ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 927 The Destruction of Rome
"Can my father and the others really be... cured?" Stolo asked with a worried look on his face, with doubt in his tone, but more of hope.

Asistes continued to comfort him and said: "Since you have been studying Greek culture and knowledge since you were a child, you may know Hippocrates, the most famous plague doctor in Greece. He is now in Thurii. Although he is old and did not follow the army to Latium this time, many of the doctors accompanying the army are his students. They will do their best to treat your father and other Roman soldiers who have the plague. And You Romans often say that plague is the seed sown by the God of Death, and Hades, our patron saint of Dionia, is the Lord of the Underworld, and His Majesty Davos is his descendant. Since the Roman army has surrendered to us, Your Majesty must They will be protected by Hades!..."

Stolo calmed down a bit, suddenly remembered something, and asked again: "Sir, my wife's mother and sister are still being detained. May I ask...how will they be dealt with?"

Asistes thought for a while and said: "Now that Servius has surrendered, his wife will follow him to settle elsewhere in the kingdom. Of course, Servius must first survive this plague. As for you My wife’s mother, if Ambustus also surrenders and comes down the mountain, they will also go to other areas to settle. But if your father-in-law refuses to surrender, according to the resolution promulgated by the kingdom now, your mother-in-law should be classified as a slave of the kingdom, but she owns You and Servius are the sons-in-law of Dionian citizens, so it depends...whether she is willing to live with your family or the Servius family in the future."

"I will go up the mountain tomorrow to convince my father-in-law." Stolo said decisively.

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On the second day, Ambustus watched Stolo staggering down the mountain, two lines of hot tears streaming down his old cheeks.

A hand was put on his shoulder: "Why, do you regret it?"

Ambustus wiped away his tears, turned to look at Potitus, shook his head and said, "I don't regret it at all, I'm just a little unwilling..."

After listening to this, Potitus was silent for a while, pointed tremblingly down the mountain with his crutch, and said in a low voice: Alas... Think of Alba Longa, which was destroyed by us, and Viai... In my opinion, Any race and force must go through a process from weak to strong, from strong to weak. Today is our Rome, and one day it will be Dionia’s turn..."

"Lord Potitus, it seems that you are not willing to accept it!" Ambustus sighed, looking back at the solemn Temple of Jupiter, with another layer of doubt on his face: "I It’s just that I didn’t expect it... It was not the Dionians that gave us a heavy blow in the end, but the plague! It took away the life of our dictator and also destroyed the fighting spirit of the soldiers. Is this a gift from Jupiter? Roman punishment?!”

"So there is no need for this temple to exist anymore. Who made Jupiter abandon Rome!" Marugine Ensis came over with an angry look on his face and reminded: "Both of you, everything is ready. We...it’s time to enter the temple!”

Potitus and Ambustus looked at each other with determination in their eyes: "Since you are ready, let's go in."

"Sir," Scipio, who was following Marugene Ensis, said at this time: "Some of my soldiers don't want to leave quietly like this. They would rather go down the mountain and die in front of the enemy. Under the spear."

Potitus frowned with wrinkled brows: "Hasn't this matter been discussed before? Since we have failed, we should not provoke the Dionians needlessly to prevent them from spreading their anger on us. On the family.”

"Lord Scipio, your soldiers are still very young. If there are any who are willing to surrender, just let them go down the mountain." Ambustus suggested.

Scipio looked solemn: "They are real Roman warriors, no one will choose to surrender!"

Half an hour later, the Roman senators gathered in the main hall of the Temple of Jupiter, and hundreds of Roman soldiers either stayed in the apse or sat around in the courtyard.

Potitus looked around at the more than 100 Roman senators crowded in the hall: they were trapped in the mountains for several months. In the end, they ran out of food and almost ran out of water. Therefore, not only were their faces sallow and thin, their faces were covered with dust, but their clothes were also in tatters. It's unbearable, how can I still have the magnanimity that I used to scold Fang Qiu in the Senate and point out the country.But at this moment, they were all sitting upright with solemn faces, making the already solemn Temple of Jupiter even more tragic. Only Apuleius, who had just been released from the apse, was lying on the ground with a hunched back. , the lips kept moving.

Finally, Potitus looked at Maru Geneensis beside him and said in a deep voice: "You have the last word."

