Chapter 26 Resignation

Antonios hurriedly turned the page, and was surprised to see three names circled by Davest. He was familiar with all three names. The first one was his brother-in-law Paphogres, and the other two were also He is extremely familiar with the children and relatives of the elders of Naxos and Katanai, although they are all promoted to the lowest level of team officers - division captains (the captains are not included in the ranks of officers, the legion commander can directly appoint), At this moment, he knew that these three people might not meet the requirements for promotion.

He didn't know how the other two performed in the training camp, but he knew exactly what his brother-in-law was. When he was in Turii, Paphogres was late for military training many times and was punished by the team. The official punishment was also reflected on him, and after his severe criticism, he managed to perform better. To be honest, when Paphogres was driven back to Naxos by Laodician, Antonios was also relieved in his heart. He didn’t expect that this idiot would return to his hometown and cause more trouble!

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I really... don't know that Paphograss is on this list. From what I know about him, his ability... is not enough to serve as a squad leader." Antonios stammered. , he regretted in his heart: why didn't he carefully check this list, so that he made such a big mistake!

"What you said is fairly pertinent, but as the Minister of Military Affairs of the kingdom, it is unqualified to say such a thing." Davos stared at him, his voice was soft, but his tone was heavy: "Look at this again."

As he spoke, he handed another letter to Antonios, which was written by the current commander of the Eighth Army, Leotizides. In the letter, he described the armament training of the Eighth Army Corps, and gave a special introduction to the military training performance of the three Paphograss mentioned by Davos, "being late, not training seriously, talking back to the instructor... ..." and other words came into Anton Rios' eyes, which made his heart skip a beat.

Leotidas! Antonios has a deep memory of this man: he performed well in the battle of the First Army, was promoted to captain in just a few years, and in the battle of Brindisi that year, King Puchetti led the only remaining elite troops to fight back, Most of the Dionian Legion companies dispersed and began to chase the routed soldiers. Only Leotizides was still able to control the formation of his brigade and blocked the Pucherti from killing Diver in time. The passage of the central army where Sis was located bought precious time for the arrival and encirclement of other troops, so it left a deep impression on Davos.

After the resignation of the commander of the Eighth Corps, when the First Corps Captain Ketisus refused to take the post, Davos personally ordered Leotizides, who was the Third Captain of the First Corps at the time, to take over. This made him the only infantry commander in the kingdom of Dionia who was not a former mercenary, and the youngest commander.

This man is usually unsmiling and does not like to socialize with other people. He treats military training strictly and seriously, and even beats and scolds soldiers when he is angry. Some people in the army nickname him "madman".

As for the situation described in his letter, Antonios believed it, but Davos, who was his identity, even wrote a letter to ask Leotizides, who was far away in Sicily, about the military training performance of these unknown soldiers.

The incident itself shocked Antonios.

"Your Majesty, I... I failed to manage the Ministry of Military Affairs. There was such a big mistake, I beg... I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

"You deserve to be punished." Davos's eyes were cold: "Your brother-in-law killed five or six female slaves in a row, and the method was cruel. Such a person can still be promoted to captain! After I read the news, I am afraid that the Senate The elders of the gang will impeach you, and the tribunes will protest! You..." Davos sighed, seeming to be worried about him.

Antonios was in a cold sweat, his body bent lower, and he said in a murmur: "Your Majesty, I... I request to resign from the post of Minister of Military Affairs..."

After a long while, he heard Davos' regretful voice: "Okay... that's fine, you resign from the post of Minister of Military Affairs on the grounds of being sick, and don't go to the Senate for the time being, avoid this period of time... Also, don't look for someone else for your brother-in-law's affairs, the court will give him a fair ruling."

"Yes..." Antonios replied in a low voice, feeling a little relief in his heart, but more of a loss.

Davos put down the roster and letter, and then asked softly: "Antonios, you have been in Sicily for many years, and your wife is a Sicilian. You should know more about Sicilian. Can you tell me why you are also a veteran? Most of the elders in other places have their homes in Turii. Even if they own land in other towns, they mainly use it as a place to increase their income. Buy land and use it as another home, let some family members live for a long time, and even make extensive contacts with public officials in the local area to increase the prestige of your family in the local area, why?"

