Chapter 295
"I said —" As soon as Diomiras spoke, he was interrupted by Umacas. "Let's hear the conditions of the Mesapi's peace talks."
Timogorath cleared his throat and said, "Tarantum, Mesapi, and Puchetti immediately cease fighting and return to their respective territories. Each party will return the prisoners from the war. Both parties will sign a peace agreement for two years. During these two years, they will not invade each other. After that, they will decide whether to renew the agreement based on the situation …"
"What do you mean return to their respective territories?" Umacas was keenly aware of the problem with this sentence.
"Of course, it is to return to the state before the war began. The occupied territories must be returned!" Timogorath said confidently.
Diomiras cursed loudly and roared, "You want us to give up Manduria? Dream on! If you want it, pay with the lives of the Mesapi! "
The negotiations soon broke down, but Timogorath was not in a hurry. He said, "I hope you will consider it seriously. The Mesapi camp welcomes you at any time!" After that, he turned a blind eye to Diomiras' curses and left. He could see that in addition to Tarantum's stubborn attitude, the Consul Devers of Diónia, as well as the generals of Metapontum and Heraclea were somewhat tempted by the proposal of peace talks. The Greek coalition was not monolithic, and there was something to be done about it.
What Timogorath could see, of course, Umacas could see. Therefore, he explained to the Devers, "We can't agree to such a request for peace talks. Even if we agree, it won't work because the people of Tarantum will not agree to give up Manduria, which was exchanged with the blood of their citizens!"
The Devers smiled. "I understand, but negotiations are like buying and selling goods. We can bargain. The Mesapi don't have to recapture Manduria. "
Umacas was a little anxious when he heard that. "The Mesapi are not sincere. The peace agreement they proposed is only for two years. In two years, Tarantum will not be able to restore its previous strength. It will not be able to cope with their possible invasion again! "
The Devers pondered for a moment. Just as they were about to speak, the tent was opened. Tormid walked in. "Consul, the Senate sent an urgent letter saying that the Bruti have made a move!"
Devers suddenly stood up and asked anxiously, "Where is the letter?!"
"The messenger is waiting for you in your tent, my lord!"
Dyvers had an anxious look on his face. Without saying a word, he walked out.
The other four looked at each other in dismay.
"The Bruti?" Umarcas thought the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't recall it.
Diomiras had no impression of this at all.
"The Bruti are indigenous people who live in the mountains west of Diónia. They're close to Dioria. They used to come down from the mountains to rob the people and properties of cities like Turií and Castellón …" Trifias explained in detail.
"This … The Bruti shouldn't be strong, right?" Umacas asked with some hope.
Trifias thought about it seriously. He looked solemn, but he was deliberately exaggerating the facts. "The Bruti have little contact with the outside world because no other race has ever been able to invade their land. (Vigo City took the initiative to surrender to the Lucanian Coalition. Strictly speaking, the Lucanians did not enter the land of the Bruti.) It is said that they have dozens of tribes and five or six large cities. In terms of strength, I'm afraid they are stronger than the Puchetti. "
After hearing this, Umacas and Diomiras felt uneasy in their hearts.
… …
After leaving the military tent, the anxiety on the Devers' face disappeared without a trace. He even had the leisure to tease Tormid. "Good performance just now."
Tormid also laughed. In the beginning, he was known as the "Mercenary Army's First Herald". One of the main reasons was that he was good at understanding the intentions and difficulties of the leaders. He did his best to help them achieve or resolve them. It was because he felt the inner conflict of the Devers that he took the opportunity of the West Lu tribe to enter the tent and yell. He was not sure if the Devers would accept his self-determined approach because it was his first time acting as the personal herald of the Devers. Even though both parties had dealings in Persia, the status of the Devers and him was now very different. The Devers' words dispelled the uneasiness in his heart.
"What's the specific situation?" The Devers asked calmly. Based on his understanding of the Bruti during this period of time, even if the race was moving towards unification, he did not think that the Bruti could pose any great threat to the Diónia Alliance.
"I heard that a tribe of Greeks in the territory of the Bruti has sent people to the Senate for help because they refused to obey Cosenza's order to incorporate them. Cosenza wants to send a large army to destroy them. You can ask Marigi for the details. He is waiting for you in your military tent. "Tormid said seriously.
