Chapter 59 Retaliation

Originally, Oklahoma City was prepared to be teased, but he didn't expect Haka to explain, which gave him a little confidence in today's meeting, so he smiled and said: "Even the Carthaginian , and almost all admit that Dionia's medical skills are the highest in the entire Western Mediterranean, so of course their advice to you is correct, you look healthy now!"

"Dionia is better than Carthage in many ways, not only in medical skills." Haka's tone was still flat: "But for you, it's best to hope that I live a few more years, because this is very important to Carthage. It's good."

Hakkar's words lifted Okriton's spirits, and he seemed to sense Hakkar's goodwill towards Carthage.

"Please sit down, Lord Okriton." Haka pointed to the opposite side of the warm water pool and said, "There is another reason why I invite you to meet in the bathroom. The Turians think that the best time to talk is in the bath, because both parties are Be honest and have nothing to hide.”

Okriton nodded, without hesitation, stepped directly into the pool and sat on the stone bench in the pool.

"Would you like a glass of wine? This is the best wine produced by the Turii Orifis family. It is not produced much and is usually not available in the market. These cans of mine were all given by His Majesty, saying that I was taking a bath. It is good for health when you drink a little..."

Oklahoma City wanted to refuse, but changed his mind after hearing the following words: "Then have a drink."

The servant standing by the pool poured a glass of wine.

After Okritton took it, he took a small sip and felt the sweet and sour taste. He couldn't help sighing: "It's such a pleasant life to be able to soak in comfortable water and drink such good wine every day! Ha! Master Ka, I really envy you!"

Haka said calmly: "Carthaginians can fully enjoy such a life, but you are still clinging to the past and cannot accept the reality."

Haka's words were a little vague, and Okridon couldn't grasp its meaning for a while, so he asked tentatively, "What do you mean..."

Haka did not respond directly, and instead asked: "I know that Carthaginian nobles have also developed the habit of bathing in the past 10 years, but what do you think is the difference between Dionia and Carthage in bathing?"

Although I don't know why Haka asked this, Okriton thought about it seriously, and then replied: "We Carthaginians take a bath, remove these tedious links in the front, and directly soak in a hot pool, and then Massage, shave..."

"In fact, those links that were removed by the Carthaginians were precisely what the Dionians invented the bath for. They believed that the bath was a beneficial exercise for the body, while the Carthaginians just regarded it as a kind of Enjoy." Haka didn't wait for Okriton to respond, and then picked up a handful of water with his hands and asked, "Do you know where this water came from?"

"Of course it's the water that the slaves went to fetch." If he was in Carthage, Okleton would have said that, but here he felt that it was not so simple, so he simply replied: "I don't know much."

"It came into the house by itself."

Haka's answer surprised Okreton: "Turiyi City Hall built a pool in your house?!"

As far as Oklahoma City has learned, the Dionians specially built viaducts to bring water from the river into the city, built pools in important parts of the city that covered a wider area, and then built closed waterways to introduce them into the city. , the supply of the whole city depends on these pools and water.

"It's not a pool, but a hollow pipe with the thickness of a spear and a gun that was built by the Dionysian Construction Department and the iron merchants using copper as the main raw material. It is directly connected to the water tower, and then buried under the ground, extending to My kitchen... His Majesty Davos named it the water pipe, so the servants don't have to go to the nearby pool to fetch water,

Just turn on the switch of the water pipe, and the water will flow out naturally..." Haka introduced quite contentedly.

Oklahoma City showed a look of amazement, but he also realized: "This kind of water pipeline uses copper as the main raw material, and the copper material and cost should not be a small amount, right?"

"It does cost a lot, but the fees are all paid by the households who apply for the installation of water pipes, and the fee for water use is also paid on a monthly basis (the water in the public pool is free), because the water management office has also designed a system that can calculate the water consumption of households. A large amount of equipment... Even if the cost is not low, there are still many citizens who have heard the news and asked to apply for the installation of water pipes, but it has just started to operate, and the consumption of copper materials is too large, so it is only installed in the inner city for the time being.

