Chapter 246
Fortunately, not long after Crotone burned the city and the Devers led the army to recover Turín, Diona returned home. However, she was always depressed. She was now 23 years old. As a father, Cunogorata wanted his children to be happy, so he wanted to find a good husband for her. It had become a worry for him.
"Sostatus, what do you think of Hilos?" Cunogorata suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Sostatus wondered why his father suddenly mentioned him.
"If he becomes your brother-in-law …"
"You want to choose Hilos to be Diona's husband?" Sostatus' eyes widened in shock. When he saw his father nodding seriously, he quickly came up with a joke. He thought carefully and said, "Although I'm a soldier under his command, he's a captain. I don't have much contact with him. I only know that although he's trained strictly, he's fair and loves us … I heard that he's still single and doesn't have any bad habits. If my sister marries him, she should be well taken care of! But father, why did you choose him? It seems that none of the Turín senators are willing to marry their daughter to a senator who used to be a mercenary! "
"These people are still immersed in the glory of their families. They are still hesitant to accept the change in Turín!" Cunogorata sneered and said solemnly, "Why should I ask you to show respect to His Excellency the Consul? Because he's indeed favored by the gods. He's so young, but he's so capable and resourceful. The people love him, the army supports him, and the Senate is completely under his control! If I don't want the tragedy of my family to repeat itself, becoming a relative of the former mercenary senators who followed him to Persia is undoubtedly the best way! I heard that Hilos used to be the captain of His Excellency the Consul in Persia and took good care of him. Although Hilos has always kept a low profile in the Senate, I can see that His Excellency the Consul trusts him a lot. Besides, although he used to be a mercenary, I heard from Cornelus that he's humble and steady. He's also good at learning from others. I believe he'll have a stable career in Diónia's politics in the future! … "
"Father, don't think too much. Dai … Among the former mercenary senators that the consul brought here, Xilos is one of the few who isn't married. He's only in his thirties, and he's a senator. I believe that there are many people who want to marry him in Amendora or Tuliyi, but he's still single … You can imagine that he might not agree to your request! "Sostatus reminded Kunogorata, who was getting excited.
"Of course I won't go to him directly. I'll let His Excellency the Consul do it. I believe that the Devers will be happy to do it!" Cunogorata stroked his beard and smiled proudly, "I've tried asking His Excellency the Consul. He's also very concerned about Hilos's marriage. With him as a matchmaker and Diona's beauty, how could Hilos not agree? "
"Looks like I'll have to please my sister more from now on, lest she gets upset and asks brother-in-law to place me at the front of the phalanx …" Sostatus also joked. This reminded Cunogorata. He quickly said, "Sostatus, don't go out for the next few days. The First Legion you belong to will be heading south to join the war soon."
"Has the Southern Alliance agreement been signed? Didn't Crotone always oppose it? " Sostatus asked in surprise. With a father who was a senator, he naturally knew more about the politics of the Alliance than ordinary citizens.
"Triene, Sirion, and Corunna have all expressed their support. What can Crotone do by opposing it alone? Besides, the current situation is very disadvantageous for them! Even Lysias has come to Turií. You can see how anxious Crotone is! " At this point, Cunogorata was a little excited, "Once the Alliance is signed and the Alliance is established, Diónia will truly become the leader of Greece!"
"I heard that in this new alliance, all the alliances are treated equally, regardless of who's superior or inferior! There's no such thing as a leader! "
"That seems to be the case on the surface, but the strength of the states still determines the weight of their words in this new Alliance, especially when it doesn't involve the interests of other states," Cunogorata praised sincerely, "His Excellency the Consul is really amazing! By proposing such an alliance, he continuously gained the support of other states, isolated Crotone, and forced them to join. Once the new Alliance is established, the old Crotone Alliance will be disintegrated, and Diónia will smoothly squeeze into Crotone's original territory, becoming the de facto leader! "
"Isn't this the result of His Excellency making full use of his victory over Crotone?!" Sostatus's words were a reminder to Cunogorata that he opposed the war beforehand.
