Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 360: Davos Began To Move

“Although the area controlled by Dionysius is slightly smaller than that of Theonia, half of Theonia was mountainous and could not grow any grains and other crops, while Sicily is a famous grain-producing area in the Mediterranean. According to the volume of the grain trade in Syracuse last year, Sicily's grain production may be twice that of ours.

Besides, compared with our port, Syracuse's port is prosperous as they almost monopolise the sea trade between the Greeks and the Africans. Even though they are at war with Carthage, many Phoenician merchants can still be seen in the port of Syracuse. Although I am not sure what the monthly tax revenue of Syracuse is, it is definitely much better than those of Thurii with its port's capacity and the number of merchant ships. Not to mention the city-states that are established 300 years ago, such as Agrigento, Katania, Naxos and Messena, whose port trade is very prosperous!…”

Listening to Aristias, Davos nodded involuntarily and said, “Needless to say, Dionysius greatest advantage as a tyrant is that he could concentrate all the resources under his control, including the people to the maximum extent, allowing him to launch a sudden war without the Council's approval. I remember that you previously said that Dionysius sent about 100,000 men to fight against Carthage on the northern coast of Sicily?!”

“Yes, milord. To be exact, it should be nearly 80,000 infantry and 20,000 navies.”

“Last time…how many men did he send to attack western Sicily?” Again, Davos asked.

“It's rumoured to be 100,000 as well.”

Davos sighed. “Yes, the reason Syracuse could launch a large-scale war of 100,00 men is due to him being able to support such a huge number of troops for more than six months of battle in a place hundreds of kilometres away from their city-state…the war potential of Syracuse is really amazing!”

“Milord, although Syracuse is strong, it is not without weakness.” Aristias saw that there was a slight depression in the tone of Davos' voice, so he took the initiative to say, “Dionysius cruelly ruled the Syracusans in order to stop them from revolting against him. He also forced them to pay heavy taxes where they had to pay 20% of their income to the state treasury every year, which caused the people’s resentment. Moreover, the citizens of other city-states in Sicily also hated him because they not only had to pay high tribute to Syracuse but also had their families either killed by the Syracusans in their conquest, captured or sold to distant places as slaves…They hate Syracuse and Dionysius!…”

Davos quietly gaze at Aristias, whose face became slightly distorted due to pain. After a while, he said, “You are right. However, as long as Dionysius' army continues to win and does not suffer great losses, then the hatred of the Sicilians can only stay as hatred, which cannot hurt Dionysius in the slightest. Also, he still has the support of Sparta-”

Aristias said immediately, “But Sparta is now at war. They do not have any spare troops to support Dionysius. Furthermore, in the south of Sicily, there is still Carthage, Syracuse's mortal enemy.”

“This is really a good opportunity…” Said Davos as he rubbed his sparse stubble. Theonia Union's population is about 800,000, and there is a great difference between commercial and agricultural areas and Syracuse. Moreover, Theonia's military strength is relatively scattered due to its geographical location, making it harder for them to gather, and that their navy is even weaker. So once there is a war with Syracuse, there will be a lot of pressure…

Aristias looked at Davos silently. Although he felt anxious, he did not dare show it as he subconsciously clenched the armrest of the wooden chair.

“Aristias.” Finally, Davos spoke, “I allow you to start sending your men to Sicily. Among the Sicilian city-states, find out those forces that are against Syracuse and Dionysius in detail, and go and establish initial contact with them.”

“Understood, milord.” Aristias was so excited that he was unable to stop himself from asking further, “And then?”

Davos looked at him with a piercing gaze, “There is no ‘then’ before the war with Syracuse.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following day, the public trial of Thurii continued, and it still attracted a large number of Theonian citizens to watch because the content of today's trial is mainly about whether or not Pollux and the others conspired with Syracuse and plotted to cause disturbance in Theonia.

