With this, Plesinas stood up, palmed his hands to the sky, and respectfully made a priesthood to Davers.

Davers also solemnly gave a priestly salute (according to the Dionian Law, the king of Dionya was also the high priest of the temple of Hades), and then said, half-jokingly, half-seriously: "Make no mistake, my priest of the scepter, the Dionian Games are a grand occasion for the gods, not just for the great Hades. ”

"Your Majesty, we do declare this to the outside world, but as the leader of the entire priestly referee group and the host of the entire sports meeting, the Hades Temple will undoubtedly expand our influence in the Mediterranean and strengthen the communication and management of other temples through this sports meeting." Plesinas said seriously: "Although according to the laws of the kingdom and the alliance agreement, the Hades Temple has the power to supervise other temples, and 10 years ago, with the approval of His Majesty, the annual assembly of the temple priests of the kingdom and the allied states was officially started, but in addition to the active cooperation of the temple priests in the kingdom, the temple priests of the allied states have been more or less reluctant and perfunctory. Olympia, Delphi and the Athenian priests were the least cooperative, and at the annual temple meeting, they either found various reasons not to come, or sent only lowly candidates, and we cannot punish them severely, after all, they are only nominally under the supervision of the temple of Hades, and they use strong means to achieve their goals, which is contrary to Hades's benevolence and the principle of freedom of worship.

This time, the rumor that the priests of Olympia, Delphi, Corinth, and Athens refused to come to Turriy as referees is true, and I think it's understandable, given that they all have their own games, and according to tradition, they rarely invite each other's priests to judge their games.

Our Games, on the other hand, faced the whole of the Mediterranean, and even the enemy country of Persia was invited, and until now the range of athletes enrolled in the Games has been so wide, the number of champions has been so large, and the number of sports has been so large...... It was bound to be much larger than all the other games, so the priests did not want to see the Dionian Games take place, fearing that they would take away the glory of these traditional games. I can understand their concern, but this cowardice of covering my eyes and pretending to see nothing makes me both ridiculous and a little sorry for them.

From what we know so far, the number of visitors who will come to Turiyi to watch the Games will certainly be much larger than the previous Games, and they will also come from all over the Mediterranean, and the scope is very wide, which shows that the Dionian Games have become the focus of attention of the entire Mediterranean world. The absence of these four priests did not affect us at all, because the other allies actively sent their own priests of the Acropolis Temple, such as Mandinia, Thebes, Argos, Euboea, Crete, etc., and even led by the chief priest, and now the priest and referee team of our games is sufficient, and after training, they have mastered the rules and punishment scales of each game, and the referee team has formulated two main rules after discussion. The first is to draw lots to determine the referee for each match, and the second is to announce the name of the referee and the deity to the spectators before the game, and the contestants must follow the referee to swear to the deity to ensure that the game is fair.

I believe that after the Games, some previously unknown temple deities will begin to attract public attention, while some of the previously well-known temple deities will spread their fame across the Mediterranean across their own races.

It is not our regret that the priests of Olympia, Delphi, Athens and Corinth did not participate in the games of Dionia, but theirs. His Majesty once said, 'The Dionian Games will not be held just once, but every four years, like the Olympia Games.' I believe that maybe when the 2nd or 3rd Dionian Games are held, they will come and ask to participate without us having to invite them. ”

"Plesinus said it well!" Davers patted the armrests of the seat with both hands, and said aloud with a little excitement: "The Dionian Games will set off a new trend with a new competition format and unprecedented grandeur, becoming the grandest celebration in the whole Mediterranean, and the most dazzling poem to show the image and national strength of Dionia!" ”

After saying that, Davers calmed down a little, and then asked, "Do you have any questions?" ”

Affected by the whole report, everyone also seemed a little excited, and they exchanged their heads and ears.

Suddenly, a voice sounded: "Your Majesty, we don't have any problems, and now we are looking forward to the Games being held soon."

As soon as these words came out, they immediately caused a kind laugh in the main hall, and it was obvious that these words were recognized by everyone.

