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When the new year arrived, Rome held a leadership election in a dangerous situation, and went north to quell the rebellion of the Gauls in the south of the mountain, Lucius. Pustúmius. Albinus was elected consul for the third time in absentia. Soon after, however, the Romans received bad news that Albinus and his army were annihilated by an ambush near Moderna, and Margirus led the victorious Boi to cut off the consul's head and make it into a wine cup. This defeat cost Rome another 250,000 horses, while the Romans had to temporarily abandon the colonies they had established not so long ago in Piacenza and Cremona. In order to take over the consulship of Albinus, the Senate had to be re-elected, so the aged Kundus. Fabian. Maximus was elected consul for the third time, and the man whom Hannibal and Monwar called the wisest man in Rome came to the fore again. Fabian immediately took over the army of the outgoing ** official Pera on the north bank of the Voltunus River, while Marcellas, who was also elected consul, continued to command the troops originally stationed in Suisula to protect the city of Nora from Hannibal. Rome's two new consuls now blocked both the north-south roads of Campania.
Hannibal set up his camp on Mount Tifata, from where he could monitor Capua and the vast surrounding area. When spring came, he sent Hanno the Younger to complete the occupation of Brutian (Calabria), which was located at the tip of the boot in the Apennine Peninsula, separated from Sicily by the narrow Strait of Messina. There, Hanno the Younger was to create more space for the Carthaginian army to maneuver and establish the closest sea connection to the Carthaginian lands. It took Hanno the Younger months to besiege and conquer Petria, and then Cosentia soon surrendered to him, and with the rapid fall of Crotona and Porto Loclei, the entire southwestern coastline of the Apennines was already under the control of the Carthaginians, and the Numidian cavalry even provoked the Roman blockade fleet on the Strait of Messina.
While Hanno the Younger was conquering the southern part of the peninsula, Hannibal in Capua welcomed a distant guest, and an envoy sent by King Philip V of Macedon landed in the waters of Brutium. The area was conquered by Margo last year, and troops remained. The Macedonian mission, escorted by the Carthaginian cavalry, made its way to Capua, where Hannibal ceremoniously received these friends from afar in the Carthaginian camp on Mount Tifata.
Philip. Antigonus was the son of King Dmitry II of Macedon, who was only 9 years old when his father died. His cousin Antigonus was the regent for three generations, and Philip V, who had just come of age at the time of the regent's death, began his de facto rule. At the beginning of his reign, the young king was ambitiously trying to seize the initiative in the Mediterranean world. In 220 BCE, Philip V and the Achaean League united against the Aetolian League, another Greek city-state alliance, but the war lasted for four years without results before a peace treaty was signed in 217 BCE. Since Philip V had made little profit in this war, he had been coveting the Roman protectorate on the Adriatic coast when he heard the news of the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimeno. The Macedonian king was a thorn in his back, resentful of the fact that someone was sleeping on the side of the couch, but he had not dared to act on the strength of the Romans. When news of the Battle of Cannae reached Macedonia, Philip's fear of Rome vanished without a trace, and he eagerly sent a delegation of plenipotentiaries to the southern Apennines, intending to conclude an alliance with the man who had subjugated Rome.
A warm welcome, friends from Macedonia. Hannibal led the crowd in the Great Tent to receive the dusty Macedonians.
Great Marca Commander, I am here on behalf of King Philip of Macedon. The head of the mission, Xenophanes, politely introduced himself, "Our young and promising king Philip inherited the mantle of Alexander the Great, and his country was the most powerful in the entire Greek peninsula. ”
Honorable Lord of Mission, I have long heard of the name of your King Philip, who ascended to the throne at the age of majority and devoted himself to Macedonian's hegemony in the Greek world, and is considered the most accomplished king in all of Greece. Hannibal also complimented Philip on the other side's boasting, a diplomatic rhetoric that he had already used with ease.
Xenophanes was very happy, and it was rumored that Hannibal was a barbarian who ate raw meat and drank raw blood, and now it seemed to the head of the mission that it was all a Roman rumor. You look at how standard his Greek language is, how graceful his demeanor is, and the handsome and mighty generals behind him, saying that he is a Greek that everyone will believe, Xenophanes can't help but think.
