Ocreton was already ready to be tricked, but he didn't expect Haka to explain, which gave him a little confidence in today's talks. So he smiled and said, "Even Carthaginians almost admit that Dionia's medical skills are the highest in the entire Western Mediterranean, so the advice they gave you is of course correct, and you look healthy now!"

"Dionia is much better than Carthage, but not just medical skills." Haka's tone was still plain: "But for you, it's better to expect me to live a few more years, because it's good for Carthage."

Haka's words lifted Ocreton's spirits, and he seemed to feel Haka's expression of kindness to Carthage.

"Please sit, Lord Ocreton." Haka pointed to the opposite side of the hot water pool and said, "There is another reason I invite you to the bathroom. Turiyiren believes that it is best for conversation when taking a bath, because both parties meet honestly and there is nothing to cover up."

Ocreton nodded, without hesitation, stepped into the pool and sat on the stone bench in the pool.

"Give me a glass of wine? This is the best wine produced by the Turi Iorifes family. Its yield is not much and I can't buy it on the market. My cans are given by His Majesty. I say that drinking a little while taking a bath is good for health..."

Ocreton wanted to refuse, but after hearing the words that followed, he changed his mind: "Then let's have a drink."

The servant standing by the pool poured a glass of wine.

After Ocreton took it, he took a sip and felt it was sweet and sour. He couldn't help but sigh: "It's so pleasant to be able to soak in comfortable water every day and drink such good wine! Lord Haka, I really envy you!"

Haka said calmly: "The Carthaginians can also enjoy such a life, but you are still obsessed with the past and cannot accept reality."

Haka's words were a little vague, and Ocreton could not accurately grasp its meaning for a while, so he asked tentatively: "What do you mean..."

Haka did not respond directly, and asked instead: "I know that Carthaginian nobles have also developed the habit of bathing in the past 10 years, but what do you think is the difference between Dionia and Carthage in bathing?"

Although I don’t know why Haka asked this, Ocreton thought about it seriously and then replied: “We Carthaginians took a bath, removed the previous cumbersome links, and directly soaked in the hot pool, then massaged and scraped the body…”

"In fact, those parts that were removed by the Carthaginians were precisely the intention of the Dionians inventing the bath. They believed that bathing was a beneficial exercise for exercise, and the Carthaginians just regarded it as a pleasure." Without waiting for Ocreton to respond, Haka picked up a handful of water with his hand and asked, "Do you know how this water came about?"

"Of course it was the water that the slaves went to fetch." Ocreton would definitely say that if he was in Carthage, but here he felt it was not that simple, so he simply replied: "I don't know much."

“It flowed into the house by itself.”

Haka's answer surprised Ocreton: "Turiy Town Hall has specially built a pool in your home?!"

According to Ocreton, the Dionians specially built elevated water bridges, introduced water from the river into the city, built pools in important places with a wide coverage area in the city, and then built closed waterways to introduce them, so that the whole city can rely on these pools and water.

"It's not a pool, but a hollow pipe as thick as a spear gun rod created by the Dionia Construction Department and the ironware merchants used copper as the main raw material. They used it to directly connect to the water tower, and then buried it under the ground and extend to my kitchen... His Majesty Davers named it a water pipe. The servants did not need to go to the nearby pool to get water. They just needed to turn on the switch of the water pipe, and the water would flow out naturally..." Haka introduced with satisfaction.

Ocreton showed a look of surprise, but he also realized: "This kind of water supply pipeline uses copper as the main raw material, and the copper material and cost it costs should not be a small amount, right?"

"It is indeed a lot of money, but the fees are paid by the residents who apply for the installation of water pipes, and the water usage fee must be paid monthly (the water use of public water pools is free). Because the Waterway Management Office has also designed a device that can calculate the water consumption of residents... Even if the cost is not low, there are still many citizens who ask to apply for the installation of water pipes when they hear the news. However, it has just started operation and consumes too much copper, so it is only installed in the inner city for the time being.

