Novels online

Chapter 1261

"Alright, both of you, please pause the discussion." "I assure you that Dionia will do its utmost to resolve the conflict in the Argos Plains. Any individual or city-state that obstructs or tries to sabotage the peace process will be severely punished!" Dyves said solemnly, "I assure you that Dionia will do its utmost to resolve the conflict in the Argos Plains.

The Devers paused and continued, "Now is not the time to discuss political affairs. Let's continue to watch the opening ceremony of the sports meeting. Look, the third delegation has entered the stadium!"

Plato and Xenophon looked at each other calmly and did not speak again. They both turned their attention to the field.

Although both of them were students of Socrates and citizens of Athens, they had both written articles about Socrates, reminiscing and promoting some of Socrates' ideas. During their studies in Athens, they had a good relationship. However, with their different experiences, their ideas and pursuits were very different. Coupled with the fact that they had not seen each other for decades, there was now a considerable distance between them.

At this moment, the Devers felt a little regretful. It seemed that they should not have invited both of them at the same time.

… …

The third delegation that entered the stadium held up a wooden sign that clearly read, "The Holy Kingdom of Dionia – Afrika Region". Some of the spectators who came from northern Italy and rarely went out might be confused. When did the kingdom have another region?

In fact, this region was only established last year.

There were many Phoenician city-states along the coast of the Afrika continent. They were originally transfer stations established by the East Phoenicians when they exploited the commercial resources of the western Mediterranean. Their original intention was not to colonize. It was not until the rise of Carthage that these transfer stations gradually developed into towns. However, due to their original economic base, they were extremely dependent on Carthage's support. However, when Diónia defeated Carthage and took away several important commercial resources of Carthage, most of the Phoenician city-states had to turn to the Holy Kingdom of Diónia, which was more powerful and had a wider market.

As time went on, the trade links between Phoenicia and Diónia became closer. With the prosperity of the former Phoenician city-state, Hadrumentum, as an example, some Phoenician city-states began to ask to join the Holy Kingdom of Diónia. After the Greek War ended, Dionia's strength grew by the day. Those with a discerning eye even believed that it would not be too much of a problem for Dionia to dominate the entire Mediterranean Sea. Under such circumstances, other than Phoenicia, Utica, and a few other major city-states that were still barely holding on, the other Phoenician city-states on the Afrikaans began to request to join Dionia. Therefore, under the instructions of the Devers, the Holy Kingdom of Diónia had one more region – Afrika Region, with Hadrumentum as its center for the time being.

More than half of the athletes of the Afrikan delegation who appeared in the arena were Phoenicians. They had long heard of the Greek Games, but it was their first time participating. Therefore, they were very excited about the novelty and were particularly active when marching on the track.

Carthage's Sophie Okriton attended the opening ceremony. Sitting in the VIP seat and watching the scene in the arena, he had mixed feelings. Since Carthage became a subsidiary of Diónia, its trade had not declined but had become more prosperous. After all, Diónia had provided it with a wider market. However, Carthage's agriculture was shrinking rapidly. One of the important reasons for this was that Carthage had lost the inland land of Numibia that it originally occupied, and Diónia could provide it with sufficient food at a more reasonable price. This caused most of the people of Carthage to be involved in trade activities. It was no longer possible for Carthage to survive independently from Diónia. Influenced by the nearby towns, in recent years, there were also people in the city of Carthage who called for "full integration into the Holy Kingdom of Diónia like the other Phoenician city-states." The Senate headed by him and the Court of Hundred had long reached a tacit understanding and did not respond to this. However, this kind of pressure was always there. He did not know how long Carthage's independence could hold on...

The fourth to enter the arena was the delegation of athletes from the Wave River Region of the Holy Kingdom of Diónia.

After Diónia conquered Mountain Gaul, the entire area occupied by Mountain Gaul was designated as the Wave River Region. It could be said that this was the most fertile and vast plain in the Holy Kingdom of Diónia, but it was also one of the most difficult areas to stabilize. It took Diónia nearly 10 years to gradually make the Gauls accept Diónia's rule. Among them, the governor of the Wave River Region, Capus, deserved the most credit.

Since the army of Diónia conquered Mountain Gaul, Capus was transferred to the Wave River Region by the King of Devers. He had been in office for nearly 10 years, working hard for the stability of the Wave River Region and the integration of the Mountain Gaul into the kingdom. Now, he sat in the VIP seat, staring at the delegation of the Wave River Region in the arena, his eyes full of gratification.

