But Dionys did not sign an agreement with Tarantum at this time, which made Histiavis feel uneasy. He reminded him unwillingly: "So you are already full of confidence in defeating Syracuse?! I heard that until now, Dionysius' army still has an absolute advantage on land!"

"Isn't Syracuse defeating us exactly what you hoped!" Kunogorata sarcastically said: "You will no longer worry about the safety of the city-state and the life and death of captured citizens."

Histiaves was speechless for a moment, and then he couldn't help asking: "If this war continues for a long time, wouldn't we, Tarantum, have to keep delivering food to Turiyi? We must know that our food reserves are not sufficient."

"Since this is the case, you still dare to tear the covenant and start a war with us!" Kunogorata sarcastically.

Ansitanos interjected: "Wars of this scale have happened several times throughout Greek history, and it is simply impossible for them to last."

Histiaves hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Okay, I will convey Dionia's proposal to the Senate, but I hope you understand that Tarantum is a Spartan's son."

Kunogorata and Ansitanos looked at each other, and Kunogorata said lightly: "So what? Is Sparta also ready to join the war?"

Histiavis stopped talking, and he found that the Dionians at this time were not afraid of any threats. Perhaps as the other party said, Tarantum could only hope for Syracuse's victory...

…………………………………

Just as Kunogorata, Ansitanos negotiated post-war affairs with the Tarantum messengers, Davers was also discussing food issues with Bajilipi, Cappus, Marigi and Mercis.

"Your Majesty, the grains in the Turiyi Granary have been transported to the troops in the south for a while, and they are almost empty now. I estimate that half of the stock of the Kosenza Granary, but its transportation is a bit difficult, and the attack on Laus is about to begin. At that time, the supply of food will still need to be provided from the Kosenza Granary. As for the current situation of the Grummentum Granary..." The agricultural officer Bajilipi told Davers in detail about the current food situation in Dionys.

"I am quite clear about the situation of the Grummentum granary. The war with Samante ended faster before, and some were seized, so it was not consumed much. However, the grain output of Grummentum was originally low and the reserves were not good, but the amount of animal husbandry was huge and the price was low, so it could barely support the Third Legion's counterattack against the Samante region. Therefore, it is unlikely to let the Lucania region squeeze out grain to supply Turiyi, and transportation is also a big problem, so we should not attack the Grummentum granary." Davers introduced to everyone the situation he learned about when he led his army through Grummentum.

"Your Majesty, it seems that if we want to organize a battle of more than 50,000 people against the Syracudas, food is an urgent problem we need to solve!" Cappus said worriedly. During this period, he took over military affairs on behalf of Hilos, and also had a detailed understanding of this: "Three days ago, Asprestum and Crimesa sent back news that their food was a little tight. In the past few days, due to concerns about the harassment of the Syracudas fleet, the baggage team has been busy increasing their guards to avoid being attacked by enemy sailors. Therefore, it has not transported grain to these two cities stationed in the army on a large scale, and I don't know what their situation is now.

Moreover, Turiyi now has three legions, the first, second, and seventh, a total of three legions, a baggage transport team, and the 6,000 newly recruited people by Your Majesty. This is nearly 32,000 people. The grain consumed every day is a huge number. If the food problem cannot be solved, even Turiyi's army will have to be disbanded in a few days because the food is exhausted."

"Don't forget that there are also prisoners of Syracuse and Tarantum, and there are probably about 25,000 people!" Melsis reminded everyone loudly: "Even if you only give them a little food every day to maintain their basic survival, it will be a considerable food consumption. I think it's better to treat them all as slaves and sell them for money."

Davers looked at Melsis's eager greed look, and he was not disgusted. Because of the consumption of war, the shutdown of the port market, the treasury's money was only paid, but not in, and it was already bottomed out. Therefore, he could fully understand Mels' eagerness.

But he shook his head and said, "The captives of Tarantum cannot be sold. That is the most important tool for us to control Tarantum. For them, Tarantum will obediently and constantly deliver food. Coupled with the capture in Heraclia yesterday, I think it can at least alleviate the shortage of food in Turiyi. As for the sailors of Syracuse... Mariji, the blockade of our port by the Syracuse people has been broken. I believe that trade will slowly recover. Can these prisoners of Syracuse be sold?" Davers, who was a modern person in his previous life, always hated slave trading, but for the survival of Dionia, he could not take care of much.

