Sipros gave a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the Daonian army at the Trina Council: "...What impresses me is that the Daonian citizen soldiers have a strong discipline and obedience to orders, which is different from the armies of other allied nations I have seen, including ourselves. It is said that the Daonian League has specifically formulated a military law to restrain the behavior of soldiers and has strict regulations on military training, marching, camping...etc., and military law officers are also assigned in the army to supervise the implementation. Soldiers who violate military law must accept punishment, and there is no obvious resistance or rebellion, but rather a sense of shame..."
From the Daonian citizen soldiers, I learned that they must train once every five days during the slack season, which is already a surprising number for us Trinians, and they seem to enjoy training and do not complain at all about neglecting farmland due to training... Therefore, they can skillfully use the shields, spears, bows, and javelins in their hands, maintain complete formations during marches, and build camps not only carefully but also with clear division of labor and high efficiency, so they can build a surprisingly well-defended camp in a very short time...
In addition, the Daonian army also has a clear difference from other city-states, which is that their commanders and officers at all levels are not temporarily appointed after war mobilization, but have always held positions in the army. Therefore, they are not only rich in combat experience but also familiar with every soldier under their command, so they can command soldiers very smoothly during marching and camp construction, and cooperate tacitly. There is clear responsibility between superiors and subordinates, and there is little shirking or acting on one's own when executing orders...
What surprises me even more is that these soldiers are not afraid of combat but eager for it. This reminds me of the Spartans in mainland Greece. Although I have not seen them fight, their ability to defeat Croton with fewer troops proves the combat effectiveness of the Daonian army. In short, in my eyes, the Daonian army is like a finely crafted and well-functioning terrifying war machine! ..."
After listening to Sipros's words, the Trina Council decided to give Daonia as much support as possible in the Southern Italian League without affecting its own interests.
After several days of negotiations, the peace agreement was finally reached: Locri compensated Caulonia, Trina, Siris, and Croton with a certain amount of gold and silver, and the two sides achieved a truce...
......
Just as peace was being restored in southern Italy, a major battle broke out in the Lucanian region of northwestern Daonia in early March.
The army of Potentia besieged and attacked Grumentum for more than ten days without success. Gnaenaetes of Picentia led his army to arrive and fiercely attacked the rear of the Potentian army, while Sincinnatus saw the reinforcements arrive on the city wall and led his army to attack in time. Potentia was attacked from both sides and quickly collapsed. The Picentines and Grumentines pursued closely, and the Potentians lost their camp and fled in panic.
The Picentines and Grumentines rushed into the Potentian camp one after another and saw herds of cattle and sheep, piles of grain, and many women from other tribes captured by Potentia along the way, as well as a considerable number of slaves.
They no longer had the mind to pursue the enemy, and the two sides began to seize the camp's wealth and women and clashed.
The Picentines believed that they had defeated the Potentian army and that these spoils should belong to them; while the Grumentines believed that most of these properties were obtained by Potentia by plundering the tribes outside the city belonging to Grumentum and should be returned to Grumentum.
The initial quarrels and conflicts quickly turned into armed fights, especially the Grumentines, who were originally superior in the Lucanian League. During this period, not only were many leaders killed and subjected to the rule of the Picentines, but also the Picentines' contempt and instructions for them made them feel frustrated and humiliated. In addition, the Picentine warriors who followed Sincinnatus wreaked havoc in the city of Grumentum. The resentment they had accumulated in their hearts finally erupted after being provoked. The Grumentines gathered one after another and frantically attacked the Picentines in the camp, and the two sides began to fight bloodily, and the scene was completely out of control.
Sincinnatus was unable to stop it at all. Finally, when he was about to make up his mind to eliminate these fickle Grumentines together, Polet, the leader of Potentia, led a reorganized part of the warriors to kill back again. The Picentines who were fighting with the Grumentines in the camp were attacked from both sides and were ultimately defeated miserably. Sincinnatus and his son led the remnants of the army and did not dare to return to the city of Grumentum, and fled directly into the mountains. Finally, after several twists and turns, they fled back to Picentia.
In the end, the Potentians occupied Grumentum.
......
At the same time, after two months of siege and hard fighting, Tarentum finally captured Brundisium, a small city east of Tarentum and bordering the Adriatic Sea. This was a major breakthrough in the expansion of Tarentum's territory since the city was founded.
