Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 206: Port of Syracuse

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This great news made Alexis completely free of worries.

At this moment, the Campania Alliance to the north sent an envoy.

Samonet fought such a big war with Potentia and Dionia, but the city-state of Campania, which is Samnet’s enemy, has been watching in silence until the victory or defeat is divided, Dionia’s The soldiers had already approached Campania, and they finally sent envoys.

The city-state that the messenger came from was separated from Enona by a small Sorrento Peninsula, only more than 40 miles away, next to Mount Vesuvius, it was Pompeii.

This messenger is here to find out if the Dionians have the intention of threatening Campania.

Alexis told him without hesitation: The Dionians were only fighting back against the aggression of the Samoneites, and they had a desire to get along with the Greek city-states of Campania, and they had no desire at all. Malicious infringement.

The messenger from Pompeii returned happily, and at the same time, he took away Alexis's little request: I hope I can exchange the spoils of Samona for grain.

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Micaresus is a citizen of Syracuse. As a native resident who has lived here for generations, he owns ten acres of land, two fishing boats, and a shop of his own in the city’s market. For the sale of fish, if Dionysius had not levied high war taxes every year in the past few years, his family's life should be said to be quite wealthy.

When news of the victory of Syracuse’s army in Great Greece came time after time and was announced in Apollo Square, the people cheered with mixed emotions. He always felt a little regretful because he was in the square at the time. When mobilizing citizens for the expedition, Goddess of Luck failed to take care of him. He was not picked and lost a good opportunity to plunder the spoils of Great Greece in order to improve his current situation in recent years. In his opinion, any hostile force could not withstand a single blow under the attack of such a large force in Syracuse.

But things have changed in the past few days. After the bad news of "the Syracuse navy suffered two fiascos and the warship was almost lost" came the news, poured a can of cold water on the excited Syracuse people.

The Dionian fleet, which had never heard of it, defeated the Syracuse navy that was rampant in the Ionian Sea? ! The people of Syracuse couldn't believe their ears. They scolded the navy commander Leptinius, angrily thinking that it was his stupid command that caused the defeat! After losing the naval battle with the Carthaginians, the defeated general should be replaced!

As a result, some people transferred the responsibility for failure to Dionysius. They believed that it was Dionysius' cronyism that kept his mediocre brother from being replaced!

Compared with the indignation of the people in the city, the port is a different scene. It is necessary to know that more than 400 warships require a huge number of sailors of eighty to nine million people. More than half of these sailors are from the allied states of Sicily, and a smaller half are from the poor and free people of Syracuse. The Syracuse navy does everything Whether the ship was rammed or captured, the sailors would not have any good results.

The bad news came, and it spread to almost every family in the harbor and bay. Out of worries about the safety of their relatives, these poor people were weeping, and even more resented Dionysius who oppressed them. In the past few months, some dissatisfaction with Dionysius began to circulate in the port and the city. For example: “The reason why we are so poor is because of those outsiders (referring to Dionysius’s The mercenaries) took away the land that should belong to us, and occupied the city-state public office that should belong to us!"

"Even if we earn more drachmas, we won't be able to keep up with the taxation of Dionysius!"

"Dionysius likes mercenaries more than citizens of Syracuse. He should not be the all-powerful general of Syracuse. He is more suitable to be a mercenary leader!"

……

But in the past few days, a new rumor spread quickly in the port: “The Dionians only hate the tyrannical Dionysius. As long as his dictatorship is overthrown, Syracuse and Dionia A peace agreement can be reached, and the 14,000 Syracuse sailors imprisoned in Dionia can return home safely!..."

This rumor was so eloquent that it convinced many people in the port that it quickly spread throughout the bay, and it is said that it spread to neighboring city-states.

When Micaresus heard this rumor, he was shocked: This is a public request to overthrow Dionysius! I'm afraid it is the Dionians who are playing tricks in it!

Even he can see that the intelligence department in charge of Hiparinus will not be indifferent. Not only has there been more patrols in the port, but also many spies have been sent to roam the entire bay area to interrogate the people... Such an approach exacerbated the disgust and anger of the port people towards the upper class of the city-state. Their eyes were full of unabashed anger when they looked at the patrolling soldiers, which made these soldiers frightened. They always patrolled in groups of more than 20 people and did not dare to patrol. Wander alone, so as not to cause a murderous disaster.