"Oh, Marigi is here too." The Devers' heart skipped a beat, but his footsteps did not change. A Greek tribe? … He must be talking about the West Lu tribe … Just when he was about to doze off, someone sent him a pillow. It's killing two birds with one stone! …
He pondered along the way and soon arrived at his military tent.
After reading the urgent letter sent by the Senate's rotating president, Cornelus, and carefully listening to Marigi's narration, a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Could it be that the busy Alliance's highest commercial official came to deliver a letter for me because of Polyxis?"
"Polyxis, who only knows how to yell in the Senate and has no power, is he worth my attention!" Marigi raised his eyebrows. "I came to Tarantum mainly to take this opportunity to come over and understand the situation of the port of Tarantum. However, Sir Devers, Polyxis has indeed been too active recently, which may cause some senators to have other ideas … "He took a few steps closer and lowered his voice, as if he wanted to remind the Devers of something.
The Devers looked calm, but his heart was racing a few times. He did not care much about Polyxis' dissatisfaction with him, because few other senators in the Senate would support him, and he needed such an "opposition" to show that the Senate was not his alone. But if Polyxis thought that his indulgence towards him was due to his weakness and arrogance, which may lead to some possible chain reactions, then he needed to warn him …
Marigi saw that the Devers were a little absent-minded, and knew that his words had an effect. He changed to another matter. "Sir, I heard from the reserve soldiers stationed in the Tarantum barracks that 'for the past two days, there have been many Tarantum citizens surrounding the barracks gate, not only loudly insulting the Diónia soldiers, but also demanding punishment for criminals'."
"What criminals? What happened? "Dyvers furrowed his brows and asked hurriedly. He was quite sensitive to violations of military discipline.
"It's said that … some soldiers in our legion beat up a Tarantum theater owner in the market outside the barracks."
"There's such a thing!" The Devers became angry when he heard it, and shouted, "Tormid!"
Tormid answered and entered.
"Go inform Capus and Dracos, and ask them to send military judges to investigate who in their respective legions participated in the fight in the market before the expedition!" After that, his anger seemed to have subsided a little. He thought for a moment, and added, "What else caused it?"
After Tormid left, the Devers temporarily put the matter behind him, and turned to ask Marigi, "What's the price of grain in the Turií market now?"
"It's quite high! Because of the war in Sicily and here, especially the war between Syracuse and Carthage, which lasted for a long time, there were too many people involved in the war, and the demand for grain was very high, which affected the price of grain in the Turií market … "Marigi was very familiar when it came to trade." But this year, the wheat in Diónia is growing very well. In another ten days or so, after the people finish harvesting the wheat, the price of wheat in Turií should fall significantly … "
The Devers stroked the few strands of beard under his chin, and paced back and forth. Finally, he said, "Then when you go back, tell Merces to use the national treasury to secretly purchase grain. We need to have at least two months' worth of food reserves for four legions."
Marigi's eyes lit up. He did not think that the Devers's use of the national treasury without the consent of the Senate was against the law of Diónia. This Persia man who still followed the king's system thought it was reasonable. What he was interested in was, "Sir, have you decided to support the Xilu tribe and take action against the Bruti?"
The Devers glanced at the excited Marigi, and there was a hint of warning in his calm tone, "I'm just preparing for the worst, but I hope you can keep this a secret and don't do anything extra!"
This extra thing, of course, referred to Marigi's use of the news of the war in advance for personal gain.
Marigi was very shrewd, and immediately made a solemn promise, and then asked, "Sir, if we go to war with the Bruti, what about Tarantum?"
The Devers smiled faintly, "Tarantum can no longer fight, especially with your arrival. I'm afraid the two Tarantum Archons are discussing how to negotiate peace with the Messapi. "
Marigi's eyes lit up again. He remembered the people of Tarantum who wore black veils and looked grief-stricken when he rushed over from Tarantum. The fall of Tarantum was definitely a good thing for him as the commercial officer of Dionia. He saw the hope of the port of Turií surpassing the most prosperous port of Tarantum in the Taranto Bay!
… …
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