The people dedicated their praise to the leading generals, Diomylas and Archytas. Archytas was not really happy. This attack on the Messapians was fully supported by the city-state. Although the initial plan discussed by the council was realized, the land route between Tarentum and the Adriatic Sea was opened, and the connection between the Messapians and the north was cut off, sealing them off within the peninsula, the price paid was also very high. The casualties of the Tarentum citizen soldiers were as high as 4,000 people.
The ferocity of the Messapians is well-known in southern Italy. During the era of Greek colonization hundreds of years ago, many Greek city-states were established in southern Italy, but in this "heel" peninsula, there was always only one Tarentum. When other colonial city-states were attacking and assimilating the nearby natives and expanding their territories, the Tarentines, who were in a unique position, were lamenting their misfortune. Their eastern neighbors, the Messapians, were not only ferocious and numerous, but also the Messapians were not completely barbaric natives. According to their own claims, they were Illyrians from northern Greece near the Adriatic Sea, with cultural traditions similar to the Greeks (the Greeks never recognized them and still regarded them as barbarians), which made it impossible for Tarentum to advance inland for hundreds of years. Especially decades ago, Tarentum supported its mother state Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, which aroused the hostility of Athens. Therefore, Athens supported the Messapians to confront Tarentum, and since then, the Messapians' invasions of Tarentum began to increase, causing the people to suffer greatly.
This time, if it had not been stimulated by the rapid rise of Daonia, the Tarentum Senate would probably not have been able to make up its mind to attack the Messapians, but Archytas knew that although the city-state had temporarily won, the Messapians would never give up, and the war with them would probably continue for a long time.
The wailing of the wounded soldiers outside the city and the triumphant howls of the crows pecking at the corpses intertwined, making people tremble...
Archytas stood on the low city wall of Brundisium, staring blankly at the western horizon dyed scarlet like blood by the setting sun, his heart filled with worry about the future...
......
In April, the army of Syracuse continued to advance westward, and the city-states of Eryx, Halyciae, etc., opened their gates and surrendered one after another, while Selinunte, the only one that remained loyal to Carthage, was besieged.
By mid-April, Dionysius's army arrived at the westernmost tip of Sicily, facing the island city in the bay, which was also Carthage's important base in Sicily—Motya.
Motya destroyed the causeway connecting the land, preparing to defend by sea.
Dionysius ordered the army to rebuild the causeway. At the same time, he led his troops to conquer the surrounding areas. However, Selinunte repelled the Syracusan attack, forcing Syracuse to continue to besiege it.
In May, the causeway was completed, and Dionysius led his army back, preparing to attack Motya.
At this time, Carthage was also preparing to send troops to rescue this precarious maritime city. They first adopted the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, sending warships to Syracuse, breaking into the Great Harbor, and destroying the ships in the harbor, attempting to lure Dionysius back to aid, but Dionysius remained unmoved.
The Carthaginian general Himilco had no choice but to lead a large army to directly rescue Motya. A large number of Carthaginian warships bypassed Cape Palermo and sailed into the bay aggressively, attempting to destroy the Syracusan warships stationed on the beach.
Dionysius had been waiting for a long time. He had deployed dozens of new weapons—ballistae—on the beach of this circular peninsula. With an order, round stones as big as bowls flew out one after another, smashing towards the Carthaginian warships in the bay...
......
Davos carefully examined the silver-white coin in his hand: it weighed four grams, was almost perfectly round, one side had a portrait of Hades with a thick beard and long hair, with the letters "Daonian League" engraved below, and the other side had a lush poplar tree (the sacred tree of the King of the Underworld), with the letters "Third Year of the 95th Olympiad" engraved below. The images on both sides were centered, finely carved, with obvious concavity and convexity, and the letters were clear.
Davos tossed the coin up, caught it again, weighed it in his hand, and asked: "How much silver does it contain?"
Trittodemus stepped forward and said: "According to your proposal and passed by the Senate's 'Coinage Act', the purity of a drachma silver coin we produce is 95% or more, which is comparable to the purity of the Athenian 'Owl' (i.e., the Laurion silver coin famous throughout Greece), but—" Trittodemus said worriedly: "We don't have Athens's large silver mines, and the treasury's income mainly comes from trade and tax revenue. Issuing such high-purity silver coins will result in a considerable loss."
