Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 952: Internal Strife

The Syracusans breathed a temporary sigh of relief, yet confusion lingered: what exactly were the Theonians planning to do?

Before long, another scout hurried back to report that the Theonians were holding a massive oath-swearing rally. Their roars of "Revenge!" were so loud that citizens living outside the city along the northwestern border could hear them.

The senators of the Council immediately tensed up again.

At this juncture, Theagenes finally offered a proposal. "Gentlemen, the Carthaginians breached the small city of Palagonia and slaughtered every last Theonian soldier inside. Couple that with their earlier invasion and rampant destruction of the Plain of Catania, and it is inevitable that the Theonian reinforcements are furious. The Carthaginians are the true targets of their revenge!

"As for Syracuse, we were merely coerced by the Carthaginian army into dispatching troops to attack Daionia's ally, Taunis. Mindful of our past friendship with Daionia, however, we never launched a true, full-scale assault. That is why Taunis remains completely intact to this day, having suffered no real casualties.

"Now, we should be thankful for the arrival of the Theonian reinforcements, which forced the Carthaginian army to retreat. Without the Carthaginian threat, the safety of Syracuse is guaranteed, and we can restore our former peace with Daionia!"

Several generals and senators stared in stunned disbelief. The push to ally with Carthage and declare war on Daionia had primarily come from this very chief general's own proposals. Yet now, from his own mouth, Syracuse was painted as the victim. He was blatantly twisting the truth!

However, catching Theagenes's hint, far more men scrambled to agree. "Exactly! We never formally declared war on Daionia, nor did we directly attack them, so there is no need to beg for peace. The Theonians should be thanking us! Because we cherished our past friendship, we held back from a serious assault and delayed the Carthaginians' advance, ultimately allowing Catana to be preserved."

"Let us maintain peace with the Theonians for the time being, and let them fight the Carthaginians to the bitter end. Once both sides have suffered heavy casualties and are utterly exhausted, that will be Syracuse's true opportunity."

"But we did occupy Camarina and seize control of Pachynus. I highly doubt Daionia will simply turn a blind eye to that," someone objected.

Theagenes countered, "That wasn't an occupation; it was protection. Because Syracuse protected Pachynus and Camarina, they were spared the tragic fates of Gela and Agrigento. They ought to be thanking Syracuse. Besides, neither city is an ally of Daionia. Based on that alone, I imagine Daionia won't react too strongly. Naturally, this will require our envoy to travel to Catana and carefully persuade them..."

In the end, the Council passed the proposal: they would dispatch an envoy to Catana to express goodwill toward Daionia while simultaneously probing the Theonians' stance.

During the previous negotiations with Mago, Theagenes had personally led the envoy because he was confident the Carthaginians would not harm him. With Daionia, however, he dared not take such a risk. He therefore recommended Sebenus—a very close friend and fellow senator of the Democratic Faction—to make the journey to Catana.

That evening, as he waited in anxious anticipation, a servant entered to inform him, "Sebenus is asking to see you."

Theagenes immediately hurried to the courtyard gate and personally escorted the man into his study.

"How did the mission go? What is the Theonians' attitude toward Syracuse? Did they agree to maintain the peace with us?"

Theagenes's frantic demeanor was a far cry from the calm, collected facade he had maintained in the Council earlier that day.

"Punish Phalecus, Steisikos, and Kuchillas? Why?" Although Theagenes already had a vague inkling of the reason, he still voiced the question.

"General, how could you forget? Those three were the ones who led the army to besiege Taunis. Taunis is Daionia's ally, so naturally, Daionia intends to stand up for them!" Sebenus reminded him.

Previously, Theagenes had led the army in a surprise attack on Camarina, forced Pachynus to surrender, and successfully negotiated with the Carthaginians—feats that earned him tremendous prestige. This had sparked intense jealousy among the generals of the Neutral Faction. Consequently, during the ensuing military operations, since they held the majority in the Executive Committee of Generals, they vehemently demanded to act as the commanding generals. Theagenes hadn't wanted to sour his relations with the Neutral Faction generals. Furthermore, he figured the upcoming war would be primarily directed by the Carthaginians, leaving the Syracusan army in a supporting role with little glory or profit to reap. He had therefore chosen to step back and let them take command.

Hearing Sebenus's words now, Theagenes felt a surge of secret relief, though it also sent him into deep thought.

"General," Sebenus murmured, taking a few steps closer. "This is a golden opportunity! Phalecus and his ilk have dominated the committee for years, causing you endless trouble and severely hindering your supporters from gaining seats. This might be the perfect chance to eliminate this thorn in our side..."

