Chapter 663
The Neapolitans knew a little about the people from Rome mentioned by the Wolsey emissary. Over the past decade, this resilient people who lived in the northern part of the Campania region had won every battle they fought and expanded rapidly, causing the surrounding forces to feel very uneasy. However, there were still many forces between Naples and Rome, such as the Wolsey, Oronci, Sidesini, and even the Sammonae's Cayutini tribe. Therefore, the Neapolitans did not feel uneasy about Rome.
After the council members discussed, the chief general, Orosius, apologized to the Wolsey emissary, "We really want to help the Wolsey, but there are more important things for us to worry about in the Campania region, so we dare not split our forces. Therefore, we can only apologize to you!"
What Orosius said wasn't just for show. In the past decade, the Campania Alliance and the Sammonae had been living in harmony. However, in the past two years, the Sammonae had begun to frequently clash with the surrounding city-states of the Campania Alliance. Although it had not escalated into a major war, the Campania Alliance was extremely nervous. They were constantly on guard, ready to deal with a war that could break out at any time.
The Wolsey emissary looked disappointed and depressed. He was about to continue begging, but Orosius suddenly changed the topic.
"Although we can't help you, there is a powerful country in Italy. As long as they are willing to lend a helping hand, they can guarantee the safety of the Wolsey!"
The Wolsey emissary's heart skipped a beat. A name immediately popped up in his mind.
Orosius then said in a serious tone, "Diónia! Only Diónia can stop Rome from attacking the Wolsey! "
As expected! Maitbola secretly heaved a sigh of relief. This was exactly what the Wolsey emissary wanted to hear. Of course, they knew that the Kingdom of Diónia, which controlled the entire southern part of Italy, was probably the most powerful force in Italy apart from the Celts in the north. Of course, it would not be a problem for them to intimidate Rome. However, he pretended to be troubled and said, "But the Wolsey has never had any dealings with Diónia …"
Orosius said sincerely, "Naples and Diónia are allies. We are willing to recommend the Wolsey to the King of Diónia!"
The Wolsey emissary was overjoyed and immediately expressed his gratitude to the Neapolitan council.
After resting for a day in the city, he followed the Neapolitan emissary, Mithides, south by boat.
… …
It was the end of September, and a drought was raging in southern Italy. The southern territories of the Kingdom of Diónia suffered a major crop failure, and the kingdom mobilized a large number of manpower and material resources to busy themselves with disaster relief.
In the Palace of Diónia, the Devers had just approved the order to increase the punishment of several Carthage merchants.
After the Senate had already issued the law that "no merchants are allowed to raise the price of grain in the country and disrupt the market order, or else they will be severely punished", these few Carthage merchants joined forces with some grain merchants in the city to spread rumors in the market of Rockridge City. They ran over the grain shops temporarily opened by the City Hall and caused panic among the people. In the end, they were arrested by the inspection team, and the others were severely punished. However, because these few Carthage merchants had extraordinary backgrounds, and one of them even came from the Hanno family, the inspection team was worried that their punishment would cause serious dissatisfaction among the Carthage people, so they asked the Devers for instructions.
In fact, Dyvers himself was also worried about this. However, he knew that in such a critical situation, if he did not strictly enforce his orders, then the foreigners would imitate them and act recklessly. The local merchants would also be involved. Therefore, he had to punish them severely to serve as a warning to others.
Therefore, after the Devers signed the order, he asked Aristiras to immediately send it over.
The Devers leaned against the wooden chair and stretched.
During this time, because the kingdom was dealing with the drought, the requests and letters from various cities had piled up, leaving almost no time for the Devers to rest. Even the energetic Devers felt tired.
He closed his eyes, but he was not resting. Instead, he was thinking about how to summon the five rotating presidents of the Senate and establish a drought handling committee. They would handle the specific matters, big or small, and he would only be responsible for supervision and control. In this way, not only would he save his energy, but his efficiency would also be greatly improved …
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was a good idea. Just as he was about to ask Aristiras to go to the Senate and summon the five senators together, he received a message from the guards that Foreign Minister Ancitanos wanted to see him.
