ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 598 Asistes’ Report ([-])
"Thank you Lord Burkos for your explanation!" Asistes continued: "Actually, Lord Kereru will find out when he goes to Enona and investigates carefully, we are only cutting down trees that grow on the flat ground, not one in the mountains. None of them were cut.

Why cut down trees on flat land?Because Enona was previously occupied by the Samnites, the Samnites did not cultivate this land, causing the forest to extend to the seaside.The Samonites are used to living in mountains and forests, but we Dionians cannot. We need arable land to grow grains. If we don’t cut down trees and clear out wasteland, Enona will have no arable land and we can’t live on livestock alone. More and more people in Enona, if they buy grain from outside, the price will be high, and the people's lives will be greatly affected. When there is still a lot of spare farmland in other parts of the kingdom, they are still willing to buy grain in Egypt. Is Nona coming to live? !Then in order to maintain our presence in Enona, the Kingdom must pay a high price, which is not worth it!
In addition, the city of Enona is directly adjacent to the Sorrentine Peninsula. Its town territory is mainly in the south, dozens of miles away from Poseidonia. If there is no land road connection, it is not very convenient to connect to the sea port alone. Building roads also requires cutting down those trees.more importantly--"

Asistes looked around the venue, and said in a deep voice: "Although the Samnites had to become an ally of the kingdom because of our disastrous defeat in the war ten years ago, we must not relax our vigilance. Recently I heard that the people in the north The Cautini began to harass the Campanian League again. And Enona is far away from the central area of ​​the kingdom, in a strange place, so we must ensure the convenience of transportation. If there is an accident, our legion can arrive in time, and Our legionnaires are better at exerting their power on the flat ground, while the Samonites are good at fighting in the mountains and forests, and cutting down the trees on the flat ground is also to ensure the safety of Enona..."

After Asistes finished speaking, the senators began to whisper among themselves. The Naples envoy had informed Thurii of the Cavutini's attack on the Campania League a few days ago, although the senators did not think that the Samonites People dared to tear up the alliance and declare war on the kingdom, but they were still satisfied with Asistes's precautionary approach, and Crelu had nothing to say.

Davos nodded slightly: After so many years of training, Asistes has indeed grown up.

At this time, Marij stood up and said politely: "I have a question. Of course it is not within the scope of your authority, Master Asistes, but I still want to consult you. With your power in Enona With six years of experience, I hope you can give me some advice on how to break Carthage’s trade monopoly on Sardinia and Corsica?”

There was a commotion in the venue, and it was clear that this issue was somewhat overwhelming.

But looking at Marij's eager eyes, Asistes turned back to look at Davos, who was sitting firmly, and Davos nodded to him.

Asistes knew that he could not refuse this question.So, he thought for a while and then said: "I remember that the agreement we signed with Carthage stipulated that 'Dionia's merchant ships are not allowed to go to the southern Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia and Corsica. Go up and trade...'The best way to change Carthage's monopoly on trade with these two islands and obtain a large amount of precious metals is to re-amend the agreement with Carthage and get them to agree to our trade with these two islands.

But I think this is basically impossible, because the trade between the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula and these two islands is the two most important trade markets that support Carthage's prosperity, and the Carthaginians will never give up.A hundred years ago, Carthage took the initiative to launch two naval battles because the Magna Greeks coveted Sardinia, and they won both times. If we didn't intend to tear up the agreement and start a war with Carthage, we might as well not To provoke it. "

After Asistes said this warning, everyone shook their heads in disappointment. This answer was no different from the answers given by other senators in the past.

Then, Asistes changed the subject: "But although Carthage has an agreement with us and has similar requirements for the Phoenicians in Sardinia and Corsica, no matter how developed Carthage's goods are, , it is impossible to produce everything to meet the needs of the Phoenicians on these two islands. For example, I heard that the Sardinians preferred Athenian pottery to Carthaginian pottery, so the Carthaginians The Thagian people bought Athenian pottery bottles and resold them to the Sardinians. The price was naturally higher. Moreover, many goods were transported from Carthage to Sardinia and Corsica, and the long distance led to transportation costs. The price of goods has also increased, and if we sell the same kind of goods that they need at more suitable prices in the markets of Enona, Poseidonia, and Picosis, I believe it will attract the Phoenicians of the two islands. Merchant comes to buy.

Nowadays, you can occasionally see them in the Enona market. I believe that this will attract more people.But even if it can be realized, this will not be a large-scale trade, especially in precious metals. After all, the Phoenician city-states on these islands are heavily dependent on Carthage, and it is impossible to do anything that would harm Carthage's interests too much... …”

"Thank you for your answer." Marij sat down with a smile on his face. Asistes' suggestion confirmed what he was thinking.

