Chapter 12 The Roman Senate
And Tapirus calmly faced the most powerful group of people in Rome at the moment, and said loudly: "Respected Roman elders, King Davos of the Kingdom of Dionia asked me to bring him to you. My sincere greetings. Before I left, he repeatedly asked me, 'Although he has never been to Rome, he knows that Rome is a great city-state, and he has deep respect for Rome! …”
Tapirus' words did not seem to be falsified, it was beyond everyone's expectations, and it also moved them. After all, they had heard some rumors about King Davos of Dionia, and they were able to get his praise. Glory.
"His Majesty Davos also hopes that this mission of mine will not affect his goodwill towards Rome, as well as the precious peace between Rome and Dionia!" Tapirus's next words changed sharply. , made the Roman elders tense, and heard him say loudly: "Worsey has formed an alliance with our Dionia, Dionia hopes that Rome will stop aggression against the Volscy territory and return the captured territory, Both sides cease fighting!"
As soon as Tapirus finished speaking, there was an uproar in the venue.
One person stood up in the crowd and asked angrily, "What if Rome didn't stop fighting?!"
Tapirus responded confidently: "Then Dionia will fulfill her covenant with Wolsey and send troops to stop this war from continuing!"
The whole venue was like a frying pan, and there were disputes.
The man before asked angrily: "You Dionia are far away in southern Italy, what qualifications do you have to interfere with our affairs in Rome?!"
Tapirus replied calmly: "Dionia has no intention of interfering in Rome, we are just fulfilling the obligations of our allies."
"Do you Dionia know that it was the Volsi people who invaded our allies first, and we fought back angrily. The Volsi people should naturally be punished!" Another person shouted loudly.
"You Rome act according to the covenant, and so do we." Tapirus replied calmly.
"Dionysians, don't think that you have occupied southern Italy and that you are powerful, you can go to Rome to show off your power! As long as you dare to send troops to this land, our Roman warriors will let you experience the real war. Pain!" Another person shouted angrily, attracting some elders to respond.
Tapirus responded tepidly: "Dionia has no intention of showing off her strength, but she is not afraid of any powerful enemy, as evidenced by the fact that we have defeated one after another in the past."
The riots in the Senate tended to expand. At this time, Paulus, who was sitting in the front row, stood up and shouted loudly: "Messenger Dionysus, please go back to the hotel first,
We will inform you after we discuss and make a decision. "
Tapirus nodded in agreement, and at the same time he reminded: "I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible, any delay will cause more casualties to the Volsci and your Roman soldiers, which is neither your expectation nor the What our Majesty would like to see!"
Tapirus' seemingly well-meaning words implied a threat to Rome, which caused more scolding from the elders, but he resolutely walked out of the venue with his head held high.
Paulus walked to the center of the venue and said loudly: "Fathers and newcomers, please be quiet! Please keep quiet! ... The Dionysians asked us to stop the attack on Wolsey, what do you think about this?"
The man who had angered Tapirus many times before said first: "Then why don't you ask, of course, ignore it! After many bloody battles, our citizens finally won this opportunity to beat the Volsi people this time. , how could he easily let Wolsey go because of a word from the Dionysians!"
"Pantius, it's easier for you to say that. Dionia has rarely had diplomatic contact with Rome before, and you probably don't know much about it. Although this kingdom has only been established for more than ten years, it has already occupied The entire southern part of Italy, even the mighty Samonais were defeated by it, and had to become its allies, and even the Carthaginians were afraid of it and took the initiative to renew the agreement with it.
Although we are now out of the embarrassment of being defeated by the Celtics, our strength has been restored, even stronger than before. But compared with Dionysus, it is like a goat facing a bull. The difference in strength is too great. If Dionia is allowed to intervene in this area, it will be a big trouble for Rome! At the back of the venue, a person stood up and said seriously. The person who said this was Fibius Ambustus, a highly respected veteran known for his strong patriotic enthusiasm.
