After the ten-year alliance agreement was signed again, Chalisopus mentioned in a private conversation with the Devers that Sparta's Council of Elders was worried and dissatisfied with Diónia's frequent wars in Apulia.
The Devers responded, "Apulia's affairs belong to the Western Mediterranean. According to the covenant, Sparta doesn't need to worry about it at all. Even during the later stages of the Corinth War, Thebes and Corinth's emissaries came to Turií, hoping that Diónia could intervene in the war and prevent the foreign Persia from using Sparta to control Greece. However, Diónia strictly abided by the covenant and refused their request. Many Greek citizens in the kingdom were very dissatisfied with the fact that Sparta, their ally, actually submitted to Persia, their former enemy, and listened to their bullsh * t treaty. Moreover, Sparta drowned Mandinia and destroyed a Greek city-state with cruel means, committing atrocities similar to what Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, had done. This made the people of Diónia very angry. However, the Senate of Diónia had repeatedly rejected the request of many Senators to "condemn and punish Sparta" at the Senators' Assembly at the end of the year.
Diónia has strictly abided by the covenant and respected Sparta for the past ten years. After signing the covenant this year, we will continue to abide by the content of the covenant. We hope that the Eighteenth Congress can also strictly abide by the content of the covenant and handle the relationship between the two countries, especially the issue of 'accepting the indigenous people who escaped from Apulia'. Please reconsider and deal with it carefully. Diónia keeps its promise, but it will also treat the city-states that violate its promise as enemies … "
The words of the Devers made Chalisopus feel ashamed and shocked. He immediately said solemnly, "Your Majesty, Sparta cherishes the friendship between the two countries, so they took the initiative to send me to renew the covenant. Sparta will continue to abide by the requirements of the covenant as before, and peace will always be maintained between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean! … "
Only one day after Chalisopus left, Turií welcomed Carthage's emissary, Okridon.
He did not come to renew the covenant, but to protest.
Carthage protested that Diónia had violated the covenant this time by waging war against the Sikere, a free force in Sicily. They demanded that Diónia immediately stop this foolish action that "destroyed the peaceful environment of Sicily".
Diónia's Senate refuted Carthage's request. They presented facts, presented evidence, and reasoned with Carthage's emissary. They told Diónia that it was not Diónia who wanted to invade Sikere, but the Tanik tribe of Sikere who conspired to disturb Diónia and harm Diónia. For this reason, Diónia had already put Laodisian and a few other Sicilian senators on trial. At the same time, they had also arrested many of the kingdom's officials. Of course, they would also seek revenge on the culprit of this incident. This was the punishment that the Tanik tribe deserved for provoking Diónia!
Diónia's firm rejection of Carthage's protest caused Okridon to return empty-handed.
… …
A few days later, in Carthage's Senate, the Carthage senators had a heated debate on this matter.
"Lord Hanno, now that the people of Diónia refuse to stop the war against Sikere, what measures do you have to deal with this matter?! Otherwise, if we don't take any action, the weak Sikere tribe will not be able to withstand the Dionysian Army for more than a few days! "Senator Pretacuba stood up and asked.
Hanno looked coldly at the senator who questioned him. Ever since Magonid was removed from his position as the governor of Sicily, he did not return to Carthage. Instead, he angrily led a group of mercenaries to Iberia. The Magonid family's leading figure in the Senate, and even in Carthage, became Pretacuba. He was a distant relative of Magonid, but he was much more cunning than Magonid. In the past few years, he had caused some trouble for Hanno in controlling the Senate.
There was no need for Hanno to reply. Another elected senator, Sufit Pantirac, had already taken over the conversation and said, "This matter was caused by the Sikere Tanik tribe provoking Diónia first. It is understandable that Diónia would punish them. What we should do now is to constantly monitor this war and prevent Diónia from using this opportunity to expand their war, thereby harming the interests of Carthage. "
"Oh, you've given up on the Sikere tribe with such a simple statement? I still remember that it was you, Lord Hanno, who suggested to 'support the Tanik tribe and unite the Sikere tribe'! "Another Magonid senator, Santipor, immediately mocked.
Hanno looked at him with a displeased expression.
