Chapter 660
"Oh, right." Burcos reminded them again, "The Ministry of Agriculture has specifically investigated the grain storage of the people in Turií, Crotone, Grumentum, Cosenza, Locri, and other cities. They can only last until November at most!"
"How's the situation in Sicily?" Antares asked.
"There's plenty of rain in Sicily this year. The cities of Catanay and Naxos should have a good harvest, "Burcos replied.
"What about Campania?"
"The farmland in that area is in good condition." After Antares' reminder, Burcos continued, "There's no drought in Carthage in Africana either. Only Central Greece and Peloponnesus are experiencing the same situation as us, but their situation is slightly less severe."
After listening to his subordinate's report, the Devers could not help but tap his fingers on the table. His expression was also a little ugly. But very quickly, he relaxed his brows and said slowly, "The heavens are unpredictable, and people have their ups and downs. The gods can't take care of our Diónia forever. This upcoming drought is a test for our kingdom. But what do we have to be afraid of? We've already prepared for it, haven't we? In the past, during Senate meetings, there were always people who said, 'The granaries that we built, aside from the occasional supply for the army to fight, have been left empty most of the time. It's a complete waste.' But this time, these seemingly wasted granaries will save the lives of millions of our Diónia citizens! "
The Devers's words made Lucias, Merces, and the others feel ashamed.
After a small knock on the table, the Devers continued to ask, "Burcos, have you done any statistics on how long the grain in our kingdom's granaries can last the people of Southern Italy?"
Burcos was already prepared for this. He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, our kingdom has a total of nine granaries. They are located in Grumentum, Turií, Cosenza, Crotone, Triene, Locri, Catanay, Urdiae, and Silvium. They correspond to the garrisons of the ten major armies. There are about 100,000 tons of grain in total. The population of Southern Italy is about 1.5 million. If everyone has two meals a day, just enough to keep them warm, we can guarantee a food supply for about six months."
"Only six months! This food can't last until next year's autumn harvest! "Vesba sighed.
The other chairmen glanced at him.
To prevent him from feeling awkward, Marigi immediately explained, "In the past few years, the citizens have made a lot of money from selling grain because of the successive harvests. There are very few citizens who are poor. The grains in our granary are not being supplied to them for free, but are being sold at a lower price in the market so that they can afford it. This will help them tide over this crisis and prevent the grain merchants from raising the price crazily, thus causing panic among the people … "
The Devers said in a deep voice, "100,000 tons of grain is still not enough. We must have sufficient grain reserves to deal with the upcoming drought. Also, we need to store enough wheat seeds for next year's sowing. Merces, before the news spreads, use the national treasury to send people to Carthage, Cyrenaica, and even Egypt to buy a large amount of grain. "
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do it immediately!" Merces answered without any hesitation or evasion. He knew that this was the most important thing for the kingdom.
"Marigi, the Ministry of Commerce has to strictly control the markets in the cities. Let the grain merchants sell their grain at an appropriate price. They are not allowed to disturb the market or raise the price blindly … For grain merchants who ignore warnings and act recklessly, allow the Ministry of Commerce and the courts to punish them severely!
At the same time, you have to work together with the governors of the cities. When selling grain from the granaries, verify the identity of the buyer. Everyone is only allowed to buy a certain amount of grain every day. This is to prevent people from reselling the grain in the granaries in order to make a fortune. If such a despicable person is found, he will be severely punished! "
"I understand, Your Majesty!" Marigi's expression was also serious.
"Burcos!" The Devers turned to the Minister of Agriculture. "Now that the drought is coming, the rivers have become shallower, and the use of waterwheels has been greatly reduced. To solve the problem of drinking water for the citizens, digging wells is a very good solution. You and the Ministry of Construction have to work together and dig deep wells in the cities to solve the problem of water shortage. "
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will rush to the Ministry of Construction in a moment!" Burcos' expression relaxed slightly.
The Devers' gaze finally fell on the five chairmen on duty. "Sirs, the Senate needs to hold an emergency meeting to discuss a proposal to deal with the drought as soon as possible. This is to remind the citizens to save on food and water, and to store more water in their homes … At the same time, we need to comfort them not to panic and to remain calm. With the protection of Hades and the full support of the kingdom, they will definitely get through this crisis!"