It was once suggested, 'change the plumbing to cheaper and more abundant lead. 'You also know that there are a lot of lead mines in Corsica and southern Iberia just acquired by Dionia, but His Majesty severely criticized this proposal, saying that 'after lead dissolves in water, it is harmful to people'. Very harmful to the body. 'Now the iron merchants are rushing to research cheaper and durable materials for making water pipes, such as using tin as the main raw material... Because once the development is successful, the fees obtained from the patent alone can make a lot of profits, perhaps not much. In the next year, you will see water pipes in the homes of wealthy citizens of other towns in the kingdom of Dionia..."

After Haka finished speaking, he saw Okridon listening intently, so his expression gradually became serious, and he said solemnly: "Because of the glory of Carthage in the Western Mediterranean in the past, the Carthaginians have always been proud to think that their mother country is The best country in the Western Mediterranean has the best culture in the Western Mediterranean, and even other races are barbarians in the eyes of the Carthaginians.

I used to have this kind of pride when I was in Iberia, but when I came to Turii and stayed here for more than a year, the pride in my heart has disappeared. Although Dionia is a new kingdom, it is more Carthage is amazing!

I believe that when you enter the mouth of the Craty River, everything you see will make you have such an idea. Just a city of Turii is already much stronger than Carthage, not to mention the kingdom of Dionia. There are Crotone, Catane, Rome, Syracuse... These great cities are not inferior to Carthage, but they are not Utica.

Although Utica is an important ally of Carthage, at a critical moment it may not obey the orders of the Senate of Carthage because of its own interests, but all the towns in the Kingdom of Dionia are under the control of His Majesty the King and the Senate. Direct jurisdiction, in the event of war, can concentrate all human and financial resources, do everything possible to fight the enemy, this is the main reason why Dionia was able to defeat Carthage in the Western Mediterranean War.

And after the defeat of that war, Dionia's national strength has skyrocketed, but Carthage has weakened to the point where it may not even be as good as Catane, and you are still stubbornly resisting under such a disparity in strength—"

"We have absolutely no intention of fighting against Dionia!" Okriton was shocked and quickly defended: "We just want to live our own lives! But now those lowly Eastern Numibia People are frequently harassing our territory. If it weren't for the peace agreement signed by Carthage and Dionia, and the Eastern Numibians are Dionia's allies, we would have assembled a large army to attack these abominations. The Numibian tribe!"

Haka showed a sneer: "Didn't you fight back? No, you have already fought against the Numibians, but have suffered defeat."

"It was just a... small battle. We wanted to teach the Numidians a lesson and let them retreat in spite of difficulties. I didn't expect that they would send so many soldiers..." Okridon strongly defended himself. road.

"Since this is the case..." Haka opened his arms, grabbed the edge of the pool, and said calmly, "I can suggest to Your Majesty that you choose to ignore it when you attack the Numibians."

Oklahoma, not expecting Haka to answer this, was at a loss for words.

Haka took advantage of the situation and said unceremoniously: "Look, I just said that the current Carthaginians are unwilling to accept reality, you are an obvious example! With the current strength of Carthage, Eastern Numibia can be defeated. People? You must know that the Numibians have gotten rid of the fear of the Carthaginians. Although they still go their separate ways, they can still reach an agreement on the matter of 'against the Carthaginians'. They can now obtain relatively sophisticated weapons and armor from Dionia... Carthage gathers the strength of the Phoenician allies and fights with all their might, and may be able to win, but I believe that the casualties must not be small. The key issue is that Carthage still Can the Phoenician city-states on the African continent be commanded as before?"

Okleton wanted to say "Yes!", but when he saw Haka's half-smiling face, he swallowed the words again, with a slight embarrassment on his face: "Yes... those Phoenician allies are not like that anymore. As closely united around Carthage as before the war, as time goes by, people with discerning eyes can see that... Our Carthage is declining day by day, and the kingdom of Dionia, with its vast territory and huge population, has become a A powerful existence that no race or city-state living in the Western Mediterranean can bypass.

Especially the Phoenician city-states east of the Robben Peninsula, they have seldom obeyed Carthage's orders, but frequently sent envoys to Hadrummentum, which is said to make it easier for their merchants to enter Dio. The vast market of the Kingdom of Nia. Hatrumentum has been stuck on the body of the Carthaginian League like a poisonous needle, and it has begun to exert its destructive power..."

"Let's be honest with you." Haka splashed the pool water on his chest, rubbed it lightly, and then slowly immersed his body in the pool water: "It was I who suggested to His Majesty Davos, 'Drive the Eastern Numibians To invade what little land you have left in the interior...'"