Having said that, Plesinas stood up, raised his palms to the sky, and bowed respectfully to the Devers.
The Devers returned the same solemn bow (according to the Law of Diónia, the King of Diónia was also the High Priest of the Temple of Hades). Then, he said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "My Scepter Priest, don't be mistaken. The Diónia Sports Meet is a grand ceremony for the gods, not just for the great Hades."
"Your Majesty, that is indeed what we claim to the public. However, as the leader of the entire Priest Adjudicator Group and the host of the entire Sports Meet, the Temple of Hades will undoubtedly expand our influence in the Mediterranean Sea through this Sports Meet and strengthen our communication and management with the other temples." Plesinas said seriously, "According to the law of the Kingdom and the alliance agreement, the Temple of Hades has the right to supervise the other temples. Ten years ago, with the approval of Your Majesty, the Temple of Hades has officially begun to convene the annual Priest Assembly of the temples of the Kingdom and the alliance. However, in recent years, other than the active cooperation of the priests of the Kingdom, the priests of the other temples of the alliance have more or less been reluctant and perfunctory. The Olympia, Delphi, and the Priests of Athens have been the least cooperative. During the annual Temple Assembly, they would either find all sorts of reasons to not attend, or only send candidates with low status. We can't punish them severely. After all, they are only under the supervision of the Temple of Hades in name, and they use forceful means to achieve their goals. This goes against the principles of mercy and freedom of belief of the Hades.
This time, the rumor that 'the Olympia, Delphi, Corinth, and the Priests of Athens refused to come to Turín as referees' is true. I think it is understandable. After all, they have their own Sports Meet, and according to tradition, they rarely invite each other's Priests to be referees in their own Sports Meet.
On the other hand, our Sports Meet is open to the entire Mediterranean Sea, and we have even sent an invitation to our enemy country, Persia. Up until now, the range of athletes who have signed up for the Sports Meet is so wide, the number of participants is so high, the prize money for the champion is so generous, and the number of sports held is so many … The scale of the Sports Meet will definitely be much larger than all the other Sports Meet. That is why these Priests are unwilling to see the Sports Meet of Diónia, fearing that it will take away the glory that these traditional Sports Meet enjoy. I can understand their concern, but their cowardly attitude of covering their eyes and pretending to be blind makes me feel both ridiculous and a little pitiful.
Judging from the current situation, the number of tourists who will be coming to Turín to watch the Sports Meet will definitely far exceed the previous Sports Meet. Furthermore, they will come from all over the Mediterranean Sea, and the range is very wide. This means that the Diónia Sports Meet has become the focus of the entire Mediterranean Sea. The absence of the Priests of these four factions doesn't affect us at all, because the other alliances have actively sent out their own Priests from the Acropolis Temple, such as Mandinia, Thebes, Agos, Euboea, and Crete. There are even High Priests leading the teams. Currently, the Priest Referees of our Sports Meet have sufficient numbers. After training, they have familiarized themselves with the rules and punishments of the various Sports Meet. After discussion, the Referees have formulated two main rules. The first rule is to draw lots to decide the referees for each event. The second rule is to announce the name of the referees and the God they serve to the contestants and spectators before the competition starts. The contestants must follow the referees and swear an oath to the God they serve to ensure the fairness of the competition.
I believe that after the Sports Meet ends, some of the previously unknown Gods of the Acropolis Temple will begin to attract the attention of the people. Some of the previously famous Gods of the Acropolis Temple will transcend their own race and spread their fame to the entire Mediterranean Sea.
The Priests of the Olympia, Delphi, Athens, and Corinth Temples will not be participating in the Diónia Sports Meet. It isn't our regret, but their regret. His Majesty once said, 'The Diónia Sports Meet isn't just held once, but once every four years, just like the Olympia Games.' I believe that perhaps when the second or third Diónia Sports Meet is held, they will take the initiative to request to participate without us taking the initiative to invite them. "
"Well said, Prince Pleasanus!" The Devers patted the armrest of the chair with both hands and said with a slightly excited voice, "The Diónia Sports Meet will set off a new trend with a brand-new competition format and an unprecedented scale. It will become the grandest celebration in the entire Mediterranean Sea, and the most dazzling poem to show the image and strength of Diónia!"
After that, the Devers calmed down a little and asked, "Do you have any questions?"
Influenced by the entire report, everyone seemed a little excited, and they all whispered to each other.