"I don't know as much about Dionia as you nobles, of course, but I will never back down because I'm afraid of Dionia's power! Don't forget that the Roman commoners need more land for them Get out of poverty to ease the conflict with us, if we stop the war against the Wolsey and return to the occupied lands. Well, our previous promise to the civilians 'to distribute land to them from the newly occupied towns of Wolsey' It can't be achieved! Unless you nobles agree to allocate a large amount of public land in the city-state to them, you will see—" Pantius Comilius looked around coldly and said loudly: "Civilian anger will flare up again!"
The noise in the venue suddenly decreased a lot, and Fibius Ambestus looked a little unsightly.
At this time, Paulus said: "Hey, Panthius, don't get excited. Whether the people sitting in this hall are born nobles or commoners, their love for Rome is no less than yours, especially the respectable ones. Ambostus. Not to mention that in the battle of Cremery nearly a hundred years ago, almost all 306 members of his family were sacrificed to resist the attack on Rome by thousands of Viai! Ten years ago, After the defeat of the Arria War, the Celtic army marched towards Rome, and the whole city panicked. Ambstus resolutely decided to go to the Celtic camp on the north bank of the Tiber River to persuade the Celtic king Brennus. Failed, his courage is still admired by the people! It is no less than your brave act of infiltrating the Capitoline Hill surrounded by the Celts and retrieving the appointment of the dictator of Camillous..."
When Paulus' words came to this point, Ambestus' face became brighter, and the other elders also began to respond, and began to criticize Panthius for being unreasonable to the elders.
Although Pantius stopped talking, he still had a bit of dissatisfaction on his face.
Paulus actually had no intention of caring about the mood of his fellow military and political officer. He turned his attention to the front row of the venue, where an old man was sitting. On the ivory wooden chair, there is still a lot of free space.
But the elders of the senate did not despise him because of this. On the contrary, like Paulus, they looked at him with respect. He was Lucius Valerius Potti, who had served as the consul of Rome many times. Tus.
"Uncle, what do you think of the unreasonable demands made by the Dionians?" Paulus asked respectfully. He and the old man were not direct relatives, but they both belonged to the Valerius clan, and they belonged to the same Portitus family, so it was only natural to call them "uncle".
Portitus opened his turbid eyes and said slowly: "We don't need to immediately reject Dionysian's request. After all, something as important as this cannot be decided in a short time. We can talk to Dionysus. The demi-humans can negotiate slowly..."
Paulus' eyes lit up, and he understood what the uncle meant, that is - drag!
"No, never give hope to the Dionysians! In order to avoid future troubles, we should simply reject them!" An old man next to Portitus protested loudly.
He was Publius Cornelius Marugineensis, a Roman senator whose prestige was no less than that of Portitus. He always sang opposite Portitus in the Senate, but this The first-time elders were intimidated by Dionia's power and did not accept his opinion.
In the end, Ambustus took Portitus's words and put forward specific suggestions: "We should send messengers to inform Camillous and Frius immediately, and let them deal with the Tusculon people as soon as possible. , and then lead the troops to Sartnicum without going back to the city, assist Licinius and Quintus, attack Wolsey, and try to occupy as much land as possible in a short time!"
When he said this, Pantheus glanced at him, and Paulus nodded.
"Also, be sure to contact Carthage as soon as possible to see what they have to say about Dionia's sudden involvement in the Latium area?!" Portitus also reminded.
"I'm afraid we should also remind our colonies and allies to prepare in advance..." Panthius said.
...
In the end, the Roman Senate made a decision.
They sent messengers to inform Tapirus, pretending to be sincere and saying: "The senate is already considering a truce, but since there are four military officials on an expedition, without their consent, according to Roman legal procedures, it cannot be made. The final decision, so please wait for a while..."
Tapirus did not have a deep understanding of the political system of Rome. He judged from the political system of the Kingdom of Dionia and the surrounding Greek city-states that the absence of so many generals in the city seemed to have a great influence on the resolution of the Senate. In particular, they were the parties involved, so he said with embarrassment: "My king is waiting for my return, and I hope the Roman Senate can give me the final answer as soon as possible! I can wait, but King Dionia has no patience to wait. !"
He thinks that he should deal with it properly, but he does not know the power of the Roman Senate. It is not only the highest administrative organ in Rome, but also exercises the highest supervision over the life of the whole country. The consul, but the military-political officer with more emphasis on the military, has less power.