"Great Chief, could you please offer me a glass of wine first? Then we can talk slowly," Karsipengpas said directly.
Acoupaigos laughed heartily, "Don’t worry, you won’t be short of wine. I’ll make sure you get drunk."
The group entered the council hall and each took a seat as the attendant brought in the wine.
The Alde Tribe did not cultivate grapes; this wine was obtained by the tribesmen through piracy, plundering merchant ships.
Karsipengpas, having traveled for a long time, was indeed a bit thirsty. He took several gulps in succession before wiping the wine foam from his lips and began talking, "Great Chief, did you hear that something major is happening across the sea in Italy?"
"You’re talking about the slaves and commoners uprising in Italy and fighting against the Romans, right?"
"Yes, this army of slaves and commoners has already consecutively defeated two Roman Governors and the Roman Army of the Northern Italy Province, totaling over 100,000 troops—"
"Really?!" Acoupaigos was taken aback, as he hadn’t heard this news before.
"It’s true. Now the entire east coast of Italy is in chaos, and even the Roman Fleet has no time to chase us—"
"Good, good, well done! This is heaven’s punishment for the Romans!" Acoupaigos laughed with joy, having not heard any bad news for the Romans for a long time.
Acoupaigos hated the Romans. More accurately, the Aldeans all hated the Romans.
This hatred dates back to a hundred years ago when the Illyrian Kingdom allied with the Macedonia Kingdom against Rome, only to be defeated by Rome. Rome supported a puppet to control the Illyrian Kingdom, but the Illyrians refused to submit and continued to resist, but they were still defeated by Rome. Rome destroyed the Illyrian Kingdom and, to ensure the safety of the east coast of Italy and combat piracy, brought the Illyrian coastal region under its own control, making it the Roman Province of Illyria, while the inland region of Illyria was referred to as Dalmatia, though in reality, Dalmatia was merely one of the strongest tribes amongst the various Illyrian tribes.
The Illyrians lost their land and even their name, the frustration in their hearts is imaginable.
The Alde are the northernmost tribe of Illyria. They once had multiple port towns along the Adriatic Sea, mainly living off maritime trade and piracy. Later, they were forced to retreat to the mountainous inland when the Romans took their coastal lands, relying primarily on farming. However, their territories were mostly mountainous, with infertile soil and scarce yields, leading to slow population growth and difficult living conditions.
Thus, Acoupaigos always believed that the Romans caused the current hardship of the Alde Tribe. Hearing about the troubles faced by the Romans made him happy, and the last time he felt this joyous was during the outbreak of the Roman Alliance War in Italy.
"Great Chief, after defeating the Romans, this army is marching north. They plan to leave Italy and head to Gaul to find true freedom!" Karsipengpas emphasized, "They have a leader named Maximus. He is an Illyrian, and many of his followers are also Illyrians. Although this leader is young, he is brave and good at fighting. He once independently led an army to capture Sarabia and opened the port to us pirates, offering us much assistance. The grains you mentioned were generously given by Leader Maximus."
"I see..." Acoupaigos stroked his sparse beard and said with emotion, "It seems this Leader Maximus hasn’t forgotten his roots!"
"Yes, Great Chief," Karsipengpas observed Acoupaigos’s expression carefully and then spoke in a deep voice, "Not only has he not forgotten, but he doesn’t plan to follow others to Gaul. Instead, he wants to bring his followers back to his long-desired homeland, so he asked me to inquire if the Great Chief would allow him to buy some land, so he and his Illyrian soldiers could live on Illyrian soil!"
"Are you saying this Leader Maximus wants to live on Alde’s land?!" Acoupaigos became serious.
"He wishes to purchase land from you and is willing to pay a significant amount!" Karsipengpas quickly explained further, "Moreover, he doesn’t want the core lands of our tribe, just those at the edges, bordering other forces."
"I see..." Acoupaigos fell into contemplation.
After a while, he said to his attendant, "Go bring Cleobrotas and Alistacas."
Cleobrotas was an elder of the Alde Tribe and also Acoupaigos’s confidant.
Alistacas was Acoupaigos’s eldest son.
The two soon arrived at the council hall. Upon seeing Karsipengpas, Cleobrotas greeted him warmly, while Alistacas, who was of the same age as Karsipengpas, merely nodded perfunctorily before walking straight over to sit beside Acoupaigos.
Acoupaigos briefly recounted what Karsipengpas requested and asked for their opinions.
Alistacas was the first to express opposition, "I disagree! Even if Karsipengpas says that the one called... um... called—"
"Maximus," Karsipengpas reminded.