Since the Senate passed the Devers' proposal to "pay the senators a high salary and prohibit them from accepting gifts", the Devers also proposed to establish the kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that foreign envoys could be directly received by this department, reducing the number of blind contacts they had with other senators, and also ensuring their safety, to prevent the senators from making mistakes again. At the same time, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more professional and experienced diplomats could be trained, creating a more favorable external environment for Diónia. The Devers appointed Ancitanos as the first Foreign Minister.
Ancitanos had been in office for more than a year, and he had completed the administrative structure and personnel arrangements for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Why did he come to the palace today? The Devers wondered in his heart. He did not expect Ancitanos to give him a surprise.
"Are you saying that the Wolsi have asked us for help?!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Ancitanos explained seriously. "The Romans are invading Wolsi's territory, and they can't stop them. They have no choice but to ask us for help under the guidance of the Neapolitans."
"Then arrange a meeting," the Devers answered without hesitation. When he received the news that the Wolsi allied forces were defeated by the Roman army led by Camillus, he already knew that the Wolsi were in big trouble.
"Your Majesty, there is another good news."
"Oh?"
Although it was a good news, Ancitanos did not look happy. Instead, he said seriously, "The Neapolitan messenger who accompanied the Wolsi said, 'Knowing that Diónia is suffering from a drought, the Campania Alliance, as an ally, is willing to donate a large amount of grain for free to help us tide over the difficulties.' However, he hopes that we can restrain the Samonai and stop harassing their people. "
"Restrain the Samonai?!" The Devers looked a little angry. "The Neapolitans make it sound easy, but the Samonai are not that easy to restrain. Ever since we firmly supported the Abenilum, these Samonai tribes have become more and more disobedient. "
"Fortunately, they are afraid of our strength and dare not do anything rash …" Ancitanos looked at the Devers and asked softly, "Then … reject the request of the Neapolitans?"
"No! The Samonai now think that they have recovered their strength … "The Devers shook his head and sneered." It's just that we have been busy stabilizing the situation in the Downey area for the past two years and can't spare any time to help. Now that the situation in Downey is stable, Ancitanos, agree to the request of the Neapolitan messenger and send someone to question the Samonai. 'Why did they repeatedly violate the covenant and invade the allies of Diónia?!' If they still refuse to repent, I don't mind letting them have a taste of the power of the Legion of Dionysia.
In addition, didn't Quinduc, the leader of Nuceria in Cayutini, hint that he was willing to send a team to participate in this year's rugby competition? Let Enona strengthen the relationship between the tribes in the southwest of Cayutini and make them completely fall to our side! "
"Your Majesty, this is likely to lead to a war between the Samonai and us!" Ancitanos said worriedly.
Dyvers said firmly, "As our ally, Samoyed ignored our warnings many times and repeatedly invaded the people and land of our other ally. They have violated the covenant, which means they have long had the intention to betray us! If we don't stop their bad behavior, it will not only affect the prestige of the Kingdom of Diónia, but also reduce the trust the ally has in us. We must fight back forcefully! "
"Your Majesty, we are facing a famine now. I'm afraid we don't have enough food to support the army!" Ancitanos reminded.
The Devers smiled. "We don't, but the Campanian Alliance does. If we help the Campanian Alliance solve the problem of the Samonai, they will not be stingy with their food. This will also help us reduce the pressure on the domestic food supply. Besides, I heard that the central and southern parts of Hilpini are also suffering from the disaster. We can take this opportunity to completely weaken them! "
"Alright, Your Majesty, I understand. I will discuss this matter with the Neapolitan messenger, "Ancitanos replied helplessly.
… …
Wolsey's messenger, Maitbola, followed the Neapolitans ashore at the port of Laos and trekked for three days to reach Turií. He was immediately shocked by the prosperity and size of the city. He began to believe that only such a powerful country could help them drive away the ferocious people of Rome.
When he received the notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the King of Devers was ready to meet him, Maitbola had been thinking about how to persuade the king of this powerful kingdom to lend a helping hand to Wolsey.
The next day, Maitbola walked into the palace of Diónia.
The important officials of the kingdom were already standing on both sides of the spacious hall of the palace. The King of Devers was wearing a garnet crown made of pure gold and a luxurious black robe with red patterns. He was sitting steadily on a leather chair that was two steps above the stairs. Therefore, he was much taller than the people around him, displaying the majesty of a king.
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