Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 934: Envoys Gather in Rome

Hanno softened his tone. "Of course, Pretasdrubal, you needn't worry too much about the army in Sicily needing naval support. If I recall correctly, the resolution the Senate passed a few months ago called for the construction of six hundred warships. The current one hundred and ninety-five warships are only a fraction of that. The ships completed later can be formed into fleets and sent to the waters off Sicily to aid our forces."

Pretasdrubal remained wary of this sudden show of goodwill from Hanno and did not respond.

However, Adrusbal and the other Senators of the Neutral Faction secretly nodded in approval. They felt that in the face of a war concerning the very survival of Carthage, Hanno still knew how to prioritize the greater good.

"But none of you should forget that while we are building warships, the Daionians are building them as well," Hanno continued. "Their shipbuilding capabilities are not far behind ours. Furthermore, we have yet to secure a single advantage in naval warfare. Am I wrong, Annobas?"

Annobas nodded awkwardly.

"Therefore," Hanno raised his voice, emphasizing his point, "we must not place our hopes on the navy. Our hopes for victory remain with the army—with the force of over a hundred thousand men led by Lord Mago, an army that has drained vast amounts of silver and gold from the Carthaginian treasury. I wish to remind you all that due to the Daonian Fleet's blockade of the Latium coast, we are largely in the dark about the progression of the war there. However, we have still managed to glean some news from merchants trading by sea with Etruria to the north.

"Following the fall of Rome, the Roman army suffered defeat after defeat. They have retreated to a few small cities in western Latium, where they are currently under siege by the Daionian Army. I fear they cannot hold out much longer... Once Rome is completely wiped out, the King of Daonia will likely lead his massive army south to land in Sicily. When that happens..."

Hanno paused deliberately, taking in the uneasy expressions on everyone's faces. Then, he spoke with utter gravity. "Thus, Lord Mago must capture Catana and Naxos as soon as possible. The time left to him is running out! He wrote to us once, claiming he dismissed most of the Carthaginian generals because they lacked the ability to command in battle. We do not fully understand the situation on the front lines, and we respected his decision. However, these dismissed generals are all outstanding citizens of Carthage, men we know well. Are those ignorant, backward Numidian slaves truly better than them?! If that is really the case, why is it that we rule over Numidia, rather than Numidia ruling over Carthage?!"

"Well said, Lord Hanno!" Many senators felt a surge of vindication and shouted their support.

"I agree with Lord Hanno's proposal!"

"Lord Hanno has thought this through perfectly. As long as our young men are given the chance, they will prove themselves far superior to those lowly Numidian slaves!"

"Only you, Lord Hanno, would dare to call out Lord Mago's prejudice against Carthaginian citizens! We fully support your proposal!"

...

One by one, the senators eagerly voiced their agreement.

Pretasdrubal felt both bitter and furious.

Just then, he saw Hanno shoot him a smile.

...

While the Carthaginian Senate argued vehemently over whether to send the new fleet to reinforce Sardinia, Davos had already returned to Rome.

Since the news of Rome's total subjugation had been discovered by the surrounding regional factions who had been closely monitoring the war, they successively dispatched envoys to gather in Rome, hoping for an audience with the King of Daonia.

Although the entire Daionian Army had stayed within the territory of Satricum for twenty days, Davos had completely lifted their confinement upon his departure. He only transferred the Fifth Legion and a Roman Cohort of nearly six thousand men to follow him back to Rome.

That very evening, Davos hosted a banquet at the Roman Municipal Office to entertain the envoys from all sides.

"The war in Latium has just ended, and the City of Rome has yet to be rebuilt. The people are still living in hardship, so we are unable to prepare a more lavish feast to entertain our honored guests. I offer my apologies with this cup of wine!" Davos raised his wine cup high from the seat of honor at the banquet, speaking apologetically.

"Your Majesty, that is not true at all!" Katamentalus, the Volscian ambassador and archon of Privernum, said loudly. "Destroying Rome is the greatest feast you could offer us Volscians! When the Romans launched their massive invasion of Volscian territory, Your Majesty risked going to war with Carthage, Rome's ally, and sent reinforcements without hesitation. You helped us drive back the Romans and saved our lands from being ravaged by them... The Volscian City-State Alliance sent me to Rome as an envoy to meet Your Majesty, specifically to tell you that all the people of Volsci will forever view the Daionians as our friends. Therefore, this first toast must be offered by me, representing all Volscians, to express our heartfelt gratitude to you!"