As Diónia had only begun to migrate to the Wave River Region in recent years, the proportion of Greeks in the region was still very small. Therefore, most of the delegation were Gauls. They were tall and had messy hair, some had oil paint on their faces, and some were even bare-chested... Facing the audience, they would roar angrily from time to time, showing off their muscles.

In the eyes of some of the Greek VIPs, this was a barbaric and untamed performance, but in the eyes of the Diónia spectators who were used to intense rugby matches, it was a performance of character, and so the cheers became even louder.

The athletes from the Wave River Region mainly participated in horse racing and car racing, and the next delegation was likely to be their competitors, because the athletes came from the famous pastoral region of the Kingdom of Diónia — Bruti.

After the Bruti delegation, it was the delegation from the Campanian Alliance that entered the arena. Today, the Campanian Alliance only had Naples and a few neighboring towns left. The other city-states in the alliance had gradually joined the Kingdom of Diónia, and Naples' situation was somewhat similar to that of Carthage.

The next delegation to enter the arena was the Holy Kingdom of Diónia — the eastern plains of Campania. This delegation was made up of a mixture of Greeks, Etruscans, and Samnites, and their strongest event was the javelin throw. Of course, they had to compete with the Samnite delegation.

The next delegation to enter the arena was the Corinth delegation. But when they appeared on the field, most of the spectators were stunned, because there were only two athletes behind the young man who was holding up the placard. Compared to the previous delegations that had at least a dozen people, and at most a hundred people, the disparity was too great. Although Corinth was just a city-state compared to the previous regions and alliances, it was the host of the Corinth Games. The citizens in the country advocated sports and were very strong in traditional competitions. Therefore, the invitation letter that Diónia sent to Corinth had given them quite a number of participants.

"It seems that the people of Corinth still have a problem with Diónia holding the Games. I think if it weren't for the fact that Diónia is powerful and the leader of the Greek Alliance, the people of Corinth probably wouldn't even send a single athlete," Xenophon commented gloatingly.

The Devers smiled and said confidently, "If the people of Corinth don't participate, it won't affect the Games, but it will be the biggest loss for Corinth and Corinth athletes! Because the Diónia Games will become the grandest celebration in the Mediterranean Sea, and it will become a grand theater for the city-states, regions, and athletes to show themselves to the countries of the Mediterranean Sea! Am I right? "

Xenophon and Plato looked around at the thousands of spectators from different places and races, as well as the athletes who came from different places and races, and fell into deep thought at the same time.

The polite Diónia spectators still cheered for the two athletes of Corinth, but the cheers were mixed with a lot of laughter.

General Corinth, sitting in the VIP seats, was so ashamed that he wanted to find a hole to hide in. Not only did Corinth send only two athletes perfunctorily, but he also deliberately came late. As a result, when they learned that the other city-states had sent many athletes, it was too late to inform Corinth to make changes.

At this time, General Corinth still clearly remembered that when Member of Parliament Corinth, who was originally stationed in the Greek Alliance Parliament in Turín, heard the news, he scolded the Corinth Parliament in front of General Corinth for being a bunch of short-sighted idiots, saying that Corinth's efforts over the years would be in vain.

What efforts had Corinth made?

After the Greek War, Corinth saw that Diónia supported Thebes in unifying Pioscia, Mandinia in establishing the Arcadia Union, Ailis in unifying the northwest of Peloponnesus, and Agos in unifying the northeast of Peloponnesus. Therefore, it also asked Diónia to "unify the Isthmus of Corinth."

The Devers reluctantly agreed, but requested that Thebes must discuss it with Megara.

There were only two city-states in the entire isthmus: Corinth in the south, and Megara in the middle and north. Although Megara was slightly weaker than Corinth, it was still a city-state with a long history and a good reputation in Greece. Of course, it was unwilling to be unified by Corinth.

Since these two city-states had surrendered to Diónia in time during the Corinth War, Diónia did not favor either side, and the matter was put aside.

However, Corinth still did not give up. Corinth, who were good at business, was indeed more quick-witted than Agos. When Megara firmly opposed to being unified by Corinth, Corinth quickly changed its plan and proposed to "form an Isthmus Alliance with Megara on an equal footing."