Chapter 269
Aristotle knew that the Devers were referring to the Turií tragedy. Two years ago, the Turií fought back against the Lucarians and entered the mountains. In the end, all of them perished at the banks of the Ra River.
He thought about it and felt a little reluctant. "But … it's such a pity to miss such a good opportunity!"
"Aristotle." The Devers smiled. "Let me ask you. Is Diónia stronger, or is Picossis and Potentia stronger?"
"Of course it's Diónia! Even if Picossis and Potentia join forces, they won't be a match for us! "Aristotle answered without hesitation.
"If that's the case, what we need to do is to chew it slowly like eating bread," Dyvers explained patiently. "Once we take a bite, we need to chew it slowly until we're full. Instead of eating bite after bite and not swallowing it, we might choke in the end." "That's right.
"I understand, my Lord!" Aristotle said sincerely. He was smart enough to understand what the Devers meant. They should first spend time and effort to establish a foothold in the center of Lucania Municipality. Then, with the strength of Diónia, they could crush Picossis and Potentia.
"That's why we still need to negotiate with the emissaries of Picossis and Potentia. We need to sign a peace treaty with them to appease them and prevent them from causing trouble around the Grumentum. However, the duration of the treaty cannot be too long." The Devers's gentle tone revealed a hint of murderous intent.
"As for Galaguso … it's said that it's located deep in the mountains and rarely communicates with the outside world. Its living environment is rather harsh. We can consider forming an alliance with it and strengthen our trade …" The Devers stopped talking when he heard a voice outside the living room. He smiled and said, "An interesting guest has arrived."
"An interesting guest?" It was rare for Aristotle to hear the Devers give such an evaluation. He looked outside the door curiously. When the slave butler, Ribazot, led a person in, he suddenly realized that it was him!
Cypross, a Triene. When the emissaries from the southern states came to ask for help from Diónia, his lanky body was rather eye-catching. His actions were also noteworthy. Not only was he the emissary of the Crotone Alliance that was proposed by Dionysia to form the Southern Alliance, he was the first to fully support it. Furthermore, Capus, the commander of the 1st Legion who was sent to reinforce Dionysia, mentioned in his report that Cypross, the emissary of Trena, strongly requested to march with Dionysia's army and eat and sleep with the soldiers. It was said that during the Triene Citizens' Assembly, he also praised the Dionysian Army's combat effectiveness and suggested that Triene and Diónia should strengthen their cooperation …
Aristotle Cradle remembered that Dyvers had commented on Cypross after hearing about his performance: "Cypross is a smart, observant, and adaptable man!"
Therefore, he was one of the guests specially invited by the Devers for the inauguration of the Temple of Hades.
At this moment, the Devers stared at Cypross, thinking about the conversation between Cypross and the emissary from Cristoa's Restaurant last night.
The Devers knew that after Diónia defeated the Crotone Alliance and gradually became the most powerful force in Southern Italy, it would naturally attract a lot of attention. And the unique political system of Diónia naturally could not escape the eyes of those who were observant, but there were not many who could analyze it as incisively as Cypross …
"Cypross, Diónia's best friend, welcome!" Said the Devers happily in a loud voice. "I've been busy with the celebration for the past few days. I was thinking of inviting you after the celebration to express my gratitude, but I didn't expect …"
Cypross bowed respectfully and said, "Lord Consul, I insisted on visiting you because I had no other choice. The city has urgently asked me to convey a proposal to you."
"Oh … what proposal?" The Devers gestured for Cypross to sit down.
Cypross glanced at Aristotle, wanting to say something but hesitated.
"Let me introduce you to Aristotle Clade, a very talented young man. He's my personal clerk (actually, he's just a clerk, because he hasn't obtained the qualifications to become a probationary citizen). You can rest assured." Aristotle Clade was quite moved by Dyvers' words.
Cypross nodded at him and sat on the wooden chair. He then asked, "Do you know about the Bruti, Lord Consul?"
As soon as the Devers said that, they roughly understood the purpose of Cypross' visit. "I know a little about our neighbor to the west of the Diónia Alliance. The Bruti are the indigenous people of Italy. They also live in the form of tribes, but compared to the Lucaria, they are smaller in number and less of a threat to Diónia. I heard that they often attack the Triene. "The Devers looked at Cypross with a faint smile and said.