Cunogorata was silent for a moment. He did not directly answer his son's question, but sighed and said, "I never thought that I would be able to see Turií become the center of Greece while I'm still alive! Son, just like you said before, Turií will usher in a great development! "
… …
On the last day of February 498 BC, Diónia, Crotone, Siletina, Corunna, and Triene finally reached an agreement and signed an alliance, establishing the Southern Alliance.
Due to Crotone's insistence, the alliance specifically stipulated that when discussing decisions, Diónia and Crotone each had two votes, while the other three states each had one vote.
The headquarters of the Alliance was located in Siletina. In the beginning, Crotone requested for the headquarters to be located in its territory, but the other states objected. Later, Devers suggested that it be located in Siletina. The other states agreed, because other than Diónia, Siletina was located in the center of the other states, and it was not too strong, so they were more at ease.
Normally, the headquarters of the Southern Alliance would be guarded by the states, handling and negotiating matters between the states.
The Crotone Alliance was officially disbanded, and the newly signed military alliance between Diónia and Crotone was nullified. Crotone originally had to pay Diónia 500 Taliente as war reparations, but only 80 Taliente was paid, and the rest was nullified. This was also one of the reasons why Crotone finally agreed to join the Southern Alliance, but it made Mercies extremely regretful.
Up until now, the remaining alliances that Diónia had were: The Diónia Alliance, which was an alliance with Diónia as the leader. As Diónia controlled the alliance's foreign relations (meaning it did not allow other states to sign any treaties or agreements with other states), as well as military dominance, the other states had actually become Diónia's vassals. The second was the alliance agreement with Tarantum. Due to Diónia's rapid expansion, the agreement had been amended twice, changing from having Tarantum as the leader to having both parties treat each other as equals and helping each other. Up until now, they only had more trade contacts, but had yet to form a military alliance. Lastly, there was the newly established Southern Alliance. In addition, there was a non-aggression peace agreement with Picossis in the north. Other than the Lockley Alliance, Lijim and a couple of smaller states further south, Diónia and the other states of Greater Greece had formed an alliance to create a peaceful and stable environment for themselves.
Of course, at this moment, what Diónia needed to do was to fulfill the alliance agreement and defeat Lockley.
The battle this time was different from the past. It would take three to four days just to reach the battlefield. Relying on the soldiers to carry rations and finish the battle in a few days was no longer feasible. In the previous battle with Crotone, the harassment from Crotone's fleet had already caused Diónia to suffer a lot. This time, the battle with Lockley was even further away, and the food transportation route was even longer. Furthermore, the people of Lockley also controlled the coastline. This would be a huge test for Diónia's logistics.
Regarding this, the strategy that the Devers adopted was: First, Mercies would be in charge of quickly building a huge supply team that could carry enough rations for at least ten thousand people for a month. The transport team would set off together with the reinforcements. This would ensure the safety of the supply team, and reduce the labor, guards, and unnecessary consumption of rations. Second, to end the battle as soon as possible, the Devers sent out their most elite First Legion for this purpose.
Preparing rations, buying pack beasts … These preparations for war naturally cost a lot of gold and silver. This time, Mercies was not stingy and bought a lot, as the cost was shared equally by all the allies.
When the rooster crowed for the first time in Amendolara, Giogris had already turned over and sat up. His wife, Dania, had also opened her eyes.
"Sleep a little longer," Giogris said gently. "I'm leaving."
"I can't sleep! I'm going to send you to Turií! " Although Dania was older than Giogris, she liked to act coquettishly. This made her feel younger than Giogris, and Giogris also enjoyed this feeling.
But today, Giogris shook his head. "You're pregnant, and you're walking so far. Going back and forth isn't good for the child."
"Who said that! Helpes said that pregnant women need to exercise more. Only then will childbirth be smooth, and the child will be healthy! "Dania retorted.
Giogris did not say anything. He trusted Helpes quite a bit. He was the disciple of the Blessed 'Devers'. Unable to withstand Dania's repeated requests, he could only bring his wife and a male slave to carry his weapons and equipment out of the city.
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