Chapter 182
Avinogis touched his son's head lovingly. There was some reluctance in his eyes. After a while, he expressed his gratitude to the Devers.
After that, the relationship between the two parties became much closer, and the banquet became livelier.
After toasting a few glasses of wine, Avinogis said loudly, "Sir Devers, we, Laos, are prepared to implement a lifelong governor system like the Alliance. Is that okay?! "
The elders were slightly surprised, but the Devers looked calm. He smiled and said, "Our covenant clearly states that the Alliance will not interfere with the internal affairs of any Alliance city-states. We only ask the Alliance to advance and retreat together in military affairs, to maintain unity in diplomacy, and to strengthen economic exchanges …"
Avinogis was overjoyed, but he heard the Devers say, "But …" He began to feel nervous again.
"I have a small suggestion for Laos. I hope you can always ensure the stability of the city. Otherwise, if there is a riot and you can't solve it, we will have to send troops to help you restore order in Laos City. Sending troops to war is a hard and costly thing, don't you think?!" The Devers said half-jokingly, and the elders echoed.
Avinogis was relieved. In fact, he did not want to be a lifelong governor at all. The people of Laos were not used to the Greek system of government. He just wanted to be the Great Leader of Laos City. However, to prevent the Diónia Alliance from thinking that Laos was a native town, he chose to be a lifelong governor because he felt that the position was very similar to that of a Great Leader. At this moment, he said happily, "I am very honored to be an ally of the Diónia Alliance! I promise Sir Devers and the elders that I, Avinogis, will do my best to ensure the stability of Laos City, and will always be the best ally of the Diónia Alliance! "
"Good!!!" Everyone praised in unison.
"I want to dance for the respected Sir Devers and the elders to express my most sincere gratitude!" Avinogis was also interested in the applause. He drank the wine in his glass and strode to the center of the hall. With the help of the wine, he began to shake his shoulders and spin in circles, singing loudly.
The high mountain,
That was the residence of Asenu.
At the foot of the mountain, we graze cattle and sheep.
A beautiful girl flashed in the forest.
The happy figure was like a jumping deer.
Drawing my gaze,
… "
Vesba and Bagoule began to sing along loudly. Although the Devers and the other elders did not understand what they were singing, they still hummed along to the beat.
The decades of humiliation and cautiousness of Avinogis were swept away in the heroic singing and vigorous dancing. There was only joy left in his heart, an indescribable comfort in his heart.
When he sat down, the applause lasted for a long time.
Scombras stood up with a flushed face. He hiccupped and said, "Erm … The guests from Laos have performed a dance … Erm … The Alliance should respond as well. I'll sing an ode to Zeus for everyone …"
"Alright! Good!! … "
… …
A few days ago, Sinsinag was in ecstasy. He had defeated Luosau, the son of Akepiru, and occupied the city of Grumentum. With two big cities, he could become the new overlord of Lucania.
But a series of events that followed made him realize that it was not easy to replace Akepiru.
Because he was reluctant to distribute most of the seized property of the Akepiru tribe to the tribe that betrayed Luosau, and even more reluctant to divide most of the land owned by the Akepiru tribe to the tribe of Grumentum. On the one hand, he was stingy, and on the other hand, the tribe of Picossis that followed him also needed to be rewarded. Of course, he could distinguish who was close and who was distant.
His breaking of the contract naturally aroused the anger of the Grumentum tribe. They united to occupy the north city, refused Sinsinag's men to enter the area under their control, and threatened to drive Sinsinag out of Grumentum.
Sinsinag was furious. He was already confident that he was the master of both Picossis and Grumentum. How could he allow anyone to damage his dignity? Under his orders, the warriors of Picossis had already fought several small battles with the tribes of Grumentum in the city. At the same time, he once again used tricks to try to break up the tribes that united against him by bribing them, but he failed because none of the Grumentum leaders were willing to believe his promises.
Sinsinag was racking his brains to think of a way to deal with these Grumentum tribes that betrayed him when worse news came: Neutum had been seized!
He immediately urgently asked the Lucanian herdsmen who had fled to Grumentum. When he heard that they all said, "They saw countless Greek soldiers enter the city of Neutum," Sinsinag was so shocked that he could not recover for a long time. He could hardly believe the fact that Neutum had been captured by the Greeks!