Davos nodded and explained patiently: "We will indeed suffer some losses, but I have already explained it very clearly at the Senate meeting. Currently, Daonia's monthly treasury income is nearly 50 talents. According to Marigi's analysis, this number will increase after we have closer ties with other allied nations in the Southern Italian League... Therefore, we can bear this loss. Moreover, each of our cities and each market has a market management office, which can accurately measure the purity of silver coins traded in various cities, and there are banks that exchange them, plus the additional handling fees charged, which can partially compensate for the losses caused by the League's coinage..."
The currency circulating in the Mediterranean trade of this era was gold and silver. Persians mainly used gold coins, while Greek city-states did not have as many gold mines, so they mainly used silver coins. Since each city-state had the power to mint its own silver coins, the entire Mediterranean currency market was quite chaotic. The weight and silver purity of the coins issued by different city-states were not uniform, which brought difficulties to trade, so exchange emerged as the times required.
Speaking of exchange, Tritodemus complained in his heart: In the Greek city-states, exchange business was mainly undertaken by banks. The more prosperous the trade in a city-state, the more developed the banking industry. However, although there were many banks in the cities of Daonia, they all belonged to one person—Christoia, the wife of Daonian Consul Davos. Of course, this was not the result of Davos using any administrative means to interfere, but because Christoia's Bank, from its establishment, adopted an average loan yield of only five percent on its main business of loans, which was far lower than the fifteen percent interest rate of the Greek city-states at the time.
Although Christoia's Bank disrupted the tacit rules of the Greek city-state banking industry, Amendolara and Thurii at that time were in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. No wealthy merchants came out to obstruct it. Instead, its low-interest loans helped countless families and small workshops out of their initial predicament, thereby earning Christoia's Bank a reputation. Today, Daonia's trade is no longer what it used to be, and some merchants have had the idea of opening banks, and have also been forced to implement low-interest loans within the alliance. However, Christoia's Bank has deeply rooted its brand in the hearts of the Daonian people. People trust and are grateful to it, so there are often long queues in front of Christoia's Bank, while other banks have few customers. Normal competition is not possible, and playing other tricks is even more impossible. Don't forget that behind Christoia's Bank stands Davos, the only lifelong consul of Daonia. Therefore, since running a bank inside does not make money, merchants have to invest in other industries. With the expansion of the Daonian League, there are many industries that make money, and competition has become fierce, but there is always only one bank.
Tritodemus looked at the person in front of him, who was already the most powerful person in Daonia at a young age, and had a shrewd and beautiful wife to earn him a lot of wealth. It was truly enviable!
Davos did not notice Tritodemus's strange gaze. His attention was all on the coins. He picked up two more silver coins and looked at them carefully. They were almost exactly the same. He asked with concern, "How do you think the style and pattern of this Daonian silver coin compare to the Athenian silver coin?"
Athens's "owl" not only had high silver purity, but also exquisite patterns. Even after Athens was defeated and the Delian League dissolved, it could no longer force other city-states to use Laurion silver coins. However, merchants and people of various Greek city-states still voluntarily and consciously used it. Many merchants even ran to Athens to exchange for this kind of coin and put it in their homes as art collections. Therefore, Athens's Laurion silver coin was the most widely circulated and used hard currency in the Greek city-states.
"I and the other members of the Minting Committee have repeatedly compared more than a dozen Laurion silver coins minted in different years, and everyone unanimously believes that our Daonian coins are no less than it in terms of purity and engraving! Moreover—" Tritodemus picked up a silver coin,
stroking the raised ring around its edge, he said excitedly: "Your Excellency Consul, the suggestion you gave at the beginning was too wonderful. We did not adopt the traditional method of making complex and rough serrated patterns, but used a simple flange, which not only improved efficiency, but also was not easy to wear when used, and everyone thought it looked as heavy and generous as the columns of the temple! I believe that after the Daonian silver coin is issued, it will soon be liked by the people!" Tritodemus said excitedly.
Davos looked calm. The previous design was a suggestion he made based on the characteristics of ancient Chinese coins. There was nothing to be proud of. What he cared more about was whether Daonian coins could quickly circulate and become the main currency used by the city-states of southern Italy. This was not only to expand Daonia's influence, but also to dominate the currency issuance rights of Greater Greece and control the economic trade of the southern Italian city-states.
Just like Athens, even in the later period of the Peloponnesian War, when trade shrank and finances were in trouble, and the silver ore produced by the Laurion silver mine decreased, the purity of the "owl" was not reduced. The Athenians' insistence on the credit of the city-state's currency was rewarded. Only a few years after the end of the war, the number of foreign merchants arriving at the Port of Eleusis increased year by year, and Athens's trade has gradually recovered its former prosperity.
