Chapter 856
After listening to the Devers, the Herniki general Nemeri no longer hesitated. He asked, "Your Majesty, if the Equis and the Maxi also request to form an alliance with Diónia, will you agree?"
The Devers remembered that last year, the Equis and the Maxi were lured by the Prignist rebellion and joined forces with the Volsci and the Herniki to invade Rome. However, they were defeated by Camillus. Then this year, during the period when the Roman army conquered the Herniki, these two races sent reinforcements, but they were defeated again and their strength was severely weakened. They hoped to form an alliance with Diónia to eliminate their worries and ensure the safety of their territory. After all, the rumor that Diónia abides by the covenant has been confirmed by the Volsci and the Herniki.
"I welcome it!" The Devers smiled. "I not only hope that the Maxi and Equis can form an alliance with Diónia, but also hope that the other forces around Rome can also become allies of Diónia!"
… …
After the battle, the Devers did not invite the leaders of the Voch Coalition Army into Rome to celebrate. On the one hand, the Volsci were eager to rush back to their defenseless territory to prevent Rome's revenge. On the other hand, the Devers also considered the feelings of the people in Rome. Therefore, he distributed most of the spoils of war (mainly armors and weapons) to the Voch Coalition Army so that they could return with gratitude.
In this battle, except for some casualties of the Voch Coalition Army, the Dionysian Army's losses were negligible. The Roman army did not suffer many casualties either, but nearly 2,000 of them were captured. The worst was the Latin Army, more than 4,000 of them were captured.
Most of the Roman soldiers successfully escaped back to Villette. It seemed that the Roman army did not suffer many losses. However, this defeat was another blow to the prestige of Rome in the alliance, especially since Diónia had captured so many Latin soldiers. Therefore, after the battle, the Devers did not ask Printos to withdraw the siege troops back to Rome. Instead, they put the Fourth and Legio VI under Printos' command and asked him to step up the attack on Gabi City and take it as soon as possible.
After returning to Rome with the joy of victory, the Devers called Publius and gave him an important task: persuade the Roman soldiers on Mount Capitolin to surrender!
They also promised him that if the Roman soldiers on the mountain dared to hurt him, Diónia would bury everyone on the mountain with him! Whether he succeeded or not, he would become the new senator of the Kingdom of Diónia and speak for the rights of the Roman citizens in the Senate.
For this reason, Publius made careful preparations. The next day, he climbed Mount Capitolin with anxiety. At the same time, he brought along a Roman noble who lived in Villette City and a Roman soldier who was captured in the battle yesterday. He was also a noble.
After the Roman soldiers received the order, they opened the pass. Publius, who had been waiting at the foot of the mountain for a long time, stepped into the mountainside of Capitolin. The Roman patrolling soldiers who passed by stared at him strangely. Some of them even cursed at him. He was already mentally prepared, so he pretended not to hear them and followed closely behind the leading soldier. At the same time, he carefully observed the surrounding environment.
The reason why the Roman soldiers chose Mount Capitolin as the garrison was that it was the highest hill in the city of Rome. The mountainside was relatively steep, but the top was relatively flat and lush with trees. The Roman people thought that it was a gift from the gods. They must like to live in such a beautiful place, so they built the main temple on the top of the mountain.
However, when Publius went up the mountain, he was shocked by what he saw along the way. In less than 20 days, more than half of the trees on the mountain had been cut down. Simple wooden houses and tents were set up everywhere on the bare mountain ridge. Countless people in ragged clothes were lying on the ground. All of them looked emaciated and their eyes were lifeless.
Along the way, Publius recognized many acquaintances. They were all civilians living in Sirio and Mount Verna. They were either the patrons of the great nobles or some civilians who had settled in Rome a few generations ago. In the past, most of them were powerful helpers used by the nobles to deal with other civilians. At this moment, they were hugging their wives and children tightly. When they saw him, they only rolled their eyes. They did not even have the energy to wave or greet him. Seeing their miserable state, Publius once again firmly believed that it was the right decision to lead his family to submit to the Kingdom of Diónia!