How was this possible?! Since the Lucarians came south from the central part of the Apennine Peninsula more than a hundred years ago, they had always occupied the land of other tribes. There had never been a record of a large city being captured by other tribes! With a skeptical attitude, Sinsinag sent spies to investigate.
Although the northern part of Neutum was heavily guarded, the Lucarians were, after all, a herding and hunting race. The spies sneaked into the mountains under Neutum's control and obtained accurate information from the Neutum people who grazed in the mountains: Neutum had been ruled by the Diónia City-State Alliance, and this alliance was ruled by the Greek Devers who defeated the Lucanian tribal coalition.
When Sinsinag heard this news, it was as if he had been struck by lightning. He was panic-stricken and at a loss. His first thought was to escape back to Picossis immediately and stay away from the Greek who defeated the mighty Acepirus!
Then, he wanted to reach a compromise with the tribes of Grumentum to deal with the possible Greek attack together. However, the tribes of Grumentum, who were in a weak position, thought that this was a great opportunity to force Sinsinag to give in. They proposed conditions such as letting the forces of Picossis withdraw from Grumentum. This was unacceptable to Sinsinag.
With strong enemies on the outside and troubles on the inside, Sinsinag was unwilling to withdraw from Grumentum, which he had spent countless efforts and sacrificed countless tribesmen to obtain. After a few days of suffering, he finally decided to take the risk of losing Picossis and once again transfer more warriors from Picossis to Grumentum to join him. They would first work together to defeat these hostile tribes and completely control the central city of the Lucanians.
Just as he was about to send the messenger to Picossis and hand over the transfer order to Gneinath, who was guarding Picossis, the guard came in to report that a Lucanian who claimed to be the messenger of Neutum asked to see the great leader.
Sinsinag was taken aback. He hesitated for a moment and decided to meet him.
When Hemont was brought into the meeting hall of Grumentum, he kept looking around: two rows of fierce warriors stood straight at the entrance of the hall, Sinsinag sat high up in the middle of the hall, and on both sides of the three steps sat the leaders of the tribes of Picossis.
Hemont looked at the solemn hall. There had long been rumors that Akepiru wanted to be the king of the Lucanians, at least from this unique meeting hall of tribal leaders, he might really have this intention, but unfortunately …
While Hemont was thinking, Sinsinag spoke from above, "I didn't expect the messenger of Neutum to be you! I heard that your city was occupied by the Greeks, is that true? "
Before it was annexed by Neutum, Hemont's tribe was also very influential in the "Fertile Lands of the Mountains", so he, as a tribal leader, was also a little famous in the Lucaria area. He saluted respectfully and said, "Dear great leader Sinsinag, Neutum now belongs to the City-States Alliance of Diónia, and Laos has also become an ally of the Diónia Alliance under the leadership of Avinogees —"
"What?! Laos has also surrendered to the Greeks?!! "
"I have long said that the Greek bastards are unreliable!"
"What should we do now?! Without Laos holding us back, the Greeks can attack us without worry!! "
…
Hemont's words were like a clap of thunder, causing the sitting leaders to panic. Sinsinag originally liked this high seat as it could reflect the noble status of the great leader. At this moment, he only hated that the seat was too conspicuous, making it impossible for him to hide his fear. He clenched the armrest of the seat tightly and saw Hemont standing there with a smile, looking like he was watching a good show, turning his fear into anger, "Damn Neutum! You have forgotten Asenu's teachings and surrendered to our enemy! How dare you appear here, do you think my dagger is not sharp enough?! "
"You are wrong, great leader. I did not surrender to the Greeks, but became a citizen of the Diónia Alliance! Not only can I continue to sacrifice for Asenu, but as long as I have enough silver, I can also build Asenu's temples in Turií, Amendola and other territories of the Diónia Alliance without interference. The goat-fighting competition will continue to be held in Neutum every autumn, and the Lucaria's custom of marriage kidnapping has not changed … The Lucarians of Neutum and I have voluntarily become citizens of the Diónia Alliance, but we are still Lucarians, but we have more freedom, more land, cattle and sheep, and we only have to pay very little tax! "Hemont proudly and loudly proclaimed the benefits of becoming a citizen of the Diónia Alliance.
The leaders and warriors in the hall were in disbelief, "Can the Greeks be so good to us Lucarians?!"
Comments