Further south, Theonia’s target for diplomacy was Cyrenaica in the Libyan lands. If Theonia could ally with them, they could draw Carthage’s energy to the east of Africa.
In the north, Theonia also wanted to ease the tension with the Samnites, strengthen their military defence with the Campanian league, friendly ties with the Frentani and exchanges with Abellinum and Nuceria to protect Theonia’s northern border.
While in central Italia, besides the Volscians, Theonia had also sent envoys to Aequi, Marsi, Sabines…and many other races and forces in conflict with Rome to unite them against Rome and make up for Theonia’s current inability to send more troops due to the drought. And that would also serve as preparation for Theonia’s future entry into central Italia.
The statesmen, likewise, remembered Rome’s two sworn enemies in the northern part of Italia, who Rome conquered, the Etruscans, and defeated, the Celts. Thus they asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send envoys to these places, especially the Etruscans, hoping they could unite with them and have them attack Rome from the north.
While in the western part of Theonia, Davos proposed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send envoys to contact several Greek colonies in the Iberian Peninsula, such as Sagunto(Zakynthos) and Hemeroskopeion. Although the statesmen only thought a little about the Iberian Peninsula as they were too far from Theonia, Davos believed that they had to make preparations as the Magonids of Carthage established a massive force in the southern part of Iberia.
As for the east, Sparta, which was at peace with Theonia, maintained its strong presence in Greece. But once Sparta knew Theonia was facing the threat of war, they feared that Sparta might not lend their hand. Instead, they might start entertaining other thoughts. Still, Davos wasn’t worried too much about them. Although he only knew a little about Greek history in his previous life, he still knew that it was unlikely for Sparta’s hegemony in Greece to last long. And even though he travelled to this era that resulted in a butterfly effect and changed some of the histories that should happen, Thebes and Athens remained Sparta’s main enemies. After all, Sparta’s strength and measures determined they couldn’t absorb Thebes, which wasn’t much weaker than them, as there was bound to be a backlash if they did. Thus Theonia’s only target is befriending Egypt.
Of course, no matter how much they prepared, they will ultimately still have to rely on their military’s victory. As for the military’s deployment, the statesmen have long developed a habit of absolutely relying on Davos, so they would generally not actively ask about the military’s plan and troops’ movements.
But to reassure the statesmen, Davos took the initiative to ask Hielos about the detailed deployment of Theonia’s troops to deal with the coming war at the Senate’s meeting:
On the northern front, the Ministry of Military prepared to send a legion to Volsci first, join up with the other forces and repel the Romans’ attack. The Third Legion would remain in the Campanian league while sending a high-ranking official to organise the reserve soldiers in Lucania, restoring the region’s defence. On the newly created Eleventh Legion, they would intensify their training to improve their combat capability as soon as possible so they could prevent any possible Samnite invasion from the east. At the same time, Peuceti’s Tenth Legion would remain on standby, ready to head north as reinforcements.
In the south, the Eight Legion began mobilising to defend against the Carthaginian army that might come. And once the war started, legatus Prosous would be granted the authority to recruit more troops. At the same time, the Seventh Legion in the Locri region would be on standby for transportation to Sicily and join up with the Eighth Legion once the pressure on the Sicilian battlefield increased.
Regarding the navy, once Carthage went to war, Seclian would quickly lead the First Fleet to the south to join up with the Second Fleet stationed in Catania. Then they would look for an opportunity to conduct a decisive battle with the Carthaginian navy while ensuring the safety of Theonia’s southern waters.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
But the truth is, besides the Third Legion and the Sixth Legion that was about to go to Volsci, the other legions were only making preparations without even assembling as this was the only way to reduce unnecessary food consumption.
And since this was just a preliminary plan for the war, they still had to adjust everything according to the war situation.
Faced with the imminent great war, the statesmen of Theonia no longer quarrelled as they began scrambling to offer suggestions and improvements to the plan to deal with the crisis, resulting in the meeting lasting until dusk.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
It was already evening by the time Davos returned to his residence, and the downpour before had now turned into a continuous drizzle.
It might be due to not seeing the rain for some time, but Cheiristoya and Agnes asked the slaves to move their klinai to the porch outside the living room. After lying down, they began chatting and enjoying the thin curtain of rain.
