Chapter 919
Before Sedorum's voice trailed off, Felicius interjected, "The Ninth Legion is still stationed in Apulia. Because of His Majesty's reminder, the Ministry of Military Affairs specifically asked the Ninth Legion to stay in Udiay and not follow Alexis to the Sammonae Mountains. This is to prevent such a thing from happening. I believe that Commander Tegtinos will be able to defeat the enemy easily."
"I believe that our legion can easily defeat the rabble, but I'm worried that these former fugitive leaders of Mesapi, Puchetti, and Downey will cause unrest in this region when they return to Apulia, just like what happened in Bruti during the Southern Italian War." Sedorum spoke of the past with mixed feelings. The chaos in the Bruti region gave him the opportunity to show his talents, laying the foundation for him to become the rotating president of the Senate. However, the turmoil and riots also caused the entire Bruti region to fall into war, the population was greatly reduced, and many tribes disappeared.
"Please rest assured, my lords. The Puchetti region has been annexed to the kingdom for almost ten years. The people there live in freedom, prosperity, and pride themselves as citizens of Diónia. It is impossible for them to be incited by these long-forgotten stray dogs to start a riot and return to the era of poverty under the rule and control of the king and chief. On the contrary, they will cooperate with the kingdom's army to drive out these thugs who are trying to take away their happiness!"
The speaker was the former leader of the Silvem tribe in the central town of the Puchetti region, Prince Adoris's future father-in-law, Torlex. Not only was he the leader of the Puchetti elders, but he also had a lot of prestige among the people of Puchetti, so his words made the elders feel a lot more at ease.
Then, another influential elder of Mesapi, Apirosia (who was also the father-in-law of Heniboris, the court clerk), stood up and said loudly, "We, Mesapi, have been annexed to Diónia for a long time. I can assure you here that the people of Mesapi will only see these former Mesapi people as outsiders, as thugs who want to destroy their peaceful lives. The people will fully support the kingdom's army to defeat them!"
Puchetti and Mesapi's words made the other elders unconsciously focus their attention on another elder — Lugor Sembron.
The identity of this elder from Downey was not to be underestimated. He was the former king of Downey. Four years ago, during the war between Dionysia and Downey, he had surrendered early in Lucenia, allowing Alexis to conquer the Downey region without any problems. In order to appease the people of Diónia and stabilize their hearts, Rugo Semblon was warmly received by the Devers and was entertained at a banquet. It did not take long for him to become the Senator of Diónia, and he became the youngest Senator of the Senate (he was only 27 years old at that time, and only 31 years old now).
After joining Diónia, the former King of Downey, who had a weak personality and could not convince the people, had always been content with his place. He was not very enthusiastic about politics. Attending the regular Senate meetings had always been routine, and he rarely spoke or argued. Instead, he devoted all his energy to the sport of football. Not only did he often practice, but he also spent money to form a team to participate in the football competition in the Turií region. Therefore, he was jokingly called the "Senator of Football" by the Turií people.
It was rare for him to receive such attention in the Senate, and he could not help but feel a little nervous. He said softly, "You … You don't have to worry about Downey, because … because not many people of Downey escaped."
What Lugor Sembron said was the truth. In the Apulia region, it took the shortest time to conquer Downey. They only fought a battle at the Orfanto River and a siege battle at Sipentum. After that, the towns and tribes of Downey surrendered one after another. Of course, Lugor Sembron's surrender played a big role in this.
After his reminder, the senators came to a sudden realization, and they felt more at ease.
"Once these thugs land in Apulia, I suggest that we let Torlex, Apirosia, and Lugor Sembron go to Puchetti, Mesapi, and Downey respectively to assist the governor of the region to appease the people and organize the defense …" Sedorum said his opinion loudly.
Most of the senators agreed to this proposal, and Torlex and Apirosia did not object either. Only Lugor Sembron was very reluctant, but under such an atmosphere, he did not dare to refute, and could only accept it silently.
"Since the entire Apulia region is preparing for the game, does this mean that we don't need to inform the towns of Apulia to participate in the rugby finals this time?" Lucius asked.
"Absolutely not!" Torlex immediately expressed his objection. He reminded with a serious expression, "Even if the remaining forces that have fled outside attack the Puchetti region, it will not cause panic among the people. However, if they are not allowed to participate in the rugby finals, I'm afraid that it will really cause unrest in the entire region!"
