Chapter 8 Davos' Ambition

Cornelus hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I am not against forming an alliance with Volsi and letting the Romans conquer Volsi. Instead, I feel that the situation of Dionia this year is not a good time. What's more, we are very unfamiliar with the situation in central Italy, and we should be more cautious and more prepared to ensure that in the event of a war, we are fully confident of winning!"

Cornelus' mature and solemn words caused the ministers headed by Lysias to nod again and again.

"I also hope to wait until the kingdom's troops are well-stocked and there are no external troubles around before I intervene in Rome. But good times never come, and the enemy will not be stupid enough to stay put and let us interfere. Davos sighed in his heart and said, "Everyone still remember the war with Syracuse that year. Our original idea was to attack Lokrie first and lure Syracuse's army to Greater Greece. However, Onysius induces the Samonites to suddenly invade. We hope that the troops will be stationed in Coulonia - Trina's front-line defense, and the Syracuse army will be dragged. Back to the decisive battle, Dionysius led his army to easily break through our southern defense line...

These lessons have deeply reminded me that good opportunities are not waited for, but won by our resolute actions. Moreover, the Carthaginians also have wisdom not weaker than Dionysius. They have long known that our Dionysus will be their future enemy, so they have not only supported the Tanikian tribe for a long time, but also early It was supporting the Romans seven or eight years ago. "

Cornelus and the others were shocked, and Lysias hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, is this true?!"

"Of course it's true. Because the Tanikaan tribe made me wary of Carthage, I increased my attention to the forces surrounding the kingdom. As a result, my team quickly collected some information about Carthage and the kingdom. The information on Rome's exchanges, there is evidence that Carthage has been supporting Rome again over the years, providing food and weapons..." Davos said, and pointed to the clerk Henepolis who was recording beside him. nod.

Henepolis immediately left the council room, and soon found some documents from the restricted area of ​​the palace—the reference room, and handed them over to Davos, who handed it to Cornerus.

Cornerus, Lycias, Sedorum and other ministers passed on each other, and their expressions became more and more solemn.

"Before, I didn't talk about Carthage and Rome, because we were busy managing the Dawney area that was newly incorporated into the kingdom, and there was no need to be distracted by Rome's affairs for the time being. But—" Davos stood up suddenly , said loudly: "Now Volsi is coming to ask for help, this is a good time! Help Volsi and fight against the Romans, and you will definitely win the support of other forces in central Italy. The conspiracy to destroy Carthage is also conducive to possible future conflicts with Carthage will not be passive in the event of war. Also, defeating the Romans will also help us enter the same fertile land occupied by Rome in central Italy!"

Davers said here,

The ministers were all surprised.

Davos looked at them and said in a deep voice, "My lord, this drought has covered most of the land in the Kingdom of Dionia, making our disaster relief so difficult. Deep memory! Why? Because our country is not big enough, our national strength is not strong enough, we need to acquire more land, in order to easily cope with every drought, every earthquake, every tsunami! In the south With Carthage blocking our way, we can only get the land from the north, so the arrival of the Volsey messenger is a good opportunity for us!"

Davos saw that the ministers fell silent for a while, smiled slightly, and said in a soft tone: "Of course this is a long-term strategy I set for the kingdom, and the war with Rome may not break out immediately. With our help Wall West, maybe the Romans will give in on this, so we need to eat the bread one bite at a time, let's not worry, take it slow, let the Senate pass the proposal of 'to form an alliance with Volsi', and then carefully discuss with the Volsi people. Let's discuss the covenant, and after everything is done, send messengers to test the Romans' reaction to this..."

…………………………

Dionia soon dispatched Foreign Minister Ancitanos to negotiate an alliance with Wolsey messenger Metabola.

The negotiation process was very smooth. It only took more than half a day to draw up a draft alliance. The main content is: Dionia and Wolsey will form a friendly and equal military alliance; Under the law, its people can stay on the land of the allies freely; they give each other preferential treatment and convenience in trade, no additional taxes are added, and they are not allowed to detain or arrest businessmen of the allied countries without authorization. If disputes arise, they shall be resolved by mutual arbitration between the two parties; When a party is invaded by an enemy or at war with a third party, the allies should try their best to provide military assistance, and even send troops to fight at the request of the other party..."

