Chapter 1250
"That's a good suggestion." The Devers nodded and praised, "Tapirus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send out ambassadors as soon as possible to the neighboring tribes of Liguria and Gaul for friendly negotiations. As for the Ministry of Intelligence … they have already started their operations in Gaul. "
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Foreign Affairs Minister Tapirus immediately stood up and responded.
"Is there anything else?" The Devers continued to ask.
"Your Majesty!" Cloto Catax coughed softly and said, "Yesterday, the organizing team received a clear reply from Egypt. They will be sending a delegation of nearly a hundred people to this sports competition. The leader will be Pharaoh Tanib's son, Jiehao."
"Is it Jiehao who has been designated as the next pharaoh by Tanib?" The Devers was slightly surprised.
"Yes, we have confirmed repeatedly that the delegation will be led by Egypt's Vizier Jiehao."
"Your Majesty, the Pharaoh of Egypt has actually sent his heir to Turín to watch the sports competition. This will undoubtedly show the world the strength of the kingdom. At the same time, it will also show the strong friendship between Diónia and Egypt!" Tapirus said excitedly, "I suggest that we should welcome the Egyptian delegation with a grand ceremony to show our respect for Egypt!"
"That's what we should do. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be responsible for the arrangements." The Devers did not show any signs of joy. Instead, he said with a serious expression, "According to the Ministry of Intelligence, Tanib has been bedridden for three months. I have written a letter to 'send the best doctor to Egypt to treat him', but he politely refused. Although we don't know the details of his current condition, his state is completely under Jiehao's control. It is obvious that his condition is very serious! Under such circumstances, Jiehao actually came to Turín in person, just for friendship? "
The ministers fell into deep thought.
At this moment, Aristiras, the director of intelligence who was sitting at the back of the group, stood up and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the intelligence department has found out that Nektanib, the cousin of Jie Hao, has received the support of many Egyptian generals and monks. They have repeatedly objected to Jie Hao's ruling of the country and even claimed that he is the most suitable successor to the Pharaoh. This poses a great threat to Jie Hao's succession. We also found out that this Nektanib seems to have dealings with Persia."
In the beginning, the chief of the Ministry of Intelligence was not allowed to attend the Council of the Kingdom. However, the information obtained by the Ministry of Intelligence was often the focus of discussion at the meeting, and when Aristiras was required to give a detailed explanation, he was always invited to the meeting. In the end, the assistant ministers changed the rules and made Aristiras a frequent visitor to the Council of the Kingdom.
The news he revealed immediately caused a heated discussion among the ministers in the hall.
"Your Majesty, Jie Hao has led the Egyptian emissaries to Turií at this crucial moment. It's obvious that he has felt threatened by Nektanibis and has no choice but to come to the kingdom to seek support." The assistant minister, Cypross, said loudly, "In this regard, we should express our support to him without hesitation to strengthen his confidence! Now that the kingdom and Persia are mortal enemies, Egypt, which is adjacent to Persia, is the most important ally that the kingdom can use to contain Persia, and even attack Persia in the future. We must not lose Egypt! "
As soon as Cypross's voice trailed off, Antares stood up. "But it's not enough for us to just verbally support Egypt. Tanibis has only been bedridden for a long time, and has not passed away. However, as the heir of the Pharaoh, and also the representative of the kingdom, Jie Hao has come all the way to Turií to seek help. This means that neither Tanibis nor Jie Hao can rely on their own power to eliminate the threat of Nektanibis.
With the support of Persia, Nektanibis should have the ability to start a riot, and finally seize the throne of Egypt! Therefore, we must take action, just like we did five years ago, and send troops to Egypt to strengthen Jie Hao's rule! "
"Egypt is only an ally of Diónia, not a subsidiary. If we want to send troops, we must first ask Jie Hao, or an ally will become an enemy," Cypross reminded.
"According to diplomatic practice, this should be done." Antares then said, "But we have to consider that Jie Hao is only a young man less than 30 years old. It is said that when he was the representative of the kingdom, he resolutely changed the law that Pharaoh Tanibis had insisted on for many years in Egypt. Young people are often too confident to see the situation clearly. What if he can't invite us to send reinforcements in time? We must be prepared for this in advance! "
Ever since Lysias and Hemont retired, Cydorum was also old and basically did not care much about the affairs of the kingdom. The title of chief assistant minister fell to Cypross and Antares. Therefore, such scenes were often seen in the executive council of the ministers. Of course, under normal circumstances, it was Antares who took the initiative.