The quiet opposition between the port people and the city-state gradually began to appear. The most obvious thing is that the work efficiency of the port labor is decreasing, the unloading speed of merchant ships is slowing, and the goods are piled up at the wharf, and it takes a long time to move into the warehouse. As a result, As a result, the cargo accumulates more and more, almost causing the terminal to be blocked, and the businessmen still dare not get angry, because it is likely to anger the poor working with grievances and lead to a conflict. In the end, it is them who suffer.

Of course, Micaresus need not worry about this. He has been between the port and the market for many years. He is humble and has a good relationship with the fishermen in the port.

His fishing boat was handed over to the fishermen he hired, and he went out to fish early in the morning. When he drove to the pier in the morning, the fishing boat had already returned to the fishing pier.

The fishing wharf is built in the most remote location on the outermost periphery of the port. This is for the cleanliness of the port, because the wharf is too smelly, and flies, mosquitoes, and insects often gather on the dead fish and shrimps.

Of course, Micaresus didn't feel this disgusting. On the contrary, he walked on the dock and looked at the baskets of fresh fish unloaded on both sides of the road. He felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Tassitis, how is the harvest today?!" He waved at his moored fishing boat from a distance.

Tesitis is an experienced fisherman. He not only handles boats and has first-class fishing skills, but is also good at judging the infestation of fish schools. It took Micaresus nearly double his wages to hire him.

At this moment, Tecitis was sitting on the bow, enjoying the gentle sunshine, and said in a calm tone: "It's just spring, the sea is still cold, and the fish are not coming out very much. Saidong is not blessed, how can there be a good catch!"

Micaresus looked down at the two baskets of fish on the shore: one basket was half full of mackerel and cod, and the other was a lot of shrimp and squid.

Micaresus is quite satisfied with this gain. Of course he knows that Taisitis has higher demands on him, so Micaresus jokingly said: "While there is still time, The weather is also warm, how many nets do you go out to cast?"

Tacitis poked the mud stains on his fingers and reminded him: "I can go out to sea again, but can you sell them all in time? Waste is punished by Poseidon!"

In this era, because there is no refrigerator, the freshly caught marine fish must be sold on the same day, otherwise it will be thrown away because of decay the next day. Although the Greeks like to live on the seashore, their staple food is still grains, and sea fish is only a supplementary food. In recent years, the tax burden of Syracuse has increased, and the purchasing power of ordinary citizens has declined, which naturally affects the sales of marine fish. Not to mention throwing a few nets, whether these two baskets of fish can be sold out before the market closes in the evening. The question is, maybe you can only take the leftovers home and cook fish porridge for slaves, or feed them to pigs and dogs.

Micaresus sighed, did not speak, turned around and directed the slave to carry the wooden basket into the wagon.

At this time, another fisherman on the fishing boat shouted: "Hey, Micaresus, have you heard that Dionysius' army was defeated by the Dionians!"

"How is this possible?! Where did you get the news?!" Micaresus looked shocked and couldn't believe it.

"How impossible! Our navy can lose to the Dionians, and of course our army may lose to them!" Not only did the fisherman not feel grief over the city-state's failure, but instead had a kind of grief on his face. The strange expression of gloat: "Now the whole port is spread, and some merchants from Great Greece have also confirmed this news. It is said that in this battle, our Syracuse was defeated badly, this time it is the city's turn. People are crying!"

"Whether it is the people crying in the city or the people in the port, Syracuse's defeat is not a good thing for us." Tecitis said lightly.

"We are defeated. Dionysius should stop the war and make peace with the Greeks." The fisherman said expectantly: "Without war, there will naturally be no war tax!"

"I'm afraid that Dionysius will continue this war! Not only will tax burdens increase, but...like you, like me, and even may be called up to serve as sailors." Tessiti A trace of worry finally appeared on Si's face.

"I will never die for Dionysius! This war should be ended!" the fisherman roared.

Micaresus didn’t mind listening to what they were saying. He walked back with heavy steps. He didn’t have the joy of avoiding a disaster because he didn’t participate in the expedition. "The army of Syracuse is in the The news of the "Greece defeat" weighed heavily on his heart, reminding him of the huge storm in Syracuse a few years ago when the Carthage soldiers approached the city...

Fortunately, this time in Greater Greece! ... But he thought about it again, if these tens of thousands of soldiers were trapped in Great Greece and couldn't return, the anger of the people might be difficult to calm down by the officials appointed by Dionysius!