Although Davos's tone was calm, Antonios could feel Davos' suppressed anger from this flat tone, and he became more and more frightened, racking his brains to think hard, leading to sweaty Bolton again: "Your Majesty, I think These elders of Sicily and our elders of Great Greece behave differently because of the different circumstances..."

"Oh, talk about it." Davos raised his eyebrows slightly.

Antonios thought for a while before saying cautiously: "Your Majesty, because Naxos and Catanay were destroyed by Syracuse, their people lost their homes and were forced to go into exile. In order to survive, they had to live in the mountains. They built settlements one by one, elected leaders, led them to defend against the Sikelians who invaded them, and occasionally organized by Syracuse to clear their mercenaries, and the beasts in the mountains, and many people died. , life is also very difficult, these will only make them miss their occupied hometown even more, so after regaining the lost land, they cherish the land of their hometown.

And most of the leaders of those exiles eventually became the elders of Dionia. In those years in exile, they have become the pillars of the Sicilian exiles. The people can find them to solve any difficulties. After joining Dionia, these elders Still keep these habits...

And most of these elders are of noble origin. Before Naxos and Katanai were destroyed, they all served as generals and councillors of the city-state. They are not like the elders of Great Greece. Before the rise of our kingdom of Dionia, Taran The Tum Alliance, the Turii Alliance, the Crotone Alliance, the Lokrie Alliance, and the Lijim Alliance are basically stable and form a balance. But in Sicily, in addition to Syracuse and Carthage, the generals and parliamentarians of other city-states need to constantly make decisions based on the changing situation on the island. Should they join forces with other city-states to fight against these two major powers? One of the two great powers... so they have to maintain friendly relations with their neighbors, as well as the Syracuses and Carthaginians. This is why they like to hold banquets, give gifts everywhere, and form gangs. s reason. "

"You understand very well. It seems that it is beneficial to marry a Sicilian woman." Davos said meaningfully, and then said in a more serious tone: "These bad habits of the Sicilian people have been learned by some of our elders. The influence is very bad! It was the Catania Plain that was merged into the kingdom of Dionia, not Dionia becoming part of their Sicily, everyone must strictly abide by the laws of Dionia! It seems that ten years have passed, they Didn't realize it yet!"

Hearing the last sentence, Antonios became more and more frightened and did not dare to answer.

"Antonios, my old friend, although you claim to be sick and rest at home, you can't eat too much and hurt your body! Now the Downeys have been defeated at the Ovanto River, and it won't be long before their territory will be conquered by us, where There are still many thorny matters that need to be handled by a capable elder like you!" Davos's words of encouragement lifted the spirit of the frustrated Antonios, and he responded excitedly: "Your Majesty, I am always ready for your call!"

Davos watched him leave the office, and the expression on his face slowly turned cold, although he knew very well that the actions of the Sicilian elders headed by Laodicien were just to make his son have a better future. The development of the army will lead to the idea of ​​​​the army. Although becoming an officer of the legion does not have any rights in daily social life, it has a very large role when serving as a public office in the kingdom, or when running for local councillors and tribunes. Advantages are the object of priority, and their identities are respected by the public in daily life.

But Davos was outraged at the way they disrupted the order of the army. Since the establishment of Dionysus, he has firmly controlled the army that laid the foundation of his power, and other elders could not intervene at all. The appointment and dismissal of officers are all made by him, and the formulation of military laws is also mainly determined by him. It will be discussed with the main generals, but never by any Senate vote, so the army is a completely closed system. But I didn't expect that after more than ten years, bad signs began to appear. The personnel of the Ministry of Military Affairs may have been bribed by these Sicilian elders, or maybe they were also trying to please Antonios. Reese and others were included in the list of promotions.

Davos just checked the promotion list of the Eighth Legion because of the Naxos case, and it happened that the promotion list of officers was still on the desk. So are there any other unqualified officers who were promoted? Woolen cloth? Davers didn't dare to think about it.