At this time, Olivers stood up and said loudly, "Your Majesty, since the beginning of last year, when Persia quelled the rebellion in Asia Minor, the army of Persia quickly retreated to the east of Mesopotamia. At that time, we all thought that because the Persia had been fighting non-stop for more than three years, their national strength was greatly depleted, and that the king of Persia had given up on the plan to conquer Egypt.
But now it seems that the greedy Persia did not give up, but just changed their strategy. They used the method that they used to successfully quell the rebellion in Asia Minor on the Egyptians. They want to bribe the generals of Egypt and cause civil strife in Egypt, so that it will be easier to conquer Egypt. This must arouse our vigilance!
This king of Persia is sinister, cunning, and vengeful. Back then, because Your Majesty rejected the request of Persia's envoy to sue for peace on behalf of Carthage, he began to hate us, Diónia, and instigated the Greek city-states to go against us … "
The more Olivers spoke, the angrier he became. "In the past four years, not only did we provide material aid to the rebels in Asia Minor, but we also allowed the Greek allies to actively accept employment from the governors of the various regions in Asia Minor, and to send their citizens to participate in the war. We have long been regarded as Artaxerxes' number one enemy. I am afraid that this time, Persia did not only take action against Egypt, but also other plots against the kingdom. We can no longer respond passively, but should take the initiative. While the national strength of Persia has not recovered, send an army to attack Persia!"
As soon as this was said, many of the ministers were shocked. The original focus of the meeting was to discuss the holding of the sports competition, why did they suddenly talk about waging war against Persia?
Cydorum coughed a few times, and said in a hoarse voice, "I remember … we discussed this last year, but it was rejected without hesitation … Why are you mentioning this again today?"
"Sir Cydorum." Olivers bowed slightly to show his respect, but his tone was still firm, "The reason why this proposal was rejected last year was because we did not expect that the rebel army in Asia Minor would suddenly collapse, and the Persians were able to quickly pacify the riots in the west that had lasted for several years. In addition, the Kingdom wanted to hold a sports meeting, so it was not approved.
But after more than a year of investigation, we have found out that the rapid collapse of the rebels in Asia Minor was due to Artaxerxes bribing and roping in some of the rebel generals and nobles in Asia Minor. They assassinated Aliobazenis and other rebel leaders, which allowed Persia to win.
However, after more than a year of quelling the rebellion, Persia did not establish an effective rule in Asia Minor. The political situation there is still relatively chaotic, which will reduce the resistance of our attack on Persia.
The Diónia sports competition will be held next month. Not only will it not take up most of the kingdom's energy, but it will also boost the confidence of the people because of the success of the competition. Moreover, after five years of rest, the kingdom has sufficient food, resources, and soldiers, and has complete control over the Greek Alliance. Thessaly has also integrated into the kingdom, so our sphere of influence extends across the Aegean Sea to the east, all the way to the coast of Asia Minor … With such a great strategic advantage, we should seize this great opportunity to attack Persia! "
"Persia is not Carthage or Greece. It is a vast kingdom with a large population. Even though its national power has declined due to the war, compared to it, Diónia is still like a wolf facing a sick cow. It is not easy to defeat such a kingdom! Has the Ministry of Military Affairs drawn up a detailed attack plan?! "Asistes's question was more like an invitation for the military minister to explain further.
"Of course!" Chief of Staff Printos took the opportunity to stand up and explained, "Your Majesty! My lords! Since the 'attack on Persia' proposal was rejected last year, the Ministry of Military Affairs has been further exploring how to defeat Persia. Through intelligence collection and many simulated battlefield simulations, the Ministry of Military Affairs finally drew up an attack plan, and its general strategy is — "
Printos cleared his throat to make his pronunciation clearer, "Take full advantage of the chaotic situation in Asia Minor and send an army of about 50,000 to attack the western part of Asia Minor. This army may not be made up of all the citizens of Diónia. The Kingdom is the leader of the Greek Alliance, so we can mobilize the Greek allies and form a coalition army under the slogan of 'Revenge on Persia' to attack the western part of Asia Minor.
Greece, especially the Ionian city-states are very close to Asia Minor, which will make it easier for us to transport food. In addition, it will also help us to quickly gain the support of the Greek city-states along the coast of Asia Minor.
During the battle against the rebels in Asia Minor a few years ago, the King of Persia had promised the Greek city-states along the coast of Asia Minor that he was willing to give them more autonomy, so these city-states basically remained neutral and did not support the rebels. "
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