As soon as Shilos sat down, Davers asked, "What do you think of today's Senate meeting?" ”

Shilos hesitated for a moment, and did not answer this question directly, but said sincerely: "Your Majesty, I think that Lord Antonios has done a very good job during his tenure as Minister of War, and the Ministry of Military Affairs is also running very well, so I can temporarily replace him for a period of time, and then continue to serve as Minister of War after he recovers...... It's better not to change the Minister of War. ”

Davers looked at him, and Shilos looked honest.

After a moment, Daves waved his left hand lightly and said in a deep voice: "Antonios is removed from his post on his own initiative, even if I keep him, he will not stay in this position anymore, look at this-"

Davers flipped the Roster of Promoted Officers on his desk to the page of the Eighth Regiment and handed it to him.

Shilos took it suspiciously, looked at it carefully, his face changed slightly, in the past two days, the arrest of Paphgrice, the son of Laodisian, for murder has gradually spread in the port of Turiyi (mainly due to the merit of the merchants of Naxos), Shilos has also heard about it, and he can't help but complain in his heart: Antonios also promoted this troublemaker at this time, didn't he give people a handle!

He pondered his words and said softly: "Your Majesty, I don't think Lord Antonios will make such a mistake and promote such an unqualified soldier......"

"At least he was derelict in his duties, and it also showed that there were a lot of problems in the Ministry of Military Affairs, which is why I set up a military tribunal and also let the local inspectors into the army, because the whole army needs to be put in order! Therefore, you, the Minister of War, have a great responsibility after taking office, not only to help the military courts and the Ombudsman, and to cooperate with their work as much as possible, but also to keep the Ministry of Military Affairs stable, so that the officers and soldiers of the subordinate military corps can ......rest assured," Davos said earnestly: "I believe you can strike a good balance between the two!" ”

Although Davers had high hopes, Shilos felt a great responsibility, and before he could respond, Davers said: "Take this roster back and check it carefully, how many unqualified officers and soldiers have been promoted, and find out all the illegal and derelict officers in the military department, and hand them over to the inspector and the court-martial, and the army of the kingdom will never allow any moths!" This time, we must deal with it seriously and sound the alarm for the whole army! ”

Davers's deafening voice shook Shilos, and he shook his spirits and said forcefully: "Your Majesty, I will do my best!" ”

"Good!" Davers nodded in satisfaction, then pulled out another letter and said in a deep voice: "There is one more important thing that you must know as the Minister of War. With that, he handed the letter to Shiros.

After reading the letter, Shilos looked solemn: "Your Majesty, everything said in this letter is true?!" ”

"I'm sending someone to investigate, judging from the current situation, I'm afraid there are more than that......" Davers said as he walked to the large map on the wall, pointed to the location of the western part of Mount Etna with his hand, and said with a serious expression: "After the Southern Italian War, we have the Catanian Plain, Naxos, Sikuli, Tauromegnan and Messina, and with the assistance of Leotini, Toannis and other allied city-states, Syracuse was suppressed in the southeast corner of Sicily, As a result, the kingdom has an absolute advantage in eastern Sicily, and the Sichaels are afraid of our power and take the initiative to form an alliance with us and become a member of the Dionian League, and the reason why we treat every Sichael town and tribe equally, and always adopt a policy of helping the weak and weakening the strong when they ask for help, is to avoid a single dominance and prevent them from reuniting into the Sichael kingdom, so that they can assimilate and merge them in the future......

However, from now on, it seems that there is a problem with the implementation of this strategy, and it is likely that the Taniyan tribe of the Sichaels has quietly annexed and expanded with the help of the Sicilian senators during these years! I don't have much detail about the current state of the tribe at this time, although the tribe is far away in Kefaro Idian, the closest town to the west of the Sikers, and far from Katanai and Naxos, the hounds in Sicily (referring to the intelligence services of Aristiras) do not ignore it to this extent. It can be seen that they have consciously blocked the news, which cannot but arouse our vigilance! ”

The tone in which Davers spoke made Shilos feel something, he straightened up, and asked uncertainly, "Your Majesty, you mean war?!" ”

