Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Outside Ostia, Camillus repeatedly declared that as long as he recaptured this small port city, he could negotiate with the Dionysians, and eventually he might return to Rome peacefully...

Encouraged by the eager Roman soldiers who returned home, they attacked Ostia for two consecutive days and were repulsed by the Dionysian army, but the city was covered with corpses, the ground was stained red, and the city walls collapsed in many places. , Showing the fierce fighting.

On the third day, the Roman army continued its offensive.

…………………………………………

In the Roman Senate, Davos convened a meeting. In addition to all the veterans in Rome, the meeting also included the head of the Third Army Lizaru, the staff officers Printols, Tolmed, and the diplomat. Tapirus.

"Everyone, Tapirus was commissioned by me and sent to the Etruscan city of Keslera, Walch, Tarzuna and Fufluna on the north bank of the Tiber River. It is hoped that these Etruscan city states, which were forced by Rome's strong military pressure and forced to be affiliated with Rome, can tear up the alliance with Rome and join us in attacking the Roman colonial city on the north bank of the Tiber..." Daveus said Here, sighed softly.

"Your Majesty, do these Etruscans disagree?" Lizaru hurriedly asked, as the commander of the army responsible for guarding the Roman Spinal Bridge and the new river port on the north bank, if the Etruscan city-state on the north bank could fall to Dior If Niah and attack the Roman colonial city, the pressure of the enemy on the north of the Roman city will no longer exist, and the Third Army can be drawn out and put into other battlefields. This is the first interruption why Lizaru is so concerned. s reason.

Daveus did not answer directly, but looked at Tapirus.

Everyone's eyes immediately shifted to the diplomat. He swallowed slightly nervously and said, "I... I received the order from His Majesty and took the boat to Keslera first, not only because of it. Closest to us, also because... as far as I know, it is the most friendly Etruscan city-state to the Greeks. In fact, they did receive me very warmly.

But... when I talked about Dionia’s willingness to form an alliance with them and deal with Rome together, the Cassella people politely refused. They said,'Cassela has been friendly with Rome for decades. They will never easily abandon this friendship, but they will not participate in this war and be enemies with Dionia,'

They also defended the Romans and said,'We have captured the Roman city and have the upper hand. It is best to be able to negotiate a truce with the Romans at this time, so that they can get more benefits and also guarantee this land The trade order of China will not be greatly disrupted...'"

"It is said that we will not be enemies with us, but the Keslera people are defending the Romans inside and out." Roman Chief Executive Asistes frowned.

"The people of Keslera made it very clear. They have been friendly with the Romans for decades, but they have never been with us before. If I were a Keslera, of course I would help the Romans!" Matonis Straightforwardly said.

Nikomacus looked at Tapirus and asked worriedly: "Since Keslera, who is the most friendly to the Greeks, is also biased towards the Romans, I am afraid that other Etruscan city-states will not support us?"

Tapirus nodded slightly and continued, "Then, I went to Walch and Tarzuna again. Both of these city-states were forced to submit to Rome because they were attacked by Rome. A colonial city was established in their territory. They expressed interest in His Majesty’s proposal, but they ultimately expressed frustration,'They have a vast majority of young and middle-aged citizens who are fighting with the Roman army, so they are now afraid to take action against Rome. Any hostile actions, so as not to anger the Romans, and put their citizens on the expedition in danger'..."

"It seems that the Romans are still very wary of these Etruscan allies!" Antrapolis, who came from the intelligence service, heard this with a sigh.

"Later I went to Fuvruna. A few months ago, Rome sent an army to try to conquer this city-state, but it happened that we had a war with Rome. The Romans withdrew the troops that attacked Fuvruna, which is equivalent to us. Saved Fuvruna.” Tapirus continued: “But when the Fuvruna Council met me, it didn’t seem enthusiastic and didn’t seem interested in our proposal. They said to me, 'If you want to unite with us and declare war on Rome, Fuvruna cannot make a decision alone. You must also discuss with the Etruscan city-state alliance and reach an agreement before you can finally make a decision. But before that, they Very willing to establish a friendly relationship with us...'

