Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

"Clotho." Davos called his son by his nickname directly, delighted by the mourning! But...like Amintas and the others, I've had this expectation in my heart for decades...do you want me to go to Elysee with regrets?"

Clotokatacus was stunned, unsure of how to respond.

Davos laughed and said, "Don't worry. Decades ago I led mercenaries fighting in Persia for over a year without once falling ill, perfectly adapted to the climate and diet there. Now that I'm older, though, I never stop exercising, I hardly ever get sick, and my health is still great, isn't it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. According to our medical school's comprehensive analysis of your past medical examinations, the functions of your body's organs are similar to those of a healthy middle-aged man." Medical Minister Stacy Kordas said truthfully.

"Clotho, do you hear me! Maybe I'm in better shape than you!" Davos laughed, then spoke with determination, "Gentlemen, I'm running 60 years old and have won countless victories in my military career, and this will be my last battle! Let me remove this last strong enemy for the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia, which we have built together!"

Clotokatacus was about to stop talking, and finally sighed in frustration.

The ministers looked at each other, and no one spoke out against it again.

At that moment, Cthulhu rose and asked, "Your Majesty, with you leading an expedition, how are the affairs of the kingdom arranged?"

Davos was prepared for this, he said slowly, "The Consul, Clotokatacus, will act as the government of the kingdom, with the full assistance of you Auxiliary Ministers. In fact, this is how the Kingdom Administration has been running for the past few years, and I believe you can do better after my expedition!"

No one disagreed with Davos's arrangement, and some even thought: five years ago His Majesty Davos made his son Clotokatacus consul and began to handle the affairs of the court, and perhaps at that time he had already had in mind a personal expedition to Persia.

"Gentlemen, today's meeting establishes the resolution for the expedition to Persia, after which we will discuss it in depth and make some secret preparations." Davos looked around at everyone and said with a solemn look, "But - in order to ensure the smooth conduct of the next games, it will not be announced to the public for the time being, and I hope that everyone will abide by the laws of the kingdom and not reveal this matter to the public!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After the Executive Council was over, Davos returned to his chambers, and had just sat down and had no sooner taken a sip of slurry than Hennepolis entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Aristeas requests an audience."

"Let him come in."

Aristeiras approached with a slow gait and a respectful salute.

"Aristiras, if you have come to ask me about that last resignation you submitted-" Davos looked at him and said quietly, "I will not grant it for now... ...As you just heard at the meeting, I will be going on a personal expedition to Persia, so the stability of the kingdom will require your assistance and a little more hard work, don't you think?"

"Your Majesty, I agree." Aristeiras replied simply, "But I have one more thing to report to you."

"Very well, you say."

"Prince Fili of the Kingdom of Macedon, whom you have asked the Intelligence Department to focus on, is on his way to Tulii after intelligence officials in Thessaly discovered that he is mixed in with the Macedonian Emissary Corps."

"Mixed in with the Macedonian emissary corps?" Davos had a change of heart, "You mean he's not coming to the Games as a Macedonian prince? Not even his mother and brother know that he has left Macedonia?"

"I should know by now," Aristeiras explained, "I received another secret report from Thessaly immediately afterwards, and not long after the Macedonian emissary corps left by ship, the Macedonian royal guard was searching the city of Aegae (Aegae) for his whereabouts. I expect that Macedonia will soon send another delegation of emissaries to Turei to find them and strengthen the protection of Fili, and I do not even rule out making Fili's identity public..."

Davos understands that Aristeilas' reason for such a detailed analysis of the whereabouts of a Macedonian prince actually stems from some bad suspicions about his initial request for the Ministry of Intelligence to closely monitor such a young Macedonian prince who had no connection to the Kingdom of Dionysia.

In 369 B.C. (25 years into the Kingdom of Dionysia), when the Dionysian army conquered Thessaly and established the New Greek Confederation, King Amintas of Macedonia, the northern neighbor of the Thessaly region, died of an illness and was succeeded by his youngest son, Alexander. This was followed by a rebellion by a noble general in northern Macedonia and the occupation of the area around Kalkidik, which Alexander failed to quell. The situation was so dire that King Alexander had to send a messenger to Athens for help.

