Chapter 297
After some discussion, both of them agreed that if the negotiations were to be successful, they should first obtain the support of Diónia.
Thus, they rushed to the Diónia barracks, just in time to hear the tsunami-like cheers in the barracks.
The two of them were puzzled when the Diónia Herald, Tormid, arrived and brought an order from the Devers: the two of them were allowed to enter the barracks.
"Are you training?" Yumacas asked curiously.
Tormid said with respect, "Are you referring to the cheers? That's our commander, the Devers, being punished with a stick! "
"What did you say?!" Yumacas thought he had heard wrong.
Tormid solemnly briefly recounted what had happened. Yumacas and Desytimus were dumbfounded. The Consul of Diónia not only punished the soldiers who committed the crime for beating up a citizen of Tarantum, but also punished himself?!
Not only did the two of them not feel the slightest gratitude, but fear rose in their hearts. They had never heard of a consul of the League being punished for such a trifling matter in all the Greek history that they knew! The two of them had also served as Consul several times and had commanded the army of the city many times. Of course, they knew the importance of discipline in the army in war. The Dionysian Army's requirements for military discipline were so strict. No wonder they could defeat the fierce Puchetti!
"The terrifying Devers!" Desytimus sighed in a low voice.
Yumacas happened to hear it and was stunned. He immediately understood the meaning of Desytimus' words. The Devers could be so cruel to themselves in order to achieve their goals! Moreover, through the contact with the Devers during this time, Yumacas felt that it was not a good thing for Tarantum to have such a lifelong Consul in Diónia. The only fortunate thing was that the citizens of Tarantum had finally reached an agreement on the peace talks. Otherwise, with the current mental state of the Diónia soldiers, who knew what would happen if they were allowed to attack Mesapi again! Damn it, Timias! Can't these free and undisciplined people of Tarantum think for the city before making trouble?!
… …
When the two Senators saw Devers, he was lying in the military tent, receiving treatment from the doctor. After knowing the purpose of their visit, although Devers was surprised, he immediately expressed his support.
After everyone's discussion, the Tarantum Alliance Army broke camp and headed east the next morning.
Halfway to Brindisi, the Mapp and Prussian Alliance blocked their way, and the two sides faced each other.
The confrontation lasted for an hour, but the Tarantum army never blew the horn to attack. The Tarantum people, who cared about their face, used this tactful way to express their will. The shrewd Pachimerus quickly understood the Greeks' intentions. After witnessing the tight formation and high morale of the Diónia soldiers, Tremoni's words became even more important in his heart.
He didn't argue any further and sent out Timogorath again.
The negotiation between the two sides began.
At dusk, a peace agreement between Tarantum, Mesapi, and Puchetti was reached: the two sides immediately ceased fighting, Tarantum would return Manduria to Mesapi, the three sides would each return the captives and the corpses of the soldiers, and Tarantum, Mesapi, and Puchetti would not invade each other for a period of ten years …
In addition, Tarantum also signed a trade agreement with Puchetti.
Tarantum had to return Manduria because he had no other choice. The Senate of Tarantum had discussed in advance and finally agreed that after Mesapi and Puchetti united, Manduria alone could no longer stop the invasion of the Mesapi people, because they could join forces with the Puchetti people to invade from the wider east of Tarantum. The continuous defeats had caused the existing number of citizens of Tarantum to plummet. If citizens were sent to move to Manduria, not only would it weaken the strength of Tarantum, but it would also be easy to be besieged.
Before the negotiation, the two Consuls had made it clear to the Devers that in order to thank Diónia for its selfless help, they were willing to hand over Manduria to Diónia for free.
The Devers were not short-sighted people. His mind was clear: this was Tarantum's intention to drag Diónia into the water, driving Diónia to fight against Mesapi and Puchetti for a long time, so as to shelter Tarantum from the wind and rain.
Of course, the Devers didn't want to be taken advantage of, and with the current strength of Diónia, it didn't have the ability to fight on both sides, so he politely refused.
Only then did Umarcas and Desitimus use Manduria as a bargaining chip and use a trade agreement to move Tremoni. In the end, they forced Pachimerus to give in and sign a ten-year peace agreement.
When the agreement was signed, Tremoni made a small request to see the Devers of Diónia, but he was politely refused by the Devers on the grounds that he hadn't recovered from his injury and it was inconvenient for him to meet people.