With that, he stood up, raised a brimming cup of wine, and tilted his head back to drink.

Unexpectedly, another guest seated right next to him hastily stood up and shouted, "Hold on! This first cup of wine should be toasted to Your Majesty by us Hernicians! If Your Majesty had not personally led your grand army, braved enormous risks to march on Rome, and thoroughly defeated the Romans, I fear our people... would have already perished! Your Majesty and Daionia are the greatest saviors of all Hernicians, and Hernici will forever remain Daionia's loyal ally!"

Seeing this, Davos looked deeply moved. He spoke with genuine emotion, "Honored guests, our kingdom of Daionia was only able to defeat Rome thanks to the full support of the Volscians and the Hernicians! I made a small mistake earlier. This first cup should be drunk by the three of us together, in gratitude for our combined efforts in defeating the Romans! May the alliance and friendship between Daionia, Volsci, and Hernici endure forever!"

After speaking, Davos brought the cup to his lips.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. This cup should indeed be downed first by Daionia, Volsci, and Hernici!" Katamentalus said meaningfully before throwing his head back and draining his wine.

"In Latium, Hernici will fully support Daionia!" the Hernican ambassador Nemeri declared loudly, downing his own wine in turn.

Seeing this display, the envoys of the other factions either experienced a slight change in expression or fell deep into thought. However, they all understood one clear fact in their hearts: not only was Daionia a military powerhouse that had crushed Rome, but it had also secured the unwavering support of Volsci and Hernici, two major powers in central Italy. Coupled with the Latin city-states that had submitted to it, Daionia's strength in central Italy was now even greater than Rome's at its absolute peak.

Therefore, when Davos refilled his cup and offered a toast to all the envoys present, they stood up one after another and respectfully offered him their congratulations.

"Respected King Davos!" one envoy called out loudly, wiping a drop of wine from his mouth. "Now that Rome has been conquered by Daionia, does Daionia intend to prop up a new Rome? Or will it become a vassal state of Daionia?"

As soon as his voice fell, Davos learned the meaning of his words and the speaker's identity from the translator beside him—it was the Sabine envoy from Keate.

Davos knew that the relationship between the Sabines and the Romans was complicated. In the beginning, Romulus, the founder of Rome, had led Latin exiles to this barren land by the banks of the Tiber River. They had only survived their most difficult period by raiding nearby Sabine towns. Over the centuries, Rome and the Sabines had waged numerous wars, yet many Sabine tribes had also been absorbed into Rome, whether actively or passively, becoming Roman citizens.

Therefore, Davos spoke with a serious expression. "Rome, Veii, Gabii, Fidenae... these towns were all won with the lives and blood of Daionian Citizens. They will all become part of the Kingdom of Daunia! The kingdom will spare no effort in helping the Romans and Latins who have already become Daionian Citizens to rebuild these territories, turning them into wealthy towns in central Italy and allowing them to live prosperous lives."

Upon hearing these words, the envoys exchanged glances with one another, each harboring different thoughts.

"Respected King of Daonia," the Aequi envoy asked impatiently. "The former Rome relied on its military might to frequently invade surrounding tribes, threatening everyone's safety. Will the Rome that has now joined Daionia continue to act as it did before, provoking wars everywhere in a greedy bid to acquire more territory?"

As soon as he said this, all the envoys pricked up their ears and focused their gazes on Davos.

Davos took in their expressions and understood clearly in his heart: although the Aequians were asking about Rome, they were actually asking what kind of diplomatic policy the Kingdom of Daunia—which had suddenly barged into central Italy and established a foothold—would adopt toward the surrounding factions in the future. This was likely the issue every envoy cared about the most.

He smiled slightly and said in a clear, ringing voice, "If you look into the history of Daionia's founding, you will find that Daionia has never taken the initiative to invade the territories of other city-states or tribes. Usually, it is other factions who encroach upon Daionia first. Some city-states have even broken their promises, suddenly tearing up their treaties with us to brazenly invade Daionian territory and slaughter the people of Daionia. It is only such actions that draw Daionia's fury, leading us to counterattack in righteous anger and wipe them out."