ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 680: Breaking the Agreement and Raining

Pretacuba emphasized his tone and sternly shouted: "Using various means to attack Carthage merchants, restricting their trade in Dionia, and violating the agreement, using tricks to quietly trade with Sardinia! More What makes us angry is that you even covet our silver mines and have sent people secretly to the Iberian Peninsula many times to steal the silver bullion we are preparing to sell to Tire!
The people of Carthage are angry at these despicable acts committed by you Dionians against Carthage, and strongly demand that our Senate retaliate for this.But based on the long-standing friendship between the two countries, the Senate sent me to protest to you and ask you to ensure that you do the following so that the friendship between the two countries can continue to be maintained! "

Pretakouba's words made the entire Senate hall excited. The senators, who had been accustomed to the respectful attitude of visiting foreign envoys for more than ten years, were shocked by the Carthaginians' arrogant attitude and were even more irritated by him. .

The anger and curses of the Dionysian elders immediately filled the entire venue.

Preeta Kuba was not afraid at all. He turned around and faced the man in the center of the venue. Although he was coming to Thurii for the first time, he knew who the real talker in this kingdom was.

After receiving the information from Aristillas in the morning, Davos was already mentally prepared, but he didn't expect the Carthage envoy to come so soon.

At this moment, he looked calm and said slowly: "Tell me, what are Carthage's requirements?"

As soon as he spoke, the venue became much quieter.

Preetakouba was surprised at the extent to which Davos controlled the Senate. At the same time, Davos's face was neither angry nor happy, which gave him a sense of inscrutability. He calmed down and said loudly again: " Carthage's request was,

First, compensate several Carthaginian merchants who were previously punished in Dionia, and allow Carthaginian merchants to sell grain in Dionia without any price restrictions.

Secondly, cease all trade with Sardinia from your west coast towns at once, and never sell anything to it.

Third, Dionia fully opened its domestic market to Carthage, allowing Carthage merchants to trade freely without any interference;

Fourth, no ship in Dionysia is allowed to cross the waters south of the line connecting Malta - Solus - Sardinia - Balearic Islands.

Fifth, do not interfere with any actions of Rome, Carthage's ally, and cease hostility against it..."

After Preeta Kuba said these words, the venue became silent.

Davos released his hands that had just grasped the armrests of the wooden chair, looked at the senators with fire in their eyes, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly: "Senates of Dionia! Elites of the kingdom! For Carthage Can we accept this rude request?!"

"No!!!" Angry shouts broke out in the venue, almost toppling the entire roof.

The guards guarding outside the venue were also startled by the noise coming from the large meeting hall. They looked at each other, wondering what happened inside.

At this time, a soldier suddenly pointed to the square in front and said excitedly: "Quick! Look! Look! Rain... it's rain!"

Due to the eight-month drought, the ground in Victory Square had become somewhat dry and cracked, but now there were dots of black spots, and these black spots were increasing rapidly.

The people of Turui, who were queuing up in front of the fountain in Tuli and preparing to draw water, put down their clay pots and stretched their hands to the sky, and then the disbelief on their faces turned into ecstasy: "It's raining!! ! It finally rained!!! Thanks to Hades for blessing us and bringing us rain!!!..."

Just when they were ecstatic, there was a roar of thunder in the sky, the originally disgusting sunny sky suddenly became dark, and the wind suddenly started blowing.

The originally sparse raindrops quickly became dense, and within a moment it turned into a downpour...

When the captain of the guard rushed into the venue, Davos stood up suddenly from the wooden chair, looked down at the Carthage envoy in front, and said word by word: "This is the answer of our Dionia Senate! "

Pretacuba had expected this response from Dionia, raised his head high, and said in a deep voice: "In this case, Carthage can only cancel the friendly agreement with Dionia, and I want to remind you , Rome is an ally of Carthage, if you go to war with Rome, Carthage will definitely assist Rome in accordance with the covenant!"

Davos raised his eyebrows and was about to respond.

The excited voice of the guard captain sounded in the venue: "Your Majesty! Sirs! It's raining! It's raining in Turiyi!"

These elders, who had always shown stability and wisdom in front of the people, could not conceal their excitement when they heard this. They immediately ran out of the venue regardless of the important meeting being held.

