Chapter 664
His words successfully attracted the attention of the people around him. The ministers of the kingdom, who did not know much about Wolsey and did not care much about him, now focused their attention on him. The envoy from the north was wearing a short white shirt with a belt, revealing his arms and calves. His outfit was similar to the Samonians, except that they had shoes.
"Thank you, Wolsey, for your generous donation!" The Devers said calmly. "I have long heard that the Wolsey Alliance in central Italy is brave and good at fighting. Unfortunately, because Diónia is too far away from you, we rarely have any contact. I believe that your visit this time will open a new chapter of friendly relations between Diónia and Wolsey! … "
The Devers talked a lot about strengthening the friendship between the two countries, as if the Wolsey envoy's only purpose was to strengthen relations with Diónia.
Maitbora became anxious and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I am here to ask for help from Diónia!"
"Ask for help?" The Devers put on a puzzled expression.
"The Rome of central Italy has always relied on their country's power to stir up wars everywhere. This time, the Rome has invaded Wolsey's territory. We, the Wolsey, are unable to resist, so we have specially asked for help from the most powerful kingdom in Italy, Diónia! We hope that Your Majesty can send reinforcements to help Wolsey defeat the Rome! "Maitbora said earnestly.
"But I heard that it was because you, the Wolsey, took the initiative to attack Rome's ally, which angered the Rome, so they attacked Wolsey," the military minister, Hilos, interrupted.
Maitbora glanced at Hilos, and then replied confidently, "We, the Wolsey, have been living in southern Latin for hundreds of years, getting along well with our neighbors. A hundred years ago, Rome was just a small city on the Tiber River, but through endless wars and killings, it became a powerful force in central Italy! In order to resist the Rome's invasion, we have been at war with the Rome for decades and have become mortal enemies.
In recent years, Rome has conquered most of the city-states in southern Etruria and has become stronger. Of course, we, the Wolsey, cannot sit still and wait! Unfortunately, we have failed … "Maitbora sighed in pain, and then said loudly with a slightly resentful expression," The Rome worship the wolf as their ancestor. The wolf is a greedy and violent animal. If Wolsey is conquered, the Rome's sword will definitely cut the Campanian Alliance, whose land is more fertile and whose people are richer. After conquering them, they might even continue southward … So, I beg of Diónia to lend us, the Wolsey! "
Most of the ministers felt that the Volsci were deliberately making Rome sound so scary, as if it could even pose a threat to Dionia. They were just trying to encourage Dionia to send reinforcements, but they did not think much of it.
Only the Devers sitting on the throne knew that what he said might be the truth, but he did not say anything.
"We sympathize with Wolsey's situation, but I believe that you have seen it when you entered Diónia. We are suffering from a drought, so at least for now, Diónia is unable to send troops to central Italy to fight the Rome," the Minister of Commerce, Marigi, said regretfully.
"We, the Wolsey, have food! The autumn harvest has just ended, we have enough food! As long as Diónia sends reinforcements, we are willing to guarantee the Dionysian Army's food supply! "Maitbora immediately added.
After he said this, Merses, the Minister of Finance, Marigi, and the Minister of Agriculture, Burcos, looked at each other. They were a little tempted.
At this time, Antares, one of the rotating presidents of the Senate, said, "Your Majesty, in fact, we do not have to rush to send troops to help Wolsey. We only need to send an envoy to Rome to persuade them to retreat. With the prestige of Diónia in Italy, it is possible to achieve this.
But … whether it is sending an envoy to negotiate with Rome or sending troops to help Wolsey, we need a legitimate reason! Now that Wolsey has no diplomatic relations with Diónia, we will only be criticized if we interfere with the affairs of the forces in central Italy. "
Antares' reminder made everyone's eyes light up.
The Devers looked at him with admiration and asked, "What do you think we should do about this?"
Before Antares could speak, Maitbora immediately said loudly, "The Wolsey Alliance is willing to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Diónia!"
"Forming an alliance is a big deal. I'm afraid the alliance will need to discuss it before making a decision," the Foreign Affairs Minister Ancetanos said in a roundabout way. The Foreign Affairs Minister Ancetanos said tactfully. He was actually questioning Maitbola's authority as an emissary and reminding him not to brag blindly.
