Chapter 1049
"I've thought about it!" Dido said without hesitation, "So I've decided to go to Sicily and negotiate with the people of Diónia!"
"What?! You're going to Sicily?! "Hakkar was truly shocked this time.
"You're the more suitable candidate, but you're not in good health, and we can't leave you here at this time. So I have to go! Although I'm a woman, I'm the only daughter of the Magonid family's patriarch, Mago. If I personally go to Sicily to negotiate, it will show the sincerity of the Magonid family. Moreover, the decisions I make during the negotiations should also be approved by you, right? "Dido looked straight at her cousin in an imposing manner.
Hakkar did not respond directly, but asked in return, "What decision do you want to make?"
"I want this territory to join the Kingdom of Diónia, become their state, or … a free city. I think this should be able to save my father and Hasdrubal!"
Hakkar looked at the resolute Dido, suddenly envious of her vitality and courage, which was what his sickly body lacked. "Well, I'll take care of everything here. You can go to Sicily without worry, but you have to be prepared for the worst. The king of Diónia is not so easy to deal with!"
Although Hakkar had never met the Devers, he had a deeper understanding of the king of Diónia. Even some of the administrative systems in place in Iberia were absorbed and adapted from the system of government of Diónia. Because of this, as a Carthage noble, he did not object to Dido's rebellious act of seeking refuge with the enemy. On the contrary, he felt a trace of envy in his heart.
… …
As an envoy of Carthage, Okridon once again came to Sicily and began a new round of negotiations with the Diónia court clerk, Heniporis, at the governor's mansion in Lili.
After several negotiations and confrontations, faced with the aggressive Heniboris, Okridon compromised and offered to cede the new colony in the south of Iberia, and was willing to return the land of the Eastern Numibians and allow them to become independent.
But Heniporis was not satisfied. He pointed out that Diónia needed the entire southern Iberia that Carthage owned, including coastal towns such as Gaddis, Huelva, and Megaropelis, as well as the gold and silver mines under their control. This could not be changed.
Okridon argued, but Heniporis refused to budge. Moreover, the Devers did not give Okridon a chance to meet, so the negotiations reached an impasse.
When Okridon sent the news that the "negotiations were not going well" back to Carthage, the Carthage Senate also received another piece of bad news: Ruthpina had surrendered to the Dionysian Army.
It turned out that Alexis had hoped that Carthage's army would come to Ruthpina's rescue, so that she could defeat Carthage's fresh troops in the field, reducing the difficulty of the soldiers besieging the city in the future, and severely dampening the confidence of the Carthage people.
However, after the Carthage Senate learned that the Numibians had joined the Dionysian Army, he became even more worried about the safety of Carthage's city. Even if the Ruthpina messenger repeatedly begged, the Carthage Senate was perfunctory while gathering reinforcements from the Phoenician allies in the west to protect the city.
Alexis did not order an attack on Ruthpina. Instead, she ordered a total of 30 ballista cannons owned by the three legions to bombard Ruthpina City for several days in a row. Not only did they destroy many houses in the city, but they also bombarded the city with several large holes. There were not many citizen soldiers in Ruthpina, and there was no news of Carthage's reinforcements. In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of Hadrumentum, the terrified Ruthpina people chose to surrender.
Alexis led the army to enter Ruthpina City. After taking complete control of the city, she immediately informed the Legio III stationed in Hadrumentum to remove their camp and rendezvous at Ruthpina.
Seeing that the Carthage people were stubbornly defending, she simply prepared to continue to the east to attack Thapsos, thus completely turning this coastal land into the rear of the Dionysian Army.
After the Carthage elders, led by Hanno, received a reply from Okridon, and at the same time learned from the scouts that the Dionysian Army had landed in Afrika City, they all realized that whether it was for the safety of Carthage City or for the smooth signing of the armistice agreement, Carthage had to concentrate all their strength to defeat the enemy in front of them.
Therefore, after an emergency discussion, the Senate appointed Samos as the military commander of Carthage, responsible for defeating the Dionysian Army.
Samos led 10,000 Carthage militia to Addis, increasing the total number of soldiers in Addis to 15,000. This also made it difficult to see any young citizens in Carthage City. The Senate had to mobilize the elderly and underage men to defend the city.
Samos did not lead his army to rescue Thapsos, which was being besieged by the Dionysian Army. Instead, he stepped up the construction of defensive facilities in Addis, while waiting for reinforcements from the Phoenician Alliance on the west coast.
