Chapter 53 The Banquet of Arvinogis

Only a year after Laos joined Dionia, the changes in its port really surprised Kanios.

His boat waited for a while before there was a free pier for him to moor ashore. The officials sent by the city hall of Laos who received the news were already on the shore to greet him, and Kanios gladly accepted the invitation of the officials to meet the city's owner, the consul Avinogis.

"Is this port so busy every day?" Karios asked amid the crowd.

"Yes." The official said proudly: "The merchants of the Dionian Alliance like to charter ships to us to go to northern Gaul, or the Iberian Peninsula in the west to trade, and then land ashore here with a full load of goods and use the load The team was transported back to Turi. A few months ago, after the establishment of the Southern Italian Union, we were even more busy here! Merchant ships from Trina, Coulonia, Crotone, and Siridin also came to Laos from time to time, As long as it is an ally of the Dionysian Union, we in Laos will provide the best service and preferential rates for ship berthing, accommodation, and water supply. Now, Grummentum has become a member of the Dionysian Union Later, more merchants came here, and most of them went to Grummentum's excellent iron ore...Laos welcomes Elijah merchants to trade here too!"

Kanios smiled and was about to respond when an angry voice came from the front: "Don't get in the way of the damn stupid thing!"

Then came the screams, and Kanios saw two naked men lying on the side of the road ahead, with bloodstained whip marks on their bodies, and several heavy sacks dumped aside.

"These slaves are Lucanians." For fear of leaving a bad impression on the guests, the official explained: "Their ancestors forcibly captured Laos and turned all the Greeks in Laos into slaves. , let us live a life that is worse than death for generations, and now Lord Avinogis has led us to take back Laos! A year ago, they were the masters of this city, and they treated us like cattle and sheep, and now We Greeks have become the masters of Laos again, let them also have a taste of being slaves!"

Kanios looked at the emotional official and thought: You don't look like a pure Greek.

"You turned all the Lucarians in the original city into slaves?!" he asked.

"Not all of them. Some were related to the Lucalia citizens of the Dionysian Alliance. They were later released by Lord Avinogis and went to Neutum, and now they are estimated to have become Dionias. Citizens. I don't know why the Dionians are so tolerant of these savages who believe in the gods!" The official whispered, although there was hatred, but he did not vent as loudly as before.

Kanios moved in his heart, which also shows the influence of Dionia on the people of its subordinate city-states.

The city of Laos, located near the mouth of the La River, is not too big, and its citizens are less than 5,000 people. It is mainly composed of two parts: one is the tribe that the Avinogis family has always ruled, which is why he is firmly seated. The core strength of the life-long consul of Laos lies. Therefore, after these ethnic groups were converted into citizens, Avinogis gave them land; the other part was the original Greek slaves. Avinogis liberated them and gave them They got their citizenship, but they didn't have a "land". In order to make a living, they served as low-level local officials in the city or became hired laborers and dock laborers... Fortunately, the tax burden of Laos is not heavy, as long as they work hard and work hard, they should be able to Small savings.

Although Avinogis claimed to be of Greek descent, he always knew in his heart that he was of mixed race like most of the citizens of the city, so the citizens of Laos have a similar sense of inferiority, exclusion and ethnic identity, not to mention , he freed them from slavery, and as long as he was kind to the people, they would support him. So although he learned from Davos and declared himself a life-long consul, in fact, the council of Laos is just a decoration, and there is no citizen assembly, and Avinogis has decided on big and small matters. He is a real tyrant .

Kanios met Avinogis in the so-called city hall—in fact, the mansion of the city lord,

The burly, fat, slightly vicious-looking consul of Laos actually prepared a banquet, and very enthusiastically gave a welcome speech to Kanios and invited him to the banquet.

This reassured Canios, who was somewhat wary, and after taking his seat, he also raised his wine glass to express his sincere thanks to Avinogis for his hospitality, and then said, "Three years ago, I came to I have been to Laos, but this time, I found that Laos has changed a lot, especially the trade in the port is very prosperous. Laos has only been free for more than a year, and he can achieve such great achievements. It must have taken a lot of effort!"

The words of praise from Kanios made Avinogis very comfortable to listen to, he laughed and said: "Of course I didn't bother, but I should thank Laos' allies more but yes, in this alliance, Laos Enjoyed a lot of convenience! …”

Kanios listened thoughtfully.