"It's the same for the Mesapi region," Apirosia said immediately. Apirosia also said immediately, "The people have already regarded the rugby finals as a major festival, and they will never allow their town's team to be absent. I think it's a mistake for the enemy to choose to attack Apulia at this time. The people will be even more angry and fight back against these thugs who spoil their enjoyment of the game. "
"I've long heard that the people of Apulia are obsessed with rugby games. It seems that it's not a rumor!" Lucius sighed and took back what he had said before.
The Mesapi and Puchetti were both relatively fierce races. After being conquered by Diónia, the people were still unwilling, and the rugby finals became the best place for them to express their unyielding and resistance. Therefore, in the first few years, their players were not skilled in rugby, and their tactics were even simpler. However, relying on their tenacious spirit, they repeatedly reversed the situation and defeated the strong Greek teams in the finals. After the winning team returned to the city, the players would be pursued by the people, which further promoted the development of rugby in the region. Although in recent years, as the people of Apulia had completely integrated into Diónia, this kind of antagonism no longer existed. However, rugby had become the most popular sport in the region, even more so than Turií.
Just when some senators who still did not know much about the Apulia region were listening to the senators who had served as the governors of the towns in the region whispering about the reasons why the people of Apulia loved rugby, they suddenly heard Cydorum ask Hilos, "Did the remaining forces of Apulia attack us with the support of Sparta? If so, did Sparta also send troops to participate? "
Many of the senators were nervous.
Hilos said with a smile, "The rebels led by Vardalka could gather troops in the Peloponnesus region, which means that they must have gotten the consent of Sparta. But so far, there is no information that shows that Sparta or other cities of Peloponnesus have joined in. I think the most important reason is that Sparta is now busy fighting against the new alliance formed by Athens and the Thebes. "
After hearing this, Vesba let out a long sigh of relief and said repeatedly, "That's good, that's good!"
An elder in the meeting hall teased, "Lord Vesba, don't worry. Lord Bagul is not satisfied. I'm afraid he still wants to capture a few Spartans in Udier!"
As soon as the people in the hall laughed, Antares stood up and said with hatred, "Sparta is now in a difficult situation, but they still don't forget to cause trouble for us. It seems that their hostility towards the kingdom has never changed. When we get rid of Carthage, we must let the people of Sparta know how powerful we are. "
These words received the unanimous approval of the elders.
After the Senate's regular meeting ended, Vesba did not accept Hemont's invitation to have a few drinks at Cristoya's restaurant in the city. Instead, he went straight back to his mansion.
As soon as he entered the backyard, he met his daughter-in-law, Andrea.
"Father, you're back!" Andrea came up to him and said with concern, "Today's Senate meeting ended much later than usual. You must be tired!"
Vesba looked at her and said naturally, "There were more topics today, and everyone's debate was more intense. One of the topics had a lot to do with Bagoule."
"What is it?!" Andrea asked immediately.
"When the kingdom conquered Apulia, the people of Mesapi, Puchetti, and Donidori who fled to the mainland of Greece had already assembled an army …" Wesba did not hesitate at all to tell Andrea the secret that should have been kept a secret.
Even though the Kingdom of Diónia was more tolerant towards women, it rarely allowed women to participate in politics. This was even more so in the tradition of Lucania. Andrea was also a daughter-in-law of a different race, so Vesba's requirements for her were relatively strict. The reason why there was such a drastic change was that his sense of superiority as the leader of Lucania was no longer there. Diónia was getting stronger and stronger, and there were many new people in the Senate, which made him constantly feel threatened. On the other hand, as the right-hand woman of the former Queen, Cristoya, Andrea had received great training over the years. Since Bagoule was working outside all year round, Vesba often had to rely on his daughter-in-law to analyze the situation for him and listen to her advice.
After listening, Andrea did not show the same worry that Vesba had when he first heard about it. Instead, she comforted him, "Father, don't worry. Since the Ministry of Military Affairs has made sufficient preparations, and the Senate has made meticulous arrangements, there will be no trouble in Apulia. Bagoule will be very safe. And I think this is a good thing. The kingdom can take this opportunity to catch all the fugitives and completely stabilize Apulia."
Vesba looked at his daughter-in-law's calm and confident face, and was stunned for a moment before murmuring, "Yes, yes, you're right …"
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