"Please rest assured! Before I came out, the Wolsey Alliance has given me full authority to make any decision on the spot! And … "Maitbora straightened his back and said confidently," And my House of Pullo has always been an important political force in Circeii. Any decision I make here will be recognized by the Wolsey Alliance! "
The Devers nodded slightly and said, "I have understood Wolsey's request, and we will discuss this matter. Please take a rest, you will soon know the decision of Diónia."
… …
After Maitbora left the hall, the Devers looked around at the ministers and asked, "What do you think about Wolsey's request for help?"
"Your Majesty, we have just conquered Downey, and now we are facing a drought. I heard that Rome is a powerful force, and once we start a war with it, it will take a long time. Based on our current situation, I am afraid we cannot support this war for a long time," Cornelus said worriedly.
"Your Majesty, there is one more point, please note," Lucius took over and said, "Rome and Carthage are allies. If we hastily agree to Wolsey's request, interfere with Rome's military operations, and resort to force in the end, we will be forcing Carthage to make a choice! Given that our relationship with Carthage is not very good in the past two years, Carthage is likely to choose to support Rome, and this will make the conflict bigger! … "
Everyone in the hall was shocked by Lysias's shocking words.
"Carthage and Rome are allies?" Marigi asked the question that everyone wanted to ask.
"A hundred years ago, Carthage and Rome formed a friendly alliance," the scholar Ansitanos said. As a scholar, Ancitanos continued, "About a hundred years ago, Rome first conquered the Latin region and began to establish the Latin Alliance. The Carthaginians signed an alliance with Rome. I still remember the original clause of the alliance.
"The friendship between the people of Rome and the people of Carthage and their allies is based on the following conditions. The people of Rome and their allies shall not sail past the beautiful cape. They shall not engage in any trade activities in Libya, Iberia, Sardinia, and Corsica.
The people of Carthage shall not harm any people in any other Latin city that belongs to Rome. The people of Carthage must guarantee that they will not occupy any of the cities in this city. "
"This is just a friendly agreement, not an alliance," Senior Judge Tritodemus questioned.
"As I said, this is just the original text. The agreement has been renewed many times, and it has continued to this day. In the renewal two years ago, the following clauses were added to the agreement … "Ansitanos said slowly," When Rome or Carthage starts a war with a third party, it can seek support from the other party, and the party that is asked can help as much as possible according to its own situation. After the war is won, the two parties can discuss the ownership of the spoils of war … "
"Two years ago?!" Sedorum's expression changed, and he exclaimed, "I'm afraid that this clause in the agreement is set up by Carthage against Diónia!"
Two years ago, it was Diónia that discovered the conspiracy of the Tanik tribe, which was secretly supported by Carthage, to unite the tribes of Sikaer. The Eighth Legion defeated the Tanik tribe in one fell swoop, and its leader led the remaining soldiers to the western part of Sicily, which was controlled by Carthage. It was said that Carthage took them in. Although the friendly agreement between Carthage and Diónia was renewed, the relationship between the two countries became subtle, especially in the area of trade competition.
Tanik had fallen, and now there was a new Rome in the north of Diónia?! Everyone's expression became a little complicated.
Hilos said solemnly, "Your Majesty, although Carthage has maintained peace with us for the past ten years, it is because it needs to recover from the war with Syracuse. Even so, Carthage is still secretly causing trouble for us. After all, the western Mediterranean can only accommodate one hegemon. It was like that between Carthage and Syracuse, and now it will be the same between us and Carthage.
Therefore, the alliance between Carthage and Rome shouldn't be a reason for us to be afraid of helping Wolsey. On the contrary, we should increase our efforts to form a strong alliance with Wolsey. Otherwise, Rome will conquer Wolsey and become even more powerful. It and Carthage are in the south and north, sandwiching the Kingdom of Diónia in the middle. We will be in even more trouble in the future! Why don't we take advantage of the fact that Carthage is still unwilling to go to war, and that Rome isn't strong enough? We should unite with the other forces in Central Italy to besiege Rome. We will completely destroy it and weaken it, so that it will no longer be a threat to Diónia and our allies! "
As the military minister, Hilos' words were filled with murderous intent. His words represented the military's intentions.
The meeting hall suddenly fell into silence.
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