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Chapter 1013

Most of the senators no longer believed that they would win the war, including some of the Magonid faction. So when the Hanoverian senators proposed to negotiate peace with Diónia, the neutral faction agreed, and the Magonid faction remained silent.

But the Hanoverian faction did not stop. Taipanrako even proposed to hold Margo responsible for the "loss of Lilibe", and hoped to remove him from the position of military commander. Although Lilibe was not directly lost from his hands, as the supreme commander of the entire theater, he was negligent and obviously did not fulfill his duty to protect the territory under his jurisdiction. Of course, his crime included the loss of Palemos.

Of course, the senators of the Magonid faction could not accept this, and the two sides began to quarrel and debate fiercely.

In fact, Hanlow also knew that in the current situation, it was impossible for Margo to hand over the command of the army, because nearly half of the 100,000 troops were from Iberia. Apart from Margo, other Carthage generals might not be able to command the entire army. But a letter of reprimand from Margo from the Senate was inevitable, and it had the effect of damaging Margo's prestige.

On the third day, the Carthage envoy to Diónia had been selected. He was the first Carthage senator to go to Diónia more than 10 years ago, and he signed the peace treaty between the two countries. But compared to the relaxed mood when he went to Greece, the mood of the current Carthage was heavy, because Carthage was no longer a bystander of the war, but a participant in the war, or even a loser. He would definitely be in a passive position in the negotiations, and the results of the negotiations might not be too favorable to Carthage.

It was precisely because of these considerations that Hanno did not allow the decision to negotiate for peace to be passed immediately during the first day of the Senate meeting. Instead, after the meeting ended, he spread the news that "Lilibe has fallen, the Carthaginian army has suffered another defeat …" and so on in the city. This aroused the panic of the people, causing them to gather in front of the Senate again on the second day to protest.

Hanno took the initiative to appease them and promised in public that he would do his best to negotiate peace with Diónia, end the war, and restore peace!

The reason why Hanno adopted such a complicated process was because he knew that this time was different from the last. Carthage was in a relatively disadvantageous position, and the agreement reached would inevitably be disadvantageous to Carthage. In order to avoid being used by his political enemies in the future, he had to let the people know that the Hanoverian faction was in charge of the peace negotiations, not because they were afraid of death, but because they shouldered the important responsibility of saving the city in the face of danger.

In addition, he specifically instructed Okridon not to negotiate any of the proposals and conditions put forward by the Diónia, but to send them back to the Senate and wait for the decision of the Senate before discussing them with the Diónia. In this way, the final proposals and conditions would be decided collectively by the Carthage Senate, and had nothing to do with any individual.

Okereton understood his intentions.

They boarded the passenger ship and sailed north. In the past, Okridon would go to Sicily once a year. In his impression, the sea route from Carthage to Sicily, whether it was to Lilibe, Eryx, or Mazara … There was an endless stream of ships coming and going, unlike now. The passenger ship sailed for more than half a day, but not a single ship could be seen. This made Okridon sigh, and he could not help but be more determined to negotiate for peace: to restore the liveliness and prosperity of these waters.

In the afternoon, the passenger ship approached the waters of Mazara. Many ships finally appeared in the view of the originally blue sea and blue sky. They were the patrol fleet of the Sicilian Fleet of Diónia.

Since the occupation of Lilibe, the Sicilian Fleet had moved its base to the naval port of Lilibe, and its daily cruise route was from Lilibe to Selinus. The Third Fleet was still based in Palemos, and its cruise route was from Palemos to Lilibe. Each fleet had a clear division of labor, and their cruise route was greatly shortened. Naturally, the blockade of the western waters of Sicily was tightened. They even decided to monitor the ports of Mazara and Eryx even in the middle of the night, so as to completely prevent Carthage's people from secretly transporting food in the middle of the night.

Therefore, as soon as Okridon's ship approached the western waters of Sicily, it did not take long for him to be discovered by the fast ships of the Sicilian Fleet.

Okridon did not panic in the face of the fast-approaching fleet. He took the initiative to order the ship to stop and showed his identity as the envoy of Carthage to the approaching warships of Diónia. In the end, he was given the treatment of being accompanied by two warships to Minoa.

Late at night, Okridon entered the camp of Diónia in Minoa. Heniboris, who had already been informed, had already prepared an empty military tent for him and a simple dinner.

Okridon did not complain. He wanted to have enough rest to ensure that he had enough energy to meet the King of Diónia and deal with the possible censure that would come.

The next morning, Okridon, who was still sleeping soundly, was awakened by the loud sound of the bugle. He hurriedly put on his clothes and wanted to go out of the tent to see what was going on, but was stopped by the guard at the door.

