Chapter 772
"Most of the laborers are slaves and Latins, some of the sailors are Etruscans, and some are Campanians …"
"No Rome people?" Devers was surprised.
"There are merchants and some residents of Rome, but due to the short period of time, we haven't found any of them among the laborers and sailors at the port …" Midolades explained.
Hearing this, a glimmer of hope rose in the Devers' heart. According to the information collected before, there were many people living in poverty in Rome, and some even sold themselves as slaves. The conflict between them and the nobles was relatively prominent.
But then he thought: Ostia was a small city, and there were not many Roman citizens. Perhaps Rome had invaded Volci and Helniki over the past year, and gained a lot of land, so the civilians of Rome had a new place to go …
Thinking of this, Devers asked again, "What about the slaves? Who are they? "
"They are our allies, the Walsi, the Hernici, the Marsi, the Acquis, and the Etruscans … They are basically foreigners who were captured by the Romans after they were defeated by them, so they are very welcoming of us. They are willing to help us with our warships because we promised them freedom," Mithrades said excitedly.
Davus nodded, and then his attention was attracted by the noise in front of him. It was an open space illuminated by torches, and there were thousands of people gathered in the middle of the open space under the protection of the soldiers. It was still early spring in March, and the weather was relatively cool. However, half of these people were still wearing thin and crude linen clothes, and some of them were even completely naked. The clothed and naked people were gathered in two separate groups, forming a clear distinction between the two groups. However, from time to time, they would glance uneasily at the fully armed soldiers around them.
Martius led the guards into the open space first. Their gorgeous clothes and neat and powerful steps immediately attracted their attention.
"The King and Devers of Diónia arrive!" Martius announced loudly, and the voice messenger behind him immediately repeated in Latin.
There was a sudden commotion among the people in the open space.
The guards quickly divided into two sides, and then two tall and strong guards holding the kingdom's flag and shining scepters walked into the open space. Then, an imposing middle-aged man clad in golden armor, with colorful feathers fluttering above his head, walked in unhurriedly while being escorted by a group of Dionic officials clad in luxurious Bolton uniforms.
The noise in the open ground suddenly disappeared. People uneasily hunched their bodies and unconsciously stepped back, but they also used some curious gazes to sneak a peek, but when Divers' gaze met theirs, they hurriedly lowered their heads like frightened rabbits.
"I'm the King and Devers of Diónia!" The Devers introduced themselves in a simple sentence, and then said loudly, "For more than ten years, the people of Rome have been constantly attacking the surrounding races and forces, plundering the land, killing the people, and forcibly turning the captives into slaves. They are extremely greedy and bloodthirsty! The Volsci and the Helnici were worried that they would be destroyed by Rome, so they allied with us, Diónia (the Devers had already allied with the Helnici before they led the army north).
We sent messengers to negotiate with Rome, hoping that it would stop the invasion of the Volsci and the Helnici and return the land it occupied. However, not only did the people of Rome not listen to us, but they also accelerated the invasion of the territories of these two races. Now the Helnici have been surrounded by the people of Rome in Fürentirum and could be destroyed at any time. The warriors of the Volsci were scattered in the past battles against the invasion of Rome, so they were unable to stop the next invasion of Rome.
In fear that Diónia would stop its invasion, Rome even encouraged its ally, Carthage, to tear up the peace agreement with Diónia that had been observed for many years and declared war on Diónia! Therefore, I have led the army of Diónia here to fulfill the covenant, to protect the allies of Diónia, Volsci and Helnici, and to punish Rome and its allies who dare to violate the dignity of Diónia and provoke war. We must completely defeat them! "
The reason why the Devers spoke so patiently to a group of lowly commoners and slaves was to explain to all the forces and races in the Latin region and even the surrounding areas why the Dionysian Army had come here and why they were here.
As soon as the messengers translated his words into Latin, someone in the field shouted, "Kill the people of Rome! Save the Helnici (Volsci)! We want freedom! … "
The Devers looked up and saw that the group of naked people were agitated, and some of them were even shedding tears. There was a greater commotion in the field.
Martius immediately put his hand on his dagger, stepped forward and shouted, "Silence!" The guards immediately roared in unison.
The people were once again silent out of fear.