"Lord Tritodemus, these past few months, your Minting Committee has put a lot of effort into this small silver coin. Thank you for your hard work! I believe that when it is successfully issued and accepted by the people of Greater Greece, your name will be left in the Shrine of Sages!" Hearing Davos's praise, Tritodemus suddenly became excited. With the imminent completion of the Temple of Hades, some special architectural structures in the temple are also circulating among the people, such as two side halls in the temple, one called the Hall of Valor, dedicated to the warriors who sacrificed to defend the safety of the alliance, and the other called the Shrine of Sages, where the names of citizens who have made outstanding contributions to the alliance will be engraved for people to admire... It is said that this was Davos's design. As citizens of the alliance, especially the elders, who would not want to be remembered in history, it is no wonder that Tritodemus could not control his emotions and was overjoyed.
At this time, a dissatisfied voice sounded: "Since it is all the credit of the Minting Committee, there is nothing for our Academy of Mathematics to do. Next, you will be making 'Amendolara Original Citizen Medals'... and other things, don't come to us again!" Tritodemus looked back and saw Maticoris, and hurriedly said to Davos: "Being able to make such exquisite coins is also thanks to the Academy of Mathematics of Maticoris and Mentotikers. If it weren't for the coin molds they designed, and that hydraulic... hydraulic..."
"It's a hydraulic press!" Maticoris impatiently supplemented.
Tritodemus coughed awkwardly and said: "It is precisely because they designed these wonderful tools that the coins we make can be so exquisite! Not to mention that they have surpassed the coins designed by Pythagoras for Metapontum in those years, even the Athenian coins, which are famous throughout Greece, can be compared!"
"This is not entirely our credit..." Being told that their skills surpassed the ancestor Pythagoras, the always steady Mentotikers said modestly: "If it weren't for the waterwheel designed by Lord Davos giving us inspiration, we wouldn't have thought of using hydraulic power to replace manpower. It's a pity that the power generated by the Coratis River's water flow is not strong enough to fully drive the large hydraulic forging hammer that you mentioned last time that can constantly hammer large iron castings."
"Then build a dam." Davos blurted out.
"A dam?!" Maticoris's eyes lit up.
"Let's talk about this later." Currently, there is construction everywhere in Daonia, the resettlement of immigrants in Asproustum and Crimisa, the construction of the Temple of Hades, the construction of roads, the transformation of the Crimisa swamp area, the construction of the Thurii hot spring bathhouse... There is simply not enough labor to build a dam that requires higher requirements and more complex design. Therefore, Davos changed the subject and said to Tritodemus: "Maticoris and the others will not compete with you for this credit, because they are destined to become mathematicians who will be remembered throughout Greece in the future, and there will definitely be statues of them in the Shrine of Sages!"
Faced with such high praise, Maticoris was also a little embarrassed. He stroked his head and chuckled. Although Mentotikers, who was beside him, behaved more steadily, he could not hide the excitement on his face.
After sending Tritodemus away, only Maticoris and Mentotikers were left as guests in the living room. Now they are no longer the ordinary disciples of the Pythagorean school who were aloof but shabby when they first met. As early as last year, thanks to their contributions to the manufacture of waterwheels and the free popularization of mathematics among the people, Davos proposed the "Law on the Introduction of Foreign Scholars" at the Senate meeting and it was passed (together with the previous "Medical Law" and the later approved "Teacher Law", later generations collectively called the Three Major Laws of Daonia to transform the quality of citizens, which with the passage of time, gradually shifted the center of gravity to the west, which is a story for later)., making them formal citizens of Daonia.
Although they studied mathematics in Taranto, they were not citizens of Taranto, but people of the Sicilian city-state of Leontini. It was only because they loved mathematics since childhood and admired Pythagoras that they stayed in Taranto for a long time. Because their homeland was occupied by Syracuse, they actually became homeless people. This was also the main reason why the Pythagorean school asked them to come to Amendolara in the first place, because they were insignificant to the school. However, in the Daonian League, their status has undergone earth-shaking changes. Not only do they have land and houses, but they are also respected. Davos also personally funded the construction of the Academy of Mathematics for them, providing assistants, slaves, and various materials and funds for free, so that they would not be disturbed by the outside world and could devote themselves to the theoretical research and practical application of mathematics.
