Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 951: The Panic of the Syracusans
"But by doing this, can the Carthaginians desecrate the souls of our warriors?! No! Their wickedness only highlights our warriors' glory! The pure souls of our fallen will head to sacred Elysium, accompanying the great Hades to roam that beautiful paradise of eternal spring! And here—" Davos pointed at the ground beneath his feet, his words deliberate and powerful. "Everything here will be preserved forever. The citizens of the kingdom will come to pay their respects, to understand how brave our soldiers were, and to see how brutal our enemies were! This tower will be torn down, and a Statue will be erected in its place. The name of every warrior who died in battle here will be carved into the stone, forever etched into the kingdom's history to be praised by generations to come!"
An uproar rose again around the base of the tower, but this time, it carried the soldiers' gasps of awe and admiration.
"Citizens of Daionia! Soldiers of Daionia!" Davos raised his voice even higher, throwing his arms wide. "You have campaigned for a year! You achieved victory in Campania, victory in Dauni, victory in Latium, victory in the Samnite mountains, and victory in Western Sicily! Now, it is finally time to fight to the death against the strongest, most brutal enemy of all: the Carthaginians! I expect you to avenge the warriors who fell here! Charge at the Carthaginians without fear! Forge brilliant victory after brilliant victory! Become heroes on the lips of the people, so that after death you may enter the Hall of Valor and have your names praised by your descendants! Only then can Daionia achieve ultimate victory in this war against Carthage! And Daionia will be victorious!!"
"Victory!!! Victory!!! Victory!!!" Hearing Davos's words, the soldiers' blood boiled. Overcome with emotion, they beat their short swords against their heavy shields and roared with fervent passion.
The roars of tens of thousands of men rolled like thunder, echoing through the devastated valley and carrying all the way to Syracuse...
...
Deep in the night, the Inner City of Syracuse was dead silent. Yet, candlelight still flickered from one residence. The chief general, Theagenes, sat alone in his study. He had not gone to bed; in truth, he could not sleep.
Some time ago, he had overcome all objections and pushed a resolution through the Council: deploying troops to capture Camarina. He then forced the surrender of Pachynus, marking the first time Syracuse had expanded its sphere of influence since the War of Southern Italy. His prestige within Syracuse had skyrocketed overnight. Afterward, he personally stepped forward to negotiate with the Carthaginian commander, Mago. Although the Syracusans were at a disadvantage during the talks and suffered some concessions in the resulting treaty, the Democratic Faction still painted him as a fearless political leader who fought hard against mighty powers for the sake of Syracuse. Thus, upon returning to the city, he was met with a warm welcome from the citizens, his prominence unmatched.
According to their newly signed treaty with Carthage, Syracuse was required to deploy troops and attack Taunis. However, under Theagenes's instructions, the Syracusan army dragged their feet. They merely adopted an offensive posture and never seriously executed the terms.
But the subsequent course of the war completely defied Theagenes's expectations. He had originally assumed that such a massive Carthaginian army—formidable enough to have defeated the Daionian Army at the Battle of Gela—would effortlessly sweep across Daionia's territories in Sicily. Yet, even as the Carthaginian cavalry ravaged the Plain of Catania and their infantry breached Agyrium, the main Carthaginian force repeatedly failed to storm a single small Daionian village. They were held up for a full twenty days. This made him seriously doubt the Carthaginian army's combat strength, though fortunately, Palagonia was captured in the end.When Theagenes received the news, he breathed a sigh of relief. He prepared to continue stalling and watching the war unfold from the sidelines, only to suddenly receive a shocking report: the entire Carthaginian army had begun retreating south!
Theagenes was horrified. He immediately scrambled to dispatch an envoy to inquire, only to be told: the Carthaginians had received definitive intelligence that Daionia's main forces had already conquered their northern enemy—Rome—and were currently on their way to reinforce Sicily. The Carthaginian army had to return to Western Sicily to prepare for an all-out battle.
When the envoy brought this news back to Syracuse, the entire Council erupted in an uproar.
During Dionysius's rule, Syracuse had maintained close ties with the Campanian League in Italy, affording them some understanding of the situation in the central and northern parts of the peninsula. But after the War of Southern Italy, the Campanian League allied with Daionia, causing their interactions with Syracuse to sharply decline, and the Syracusans' trade with central and northern Italy dwindled even further. Especially after Daionia launched the war against Rome, the Third Fleet had intentionally blockaded the shipping routes along the Southern Coast of Italy. Since Syracuse did not possess Sardinia and Corsica like Carthage did, they had only learned of the "Daionian Army landing in Latium" from the Carthaginian envoy.
