Chapter 936
Hanno softened his tone and said, "Of course, Pretacuba, you don't have to worry too much about the fact that the Sicilian army also needs naval support. I remember that a few months ago, the Senate passed a resolution calling for the construction of 600 warships, and the 195 warships are only a part of it. After that, the warships that are built can be formed into a fleet and sent to the Sicilian sea to provide assistance to our army. "
Pretacuba remained cautious and did not respond to Hanno's display of goodwill.
However, it made Aisyaruba and the other neutral senators secretly nod in approval. They thought that Hanno was still able to consider the overall situation in the face of a war that was related to the survival of Carthage.
"But don't forget, we are building warships, and the Diónia are also building warships. Their shipbuilding skills are not much worse than ours, and in terms of naval warfare, we have not gained any advantage so far. Am I right, Annobus?"
Annobus nodded awkwardly.
"So," Hanno said loudly, "we should not pin our hopes on the navy. Our hope of victory is still on the army, on the army led by Lord Margo, and on the more than 100,000 troops that cost a lot of money from the treasury of Carthage. I want to remind you that because of the blockade of the coast of Latin by the Dionysian fleet, we are not very clear about the progress of the war there, but we have received some news from the Etruscan merchants in the north.
After the fall of Rome, the Roman army has been defeated and has retreated to a few small cities to the west of Latin. They are being besieged by the Dionysian Army, and I am afraid that they will not be able to hold on for long … Once Rome is completely destroyed, the king of Diónia may lead the army south to land in Sicily, and by then … "
Margo deliberately paused for a moment to take in the uneasy looks on everyone's faces. He then solemnly said, "That's why Lord Margo has to take over Naxos and Katanai as soon as possible. He doesn't have much time left. Although he once wrote to us that the reason he dismissed most of the Carthage generals was because they lacked the ability to command in battle. We don't understand the situation at the frontlines, and we respect his decision. But I think that these Carthage generals who have been dismissed are the outstanding citizens of Carthage that we are familiar with. Are those ignorant and backward Numibians better than them?! If that's the case, why are we ruling Numibia and not the other way around, Carthage?! "
"You're absolutely right, Lord Hanno!!" Many of the elders felt that their anger had been vented, and they loudly expressed their support.
Without batting an eyelid, Hanno continued, "I suggest that we select a group of outstanding citizens of Carthage and have them serve under Brother Mara. Brother Mara will assign them duties according to their abilities. In this way, we don't have to worry about Brother Ma accusing us of interfering with his command and causing a setback in the battle. At the same time, we also give the young Carthage a chance to wash away the shame. "
"I agree with Lord Hanno's suggestion!"
"Lord Hanno is too thoughtful. As long as we give the young people a chance, they are much better than those lowly Numibians!"
"Only Lord Hanno would dare to accuse Lord Mara of being biased against the citizens of Carthage. We absolutely support your proposal!"
…
One by one, the elders expressed their agreement.
Pretacuba's heart was filled with bitterness and anger. Damn Hanno, not only did he create a big problem for Lord Mara, but he also provoked the dissatisfaction of the elders against Mara!
At this moment, he saw Hanno throwing him a smile.
… …
While the Carthage Senate was fiercely debating about the new fleet to reinforce Sardinia, the Devers had returned to Rome.
Because the news of the complete conquest of Rome had been detected by the surrounding races who had been paying close attention to the war, they had sent messengers to Rome, hoping to meet the king of Diónia.
Although the entire Dionysian Army had been in the territory of Saturnicum for 20 days, the Devers completely lifted their confinement when they left. Only the 5th Legion and nearly 6,000 Rome soldiers followed him back to Rome.
That night, the Devers held a banquet in the Rome City Hall to entertain the messengers from all sides.
"The war in Latin has just ended. There are many things to do in Rome, and the people's lives are still relatively difficult. We can't prepare a more sumptuous dinner to entertain our distinguished guests. I apologize with this glass of wine!" The Devers raised his wine glass high in the main seat of the banquet and said apologetically.
