Chapter 7 Rome and Carthage -----

His words successfully attracted the attention of people around him. The kingdom ministers, who had no idea about Wolsey and did not care too much, focused their attention on him: the messenger from the north was wearing a short white robe, with a belt, revealing his arms and calves. His dress was somewhat similar to the Samonets, the only difference was that they had shoes.

"Thank you for the generous donation of the Volsey people!" Davers said calmly: "I have heard that the Volsey League in central Italy is brave and good at fighting. Unfortunately, because Dionia is too far away from you and has rarely been in contact. I believe that your visit this time will open a new chapter in friendly exchanges between Dionia and Volsey!..."

Davers said a lot of words about enhancing friendship between the two countries, as if the arrival of the Wolsey envoy was just to strengthen contact with Dionia.

Matpola heard it a little anxious and said loudly: "His Majesty, the noble king, I am here to ask Dionya for help!"

"Seeking help?" Davers made a puzzled expression.

"The Romans in central Italy have always relied on national strength to provoke battles everywhere. This time, the Romans invaded our territory on a large scale. We, Volsi, could not resist, so we specially asked for help from the most powerful kingdom of Italy, Dionia! I hope you can send reinforcements to help Volsi defeat the Romans!" Metpola said earnestly.

"But I heard that it was because you, Volsey, took the initiative to attack Rome's allies and angered the Romans, that they would attack Volsey." Military Minister Hilos interjected.

Metpola glanced at Hilos, and then replied with confidence: "Hundreds of years ago, we, Wolsey, had been living in the southern part of Latinum, and were still in harmony with our surrounding neighbors. A hundred years ago, Rome was just a small town on the Tiber River, but through constant wars and killings, it became a powerful force in central Italy! In order to resist the invasion of the Romans, we fought with the Romans for decades and had become mortal enemies.

In recent years, Rome has conquered most of the city-states in southern Etruscany and became stronger. Of course, we, Volsi, cannot sit still and wait for death! Unfortunately... we failed..." Matpola sighed in pain, and then said loudly with a little resentment: "The Romans regard wolves as their ancestors. Wolves are greedy and violent animals. If Volsi is conquered, the Roman swords will definitely cut towards the Campanian alliance, which is more fertile and richer in the land. Even after conquering them, they may continue to go south... So I beg Dionia to lend a helping hand to us Volsi!"

Most ministers felt that the Wolseys deliberately said Rome so terrible that it seemed to be a threat to Dionia, but they wanted to incite Dionia to send reinforcements, and they did not agree.

Only Davers, who was on the throne, knew that what he said might be the truth, but he remained silent.

"We are very sympathetic to Wolsey's experience, but I believe you have seen it in Dionia. We are suffering from a drought, so at least now Dionia is not able to send troops to central Italy to fight the Romans." Commerce Minister Marigi said regretfully.

"We, Wolsey, have food! The autumn harvest just ended, and we have enough food! As long as Dionia sends reinforcements, we are willing to ensure the food supply of Dionia's army!" Matpola immediately responded.

After he said this, Minister of Finance, Minister of Finance, Minister of Commerce, and Minister of Agriculture, Burkos looked at each other and were all a little moved.

At this time, Anta Oris, one of the rotating presidents of the Senate, said: "Your Majesty, in fact, we don't have to rush to send troops to help Volsey. We just need to send envoys to Rome to persuade them to retreat. With our prestige in Italy, it is also possible to achieve it.

But... whether it is sending an envoy to negotiate with Rome or sending an army to help Volsey, it requires a legitimate reason! But now Volsey has no diplomatic relations with us, Dionia, and rashly interfering in the affairs of various forces in central Italy will only make people criticized."

Anta Oris's reminder made everyone's eyes lit up.

Davers looked at him with admiration and asked, "What do you think we should do about this?"

Before Anta Oris could speak, Matpola immediately shouted: "The Volsey Alliance is willing to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Dionia!"

"Assembly is a big deal, and it is probably necessary to discuss within your alliance before making a decision." Foreign Minister Ansitanos said tactfully. He was actually questioning Metpola's authority as an envoy and reminding him not to speak loudly blindly.