"What happened?" Okridon looked at the groups of Diónia soldiers in front of him, who were only wearing undershirts, rushing out of the military tent and quickly lining up in the passage. He could not help but ask curiously in Greek.

The guard hesitated for a moment, but still replied, "They are going to do morning exercises."

As there were a lot of new recruits in the army this time, there were also the newly surrendered noble soldiers of Rome and the Rome Reserve Brigade. In order to quickly bring them together and adapt to the tactics of Diónia so that they could fully exert their combat effectiveness, the Devers stationed the army in Minoa and seized all the time to train. For this reason, he also expanded the site of the original Minoa City Square and opened it up into a playground.

In the early morning, the soldiers' physical training and formation training were carried out; in the morning, the legions' tactical training was carried out; after lunch, construction training was carried out, such as repairing the walls of Minoa, expanding the port, and building a flat road from the port to Minoa City …

Therefore, during this period of time, Minoa City, which was originally in ruins, was changing every day. The ruins were cleared, the land was leveled, the city walls were refurbished, towers were added, the city gates and drawbridges were reinstalled, and the trenches were dug …

Because Okridon arrived late at night, he could not see clearly. If he had entered during the day, he might have thought that Margo's war report to the Senate was a lie: Minoa City was not in ruins at all, it was clearly a fortress!

The hard work had tempered the soldiers' will and physique, and also taught them to obey and help each other. In the afternoon, it was time for the soldiers to train their combat skills. Javelin throwing and sword and shield attacks were the focus of the training …

When it was close to dusk, it was the time that all the soldiers looked forward to the most — rugby training time. Not only could it make the soldiers happy physically and mentally, but it could also strengthen the team spirit and deepen the friendship between the soldiers.

Such a large amount of exercise every day was based on sufficient logistical support. The soldiers of Diónia had three meals a day. In addition to sufficient bread and oatmeal, there was also a large amount of salted beef jerky, mutton soup, sea fish, and other meat to replenish their physical strength. There was even a small amount of vegetables and fruits to provide for the body's necessities. There were doctors and nurses in the medical camp to ensure their health, and there were blacksmiths and carpenters in the supply camp to maintain their armor and weapons … Behind these 100,000 soldiers were the two million people of the Kingdom of Diónia who lived frugally and gave their all to ensure their safety.

Therefore, when Okridon was on his way to the big tent, he heard the deafening training sounds in the distance, saw the new walls of Minoa City in the distance, and saw the neatly arranged tents and aisles like a chessboard in front of him … he could not calm down.

"Your Majesty, Messenger Carthage requests an audience."

"Let him come in."

Okridon walked into the big tent and saw the King of Diónia sitting in the seat of honor, looking at him with a smile. His appearance did not change much from when he first met him more than ten years ago, but his temperament had changed significantly. At that time, he had just defeated the Syracuse Army, and was high-spirited and aggressive. Now, the Dionysian Army had the same advantage, but this famous King seemed amiable and approachable …

Okridon's thoughts ran wild, but he did not hesitate. He bowed respectfully and said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, King Devers, Senate Carthage has sent me as a messenger to meet you and discuss with Diónia about this war that should not have happened!"

"Okridon, we haven't seen each other for more than ten years. I'm very happy to see my old friend again! Compared to the aggressive Messenger Carthage, Pretacuba, we are more willing to deal with you! "The Devers smiled even more brightly and sighed.

Hearing this, Okridon felt relieved and immediately said, "Your Majesty, today's war should not have happened in the first place! It has lasted for such a long time and caused great losses to both our countries. Trade has declined, farmland has become barren, and there have been many casualties among the people … We, the people of Carthage, have realized that this cannot continue, so they have sent me here in the hope of discussing with Your Majesty if we can stop the war, restore peace between our two countries, restart trade, heal the wounds of the war as soon as possible, and promote the prosperity of the Western Mediterranean Sea together! "

"The people who started the war were the people of Carthage, and the people who are asking for a truce are also the people of Carthage! You people of Carthage are too overbearing, starting a war whenever you want and stopping the war whenever you want. But this is not a war game, it's not that simple! "Heniboris, who was at the side, interrupted with a sarcastic tone.

Okridon's heart tightened, but he heard the Devers say seriously, "You're right, it's good for the people of both countries to be able to talk peace and achieve a truce! I am currently busy with military affairs and have no time to spare, so I will appoint Senator Heniboris as the person in charge of the negotiations on the side of Diónia. He will discuss peace with you. I hope that you can have a pleasant cooperation and reach a consensus in the end, bringing good news to the people of both countries! "