… …
While Tarantum was negotiating, the Senators of the Senate of Diónia, after reading the Devers' reply, finally passed a resolution to support the Xilu tribe.
When they were discussing the candidate for the envoy to Cosenza, Marigi immediately stood up and recommended Polyxis, praising him for his eloquence and saying that he would definitely be able to convince the Bruti Tribal Alliance of Cosenza to spare the Xilu tribe.
Then, Merces and Felicius all praised Polyxis, believing that he was the best candidate for the envoy.
The former Senators of the Mercenary Army frightened Polyxis, and he immediately felt that this was the Devers' henchmen deliberately targeting him. If he really went to Cosenza and the Marigi caused trouble, he might not be able to return!
He was not a person who would easily take risks, so he hurriedly stood up and refused. Under the verbal attack of the Marigi, Polyxis did not hesitate to belittle himself and almost begged for mercy.
Only then did the Marigi give up teasing him. In the end, it was Antares, who had just joined the Senate and had no specific matters to attend to, who took the initiative to go.
… …
The Tarantum Allied Army returned to Tarantum with the bodies of the released Tarantum citizens and soldiers, including, of course, Archita's body that had been pieced together.
After being reminded by Governor Umacas, the Senate of Tarantum even forbade the citizens from leaving the city, allowing the Dionysian Army to return to camp without a hitch.
After attending Archita's funeral, the Devers and some of the soldiers who stayed behind first took a boat back to Turií.
… …
After Antares accepted the mission, he set off for Cosenza that afternoon with three followers.
He did not take the road from Turií to the west, through the mountains to Laos, and then to Vigo City. Although it was safe, most of the road was mountainous, and it was too time-consuming. Instead, he chose to take the trail on the south bank of the Krati River, going up the river to Abyssinia, and then turning south to Cosenza.
After crossing the wooden bridge over the Krati River, Antares and his party walked west along the south bank of the Krati River. The terrain gradually increased, and the road gradually narrowed. After passing the last checkpoint in Turií, there was a dirt road in front of them that could allow three people to pass side by side. On the left was a steep mountain wall, on the right was a steep slope that was more than ten meters high, and below the slope was the turbulent Krati River.
Antares looked down and saw the dark green river roaring, constantly crashing against the black and yellow rocks, making soul-shaking noises. Whirlpools the size of millstones appeared and disappeared one after another, and no one knew how deep they were …
Antares felt his legs become a little weak, and the four of them carefully supported each other as they moved forward.
Some sections of the road were soaked by the rain, and the soil was soft and collapsed, so much so that only one person could pass through.
The group walked for four hours, but it felt like they had walked for a day, and their stamina and energy were quickly depleted. Fortunately, the trail gradually began to descend, and the road became wider and wider. Suddenly, the view in front of them opened up: endless green mountains, the Krati River, which had narrowed but flowed more rapidly, and in between the mountains and the mountains was a relatively flat land. And on this relatively flat land stood a small city — Abyssinia.
Antares and his party were stopped by the Bruti sentries at the exit of the road, and after a long time after they expressed their intentions, they were escorted through the defensive camp that blocked the road, into Ciudad Abyssinia, and finally to the simple meeting hall of Abyssinia.
It was called a hall, but in fact, it was just a slightly larger thatched wooden house, and there was firewood burning in the pit in the middle of the wooden house. In the city of Turií, the weather at the beginning of September was still relatively warm, and most of the people were still wearing thin, bare-chested summer clothes. But in the mountains of Abyssinia, which was not too far from Turií, it was already a little cold. Not only could the fire light up, but it could also drive away the cold.
The three people sitting around the fire were all wearing leather jackets, and the one in the middle was the youngest. He stood up and walked in front of Antares, and there was a hint of curiosity in his fierce eyes. "Greek, what are you doing in the mountains?! Don't you know that we, the Bruti, do not welcome you! "
After listening to the translation of his entourage, Antares said calmly, "I'm the messenger of Diónia, and I've been ordered by the Senate to go to Cosenza. There's something important to discuss with the leaders of the Bruti."
"Something important?! What is it?! "He asked with interest.
Antares said seriously, "I'm sorry, I can only tell you when I see the leaders of the Bruti."
The young man's face immediately changed, and he shouted with a face full of anger, "If you don't tell me, don't even think about passing through Abyssinia! I now suspect that you're Greek spies! Men, take them down, give each of you ten lashes, and then lock them in the sheep pen! "
The faces of Antares and his entourage changed.
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