Our King Philip has always admired you very much, and your achievements in Iberia spread throughout the Peloponnese very early, and it is even more admirable to hear of your feats of travel, especially over the Alps. My king was eager to lead an army to fight against the Romans with you, but unfortunately Greece was busy with war at that time, so he never got his wish. Now I have heard of the series of extraordinary achievements you have made in the Apennines, especially the brilliant achievements of the Battle of Cannae, and I have admired you to an incomparable degree, so I have come to congratulate you on his behalf and send you five hundred tarrants to reward the soldiers. ”
After Xenophani finished praising it, he let the entourage who was waiting outside carry in a dozen heavy boxes.
King Philip was so gracious that he would be able to do as much as Alexander the Great would in the future, and the world would be amazed. Hannibal also went on to praise the other party, saying that it didn't cost money to praise people anyway.
Dear Commander Baca, our King Philip has long been dissatisfied with the invasion of Rome everywhere, but he is not strong enough, so he has been waiting for an opportunity. Now seeing the commander in chief all the way to the Apennines, the battle of Cannae is even more famous. Therefore, I specially sent us here, hoping to become allies with Carthage, live and die together, and deal with the Romans together. After a long time of flattering each other, Xenophonene finally told the true purpose of the trip.
Rome is indeed a cancer in the Mediterranean, and if it is not eradicated soon, it will surely endanger everyone in the future. However, the matter of forming an alliance is very important, and I still need to consult with my subordinates before I can reply to you, so please go down and rest for a while. Hannibal replied tactfully, while motioning for his men to take the Macedonians to rest and dine.
Hannibal did not immediately pick up the olive branch thrown by the other party, he was well versed in politics and understood that the alliance was very important, he was only a general in command, and if he signed such a contract alone without the Senate, even if he won the battle, he would be attacked by the opposition in the Senate in the future. And he wasn't sure if it was necessary to let an outsider get a piece of the pie in the current situation where his side had the advantage. As soon as the Macedonians left, he seized the time to discuss with Meng Hua and others.
I think it's not a bad thing to have an alliance with each other, and to have multiple friends to disperse and contain the Romans. Meng Hua agreed, and others agreed.
I am concerned that the accession of Macedonia will affect our current control over the Greek city-states in the southern part of the peninsula. Hannibal spoke out about his fears.
I don't think there's much to think about it, Philip was only the king of Macedonia, not the king of Greece, Pyrrhus, and we just had to limit him in the treaty and not let him participate in the Apennine battlefield. Moreover, the Greek city-states might not welcome him. Meng Hua didn't feel like he needed to worry too much.
However, we cannot sign a contract with each other on behalf of Carthage, after all, this is a military alliance between the two countries, and we must have the authorization of the Senate. Hillenos reminded everyone.
Although Catalo is gone, aren't the members of parliament who came with him still in the army? Since they were the Ombudsmen sent by the Senate, they should be able to sign on behalf of the Senate. Meng Hua came up with a compromise.
Hannibal immediately sent for the councillors—Margo, Milken, and Bamoka. After listening to Hannibal's description, the old councillors immediately agreed, they had been idle in the camp for a long time, and they were extremely proud to be able to represent the Senate at such a historic moment. Hannibal immediately called Ambassador Xenophani and, in the presence of several parliamentarians, began to bargain over this important agreement.
After a long day of discussion, the final agreement stipulated that everyone would fight against Rome together, and that they would not make peace with each other alone, and that after the war, whether Rome still existed or not, the land of Asemini would be under Carthage's control, but the Greek possessions would go to Macedonia, and the Illyrian region would belong to the Kingdom of Macedonia, and the official names of the gods of both sides would be attached to the end of the contract to ensure that the oath would not be betrayed by either side. In the end, the names of the representatives of both sides were signed, with Ambassador Xenophani the plenipotentiary on the Macedonian side and three members representing the Carthaginian Senate on the Carthaginian side.
Philip V finally launched his long-awaited war against Rome, and he chose the right time for the first Macedonian war with Rome. And for Hannibal, he was given a firm overseas ally who could help him distract the Romans. The scope and scale of what the Romans called the Hannibal War was rapidly expanding, and the entire Mediterranean would be involved, and who would be the next country to join the Carthaginian League?