ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 558 Carthage’s decision
"Yes, the arrogant Tarantum people!" Davos thought of the Tarantum people he saw there when he led his army to aid Tarantum, whether they were senators or ordinary citizens. Feeling an inexplicable sense of superiority, he even remembered: in the history of the previous life, it was this Tarantum who was later weakened even took the lead in resisting the invasion of Rome, and invited Pyrus to lead the army into Italy, which triggered the elephant war; A hundred years later, Tarantum, which had already surrendered to Rome, rebelled again and became Hannibal's supporter and the Carthaginians' logistics base in southern Italy. Hannibal could fight Rome in Italy for 13 years, and Tarantum Toum is credited.This shows that there is a rebellious factor flowing in the blood of the Tarentum people...

Simply stand back and let the Maple Alliance completely destroy it and take it back later. Only then will the name change be justified... Davos's face was uncertain.

Hennipolis saw the new king of Dionia frowning, pacing back and forth in the big tent, lowering his head in thought, so he did not make a sound for fear of interrupting Davos's thoughts, but stood there. Stand aside and wait quietly.

After a while, I heard Davos say: "Herni, it is difficult for Tarantum to be fully integrated into Dionia, but what about letting it be partially integrated?"

"Partly? Your Majesty, do you want Tarantum to cede part of the territory to Dionia?" Henipolis was not surprised by the decision made by Davos, using cannibalization to gradually annex a territory. Dabang is also a way to do it.

"That's not the case." Davos shook his head and said in a deep voice: "I want to make Tarantum a 'free city' in the Dionia Alliance."

"Free City?!" This new term made Henipolis confused.

"The Free City allows Tarantum to become part of Dionia, but it does not have to pay taxes to the treasury, and the Senate does not interfere with its self-management of the city-state according to the original law, but it does not have the right to independent diplomacy, nor does it have the right to conduct independent diplomacy. There is no power to form an army...When the alliance encounters difficulties and needs its help, it must also contribute its own strength!" When Daves told this new idea, he was also straightening out his own thinking, so his The speaking speed is very slow and the voice is very clear.

Henipolis's eyes lit up. He praised Davos's novel political idea, but he had to remind him: "Your Majesty, although the Free City has only made a few small steps forward than becoming a subordinate city-state, Taran I’m afraid the Tumu people won’t agree.”

"The Messape and Pucheti people will force them to agree. Of course, I hope that the Tarantum people will have the courage to refuse. In this way, we can build a building on the ruins of Tarantum soon." New city!" There was a bit of coldness in Davos's teasing words.

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After the Carthaginian town of Mortea at the southwestern tip of Sicily was destroyed five years ago, the Carthaginian commander Himilco built a new city near it - Lilibi.

After several years of development, this new city has gradually become prosperous.Since Mago became the governor of Sicily and made Lilibi the center of the entire jurisdiction of Sicily, its development has been rapid: gold and silver coins, weapons and armor, grain, war horses, slaves... Every day, countless merchant ships are loaded with various military supplies. Sailed into Lilibi port, and then sent to various military camps via Lilibi.

The development of the port created a demand for labor. Phoenicians, Numibians, and Mauritanians poured into Lilibi in large numbers, causing the residential area of ​​Lilibi to continue to expand outward.In less than a year, Lilibi had become the largest city controlled by Carthage in Sicily.

On this morning, Mago received Adityaluba, the envoy from the Carthage Senate, in his governor's palace.

Mago's attitude towards this senator is quite friendly, because Adityaruba belongs to neither the Magonid faction nor the Hanno faction. He is an important figure among the neutral senators with the smallest number in the Senate. , because he did not belong to the first two, so he sometimes dared to propose some bills that were harmful to the interests of the two factions but beneficial to the people. Although they often failed to pass, it gave him a higher reputation among the people, so he was always elected as " He is an important member of the "Court of Hundreds", so Brother Ma dare not underestimate him.

After the two exchanged friendly greetings for a while, Adityaruba turned to the topic: "Master Mago, a month ago you applied to the Senate to "request that Lilibi obtain the right to mint". After a long period of discussion, the Senate After arguing, a decision was finally made——" Seeing the slightly nervous look on Mago's face, Adityaruba couldn't help but shake his head secretly. He said slowly: "The Senate rejected your proposal."

Since the Senate had just made the decision, it sent Adityaruba as an envoy to Lilibai immediately. Therefore, Mago had not had time to receive the message from Carthage's cronies. He was surprised and changed from the previous harmonious atmosphere. , and immediately asked loudly: "Why?!"

