Chapter 669
At this moment, Tapirus calmly faced the most powerful people in Rome and said in a loud voice, "Respected senators of Rome, the King of the Devers of the Kingdom of Diónia has asked me to bring his sincere greetings to you. Before I left, he repeatedly told me, 'Although he has never been to Rome, he knows that Rome is a great city-state, and he has a deep respect for Rome! … "
Tapirus' words did not seem to be fake. It was beyond everyone's expectations and moved them. After all, they had heard some rumors about the King of the Devers of Diónia, and they felt honored to be praised by him.
"His Majesty the Devers also hopes that my visit this time will not affect his good impression of Rome, as well as the precious peace between Rome and Diónia!" Tapirus' next words suddenly changed the topic, causing the senators of Rome to feel nervous. He then said loudly, "Wolsey has already formed an alliance with Diónia. Diónia hopes that Rome will stop its invasion of Wolsey's territory, return the territories it has captured, and both sides will stop the war!"
As soon as Tapirus' words fell, there was an uproar in the venue.
Someone stood up from the crowd and asked angrily, "What if Rome doesn't stop the war?!"
Tapirus replied confidently, "Then Diónia will fulfill its alliance with Wolsey and send troops to stop the war!"
The entire venue suddenly exploded, and arguments were heard everywhere.
The person who spoke earlier asked angrily, "You Diónia are far away in Southern Italy. What right do you have to interfere in the affairs of Rome?!"
Tapirus replied calmly, "Diónia has no intention of interfering with Rome. We are just fulfilling our obligations as allies."
"Don't you Dionysians know that it was the Walshis who invaded our alliance first, and that's why we fought back. The Walshis should be punished!" another person yelled. "That's right.
"Rome acts according to the covenant, and so do we," Tapirus replied unhurriedly.
"People of Diónia, don't think that you can come to Rome just because you've occupied Southern Italy! If you dare to send your troops to this land, we, the warriors of Rome, will let you taste the true pain of war! "Another man shouted angrily, and some other senators echoed.
"Diónia has no intention of showing off its military might, but it's not afraid of any strong enemy either. The forces that we've defeated in the past are proof of that."
The commotion in the Senate seemed to be expanding. At this time, Paulus, who was sitting in the front row, stood up and shouted, "Ambassador of Diónia, please return to the hotel first. We will inform you after we have discussed and made a decision."
Tapirus nodded in agreement. At the same time, he reminded, "I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible. Any delay will cause more casualties to the Wolsey and the soldiers of Rome. This is not what you want, and it's not what His Majesty wants to see either!"
Tapirus' seemingly kind words contained a hidden threat to Rome, which caused the elders to scold him even more. However, he resolutely walked out of the venue with his head held high.
Paulus walked to the center of the hall and said loudly, "Dear elders and newcomers, please be quiet! Please be quiet! The people of Diónia have asked us to stop attacking Wolsey. Do you have any opinion on this? "
The man who had shouted at Tapirus many times said, "Do you even need to ask? Of course, ignore them! Our citizens have gone through many bloody battles and finally won this opportunity to defeat the Wolsey. How can we let Wolsey go just because of a few words from the people of Diónia! "
"Pantius, it's easy for you to say that. Diónia has rarely had diplomatic contact with Rome. I'm afraid you don't know much about it. Although this kingdom has only been established for more than ten years, it has already occupied the entire southern part of Italy. Even the powerful Samonians were defeated by it and had no choice but to become its ally. Even the people of Carthage are afraid of it and took the initiative to renew the agreement with it.
Although we have now escaped from the embarrassment of being defeated by the Celts, and our strength has been restored, we are even stronger than before. However, compared to Diónia, it is like a goat facing a bull. The difference in strength is too great. If Diónia intervenes in the affairs of this region, it will be a big problem for Rome! "Someone at the back of the hall stood up and said seriously. The person who said this was Fabius Ambustus, a respected senator known for his strong patriotism.