After him, several more senators raised questions, and Asistes responded to them one by one smoothly.Since Asistes was a mercenary and was married to a Lucanian, and his uncle Antonios was one of the leaders of the Sicilian senators, Asistes was associated with several large groups among the senators. His origins, so of course the senators would not quarrel with him and set up obstacles for him to report his duties.

Seeing that the question had come to an end, Asistes was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a familiar voice came from behind him: "I have a question to ask you."

Asistes' heart tightened, he turned around and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, please ask!"

The elders at the venue also pricked up their ears.

Davers asked seemingly casually: "What do the Campanians think of the Romans?"

Roman?A few elders will be unfamiliar with this name.

Antonios breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this: It seems that Davos did not deliberately target Asistes.

Although he had a fight with his nephew last night, Asistes' words still reminded him, so today he began to pay attention to Davos's every move, and he also began to avoid suspicion and did not ask questions to Asistes.

"Your Majesty, in my contacts with the Campanians, they rarely talked about this Latin city-state in the north. After all, there are Volsci and other Latin city-states between Rome and Campania, and Rome's sea trade is not developed, and there is very little trade with the Tampanians, which shows that they neither know nor pay much attention to this city-state. But...they occasionally mentioned Rome, Always inseparable from the two words 'barbaric' and 'warlike', I can feel that the Campanians are contemptuous and somewhat afraid of Rome, which may be the same as Rome's defeat in the third year of the kingdom (390 BC). In order to attack the Celts of Etruria and Latins in a large scale, they have captured many Etruria city-states and other Latin city-states many times in these years..." Asistes was in power in Enona for six years. years and never had contact with the Romans.However, three years ago, when he was elected as the chief executive of Enona for the second time, when Davos entertained him and saw him off, he mentioned Rome, and he was fascinated, so he was fully prepared to answer this question .

Davos has specially sent personnel to collect intelligence about Rome. He knows Rome far better than the senators here. The reason why he asks this question is just curious about the attitude of the Campanians towards the Romans: In the history of previous lives , the Campanians were invaded by the Samnites, and finally chose to seek help from Rome. Perhaps it was because no other force except Rome could help them. In fact, what they had in mind was probably the same as that of Campania in this life. The Nians have the same idea, but they have a bigger backer. With the help of Dionia, the Samnites do not dare to invade them anymore, so they should not surrender to Rome... Daves is thinking in his mind Lian Lian nodded to Asistes with a very calm expression.

Since Davos asked the question, no one in the meeting asked any more questions.

Cornerus, the rotating president, asked Asistes to return to his seat.

Next, the five senators of the Kingdom's Official Management Committee rated Asistes' performance in power based on his performance in Enona for three years.Judging from Asistes' performance, he can at least be rated as "good".Of course, this score is not public. After being reviewed by King Davos, it will be filed with the committee as an important document for future appointments to Asistes.

"The next agenda item..." Cornelus said loudly: "Elect the new administrator of Enona."

Having said this, he turned around and asked: "Your Majesty, do you have anyone to choose?"

This was not flattery on the part of Cornelus, but the practice of the Senate in selecting high-ranking officials, first of all to confirm whether the king had a candidate prepared in advance.If there is, bring it up for discussion, and if everyone thinks it is suitable, then it will be confirmed; if most people think it is not suitable, the king can choose another candidate.

This is the privilege of the King of Dionia, but Davos rarely uses it because he knows that always eating alone will attract people's jealousy. What's more, he can privately notify Marij and them to achieve his goal, so why bother? So obvious.

"I have no candidate." Davos tapped his finger on the armrest and said seriously: "However, the requirements for the position of Administrator of Enona are different from other cities. As the northernmost city in the kingdom, on the one hand, the successor needs to be able to Continue to handle the relationship well with the Campanians and Samnites, continue to increase their goodwill towards the kingdom, and at the same time continue to develop Enona into a hub for maritime trade between the kingdom and central and northern Italy on the original basis. .

In addition, due to the complex origin of the people in the Enona territory and the different customs and habits, conflicts and disputes are not uncommon. It is a test for the successor's governance ability. The elders who wish to apply to become candidates and the elders who elect them need to make a decision before making a decision. Think carefully! "

Davos’s words made the elders present thoughtful.

　Thanks to Yijian68 for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　I wish my brothers and sisters a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a happy family reunion! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)