"Not only the Triene, they also attack Aspuztum and southern Turií from time to time," Cypross reminded.
"But after all, it's rare, and since the establishment of the Diónia Alliance, the Bruti have completely stopped harassing us," the Devers said with a relaxed expression.
"In fact, since last year, the Bruti suddenly stopped attacking all the Greek city-states. This is not just because the Crotone, the Siletans and our Triene Alliance had dealt a heavy blow to the Bruti —" Cypross paused for a moment. He felt the Devers' eyes focusing on him. He deliberately raised his voice and said, "It's because there's been a major change within the Bruti."
"What change?" The Devers' heart skipped a beat, but he still said calmly.
"The Triene Alliance borders the Bruti's town of Kenapetiya. They have been fighting with the Bruti for years, so they are relatively familiar with them and have some sources of information." Cypross' expression became solemn. "Last year, we received news that the leaders of the Bruti tribes have gathered in the city of Cosenza and have been discussing the formation of a tribal alliance."
"Is this true?!" The Devers was shocked and could not help but lean forward. It was no wonder that he was a little impatient. The reason why he pretended to be indifferent before was because when he knew that Cypross' visit this time was related to the Bruti, he did not want to appear too enthusiastic and lose too much leverage in the discussion of the future attack on the Bruti. After all, the Bruti could not pose a huge threat to Diónia like the Lucanians.
As far as he knew, in the small mountainous area occupied by the Bruti, their tribe had always been divided: the northern tribe centered around the city of Vigo, because it bordered Laos, so they used to have a close relationship with the Lucanians, and they were present when the Lucanian tribal coalition invaded Turií; the central tribe centered around the big city of Cosenza, which was the most powerful; in the east, along the upper reaches of the Crati River, lived some other Bruti tribes. They built the small city of Abyssinia, and they used to cross the mountains to plunder the southern part of the Xbari Plain; in the southeast of Cosenza, there was another small city called Anbania, which was said to have been built by the tribes who escaped from the first city of Aspustyum when it fell to the Crotone; and in the south of Cosenza, there was the city of Knapetia, which bordered Triene and was also the culprit of the invasion of Triene.
The Bruti Mountains had high mountains, dense forests, rugged roads, and the only plateau in southern Italy. The city of Vigo and the city of Knapetia guarded the narrow road to the north and south of the west coast by the sea. Abyssinia and Anbania blocked the only mountain road to the east coast, making this area a barricade. Since they claimed to be the habitat of the Bruti, it had always been the Bruti who rushed out of the mountains and harassed others. They had almost never been invaded, but there were more internal tribal wars. Most of the wars were provoked by Cosenza. The most powerful one wanted to annex other tribes. Except for Clapatia, which had a close relationship with Cosenza and remained neutral, Vigo, Abyssinia, and Anbania often joined forces to fight against Cosenza. It was because the frequent inter-tribal wars had consumed the strength of the Bruti, so they were not too much of a threat to the Greek city-states. Now, the Bruti, who had always been in dispute, wanted to establish a tribal alliance, which greatly increased the threat to the Greeks, especially Diónia, whose territory bordered the Bruti Mountains.
"Of course it's true." Cypross said affirmatively, "Because in May of this year, the Bruti tribal alliance has been established! It is reported that the Bruti tribes elected Pienlen, the great chief of Cosenza, as the great chief of the new alliance. The great chief of Vigo, Cydorum, the great chief of Abyssinia, Burgam, the great chief of Anbania, and Pangam, the great chief of Klapatia, will be the elders of the alliance. With Cosenza as the center of the tribal alliance, all the Bruti tribes will be governed … "
After listening to Cypross's words, Dvers could no longer sit still. He involuntarily stood up, and while pacing slowly, he asked in a deep voice, "Where did you get this information from?"
Seeing the Devers's reaction, Cypross knew that this matter had attracted the attention of the highest authority in Diónia, and he immediately felt relieved.
But he did not know that the reason why the Devers cared so much about this matter was not only because the formation of a tribal alliance by the Bruti may pose a danger to the territory of the Diónia Alliance, but more importantly, the Devers had long considered the problem of the Bruti.
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