As the Diónia warships were patrolling along the coast of Afrika, for safety reasons, the reinforcements from the Phoenician Alliance did not dare to take the ships. They could only travel by land, marching through the mountains. Naturally, the time needed to reach Carthage City would be extended.
… …
Diduo was tall, graceful, pretty, and had bright eyes. She wore a purple pleated dress with flowers embroidered with gold silk and a rare white fox fur coat. Her black hair was tied up and held in place with exquisite hair accessories made of pure gold … She was graceful but not elegant. She was delicate yet heroic. Although her skin was a little dark, it was more lustrous and flawless, giving her the charm of a foreign race.
When she walked gracefully into the living room of the mayor's mansion, not only were the guards stunned, but even the Devers were a little dazed.
He subconsciously sat up straight, coughed twice, and said, "You … are the messenger from the Iberian colony of Carthage?"
"The Honorable King of Diónia." Dido gently opened her red lips. Her voice was not as crisp as that of most young girls, but more deep: "I am Dido, the only daughter of the Carthage military commander Mago. I am not the messenger of Carthage, but a representative of the Magonid family."
Devers was not surprised. He had already known the identity of the Iberian messenger in advance, and he also knew through intelligence that the daughter of Mago was not a simple woman. Not only did she often participate in the political affairs of southern Iberia, but she could even influence Mago's decisions, so he met her out of curiosity. And Dido's special emphasis on this sentence confirmed some of the thoughts in his heart. He deliberately said jokingly: "Is there no man in your Magonid family?"
Dido heard the sarcasm in Devers's words, and her almond-shaped eyes suddenly widened, but then she lowered her eyes and said in a powerful tone: "The Iberian officials let me come here not because I am a woman, but because I can negotiate with you on their behalf!"
"Oh?" Devers pretended to be surprised and said: "I don't understand why the officials of Carthage in Iberia still let you come? Don't you know that the Senate of Carthage is ready to cede the entire southern region of Iberia to Diónia? "
Dido had expected the other party to ask this question. She took a breath and said in a serious tone: "Honorable King of Diónia, although we are far away in Iberia, we also know that the negotiations between Diónia and Carthage are not going well, and the war is still going on. What's more, Carthage cannot represent our southern region of Iberia. Even if the negotiations are reached in the future and they agree to cede southern Iberia to Diónia, this decision will not be recognized by all the people of southern Iberia! Because the southern region of Iberia has decided to separate from Turií and decide our own fate! "
Dido's last sentence was powerful and resonant. Hearing this, Devers raised his eyebrows and his eyes became cold: "So, even if we reach a peace agreement with Carthage, your southern region of Iberia does not intend to abide by it?! Don't you know that doing this will only give me a reason to send troops to southern Iberia? We have now captured tens of thousands of captives from southern Iberia, including your father and relatives! I don't mind turning all the men of southern Iberia into slaves and making them mine until they die! "
Although the Devers's voice was not loud, the majesty of a king could not be looked at directly. The thick smell of blood was even more overwhelming, making Dido a little flustered. She hurriedly lowered her head and tried to calm herself down. After panting for a while, she gritted her teeth and said: "Since … Since Carthage has betrayed us, why should we listen to Carthage's orders! If Diónia really wants to send troops to attack us, we would rather all die in battle to defend the dignity of the Magonid Family and at the same time make your Diónia pay a heavy price! "
"You want our Diónia to pay a heavy price?" Devers sneered and said disdainfully: "How many troops do you have in the Iberia territory? Can you still intimidate the surrounding Lusitanians and Iberians? Our Diónia doesn't even need to send troops. We can soon see the Iberian natives wipe out all of you who are alone! "
"Maybe we will perish, but what good will it do to your Diónia?!" At this moment, Dido also threw caution to the wind and loudly reminded: "We spent more than 10 years to conquer the Iberian natives, cut down trees, flatten the land, and reclaim it year after year. Only then did we have the territory that we can settle in today. If the already stable southern Iberia is once again occupied by those ignorant and ferocious natives, I don't know how much gold and silver Diónia is willing to spend after the war with Carthage, how many citizens will be sacrificed, and how much time will it take to reintegrate southern Iberia back into the Kingdom of Diónia!
But now, as long as Diónia accepts my negotiation request, the southern Iberia you want will immediately belong to Diónia! Then Your Majesty can use all your strength to deal with Carthage and put forward other demands to them in order to obtain more benefits! "
The coldness in Devers's eyes receded and he said calmly: "You want southern Iberia to be directly integrated into Diónia?"
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