"Your Majesty, this is not right!" The Wolsey messenger, Catemontalos, who was also the Archon of Polyvenrum, said loudly, "The destruction of Rome is the best hospitality to us Wolsey people! When the people of Rome attacked the Wolsey territory, Your Majesty, at the risk of starting a war with Rome's ally, Carthage, did not hesitate to send reinforcements to help us Wolsey defeat the people of Rome, preventing the people of Rome from ravaging our territory for a long time … The Wolsey City-State Alliance sent me as a messenger to Rome to meet Your Majesty, to tell Your Majesty that all the people of Wolsey regard the people of Diónia as our eternal friends, so this first glass of wine should be my sincere gratitude to you on behalf of all the people of Wolsey! "
As he spoke, he stood up, picked up a full glass of wine, and was about to drink it.
Unexpectedly, another guest next to him hurriedly stood up and said loudly, "Wait! This first glass of wine should be given to Your Majesty by us Helniki people! If Your Majesty had not personally led the army and taken great risks in the expedition to Rome and completely defeated the people of Rome, I'm afraid that we Helniki people … would have perished! Your Majesty, you and Diónia are the greatest saviors of all the people of Helniki, and we Helniki people will always be loyal allies of Helniki! "
Seeing this, the Devers was moved. He said emotionally, "Distinguished guests, we Diónia were able to defeat Rome thanks to the full help of the Wolsey and the Helniki people! I made a small mistake just now, this first glass of wine should be given to me and the two of you to thank us for our joint efforts in defeating the people of Rome! I also wish that the alliance and friendship between Diónia, Wolsey, and Helniki will always be maintained! "
When the Devers finished speaking, he brought the glass of wine to his mouth.
"Your Majesty, you are right, this glass of wine should indeed be given to Diónia, Wolsey, and Helniki first!" Catemontalos said meaningfully, then raised his head and drank the wine in his hand.
"In Latin, the Helniki people will fully support Diónia!" Helniki's messenger, Nemeri, promised loudly and drank the wine in his hand.
When the messengers of the other forces saw this scene, their expressions changed slightly, or they were deep in thought, but in their hearts they understood the fact that not only did Diónia have a strong military and defeated Rome, it also had the full support of the two major forces in central Italy, Wolsey and Helniki. Coupled with the Latin city-states that had submitted to it, Diónia's power in central Italy was even stronger than Rome at its peak.
Therefore, when the Devers filled the glass again and toasted all the messengers present, they all stood up and respectfully congratulated the Devers.
"Your Majesty the King, Devers!" One of the messengers wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth and asked loudly, "Now that Rome has been conquered by Diónia, is Diónia preparing to support a new Rome? Or is it going to become a child state of Diónia? "
As soon as his voice fell, the Devers learned from the interpreter beside them the content of the conversation and the identity of the speaker. The speaker was a Sabine messenger from Keate.
The Devers knew that the relationship between the Sabines and the people of Rome was complicated. In the beginning, Romolus, the founder of Rome, led the Latin exiles to this barren land by the Tiber River. They relied on robbing the nearby Sabine towns to survive the most difficult period. Over the past hundred years, there had been many wars between Rome and the Sabines. However, there were also many Sabine tribes that actively or passively merged into Rome and became citizens of Rome.
Therefore, the Devers said with a straight face, "Rome, Vei, Gabi, Phaidina … These towns were all taken by the citizens of Diónia with their lives and blood. They will all become a part of the Kingdom of Diónia! The Kingdom will do its best to help the Rome and Latin people who have become citizens of Diónia rebuild these territories and turn them into prosperous towns in central Italy, so that they can live a prosperous life. "
After listening to these words, the messengers looked at each other, each with different emotions.
"Your Majesty the King of Diónia." Messenger Ecui could not wait to ask, "In the past, Rome relied on its powerful military force to often invade the surrounding races, threatening everyone's safety. Now that Rome has joined Diónia, will it still be the same as before, provoking wars everywhere and greedily seeking more territories? "
As soon as he said this, all the messengers pricked up their ears and focused their attention on the Devers.
The Devers saw their expressions and understood that although Ecui was asking about Rome, he was actually asking about the Kingdom of Diónia that had suddenly invaded central Italy and had established a foothold there. What kind of foreign policy would the Kingdom of Diónia adopt towards the surrounding forces? This was probably the question that all the messengers were most concerned about.
He smiled and said in a clear voice, "If you understand the history of the founding of Diónia, you will find that Diónia has never taken the initiative to invade the territories of other city-states and races. Usually, it was other forces that came to invade Diónia first. Some city-states even went against their promises and suddenly tore up the alliance with us, brazenly invading the territories of Diónia and slaughtering the people of Diónia. That was why we, Diónia, were so furious that we retaliated and destroyed them.
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