At the same time, the Romans also stood 20 meters away.

Davers and Camillus were both on horseback, looking at each other.

In the end, it was Camillus who broke the silence first: "King of Dionia, I am Camillus, the dictator of Rome!" ”

"I know you." "You are a hero of Rome, who has destroyed Rome's sworn enemy, driven out the Celts who occupied Rome, and defeated the surrounding hostile forces many times. ”

Camillus was not surprised that Davers knew him so well, a good commander must study his opponent carefully, and he suddenly asked sharply: "Rome and Dionia, one in central Italy and the other in southern Italy, there are many forces in between, and there has never been any conflict, why do you want to lead an army to invade our land, attack our homeland, and slaughter our people, regardless of the long distance, the consumption of huge supplies, and even the lives of the citizens of Dionia?!" ”

Camillus's question seemed a little redundant, but Davers knew that if he didn't answer it properly, the soldiers would not be able to help but wonder if this war was necessary, which would affect their morale, so he groaned for a while, and then replied aloud: "After you Rome drove out the Celts, instead of restoring your homeland, prospering trade, and giving your people a stable life, you will fight everywhere and invade the surrounding races!" The Wolsy and Helnihians are allies of Dionia, and you Rome have invaded their territories, occupied their towns, slaughtered their people, and nearly wiped them out! We sent messengers to Rome to ask for an armistice, but you brutally refused!

Dionya has kept its promises since its founding, so that it will gain the trust of its allies and the country will be as strong as it is today, so we cannot ignore the tragic experience of our allies, we must respond to their demands and fulfill our covenant, which is why we are here! Just as the Celts invaded Rome ten years ago, this time it was your gods' punishment for seeing you slaughter! ”

"Nonsense!" After Camillus listened to the translation, he couldn't help but shout angrily.

The most taboo thing for Camillus is to hear about the "punishment of the gods". One of the main reasons for his expulsion from Rome was that he was falsely accused of "making the gods angry by taking the gold and silver from the temple after the capture of the city." Secondly, when he left the city of Rome, he once said to his family in resentment, "Those who have wronged him will be punished." As a result, some later attributed the Celtic invasion to the gods avenging him, so the punishment came to the city of Rome. This incident kept him in his mind, so he would not allow Davers to use the name of "divine punishment" to cover up their invasion of Rome and demoralize the Roman citizens.

"Your Majesty, he said you were ...... Nonsense. Amillius translated euphemistically.

Instead of getting angry, Davers laughed.

Realizing that he had not been able to calm down, Camillus changed the subject and said directly: "Although you have taken the city of Rome, it has not brought you much benefit. Look around you, to the north is my Roman Etruscan allies, and to the east and south is my Roman Latin allies and colonial cities...... You're under siege! Now, I'm returning with 70,000 Roman troops, and I'll trap your army in the city of Rome, immobilized!

And I have heard that to the south of the kingdom of Dionia, in Sicily, our ally, Carthage, is at war with you; I heard that the coalition forces of the Samonai are still invading your eastern regions...... As the king of Dionia, you are leading the main army of Dionya to be trapped in Rome far from the kingdom, and even if you are not worried about your kingdom, aren't your soldiers worried about their homeland being invaded by the Carthaginians, the Samoneans?! ”

Unmoved, Davers smiled and said, "No, no, I'm not worried at all, my soldiers and I like to stay here because there is an abundance of food from the Roman people, so we can stay here for a long time." My only concern is that these well-meaning Romans have given us all their food, and it won't be long before they run out of food to eat. We weren't so kind as to return the food. Also, I'm also worried about the soldiers under your command, with such a large number of soldiers, how many days will you have enough food to eat?! ”

Threat! This is a naked threat and warning! Lucius and the other soldiers who accompanied him listened to the translation, and they all glared angrily and raised their shields and spears.

Although Camillus frowned, he was still calm, and he said in a deep voice: "I, the citizens of Rome, have always been brave and fearless of threats, so I can survive in this hostile environment surrounded by enemies!" You can starve the people of the city to death, and even if we Roman citizens are gnawing on turf and hungry, we will not stop fighting with you to avenge your family until we die in battle!