But when he heard that Sparta was now under the control of the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia, and that there were rumors in Macedonia that the king of Dionysia had killed his father, the people panicked and the young Macedonian king felt intimidated, so he had no choice but to ask for help from Iphikrates of Athens, a famous Athenian general with close ties to Macedonia and the former Macedonian king Amintas, who was also his godfather.

When Iphikrates received the call for help, he did advise the Athenian general's executive council, but Callistratus reminded the crowd that although the newly formed New Hellenic League did not restrict its members from using troops abroad, Athens would certainly arouse the suspicion of Dionysia if it were to send troops to Macedonia, which bordered Thessaly, so it was best to get Dionysia's permission.

The people, though reluctantly, finally agreed to Kallistratus's suggestion and sent a messenger to the new Greek League Council at the distant Thurii.

As soon as Davos received the news, he ordered the troops stationed at Thessaly to aid the Macedonian royal family and repel the rebels.

But in the time it took the messenger to get there and back, the Macedonian rebels overran the city of Egeria, King Alexander died in battle, and the queen fled south of the Gulf of Telma with the king's two brothers, Pardikas and Philis.

Hylos, the governor of Thessaly, sent an emissary to find the Macedonian queen and convey to her the goodwill of King Dionysia toward Macedonia. The Macedonian queen finally let down her guard and asked Dionysia for help and was willing to allow Macedonia to join the Greek alliance.

But the Dionysian ambassador politely stated that for Macedonia to join the new Greek League, it would have to obtain the consent of more than half of the city-states in the Greek League, which would take a lot of time. But if Macedonia were to be allied only with Dionysia, as was the nature of the alliance with Sparta, the covenant could be signed at once, and the Dionysian army at Thessaly could be dispatched at once.

Desperate, the Macedonian queen agreed to the messenger's request and signed a covenant with Dionysia as her lord.

The frontier legions in Thessaly were immediately ordered north, routed the rebels near Pella, and pursued them, eventually capturing and killing the Macedonian generals who had started the rebellion and recapturing the towns they had occupied. With the full support of Dionysia, the Amintas family regained the throne, and Alexander's second brother Pardikas became king of Macedonia.

Throughout the pacification process, Alexander's queen and the new king saw the power of Dionysia and remembered the feud between King Dionysia and Macedonia, so they deliberated and decided that they would show Macedonia's loyalty to Dionysia by sending his third brother, Philip, to Turi as a hostage.

Davos, on learning this, however, made his refusal very clear, and wrote personally to comfort Pardicus, saying that "as long as Macedonia remained loyal to Dionysia, Dionysia would always guarantee the long-lasting peace of the House of Amintas in Macedonia, so there was no need for any hostages to maintain the friendship between the two countries. "

Padiakas was exceptionally moved after reading the letter, but he would never have known that the main reason why Davos did not accept Macedonia's sending of Philip to Turei as a hostage was because he had some knowledge of the history of Macedonia's rise in the previous life.

Athens and Thebes intervened in Macedonia's political affairs at this time in the previous life, and eventually Macedonia submitted to the more powerful Thebes, who forced the prince Philly to take hostage in order to ensure Macedonia's loyalty. The various resolutions implemented by the Theban hierarchy, headed by Das, in the formation and integration of the Piochian League... A few years later, because of civil unrest in Macedonia, the young man in his twenties returned to his homeland, usurped his nephew's throne, and used what he had learned in Thebes to create a powerful new army. Not only did he achieve the unification of Macedonia, but he made it strong. In the aftermath, his son Alexander destroyed Thebes, which had given Philae political and military enlightenment....

Davos planned ahead and certainly would not give the gifted Fili such an opportunity. As for Macedonia's loyalty, it wasn't even on Davos' mind, he even wanted Macedonia to betray the covenant so that Daonia, who had undergone several years of renovation and had already fused with Thessaly, could take the opportunity to destroy Macedonia, allowing it to expand its territory in Greece and would strengthen the kingdom's power in Greece even more.

"This Prince Fili is quite unpleasant, though!" At this moment, Davos said cautiously, "Regardless of whether the Macedonian Emissary Corps is going to make his identity public or not, but since he's here to watch the Games, he's a valued guest of Daonia, and we must ensure his safety!"

Aristillas peeked at Davos, feeling as if his previous guesses were wrong, and said seriously, "Yes, your majesty, we will do our best to keep Fili safe!"