H2

As it turned out, Epirus' major exports were agricultural in nature. Goat cheese, wine, wool, olives, and smoked sardines were our biggest sellers. We weren't poor, but our income paled in comparison to Macedon, never mind Rome or Carthage. It was down mostly to our geographical position. We were surrounded by mountains and the sea, which meant that we had very little in the way of arable land. We only have one major source of iron, Mount Lakmos, and almost none of copper, tin, lead, or any other minerals. Mostly what we have is lignite, which is useless for our purposes. We could provide for our own needs well enough, but we didn't have a surplus of minerals to export or the arable land to export grain.

The first thing I wanted to do was to secure enough iron, copper, and tin to be able to expand my army. There were plentiful copper and iron deposits north of Epirus in the Illyrian Taulantii Kingdom, however. That would be a good place to expand into, as Pyrrhus' friend Glaukias of the Taulantii had recently died and his son was being threatened by Bardylis II of the Dardanii. I could ride in with my army as a protector of the Taulantii, throw out Bardylis, and annex the Taulantii as a Client State. Then I'd have access to more Iron and Copper to expand my forces, plus access to another pool of manpower.

It was a solid plan, but I would need to review my forces and come to an arrangement with Demetrios Poliorcetes about the border with Macedon. I had no doubts I could crush Bardylis, but not if Demetrios decided to settle the issue of Thessaly by force while I was campaigning in Illyria. I would need to send a diplomat to speak with Demetrios about the issue, the question was who to send? I could send a few people. Menon, my foremost officer could go, but that would send the wrong message. I could send Cineas of Thessaly. The man had been taught by Demosthenes of Athens and would eventually become an important advisor, but he was too soft at times. Finally, I could go myself, that would show sincerity, but take me away from crucial issues that required my attention here.

Ultimately, the choice was resolved by deciding to send both Menon and Cineas. Cineas' softness would be balanced by Menon's military bearing and Menon's brusqueness would be balanced by Cineas' silver tongue. I had every confidence that together the pair of them would be able to negotiate a border agreement that I could live with.

As I wrote dispatches for Menon and Cineas, my mind turned to my border with the Aetolian League. Until this point, Pyrrhus had made allies of them in an attempt to hem in Macedonia in case war broke out over the disputed parts of Thessaly. This was all well and good for before, but if I wanted a truce with Macedonia so I could invade Illyria, then the Aetolian League would be a millstone around my neck, dragging down negotiations and forcing me to concede ground to Demetrios to get my settlement. I would need to speak to the Aetolian League's representative in Ambracia and tell him that the Aetolians would need to back off the saber rattling for the time being if they didn't want to be facing Macedon alone in the short term.

The Aetolian League's man in Ambracia was a man named Lysander of Naupaktos. Lysander was a former peltast in the army of the Aetolian League, he'd been deadly with a javelin until an unlucky hit to the helmet from a Rhodian sling stone blinded him in one eye. With no depth perception, he had been forced to retire from army life. He'd been sent to Ambracia as liaison because it was known that Pyrrhus was more inclined to be friendly to fighting men.

I summoned Lysander to meet with me and laid out the situation. The one-eyed former peltast was not happy about it in the slightest. The scowl on his face was plain enough for everyone to see when I told him what I wanted the Aetolians to do.

"I did not take you for a coward." He growled.

"I am no coward. I am a realist. I need the Macedonians placated for the moment." I replied.

"So you can go off and campaign against Illyrians? For what? The Illyrians are not a threat, not like Macedon!" Protested Lysander.

"For the manpower, iron, and copper control of Illyria provides. I'm not asking it to be forever, give it a few years, half a decade at most, and then we can settle issues with the ever-grasping Demetrios. By that point, Epirus will be more powerful than ever, and the League will find its war far easier." I protested.

"That is all well and good for Epirus, but the Aetolian League gains nothing from backing off against Macedon. The Synedrion will not agree to this unless there is a benefit for us to go along with it." Argued Lysander.

"What does the Aetolian League want?" I asked.

"In addition to the territory of Anis and Malis as agreed upon in any war with Macedon, the Aetolian League wants Larissa." Replied Lysander.

That wasn't surprising, honestly, Larissa was a major population center and would increase the power of the Aetolian League dramatically compared to Anis and Malis. Ultimately though, it wasn't the biggest prize they could have asked for, that would have been Thessaliotis, which would go to Epirus in a victorious war with Macedon. This was a deal I could live with.

"Agreed." I said.

"Then we have an accord. The Aetolian League will cease provocations towards Macedon for a period of no more than 5 years." Nodded Lysander before leaving the room.

That was that issue dealt with, now I had to review my troops and plan a campaign into Illyria that would see the bulk of that territory coming under my dominion, either directly or as a client state. I sighed as I headed off to my next meeting.

It seemed my work was only just beginning. . .