Although it was still afternoon, the sky in Thurii was already darkening.Even though there were eaves blocking the main entrance of the meeting hall, the strong wind still sent large swaths of rainwater in, completely splashing the entire steps and platform.

The thin Bolton on the elders was quickly wet by the rain mixed with the strong wind, and the chill pierced through the bottom of their hearts, but the elders didn't realize it. They cheered like the people, and even rushed directly like Amyntas and Matonis. Entering the rain curtain, enjoying the wash of the heavy rain.

Just when the senators were ecstatic, a passionate voice sounded in their ears: "This is a divine sign! Hades' divine sign! When Syracuse invaded Dionia, Hades asked Tu The Fountain was resurrected, and we defeated the powerful Syracuse! Today, facing the threat of Carthage, Pluto once again sent us the much-needed rain. With his blessing, we have nothing to fear!" Pule! Sinas raised his arms and shouted.

His words inspired the senators, and even Cornelus, Lysias and others who were worried about war with Carthage also gained a lot of confidence.

Preetakouba was unimpressed.

At this time, Davos's voice sounded in his ears: "In fact, I am very happy that Carthage has canceled the friendly agreement with us, and you are more welcome to launch a war against Dionia so that we can have a chance." Avenge the Dionian sailors and merchants who were cruelly burned to death by you!"

Preta Kuba turned to look at Davos, who had a serious face, and said proudly with confidence: "Carthage is not something that Dionia can defeat now!"

A sneer appeared on Davos's face: "Only the Carthaginian citizen soldiers who were tortured by the riots in Numbia? Or the mercenaries owned by the almost independent Iberian kingdom occupied by your master Mago? Bing gave you confidence?"

Preeta Kuba's face darkened: Do the Dionians know the inside story of Carthage so well? !

After experiencing the excitement of the rain, the elders returned to the venue.

Then they were faced with the possible threat of war from Carthage, but none of the senators regretted that they had rejected the proposal of the Carthage envoy too firmly before.

The senators who can sit in this position are not fools. From the harsh conditions put forward by the Carthage envoy, they have deeply felt Carthage's hostility to Dionia.As one of the most powerful countries in the Western Mediterranean, it is impossible for Dionia to accept these humiliating peace negotiation conditions and constrain its own development, let alone stop war against the Volscians for fear of the Carthaginians declaring war. rescue.In the case that a major war may be coming, this approach will only make many Italian indigenous forces who may become Dionia's help move away from Dionia.Since the aid to Wolsey cannot be canceled and is imminent, if what the Carthage envoy said just now is the original intention of the Carthage Senate and not just a threat, the war with Carthage will come soon.

Therefore, the senators began to discuss with King Davos how to prevent war.

The first thing to solve is the food problem.As long as sufficient food supply is ensured, the Kingdom of Dionia can assemble a sufficient number of soldiers to deal with any enemy invasion, so Minister of Agriculture Burkos was asked: In the next few days, continue to observe the weather conditions, if South Italy There has been continuous rainfall in various parts of the country, so the Ministry of Agriculture should take action to allow the people of Dionia to replant some fast-maturing crops to reduce the pressure on food and at the same time make careful preparations for next year's spring plowing.

At the same time, the senators also requested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send envoys to Egypt to try their best to establish friendly contacts with the Egyptian Pharaoh, hoping to obtain food assistance from this country known as the "largest granary in the Mediterranean".

In addition, they also advised King Davos to suspend negotiations with Cavutini to avoid being too tough and forcing the Samnites to side with Carthage in the possible upcoming war.

They also suggested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs try to send envoys to various forces in the Western Mediterranean to try to get them to side with Dionia in the war.

The Greek city-states on the southern island of Sicily that are friendly to Dionia, such as Gela, Agrigento, Tyndares, etc., are the first targets to be visited by the Dionia envoys. Before the arrival of the Carthaginian army, they will stand firmly with Dionia and provide a certain amount of food for the Dionia army to reduce the logistical pressure on the Dionia army.

Although, for more than ten years, Syracuse has suffered a great loss in national strength due to successive civil strife, but the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse. It is still the largest Greek city-state on Sicily (except for the Sicilian city of Dionysia). ), even though it has been at odds with Dionia in recent years and has had little contact with it, the senators still hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send envoys to win over Syracuse as much as possible, or at least keep it neutral.

(End of this chapter)