Chapter 843
With the precedent set by Caesrella, the two envoys did not dare to be perfunctory. Both sides quickly discussed the matter.
In the meantime, under the urging of the Devers, the messengers frequently traveled back and forth between Rome, Wolci, and Tarchona. Both sides quickly drafted a draft of an alliance. The main contents were as follows:
First, the Kingdom of Diónia would form a military alliance with Tarchona and Wolci.
Second, Tarchona and Wolci must respond to Diónia's request and provide troops to fight against Diónia's enemies. In return, Diónia must protect the territories of Tarchona and Wolci.
Third, Wolci and Tarchona must recognize Diónia's legal occupation of Caesrella.
Fourth, Diónia must assist Tarchona and Wolci to recapture Survortem and Xhosa and return their territories to their original allies. However, the citizens of Rome in the cities belonged to Diónia, and the soldiers of the allies were not allowed to plunder them.
…
Before the alliance agreement was officially signed, the two Etruscan city-states sent envoys to Rome under the urging of the Devers the next day. That was how they achieved this easy victory.
… …
On this day, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was clear and cloudless.
After experiencing the war, killing, chaos, and crying, the people of Rome had a rare look of joy on their faces. They dressed up, brought their wives and daughters, and gathered on both sides of the road from the arena to the square, waiting for the start of the triumphant ceremony.
Among these people was Maicarius. Three days ago, when he learned that Venus had fallen, he immediately fled the military camp with many of Venus' soldiers.
As the Roman army was busy blocking the departure of the Etruscans and the other colonial cities on the north bank of the Tiber River, most of them managed to escape. Many of them, like Maicarius, ran directly to the city of Rome and surrendered to the Diónia.
After the Diónia officials verified their identities, the surrendered nobles of Rome would be transported by ship with their families to the south, where the Turií Household Registration Department would distribute them to various towns in the kingdom. As for the surrendered citizens, they would be asked if they wanted to live in Rome or Venus before they would be settled according to their choice. In fact, they would actively guide the citizens to choose Rome because after clearing out the nobles of Rome, more than half of Rome was left empty.
For Maicarius, who had grown up in the city of Rome, of course he was willing to return to Rome. Not only was there a better house, but he could also be allocated more fertile land. (In order to restrict Venus, the Senate of Rome had assigned the flat land along the river that originally belonged to Venus to Rome, leaving only the hilly and mountainous areas for the citizens of Rome who had migrated to Venus.)
Not only did the officials of Diónia help him find his wife and children, but they also told him that His Majesty the Devers had specially promulgated a law for the citizens of Rome who had applied to become citizens of Diónia. 'When the autumn harvest comes, they can first harvest the crops that originally belonged to them, and then cultivate the new land.'
The considerate act of the Devers had indeed made all the citizens of Rome who had surrendered to Diónia feel more at ease.
While Maicarius was busy moving, a piece of news spread throughout the city of Rome: the people of Diónia were going to hold a triumphal ceremony in Rome the next day!
This immediately caused a stir among the citizens of Rome. After all, the triumphal ceremony was one of the most sacred ceremonies for the citizens of Rome. It was a ceremony for the citizens of Rome to show off their achievements and glory after defeating the enemy. Therefore, the citizens of Rome, including Maicarius, were eager to know: Did the people of Diónia know how to hold a triumphal ceremony? What kind of attitude would the people of Diónia take towards the people of Rome during the triumphal ceremony? (Because in the past triumphal ceremonies in Rome, the captured enemies would always be escorted and paraded.)
Therefore, many citizens of Rome gathered by the roadside with complicated expressions on their faces, with many questions in their minds, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
"Woo! … "A long horn sounded, followed by a chorus of drums. The impassioned and joyful melody came from the south of the city of Rome.
As the people by the roadside listened, they could not help but shake their heads along with the unfamiliar but beautiful melody. Some even praised the music and asked the people around them for the name, but no one knew.
After a while, the people in the south of the city were the first to stir. They shouted loudly, "They're here! They're here! … "
The people by the roadside began to surge forward, but they were stopped by the soldiers of Diónia who were standing by the roadside, holding each other's hands.
Maicarius picked up his five-year-old child and tiptoed to look south. He saw a shining golden flag in the middle of the road in the south. It was raised high in the air and was walking towards them …
When he got closer, Mycaelius could clearly see the black flag fluttering high in the air. On it was a silver double-pronged fork with a golden crown, surrounded by gems, and entwined by black hair. At the top of the flag was a majestic statue of a Greek god.
