Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1046: Davos and Dido

"I have," Dido said without hesitation. "That is why I decided to go to Sicily and negotiate with the Theonians!"

"What? You're going to Sicily?" Haca was genuinely shocked.

"You would be the more suitable candidate, but your health is poor, and we cannot spare you here right now. So it has to be me. I may be a woman, but I am the only daughter of Mago, head of the Magonid family. Going to Sicily in person will better demonstrate our sincerity. Furthermore, the decisions I make during the negotiations should meet with your approval, right?" Dido stared fiercely at her cousin.

Haca didn't answer directly. "What decisions?" he asked.

"I want this territory to join the Kingdom of Daunia. We can become their subordinate state, or... whatever that free city status is called. That should be enough to save my father and Hasdrubal!"

Looking at Dido's resolute expression, Haca suddenly envied her vitality and decisiveness—qualities his own sickly body lacked. "Alright. I'll take care of everything here. You can go to Sicily with peace of mind. But prepare for the worst. That King of Daonia is not an easy man to negotiate with."

Although Haca had never met Davos, he had studied the King of Daonia deeply. Even some of the administrative systems currently implemented in their Iberian territory were adapted from Daionia's government. Because of this, despite being a Carthaginian noble, he didn't oppose Dido's treasonous plan to defect. On the contrary, he harbored a trace of envy.

...

Okriton returned to Sicily as the Carthaginian envoy, commencing a new round of negotiations with the Palace Secretary, Henipolis, in the governor's mansion at Lilybaeum.

Henipolis remained entirely unsatisfied. He pointed out that Daionia demanded the entirety of Southern Iberia currently held by Carthage, including coastal towns like Gadir, Huelva, and Megalopolis, along with their gold and silver mines. There was no room for negotiation.

Okriton argued his case vigorously, but Henipolis refused to yield an inch. Furthermore, Davos denied Okriton any opportunity for a royal audience. The negotiations fell into a deadlock.

When Okriton sent word back to Carthage that the negotiations were stalling, the Carthaginian Senate simultaneously received another piece of bad news: Ruspina had surrendered to the Daionian Army.

Alexis had originally hoped the Carthaginian army would come to Ruspina's rescue. That would have allowed him to crush their fresh reinforcements in a field battle, reducing the difficulty of future sieges and severely crippling Carthaginian morale.

But after learning that the Numidians had joined the Daionian Army, the Carthaginian Senate grew more concerned about the safety of the City of Carthage itself. Despite the repeated pleas of Ruspina's envoys, the Senate merely offered perfunctory excuses while urgently mobilizing reinforcements from the Phoenician Allied States to the west to protect the capital.

Alexis did not order a forced assault on Ruspina. Instead, he deployed the thirty ballistae belonging to his three legions to continuously bombard the city for several days. This not only destroyed many houses and kept the populace in a constant state of panic, but it also blasted several large gaps into the relatively thin city walls. Ruspina didn't have many citizen soldiers to begin with. Without any news of Carthaginian reinforcements, the terrified Ruspinans chose to surrender to avoid repeating the fate of Hadrumetum.

After leading his troops into Ruspina and taking complete control of the city, Alexis immediately ordered the Third Legion of Theonia stationed in Hadrumetum to break camp and join him.

Seeing that the Carthaginians were stubbornly holing up, he decided to continue eastward and capture Thapsus, transforming that stretch of coast into a secure rear base for the Daionian Army.

After receiving Okriton's report and learning from their scouts that the Daionian Army in Africa was aggressively seizing territory to the east, the Carthaginian senators led by Hanno came to a realization: whether for the safety of the City of Carthage or to force a favorable ceasefire, Carthage had to concentrate its strength and drive back the enemy on its doorstep.

Following an emergency discussion, the Senate appointed Samors as the Carthaginian military commander, tasking him with repelling the Daionian Army.

Samors led 10,000 Carthaginian Citizen Soldiers to Adis, bringing the total military force there to 15,000 men. This deployment left the City of Carthage practically devoid of young, able-bodied men. The Senate was forced to mobilize the elderly and underage boys to defend the capital.

Samors did not lead his army to rescue Thapsus, which was currently under siege by the Daionian Army. Instead, he intensified the construction of defensive fortifications in Adis while waiting for reinforcements from the Phoenician Allied States along the western coast.

Because Daonian Warships were patrolling the coast of Africa, the reinforcements from the Phoenician Allied States dared not travel by sea. Forced to march overland through the mountains, their arrival at the City of Carthage was naturally delayed.