Someone once proposed, ‘If it is cheaper and richer reserves, it will make water pipes.’ You also know that there are a lot of lead ore in Corsica and southern Iberia that Dionia has just obtained. However, His Majesty criticized this proposal very severely, saying that ‘lead dissolves in water is very harmful to human bodies.’ Now iron traders are working hard to study cheaper and durable materials for making water pipes, such as using tin as the main raw material… because once it is developed successfully, you can make a lot of profits by using the fees obtained by patents. Perhaps in a few years, you can see water pipes in the homes of wealthy citizens in other towns in the Kingdom of Dionia…”

After Haka finished speaking, seeing Ocreton listening attentively, his expression gradually became serious and said in a deep voice: "Because of Carthage's glory in the Western Mediterranean in the past, the Carthaginians have always proudly believed that their mother country was the best country in the Western Mediterranean, and they have the best culture in the Western Mediterranean. Even other races are barbarians in the eyes of Carthaginians.

I had this kind of pride when I was in Iberia, but after coming to Turiyi and staying here for more than a year, the pride in my heart has disappeared. Although Dionia is a new kingdom, it is much better than Carthage!

I believe that when you enter the mouth of the Crati River, everything you see will make you think like this. The city of Turiyi is much stronger than Carthage, not to mention the Kingdom of Dionia, Crotone, Catanai, Rome, Syracuse... These are also not inferior to Carthage's great cities, they are not Utica.

Although Utica was an important ally of Carthage, he might not obey the orders of the Carthage Senate because of his own interests at critical moments. However, all towns in the Kingdom of Dionys are directly governed by His Majesty the King and the Senate. When the war occurs, all manpower and financial resources can be concentrated and all their strength can be used to fight against the enemy. This is the main reason why Dionys was able to defeat Carthage in the Western Mediterranean War.

After the failure of that war, Dionia's national strength increased even more, but Carthage weakened so much that it might not even be as good as Kattanai. In such a huge gap in strength, you are still resisting stubbornly—”

"We have no intention of confronting Dionia at all!" Ocreton was shocked and quickly defended: "We only want to live our own lives! But now the lowly East Numibians are frequently plaguing our territory. If it weren't for the peace agreement signed between Carthage and Dionia, the East Numibians were Dionia's allies, we would have gathered our army to attack these hateful Numibian tribes!"

Haka showed a hint of sneer: "Didn't you fight back? No, you have fought with the Numibians, but have suffered failure."

"That was just a...small battle. We wanted to teach the Numibians a lesson and let them retreat, but we didn't expect that they would send so many soldiers..." Ocreton defended himself.

"Since that's the case..." Haka opened his arms and held Chiyan and said calmly: "I can suggest to His Majesty that you choose to ignore it when you attack the Numibians."

Ocreton didn't expect Haka to give this answer, and he was speechless for a moment.

Haka took advantage of the situation without hesitation and said: "Look, I just said that the Carthaginians are unwilling to accept reality. You are an obvious example! Can Carthaginians defeat the East Numibians with their current strength? You must know that the Numibians have gotten rid of their fear of the Carthaginians. Although they are still in charge, they can still reach an agreement on the "fight against the Carthaginians". In addition, they can now obtain more excellent weapons and armor from Dionia... Carthagin gathers the power of the Phoenician allies and fight with all their strength, and may win, but I believe that the casualties must be quite serious. The key question is, can Carthagin still command the Phoenician city-state on the continent of Apheriga as before?"

Ocreton wanted to say "Yes!", but when he saw Haka's smiling face, he swallowed the words again, and his face showed a little embarrassment: "Yes... those Phoenician allies are no longer as closely united around Carthage as before the war. As time goes by, anyone with discerning eyes can see... Our Carthage is declining day by day, and the Kingdom of Dionia, which has a vast territory and a huge population, has become a powerful existence that no race or city-state can survive in the Western Mediterranean.

Especially the Phoenician city-state east of the Robben Peninsula, they rarely obey Carthage's orders, but frequently send envoys to Hadrummentum, which is said to allow their merchants to enter the vast market of the Kingdom of Dionia more conveniently. Hatrummentum was like a poisonous needle that had been stabbed on the body of the Carthage Alliance, and had begun to exert its destructive power..."

"Tell you the truth." Haka slapped the pool water on his chest, rubbed it gently, and then slowly immersed his body in the pool water: "It was my Majesty Davers who suggested to 'Turn the East Numibians to invade the land you have inland...'"
Chapter completed!