On the other hand, the children, Eunice, Apox, Brilliantes and Aviya, excitedly rushed into the curtain of rain, stepped on the puddles and started a water fight.
After dinner, Davos also moved his kline and laid between his two wives.
“What are you discussing that made you so happy?” Davos asked casually.
Cheiristoya sidled up to him and said, “Sister Agnes said that she could finally go home without seeing the sad and dejected expression of the people who come to pray to Hera. Instead, they joyfully shout and dance inside the temple so much that sister Agnes didn’t even bother to throw them out…”
“Did the people also pray to Hera for the rain to come?”
“Not at first.” Agnes, lying on her side, tilted her head, revealing her smooth neck and slightly knitted thin eyebrows, “But they might’ve started praying to Hera after their prayers to Hades didn’t alleviate the drought. They might’ve also prayed to Heracles, Apollo and the other gods…”
“I can understand how they felt as this drought lasted more than eight months! If you hadn’t opened the kingdom’s granaries in time, used the kingdom’s treasury, and forced the city halls to sell food at affordable prices to help the people, there’s no telling how many of them would have starved to death!” Cheiristoya sighed while looking at her husband with admiration.
The same goes for Agnes.
Cheiristoya then silently placed her slender white foot on Davos’ left leg and gently rubbed it.
Davos, however, wasn’t in the mood to enjoy this comfortable moment as he said with seriousness, “Cheiristoya, although the drought has ended, there is not a single grain to be harvested in southern Italia this year. Therefore, your bank still needs to continue lending money to the people, allowing them to buy grain and seedlings so they can survive until next year’s autumn harvest.”
Since he didn’t reciprocate her intimate gesture, Cheiristoya took this opportunity to express her dissatisfaction by saying, “Give them a loan?! I run a bank, not a charity! Do you know that many already came to borrow money from us since they couldn’t afford food?! The banks in the various cities are now short of funds, yet you still want us to expand the scope of loans?!! I fear our banks will already run out of money in just a few more months! While those who borrowed money from us might not be able to pay it back even at the end of next year!”
“Cheiristoya.” Davos then said deeply, “Do you know who often benefits the most from drought?”
“Will there still be anyone to benefit after such a terrible drought?” Agnes wondered.
Cheiristoya is different from Agnes, who only knows a little about the world. After thinking for a moment, she replied, “It’s the merchant.”
“To be exact, it is the wealthy merchants and nobles.” Davos sighed lightly, “Whether it’s a drought, flood, locus, earthquake…the first to suffer are the common people who depended on the weather. Besides losing their income, a disaster would also make them quickly use up the little money they have left. So to survive, they can only anxiously go to these wealthy nobles and merchants to borrow money at a higher cost. But if they couldn’t pay back the money, they would have to mortgage their land and even sell their children. Ultimately, they even had to sell themselves and become slaves…”
“That’s terrible!” Agnes expressed her sympathy.
“That’s in other city-states. While in the kingdom of Theonia, we have our banks. So even if the wealthy dare to lend money, no one will come to borrow from them.” Cheiristoya said proudly.
“Yes, in other city-states-” said Davos while sighing a bit. The land and debt problem was a severe problem in many Mediterranean city-states, so much so that it eventually triggered a riot in Athens that forced Cleisthenes to start the initial reform of Athen’s democracy. And Davos had learned a few days ago from Aristias’ intelligence that the conflict between the plebeians and nobles in Rome had intensified, and it was also because of land and debt.
Thus with a serious expression, Davos said, “Cheiristoya, since the bank has helped them, we should help them till the end. As Theonia’s royal family, the whole kingdom belongs to us. Thus we can’t just helplessly watch the kingdom’s people borrow from the merchants and have their land taken from them and become their slaves just because they couldn’t afford to buy food and seeds… If that happens, it would not only destabilise the kingdom but would also reduce our military resources and tax revenue. It would also make the wealthy people who have taken a lot of land a hidden danger that is difficult to control! As you can see, your bank isn’t only used to earn money, but it is an important tool for our family to stabilise the kingdom, allowing us to pass the throne for a long time…”