The Devers looked at them and said sincerely, "The enemies of Diónia are only the people of Rome and the city-states of Rome who assist the people of Rome in fighting against us. Any city-states and people who remain neutral in this war, or even provide help to Diónia, will be regarded as a friend of Diónia, and will gain the friendship of the people of Diónia! You — "The Devers pointed at the slaves," will be released in a few days. To ensure that you can return to your families safely, we will provide you with some rations. If you can provide help to the army during your stay in Ostia, you will also receive some rewards. "
The Devers's words made the slaves smile. Some of them even bowed to the Devers with their own etiquette to express their gratitude. The Devers immediately returned the gesture.
His kind gesture not only won the favor of the slaves, but also made the laborers less nervous.
At this time, the Devers said loudly again with a serious expression, "Before coming to Latin, I thought that only the people of Rome were destroying the peace of this area. But after coming here, I found that there is an equally terrible demon who is making the people of this land live like living in hell, and suffering. That is —"
When the Devers saw that the attention of the laborers was attracted to him, he said clearly, word by word, "Nobles! Nobles of Rome! Nobles of Latin City! They are like ferocious wolves, completely ignoring the friendship of their compatriots. They use power and money to shamelessly rob the land of the people of their city, and then force the people who lost their land to become their slaves. They are like cattle and sheep, endlessly creating wealth for them. In the end, they die of exhaustion in the fields, and even their bones are not willing to be buried! And the people who do not want to become slaves and serve the high and mighty nobles are forced to escape from the city. They live a hard life, unable to support their wives and children … "
The Devers said in a heavy tone. After listening to the emotional translation of the voice messengers, the laborers were reminded of their own tragic experiences. Some even sobbed in a low voice.
Seeing this, the Devers took the opportunity to ask one of the voice messengers, "What is your name? Where are you from? What do you live on now? "
The young voice messenger immediately replied, "My name is Adrius. I was originally a citizen of Gabii in the Latin region. More than a decade ago, the Gauls invaded the Latin region. Not only did they occupy Rome, but they also broke through the city of Gabii, which is not far from Rome. When the Gauls were repelled, we returned home, only to find that my family's good farmland on the bank of the Anno River, a tributary of the Tiber River, had been seized by the nobles. Because the village was destroyed by the Gauls, and the town hall was also destroyed, there was no evidence that the farmland belonged to my family. And the nobles had bribed the judge … Not only did we lose the lawsuit, but my father was also convicted of false accusation and was punished with flogging … My father dragged his unhealed body, took my mother, me, and my brother, and left Gabii angrily … "At this point, his eyes were already a little red.
"Oh my God, you are just like me. My land was also seized after the war!"
"I am not. Because my wife was sick, I borrowed money from a rich man to treat her illness. I thought that after the autumn harvest and selling the grain, I could pay off the debt, but he said that the money could only be used to pay off the interest. In the end, my farmland was also forcibly seized by the rich man! "
"What you borrowed was usury! Damn the nobles! Damn the rich! The Senate of the city-state will only speak for these rich people. There is no way for us to survive! "
… …
The story of the Latin messenger, who had black hair and black eyes, soon resonated with the Latin laborers who had been silent before.
After reading the information collected from the Latin region, the Devers learned that the fierce conflict between the nobles and the commoners was not only in Rome, but also in other Latin city-states. The situation was even more serious. The nobles were insatiable, and they took things by force. The commoners were burdened with heavy debts, and it was difficult for them to survive. After all, Rome could expand by force to obtain more land and slaves, which could give the commoners a chance to breathe. Not only did the other city-states not have this condition, but because they rebelled against Rome and were defeated by Rome, some of their land was seized by Rome. This made their arable land scarce, and the competition for land and annexation became more intense. This was exactly what the Devers wanted to see.
"How did you live after that?" One of the laborers could not help but ask loudly.
So Adrius pointed to his feet and continued, "My father used to work here, but at that time, the port of Ostia was not as busy as it is now. My father did not earn enough money for our family to live, so he took the risk to take us to the south, to Naples —"
"Oh, that's the Campania region occupied by the Greeks, but their sea trade is much more prosperous than here!" someone exclaimed.
"But not long after, my father's old injury relapsed, and he could barely walk. Through the introduction of a kind person, we helped my father to Pompeii, not far from Naples, and asked the priest of the Temple of Hades in the city for help. The kind old priest not only cured my father for free, but also let our family live in the temple for a period of time, and provided free food. He also told us that not far from Pompeii, there is a city called Enona in the Kingdom of Diónia. Not only is there a lot of job opportunities, but as long as we are willing to become a citizen of Diónia, we can apply to the city hall, and it is easily approved. As long as we abide by the law and work hard in the city for a few years, we can become a citizen of Diónia and get a share of the land …"
Comments