At this time, Avinogis asked: "Is Elia sending you this time to prepare to join the Dionysian League?"

Kanios was stunned. Elijah's situation and coming to Dionia at this time, anyone with a discerning eye can roughly guess the purpose of their mission, but Kanios didn't expect Avinogis to ask so directly, he put down the The wine glass, after thinking for a while, said vaguely: "Whether to join the alliance or adopt other covenant methods depends on the result of the discussion with Dionia."

Avinogis looked at him and grinned: "Please forgive me for speaking directly, with what I know about Dionysian, and with Elijah's current strength, I am afraid that Dionia will not accept other covenant methods. "

This obviously means that Elijah is not strong enough, so don't delusionally think that she will get better treatment when she talks with Dionysus. Kanios was a little embarrassed, lowered his head and drank, but did not speak.

I heard Avinogis say again: "I heard that you Elia have close contacts with the Greek city-states of Campania. If Elia has any covenant with them, Dionia may not be sure. Will accept Elijah to join the alliance because it does not allow city-states within the alliance to have any diplomatic relations with other city-states."

Kanios was a little surprised, he didn't know that there was such a rule between Dionia and the allies: "Thank you, the consul for the reminder! The city-state of Campania gave Elia some help, but the Leah has no alliance agreement with any city-state." Kanios answered without hesitation.

In fact, the Campania League headed by Naples and Capua has always refused to accept Elia, because Campania and Elia are separated by two powerful races, Samone and Lucania. Elia's strength is not strong. Once it becomes an alliance, only Campania will continue to help Elia, but it is difficult for Elia to make great contributions to the Campania alliance. How could the shrewd Greeks Do this loss-making business. Elia was able to trade with Campania, but they needed each other, and to be able to recruit mercenaries from Campania to defend against the attack of the Lucanians, they all had to pay.

"That's great, let Elijah join the Dionysian League. With Dionia's reputation and strength, the Lucanians will no longer be your trouble. Moreover, Elijah and Lao As the only two seaport cities on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Dionysian League, we can cooperate with each other in the future to strengthen trade exchanges..." Avinogis smiled excitedly, and seemed to have no intention to say himself 's suggestion.

Kanios listened to it, and was silent for a while, and he didn't see the main lord, how could he express his position at will, so he moved the topic away: "Master Consul must have seen the Consul Davos of the Dionysian Alliance, right? , what kind of person is he?"

"I've seen it many times. I've also fought with him!" Avinogis was proud, he wiped the wine stains off his mouth, and said solemnly: "I have a piece of advice for you! Don't be because of him. Young and contemptuous, he is an amazing man!"

Since Elijah was going to deal with Dionysus, he naturally knew about Dionia, and the natural focus of the investigation was Davos. The members of the Council of Elia gave him mixed reviews: what they admired is his extraordinary ability, and Dionia's rise in such a short period of time is absolutely inseparable from his efforts; what is disturbing is his identity, which is actually the only one Consul for life, how is this different from Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse.

Will Elijah and Dionia's cooperation bring wolves into the house? It is necessary for Kanios to make a judgment based on what he has seen and heard. The prosperity of Laos reduces his worries, while the words of Avinogis increase his curiosity: Is this the admiration of the tyrant for the tyrant?

"By the way, I can take you to Turii tomorrow." Avinogis said suddenly.

"Sir Consul, I am very grateful for your hospitality! How dare you let me see me in person again, this will make me uneasy!" Kanios was moved and politely declined.

"Hahaha!..." Avinogis laughed loudly: "You don't have to thank me, I'm just sending you on the way. The Temple of Hades in Turii City was built, and Dionia invited me to watch the ceremony! "

Avinogis' teasing made Kanios a little embarrassed, but he was even more surprised by what he said: Temple of Hades? !

………………

Hearing that Heraclid fainted when the Temple of Hades was completed, and was unconscious, Davos immediately turned off all his affairs and rushed to his home.

Heraclid was already awake, but he couldn't move at all, his eyes were half-open and half-closed, his mouth was wide open, and his chest was rushing up and down, like a tattered bellows making a harsh "huchihuchi" sound...