would allow the armies of other powers to march on their own territory? If the city-state of Syrac had not been able to resist, it would not have allowed Hannibal's army to pass through its territory on a regular basis.

Even if it was inferior in strength, the city-state of Syrac had no choice but to allow Hannibal's army to pass through its territory; That's just a very limited experience, not going deep into your own territory, that's two concepts entirely!

The core city of the ancient city-state of Syracuse is naturally the ancient city of Syrac, which has high walls and thick walls; The ancient city of Syracuse is located in the northeasternmost part of the whole of Greater Sicily, and belongs to the last part of the ancient city-state of Syractic.

Such a city with a special geographical location and even a more special political status has a large army on its periphery; This was enough to shock the Spartan hoplites on the city walls. After all, from the border area of Greater Sicily, there is still a very long distance to know the ancient city of Syractic; How could this army come silently, did they fly over?

Even if the defenders on the walls were killed, it would not have been possible to imagine that Oscar's army would arrive in Syracuse in a welcoming way; You know, the Spartan hoplites are still the Spartan hoplites in the end, and their discipline is still so strict, whether they are in the Spartan city-state or in the city-state of Syrac.

The shrill trumpets on the walls immediately gathered all the 1,000 Spartan heavy infantry guarding them; They quickly formed a neat formation on the city walls, and sent two heralds at the same time.

The destination of one of the heralds was the consul's mansion in the ancient city of Syra, and such a militaristic matter had to be reported to the consul of the ancient city of Syrah immediately; More importantly, a thousand Spartan hoplites alone could not do anything, and they needed the support of the other two thousand Spartan hoplites in the hands of the consuls.

The other herald's destination was in the direction of Oscar's army, and the defenders on the walls did not know the origin of the army outside the city; In the case of friend or foe, there is always nothing wrong with sending a cavalry herald to inquire about the identity.

Needless to say, Oscar's strategy for the city-state of Syracuse was not the use of force; Therefore, after seeing the herald sent by the defenders of the ancient city state of Syra, Oscar did not do anything to kill the messenger, but directly confessed his identity to him.

Suddenly hearing the identity of the Oscar army, the herald was also shocked; Wasn't the army of House Augustus fighting Hannibal? How did you come here? Could it be that the decisive battle is over, and Hannibal is defeated?

Thinking of this, the herald did not dare to think any further, and he immediately turned his horse's head and hurried away in the direction of the city wall; At the same time as the herald returned, another herald arrived on the wall with the consul and his two thousand Spartan heavy infantry.

When the herald informed the consul of the true identity of Oscar's army, all the people on the walls were shocked; Their minds couldn't help but think of the possibility that the herald had just thought of in their minds, but they couldn't believe it.

Originally, the strength of the major families of Rome was also known to the ancient city of Syracuse; The overall strength of the entire Roman Republic is definitely one of the best in the world, but in comparison, it is Hannibal's record that is more brilliant.

Since Hannibal commanded the army, he has never fought a single defeat; Countless victories, countless victories with less, countless classic examples, this is what made Hannibal the name of the god of war!

At the time of the last decisive battle in Sicily, there were only many troops under Hannibal's command, and how many soldiers did the combined army sent by Rome; It was precisely because of this disparity in strength that the ancient city of Syrac decided to ally with Rome. The result? Annihilated by Hannibal!

There are too many examples like this for Hannibal; And in this decisive battle, Hannibal's army surpassed the Roman army in numbers for the first time, so do you need to think about the outcome of the war? It must have been Hannibal who won an easy victory!

So now the question arises, why does this army that appears in front of us claim to be the army of the House of Augustus? Everyone on the walls looked at each other and didn't know what was going on.

Oscar had expected that the defenders on the walls and the consuls of the city-state of Syra would be shocked; Therefore, he did not delay, but let his army stay two hundred meters away from the city wall, and began to send people to shout to the defenders on the city wall.

Oscar had a very loud and loud cavalryman ride his horse directly in front of the army and shout to the defenders on the city walls:

"We are an army from the House of Augustus, and we hope that we can speak with His Excellency Dionisios, the Archon of the Ancient City State of Syra, and that the defenders on the city walls will immediately inform Your Excellency the Archon of your city-state!"

The defenders on the city walls, at the signal of Dionicios, also replied with a loud shout:

"Your Excellency our consul is on the city wall right now, so if you have anything to say, just say it!"

Hearing the defenders on the wall reply, Oscar nodded to the cavalryman again; Then the cavalryman mustered all his strength and continued to shout:

"Our House of Augustus has annihilated Hannibal's army in one fell swoop in the decisive battle of Zama, Hannibal himself was killed, and all the remnants of his army surrendered! Now, the whole of Sicily, except for Great Sicily, is all under the control of our family Augustus!

The army of nearly 10,000 people in front of you is just the vanguard of our family; Behind, we have 20,000 hoplites with a large number of siege equipment. Since you have chosen to support Hannibal, you must pay for it! ”

The Augustan family made the defenders on the city wall angry with such an open threat of war, and they all said that they were not afraid of the threat of the Augustan family, and they wanted the Augustan family to understand what the real Spartan hoplites were!

But Dionycios, who had always been timid and cowardly, was afraid; The Augustus family legion in front of him has an army of nearly 10,000 people, and there are 20,000 hoplites and a large number of weapons behind it, which is a powerful existence that the ancient city of Syra can resist!

Coupled with the fact that Hannibal had already failed, how could the city-state of Syracuse defeat a formidable enemy that even Hannibal could not defeat? Could it be that the 3,000 Spartan hoplites of the city-state of Syracuse could be more powerful than Hannibal's 55,000 army? Dionysios imagined the consequences of the war, and his teeth were sore with fear.

Before Dionisios could react from his shock and fear, Oscar's cavalry shouted again:

"Of course, war is not inevitable; We are the Righteous Men of Syra, and as long as the ancient city-state of Syra is willing to join us, we are willing to renounce the use of force and ensure the safety and property of all the nobles in the city.

Otherwise, once we take Syracuse, all the nobles in the city will have to pay for your resistance; The nobles of the entire ancient city of Syra will all be martyred for the old city of Syra!

You have an hour to think, and after an hour, either you will open the gates of the city on your own initiative, or we will open the gates of the city ourselves; How to choose, decide for yy! ”

After speaking, the cavalry returned to the formation; Oscar asked Nalsi to lead the light infantry to build a ladder on the spot; Oscar continued to watch the Spartan hoplites on the city walls with his cavalry and guards.

Immediately after the cavalry of the House of Augustus had finished speaking, Dionisios left the city walls and hurried to the consul's palace to gather the nobles of the city-state to discuss the matter; As a result, all the nobility compromised under the threat of war from the House of Augustus. Just half an hour later, the gates of Syracuse slowly opened under Oscar's gaze! (To be continued.) )