Chapter 923
Receiving his father's praise, Crotocatax showed a happy smile.
"It's just that …" The Devers paused and said gently, "I used to say that you're too gentle, but this time, you're a little more intense. Kautini's chief, Segovani, has been captured by us, and his head has been chopped off to appease the Naconians and Campanians. However, punishing Penteny and the chiefs of the two tribes may make the people happy, but in fact, it may cause the people of the two tribes to be dissatisfied, making the Samonai War unable to end soon. This is not what we want.
You have to know that the tradition of the Samonai people is to respect the strong. Penteny and these tribal chiefs lost the war and lost their land, so they will lose prestige and appeal among their people. If we forgive them and support them to continue to be tribal chiefs, not only will we get their gratitude, but it will also be more beneficial for us to control the Samonai people. We can add a clause to the covenant, 'The chief of the Samonai tribes must be confirmed by the kingdom before he can officially exercise power in the tribe.' This way, we can establish the kingdom's authority in the Samonai tribes.
Of course, you proposed that the new chief of Kautini be chosen from the Naconians. Very good! I think we can let the young chief of Naconia who first rose against the Kautini in the Battle of Lola be called … "
"Your Majesty, his name is Vassonk. He belongs to the second largest tribe in the Naconia region, Avangum. He has just been elected as the tribal chief by the people because his father was killed by Segovani. However, he seems a little too young, only 20 years old." Tormid gave a brief introduction of this person's situation and reminded them.
"It doesn't matter if he's young. As long as he trusts Diónia, then Diónia will support him, and he can become the chief!" The Devers said proudly.
"Your Majesty is right! In the future, the Samonai Tribe will not be able to survive in the mountains without the support of the kingdom! "Heniboris expressed his support loudly.
Cloto Catax and Tormid were deep in thought.
"In addition, there's another very important thing that I forgot to mention last time. Kroto, you didn't notice it either. This time, the reason why the Samonai people were able to start the war, other than the agreement of the four chiefs, who else played a big role in it?" Devers asked again.
"High Priest Sammonet!" Cloto Catax blurted out.
"That's right. High Priest Sammonae and his priest group are above all tribes and have a great influence on the Sammonae Tribe. I even suspected that they were the main instigators of this war, because the Kingdom's Hades priests entered the mountainous region to spread their faith, which violated their fundamental interests.
Therefore, we must ask them to disband the priest group, and each tribe will elect their own high priest. Similarly, it must be confirmed by the kingdom. The holding of the Samonai Savone Sacrificial Ceremony must be coordinated by the kingdom, and the four high priests will take turns presiding over it. "
Crotocatax carefully pondered over what the Devers said, understanding the use of political wisdom in it. He nodded frequently, but he was also a little doubtful. "Father, this involves the Samonai people's faith and tradition for many years. I'm afraid they won't agree easily."
"Gherni will definitely agree. The Abellumians have been bullied by the priest group, and I'm afraid they have long wanted their own High Priest Savone.
The Kaputini people have to agree because this tribe has suffered heavy losses and is almost destroyed.
The Pentene people have to agree because their central town has been besieged for so long and is about to be attacked. As long as we change the tradition, we can exchange it for the survival of the tribe. I think they will agree in the end. As for Karacheni — "The Devers sneered." The other tribes have their own high priests, and the Samonai priests they have can only be used for themselves. (The Samonai race originated from Karacheni's territory, and there is a sacred mountain there, which is also where the Samonai priests are entrenched.) If we don't solve this problem while the Samonai people are at their weakest, the Samonai people may bring a lot of trouble to the kingdom in the future! "
"I understand." Crotto Catax replied with great sincerity.
"Henny, write a letter to Alexis based on the contents of my conversation with Clotho, and let him talk to the Pentene and Kaputini people according to the letter." The Devers finished speaking, but there was no response.
"Father, Uncle Henny just went out." Crotocatax pointed outside the tent and reminded the Devers.
The tent flap was lifted, and Heniboris walked in again. "Your Majesty, there are two more battle reports. One is from the 3rd Fleet, and the other is from Sicily. "
"Oh …" The Devers took the letter and opened it. The joy on his face disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Your Majesty, is it bad news?" Heniboris asked curiously.