When he arrived at the top of Capitolin Mountain, the courtyards of the supposedly solemn temples were also crowded with people who had fled up the mountain. Not only did they make the quiet and clean sacred courtyards noisy and dirty, but the air was also filled with an unpleasant stench.
Seeing this, Publius felt anger rise in his heart. At the same time, he also felt a little sad. Therefore, when some nobles recognized him and learned that he was here to negotiate as the envoy of Diónia, they all cursed and spat at him. Some even rushed up to beat him up. However, these people who could not eat their fill and walked unsteadily could not break through the protection of the guards.
Publius did not care about them at all. Instead, he looked at them with pity.
Finally, the soldiers brought him to the rear hall of the Temple of Jupiter.
"Please come in, envoy of Diónia!" The guard captain deliberately emphasized the word "Diónia" to show his contempt for Publius.
Publius took a deep breath and strode into the hall.
"You still have the face to come here, Publius Manlius. As the patriarch of one of the most glorious clans in Rome, you have abandoned the glory of your ancestors, tarnished the reputation of your family, and shamelessly sided with the enemies of Rome. Now, you dare to step into this sacred hall. The angry Jupiter will punish you severely!"
Publius recognized that the person who said this was Maruginense. If it was in the past, he would have been very afraid to talk to this prestigious old senator because he was the strongest supporter of the execution of Marcus. He also disliked the Manlius clan and often ridiculed them. But today, Publius looked straight at him, who was sitting in front of him and glaring at him. He was very calm. "Today, I am the envoy of Diónia. The king of Diónia has sent me to discuss important matters with you. There is no need to say any more nonsense here."
"Nonsense?!" Maruginense was even angrier. He suddenly stood up and shouted at Publius, "Do you know why we let you in?! That is because we want to punish you, the traitor, like how we punished Marcus! Guards! "
Along with this shout, two menacing guards walked in.
Publius immediately felt nervous. He tried to calm himself down and shouted, "Kill me?! Then you must be prepared to let all the people on this mountain and other Rome nobles captured by Diónia be buried with me! "
There was a commotion in the hall.
"Publius, you don't have to threaten us! When your body falls from the cliff and becomes a meat paste, it will not take long for the Diónia you rely on to be defeated by the army led by Camillus. We will return to the city below and rebuild the post-war Rome, just like in the past! "Abilius immediately stood up and shouted loudly to inspire people.
Publius laughed, "You are still dreaming of returning to Rome! I suggest you ask the two people I brought up the mountain now, Decimus Julius Bruce. You are all very familiar with him. More than ten years ago, he took the initiative to move his family to Vei. This was a big news in Rome at that time. Now he will tell you how Diónia easily captured Caesrella and Vei, and then captured him.
The other person, you, Maruginense, are even more familiar with, Dominius Comnelius Sheila. This is your young clansman. He used to be a platoon leader in the army led by Camillus. He will tell you how Camillus's army was defeated many times. Now, these defeated soldiers have retreated to Saturnicum, and are afraid that the Dionysian Army will attack them! "…"
As soon as Publius's words came out, the entire hall was in an uproar, and the sound of discussion rose. It had been more than 20 days since the fall of Rome. Other than the battle that evening, the city of Rome had remained calm. As the days passed, the senators already had a bad feeling in their hearts, but they did not expect the situation to be so bad.
"… Lies! This is a lie! " Abilius hurriedly refuted, but it was obvious that he did not have enough confidence.
"I don't care what happened outside. As a traitor, you should receive the most severe punishment!" After the initial shock, Maruginense still spoke in a tough tone.
Publius avoided his threatening gaze and looked around at the senators of Rome who were in a heated discussion. The panic and uneasiness on their faces calmed him down a little. He took a deep breath and shouted, "In this case, I have no regrets with all the nobles of Rome accompanying me to die. Come!" With that, he waved at the two guards, then turned and walked out of the hall.
"Wait a minute!" Someone among the senators shouted.
Publius's nervous mood suddenly relaxed, and he slowly turned around.
"As the envoy of Diónia, what matter do you have to negotiate with us here?" Potitus asked loudly.
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