Suddenly, a voice sounded, "Your Majesty, we have no more questions. Now, we just hope that the Sports Meet will start soon.
As soon as this was said, there was a burst of friendly laughter in the hall. Obviously, this was agreed with by everyone.
The one who spoke was the Assistant Minister, Hakkar. As a relative of Cloto Catax, he had always tried his best to help the Consul.
The Devers said, "Thank you, Cloto Catax, Pleasanus, Hakkar, Teris … All the members of the preparation team, you have done an outstanding job so far! The Sports Meet will start in less than a month. I hope that you will not slack off and continue to work hard until the Sports Meet is successfully completed. Then, we will celebrate your success! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!!" Cloto Catax and the others immediately bowed in response.
"Hosting the Sports Meet is the most important event in the Kingdom. I hope that everyone will do their best to cooperate with the preparation team to ensure that it will be held successfully!" The Devers looked around at everyone and tapped his fingers on the throne. After a while, he said, "Let's stop talking about the Sports Meet for now. Is there anything else?"
"Your Majesty." Hakkar, the Assistant Minister, said, "This year, the Ligurian region has been attacked by the Gauls from beyond the mountains twice. Although they did not cause any losses, we have to be vigilant! Three days ago, the commander of the northern border, Hasdrubal, sent a letter requesting to lead the army to attack the neighboring Gauls through the narrow path along the coast to completely guarantee the safety of the northern border. However, until now, the Ministry of Military Affairs has not given a clear reply. Does Your Majesty have any special considerations regarding this matter? "
Ever since Diónia conquered Mountain Gaul and successfully suppressed a few Gauls' rebellions, their rule over the middle reaches of the Po River became more and more stable. The Vinetti in the lower reaches of the Po River were afraid of Diónia's power, so they voluntarily submitted to Diónia and became their subordinate. Only the Ligurians in the upper reaches of the Po River showed strong hostility towards Diónia. They frequently stirred up disputes along the border, causing Diónia to go to war with them.
However, unlike the conquest of Mountain Gaul, the war between Diónia and Liguria was a small-scale, long-term battle. Often, it was a battle between the border army stationed at the Po River and one or two Ligurian tribes. Later on, with the help of the Gaul reserve army, and the spies sent by the kingdom to divide and conquer the Ligurian tribes, Diónia always had the upper hand.
Since Diónia fought in close quarters, they did not send out many troops each time, which did not put much pressure on their logistics. Therefore, the war against the Ligurians lasted as long as seven years. Last year, they completely conquered the entire territory and sent a new border army to guard the Ligurian region. At the same time, Hasdrubal was appointed as the commander of the northern border of Italy. He was in charge of the two border armies in the north, and when necessary, he also had the temporary command of the 19th Legion (stationed at the Po River).
"This matter has been reported to me by the Ministry of Military Affairs, and I admire Commander Hasdrubal's determination to maintain the security of the northern border." The Devers replied solemnly, "However, the two northern regions are very different from the other regions. The Ligurians and Mountain Gaul are very strong races. The Po River region has been annexed to the kingdom for more than ten years, but the speed at which the Gaul assimilated into the kingdom is still very slow. This is why we are still stationed at the border. Liguria has just been annexed to the kingdom, and the situation is not yet stable.
According to the report from the Ministry of Military Affairs, the invasion of the Mountain Gaul did not pose much of a threat to us. They can only invade through the narrow passageway by the sea. Our border army has built a strong fortress there, and we easily repelled their attack without causing any damage to the Ligurian region. Therefore, for a long time to come, the mission of the northern border army is to defend the border and maintain the stability of the region. It is not advisable to take the risk to attack.
In addition, according to the information we've received from the Massilians over the years, although the north of the Alps is densely forested, the terrain is flat and vast. The land is fertile, and there are tens of thousands of Gallic tribes living there. Without sufficient preparation, we shouldn't take the risk of crossing the Alps for the time being to avoid triggering a protracted war between the Gauls and the kingdom! "
"Your Majesty, if that is the case, should we ask the Ministry of Intelligence to send people to investigate the Mountain Gaul region in detail, and then … split up the tribes that are friendly to our kingdom, and prepare for the possible war in the future …" Hakkar said after some deliberation. "Also, can we ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send messengers to the Mountain Gaul tribes that are adjacent to the Ligurian region and express the kingdom's goodwill? If we can open up trade with them, I believe that not only will the Mountain Gaul reduce their invasion of Liguria, but it will also be beneficial to the development of trade at the northern border."
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