Theagenes looked up at him. "But the Theonians never promised they would restore friendly ties with Syracuse just for punishing Phalecus and the others."

"Yet they haven't shown any overt malice toward us either. It's definitely worth a try," Sebenus pressed.

Theagenes remained silent for a while. He fell into prolonged contemplation before finally saying with a touch of hesitation, "We must be wary of the Theonians playing tricks on us... Let's do this. Tomorrow at the Council, simply report the exact details of your mission to Catana, but do not add any further commentary. I will quietly instruct our people not to speak out of turn. We'll observe everyone else's reactions before deciding on our next move..."

...

The following day, when Sebenus presented Daionia's demand at the Council, the entire chamber erupted into an uproar.

Kuchillas was the first to leap to his feet in exasperation, angrily denouncing it as an utterly absurd demand.

Several senators from the Neutral Faction also voiced their staunch opposition, viewing the demand as a blatant insult to Syracuse.

Naturally, there were also those who argued the opposite: for the greater good of Syracuse, there was no harm in letting Phalecus and the other generals suffer a minor indignity. It was merely a political posture to satisfy Daionia, and doing so would keep Syracuse safely out of the path of Daionia's blades.

A small handful of senators from the Harbor Commoner Faction voiced their agreement with this logic.

The two sides debated endlessly.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Faction, led by Theagenes, simply watched from the sidelines in silence.

Right around noon, the Council suddenly received alarming news: widespread panic and unrest had broken out among the city's populace!

A vicious rumor had suddenly swept through the citizens: an army of tens of thousands of Theonians was marching to attack Syracuse, and this terrifying crisis was entirely Theagenes's fault! It was he who had aggressively pushed for the "alliance with Carthage and declaration of war against Daionia," needlessly provoking the Theonians. To make matters worse, the Carthaginians he had relied upon so heavily had faithlessly abandoned them and retreated, leaving Syracuse in grave peril. Therefore, Theagenes had to be held accountable! Punishing him was the only way to appease the Theonians' wrath...

The rumors quickly spread throughout the city, and large crowds of citizens were now gathering to heatedly debate the issue.

This news caught the Democratic Faction completely off guard. Theagenes in particular knew that if he did not handle this cleanly, it would deal a devastating blow to his prestige. He immediately motioned for a temporary recess so they could dispatch officials to pacify the populace.

But at this point, Phalecus and his allies loudly voiced their opposition. Kuchillas angrily stood and pointed a finger. "If we truly want to appease the anger of the Theonians, the person who most deserves to be punished is Theagenes, for he is the chief culprit who brought this upon us! Furthermore, as the chief general of Syracuse, not only has he failed to fulfill his duties, but he has brought outright disaster to Syracuse! He is no longer worthy of holding such a sacred post!"

Kuchillas's tirade sent another massive shockwave through the chamber.

The Democratic Faction, led by Theagenes, was now absolutely certain of one thing: the rumors spreading through the city had been manufactured by Phalecus's group to deflect attention from themselves and destroy Theagenes's prestige.

Without hesitation, Theagenes launched a vicious counterattack, bitterly denouncing Phalecus and his cohorts. The rest of the Democratic Faction quickly rose to back him up.

Phalecus and the other generals and senators of the Neutral Faction refused to back down, firing their own accusations back at the Democratic Faction.

What had begun as a relatively orderly debate soon devolved into a ferocious screaming match. Phalecus, who had harbored a long-standing grudge against Theagenes, went so far as to publicly expose all the underhanded tactics—the secret poaching, the sowing of discord, and the outright bribery—that Theagenes had employed against the Neutral Faction over the past year.

Theagenes refused to be outdone. He loudly accused Phalecus and the Neutral Faction of conspiring to marginalize him during his term as chief general, and exposed how they had secretly attempted to strong-arm him into joining forces with them to crush the Harbor Commoner Faction...

Profanities flew across the chamber, and all semblance of order evaporated. The verbal abuse soon escalated into an outright physical brawl.

Only a tiny minority of senators from the Harbor Commoner Faction, led by Hicetas, stood by and watched the chaos with stony, expressionless faces.

In the end, the meeting failed to reach a single agreement and was forced to adjourn early.

Before long, the scandalous events of the Council session had spread to every corner of Syracuse, further riling the city's populace. Spurred on by deliberate agitators, the supporters of the Neutral Faction began cursing Theagenes for his blatant hypocrisy, openly demanding that the Council punish him to avert a looming war.

Meanwhile, the citizens who supported Theagenes took the exact opposite stance. Vicious arguments erupted between the two sides in the streets, rapidly escalating into violent clashes.