ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 666 The City of Seven Hills—Rome! (three)

Tapirus coughed twice, and said: "I have long heard that Rome is a powerful city-state with a long history and unique culture. Today I saw it with my own eyes. The city of seven hills is as unique and magical as the rumors!"

After hearing Tapirus' praise, Minucius smiled sincerely and said: "No matter how amazing our Rome is, it can't compare to Dionia. I heard that you have defeated the surrounding enemies time and time again in just over ten years since you founded the country. , becoming the most powerful kingdom in southern Italy, this is truly blessed by Mars!"

"Mars?"

"Oh, Mars is our Roman god of war!"

"No, we in Dionia are here today because we are fully protected by the great Greek god Hades, because our king is his descendant!" Tapirus said with a pious look.His piety comes from the heart, because he was declared free by King Davos in front of the Temple of Hades and in the hymn of Hades.Hades's protection of slaves is well known in the Kingdom of Dionia. Slaves and the people of Dionia who were born from slaves respect this Pluto wholeheartedly.

Minucius smiled slightly awkwardly and pointed forward with his hand: "The hill in front is Mount Esquiri. The Sabines who first became Roman citizens lived on it..."

Minucius introduced and led them to the Esquiri Mountain, where they saw an arch spanning both sides of the road.

"This is -?!" The official from the Ministry of Military Affairs pointed at it excitedly.

"This is the Arc de Triomphe!" Minucius introduced with equal excitement: "Any general who has won a major victory for Rome will have a triumphal ceremony for him, allowing him to drive a four-horse chariot and lead his army into the Arch. In the city of Rome, pass through the Arc de Triomphe and go to the Forum to accept the cheers of the Roman people and the praise of the Senate. This is the greatest honor that every Roman citizen desires!" Minucius looked up at the Arc de Triomphe with a look of longing on his face.

The official of the Dionia Military Affairs Department and the other entourage of the envoy looked at each other with unspeakable surprise in their eyes: Dionia and Rome have many similarities in their military systems, and looking at this marble building The masonry arch is mottled, old and badly worn. It has a history of at least several decades. Who learned from whom this time?

Minucius led the Dionysian envoys, who were in a complicated mood, to turn left and pass through the Arc de Triomphe. Not long after walking, a square appeared in front of them.

Tapirus frowned again: this square seemed to be quite large, but there were many residences crowded around the square, some even protruding into the square, so it did not show the grandeur of the square at all.

Since Tapirus stepped into the city of Rome, he felt that the Romans mixed public facilities and private residences everywhere, and it was unavoidable in the square that represented the heart of the city, which made him feel a little unacceptable.

Minucius obviously also saw the unhappy look on Tapirus's face. Out of the desire to not be looked down upon by the Dionians, he said loudly: "This square is the old square, about 150 years ago. Years ago, it was mainly used for people's leisure and gatherings. There is also a larger square in Rome, which can accommodate 10 people on the west side of the square. It is used to recruit troops and is sometimes used as a voting place for citizens' assemblies. It’s called Place de Mars!”

Mars Place? !Hearing this name, Tapirus remembered that the young man had said before, "Mars is the Roman god of war." This name is similar to the Victory Square in Thurii. Military admiration.

Minucius took the lead and walked straight through the square. People greeted him from time to time on the way, and at the same time cast curious glances at Tapirus and his party.

The Roman Senate is just to the west of the square. It is a tall building similar to a temple.

Minucius asked them to wait at the steps of the Senate, and then walked quickly into the Senate.

Except for the fact that other meetings are being held or the celebrations of the gods are not working, the Roman Senate usually holds a meeting at sunrise every morning. As for when it ends, it depends on how many matters need to be discussed, but It usually doesn't last past sunset, but now it's dusk, and the elders must have dispersed.However, since this is a time of war, the Senate has a rule: a military and political officer must be on duty until night to prevent emergencies from happening and to prepare in advance.

Minucius walked into the watch room next to the meeting place and found that the military and political officer left behind was someone he knew well, so he shouted: "Paulus!"

Paulus Valerius Potitus was letting his slaves light the candles. He turned around and asked in surprise: "Minucius, why are you here? What happened?"

As the city guard chief, Minucius came to the Senate at this time, certainly not to chat with him.

