“Armistice?!” Eshmounadon was shocked.
“Yes, Syracuse wished to have a truce with Theonia. In exchange for allowing their troops in the city of Scylletium to return to Sicily safely, they would give up the land they occupied in Magna Graecia and the Locrian Alliance who supported them…” Said Davos seriously.
“King Davos, will you accept their conditions?” Eshmounadon asked immediately.
“I am still considering… just as you said, Theonia had suffered a lot of difficulties since the beginning of the war. Not only do we have food shortages, but we left all the union matters completely unattended because the citizens have all come out to fight, and the public's war-weariness is also rising…alas!”
“King Davos, I don't think making a truce with Syracuse is wise. Unlike Theonia, Syracuse, even though you defeated them in Magna Graecia, only needed a year or two of rest before they could reassemble another massive army and invade Magna Graecia again! In fact, we in Carthage learned such a painful lesson in our war with them! What’s more, could a year or two be enough time for Magna Graecia, which has suffered great devastation, to recover its strength?!” Eshmounadon warned, looking extremely concerned.
“Then…” Davos hesitated and asked, “Your suggestion is…”
“Wipe out the Syracusan army in the city of Scylletium!” Eshmounadon seriously continued, “It would even be best if we could capture Dionysius, the main culprit of all the wars in Sicily and Magna Graecia!”
Davos could already vaguely feel Carthage's attitude towards Syracuse in this war. Yet he still wanted to probe Carthage's bottom line, so he continued to ask with a hesitant tone, “As you had just said, Syracuse is far more powerful than my Theonia. Hence even if we eliminate this army, they could continue threatening Magna Graecia's security. With Theonia facing the danger of war at any time, what…what should we do to remove this danger completely?”
“Completely remove? Then simply destroy Syracuse! However, this is something that even Carthage couldn't do, and Theonia naturally couldn't do it as well!” Eshmounadon's prideful tone drew a sneer from Henipolis. But under the reproachful gaze of Davos, Henipolis could only bow his head to finish his work.
Fortunately, Eshmounadon felt magnanimous, so he just ignored the young man's rudeness and continued pointing out the next move Theonia should take, “Although Theonia couldn't destroy Syracuse, you can weaken it. Syracuse's large population and numerous allies were the foundation of Dionysius' courage to attack Magna Graecia, but they were also the target of Dionysius' exploitation. As far as we know in Carthage, these Greeks resented Dionysius, and the news of Theonia's victory over Dionysius' army gave them the courage to rebel.
Moreover, your army has landed in Sicily, right?! As long as the Theonian troops continue fighting in eastern Sicily, the Greek city-states and their people will definitely rise to support you against the dictatorship of Dionysius, breaking the Sicilian League established by Syracuse and Syracuse to no longer be the hegemon of Sicily!” The more Eshmounadon, the more excited he became that he even clenched his fist.
Davos, however, remained calm as he quietly exchanged glances with Henipolis, who had quietly walked out of the tent and then returned quickly. Afterwards, Davos slowly said, “What Lord Eshmounadon said is indeed reasonable and makes me tempted! However, we only sent about 4,000 men to Sicily, intending just to harass and cause destruction in eastern Sicily to force Dionysius to return with part of his army, reducing our pressure in Magna Graecia… But the day before yesterday, an urgent report from Sicily came that 20,000 soldiers led by the Syracusan strategos Macias attacked our troops and are now facing a difficult situation. It seems that attacking Sicily won’t be easy…
However, If…you Carthaginians took advantage of this great opportunity to attack from the west while the Syracusan army was outside and left the defence of their territory empty… Not only will the Syracusan alliance collapse, but even the city of Syracuse, which hadn't been conquered for a hundred years, would likely be breached!…”
Listening to Davos' indirect request, Eshmounadon's initial bold demeanour became somewhat embarrassed as he evaded Davos' seemingly eager gaze. He then hesitantly said, “… Only a few years had passed since Carthage and Syracuse signed a peace agreement…and we Carthaginians abide by the agreement and won't break it during its duration…And we always kept our promises, which is also why Carthage could become the richest city-state in the western Mediterranean…”
Henipolis sneered as he watched the Carthaginian's pretentiousness.
