ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 663 Davos’s Ambition
Cornelus hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, I am not against forming an alliance with Volsey and letting the Romans conquer Volsey. But I feel that with the situation in Dionia this year, this is not a good time. . What's more, we are very unfamiliar with the situation in central Italy, so we should be more cautious and better prepared to ensure that if a war does occur, we are fully confident of winning!"

Cornelus's mature and prudent words drew the ministers headed by Lysias to nod their heads.

"I also hope to wait until the kingdom's troops are well-prepared and there are no external dangers around, before I intervene in Rome. But good times never come by waiting, and the enemy will not be stupid enough to stand still and let us interfere. "Davos was filled with emotion and said, "Everyone still remembers the war with Syracuse. Our original idea was to attack Locle first and lure Syracuse's army to Magna Graecia. Onisius, however, induced the Samnites to invade suddenly. We placed our hope in stationing troops on the Coulonia-Trina line of defense, holding back the Syracuse army, finishing off the Samnites first, and then waiting for the main force Back to the decisive battle, Dionysius led his army to easily break through our southern defense line...

These lessons have deeply warned me that good opportunities do not come by waiting, but by our decisive actions.And the Carthaginians also have wisdom that is not weaker than Dionysius. They have long known that our Dionia will be their future enemy, so they have not only been supporting the Tanikian tribe for a long time, but also I was supporting the Romans just seven or eight years ago. "

Cornelus and others were shocked, and Lysias asked hurriedly: "Your Majesty, is this true?!"

"Of course it's true. Since the incident with the Tanikian tribe made me wary of Carthage, I increased my attention to the forces surrounding the kingdom. As a result, the people I sent quickly collected some information about Carthage and Information about Rome's exchanges, there is evidence that Carthage has continued to support Rome in these years, providing food and weapons..." Davos said while clicking at the scribe Henipolis who was recording beside him. nod.

Henipolis immediately left the meeting hall, quickly found some documents from the restricted area of ​​the palace - the data room, and gave them to Davos, who handed them to Cornelus.

Cornerus, Lysias, Cedorum and other ministers looked at each other with increasingly solemn expressions.

"Before, I didn't talk about Carthage and Rome because we were busy managing the Dauni region that was newly incorporated into the kingdom, and there was no need to be distracted by Rome's affairs for the time being. But -" Davos stood up suddenly , said loudly: "Now that Wolsey has come to ask for help, this is a good time! Help Wolsey and attack the Romans, and you will definitely win the support of other forces in central Italy. The conspiracy to destroy Carthage will also be conducive to possible conflicts with the Romans in the future. Carthage will not be passive when a war breaks out. In addition, defeating the Romans will also help us enter the same fertile land occupied by Rome in central Italy!"

When Davos said this, the ministers were surprised.

Davos looked at them and said in a deep voice: "My lords, this drought has covered most of the land in the Kingdom of Dionia, making our disaster relief so difficult. I believe that each of you will be able to Profound memory! Why? Because our country is not big enough, our national strength is not strong enough, we need to acquire more land to easily cope with every drought, every earthquake, every tsunami! In the south With Carthage blocking the way, we can only acquire land in the north, so the Wolsey envoy coming is a good opportunity to give it to us!"

Davos saw the ministers fall into silence for a moment, smiled slightly, and said in a gentle tone: "Of course this is a long-term strategy I have set for the kingdom. The war with Rome may not break out immediately. With our help Vol. West, maybe the Romans will give in on this, so we have to eat the bread one bite at a time. Don't be anxious, take your time, let the Senate pass the proposal of 'forming an alliance with the Volscians' first, and then carefully discuss it with the Volscians. Let's discuss the alliance, and after everything is done, send envoys to test the Romans' reaction to this..."

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Dionia quickly sent Foreign Minister Ansitanus to discuss the alliance between the two countries with the Volscian envoy Metepola.

The negotiation process went very smoothly. It only took more than half a day to formulate a draft alliance. The main contents are: Dionysia and Volsey formed a friendly and equal military alliance; strengthen friendly exchanges, and establish alliances in non-violent alliances. According to the law, its people can stay freely on the land of the allies; they will provide each other with preferential treatment and convenience in trade without raising additional taxes, and they are not allowed to detain or arrest merchants of the allies without authorization. If any disputes arise, they will be settled by arbitration jointly by both parties; When one party is invaded by an enemy or goes to war with a third party, the allies should try their best to provide military assistance, and even send troops to participate in the war at the request of the other party..."

