"Yes!"
Hermocrates left quickly.
He was one of the three generals of Syracuse and the person Dionysius trusted the most. He had a strong ability to command operations and a clear mind. In several conflicts with the Carthaginians and the Ionian city-states, he was always able to turn danger into safety and gave very reasonable and appropriate suggestions. At the same time, it was also thanks to his support that Dionysius could become the tyrant of Syracuse and override the democratic system.
Dionysius calmed down for a while by himself, and then immediately went to the port of Syracuse.
The city of Syracuse is full of unique Sicilian style. Compared with the Greek Aegean Sea, Syracuse is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, so the scenery is more unrestrained. The streets and buildings of Syracuse are a kind of earthy gray color. Marble is generally only used in expensive temples. Most of the houses of ordinary people are made of local loess, which are standard rammed earth houses. At the same time, the design style of the house also incorporates the style of the Carthaginians, forming a unique feeling.
As the trade center of the entire western Mediterranean and the "capital" of the Greeks in the western Mediterranean, its prosperity is naturally beyond words.
Dionysius continued on his journey and soon arrived at the port.
The eighth tune, the sixth section, has a story of suffering, Syracuse
The port of Syracuse is also very busy.
There are merchant ships coming and going everywhere.
In the shipyard in the distance, a huge five-story battleship is currently being built.
These warships were what Dionysius wanted to use in the future battles with the Carthaginians. Although the Carthaginians had retreated in the First Sicilian War, they still did not leave Sicily and were ready to intervene between the Greeks at any time and return to Sicily. How could Dionysius tolerate such a thing? So, when he became a tyrant, he spent a huge amount of money to build an "invincible fleet" in the western Mediterranean.
These huge five-layered oars will become the absolute main force of Syracuse.
There were as many as 200 of them. With these warships included, the total number of Syracuse's navy probably exceeded 500, far exceeding the size of the Athenian navy. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to call Syracuse the largest city-state in Greece.
The Spartans came to Syracuse.
It's like it came from the countryside.
It feels like everything here is so different.
The bustling city, the bustling port, the constant flow of Syracusans, of course, the only thing that was the same was that the people here spoke a language similar to that of the Spartans, a Greek dialect called Dorian. Only when they heard these voices could the Spartans feel that these people were indeed Greeks, not some distant and strange people.
"…Our fleet will dock here first."
Lysander is here, reporting to Ares.
After finishing, don't forget to praise it.
"The port of Syracuse is really big."
"I feel so too."
Ares was also a little surprised.
Syracuse has always been a place far away from Greece. It was built more than 700 years BC. Compared with Athens and Sparta, which have a history of nearly a thousand years, Syracuse is a colony and a product of the Greek colonial period. It is estimated that its history is similar to that of Byzantium. In the eyes of the Greek mainland, it is just a low-ranking existence. However, such a low-ranking existence has now developed into the largest city-state in Greece, with a population of nearly three million.
And saw Syracuse.
Lysander was really envious.
If Sparta had such strong national strength, it would not have needed to travel so far.
Ares looked around and said helplessly:
"This is my first time in Syracuse. Before the divine realm was closed, Syracuse should have been just an unknown small city-state. I didn't expect that after a hundred years, this city-state has developed into such a large scale. I am really surprised."
"Yes."
"At this rate, Byzantium will probably grow this big soon."
I heard Ares mention the city of Byzantium.
Lysander felt a little uncomfortable.
However, he could not refute the other party. The development speed of Byzantium was indeed very fast. From the time when Hilde started to the present, the population of Byzantium has increased six or seven times from 10,000 to about 70,000 now. Moreover, the new city wall built by Hilde was built according to the scale of 200,000 people. Now 70,000 people live in Byzantium, and the available space in the city is still very large. The land that has not been covered with houses is used to grow some plants. Under such circumstances, the whole city has become green. Therefore, merchants who have been to Byzantium often boast that Byzantium is a garden city.
"Lord Ares."
"Ok?"
"Next, we should..."
"You Spartans should settle down here first and settle down properly. Don't rush to counterattack."
"Yes, I understand."
Since Ares said so.
Lysander also breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, after coming from such a long distance, the Spartans were still in shock and needed time to recover. At this moment, Lysander saw a man in luxurious clothes, surrounded by soldiers, walking towards them quickly. Although Lysander didn't know who the other person was, he could tell that the other person should be of noble status, so he also walked forward and came in front of the other person.
"Hello, I am Lysander, the general of Sparta."
"It's General Lysander. His Majesty Pausanias has already introduced you."
"Then who are you?"
"I am Dionysius, the mayor of Syracuse."
"Oh, my apologies."
When he heard that the other party was the supreme ruler of Syracuse, Lysander immediately stood up straight.
And Dionysius asked, "Where is the Lord God?"
"Here." Lysander smiled and stepped aside. "This is Lord Ares."
"Lord Ares!"
At first, Dionysius was still wondering who the muscular man standing next to Lysander was. From a distance, the man was dressed simply, no different from the Spartan, and was holding a bronze helmet in his hand. Dionysius didn't think much about it, thinking that this guy was also a Spartan general or a royal family. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the god of war, Lord Ares himself.
So Dionysius immediately knelt on the ground.
"Please forgive my rudeness."
"Get up, Dionysius."
Ares just waved.
"It's just right that you're here. I have something to tell you."
"Yes, Lord Ares."
Dionysios quickly stood up and looked at Ares in front of him nervously.
"Now, the Spartans have come to your Syracuse. The number of Spartans who have arrived here is about 40,000, and the number of soldiers is 5,000. Syracuse is the largest city-state in Greece and the only city-state that has the strength to resist Hilde so far. The gods will give you, Dionysius, and your Syracuse an important task here. That is to start preparing now to counterattack the Greek mainland."
