After listening to Okritten, he was not surprised. According to the information he had learned, the Etruscan alliance had suffered from the invasion of the Gauls in the north in recent years, and had to rely on the aid of the Dionysians. Last year Dionia sent troops to the northern border of the Iberian Union to secure its territory, and it is not surprising that the Etruscans had to say something about it.
"What about the ships in front? Are they all Etruscans?" Okleton asked interestedly, looking at one of the ships ahead, a large cargo ship with a higher ship and one floor.
"I made a special observation when I passed those ships in a small boat just now. Although most of their sailors are... Phoenicians, it seems like..." The entourage said in hesitation with anger, "The people in the boat are dressed like Numibians and Mauritanians!"
Even if Okleton were more disciplined, it would be equally difficult to remain calm at this moment, because the Carthaginians blamed half of the defeat of that war on the mutiny of the Numibians, and after that the Numi, who had been a slave, The Biya people, in turn, frequently invaded the land of the Carthaginians, so whether in the past or now, the Numidians are the pain in the hearts of the Carthaginians.
Okriton quickly calmed down and asked in a deep voice, "Why do they have so many ships here?"
"It seems that many ships are carrying horses." The entourage replied.
Oklahoma City understands: "Numibians can take out just a few things."
"Sir." The entourage whispered hesitantly: "They all gave Dionysian gifts, but we didn't take anything. Is this..."
Okredon raised his head: "We Carthage can send messengers to attend the celebration, and this is the best gift to Dionia's Hades celebration!"
Okleton said this, but he knew clearly in his heart: Carthage's status in the Western Mediterranean has changed from what it used to be, but many Carthaginian elders have not fully adapted to this new change, including Hanno, so The other messenger groups have brought rich gifts, but the Carthaginian messenger group is very shabby in comparison, which will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of the subsequent negotiations with Dionia.
Just as Okleton was thinking about it, the Etruscan messenger had unloaded its items and left the pier. Then it was the turn of the Numibian messenger and the Mauritanian messenger to enter the inner city pier.
After a while, I heard the neighing of horses, and the pier became extremely lively.
Suddenly, there was a deafening exclamation from the shore, and it lasted so long that even Okleton outside the port could hear it clearly: "God, what kind of monster is this?! It's so huge!"
"This could be... perhaps the giant bull of Lucania..."
"Idiot! Does a cow have such a long nose? And a cow's horns are on its head, but its horns are on its mouth."
"Then tell me, what is it?"
"I haven't seen it before, how could I know, but we can ask these Mauritanians."
…
Hearing these exclamations, Okleton was surprised: Did the Mauritanians send elephants living in the interior of Africa to Turii? !
Although he had never seen it, he had heard that there were many elephants further south in the territories of West Numibia and Mauritanians, and most of the ivory traded in the market in Carthage came from there.
In fact, ivory is also very popular in Turii, especially when it was purchased in large quantities when the Temple of Hades was rebuilt, but when the real owner of the ivory walked out of the cabin and came to the shore, he was still shocked. The people who came to watch: "There are such giant beasts in this world! Shouldn't this be the descendant of a certain monster in ancient times?!..."
Compared with the people who were shouting and thinking wildly beside them, the Turii officials who came to greet the messenger group were more worried about how much loss these giant beasts would cause to the city when they went mad, because It seems that they are difficult to control. It is necessary to know that the people in the inner city are not elders, important ministers, or ordinary citizens. Their identities are also extraordinary. If a large number of casualties are caused, these small officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not be able to bear it. take this responsibility.
Even though the Mauritanian envoy repeatedly explained to the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that this animal looks huge, but it is actually gentle and will not hurt people easily.
At the same time, the mahout commanded the elephant to kneel to the officials, and use his long trunk to make various funny actions such as waving and nodding. It did not completely dispel the officials' doubts, but made the cheers of the people on the side even more enthusiastic. .
Fortunately, it didn't take long for several hundred palace guards to arrive. They were ordered by King Davos to bring these elephants to the elephant pen specially built for elephants on the King's Hill.
So, under the careful command of the mahouts, the male, the female, and the cub, the three elephants walked slowly and heavily, on the flat and sturdy street, along the road of the triumphal army. The route experienced, heading towards the west of the city.