Davers glanced at the map again, smashed his fist at Sicily, and said categorically: "As long as the guilt of Laodisian and other Sicilian elders is confirmed, we will have a reason to wage war against Taniean, completely destroy the chance it wants to rise, and at the same time deter other Sicael forces and strengthen their control!" Therefore, during this time, the military department should prepare in advance, especially the Eighth Army Corps, which will be the main force in the attack on Tanikan. ”

Out of his understanding of Davers, Shilos did not immediately oppose his decision, but put forward his own suggestion: "Your Majesty, before declaring war on the Sikers, the Ministry of War can only quietly prepare to avoid allowing the Sikers to be prepared after receiving the news and creating trouble for our future attacks. Moreover, now that we are in the midst of a war against the Daoni, if we also go to war in Sicily, the pressure on the logistics and transportation of the army will be greater, and it is better to start it after the end of the Daoni War, which will also facilitate the smooth passage of the war resolution in the Senate.

In addition, since the war is about to be waged again, it is better for the army to maintain stability and investigate and deal with the officers who have violated the law in the past...... I hope it doesn't go too big, and ...... It's best not to punish too harshly, after all, they are all first-time offenders, and I hope Your Majesty can give them a chance to make amends, and it won't hurt the respect of the soldiers for you! ”

Davers listened attentively, lost in thought.

Shilos sat quietly and waited.

Finally, Dafus said slowly: "The affairs of the Ministry of Military Affairs are entrusted to you, and the specific investigation and punishment measures are decided by you and the military judge and prosecutor, and then handed over to me for review and signature. As for when to start a war against Taniean, I will depend on the situation. ”

Although Davos did not explicitly agree with Shiros, Shilos knew that the king had actually made concessions, and he immediately said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Majesty!" ”

Davers stared at Shiros. Over the years, as his authority has grown, he has unconsciously become more and more separated from his former mercenary friends...... However, fortunately, there are people like Shiros, Karpus, Alexis and others who can constantly question and advise on his decision, which is actually a good thing!

Thinking of this, his tone softened a little: "Any other suggestions?" ”

Seeing that Davos looked calm, Shilos said again: "The commander of the Eighth Legion is Leotizides, and he has never had the experience of commanding the legion in battle, and Your Majesty, you just said that the Eighth Legion will be the main force attacking the Sikers, for the sake of safety, do you need to change a senior general with more experience in corps command to take over as the commander of the Eighth Legion?" ”

The corners of Davers's mouth curled slightly, and he said, "Who among the generals knows the terrain of Sicily better than Leotizides?" Know more about the local customs? More to make the Sicilian citizen soldiers obey the command? ”

Davers's words caught Shiros: Leotizides had been rooted in Sicily for six years! Naturally, it was not comparable to other army commanders who were unfamiliar with Sicily. According to the "Ionian Military Law," one of the important conditions that a senior general must meet in command of operations is to be familiar with the battlefield environment and understand the customs and customs around the battlefield. Of course, this does not mean that other army commanders cannot go to Sicily to fight, but this will undoubtedly prolong the time to end this war and increase the consumption of the war......

Shilos thought of Antonios, but once Laodisian and others were really proven to have violated discipline, then Antonios, who was his relative and deeply involved with the Sicilian senators, would inevitably be blamed by the senators, and the senate could not interfere with the commander in charge of attacking the Sichaels, but their accusations would inevitably cause the people of the kingdom to criticize Antonios, which was simply roasting Antonios on the fire! Therefore, Shilos realized at this time: Davers let Antonios resign at home, which was actually a kind of protection for him.

Seeing that Shilos did not speak, Davos continued: "Leotizides, many people say that he is taciturn, strict and serious, and does not like to associate with him, but I think he spends all his time talking and chatting with others to think about military affairs and training soldiers, this is a born warrior!" I believe he will command this war well! ”

Davers's affirmation made Shilos no longer object, because he believed that Davers's insight into people was a testament to his many past successes.

The two discussed for a while, and Shilos was about to say goodbye and leave, but was stopped by Davers: "It's past noon now, you haven't eaten lunch yet, it just so happens that I'm hungry, and we haven't sat together for a long time to drink and chat relaxed!" Don't leave yet, I'll let the chef cook a few good dishes, let's have a few drinks! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

………………………………………

Built ten years ago, the Touri's western mountain road was an important link between Touri's Lucania and further north, and today it is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the Kingdom of Dionia, with hundreds of pedestrians every day, long gone from the desolate scene of a decade ago.