Maru Geneensis smiled freely: "I have been arguing with you for decades, and this is the first time you have shown humility to me. Forget it, I'm used to it, so it's up to you. But when we go Another place...I won't let you go again."

Potitus nodded silently, then looked at the crowd and said with a solemn expression: "My lords, when the Celts invaded Rome 20 years ago, Bullerius, Vibius, Titus, and Ai Milius and other senior senators blocked the road into the city and heroically sacrificed their lives! Today, Rome has fallen again. We must not lose the reputation of Roman senators and Roman nobles. We have gone through countless hardships to defend what our ancestors have done. We will dedicate our lives to establishing this city-state. Even if Rome no longer exists in the future, our heroic deeds will be remembered and sung by future generations. At the same time, we will continue to remind future generations that in central Italy, in Latin In the region of Rome, on the banks of the Tiber River, there once was a great city-state, and its name was Rome!..."

After listening to Potitus's words, the senators unconsciously raised their heads and sat up straighter, with a bit more sparkle in their originally desperate eyes.

After Potitus finished speaking, his encouraging eyes slowly looked at his colleagues again, and then glanced at them one by one, first Maruchine Ensis, then Ambustus, then the high priest Ulysses, and then It's the old senator Luxitius...

Potitus sat down slowly, put down his crutches gently, flicked the dust on his clothes, closed his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Light the fire!"

There was silence in the hall for a moment.

Scipio shouted: "Light the fire!"

The soldiers outside the main hall seemed to have woken up from a dream. They threw their torches at the temple where olive oil had been poured everywhere. In an instant, a raging fire ignited...

Apuleius, who was originally lying on the ground, seemed to be suddenly awakened by the fire. He jumped up suddenly, picked up a small stone in the corner, and threw it towards the tall statue in the center of the hall. With a "pop" sound, it struck directly. On the top of Jupiter's head.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!..." Apuleius laughed loudly, stamping his feet and yelling: "Damn Jupiter! Damn Camillus! Damn Rome! Hahaha!... Damn it Rome!……"

The maniacal laughter of Apuleius and the screams of the senators and soldiers after their bodies were bathed in fire became the last echoes of the fire on the top of the Capitoline Mountains.

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The self-immolation of Roman senators and soldiers meant the complete demise of Rome's resistance. Except for the surrendered nobles and their families who were devastated, and a very small number of civilians like Stolo who felt sad, the vast majority of civilians just felt sorry for Jupiter. He deplored the burning of Latin temples such as Tetra and Juno, and even cursed "these self-immolated Roman senators will destroy the temples on the Capitoline Mountains until their death, just to prevent civilians from worshiping".

Of course, their chagrin was quickly dissipated by the arrival of the Hades celebration, although the celebration in Rome was hastily organized, with a large theatrical performance about the founding of Dionysia in the Forum, with actors from the Roman garrison. The temporarily deployed soldiers in the Dionysian army lacked professional training. Not only were their costumes rudimentary, but their performances were full of mistakes. However, the Roman people found it very interesting when they saw such a unique large-scale performance for the first time.

Afterwards, in front of the simple altar of Hades, under the leadership of the priest, the believers performed devout sacrifices to the Greek Hades, and then the priest solemnly announced: "From now on, Hades will protect the city of Rome!"

The cheers of the believers did not move the Roman people who were watching, but then they saw a large stone tablet engraved with the names of the Roman reserve brigade soldiers who died fighting for Dionysus. The soldiers carried it to the altar, and the priest blessed it and announced: "When the temple is completed, the stone tablet will be carried into the Hall of Valor to receive offerings from the Roman people. Their souls will continue to guard Rome!"

This move really shocked the Roman people and made many people who had lost their loved ones shed tears.

In the afternoon, still in front of the altar of Hades, the Roman administrator, Asistes, read the order signed by King Davos in the name of Hades, and gave many Roman slaves who performed well during this period to freedom.

The freed slaves cheered and kept thanking Hades and King Davos loudly. At the same time, many slaves who heard the news were full of expectations for the newly joined kingdom.

Then on the second day, the rugby game started.

The curious Roman people, as well as some Viais and Phedinians, rushed into the arena with their families and were quickly attracted by the game.Although each team is basically composed of mostly newly migrated Dionian citizens and a small number of Romans, their competitive level is not high, but for the Roman people who are watching the game for the first time (sometimes for the second time) , it is novel and intense enough.

(End of this chapter)