"The right to mint coins can only be exclusively enjoyed by the city of Carthage, which guarantees Carthage's leading position among other Phoenician allies and is beneficial to our Carthage trade. I think that as the main city builder of Carthage The current patriarch of the Magonid family, you can’t help but understand this truth!” Aditya Luba’s calm tone contained warning.

"What I propose is only temporary coinage." Mago defended: "Since the Senate has appointed me to be responsible for the military defense of Sicily and ensuring the security of the north of Carthage, I must be seriously responsible for it! But the current situation is that Carthage Every time Taiji delivers military funds, they are either delayed or insufficient. Sometimes, the ship carrying gold coins is sunk by a storm... Do you know how much trouble these problems cause to my military defense plan? ?! The soldiers are very angry! A few days ago, the mercenaries stationed in Segesta caused a commotion because their salaries were delayed many times. I spent a lot of energy to calm them down! "

The more Mago spoke, the angrier he became: "I now suspect that the senators headed by Hanno are making things difficult for me, but if they ignore Carthage's interests and continue to act like this, the Sicilian mercenaries will be in danger of chaos! Then, the Sicilian defense system that I have worked so hard to build will be destroyed, and the rioting mercenaries may also pose danger to the city of Carthage! Mr. Adityaruba, you have always acted fairly, and I hope you can do it this time. In the true interests of Carthage, reconsider my proposal!”

Mago's accusations and implicit threats to Hanno were too straightforward, which made Adityaruba frown. He felt that compared to Magonid's former patriarch Himilko, Mago might be better at military matters. He has some talents, but he is still immature politically. No wonder he cannot defeat Hannuo, who has a deep city.

Even though Adityaruba, as a neutral faction in the Senate, would criticize these two factions in meetings from time to time, he was able to work effectively in the Senate, so he certainly did not lack political flexibility.At this moment, he tightened his mind and persuaded tactfully: "Master Mago, don't be so anxious. Although the Senate did not approve your proposal, the issues you mentioned have attracted the attention of the senators. For this reason, the Senate has sent a special person. Responsible for the casting and transportation of Sicilian military funds, and also sent someone to supervise it. I believe these problems will not appear again soon.

Of course, the problems you mentioned were not caused by someone deliberately targeting you.I think all the senators in the Senate will be wary and worried about recruiting mercenaries, so they strictly reviewed the amount of military funds and salaries, and cut off some unnecessary funds, resulting in a reduction in the amount and a delay in delivery time. I miss you It should also be understood that it is all out of public interest in safeguarding the interests of Carthage..."

Mago snorted and did not continue to dwell on this issue.He looked aggrieved on the surface, but felt a little guilty inside because he had previously misappropriated a small amount of military funds for his family's development expenses in Iberia. Therefore, he felt that Adityaruba's words were probably a warning to him. It seemed that The Senate was aware of this.Fortunately, the purpose of his proposal has been achieved. He did not have much hope for the temporary coinage rights, but only used this to threaten Hanno not to withhold military funds.

"In addition, the proposal you made the day before yesterday, 'While Syracuse and Dionia are at war, Carthage should send troops to attack eastern Sicily and restore Carthage's previous sphere of influence' was also not approved by the Senate. Passed,” Adityaruba continued.

Mago was not surprised. After all, he knew the urinal nature of those in the Senate. He glanced sideways at Adityaruba and asked in a cold voice: "Reject them all? No other opinions?"

"Most of the senators agreed that Carthage should not intervene in this war at this time, but should remain neutral to avoid allowing the Greeks to unite against us again."

"What nonsense is this! Are those people in the Senate all idiots!" When Mago heard this, he couldn't help shouting angrily: "What a rare opportunity! Syracuse not only lost in the naval battle Dionia, and suffered a disastrous defeat in the subsequent battles, and yesterday I also received news from eastern Sicily that the Dionia landed in Sicily and captured Mearo, Syracuse The war in Magna Graecia was completely defeated, and whether the troops in Magna Graecia could safely return to Sicily became a big problem. As a result, Syracuse's strength will inevitably be greatly weakened, and I am afraid that it will no longer be able to control Sicily. Regarding the situation in the east, we should take advantage of the fact that the Greek city-states in Sicily are in chaos and quickly send troops eastward to re-establish our Carthaginian hegemony in Sicily!..."

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(End of this chapter)