Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1099: Electing Regional Administrators (3)

Its inland mountainous areas still hosted a large Nuragic population, making it clearly more attractive than the Corsica Region. Four more Senators were successively nominated, but the final election results saw Phlocrates capture over sixty percent of the vote, winning a decisive victory.

Watching this unfold, Haca began to understand: the three nominators from the start of the meeting had definitely reached a tacit agreement. For those two young Senators to win by such high margins, they must have had the backing of the Senators represented by the other nominators.

Haca guessed right. In the early days of Daionia's founding, the Thurii Faction led by Kunogorata and the Amendolara Faction led by Cornelius collaborated extensively to curb Davos's overwhelming influence. Later, after Davos became king and Kunogorata passed away, the Senate was finally brought completely to heel. However, as men from other regions continuously entered the Senate, they threatened the dominant positions of the Amendolara and Thurii Factions. To maintain their voice in the Senate, they drew in the Lucanian Faction, a group they had always maintained good relations with and whose status kept rising. As long as their interests did not clash, the Senators of these three factions generally acted in unison.

Thus, when Stromboli saw the situation turning unfavorable just now—realizing he could not guarantee Phlocrates a stable victory—he immediately withdrew his nomination and shot a meaningful glance at Vespa and Hermon. Having collaborated for years, the two Lucanian Senators instantly understood. Meanwhile, Bulcos, who was usually buried in administrative work and lacked political agility, only realized what was happening after a quiet reminder from Ansitanos beside him. He also chose to abstain. Just like that, the three major factions formed a silent alliance.

While many Senators who caught on applauded to congratulate Phlocrates, they felt a pang of apprehension. For which Regional Administrator position would the Thurii Faction's Mixippus jump out again?

"Next, we will elect the Regional Administrator for the Southern Sardinia Region," Rotating Chairman Antaoris announced, moving the proceedings along.

The Southern Sardinia Region consisted of seven or eight former Phoenician towns, led by Caralis. More than half were coastal settlements boasting substantial populations and thriving maritime trade. Coupled with relatively fertile river plains, the region's overall strength rivaled some areas in Magna Graecia. Naturally, it attracted many Senators eager to submit nominations.

The protocol officer carefully surveyed the raised hands before calling out, "Lord Brelius!"

Brelius quickly stood up and spoke in a booming voice: "I nominate Lord Telys! Lord Telys's capabilities are obvious to everyone. He has served as an administrative officer for over ten years, delivering outstanding results in every post. Moreover, he actively answered His Majesty's call by heading to the Latium region during the war. He bravely took up the mantle of magistrate for the City of Ostia right on the front lines, successfully helping the expeditionary force achieve victory.

Brelius's blunt words left Antonios feeling a bit awkward in the assembly. Sedorum felt equally embarrassed. He never expected Brelius, a fellow Bruttian, to nominate an outsider—especially without consulting him beforehand.

In truth, although the Bruttians were one of the earlier groups to join Daionia, their massive rebellion during the War of Southern Italy had severely crippled their influence within the kingdom. After Baripiri passed away, Sedorum became the leader of the Bruttians.

Unlike Vespa and Hermon, however, he focused more on looking after the people of the former city of Vig, paying little attention to the career development of younger Bruttian officials. As a result, the Bruttians had always lacked political cohesion within the kingdom. Only in recent years, as Sedorum aged and noticed the dwindling number of Bruttian talents, did he finally begin taking this issue seriously.

While Brelius was a Bruttian, he had spent years immersed in the military, fostering closer ties with the Senators of the Military Faction. Even after being stripped of his position as the Seventh Legion Commander due to a mistake during the Western Mediterranean War, he never left the army. After the war, Hylos even appointed him as a military training Adjutant.

(This was actually an instruction from Davos. The king believed that any Legion Commander in Brelius's position at the time would have had to issue the rescue order. Despite the heavy casualties, Brelius maintained the support of the Catania citizens and the army's morale. He made the right choice, yet bore the blame for it. Stripping him of his command was necessary to uphold the majesty of Military Law, but his later appointment was the Ministry of Military Affairs making up for what they owed him.)

Because of this history, his relationship with the military Senators was even better than with the Bruttian faction.