"Your Majesty, we will hold a meeting in the afternoon." Cornelus immediately replied.
The Devers nodded. His gaze swept across everyone in the room. Their solemn expressions revealed their nervousness, so he asked loudly, "Lucius, how did you deal with the drought in Greece 25 years ago?"
"Your Majesty." Lucius recalled the situation at that time, and his face showed some pain. "At that time, the people of Crotone raised gold and silver and went to Carthage to buy grain. However, the cunning people of Carthage knew that we had a drought and immediately increased the price of grain by several times. So we were unable to buy more grain. The council had no choice but to draw lots and send some of the citizens to Iberia to colonize. Later, these citizens who went out died from the attacks of the Iberian natives … "
"Yes! A small country is weak, and when faced with such a natural disaster, they can only endure the pain of losing their family and friends, and the destruction of their families. However, the Kingdom of Diónia has the ability to make every family in the kingdom not suffer such suffering. We have to see that this drought is a bad thing, but also a good thing! It will make those few citizens who are still obsessed with the long history of the original city-state and delusional about the independence of the city see clearly and understand that only by staying in such a powerful kingdom can they ensure that they can safely survive every natural and man-made disaster. Only then can their homes obtain long-term peace! "
The words of the Devers inspired the spirits of the senators present and aroused their resonance. After working hard for more than ten years in this kingdom with a unique regime, even Lucius, who joined the latest, was becoming more and more aware of this powerful country.
… …
After the Devers sent Cornelus and the others away, Aristiras came in before he could catch his breath. "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Intelligence has sent news about Rome from the north."
As soon as he heard Rome, the Devers immediately perked up and asked, "What's the situation?"
"The Wolsci in the south of Rome joined forces with the Aequi in the east of Rome and the Hernic in the southeast. They were invited by the rebellious Latin Alliance of Rome, Praeneste, to invade the territory of Rome. It is reported that they have about 20,000 troops. "
Praeneste? The Devers thought for a moment, but he did not have any impression in his mind. He immediately turned to the clerk, Henepolis. "Heni, go and get the map of Central Italy."
The map was placed on the desk. The Devers looked down and finally found the location of the Latin city-state: Praeneste was a large Latin city-state located more than 60 miles southeast of Rome, near the mountains. It happened to be at the entrance of the lowlands between the mountains, blocking the way into the Aequi and the Hernic. In other words, its rebellion would allow the Aequi and the Hernic to easily invade the Latin Alliance of Rome and threaten the city of Rome itself …
"Has Rome's troops that went to the north to attack Etruria returned?" The Devers asked again.
"Not yet," Aristiras replied.
The Devers rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.
In the third year of Diónia (390 BC), the Celtic King Brennus, who was entrenched in the upper reaches of the Po River in the north of Italy, united most of the Celtic tribes and invaded the Etrurians in the south.
They were unstoppable, defeating many Etruscan forces and capturing many towns. Just as they began to besiege the city of Clusium, Rome, as an ally, sent troops to rescue them. As a result, the Celts and the Roman army fought near the Aria River, and Rome was defeated.
What the Devers did not know was that, because in this life, there was no emissary sent by Dionysius (Dionysius died in the hands of Phoebidas two years ago), the Celts did not abandon the Etrurian towns along the way to attack. Instead, they quickly advanced to the city of Rome. Instead, they continued to kill and plunder along the way, and it was not until more than two months later that they crossed the Tiber River.
At this time, the walls of Rome were dilapidated and did not even completely surround the entire urban area of Rome. In addition, half of the young and middle-aged people in the city were killed or wounded in battle, and most of the civilians finally left the city of Rome due to the conflict between the nobles and the civilians a few years ago, and settled down in the city of Venus. Therefore, the city of Rome no longer had enough troops to defend itself. Except for a few old and weak people who were unwilling to leave their homeland, and a few who were willing to stay outside the Capitoline Citadel, most of the civilians had to evacuate the city of Rome.
Some of them went to Venus, and a few went to a Latin city called Ardea, south of Rome. The famous Roman general Camillus, who once conquered Venus but was expelled because he was framed, lived here in seclusion.
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