"It's over! Our port is going to be blocked, Lijim is finished!! ”

"Artilikrus, you must immediately get Dioonia to send a fleet and drive out the Messinas!!"

"Send a messenger at once and make peace with Dionysius! The enemy of Dionysius is Dionia, not us! If we give him silver or gold, he will accept Lijim! ”

……

"Enough! You all give me peace!! Attilikruz roared angrily, leaving everyone stunned.

"The people of Syracuse are still at sea, and you are panicking like this! If they land, won't you surrender at once! Look at you guys, you're not even as good as an ordinary citizen soldier! Dionysius had long wanted to occupy Ligem so that he could monopolize the Strait of Messina and acquire great wealth, and he would not agree to our peace! Whoever says this betrayal of the interests of the city-state again, I will let the guards send him to the sea to feed the fish! ......" Attilicruz angrily scolded, not only frightened the person who had just said that he wanted to "negotiate peace" to quickly lower his head, but also made everyone else look ashamed.

Then, he looked at the only man in the town hall who was not shouting or panicking, and asked with a serious expression, "Fei Dun, what advice do you have in the face of this terrible situation?" ”

Fildun, known as the least of the Lijim citizens, is tough, conscientious, and decisive. When he was first elected general, he did not listen to anyone's dissuasion and intercession, and strictly investigated tax evasion in the port, which offended a large number of Lijim merchants, and Lijim was a city-state with developed commerce and trade, and many members of the council composed of wealthy people were obstructed from it, and Feidun was never elected to the general and council again. It was only last year, when Syracuse's troops had reached the other side of the strait, that the panicked Lijim people remembered this courageous citizen, and he was re-elected general.

At this moment, he said with a solemn expression: "Syracuse's army landed in Lokry, although it is not too far from Ligem, but the Montalto mountain range (the southernmost point of the Apennines, the highest peak is nearly 2,000 meters) is difficult to cross. If Syracuse wants to attack us, he can only reach Lokri by taking the rugged mountain road along the coast, so as long as we send troops to hold the mountain pass, no amount of Syracuse soldiers will be able to do anything......"

Artili Cruise said excitedly, "You are the same as I think! ”

Fei Dun didn't care that the chief general put gold on his face with his own ideas, but continued: "Of course, we must be careful that the Syracuse people go west from Lokry, through the famous ancient road connecting the east and west coasts, to Medma, and then go south to attack Taurena, thus opening the passage to attack Lijim!" ”

"This is indeed a very worrying issue!" After Fitun's words, Artilicrus's confused thoughts were cleared, his brows furrowed tightly, pondering for a moment, and saying loudly: "We must remind Taurina to strengthen our defenses and be wary of enemies that may attack from the north!" And we must also send troops to reinforce Taurina, otherwise with its strength, even with the Maro River as a barrier, it will be difficult to resist the attack of the Syracuse army! ”

The people who were flustered before now nodded vigorously in agreement.

Attilicruz ignored them, but asked in a hurried and humble tone, "Fei Dun, what else do we need to consider?" ”

"It is inevitable that this war will break out and our trade routes will be cut off. Ladies and gentlemen, don't worry about your own trade. Fei Dun said seriously: "Our original warships, even if they stay here, are not the opponents of the Syracuse fleet. It might as well be handed over to Dionia, at least they can put together a relatively strong fleet and cause some trouble for the Syracusens......"

Fei Dun's words made some people look ashamed.

"You're so right! That's why I gave the ship to the Dionians! Attillicruz immediately picked up.

Someone retorted unconvinced: "The Syracuse are not fools, they may use the fleet to bypass the coastal path and land near Lijim!" ”

"We all know that the coastline near this end of the Strait of Messina is mostly steep and rocky, and there are very few good beaches and coves, and the best two are occupied by us (referring to the city of Lijim and the port, which are separated from each other)." Therefore we only went to garrison the few remaining beaches, and I believe that no matter how strong the army of Syracuse is, it will not dare to land at great sacrifice in front of our well-defended battle formation. ”

Fei Dun's words made the panic in everyone's hearts dissipate a lot, and Attilicruz took advantage of the situation and said, "Now I propose that Fei Dun be the commander of Lijim's army. ”

Hardly a single person objected.

