Rome must fall.

Chapter 360: Diplomatic Mission to Noriki

According to the request of Chief Maximus, the envoy to the Apodeans must be a commerce official from Illyria, so the commerce officer Pygris did not go in person, but Alachosia had another important task.

At this moment, Alakosia looked away, and the lush green mountains came into view.

To be honest, the territory north of Segestica is just a narrow valley between the mountain and the river that was washed out by the upper reaches of the Sava River over the years. It is far from comparable to the Ophidilla area or the banks of the Kupa River. The land is small and the population is not large. But no matter what, the land and people here now belong to the Nix tribe.

Alacosia was sitting at the bow enjoying the breeze when someone behind him shouted, "Lord Alacosia, Silinus will be here in a little while."

The person who spoke was called Tanapas, the squad leader of the Nix tribe's water fleet, and he led this team.

Alacosia looked at the sky and turned back subconsciously. His face was immediately wrinkled by the strong wind. He turned his head quickly and said with a cough: "Ahem... I remember that it was about sixty miles from Ophidilla to Sirenus. How come we are arriving so soon?"

"We left early," Tanapias replied. "Besides, the goddess Danu has blessed us with a strong south wind today. Look at the sails, they are full. How can the ship not run fast?"

Tanapas was a slave sailor from Campalia. In the past, he was accustomed to praying to Poseidon before sailing. Now, influenced by the temple and local people, he began to believe in the goddess Danu, "Mother of the Earth and Source of Water."

After hearing this, Alacosia couldn't help but think: From Ophidilla to Silinus, it seems that taking the water route is more convenient than the land route. If it is really possible to travel back and forth from Silinus to the tribe of the Norikis by boat, it will undoubtedly solve the shortcomings of the Ophidilla Iron Workshop and promote its faster development...

Silinus is located on the northern border of Segestica and the east bank of the Sava River. To the north are mountains, which belong to the territory of the Norici. To the northwest is a narrow valley formed by a tributary of the Sava River. It used to belong to the Yapodians. Andres led his army to capture it a few years ago, but this time after the Nixes reached an agreement with the Yapodians, they will return the land to the Yapodians.

In order to resist the Yapods, the Segestica people sent people from three tribes to settle here and built a village as a barrier to the north, but it was still difficult to prevent the Yapods from invading from time to time.

After discussion, the tribal council of the Nixes decided to build a town here, apparently to continue the defense concept, but Chief Maximus named the town Silinus (Illyrian, meaning "iron"), which obviously meant that this was not his goal.

The town of Silinus was not very large, not even as large as Todlido, but the defense facilities were quite complete: wooden walls, trenches, sentry towers, deer forts...

When Alakosia arrived at Sirinos, he saw many soldiers sweating profusely as they dug traps outside the village.

Alachosia landed at the small dock of Sirenus and was immediately warmly welcomed by Phesalus, the commander of the First Legion who had rushed over after hearing the news.

Although Alachosias and Phesalus were both Illyrians, they had rarely interacted with each other in the past. It was not because they had any personality differences, but because they had little intersection in their work.

In Italy, one was training troops and fighting all day long, while the other was busy managing the port; when they arrived in the mountains, Phesalus and the soldiers of the First Legion were assigned to live in Westni, while officials from most departments, such as Alacosia, lived in Snotia. Moreover, the Ministry of Commerce did not have much contact with the tribesmen like the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Finance. At most, they would nod and greet each other at the monthly routine tribal meetings.

There is a saying among the veterans of the Knicks tribe: "The second oldest is brave, the third oldest is well-rounded, the fourth oldest is steady, the fifth oldest is wise, and the eldest oldest is just lucky."

This refers to the five current legion commanders of the Nix tribe: the "boss" is the commander of the First Legion, Phesalus. He is jokingly said to have received a lot of care because of his good relationship with Chief Maximus when they were in the Gladiator School and was the first to lead the team to join the Maximus Rebellion. As a result, the First Legion received more opportunities to fight than other legions and was more likely to gain military merits.

Is Phesalus more valued by the leader among the legion commanders? ... Alacosia did not want to speculate too much, but this time in Silinus and Phesalus's contact, he deeply felt the meticulousness, seriousness and responsibility of this compatriot in carrying out the mission.

As far as Alacosia knew, the Nix tribe and the Yapods had signed a ceasefire agreement, but the appointment of the chief executive of Silinus, the stationing of the tribesmen, and the formation of the city guard would take some time. Therefore, the Council of State requested Phesalus to lead the more than 2,000 soldiers who had originally captured Silinus to garrison for a while longer until the chief executive of Silinus led the city guard to take over.

