ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 866: Roman Dinner

Under Zantiparis's persuasion, the Campanian coalition generals listened to his advice and did not rush to attack. Instead, they followed the Dionian army to build a camp one mile southwest of Lola City.The reason why Zantiparis set up his camp here is because it is close to the mountains and can easily cut down trees to build camps and siege equipment.

Also on this day, under the instructions of the Ministry of Military Affairs, the commander of the Tenth Legion, Melisander, led the remaining four heavy infantry brigades to leave Asculum and march north to the city of Aecae (aecae). Six heavy infantry brigades of the 11th Corps met.

Capps, the acting head of the 11th Legion, was appointed by the Ministry of Military Affairs as the temporary commander of this army, actively making careful preparations for the next military operation.

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"It's so noisy outside, what happened?" Stolo's wife Konya asked the slave girl who had just entered the house.

"Mistress, they are all saying, 'Tustron surrendered to Dionia...'" The Sabine slave girl lowered her head, not daring to let her master see the uncontrollable joy displayed on her face. , since the Stolo couple are confined to their homes these days, it is this slave girl who goes out to the square to collect food and inquire about information. She has learned from others that the status of slaves in the Kingdom of Dionia is better than that in Rome. If there are more, it is easier to gain freedom, so of course she hopes that Dionia will win this war in her heart, so that Rome will be completely under the rule of Dionia.

"Tustron descended?! How is this possible?!" Konya felt unbelievable, because in her impression, since the city of Alba Longa was destroyed by Rome, Tustron, which also had a long history, , because it is located next to Lake Alba Longa, has repeatedly attempted to take over the Holy Latin Mountain as its own, and often calls itself the "center of the Latins", so she feels that this proud city-state should strive for the glory of the Latins. But despite resisting to the end, I didn't expect that it would surrender obediently without fighting a single battle.

Stolo sighed softly on the side: "Ever since the Dionians captured the city of Gabi, killing all the warriors who resisted tenaciously, and turning all other captured people into slaves, this cruel approach must have frightened them. The surrounding city-states, Labikum, Pedum, Artena... surrendered one after another, and even Tibur, who was very powerful in the northern region, surrendered to the Dionians.

Now, tens of thousands of Dionian soldiers are approaching the city of Tustron, and the hostages that Tustron had sent to Rome have now fallen into the hands of the Dionians (these hostages had fled to Capi with the Roman nobles. Tuolin Mountain, and later mixed with thousands of noble families and sent down the mountain), how could they not surrender..."

After listening, Konya asked in a low voice with a trembling voice: "So many Latin city-states have surrendered, next...should the Dionians attack Vilitre, Satnicum, Antium?! The Roman army led by Camillus and Titus...can...can they repel them?"

Stolo was silent. Through this period of understanding, he knew that the Dionysian attacks were always carefully planned and cunning, but they were as fast as a storm and unstoppable!The capture of Rome was like this!The capture of Weiai and Keslera was like this!The capture of Phedena and Lomentum was like this!This is especially true for defeating the Roman coalition!It took less than ten days from the capture of Gabi City to the surrender of Tustron today, and it took less than two months for the Dionysian army to land on the coast of Latium until today, and it already owned most of Latin America. In the Mu region, such a terrifying conquest ability gave the Roman army, which had been losing consecutive battles, no chance to rest and recuperate. With declining morale and insufficient troops, could they really turn defeat into victory even if they were led by Camillus? !
After watching the progress of the war for so long, and after many sleepless nights of tossing and turning, Stolo had already despaired of this. He also discovered that the key to the Dionysian army's ability to quickly conquer Latium was that they and the Celts Completely different, they have a strong ability to assimilate. Listen to the cheers outside the house. The Roman civilians have completely forgotten their past origins and regard themselves as members of the Kingdom of Dionia... Alas! …

Stolo's silence made Konya understand. In fact, her observations over the past few days also gave her a vague answer. When her worries were confirmed, she stopped yelling, but her hands couldn't help tightening. Rubbing the corners of his clothes, his eyebrows furrowed and his expression changed.

Suddenly, she grabbed her husband's hand and said eagerly but fearfully: "Stolo...how about...you also join Dionia?"

Stolo was shocked when he heard this. Before he could answer, Konya seemed to be inspired all of a sudden. She grabbed his hand and said anxiously: "Yes, join the Kingdom of Dionia! Only in this way can we Get your father out of the danger of being defeated and captured! Only then will it be possible to convince my father to come down and surrender! Only then will it be possible to convince my sister and brother-in-law to surrender!... Although we may not all live in Rome in the future, at least they... They will not be killed or enslaved..."