Eccledon immediately retorted, "You people are really good at forgetting! Back then, the Tanik tribe came to Carthage in the name of 'former allies who fought alongside Himirco'. They first found you people, and it was also you people who proposed to 'help the Tanik tribe' in the Senate. Lord Hanno was merely following your wishes, hoping that the Tanik tribe's actions would help Carthage better control Sicily. However, he did not expect them to have the guts to provoke Diónia, and even more so, he did not expect that you people, who had received Lord Hanno's support, would accuse Lord Hanno instead! (When Carthage led Himirco to attack Syracuse, he built the Tauromenian Fortress as a gift to the Sikere tribe in order to win the Sikere tribe over to Syracuse. Thus, he formed an alliance with King Agilis of Sikere, who is the father of Arconis, the leader of the Taric tribe. However, after Himirco's defeat and suicide, and when Dionysius counterattacked Carthage's forces in Sicily, Agilis sided with Syracuse and was eventually murdered by Dionysius.)
Pretacuba immediately changed the topic and put on a worried expression. "Lord Hanno, Syracuse has suffered great losses in the past few years. Most of the Greek cities in Sicily are on good terms with Diónia. Not only do they often send messengers to attend the various celebrations of Diónia, some even send teams to participate in Diónia's rugby matches. Now that Diónia has taken control of the Sikere tribe, wouldn't the situation in Sicily return to the era of Dionysius? This is very disadvantageous to Carthage!"
Hanno looked at him coldly and suddenly said, "Lord Pretacuba, given the current situation in Sicily, what is your suggestion? Continue to support the Sikere tribe with gold, silver, and resources that are about to be destroyed? Or send the army to support the Sikere tribe? "
"Since Diónia refuses to stop the war, we can only send the army to make them realize that Carthage will not only protest with words. We are serious!" Elder Santipoer said sternly.
The elders were in an uproar.
"That means war!" Pantirac warned loudly.
"Since Diónia is wantonly expanding their power in Sicily and refuses to listen to our Carthage's warning, then we will show them war!" Santipoer waved his fist forcefully.
Many elders exclaimed in surprise, and voices of debate arose.
Hanno immediately became vigilant. He immediately realized that this was definitely the idea of the Magonid Clan Leader who was thousands of miles away. He wanted to provoke a war between Diónia and Carthage, so that he could return to Carthage and gain control of the political situation!
Thinking of this, Hanno suddenly stood up and shouted, "Does Carthage want to break the treaty and intervene in this war of Diónia to punish the Sikere tribe? Does he want to start a war with Diónia that might last for a long time and cause great losses? The Senate will now vote. Elders who agree to Pretacuba and Santipoer's suggestion to send the army to Sicily, please raise your hand! "
Other than a very small number of elders from the Magonid Clan who raised their hands, the rest of the elders did not even hesitate.
Over the past ten years, the people of Carthage had followed Hanno's suggestion and shifted their target to the inland area south of Carthage's territory — Numibia. This vast land was inhabited by many indigenous tribes, but there was no unified country or organization. The people of Carthage had used various methods such as direct military campaigns, bribing, and sowing discord to make Carthage control more than half of Numibia's land. The citizens of Carthage were also given a large amount of inland land and employed Numibians to farm. The wealth of the elders of Carthage had doubled, and Hanno's prestige in Carthage City had also doubled. The only thing that the people of Carthage were worried about was the occasional rebellion of the Numibians. For this reason, several troops formed by the citizens of Carthage rotated to be stationed in several important strongholds in Numibia.
It was not only the majority of the elders who were unwilling to let the people of Carthage go to war with the powerful Diónia, but the citizens of Carthage were also unwilling. Compared to the people of Diónia and the Sikere people in the far east of Sicily, they were more concerned about the large increase in the land harvest in Numibia and the control of the numerous Numibian slaves and Numibian farmers.
Hanno looked around at most of the silent elders and glanced at the few elders who supported the war. He had long foreseen such a strong advantage. If there were no sudden accidents, the people of Carthage would never be willing to go to war with Diónia. Margo's conspiracy would never be realized. Of course, Margo was now occupying that piece of Iberian land. He also felt a headache when he disobeyed the orders of the Senate of Carthage.
At this time, Hanno reached into his bosom and took out a roll of paper. He held it high in his hand and said loudly, "This is a letter written to me by the King of Diónia himself! In the letter, he promised, 'Diónia will always remember the covenant with Carthage. They will only punish the Tanibian tribe and will never expand their attack on the territories of other Sikere people. Please rest assured.' In addition, he also asked me to consider the issue of renewing the covenant. "As he said this, he handed the letter to the elder next to him.
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