It was the Auxiliary Chancellor Haka who spoke, and as a relative of Klotocatax, he had been doing his best to help the consul.

"Thank you to Crotocatacasses, Plesineas, Haka, Telis...... The whole team has done an excellent job so far! The Games will be held in less than a month, and I hope that you will not slack off and continue to work hard until the Games end smoothly and successfully, and then I will celebrate your achievements! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!!" Klotocatax and the others immediately bowed down in response.

"Holding the Games is the most important event in the Kingdom today, and I hope that everyone will do their best to cooperate with the Organizing Team to ensure its success!" Davers looked around at the crowd, tapped his fingers on the throne, and after a while, he said, "The matter of the Games will be discussed here for the time being, do you have anything else to do next?" ”

"Your Majesty." Auxiliary Minister Haka said: "Since the beginning of this year, the Liguria region has been invaded twice by the Gauls outside the mountains, and although there has been no loss, it cannot but arouse our vigilance! Three days ago, the commander of the northern border, Hasdruba, sent a letter requesting that he lead his army to attack the nearby Gallic tribal settlements outside the mountains from the passes, so as to completely ensure the security of the northern border, but so far the military department has not given a clear reply, does His Majesty have any special considerations for this matter? ”

Since Dionysia's conquest of Yamanei Gaul and the successful suppression of several Gaul rebellions, the rule over the middle reaches of the Po River has become more and more secure, and the Veneti people in the lower reaches of the Po River have become vassals of Dionys, fearing the power of Dionia. Only the Ligurians in the upper reaches of the Po River showed strong hostility towards Dionia, frequently stirring up disputes in the border areas, leading to war with Dionia.

However, unlike the conquest of mountain Gaul, the war between Dioonia and Liguria was a small-scale, long-term battle, often between the border legions guarding the Po region and one or two Ligurian tribes.

Because Dioonia fought in close proximity, there were not many troops dispatched for each battle, and there was little pressure on logistical supplies, so the war against the Ligurians continued for seven years, and only last year did it completely occupy the whole territory, and a new frontier army was sent to defend the Ligurian region, and at the same time appointed Hasdruba as the commander of the northern Italian border, under the command of two border corps in the north, and if necessary, also had the temporary command of the 19th legion (stationed in the Po region).

"I have been briefed by the Ministry of War Affairs, and I appreciate Commander Hasdruba's determination to maintain security on the northern border." Davers replied with a solemn expression: "But these two regions in the north are very different from the others, the Ligurians and the mountain Gauls are very strong races, the Po region has been incorporated into the kingdom for more than 10 years, but the Gauls are still slowly integrated into the kingdom, which is why we are still stationed in the border army in its territory, and Liguria has just been incorporated into the kingdom, and the situation is still unstable."

Moreover, according to the report of the Ministry of War, the invasion of the Gauls outside the mountains posed no threat to us, and they could only invade through the seaside passes, while our frontier legions, with their strong fortresses there, easily repelled their attacks without causing any damage to the Ligurian region. Therefore, for a long time to come, the task of the Northern Border Corps is still to hold the border and maintain regional stability, and it is not appropriate to take risks to attack.

In addition, from the information we have 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 thousands of populous Gallic tribes live, and it is not advisable for us to venture across the Alps for the time being without adequate preparation, lest it be a protracted war between the Gauls and the kingdom beyond the mountains! ”

"Your Majesty, since this is the case, should we have the Ministry of Intelligence send a man to investigate the Gallic region beyond the mountains in detail, and then ...... Divide and win over the tribes that have shown friendship to our kingdom and prepare for possible future wars......" Hakka said thoughtfully, "and ...... Could the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send an envoy to the Gallic tribes outside the mountains adjacent to the Liguria region to express to them the goodwill of the kingdom, and if they can trade with them, it is believed that the Gallics outside the mountains will not only reduce their invasion of the Ligurian region, but also facilitate the development of trade on the northern border? ”