This is the military flag of the Kingdom of Diónia?! Maicarius looked up at him. After he returned from Helsinki with the Roman army, he went straight to attack Ostia. He had not even seen what the military flag of Diónia looked like before he surrendered.
This time, he looked very carefully because he knew that he would be fighting under the command of this flag in the future.
The citizens of Rome on both sides of the road looked curiously at the soldier who was holding the flag. Although he was not very tall or burly, he was strong and muscular. There were several scars on his face, and he looked quite fierce.
Of course, the citizens of Rome did not know that the soldiers who were able to hold the military flag during the triumphal ceremony of Diónia were the most courageous and outstanding soldiers in the war. For a citizen of Diónia, this was the highest honor, and it was also the focus of the citizens of Diónia. After all, there was only one person holding the military flag, and there were several generals riding on the chariots.
Not a single citizen of Rome cheered or threw flowers at the soldiers who held the military flag. This might have made Terentus feel a little regretful, but he was still filled with pride because he was the first soldier of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade to hold the military flag during the triumphal ceremony since the establishment of Diónia. He first took the risk to sneak into the waterway under the city of Rome at night and achieved the first meritorious deed. Then, during the night attack on Caesrella City, he was the first to climb up the city wall and cut down five or six Caesrella soldiers who came to stop him. He bought time for the entire operation, so when it came to selecting the flag bearer for the triumphal ceremony, he was chosen without a doubt.
Ten soldiers followed closely behind him, holding ten flags. As there were too many flags and the road was not wide enough, they were forced to form two rows. These flags belonged to the First Legion, Second Legion, Legio III, Legio IV, Fifth Legion, Legio VI, First Cavalry Legion, and Second Cavalry Legion. This time, there was also the flag of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade. This special force of only 1,000 soldiers played an extremely important role in this war. Of course, there were also many casualties. Of course, the Devers had to give it a lot of commendations to make up for the neglect of the military's honor in the past few years.
The one who was holding the flag of the Mountain Ridge Reconnaissance Brigade was the captain of the company, Kergolas. Although his performance in this battle was not very outstanding as a team officer, he had performed well in previous battles over the past ten years.
There was another flag that was …
When the citizens of Rome saw the flag and the soldier holding it, some of them could not help but exclaim, "It's Valerius! It's actually Valerius! "
However, most of the citizens of Rome were looking at the only red flag with a complicated expression, just like Mycaelius.
The soldier holding the flag, Valerius, was still wearing the attire of the Rome heavy infantry. As a member of the newly formed Rome reserve brigade, he had become the representative of the Rome reserve brigade after his heroic performance in the raid on Venus three days ago. Of course, his performance was far inferior to the other flag bearers, but the Devers needed the political significance he represented.
However, it was obvious that this citizen of Rome had not adapted to such an atmosphere. He was a little timid and did not even nod to the people who knew him. He was not like the other flag bearers who held their heads high and had a proud look on their faces.
After the flag bearers, four Diónia priests in white robes appeared in front of Mycaelius and the others. They carried a wooden statue of a god and walked solemnly in the procession.
Many citizens of Rome asked in whispers, "Who is this Greek god?"
Those who knew the situation told them that it was the protector of the Kingdom of Diónia, Hades, King of the Underworld.
Upon hearing this, the voices of the people on the side of the road became a little quieter, because they realized that after joining the Kingdom of Diónia, they would inevitably have to deal with this powerful Greek god.
After the Diónia priests walked past, another statue of the god appeared in front of Mycaelius and the others.
"It's the Goddess Diana!" someone shouted excitedly.
The people of Diónia placed the statue of the goddess Diana, who was widely worshipped by the citizens of Rome, behind their protector, which showed how much importance they attached to the god worshipped by the citizens of Rome. With this, Mycaelius and the others heaved a sigh of relief. They even saw the chief priest of the Temple of Diana among the priests carrying the statue.
The chief priest had a solemn expression, but his heart was filled with joy. This was because the chief priest of the Temple of Hades, Caldias, had already had a secret discussion with him. After Rome joined the Kingdom of Diónia, the Temple of Hades would focus on supporting the Temple of Diana as one of the main temples for the citizens of Rome who were already citizens of Diónia. The Temple of Diana would also become a place for citizens of Diónia of other races to worship freely.
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