"Of course, I don't know as much about Diónia as you nobles do, but I will never back down because I am afraid of Diónia's strength! Do not forget that the Roman plebeians need more land to lift them out of poverty and to ease their conflict with us if we stop fighting the Volsci and return to the lands we have conquered. If we stop the war against the Wolsey and return to the occupied land, then our promise to the civilians to distribute the land in the newly occupied Wolsey town will not be fulfilled! Unless you nobles agree to give them a large amount of public land in the city, otherwise, you will see — "Pentius Skomilius looked around coldly and said loudly," the anger of the commoners will erupt again! "
The noise in the hall suddenly became much quieter. Fabius Ambustus's face was a little pale.
At this time, Paulus said, "Hey, Pantius, don't get too worked up. The people sitting in this hall, whether they are nobles or civilians, love Rome no less than you do, especially the respectable Ambustus. In the battle of Cremeri nearly a hundred years ago, almost all of his 306 people were sacrificed to resist the attack of thousands of Vikings on Rome! Ten years ago, after the defeat of the Arian War, the Celtic army approached Rome, and the whole city was in a panic. Ambustus decided to go to the Celtic camp on the north bank of the Tiber River to persuade the Celtic king, Brennus. Although he failed in the end, his courage was still admired by the people! This is not inferior to your brave action of sneaking into the Capitoline Mountains surrounded by the Celts to retrieve the appointment of Camillus as dictator … "
When Paulus said this, Ambustus's face lit up. The other senators also began to agree and began to criticize Pantius for being unreasonable to his elders.
Although Pantius did not speak, there was still a little bit of unwillingness on his face.
In fact, Paulus was not in the mood to care about the mood of his fellow military and political officials. He looked at the front row of the hall, where an old man was sitting. He had white hair, dry skin, and a stooped body. Therefore, when he sat on the white ivory chair, there was still a lot of empty space.
However, the senators of the Senate did not look down on him because of this. Instead, like Paulus, they looked at him with respect. He was Lucius Valerius Potitus, who had served as the consul of Rome many times.
"Uncle, what do you think about the unreasonable request made by the people of Diónia?" Paulus asked respectfully. He was not a direct relative of the old man, but both of them belonged to the Valerius clan and the same Potitus family. It was natural for him to call him uncle.
"We don't have to reject Dionia's request immediately. After all, such an important matter can't be decided in a short period of time. We can slowly negotiate with the Dionians …" Potitus opened his turbid eyes and said slowly, "We don't need to reject Dionia's request immediately.
Paulus's eyes lit up. He understood what this uncle meant, and that was — delay!
"No, we must never give hope to the people of Diónia! In order to avoid trouble in the future, we should reject them directly! "An old man next to Potitus objected loudly.
He was Publius Skornelius Maruginense, a senator of Rome whose prestige was not inferior to Potitus'. In the Senate, he had always opposed Potitus, but this time, the senators were intimidated by the power of Diónia and did not accept his opinion.
Finally, Ambustus picked up where Potitus left off and gave a concrete suggestion. "We should send a messenger to inform Camillus and Frius immediately and get them to settle the matter with the Tuskurons as soon as possible. Then, they should lead the troops to Saturnicum without returning to the city and assist Lysinius and Quintus in attacking Wolsey. We should try to occupy as much land as possible in a short period of time! … "
As he said this, Pantius glanced at him, and Paulus nodded.
"Also, we must contact Carthage as soon as possible. See what they think about Diónia's sudden intrusion into the Latin region!" Potitus reminded.
"I'm afraid we should also remind our colonies and allies to be prepared …" Pantius said.
…
In the end, the Senate of Rome made a decision.
They sent a messenger to inform Tapirus, who pretended to be sincere and said, "The Senate is already considering the matter of a truce, but because four military and political officials are far away, without their consent, according to the legal procedures of Rome, a final decision cannot be made. So, please wait a little longer …"
Tapirus did not have a deep understanding of the political system of Rome. Judging from the political system of the Kingdom of Diónia and the surrounding Greek city-states, the absence of so many generals seemed to have a great impact on the Senate's decision, especially since they were the parties involved. So, he pretended to be in a difficult position and said, "My king is waiting for my return, and I hope the Senate of Rome can give me a final answer as soon as possible! I can wait, but the king of Diónia has no patience to wait! "
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