Fei Dun accepted the appointment with a solemn expression, and then said to the chief general: "Lord Artilikrus, while we strengthen our defenses, we must also immediately ask for help from Dionia!" If Syracuse and Lokri attack Taurina with all their might, it will be difficult to resist even if the soldiers of our two cities are combined! ”

"Don't worry." Artilikruz had already figured out the joint at this moment, he barely squeezed out a smile, and said: "The news of the landing of the Syracuse people in Lokri is believed to be Dionia, Crotone, and Siritin...... These city-states will soon know that the great armies of the Southern Italian Alliance will soon be formed, and how dare the people of Syracuse come against us with all their might in the face of a great war?! ”

"That's right! That's right! ......" The others echoed the words.

"Of course, we also need to get in touch with Dionia quickly, tell them where we are and discuss the next steps with them...... Considering that the enemy's fleet was already cruising in the eastern seas of Great Greece, we must at once send messengers on the west coast by clipper to reach the port of Knappetia and go to Turiyi......" Attilicruz decided.

……………………………

The astonishing news of the landing of the army of Syracuse in Lokli quickly spread throughout Greater Greece, and the people of Dioonia reacted much more calmly than the people of the other city-states, believing in their legions, their senate, and especially in their miraculous consuls, who had not yet suffered defeat.

Kunograta and Cornerus bumped into each other on their way to the Senate.

"The worst thing has finally happened, the people of Syracuse have arrived, and I heard that the army led by Dionysius numbered no less than 100,000 men!" Cornerus said as he walked with a melancholy expression.

"So we must immediately get Hieronymus to assemble two new legions!" Cuno Gorata's mood is not much better than Cornerus: "Filicios and Ansitanos should already know the news, I hope they can supervise Crotone and Siriting as soon as possible...... These allies, quickly organize the allies! ”

"When the storm comes, everyone is in the same boat, and no one can avoid it. I'm sure this time Crotone and Siriting won't hesitate any longer. Cornerus is convinced of this.

"Yes, now I can only rely on them for the time being!" Kunogorata sighed, and in the moment of crisis he realized that neither the people of Dionia, nor the Senate nor himself relied on the young consul: "Where is Lord Davers?" Did he already know about the attack of the Syracuse army? ”

"Yesterday there was urgent news from the north, that Lord Davers had arrived at the fortress of the River La with his army, and was ready to go to Laos, and sail to Picosis...... It would take a day for the messenger to travel from the fortress of La River to Turii, and it is believed that he has now reached Picosis, is with Antaoris, and will soon learn of the 'Syracuse invasion of Greater Greece'. Cornerus said.

The senators of the Senate were paying close attention to Davers's movements, and Kunogorata had forgotten to inquire about Davers because he had been so busy assisting Seklian in preparing for the construction of the military port in the past few days that he had forgotten to inquire about Davers.

"Hopefully he will be able to repel the Samonai soon! Come back soon! Kunograta said expectantly.

They were about to cross Victory Square, where a group of children were playing, some young people were practicing running around the square (mainly the arena and other venues in Turiyi were occupied by people for ball games, resulting in a rapidly expanding city of Turiyi with insufficient venues for fitness and physical training), some elderly people were lying on the ground basking in the sun by leaning on steps or memorial pillars, and some were reading slowly with books they had just copied from the library......

In the center of the square, there is a makeshift wooden platform, and the teachers of the School of Mathematics are teaching the public simple arithmetic, so that many people come to watch, listen and learn (this practice was a good habit developed by the two Pythagorean disciples in Amendolara, and it has persisted to do so, because Mentotik Els, the director of the School of Mathematics, has always believed that this is the best way to expand the influence of their college and attract good students).

Not to be outdone, since Lycias became the dean of the Faculty of Letters, he also sent teachers to Victory Square every day to stand in front of the billboard under the steps of the Senate, read aloud the contents of the newly promulgated bills to the public, explained some ordinary grammar applications, pointed out some rhetorical errors in the announcements (which made the senate scribes cautious for fear of making mistakes), and by the way, talked about the legal provisions of Dionia, as well as the debating skills, which naturally attracted many people to listen and learn.

In such a lively square, it is natural that there are no shortage of vendors, although the town hall of Turiyi has a rule: vendors are not allowed to set up stalls in the square. But this is not difficult for the shrewd Greek merchants, who carry wooden blue and push wooden carts loaded with snacks, fruits, syrup, etc., and constantly wander around the square, making a lot of money at the end of the day...... Even today, when the Syracuse army is coming, the excitement of the square has not diminished by half.