Chapter 489
As the Devers were not in the Senate at the moment, Keristhorpes and the others did not need to enter the city and went straight north to the barracks.
As they passed by the second triumphal arch outside the city, Keristhorpes stood under it and looked up for a while before leaving.
The Turií barracks were located on the north bank of the confluence of the Coceni River and the Tiro River. The Turií barracks were no longer the simple camp with tents and fences when the city of Turií was first built, but a fully-functional fortress.
Abatis, moats, earthen ramparts, wooden walls, and watchtowers erected every 20 meters formed the outer defense of the barracks. Inside the barracks were rows of barracks built with bricks and tiles, each of which could accommodate a squad of soldiers. The beds were divided into bunk beds, so the rooms were relatively spacious.
In addition, there were stables, armory, weapon repair workshops, kitchens, small hospitals, and even water wheels to bring water from the Tiro River into the barracks' bathrooms (soldiers could only bathe in cold water).
Of course, there was also the most important and indispensable part of the camp: the High Command, which consisted of the living quarters of the Supreme Commander, the living quarters of the high-ranking generals, and the conference room; the training ground, which consisted of the light infantry training ground, the heavy infantry training ground, the cavalry training ground, the weapons testing ground (mainly used for assembly and testing of large siege weapons), the large training ground (used for combination training, formation training, and inspection of troops); in addition, there were several special training grounds: the city defense training ground (used to train in the construction of camps, defenses, and sieges. The land in this training ground was often excavated and patched, and was in ruins); the training ground on both sides of the Tiro River (used to train in crossing the river and landing by boat, so there were a dozen small cargo ships); and the mountain training ground (used to train in mountain warfare. This training ground was not in the camp, but in the mountains to the west of the camp, beyond the large hot springs).
For Diónia that was founded on military might, the barracks built near the cities of the Alliance were the most functional and most advanced among all the countries, city-states, and races in the Mediterranean Sea in this era, especially the barracks of Turín. As the center of the Alliance, Turín had the largest number of public militias. Therefore, the barracks needed to train 5,000 people at a time and could accommodate 50,000 people. There were 500 soldiers stationed in the barracks all year round, excluding some of the Alliance's public servants.
It was precisely because of the existence of these barracks that countless farmers, herdsmen, fishermen, merchants, and other Dionian Alliance citizens, preparatory citizens, and freedmen without any experience of war were swiftly forged into qualified corps soldiers after a year or two of rigorous training in the barracks. That was why the Fifth Legion, which had never been on the battlefield, was not at a disadvantage against the elite soldiers of Syracuse who had been on expeditions all year round.
At this moment, Kelissops saw that the wooden wall was ten meters high and extended endlessly to both sides. He could imagine the grandeur of this military camp.
This was obviously a city! He could not help but ask in astonishment, "This is your military camp?!"
"That's right, this is the Turín military camp. Citizens of Turín, Amendola, and Abyssinia are trained here, "the officer replied.
Kelissops looked up at the patrolling sentries on the wooden wall and the archers on the watchtowers. The heavily guarded military camp made him feel slightly uneasy. "Let's go in."
Then, the officer stopped in his tracks and turned to Kelethorpes and his entourage. He said solemnly, "Given that we are at war, the military secrets of this military camp cannot be divulged. His Majesty Dyvers requests that you must wear a mask and cover your eyes before entering the military camp." As he spoke, he took out a black mask from his bosom.
At the same time, the camp's drawbridge was lowered and the camp's gate opened. A group of fully armed soldiers came out in a line.
Kelissops' entourage was in an uproar. "Diónia, do you know what you're saying?!"
"How dare you ask us to blindfold our eyes! No matter where we Sparta go, it has always been the city's governor and generals who come out to greet us respectfully! This is a humiliation to us Sparta! "
"Diónia, aren't you afraid of incurring the wrath of Sparta by doing this?!"
The Diónia officer was not afraid of the Sparta's accusation. He sneered, "A few years ago, a Sparta envoy threatened Diónia with the same words, and we chased him out of Turín. If you are unwilling to comply with our request, then we have no choice but to ask you to leave Turín. "
The entourage suddenly fell silent. They knew that the person the officer was talking about was Phoebidas. After he returned to Sparta from Turín, he became a joke in Sparta for a long time. They did not want that to happen, so they all looked at Kelissops.
