The Neapolitans had some knowledge of the Romans that the Volscian envoy had mentioned: In just ten years, this battle-hardened nation just north of Campania had won many victories and expanded rapidly, making the surrounding forces uneasy. But since there were still quite a few forces between Neapolis and Rome, such as Volsci, Osci, Sidicini and even the Caudini tribe of the Samnites, the Neapolitans didn’t feel uneasy about Rome.
After the council members discussed it with each other, polemarchos Orosius said with an apologetic expression to the Volscian envoy Matepol, “We are eager to be of help to you, Volsci. However, we have more important matters in the Campanian region for us to worry about currently and couldn’t divert our forces, so we can only apologise to you!”
Orosius wasn’t indifferent when he said that. In the past ten years, the Campanian league and the Samnites had indeed been at peace, but two years ago, the Samnites started having frequent conflicts with the neighbouring Campanian league city-states. Although it still hasn’t led to a major conflict, it has made the Campanian league tense. Thus they must remain alert and ready to respond to a war that may break out at any time.
The Volscian envoy became disappointed and dejected. But just as he was about to continue pleading, Orosius changed the topic, “Although we can’t help you, there is a powerful kingdom in Italia that could guarantee Volsci’s safety as long as they are willing to lend a helping hand!”
The Volscian envoy’s heart jumped with joy as that kingdom’s name quickly popped into his head.
Then Orosius accentuated his tone as he said, “Theonia! Only Theonia can stop Rome from invading Volsci!”
‘Sure enough!’ Matepola inwardly felt relieved since this was exactly what the Volscians wanted. They naturally knew that the kingdom of Theonia, which owned the whole of south Italia, was probably the most powerful force in Italia besides the Celts in the north, so they certainly could frighten Rome. Still, he feigned embarrassment as he said, “But we Volscians have never had any contact with Theonia…”
Orosius sincerely said, “Neapolis and Theonia are allies, and we are willing to introduce you, Volsci, to the king of Theonia!”
Overjoyed, the Volscian envoy immediately expressed his gratitude.
After a day’s rest in the city, Matepola followed the envoy sent by Neapolis to the south.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
At the end of September, a drought raged in south Italia, resulting in the southern Italian territory of the kingdom of Theonia having a massive poor harvest. So the kingdom had to mobilise most of its manpower and resources for disaster relief.
In the palace of Theonia, Davos had just approved the order to punish more Carthaginian merchants.
Even after the Senate had decreed that ‘no merchant shall raise the grain price in the kingdom and disturb the market’s order, or face severe punishment’, these Carthaginian merchants joined with some grain merchants in the city to spread rumours in the market of Locri and crowded the grain stores opened temporarily by the city hall, causing panic among the populace. In the end, they were arrested by the inspection team, with some severely getting punished. However, because these Carthaginian merchants’ backgrounds were extraordinary, with even one of them being part of the Hanno family, the inspection department worried that their punishment would cause serious discontent among the Carthaginians. Hence they came to ask Davos for instructions.
In reality, Davos also has this concern. But since he knows that if he doesn’t implement the order and prohibition in such a critical situation, the foreigners will become more unscrupulous, and the local merchants will also participate. Thus he had to punish them severely and make them an example for others.
So, Davos signed the order and ordered Aristias to deliver it immediately.
After that, Davos leaned back on his chair and stretched.
With requests and letters from various cities piling up due to the drought the kingdom is facing, Davos barely have enough time to rest. So even he, who claimed to be energetic, also began feeling exhausted.
Davos then closed his eyes, not to rest but to decide whether to recruit the Senate’s five rotating speakers and establish a committee to handle the drought. He would then hand over the handling of specific affairs to them while he himself only responsible for supervising and controlling the direction. In this way, not only will he save his energy, it might significantly improve his efficiency…
And the more he thought about it, the more he thought this idea was feasible. Just as he was about to ask Aristias to go to the Senate and call the five statesmen, the guard informed him that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ansitanos asked for a meeting.
After passing the bill of giving salaries to the statesmen and prohibiting them from accepting gives that Davos proposed, Davos also proposed establishing the Foreign Ministry of the kingdom. Their job would be to receive the foreign envoys, which would reduce having them contact the other statesmen blindly, ensure their safety and prevent the statesmen from making further mistakes. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would train personnel to be more professional and diplomatic to create a more favourable external environment for Theonia. As for the first Minister of Foreign Affairs, Davos appointed Ansitanos.