...

Dido was tall and graceful, with a beautiful face and bright eyes. She wore a pleated purple dress embroidered with golden flowers beneath a rare white fox-fur coat. Her black hair was gathered and held in place by an exquisite, solid-gold ornament. She was poised and elegant; her delicate femininity carried an underlying martial spirit. Though her skin was slightly dark, it was radiant and flawless, giving her a distinct, exotic charm.

When she walked gracefully into the reception room of the governor's mansion in Lilybaeum, the guards couldn't tear their eyes away. Even Davos found himself momentarily distracted.

He subconsciously sat up straighter and gave a dry cough. "Are you... the envoy from the Carthaginian colony in Iberia?"

"Esteemed King of Daonia," Dido said, parting her red lips. Her voice was not as bright as most young women's; instead, it carried a rich depth. "I am Dido, the only daughter of the Carthaginian military commander, Mago. I am not an envoy of Carthage, but a representative of the Magonid family."

Davos was not surprised. He already knew the Iberian envoy's identity, and his intelligence reports indicated that Mago's daughter was no simple woman. Not only did she frequently involve herself in the political affairs of Southern Iberia, but she could even sway Mago's decisions. It was purely out of curiosity that he had granted her an audience. Dido's deliberate emphasis on her family name further confirmed his suspicions. He asked playfully, "Are there no men left in the Magonid family?"

Dido caught his mocking tone. Her almond-shaped eyes widened, but she quickly lowered her eyelids and said forcefully, "The officials of Iberia sent me here not because I am a woman, but because I can represent them in negotiations with you!"

"Oh?" Davos feigned surprise. "I don't understand why the Carthaginian officials in Iberia still needed you to come. Don't you know the Carthaginian Senate is already prepared to cede the entire Southern Iberian Region to Daionia?"

Dido had anticipated this. She took a breath and spoke with added emphasis. "Esteemed King of Daonia, although we are far away in Iberia, we know that the negotiations between Daionia and Carthage are not going smoothly and the war is still ongoing. Moreover, Carthage cannot represent Southern Iberia. Even if the negotiations conclude successfully and they agree to cede Southern Iberia to Daionia, that resolution will not be recognized by our people! The Southern Iberian Region has already decided to break away from Carthage and decide our own fate!"

Dido delivered that last sentence with resounding force. Davos raised his brows, his gaze turning icy. "So even if a peace agreement is reached with Carthage, Southern Iberia has no intention of abiding by it? Don't you realize that will only give me an excuse to dispatch an army to Southern Iberia? We have already captured tens of thousands of prisoners from your region, including your father and relatives! I wouldn't mind turning every man in Southern Iberia into a slave and making them mine ore until they drop dead!"

Though Davos had not raised his voice, his regal majesty made it impossible to look him in the eye. A thick, bloodthirsty pressure washed over Dido, making her panic. She hurriedly lowered her head, trying to calm herself. After catching her breath, she gritted her teeth. "Since... since Carthage has betrayed us, why should we continue to obey their orders? If Daionia truly intends to send an army against us, we will fight to the last man to defend the dignity of the Magonid family, and make you Theonians pay a heavy price!"

"Make us Theonians pay a heavy price?" Davos scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "How many soldiers do you even have left in your Iberian territory? Can you still deter the surrounding Lusitanians and Iberians? Daionia wouldn't even need to deploy an army; we could just sit back and watch the indigenous Iberians wipe out your isolated forces!"

"Perhaps we will be wiped out, but what benefit would that bring to Daionia?" Throwing caution to the wind, Dido spoke loudly. "We spent over a decade painstakingly conquering the indigenous Iberians, felling trees, leveling the earth, and cultivating the land year after year just to carve out the territory we settle today. If a stable, orderly Southern Iberia is allowed to fall back into the hands of those vicious natives, I don't know how much gold and silver, how many citizens' lives, or how much time Daionia would have to expend—especially after this great war with Carthage—to incorporate Southern Iberia into the Kingdom of Daunia!

"But right now, all Daionia has to do is accept my terms, and the Southern Iberia you desire will immediately be yours! Then, Your Majesty, you can focus all your efforts on dealing with Carthage, squeezing them for even greater benefits!"

The cold glint in Davos's eyes faded. Keeping his expression neutral, he asked, "You want Southern Iberia to be directly annexed into Daionia?"