"Time flies, I remember when you went to Enona to take office, Isafina was only a few months old, and she couldn't even speak, only cry. At that time, I advised you to keep Isafina, and your aunt Doreen had just given birth to Antdoris, and had enough milk to feed the two children, but you did not agree...... Unexpectedly, six years have passed in a blink of an eye, Isafina has grown into a big girl, and Alex has become a little man! Antonios listened to the laughter and exclaimed, "If your mother could see all this, she would be very happy!" ”

Arsistes was silent for a moment and said, "Yes, Uncle back then, you took me to be a mercenary, I never expected to have such a life today, thanks to Your Majesty!" ”

Antonios was stunned for a moment, then raised his glass: "Come, let's have a drink with His Majesty Davers!" ”

"Good!"

After drinking this glass of wine, the slave girl of Sikyll next to her hurriedly poured Arcisstes again, and then leaned towards Arcisstes.

Assistes glanced at her, and she sat back down at once.

Antonios saw it in his eyes and said with a smile: "Yasi, Doreen is accompanying your wife to select gold and silver jewelry from Carthage in the main building, don't worry, she won't come to the courtyard." ”

"It's not about Tina, it's just that I don't like it." Asistes said expressionlessly.

Antonios was stunned again, looking at the expression of Asistes on the other side, he suddenly pushed away the beautiful slave girl Sikel in his arms, and said, "You go down." ”

"Your Excellency!" The slave girl cried out and leaned back on him.

"Go down!" Antonios put on a straight face, and the slave girl no longer dared to be coquettish, and left obediently.

"You go down too!" Antonios pointed to the slave girl beside Assistes.

After they both left, Antonios said in a deep voice: "Yasi, you have been in a bad mood when you came to me today, are you angry with me?" ”

"Uncle, I have not yet stepped down from Enona, and I heard that you and a group of Sicilian senators proposed in the Senate that I should be the administrator of Naxos?" Since Antonios picked the words away, Yasistes asked directly, no longer concealing it.

"Yes." Antonios nodded and admitted: "Don't blame Uncle for not consulting you in the first place, it's because those Crotoneites also want to get their hands on Naxos, why should they!" At the time of the war in South Italy, if it weren't for our Dionia's rescue, they would have been doomed! ”

"Crotone is now also a realm of the kingdom." Assistes reminded.

"Naxos was bought with the blood and lives of the soldiers of the First Legion, and a gang of cowards will never be allowed to be contaminated!" Antonios said angrily, he looked at Assistes: "And Yasi, your resignation time coincides with the departure time of Strombori, just without delay, you can take office directly, otherwise you can only wait for the next vacancy in the Senate, I am afraid that you will have nothing to do for a while." With your outstanding performance in being elected by the Senate as the administrator of Enona twice in a row and ruling for six years, coupled with your majesty's trust in you, it is easy to become the administrator of Naxos! ”

Assistes shook his head and whispered, "I've been out for six years, and I'm a little tired, and I don't want to go to distant Sicily anymore, I just want to stay in Turiyi. ”

"Yasi, you are still young, and you should take advantage of your vigor to serve as administrator in the cities of the east, west, south, and north of the kingdom, and increase your administrative experience so that you can ...... so that he can serve as governor of the province in the future! Antonios persuaded.

"Provincial Governor?!" Arcistes looked surprised.

"This is the news I have received from others, and it is said that Your Majesty, considering that there are too many cities in the kingdom and that the affairs are too complicated, are ready to set up provinces, and it will be more convenient for the governor to govern the cities under his jurisdiction...... I heard that he also secretly consulted with the old man of Kunogoratana. Antonios said it lightly, but it obviously took a lot of effort to get the news.

Hearing this, Yasistes had lost interest: "This position is too far away from me, I just want to stay in Turii for a while now, I haven't seen you for a few years, and Turii has changed too much!" ”

"Yasi, with Your Majesty's trust in you, as long as you continue to enrich your local government experience, you can completely make up for your age gap, and the position of governor of this province will definitely belong to you! The governor of a province can manage a region, three or four large cities, a dozen or two hundred thousand people, that is far more glorious than being a king of Sparta! Antonios continued: "So you should go and take over as the administrator of Naxos!" ”

"Uncle, are you really thinking about me so desperately wanting me to go to Naxos?!" Arcistes finally couldn't help but say.