After Davers said that, Mercis turned against his previous attitude of hating Mariji and looked at Mariji eagerly.

Marigi nodded to Davers and said slowly: "Dear Your Majesty, although we defeated the Syracuse people at sea, we have not completely wiped out their power at sea. Our most important trade channel, the Strait of Messina, is still controlled by the Syracuse Navy.

The situation is better in the east of the Mediterranean. Tarantum's fleet was completely wiped out, and the Spartan's ally, the Serracuse, is now suppressed by the Athenian fleet that is friendly to us. So if the blockade of the Strait of Messina cannot be quickly broken, in the future, we will have to slowly recover the Mediterranean Sea Trade Fair in the Mediterranean, but the original eastward trade will not occupy a major position in our market in Dionia."

Business officer Mariji did not talk about the slave issue first, but made a brief estimate of the situation in the port market.

Davers immediately said, "I understand what you mean. I will urge Seclian to lead the fleet to seize control of the Strait of Messina as soon as possible! But with the arrival of merchant ships, can our ports ensure normal operation?"

Davers asked this point. During the war, it was not enough that merchant ships could arrive. The operation of the entire port required many managers, a large number of porters and sailors, patrols to maintain public order... etc. The more prosperous the port, the more people they needed. Now, in order to cope with the war, a large number of young and middle-aged laborers were drawn. Not only formal citizens, but also prepared citizens, free people, and even free people who had not yet registered were recruited. The originally bustling ports and markets are now very depressed. More can be seen are women, elderly people, and even children busy at market stalls, which shows the lack of labor.

Of course, Mariji knew enough labor - this was also an important issue. He had no better way to do this, so he could only say reluctantly: "Your Majesty, I will find a way to solve this problem... As for the large number of these Syracuse prisoners, if you want to find a city-state that can afford the cost and not fear Syracuse in the short term, there are indeed few city-states that dare to take over... Well, I have a goal." Mariji said in a stressful tone: "We can try Carthage, and we can even use these slaves to exchange for Carthage's food."

As soon as he finished speaking, Melsis began to murmur: "Carthage, they were already scared by the Syracuse people. They had refused to form alliances with us before. I don't think they would agree to buy these prisoners."

Marigi ignored him and waited for Davers' answer.

Carthage! After Mariji's reminder, Davers' eyes lit up: Before the war, Carthage opposed the alliance with Dionyha. But the war has continued until now. It is not certain whether the Carthages will maintain their previous attitude. After all, Syracuse and Carthage have always been mortal enemies. Although peace has been maintained during this period, it does not mean that the Carthages will watch Syracuse continue to expand its power in Greater Greece, and even turn Greece into the backyard of Syracuse. In that case, the more powerful Syracuse will only have a greater threat to Carthage's sphere of influence in Sicily.

Thinking of this, Davers made up his mind and said, "It seems that we need to send someone to Carthage again immediately to explore the attitude of the Carthaginians towards this war. If they are willing to buy these slaves, we can further make some demands on Carthaginians, such as food trade. You must know that this war is related to the survival of our Dionysia and the rise and fall of Syracuse. I don't know how long it will last. Therefore, the food in Tarantum alone is not enough to ensure the sufficient food supply of the Dionysian army under formation! Carthagin is known for its abundant food production, not far from Dionys, which can meet our war needs. Otherwise, where can we buy food? Eukxing Sea? Or Egypt? These places are too far away from us and cannot be guaranteed in time, and accidents are prone to happen..."

"Your Majesty, there is also Cyrenega to consider." Marigi added.

Cyrenega Davers was stunned. He did not expect that this Greek city-state located in Afilica and was neighboring Carthage and Egypt. Dionia had never had any contact with it before. However, it is said that although Cyrenega had a good relationship with Sparta (because it is a sub-state of Sparta, it has always remained neutral among Greek city-states. Moreover, it is a city-state dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry. Sylphion grass is just a special commodity of it. In addition, it also produces horses, cattle and sheep, wheat and flax.
Chapter completed!