Metepora took the draft and immediately returned to Wolsey.

Ten days later, he hurriedly arrived with a Volscian envoy, which included the consuls of several city-states in the Volscian League.

Davers solemnly signed the alliance agreement with the Volscians.

As soon as the agreement was signed, the Volscians couldn't wait to ask Dionia to send troops to assist Volsc.It turned out that the Romans had captured Vilitre, repelled the Volscian reinforcements, and began to attack the city of Satricum. The Volscian alliance suffered consecutive defeats and there were no longer enough warriors to organize. Huge reinforcements were sent to stop the Roman army's attack, and they faced an unprecedented crisis.

Davos decided to send envoys to Rome to mediate according to Antaoris' proposal, and at the same time notify the Ministry of Military Affairs to prepare for war.

After careful consideration and selection by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the final envoy sent was Tapirus.

More than ten years ago, Tapirus was a slave bought by Christoya. Because of his flexible mind and hard work, he was promoted to the director of a restaurant within a few years and was given a gift by his master Davos. free.In the South Italian War, he participated in the most important Battle of Crotone as a reserve citizen. As a spearman, he and his companions withstood the impact of the Syracuse mercenary cavalry and defeated them. defeated the powerful right wing of Syracuse, and played a key role in the final victory of the entire battle.

After the war, their group of surviving spearmen became official citizens of Dionia.In the following years, Tapirus also participated in the wars to conquer Messape and Pucheti.Perhaps the frequent battles tempered his courage and broadened his horizons. He was no longer satisfied with just serving as the regional director of Kristoya's restaurant, but used his literacy and arithmetic skills to pass the exam of the Finance Department. He passed the assessment and became a tax collector.

Until the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established, Ancitanos recruited public officials. Tapirus, who had done a good job but was tired of the daily calculation and accounting, applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ansitanus knew that sending an envoy to Rome was not an easy task. The envoys needed not only had to be perceptive and eloquent, but also had courage.Therefore, Tapirus, who had served as a waiter in a restaurant and participated in many battles, became the best candidate.

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In the 13th year of Dionia (i.e. November 380, 11 BC), the Dionia envoy Tapirus boarded a passenger ship bound for Rome at the port of Laos.

It was a sunny day with a cloudless blue sky.

Tapirus was sitting in the cabin, still recalling the scene when he was received by King Davos before leaving Thurii.

It was said that it was an interview, but in fact it was an invitation to a banquet at Davos Mansion.Since he is a private slave released by Davos, according to the popular saying in Dionia, Davos is his benefactor (a peculiar custom formed due to the national conditions of Dionia, the slave who was freed by his master There is a special kinship-like relationship with the owner. Without violating the law, if the freed slave is in difficulty, he can seek help from his original owner to help him find a job or provide financial support; and if the original owner encounters difficulties, When the original owner ran for local councilor or tribune, they would join hands to cast a valuable vote for the original owner, which was recognized by the society. It is precisely this. Because of these reasons, the wealthier citizens of Dionia have been keen to treat their slaves well and grant freedom to their slaves in recent years.), and will turn a formal reception into a private banquet.

At the banquet, he was surprised that the great King Davos cared so much about such an indigenous city-state in central Italy, and he was even more surprised by Davos's request...

At this time, the captain opened the door and came in: "Sir, we will arrive at Ostia Port soon."

After hearing this, Tapirus put down his thoughts and left the cabin.

Seagulls soared in the sky ahead, and ships of all sizes were converging in one direction, which should be the mouth of the Tiber River and the location of the Roman colonial city of Ostia.

After receiving the appointment of this envoy, Tapirus specifically learned about Rome's information and knew that Ostia was originally a small Latin town. It was captured by Rome decades ago and the citizens were moved to settle here. Ostia became a colonial city of Rome, and later became Rome's only port city for maritime trade. It was precisely because of these benefits that Ostia remained loyal to Rome, even when Rome was captured by the Gauls. Nor does it betray.

Tapyrus disembarked at Ostia with the accompanying members of the envoy.

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

　　
　
(End of this chapter)