But what good will it do you and me to fight to the death? On the contrary, if we cease hostilities, and if you withdraw from the city of Rome and leave Latinum, we will not only be willing to provide large sums of gold, silver, and supplies, but we will also be willing to return the lands of the Wolsey and Helnikians, and sign a peace agreement with them, and we will sign an agreement with Dionia that will never be violated.

And the king, you can also rest assured that you can lead your elite troops to deal with other enemies, so as to ensure that your land and people are not violated and harmed, what do you think?! ”

The Romans want to make peace?! Davers looked at Camillus, who looked earnest, and patted the neck of the war horse under his crotch with his right hand. For a moment, the corners of his mouth curled slightly: "I remember that ten years ago, you also proposed to the Celts who occupied the city of Rome, 'pay a lot of gold and silver to let them leave', and just when they relaxed their vigilance, you led the army to attack them, and the Celts were defeated...... I'd love to agree to your proposal, but I'm afraid of suffering a tragic outcome like the Celts! ”

Camillus's cheeks twitched a few times, and the ravines on his face concealed his surprise: this Dionian king knew too much about Rome!

He quickly calmed down and said: "Since you know the situation so well, you should know that it was the senators who were trapped on the Capitoline Hill that made the decision to 'exchange gold and silver for the Celtic retreat', while the soldiers and I who were far outside Rome knew nothing about it. But now, as dictator, I, after consulting the will of the soldiers, made a proposal that all the Romans must obey! ”

Would the Romans, who had always been uncompromising to their invading enemies, really give in for the safety of the city of Rome? After listening to this, Davers, who knew the general history of Rome in his previous life, stared at Camillus for a long time, with both curiosity and caution in his heart, he pretended to think carefully for a moment, and then said: "This matter is too important, I need to go back to the city and consult with the generals before I can give you an answer." ”

"I hope this reply is not too late, my soldiers are eager to go home, I'm afraid I won't be waiting too long!" Camillus said menacingly.

Davers smiled: "Regardless of whether or not we can reach an armistice with you Rome in the end, I am honored to meet you General Camillus!" So, I've got a gift for you in a moment, and I'm sure you'll love it. ”

With that, Davers turned his horse's head and led the group back to the city.

Without hesitation, Camillus turned around and returned to the camp.

On the way, Lucius asked with some anticipation: "Father, does the fact that the king of Dionya wants to give you a gift, does this mean that there is a possibility of peace talks?" ”

"This Dionian king is not simple, don't have hope for him." Camillus recalled the situation when he spoke to Davers just now, and said with a serious expression: "You also observed just now, the traps and deer barricades laid by the Dioonians under the city, they are not Celts! Even if we really want peace talks, we must take Ostia back, so that we can take more initiative in the negotiations! ”

Lucius nodded heavily.

At the same time, Henypolis was asking Davers, "Your Majesty, are we going to make peace with the Romans?" ”

"Peace talks?" Davos sneered: "If I had such a plan, would I still transfer Arcistes, Antrapolis, Nicomarcus, Thelis and other senators and officials to Rome!" Whether the Romans really intend to negotiate peace, or whether they want to paralyze us, I believe that soon we will discover the true purpose of Camillus. If he just wanted to stall for a moment, he would find it a stupid decision! ”

………………………………………

Sailing up the river to Rome was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it was much more convenient to go down the Tiber.

Midorades led the warships anchored in Rome, and the reason why they arrived in Ostia at dusk was because Davers took the "assassination of Diana's temple" as an excuse, considering the arrival of the Roman army, in order to ensure the stability of the city and let the army respond to the battle with all its might, so he ordered the Roman administrator Assistes to immediately count all the male nobles and diners who had been captured and in the city between the ages of 55 and 14, and escorted them to Turiyi by the Third Fleet, but because there were too many people (about 4,500 people), A number of merchants' cargo ships were also chartered.

Midorides entered the port on a clipper.

After just over two days, the port of Ostia underwent some changes: more merchant ships from Dionya came, but instead of becoming chaotic, the management of the port became more orderly. The wooden fences used by the Dionian chambers of commerce on the wharf for enclosure and zoning were also cleared, and at least no conflicts or disputes were found when Midorades passed by.