"…Lord Ares."
Dionysius looked troubled.
"I'm afraid this matter is a bit too much to ask."
"Why?"
"Because, because... because this thing is very difficult to do."
"Why can't this be done?"
"Look, as you can see, we are very powerful, but there is a nation in the south called the Carthaginians. They have terrible eyesight and have always coveted our territory. Recently, Segesta has been sneaking around. They are an Ionian city-state, and it seems that they are secretly colluding with the Carthaginians. Therefore, we are worried that unnecessary problems will occur, so we have been keeping an eye on them."
The New Home of Sparta
Dionysius's meaning was also very clear.
That means we are facing a strong enemy now.
Therefore, Syracuse probably cannot spare the manpower and troops.
This explanation is reasonable. After all, Lysander knew about the Carthaginians.
In the Mediterranean today, the two most powerful immigrants are the Greeks and the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians established many colonies on the vast coastline in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. Among them, the most famous colony was established in Africa, called Carthage. Carthage was founded more than 800 years ago and has become a very powerful kingdom until now. It has also annexed many city-states, making the name of the Carthaginians active throughout the western Mediterranean.
While the Greeks were still fighting the Persians, the Greeks in Greater Greece had already fought the Carthaginians once, in the Sicilian War in 480 BC. In this war, although Syracuse failed to drive the Carthaginians into the sea, it at least curbed the Carthaginians' desire to continue to move north, allowing Syracuse to survive a huge crisis. This war was also the first direct confrontation between the Greeks and Carthaginians, the two most powerful seafaring nations at present.
Sixty years have passed since that battle ended.
The Carthaginians dared not invade again.
But all the Greeks in Sicily and Italy knew that it was only a matter of time before the Carthaginians returned.
They have been gathering strength and establishing many colonies in North Africa, and then colonizing the coast of Iberia, and even the farthest Pillars of Hercules, which has been colonized by them. The only remaining colony is probably Sicily. In the past two years, the Carthaginians have also sent more troops to Sicily, probably with some plans. Therefore, Syracuse has been preparing for war here, fearing that if a war breaks out, Syracuse will be unprepared and be driven into the sea by the Carthaginians.
So Dionysius explained.
This also explains the situation of this matter clearly.
Ares, who roughly understood the situation, nodded.
"That's it."
"Yes, my lord."
"Well, I understand. But don't worry. Lord Zeus will summon the heroes who once protected Greece to help you fight. If the Carthaginians dare to attack you, there will definitely be Greek heroes to help you repel the Carthaginians. Also, I'm not asking you to counterattack now. The Spartans have just arrived here and haven't established a firm foothold yet. It's not too late to discuss this matter after a while, don't you think?"
"Yes, Lord Ares..."
The gods have said so.
How dare Dionysius say no?
But seeing his reluctant look, Lysander could understand it very well.
Now Syracuse was also facing a powerful enemy. It was really difficult for Syracuse to abandon its own city-state and help a city-state that was of no benefit to it to attack the very powerful Greek Empire. So Lysander stood up and said, "Lord Dionysius, don't worry about this matter for now. In fact, Syracuse cannot remain immune. The ambition of the Greek Empire is destined to make it impossible for them to be confined to their own small Greek world. They will definitely try to launch an expedition to attack Syracuse."
"Is this so..."
Dionysius was skeptical.
Attack Syracuse from Greece?
This is indeed a bit too arrogant.
But think about it, Hilde is a woman who can make even the gods feel pain. The Spartans were forced to leave their homes and come to such a far place to survive. So, maybe Hilde really has such fighting ability. Thinking of this, Dionysius felt that this matter would definitely not be so simple. He also agreed with Lysander's statement, so he could only respond: "Indeed, but I can only take this approach on the basis of preserving my own city-state. So, I can only hope that the gods will forgive me."
"It doesn't matter."
It's not that Ares can't understand.
This situation is easy to understand.
"Just do your best."
"Yes, Lord Ares."
"The hero summoning ceremony will probably begin after all the Spartans are settled. By then, I will come to rule you." Ares patted Lysander on the shoulder, "I'll leave the matters here to you."
"Yes! Lord Ares!"
Lysander stood up straight at once.
Ares simply nodded and disappeared right in front of them.
After a while, Dionysius finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that he was under a lot of pressure, so much that he could hardly breathe. In front of him, Lysander seemed to be looking at the port of Syracuse thoughtfully. The Syracuse fleet and the Spartan fleet gathered together, forming a very spectacular scene. Lysander was a little fascinated. After all, he was the naval commander of Sparta, and leading the fleet to fight the enemy on the sea was Lysander's real purpose.
In Sparta, a naval commander needed great courage.
Because the Athenian navy was too powerful.
So powerful that the Spartan naval generals had a very high death rate.
As long as they went out to sea to fight, it was very likely that the flagship would be destroyed by the enemy's concentrated fire. Of course, Lysander was relatively lucky. After becoming a naval officer, he obtained the power of Hermes and became the oracle of the god of wind. With this power, Lysander could summon strong winds on the sea to help the fleet move forward. However, even so, Lysander's Spartan fleet did not care to directly confront the Athenian fleet.
"Lord Lysander."
"Hmm? Master Dionysius?"
"Anyway, I understand the situation. Now... Sigh, I'm sorry that Syracuse can't provide enough help for the situation Sparta is facing. But don't worry, if Hilde and her lackeys really chase us to this place, we Syracuse will definitely stand shoulder to shoulder with you Spartans to resist Hilde's invasion together!"
"Well, thank you."
Although it's just a polite remark.
But such polite words sound very heartwarming.
Then Lysander felt a little better.
"Then I will go and arrange the accommodation for the Spartans first."
"If you need anything, please let me know."