All Phesalus needed to do was to take good care of his soldiers and stay safe for a while, and he would have completed his mission, but he didn't.

He first organized soldiers to strengthen the city's defense facilities, while repairing the houses and streets in the city and expanding the docks... In order to avoid causing unnecessary tension and suspicion among the Jabods, he reduced the number of fully armed soldiers patrolling the city walls, and built several simple rugby fields outside the city, organizing competitions between hundred-man teams every day. The intense and interesting game scenes even attracted the Jabods to watch across the river at the border.

He also sent smart, writing and drawing clerks to infiltrate the escort team several times when returning the Yapodite captives to understand the situation of the Yapodite border tribes, and drew maps after returning.

He also sent the Celtic soldiers in his team to change into Celtic tribal clothing and sneak into the mountains in the north to investigate the situation of the Noriki tribe...

When Phesalus took the initiative to tell Alacosia everything he knew about the Norik tribe, the adjutant of the Ministry of Commerce was naturally very grateful.

And that evening, at the banquet to entertain the envoys, Alacosia once again felt the warm hospitality and good humor of his compatriot, and there was only one thought in his mind: it would be strange if such a capable legion commander was not valued by the leader!
The next morning, Alacosia said goodbye to Phesalus. Phesalus wanted to send a hundred men to escort the envoys to the Noriki tribe, but Alacosia declined the offer, saying, "We are going to make friends. If we bring soldiers, the Noriki people may be unhappy and the negotiations may be affected."

Afterwards, he left Sirenus on a boat with only two of his men and a guide, and continued to sail northward upstream.

Soon, the boat entered a canyon in the mountains.

The trees on both sides are lush and green, with towering ancient trees and low shrubs intertwined. The sunlight shines through the gaps in the treetops, casting mottled shadows, adding a bit of warmth to this quiet mountain range.

The boat was moving forward in the narrow river channel. The water was not turbulent and was clear to the bottom. Occasionally, fish were playing in the water, creating ripples.

As the ship went deeper, the mountains became taller, the canyons became quieter, and the air became fresher, but the sounds of birds and animals gradually disappeared, causing Alakosia to begin to doubt: Is there really a Noriki tribe living here?
Just then, the guide said, "Sir, we are almost at the settlement of the Noriki people!"

Sure enough, not long after, we saw several thick trees lying across the river ahead, blocking the way forward.

At the guide's suggestion, the boat anchored on the east bank beach.

Alakosia followed the guide, and two of his men followed closely behind carrying a wooden box.

After walking less than fifty meters, the river ahead turned left. At the bend stood a wooden wall more than three meters high, blocking the narrow riverbed passage.

"Hey! Strangers, you are about to enter the territory of the Noriki Iron Core Tribe, leave quickly!" A shout came from the wooden wall.

This is Celtic. Over the past year, the Nix tribe has encouraged its older members to learn Illyrian and Celtic as much as they can so that they can live better on this land. Officials from the Ministry of Commerce who shoulder the responsibility of diplomacy must learn it.

As the adjutant, Alacosia certainly had to take the lead. After hard study, he had mastered the Celtic language, otherwise he would not have been sent to Noriki.

At this moment, Alakosia, who understood what the other party meant, looked up and saw several fully armed warriors on the wooden wall. They wore Celtic helmets, thick iron armor, had long swords on their waists, and held javelins in their hands. They were looking at him warily.

Alakosia immediately spoke loudly in fluent Celtic: "I am an envoy sent by your neighbor, the Nix tribe. I want to meet your leader with friendly sincerity!"

Several Noriki warriors gathered together, discussed for a while, and replied: "Just stand there and wait, I will tell the leader and see if he is willing to see you."

After waiting for a full quarter of an hour, the wooden door opened and the Noriki warrior came out: "I am the messenger from the Ni...Niks tribe. The leader agrees to see you. Please follow me."

"Thank you!" Alakosia nodded calmly.

The Noriki warrior asked, "Just the four of you?"

"There are four more sailors navigating the boat, but they will stay on the boat and will not follow us into the village," Alakosia said frankly.

"What's in this box?" the Noriki warrior asked again.

"This is a meeting gift from my leader to your leader."

The Noriki warrior's expression softened, and he led Alakosia and his party through the wooden wall, and a tributary of the Sava River appeared in front of them.

The water of this small river is black and yellow, with a faint smell of burnt. It flows out from a col. There is a high village wall built at the pass, but it is made of stone instead of wood. There is smoke behind the village bridge.

(End of this chapter)