Metabola took the draft and immediately returned to Wolsey.

Ten days later, he came in a hurry with the Volsey messenger group, which included the consuls of several city-states in the Volsey Alliance.

Davos solemnly signed a league agreement with the Wolsey.

As soon as the agreement was signed, the Wolsey couldn't wait to ask Dionysus to send troops to assist Wolsey. It turned out that the Romans had already captured Villitre and repelled the reinforcements of Wolsey, and began to attack the city of Satricum. Huge reinforcements went to block the attack of the Roman army, and they faced an unprecedented crisis.

Davos decided to send messengers to Rome to mediate according to Antaoris' proposal, and at the same time informed the Military Department to prepare for war.

After careful consideration and selection by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tapirus was the last messenger sent.

More than ten years ago, Tapirus was a slave bought by Cristoia. Because of his quick mind and hard work, he was promoted to the supervisor of a restaurant within a few years, and was bestowed by the owner Davos. free. During the South-Italian War, he participated in the most important battle of Crotone as a reserve citizen, and as a spearman, he and his companions withstood the onslaught of Syracuse's mercenary cavalry and took them The rout, while assisting other troops in defeating the powerful right flank of Syracuse, played a key role in the final victory of the entire battle.

After the war, their group of surviving spearmen became full citizens of Dionia. In the following years, Tapirus also participated in the conquest of Messapi and Puchetti. Perhaps it was the frequent battles that tempered his courage and broadened his horizons. He was no longer satisfied with serving as the regional head of Kristoya's restaurant, but passed the finance department with his ability to read and count. Examination, became a tax officer.

It was not until the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Ancitanos recruited public officials. He did a good job, but was tired of this kind of daily accounting and bookkeeping. Tapirus applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ancitanos knew that the mission to Rome was not an easy task, and the envoy needed not only to be observant and eloquent, but also courageous. Therefore, Tapirus, who served as a restaurant waiter and participated in many battles, became the best candidate.

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In the 13th year of Dionia (November 1, 380 BC), Dionysian messenger Tapirus boarded a passenger ship bound for Rome at the port of Laos.

It was a sunny day with clear skies.

Tapirus sat in the cabin, still reminiscing about the scene when he was received by King Davos before leaving Turii.

Saying it was an interview was actually inviting him to the Davos mansion for a banquet. Because he was a private slave released by Davos, according to the popular saying of Dionys, Davos was his benefactor (a peculiar custom formed by Dionysian national conditions, slaves released by the master There is a special kinship-like relationship with the master. Under the circumstance that does not violate the law, if the freed slave is in difficulty, he can ask his original master for help, help him find a job or provide financial assistance; and the original master encounters difficulties When the emancipation of slaves has become official citizens, they will also lend their money to help, or when the original owners run for local councillors or tribunes, they will join hands to cast a valuable vote for the original owners, which is recognized by the society. For these reasons, the wealthier citizens of Dionysus were keen to treat their slaves well and give their slaves their freedom.

At the banquet, he was surprised that the great King Davos cared so much about such a native city-state in central Italy, and was even more surprised by what Davos asked...

At this time, the captain pushed the door and came in: "Sir, we are going to Ostia Port soon."

Tapirus heard the words, put down his thoughts, and left the cabin.

Seagulls soared under the sky ahead, and ships of all sizes converged in one direction, which should be the mouth of the Tiber River and the Roman colonial city of Ostia.

After receiving the appointment of the envoy, Tapirus had a special understanding of the information about Rome, and knew that Ostia was originally a small town of the Latins, which was occupied by Rome decades ago, and the citizens migrated to settle here. Ostia became a Roman colonial city, and later became the only port city for sea trade in Rome. It was because of these benefits that Ostia remained loyal to Rome, even when Rome was captured by the Gauls. Nor is it betrayal.

Tapirus disembarked at Ostia with the accompanying members of the embassy.