This is a demonstration of Diónia! Kelissops sighed in his heart.
Kelissops was not Phoebidas. Among the Sparta people, he was one of the few talents who had real diplomatic qualities. That was why the Council of Elders gave him the important task of sending the envoy to Greece. At this moment, when he saw that the situation was not good, he took a deep breath and looked at the Diónia officer. He said in a deep voice, "I accept your request, but I hope to see your king soon!"
… …
Five years had passed. The next time Kelissops saw the Devers was in the conference room of the Turín military camp. This young man, who was only 24 years old, was now the king of Diónia. He sat in the middle of the room. Apart from a circle of stubble on his chin, his appearance had hardly changed, but the impression he gave Kelissops was completely different from when they parted.
After Chalisthorpes came in, Dyvers quietly sat upright and motionless, looking at him with a solemn expression. A majestic aura emanated from the body of this young king, like a steep mountain slowly pressing down on Chalisthorpes.
It seemed that this was a formal meeting, and the Devers were not going to talk about personal friendship with him, because there were other people sitting on both sides of the Devers.
This forced Kelissops, who had just taken off his mask, to speak first to break the oppressive silence. "I, Kelissops, the envoy of Sparta, have come to Diónia under the order of the Council of Elders. I hope to receive the respect and reception I deserve."
Sitting on the left side of the Devers was Cunogorata. He said with a serious expression, "As the leader of Greece, Sparta should maintain the peace among the Greek city-states. However, you bully the weak and start wars everywhere. Such a city-state does not deserve the respect of Diónia!"
Although Kelissops was uneasy before, he did not expect Diónia's attitude toward Sparta to be so bad. Although he was unhappy, he had been to other city-states many times and was experienced. He quickly replied, "Who can say for sure who is right and who is wrong when it comes to the conflict of interests between the city-states? Besides, that's what happened in the Eastern Mediterranean. It has nothing to do with Greece. "
Scombras, a white-haired old man sitting on the right side of the Devers, stood up and said, "We don't want to interfere in the affairs of Greece. But Sparta intervened in the war between us and Syracuse. They helped the abominable Syracuse to trample our land and slaughter our people. They are our enemies! We have no respect for our enemies, only anger! "
Did they know?! Kelissops looked at the Devers in front of him.
The Devers stared at him with a stern expression.
Kelissops calmly explained, "Although Sparta and Syracuse have an alliance, Sparta has never intervened in the affairs of the Western Mediterranean. They have never sent troops into the Western Mediterranean. Sparta is not hostile to Diónia! … "
"Phoebidas." The Devers uttered the name that Kelissops was afraid to hear. His tone was cold and unhurried. "The general of Sparta, the brother of Eudamidas, who was once an envoy to Diónia. But now, he has appeared in the army of Syracuse and commanded the right wing of Syracuse's army during the battle against the Southern Alliance. Don't tell me that this is his own action, or that he has been exiled by Sparta. As far as I know, he was still leading an army to fight in Corinth a few months ago. "
The Devers' words blocked all possibilities of Kelissops' quibbling. Kelissops was surprised that Diónia had such detailed information on Phoebidas. At this moment, he had nothing to hesitate or worry about. He simply changed the topic and said, "I'm here for the peace of Greece. Sparta hopes that Diónia and Syracuse can stop the war and sign a peace treaty so that the people of Greece can rebuild their homeland!"
"Did I hear it wrong?! Sparta is starting to care about Greece! " Kelissops ignored Scombras' mockery. His eyes were fixed on the Devers.
"Dionysius has agreed?" The Devers did not show any surprise and asked.
"I came to Turií first to seek your opinion before going to Siritia," Kelissops replied.
"What kind of armistice conditions?" Cunogorata interrupted.
Kelissops carefully explained the plan that he had come up with along the way, "Although Diónia has won a naval battle, you must admit that Syracuse has a great advantage in Greece. They have conquered other cities in Greece and are about to enter your territory. On the other hand, Diónia is still unstable internally … So my suggestion is …"
Kelissops stared at the Devers and said in a serious tone, "Both sides should make a truce at their current position."
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