Although the Greek city-states also tried cases of citizens conspiring with foreign countries and betraying their country, such as Xenophon, who was tried in absentia by the government of Athens a year earlier for ‘treason against Athens’ and was sentenced with execution, causing Xenophon to be even more afraid to return to Athens. However, Theonia had written the crime of ‘treason’ into their code of law since its establishment and made different sentencing according to its degree. ‘Treason’ alone had occupied several pages of the code of law, which shows the importance that Theonia Union attaches to this crime. Today's trial will be the first trial of treason by the Theonia Union, which was only a few years old. It should be known that the highest sentence for treason is the death penalty.

Pollux's mental state is much worse compared with yesterday. Obviously, yesterday's trial hit him hard, but he still has to pull himself together. Because even though he was found guilty yesterday, the most serious sentence would be depriving his citizenship and getting deported. However, if he is convicted today, he may not be able to save his life.

Aristocrates then appeared, causing the crowd to welcome him warmly. Although the young judge's back was a little bent, he still won the favour of the public with his quick thinking, sharp words and polite demeanour. Especially when he made Pollux and the others speechless during their debate, some even began inquiring about his family and privately wondered whether they should marry their daughter to this promising young man.

Pollux still tried to save himself, but unfortunately, there is too much evidence against him.

In particular, there are many Syracusan silver coins found in his home. In recent years, Syracuse has been engaged in conquest, which naturally caused them to have high expenditure causing their treasury to be almost empty. That is why he constantly collected heavy taxes from the people. Furthermore, Dionysius ignored the reputation of his city-state as he issued a kind of inferior silver coin to make up for the deficit, forcing the Syracusans to use a kind of “tetradrachm silver coin*” which was mixed with a lot of lead, in the past two years. Even though this kind of silver coins rarely circulated in Theonia's market, there were many such coins found in the properties of Pollux (It should be noted that Pollux’s household does not do sea trade.) And this kind of coin is also found in the properties of Ariphes and Marsyas. (note: It is a silver coin four times the weight of a drachma)

More importantly, Aristocrates showed the jurors a few letters found in Pollux's house. Afterwards, Aristocrates picked out two letters and read them loudly. “‘…lord Pollux, I have received your letter and learned that there had been great progress in the discussion of resuming the ecclesia in the Senate of Theonia recently, which made his lordship (referring to Dionysius) to be pleased hearing it. So he immediately agreed to the amount of silver coins you requested, and they will soon be shipped to the port of Thurii together with the merchant ships. At the same time, he also asked me to remind you that it is not enough for the merchants and nobles to protests because the main power of Theonia Union is not them but the ordinary citizens who are soldiers of the legion. So if you can get close to them, win them over, and let them join the crowd's protests, then…’”

Pollux continued to deny it and shouted, “This letter is forged!…”

“Forged?! Then take a look at this one-” Aristocrates picked up the other letter and showed it to the jurors, “It's the only letter we have found that has your handwriting, and it's stamped. Look at the date. It is the day of your arrest, that is why you haven’t managed to send this letter. And I believe that everyone here will be very interested in the letter's content.”

Aristocrates, with a sneer on his face, looked at the frenzied Pollux rushing to snatch the letter. However, the guards, who maintain the order of the court, restrained him. Aristocrates then loudly read again, “‘…lord Philistus’ – I would like to make it clear here to those who may not know who Philistus is, Philistus is the most important statesmen of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse… ‘I do not agree with your previous suggestion, as winning the ordinary citizens has little effect on the passing of the ‘resumption of the ecclesia’ bill. However, I did come up with a good idea by using some parts in Davos' bill about the ‘governance of Lucania and Bruttii’. I believe that after agitating them, the simple-minded so-called non-Greek statesmen will stop supporting that proud young man…’”

“This is fake! Someone is trying to frame me!…” Pollux braved the tide of people's swearing and shouted desperately.

Soon after, Aristocrates immediately called the witness.

After being detained, Hemis, A Syracusan, was interrogated using some cruel methods beyond this era, such as covering his mouth and nose with a linen cloth, and then pouring water on it little by little, and so on., which made his life worse than death. (T/N: Water-boarding an interrogation method by simulating drowning and near death)

Afterwards, Matonis coldly told him that he could either be sent back to Syracuse after telling the truth or refuse and continue the interrogation.

Between the two choices, he did not hesitate to choose the former.