However, the Syracusans knew that Rome was a powerful state in central Italy with numerous allies. Its regional status was similar to that of Syracuse in Sicily over a decade ago. Moreover, since the Theonians were fighting far from their homeland, they couldn't possibly conquer Rome so easily. It was bound to be a long, drawn-out war. Some even hoped that the Theonians would suffer a crushing defeat in the Latium region. This expectation was a major reason why they had initially agreed to ally with Carthage and attack Daionia.
But now, with the sudden news that the Theonians had conquered Rome and their main force was about to reinforce Sicily, the Council members felt as if they had been struck by a heavy blow. Panic swept through them. If the Carthaginian army retreated to the west, Syracuse would be left to bear the full brunt of the Daionian Army's fury all alone!
Theagenes had to personally ride out to persuade the Carthaginians. By the time he caught up to their retreating army, they had already reached Gela.
No matter how much he pleaded, Mago refused to see him personally. Only Bomilcar emerged to deliver a message: because the upcoming clash with Daionia's main force concerned the very survival of Carthage, the grand army absolutely had to withdraw to the west to make full preparations. No one could dissuade them from this course.
At the same time, Bomilcar offered some comfort: even if Daionian reinforcements landed in Sicily, their primary target would still be Carthage. Syracuse possessed high, thick walls, abundant food, and plenty of soldiers. As long as they mounted a steadfast defense, the Theonians would be completely helpless against them. Once Carthage defeated the main Daionian force, they would march east to join forces with Syracuse. At that time, not only could they drive the Theonians out of Sicily, but they could also advance further into Magna Graecia. Magna Graecia had always been the territory of the Greeks, so once its cities were captured, it would be far more appropriate to hand control of them over to Syracuse...
Theagenes was slightly enticed by the beautiful future the Carthaginian painted. Deep down, he also understood that the situation was irreversible. Since things had come to this, he could only state that Syracuse would do everything in its power to defend against the Theonians' impending attack, and he hoped the Carthaginian army would return east as soon as possible.
On his journey back to Syracuse, Theagenes was constantly torn by conflicting emotions, caught between his hopes for the future and his terror of reality.
By the time he rushed back to Syracuse, he was greeted with terrible news: Daionia's reinforcements had already begun landing at the port of Catana and the naval base in Catania.
Because the landing happened so suddenly, the Syracusan army had not completely withdrawn from their camp outside Taunis. The naval base in Catania was barely a dozen li away from them. Sailors on cargo ships transporting supplies from the camp back to the port of Syracuse looked on in astonishment: to the north, dozens of Daonian Warships were lined up in battle formation on the sea. Behind them, just outside the Daunian naval base, the waters were crowded with countless vessels, with even more ships sailing in from the sea further north...
The terrified Syracusan fleet immediately turned their ships around and fled back to port. Upon receiving the news, the Syracusan Navy hurriedly dispatched several fast scout ships to investigate. They discovered that those Daionian vessels were either troopships fully loaded with soldiers or cargo ships packed with supplies. They continuously moved in and out of the Daunian naval base, an operation that lasted all the way until dusk...
By the second day, these military operations were still ongoing in the waters around the Daunian naval base.
Just how many reinforcements had the Theonians sent?! Upon hearing the news, the Syracusans were universally struck with panic, and Theagenes, who had just returned to the city, was certainly no exception.
Especially after learning that the Carthaginian army was dead set on returning to the west, many in the Council looked utterly devastated.
Even Hicetas, a general of the Harbor Commoner Faction, cried out, "Since the Carthaginians have abandoned us, we no longer need to honor the treaty! Let's just negotiate for peace with Daionia!"
Hicetas's words indeed tempted a small minority, but no one dared to step forward and openly agree. After all, the very reason Syracuse had allied with Carthage and declared war on Daionia was to restore its former hegemony. To sue for peace before even properly clashing with the Theonians was a humiliation that most Council members could not stomach, nor could the broader populace of Syracusan citizens accept it.
They debated until evening. Aside from swiftly withdrawing all troops besieging Taunis and preparing the city's defenses, they couldn't come up with any concrete, effective plan to resolve their current predicament.
On the third day, the Council continued discussing the previous day's topics. Around noon, they received an urgent report from their scouts: over 50,000 well-equipped Daionian soldiers had departed from Katane and were marching south.
The Council members instantly flew into a panic. They immediately demanded an emergency mobilization of all the citizens in the city to prepare for the enemy's arrival.
But soon, another scout arrived to report: the Daionian Army had changed direction toward the southwest and halted their advance in front of the Ruins of Palagonia.