Listening to his wife's worried narration and pleading, Stolo couldn't help hugging her trembling body tightly into his arms. This time he was really tempted...

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Today, the reason why the people in Rome are so excited is not only because the Dionysian army has won one victory after another, which makes them more certain: Dionysia's rule in the Latium region is becoming more and more stable, and the Roman nobles It was almost impossible to regain control of Rome, and their newfound lands and rights could never be taken away again.

Moreover, they also knew that this army, which had been fighting for more than ten days, was about to return to the city of Rome, including 6000 Roman soldiers. Although it was a tough battle to storm the city of Gabi, it was followed by continuous marches and surrenders. The casualties of the soldiers were not large, but in this chaotic situation, the Roman people wanted to see their relatives alive and well.

At almost noon, nearly 3 Dionian soldiers led by Printors arrived in the city of Rome. King Davos personally led the officials of the Roman city out of the city to greet them, and announced: "In order to commend the soldiers for their service to the kingdom, For their great achievements, a grand banquet will be held for them at noon! And after the banquet, a rugby corps match will be held!"

When the soldiers heard the news, the fatigue and running around for several days suddenly disappeared without a trace, and they burst into deafening cheers.

Since the establishment of Dionia, this is the first time a banquet has been held to celebrate during the war. Davos mainly considered that: for the first time, such a large number of Dionia legionnaires stayed away from home and continued to fight on a foreign land. After such a long period of large-scale combat, they were both physically and mentally exhausted, and they needed to be given a chance to relax.

And now that the situation in the entire Latium region is gradually becoming clearer, and the order in the city of Rome is becoming more and more stable, Davers dares to make such a decision.

For more than a month, the Dionian army has successively captured cities, forced the city-state to surrender, and seized a large amount of food, livestock, and property. It is certainly not a problem to organize a banquet.

But in fact, there is no need to consume a lot of grains. Davos's chef served as the chef of the entire banquet, and the dishes carefully prepared for each soldier were quite rich: a steaming can of mutton soup, a piece of fried meat with fragrant meat. Beef, a piece of grilled river fish smoked with herbs, a handful of cabbage cleaned and ready for dipping, a small cup of cooked chickpeas, a handful of olives and nuts, a piece of baked honey bread, and of course a jar Watered wine…

In order to prepare for this grand banquet, more than 500 fat sheep and nearly a hundred cattle were slaughtered in the city of Rome. In the past two days, the soldiers stationed in the city used fishing nets to fish out thousands of kilograms of fish from the Tiber River...

The soldiers of each legion enjoyed delicious food in their own military camps. The 6000 Roman reserve soldiers did not have their own military camps. After obtaining the consent of Davos, Sextus led them to Mars Square in the northeast of the city of Rome. Dining.

The Roman City Hall borrowed the kitchens of nearly a hundred civilian families on the Palatine Hill and hired their chefs to prepare dishes under the guidance of Chef Davos. The baggage camps of each legion successively sent personnel to queue up to the Palatine in order. Tinishan came to collect the food.

Long lines of dragons extend from the Palatine Hill to all directions of the city, and the scene is very spectacular.

King Davos took Crotokatax, escorted by the escort, to the military camps of each legion to attend the celebration banquet.Every time he arrived at a military camp, he would hold a wine glass, walk among the soldiers, and talk cordially with them. At the same time, he would ask Crotocatakos to take his place and toast to the outstanding officers and soldiers as a token of encouragement.

It was only then that all the legionnaires truly knew that the taciturn young man who often stood behind the king, the young man who led the onslaught at the last moments of the sieges of Phedena and Gaby, was not the officer of the palace guard. , but the prince of the Kingdom of Dionia!
The soldiers were surprised, but they were also very fond of this gentle young man, and they toasted to him one after another. Crotokatax also welcomed all comers. By the time they walked through each military camp, he was already swaying while walking and talking drunkenly. Again and again.

Davos had no choice but to let the guards help him back to his room to rest.

Finally, Davos and his party arrived at Mars Square, and Sextus led the team officers to welcome the arrival of King Davos.

As a result, Davos proposed to stay and dine with these Roman civilian soldiers who had just joined the Kingdom of Dionia.

Not only the team officers, but even Sextus, who was relatively familiar with Davos, was surprised. Before he could find a reason to refuse, Davos walked straight to the soldiers and sat down without hesitation. on the grass.

　Thanks to Sniper No. 11 for the tip!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)