"Please rest assured! Before I came out, the Wolsey League had granted me full authority to make any decisions temporarily! And-" Metpola straightened his chest and said confidently: "And my Poulo family has always been an important political force in Circeii in Wolsey. Any decisions I make here will be recognized by the Wolsey League!"

Davers nodded slightly and said, "I have learned about Wolsey's request. We will discuss this matter. Please go down and rest first, and you will get Dionia's decision soon."

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After Matpola left the hall, Davers looked around the ministers and asked, "What do you think about Wolsey asking us for help?"

"Your Majesty, we have just conquered Doney and are now facing drought. I heard that Rome is a powerful force. Once a war with it occurs, it will not be able to calm down in a short time. With our current situation, we may not be able to support this war for a long time." Cornerus said worriedly.

"Your Majesty, please pay attention." Lucias took the conversation and said, "Rome and Carthage are allies. If we rashly agree to Wolsey's request, interfere with Rome's military operations, and finally resort to force, this is forcing Carthage to make a choice! Given that our relationship with Carthage has not been very good in the past two years, Carthage is likely to choose to support Rome, thus making the conflict bigger!..."

Lucias's horrific words surprised everyone in the hall.

"Carthage and Rome are allies?" Marigi asked some questions that people wanted to ask.

"A hundred years ago, Carthage and Rome formed a friendly alliance." Ansitanos, a scholar, said: "About a hundred years ago, Rome initially conquered the Latin region and began to establish a Latin alliance, and the Carthaginians signed a covenant with Rome. I still remember the initial provisions of the covenant were

‘…The friendship between the Romans and their alliances against the Carthaginians and their alliances is based on the following conditions. The Romans and their alliances should not sail through the beautiful cape…cannot engage in any trade activities in Libya, Iberia, Sardinia, Corsica…

…The Carthaginians must not harm any other Latin city belonging to Rome. The Carthaginians must ensure that they do not occupy any city in this city…’”

"This is just a friendly agreement, not a covenant." Senior Judge Terry Toddmos questioned.

"I said this is just the original text. The agreement has been renewed many times and has continued to this day. In the renewal of the contract two years ago, the agreement has added the following clauses..." Ansitanos said slowly: "When Rome or Carthage fights against third-party forces, it can seek support from the other party, and the party asked to provide as much help as possible according to its own situation. After the war is won, the two sides will discuss the ownership of the spoils..."

"Two years ago?" Sedolum's face changed suddenly and said in a dismay: "The clause added to this agreement is probably established by Carthage against us, Dionys!"

Two years ago, it was Dionys who discovered the conspiracy of the Tanikian tribe with Carthage's secret support to unify the tribes of the Sikels. The Eighth Legion defeated the Tanikian tribe in one fell swoop. The leader led the remaining troops to flee to the western Sicily controlled by Carthage, and was reportedly taken in by Carthage. Although Carthage and Dionys renewed the contract with Dionys again, the relationship between the two countries became subtle, especially in terms of trade competition.

Did a Tanic An fall down and build a Rome in the northern part of Dionia?! Everyone's expressions became a little complicated.

Hilos said with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, although Carthage has maintained peace with us for more than ten years, it is because it needs to restore the trauma caused by the previous war with Syracuse. Even so, the Carthaginians are still quietly causing trouble for us. After all, the Western Mediterranean can only accommodate the next overlord, which was like this before Carthaginia and Syracuse, and now we and Carthaginia will do the same.

Therefore, Carthage and Rome formed an alliance, which should not be a reason for us to be afraid of aiding Volsey. On the contrary, we should increase our efforts to form a powerful alliance with Volsey, otherwise we will be allowed to conquer Volsey and become stronger. It is one with Carthage, one in the south and one north, and we will be in a more troublesome situation in the future! It is better to take advantage of the fact that the Carthages are unwilling to fight and the Romans are not strong enough. We will join forces with other forces in central Italy to encircle Rome, completely defeat it and become weaker, and no longer become a danger to our Dionys and allies!"

As the Minister of Military Affairs, Hilos said this with murderous words, and his meaning represents the meaning of the military headquarters.

The meeting room suddenly fell into silence.

Davers did not make a statement immediately, but looked at Cornerus, Lycius and others and asked, "What do you think of Hilos's opinion?"
Chapter completed!