With a disappointed expression, Davos sat down and quietly said, “Alas!…that's truly a pity…”
“Although we couldn't participate in the war, we could still assist Theonia vigorously!” Said Eshmounadon hurriedly and loudly. Hanno wanted to improve their relationship with Theonia further and form an agreement in favour of Carthage. But if he returned with Theonia and Syracuse having a truce, he wouldn't be able to face Hanno. Thus he was a bit worried, “Besides supplying you with your urgently needed food, we could also provide you with well-made weapons… We are also willing to provide Theonia with a huge loan for you to recruit mercenaries to cover your shortage of soldiers…”
Davos' eyes brightened up as he immediately said, “Wonderful! With Carthage's selfless aid, we are confident of finally defeating the Syracusans! Heni, get a quill and some paper. I'll write down a list of supplies we urgently needed.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Henipolis got up and handed the quill and paper.
Seeing how quickly Davos became lively, Eshmounadon became dumbfounded and hurriedly said, “King Davos, before you make a list, it's better to sign a new agreement first.”
“A new agreement?” Although Davos appeared puzzled, he was actually worried, ‘He is finally revealing his real purpose of visiting here!’
“Yes, a new agreement. Because of the Theonian army's outstanding performance on the battlefield under your leadership, King Davos, the opinion of our Senate about this war has once again changed! Thus Carthage hopes that after our massive aid in assisting Theonia to win this war, Theonia must not-”
But before Eshmounadon could finish his sentence, the voice of Martius, the captain of the guard, interrupted him. Martius then opened the tent's entrance and walked inside, “Your majesty, the first legion's battle report has arrived!”
“Show it to me!” Davos couldn't wait to take the papyrus tied with a red string from Martius' hands.
Eshmounadon, who was interrupted, became curious.
“EXCELLENT!” Shouted Davos with excitement. He then loudly said, “Antonios said in his letter that the first legion has completely defeated the Syracusan joint army led by Macias and occupied Tauromenium. Then a large-scale uprising in the central part of eastern Sicily occurred. The Sikurians, Catanians, Leontinoi and Taunis overthrew the tyrants supported by Dionysius, and the people of Syracuse also rebelled and drove Dionysius' supporters to Ortygia.”
After saying those, Davos paused for a moment and said in an emphatic tone, “Antonios also said that these newly independent city-states are afraid of Syracuse's fierce retaliation, so they came and asked to join the Theonian Alliance.”
“Really?!” Henipolis and Martius showed surprised expressions.
“Come and see it!” With delight, Davos handed out the papyrus scroll in his hand.
“Can I take a look at it first!” Disregarding his manners as a guest, Eshmounadon grabbed the papyrus with unprecedented agility as he could no longer wait to see it.
Davos and Henipolis just smiled at each other: The war report was genuine, but it was delivered in the morning instead of it just arriving. Davos wanted to destroy Carthage’s attempts while getting the benefits, so he made Henipolis and Martius perform a play.
Eshmounadon, with a look of disbelief, read it again and again. He didn't expect that in just two days after leaving Carthage, the war situation in South Italia could change so suddenly, so how could he continue to say, ‘Theonia must not set foot in Sicily after the war.’?
“This…this…is this really…” Eshmounadon was tongue-tied that it took him a while before he could say, “Have all the situations described here…been confirmed?”
“Lord Eshmounadon, Theonia's military law, stipulates that ‘no one shall make a false report or falsify military information. Once verified that the war report is inconsistent with the actual situation, the offender shall receive punishment depending on the seriousness of the situation, which ranges from demotion to death.’ Although Antonios is the army commander, he wouldn't dare make such a mistake.” Davos replied with seriousness.
“I am certainly not doubting strategos Antonios' war report, but with Carthage's dealing with Sikuri, Leontinoi, Catania…we knew very well that these city-states were capricious. Due to the current situation, they most likely wanted to please the Theonian army, so their request to join the Theonia Alliance is not necessarily sincere…” After his initial shock, Eshmounadon calmed down and began expressing his dissent.