Moreover, Sedorum felt that given Brelius's level of political acumen, there was no way he could have come up with that grand speech on his own. Brelius had never shown any prior connection to Telys, meaning he was definitely acting as a nominator on the orders of someone in the military. Was it Philesius? Or Alexis?

Sedorum swept a suspicious gaze over the two military heavyweights who were currently whispering to each other, before his eyes finally landed on another Bruttian Senator, Saru.

Before Sedorum even joined Daionia, he had groomed Saru as his successor for Vig. However, after the Bruttians merged into Daionia, Saru's political career in the kingdom struggled despite Sedorum's full support. His administrative skills were lackluster, and a series of setbacks sapped his confidence in managing a region independently. He had always harbored a strong interest in military command, but because Sedorum had dissuaded him early on, he missed his chance to enter the military. By the time his political career stalled and he wanted to switch paths, he was too old to start from the bottom as a junior officer.

At this moment, Saru was looking at Sedorum with a hint of anxiety. Sedorum had planned to have Saru nominate someone as well: Hegesitus.

Although Hegesitus was not a Bruttian, he had lived in the Bruttii Region for decades. Most of the tribesmen he once led in rebellion still lived there, and they had even produced a few talents for the kingdom's political arena. More importantly, Hegesitus had served as the Town Magistrate for several key cities in the kingdom and possessed considerable administrative prowess.

Sedorum had collaborated with him extensively in the Senate over the past few years. Feeling that his own Bruttian ranks were underperforming, Sedorum intended to pull Hegesitus and his people into his faction.

However, in the eyes of some Senators, Brelius belonged to the Bruttian faction. Since Brelius had already nominated Telys, having Saru nominate Hegesitus now would not only confuse their supporting Senators but also turn them into a laughingstock. Most importantly, with the military backing Brelius, Sedorum had no confidence in securing a victory for Hegesitus. After weighing his options, he gave Saru a subtle shake of his head.

Sedorum's judgment proved accurate. Although Telys faced several competitors, the final vote count still declared him the winner by a wide margin.

With three Regional Administrator positions filled, the day's elections seemed to have just finished warming up. The upcoming regions up for debate were all located within Italy and Sicily. These were the territories most Senators truly cared about. Consequently, many subconsciously straightened their posture, waiting for Antaoris to speak.

"The next region up for election is—the Eastern Campania Plain Region!"

The Eastern Campania Plain Region did not just include former Campanian towns like Aenona, Naconia, Rora, Sessara, and Pompeii; it also encompassed former Samnite towns such as Caudium and Beneventum. It essentially occupied the most vital and prime territory in the area, serving the strategic purpose of controlling and balancing both the Samnites and the Campanians. Naturally, its sheer importance meant that a great number of Senators had their eyes on it.

The first Senator to stand up was Polet. He was not actually a Senator of profound seniority, but he had partnered with Daionia early on. During the War of Southern Italy and the Western Mediterranean War, he had provided immense assistance that paved the way for Daionia's ultimate victories. He had even taken the initiative to persuade his own people to integrate Potentia—a Lucanian town of vital strategic importance to the kingdom—into Daionia. Thus, from the day he stepped into the Senate, he commanded the attention and respect of his peers.

Out of that same respect, the protocol officer invited him to speak first.

"I nominate Kesima!" Polet declared, his voice ringing out. "Kesima has served as the Town Magistrate for Niutum, Elea, Copsa, and more. He is incredibly familiar with the Lucanian and Samnite mountains, as well as the Samnites themselves. I firmly believe that if he takes office as the Regional Administrator for the Eastern Campania Region, he will excellently maintain stability there and ensure the Samnites do not dare stir up trouble."

Though Polet's words were brief, they revealed his deep-seated prejudice against the Samnites.

Saru finally stood up. "I nominate Hegesitus..."

Former Castron Senator Gorgis also rose to his feet, nominating his close friend Amyclis.

Former Heraclea Senator Teriphias nominated his own friend, Tudeples, a Senator hailing from Metapontum...

Among these nominators, one stood out from the rest: Mentoticles, the current Dean of the Daonian College. Unlike his close friend Mathikles, Mentoticles did occasionally attend Senate meetings. (To avoid disrupting the research of these scholar senators, Davos had proposed and passed a resolution: unless a meeting was of critical importance, their attendance was entirely optional.) However, Mentoticles had never once participated in nominating a Town Magistrate.