"How can you say such a thing! I'm your uncle, and of course I'm thinking about you! When Antonios heard this, his face turned unpleasant, but he was still angry.

But Yasistes had already said unceremoniously: "No, you are not thinking about me, you are harming me!" My uncle, 'Conqueror of Catania', this is the praise of His Majesty to you at the triumphal ceremony of that year. But you and I both know that Alexis did not put the title of 'Victor of Samonay' on his lips, and Shilos did not put on his lips the title of 'Conqueror of Lokry', and in that grand war, His Majesty, who commanded the Dionian army from beginning to end to win the whole war, did not call himself 'Conqueror of Syracuse', only you, uncle, under the flattery of those Sicilian senators, really regarded yourself as 'Conqueror of Syracuse' The conqueror of Catania', not only does he allow others to put it on his lips every day, but he also incorporates Kataks into your name...... You have obviously forgotten that without His Majesty's prior planning and the help of Lord Antrapolis, it would have been impossible for the First Legion to defeat the Syracuse coalition army, which is several times larger than yours! But you see how calm Antrapolis usually is, and never preaches it to the public—"

"Enough! Don't associate me with that sneaky villain! My name is Antonios. What's wrong with Kataks! Isn't His Majesty's eldest son also called Klotocatax! This is my honor, the honor of our First Legion! ......" Antonios shouted angrily at Assistes.

Arcises continued unfazed: "Uncle, don't you think you've changed in the past few years! After six years as the governor of Naxos, the people there have been so aweful and flattering that you have forgotten who you once was! Look at the candles in this courtyard, and the dishes, and the slave girl just now......"

Asistes pointed to a table full of dishes, many of which he had never seen or eaten: "Uncle, I heard that in the past few years since you came back, there have often been guests who have come here to visit and give gifts, most of them are Sicilians, and the tribune of Turiyi has also protested, and it seems that you have not restrained much...... In the Senate, those Sicilian senators are headed by you, you speak for them everywhere, defend their interests, don't you know that the other senators have a lot of opinions about you, including your former mercenary comrades! Do you really think you are the king of Sicily?! Uncle, it's time for you to wake up! There is only one king in Dionia, and it can only be His Majesty Davers! ——”

"Shut up!!" Antonios angrily grabbed the wine jar on the table and slammed it to the ground, with a "bang" and the wine splashed everywhere.

Assistes felt a pain in his cheeks, the fragments of the clay pot cutting through his skin, and when he reached for it, he heard Antonios shouting incoherently: "Nonsense! Sling the bull! You know what! You know what!! ……”

"I've been with Your Majesty for so long, and I know a lot more than you!" Assistes said without showing weakness: "Why am I not willing to go to Naxos? That's because I don't want to be thought by Your Majesty, and I have become one of your Sicilian senators, and even make him suspect that you want to make friends with Bagul and Hermon and join forces in the Senate! Wake up, uncle! You've been held up too high, you can't see how dangerous it is to stand under your feet, don't be stupid enough to be used as a gun by others! ……”

"Yo, this is ...... What's wrong?! Make such a big move! The voice of Antonios' wife, Doreen, rang out in the courtyard.

"Assistes, why is your face bleeding?!" Tina ran to Asystes in surprise and was about to reach out to touch it, but Asystes grabbed her hand: "I'm fine, a little bruise." ”

"Oops, how did the wine jar break?!" Doreen looked at the debris in surprise, and then said to the slave standing aside, "What are you doing in a daze, hurry up and clean it up!" Also, grab another jar of wine! ”

With a woman present, Antonios couldn't get angry anymore, so he waved his hand vigorously and said, "Don't drink anymore!" Don't drink anymore! ”

"Tina, call the kids, we should go back too." Assistos grabbed his wife's hand and squeezed it twice.

Tina immediately went to call the child.

Although Doreen felt that there was something strange here, she still said kindly, "It's still early, and Tina and I are having a good chat." Asistes, you and your uncle haven't seen each other for so many years, let's talk a little longer. ”

"There's nothing to talk about, let him go if he wants to go!" Antonios said angrily.

"Antonios, look at what you said, I think you've drunk a little too much." Doreen hurriedly slapped him, turned to Arcistes and said apologetically: "Your uncle has had too many affairs recently, his temper is not very good, and he was angry with me at home a few days ago, if he has anything wrong, don't blame him!" ”