The people in the inner city who got the news went out one after another, including some elders, standing on the side of the road, curiously watching this giant beast they had never seen before.
Under the efforts of the palace guards to maintain order, the excited people did not cause the elephants to panic, but allowed them to enjoy the rare honor of a triumphal soldier, and also made the people look forward to this year's celebration.
By the time the Carthaginian messenger group entered the dock by boat, it was already afternoon, and Okridon waited on the boat for nearly 4 hours, so as soon as they got ashore, they were annoyed at the Dionia officials who came to greet them. Complained: "Turii is such a big city, but has such a small port, so that any visiting foreign emissaries will not feel the momentum of Dionia as the most powerful country in the Western Mediterranean, but it is a useless The stingy of the bag!"
The Dionian officials were not offended by Okredon's blunt words, but admitted frankly: "You are right, we also found this to be a big problem, this inner city river port was built before the establishment of the kingdom, then At times its capacity is sufficient for use, but foreign envoys have visited too frequently in recent years, and many envoys have not come empty-handed—”
Speaking of this, he glanced at the lonely passenger ship behind Okriton intentionally or unintentionally: "So this river port is not enough now, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported this issue to His Majesty, although both sides of the inner city are now It has been occupied by buildings, and there is no spare space to build a new river port, but His Majesty has held several ministerial executive meetings on this issue, and I believe that a solution will be found soon."
Okridon nodded and expressed his understanding. In fact, he just wanted to vent his grievances. He didn't care if the river port problem in Turiyi was resolved. King Firth, on behalf of the Carthaginian Senate, there is an important matter to discuss with him, you... um... Can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs convey this request of mine to King Davos?"
The official looked at him and said seriously: "According to the administrative regulations of the kingdom, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for all foreign affairs. If you have any requirements, you can write a letter and submit it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After reading it, our chief, Ancitanos, judges whether it is important or not, and then decides whether to leave it to us to discuss, or to transfer it to His Majesty to decide...
However, there are quite a few envoys who have visited these days, and all of them have demands. I heard that the letters in the office of Lord Ancitanos have piled up, and he usually has to go to Dionysian Academy to attend classes. I'm too busy. Even if you submit your letter, it may take some time before you can get an answer. "
Okleton was dumbfounded. His previous negotiations with Dionia were during the war. He went directly to the army camp to meet King Davos. He never expected to meet him in Turui. On the side of King Davos, it would be so complicated and difficult, so he didn't know how to respond for a while.
Seeing his silence, the official said suddenly, "Actually, there is another way to solve your problem better."
"Excuse me, what's the solution?" Okriton asked immediately.
"During this time, His Majesty saw that there was a lot of foreign affairs during the celebration, and I was worried that Lord Ancitanos would be too busy. The day before yesterday, he specially arranged a rotating chairman of the Senate to assist him in temporarily managing foreign affairs. You can go directly to him, maybe He will take you to meet His Majesty."
"Go directly to him? Don't need to submit a letter first and then get his approval?" Okreton was a little puzzled.
"Other messengers may not be able to, but you may be able, because you are a Carthaginian." The official said with a meaningful smile.
Okredon's heart moved, and he asked with a trembling voice, "What's the name of this... Chairman-in-Office?"
"Haka."
really! … Okleton smiled wryly, as if he had knocked over a five-flavor bottle in his heart, he couldn’t tell what it was like.
… … … … … … …
Early in the morning, in the mansion of King Davos, after Davos' morning exercise, he walked into the restaurant, only to find that there were only two people in the restaurant: Cristoia and Agnes: "What about the children?"
"They hurriedly finished their breakfast and went to see the elephants. Eunice and Briantes always love to join in the fun, but this is the first time I've seen Apox, who has always been calm, be so eager." Cristoia complained.
"As long as the children are happy, this shows that my decision to bring these elephants to the mountain is correct." Davers said, and sat down at the dining table.
Agnes immediately brought him a bowl of hot porridge, and said with a smile: "Ivia took me to see the elephant last night, and she was very excited when she came back, she insisted on sleeping with me, Excited to talk for a long time, it was the first time I saw her say so much.