But as far as I know, the Etruscan city-state alliance is a loose alliance and not very united. In recent years, Rome has attacked the Etruscan city-states. This alliance has not played a role in uniting all Etruria. A city-state, against the role of Roman aggression, so it is easier for Rome to conquer Walch and Tarzuna..."

"You mean... The Fuvruna people are just perfunctory about us, and don't mean to be allied with us?" Yasistus interjected thoughtfully.

Tapirus nodded and said, "After meeting with the Council of Fufruna, I asked the interpreter who followed me to buy the Congressman of Fufuluna with money, and I learned from them that although Fufuluna hates Rome, But they are also full of vigilance to the outsiders, and the power of Dionysia even worried them. At the beginning, the Etruscans joined the Romans and drove away the Celtics, but the Romans did not have a few years. They led the army to conquer them, so they didn’t want to make the same mistake again, and they probably wanted to see that we were both defeated by Rome, so that it would be most beneficial to them..."

"These Etruscans want to be good! Unfortunately, I think they will only regret it in the future!" Matonis said aloud.

"I'm afraid it's not just the Fuvrunas who think this way. Other Etruscan city-states have similar ideas. Even compared to us, they are more willing to trust the Romans who have been with them for hundreds of years." King Daveus The brother-in-law, Alcibidas, said solemnly: "Since yesterday, we have many trackers and sailors on the Shuohe cargo ship who have seen small Etruscan troops in the distance on the north bank. Fortunately, The guards of the Cavalry Corps did not dare to get close."

"I also received a report from the cavalry, but I think they are only investigating, and they dare not have a confrontation with us." Ledes confirmed this news.

"Although they haven't fought us yet, they have shown hostility, and we have to fight back against this, otherwise these Etruscans will think that we are weak and can be bullied!" Matonis said with hate.

"Your Majesty." Yasisters looked up at Davos, and said worriedly: "Because the Roman army is attacking Ostia, cargo ships from the Kingdom can only be pulled by the tracker from the north bank of the Tiber River to the city of Rome. If the North Shore is also attacked by the Etruscans, the waterway to the city of Rome will be cut off, and the exchange of personnel, the replenishment of soldiers, the delivery of supplies, the supply of military food... will become more difficult , This is not conducive to our governance of Rome!"

When Daphes heard this, his fingers began to tap on the table, but his eyes gradually became sharper. He said in a deep voice: "It seems that I judged these Etruscan city-states wrongly, and originally thought they suffered from Roman Threats, I should be very happy to form an alliance with us. I didn’t expect them to have different ideas! Since we don’t accept our good intentions, then we will deal with them in another way, show them our force, and let them know , What terrible consequences will be the enemy of Dionia! I decide—"

Daveus glanced at the crowd and said aloud, "Send troops to capture Keslera!"

When everyone heard it, some of them were uplifted, and some of them showed their faces.

"Your Majesty, will the attack on Casellera allow the Etruscan city to fall completely to Rome?" Yasistes expressed his concern.

"Master Yasisters, don’t worry. As His Majesty said, these Etruscan city-states have their own ideas. Walch and Tarzuna were defeated by Rome, and their territories were divided. There is resentment, and it is only because most of their citizens are in the Roman army that they dare not cooperate with us. And the city states farther away from Rome, I am afraid, will mostly be on the sidelines... Only Keslera and Rome is very close, and its location is too close to the banks of the Tiber River. Taking it away will not only protect our waterway shipping, but also deter other Etruscan city-states, which will help convince them to ally with us again!" Tapirus Analyzed with confidence.

"However, Keslera is a mountain city, and the mountains it sits are much higher than the Capitoline Mountains here, and it is not easy to capture. The current situation does not allow us to take too many soldiers to attack. No less, our army will fall into the predicament of fighting on both sides!" Tolmed reminded solemnly.

"Although Keslera is a mountain city, it has many citizens in the Roman expedition to Helniki's army. A few days ago, the Third Army also captured some of their citizens. In fact, there is no Keslera in the city. How many soldiers can fight. Your majesty, I led four brigades to quickly defeat the city of Casellera!" Epitanis called out loudly.

As soon as his words fell, Matonis immediately retorted: "Epitenis, your troops have not captured Capitoline Mountain these days, and you want to attack Casellera, forget it! Your Majesty, Let us the second legion carry out this mission!"