"It's not too bad." The Devers quickly calmed down and said calmly, "The infantry of the 3rd Fleet went ashore to attack a Phoenician village in Sardinia, but they encountered the prepared Phoenician army. The battle broke out, and the 3rd Fleet lost more than 400 people. Fortunately, they managed to retreat in the end."
"More than 400 people?! That's not a small loss! "Heniboris was a little shocked.
The Devers knew that Sardinia was different from Corsica. It was a large island with a large area of land, many large rivers, and fertile hills and plains, which could be used for grazing and farming. Therefore, there were many Phoenicians on this island, and they had established Saint Iberia, Olbia, Saros, Kalaris, Nora, Suerki … These were relatively large city-states. They had enough young and middle-aged citizens to build an army of more than 10,000 people. The news of the 3rd Fleet conquering Alenia could not be hidden from the Phoenicians of Sardinia, which was not far from Corsica. It was normal for them to be prepared. However, Midolades had underestimated them because of their previous victory. After suffering such a setback, he would be more clear-headed in his future actions.
"Your Majesty, how should we reply?" Heniboris asked.
"Just say that I already know. I hope that they can learn from their mistakes and be more flexible and cautious in future military operations. We have to use the advantage of the navy to expand the scope of the attack to the entire island, so that the Phoenicians cannot predict the 3rd Fleet's movements …"
"Father, are we not going to send reinforcements to support the 3rd Fleet?" Cloto Catax interrupted.
"The Phoenicians of Sardinia have been protected by Carthage for many years. They are greedy for peace and only want to protect their own territory. They have no ambition, and they will not pose any threat to us. This is not a problem that we need to solve urgently. The 3rd Fleet will be enough to hold them off." The Devers waved another letter in his hand and sighed softly. "Our biggest threat still comes from Sicily. Although the news that Therian is still alive has given me joy, Miltias has died in battle, the 4th Fleet has been crippled, the friendly cities on the south coast of Sicily have fallen one after another, and Syracuse has suddenly sent troops to declare war … All these bad news make me feel uneasy! The Carthage army led by Margo is very imposing. Our Sicilian territory will be violently attacked by them … "The Devers said worriedly. After putting the letter on the table with a solemn expression, he did not say anything else. Instead, he put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in the tent.
Heniboris picked up the letter curiously and read it carefully. Cloto Catax was not as bold as him. After all, he had received military training and understood military law. He knew that peeking at military intelligence without permission would be severely punished. Hence, even though he was curious, he only glanced at Heniboris.
"The Carthage army and Syracuse have launched an attack on our Sicilian territory together! Hena, Paragonia, and Taunis have been attacked at the same time! "Heniboris said softly to Cloto Catax after reading the letter.
"How many enemies are there?"
"The letter says that there are at least 100,000 people participating in the attack! Our army in Sicily only has a little more than 20,000 people, right?! "
"To be precise … there are about 30,000 people, from the 7th and 8th Legions, and the Sicilian Legion's reserves …"
The two of them discussed in low voices.
The Devers stopped and said, "Clotho, go and call Tormid over. It seems that it's time to take down Saturnicum."
"Yes!" Cloto Catax walked out of the tent excitedly.
"Your Majesty, isn't it a little too early to attack Saturnicum now? The last time we attacked Antium, although the Rome army only had 3,000 defending soldiers, we still paid a heavy price. There are more Rome soldiers in Saturnicum than in Antium! "Heniboris couldn't help but remind him.
"According to the observation of the scouts in the mountain, the number of patrols on the city walls has decreased significantly. When the families of the Rome soldiers persuaded them to surrender, they leaned on the battlements and listened. Their officers didn't stop them either … This has never happened before. It means that the morale of the defending soldiers in Rome has dropped significantly. I originally thought that the defending soldiers in Rome would surrender on their own, but we can't wait any longer. The sooner we end the war here, the sooner we can rescue Sicily!"
The Devers's tone was firm. Heniboris didn't try to persuade him anymore. Instead, he followed the Devers's instructions and started to write a reply to Alexis.
At this time, the captain of the palace guards, Martius, walked into the tent and said, "Your Majesty, Legion Commander Martonis wishes to see you for an important matter."
"Let him in."
Martonis walked into the tent happily and said loudly, "Your Majesty, Saturnicum has sent an envoy from Rome. They are requesting to surrender!"
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