"There is one important thing." Minusius didn't talk nonsense, and said directly: "A group of envoys from the Kingdom of Dionia came to Rome, saying that they had something important to discuss with the Senate."

"Dionia?!" Paulus is not a civilian military and political officer. He knows a lot about Dionia, and immediately said with a serious face: "It is the Greek kingdom in southern Italy who sent envoys to Rome at this time. for what?"

At this time, Minucius no longer smiled like before, and said with the same serious expression: "I tried to ask them about their purpose on the way, but every time I was avoided by the envoy with words. It can be seen that they are definitely not here to share the same fate." We have a friendly relationship!"

Paulus fell into deep thought. After a while, he raised his eyebrows and said uncertainly: "A few days ago, the Carthaginians reminded us, 'It seems that a Wolsey envoy went to Turui.' Maybe they...are here for Wolsey?"

Minucius was surprised: "Dionia wants to protect Wolsey?!"

"We cannot make hasty judgments. Minucius, you take them to live first. I will now notify Pantius and other senators to discuss countermeasures urgently. After all, Dionia is not weaker than Ga We must treat Taiji’s country with caution!” Paulus said in a deep voice.

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Tapirus and his party were arranged to stay in a public hotel under the jurisdiction of the Senate. This hotel was near the Old Square and not far from the Senate.

The members of the envoy originally wanted to stroll around Rome carefully after dinner, but Minucius warned them before leaving: It is best not to go out at night!Because during the war, a curfew was implemented in the city at night to prevent chaos. It would be bad if he was caught by the Roman patrol and caused a misunderstanding.

Tapirus sensed the young man's sudden wariness toward them.

After dinner, Tapirus and some of his followers went up to the roof of the hotel.

Dark night has descended on the city, but the noise has not dissipated. The laughter of the Roman people, the cries of children, the sounds of fights between men, the whistles of patrols, and the roars of domestic dogs... Even here In the center of the city of Rome, these voices still gather from all directions...

This is really a messy but vibrant city.Tapirus thought silently in his heart.

"That's probably the Capitoline Hill." The official from the Ministry of Military Affairs said softly, looking to the west of the Senate.

Under the cover of night, only the outline of a hill in the distance can be vaguely seen.

Although Minucius did not talk about this hill, Tapirus knew the importance of this hill to Rome, because it was regarded by the Roman people as the residence of the gods, and the god Jupiter was revered by the Romans. Most of the temples and other temples of the gods were on the mountain, where the Roman Acropolis was located, so the Romans still held on to the Capitol Hill after the Celts occupied the Roman city, and actually held on for several months until The arrival of victory also shows the steepness of this mountain. This is probably what the Ministry of Military Affairs is most concerned about.Is it possible for Dionia to go to war with Rome?

Tapirus looked at the entourage, and then turned his gaze to the Senate in the night: No matter what, he had to complete his mission first.

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The next morning, Tapirus was invited into the Roman Senate.

This is a circular venue. The dark red wooden chairs are like the seats of the arena. From front to back, there are rows of Roman elders sitting in white robes. There are nearly 300 densely packed. This also includes two military and political officials (in recent years, due to the increasingly intensified conflict between the Roman nobles and the common people, in order to protest the monopoly of power by the nobles, the common people refused to elect consuls at the Citizens' Assembly, but the surrounding Rome The military situation is quite bad. In order to ensure the safety of Rome and the smooth implementation of internal affairs, the nobles and the common people negotiated and had to agree to elect six military tribunes every year, referred to as military and political officials, three from the nobles and three from the commoners. ), and four other military and political officers also led troops to fight outside.

Half of these Roman senators are gray-haired old people, and most of them are patriarchs from the major clans in Rome.Of course, the other part are also senators from aristocratic backgrounds. They have previously held high-level positions in Rome. Because of their merits or political achievements, after recommendation and selection, they finally entered the Senate. Entering the Senate made it easier for them to serve as leaders of the city-state. Senior official position.

However, among all the Roman senators, none were younger than 30 years old, and none of them were born in the common people. They were either outstanding, or highly respected, or very rich, or extremely powerful. Now they are watching with prudent eyes. The man in the center of the venue: Tapirus, the envoy of the Kingdom of Dionia.

　Thanks to Jiang Feng Yuchou for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)