Since Ansitanos took office more than a year ago, he has successfully completed the administrative structure and personnel arrangement.
‘Why did he come to the palace today?’ Davos tried to guess it, but he didn’t expect that Ansitanos would surprise him.
“You are saying that the Volscians came to ask for help?!”
“Yes, your majesty.” Ansitanos explained with seriousness, “With the Romans’ invasion of Volsci’s territory, the Volscians were unable to resist them and had to ask for our help under the recommendation of the Neapolitans.”
“Then arrange a meeting for them.” Davos didn’t hesitate to respond. When he first received the news about the Roman army led by Camillus defeating the allied army organised by the Volscians, he had already realised that the Volscians would be in big trouble.
“Your majesty, there is another delightful matter.”
“Oh?”
Although Ansitanos said it was a delightful matter, he didn’t have a smile on his face. He then straightforwardly said, “The Neapolitan envoy who accompanied the Volscians said that after they found out that we Theonians are suffering from a drought, the Campanian league, as an ally, is willing to donate a large amount of grain free of charge to help us through this difficult times… However, he hoped we would restrain the Samnites from harassing their people.”
“Restrain the Samnites?!” Davos revealed a bit of anger, “The Neapolitans could say that so easily, but it isn’t easy to restrain the Samnites! Ever since we firmly supported Abellinum, those several Samnite races have become more unruly.”
“Fortunately, they fear our strength and don’t dare to go too far…” Ansitanos looked at Davos and asked, “Then…should we reject the Neapolitans’ request?”
“No! The Samnites now think they have recovered their strength…” Davos shook his head. He then sneered and said, “It is merely because we had been busy stabilising the Dauni area for the past two years that we couldn’t do anything about them for the time being. With the Dauni situation now stable… Ansitanos, you agree to the Neapolitan envoy’s request and send someone to question the Samnites about why they are repeatedly violating the treaty and harassing the allies of Theonia! If they still continue, I don’t mind making them taste the Theonian legion again.
Also…didn’t Kinduk, the chieftain of the Nuceria in Caudini, hint that he was willing to send a team to this year’s rugby tournament? Have Irna intensify their enlisting of the tribes in the southwestern region of Caudini so that they will have no choice but to side with us!”
“Your majesty, that may lead to a war between the Samnites and us!” Ansitanos said anxiously.
Davos said decisively, “Even though the Samnites are our ally, they violated our treaty by harassing the people and land of another ally many times, and they even ignored our warnings repeatedly, which just shows that they have long had rebellious intentions! If we still don’t put a stop to their terrible behaviours, it will not only damage our prestige but also lower the trust of our allies. Thus we must strike them back!”
“But, your majesty, we are now facing famine. I fear we don’t have extra provisions to support the army’s expedition!” Ansitanos warned.
Davos smiled faintly, “We don’t have it, but the Campanian league does. Since we are helping them to solve the Samnites, they should not be stingy with their food. Moreover, this would help us reduce the pressure on our food. Furthermore, I heard that the central and southern part of the Hirpini is also badly affected, so we can take this opportunity to weaken them completely!”
“Understood, your majesty. I will go and discuss this with the Neapolitan envoy.” Ansitanos replied helplessly.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The Volscian envoy Matepola followed the Neapolitans ashore at the port of Laos and trekked for three days all the way to Thurii, where the prosperity and immensity of the city struck him in awe. He then became convinced that only such a powerful kingdom could help them repel those vicious Romans.
When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Matepola that King Davos was ready to meet him, he had been racking his head about how he would persuade the king of this mighty kingdom to lend a helping hand to Volsci.
The following day, Matepola entered the palace of Theonia.
On both sides of the spacious hall of the royal palace stood the kingdom’s important officials, and King Davos, wearing a garnet crown made of pure gold and a luxurious chiton with red stripes on a black background, sat firmly in a leather chair two steps above, allowing him to stand a great deal higher than the people around him, showing the king’s majesty.
Since this was the first time Matepola faced such a solemn and serious situation, it was inevitable that he was nervous and stepped towards Davos with some hesitation. After giving his respect, he said in a slightly trembling voice, “Esteemed…king of Theonia, I am Matepola, an envoy from Volsci. I bring…the most sincere greetings from the people of Volsci to you and your kingdom! I heard your country is suffering from drought, so we in Volsci are willing to donate a batch of grain for free to show our friendly will!”