Mathematicians of this era did not only study mathematics, they were also involved in physics and astronomy. For example, Pythagoras had his own insights into music and aesthetics. The famous "golden section point" was first proposed by him. To this end, Davos occasionally made some demands to the Academy of Mathematics. Maticoris and the others were happy to temporarily put aside their own research to complete the tasks assigned by Davos, not because of the consul's power, but because the various machines envisioned by Davos often involved some complex, even novel, mathematical and physical knowledge, which was of great benefit to their consolidation and research of mathematical and physical theories.
"What are you two researching recently?" Davos asked with a smile.
"Besides helping the Senate's coinage committee design silver coin molds and tools, we've mainly been researching pulleys recently," Mento Tikers said truthfully.
"Pulleys?!" Davos's heart stirred upon hearing this.
"Last year, when you defeated Croton and annexed Thurii, didn't Archytas come to Amendolara?" Martikolis said carelessly.
Davos didn't mind and nodded.
"He saw our newly built waterwheel and was very interested. He discussed its operating principle with us. At the same time, he also mentioned that he had recently become interested in mathematical mechanics and had begun to study the application of pulleys…" Martikolis said somewhat embarrassedly, "So… I…" He glanced at Mento Tikers: "We started… researching pulleys…"
Davos understood. Although Archytas is an important figure in the Pythagorean school and a mathematical genius, the two in front of him are just ordinary disciples, but academically, they have a competitive spirit that is no less than anyone else's, especially Martikolis, who has vigorous energy and an extremely strong curiosity and desire to explore. Now, under the conditions of a comfortable life, he has put all his energy into research, wanting to compete with Archytas academically.
"How is the research progressing?" Davos gently interrupted Martikolis's stammering words. Although he had returned a lot of the science knowledge he learned in school in his previous life to his teachers, he wasn't so ignorant as to not even know what a pulley was. This was just basic physics knowledge from junior high school.
"We have already created a mathematical formula for why pulleys can save effort and have verified its correctness many times. Of course, using the numerical symbols you invented has saved us a lot of time and effort. Now we are further experimenting with multiple pulley combinations in order to improve its theory… By then, this discovery will change the entire Mediterranean world! Can you imagine a person using pulleys to lift huge stones alone, tens of meters high! Can you imagine a person using pulleys to pull a small boat alone!…" Martikolis's eyes lit up and he gesticulated when he talked about mathematics.
Davos didn't seem as surprised as they had expected, but instead smiled and said, "I believe your research and invention will bring great convenience to the lives of the people of the League!"
The two looked at each other, a little frustrated. As a favoured one of Hades, Davos seemed to have already foreseen the future development prospects of a mathematical research, which made them always lack a sense of superiority as scholars in front of him.
Martikolis had to complain, "If you hadn't asked us to help them with coinage, our research could have progressed even faster!"
"Isn't minting coins proving your ability to the Pythagorean school?!" Davos said with a smile.
At the beginning, when he handed over the coinage matter to Tritodemus, he hadn't actually considered these two disciples of the Pythagorean school. However, the high requirements he put forward made Tritodemus very embarrassed. In the end, Tritodemus took the initiative to find Davos, asking to let Martikolis and the others provide assistance, because decades ago, after Pythagoras was expelled by the Crotonians, he had stayed in Metapontum and designed exquisite coin molds for Metapontum, which made the coins of this Greek city-state, which was not famous in Greater Greece, very popular, so he thought of asking Martikolis and the others from the Pythagorean school for help.
"Compared to the era when Pythagoras was a teacher, the school's design and research on coin molds has become more perfect, so—" Mento Tikers had just said a humble sentence when Martikolis snorted: "But they don't have hydraulic presses, so the silver coins we mint are indeed stronger than theirs!"
Having been together for so long, Davos had a basic understanding of the two young men in front of him. At the beginning, most people in the Pythagorean school were unwilling to come to the remote small town of Amendolara, so they forcibly assigned these two unknown foreign disciples, which gave the two sensitive Leontinians a big blow. Under Davos's long-term intentional or unintentional guidance, the two people who were originally lowly in the school have gradually deviated from and disagreed with some of the school's ideas, and are determined to compete with their original teachers and classmates.
Davos smiled slightly, took out a papyrus, and said, "I have a drawing here, which depicts a device that involves the use of pulleys. I wonder if you can make it?"
"Let me see! Let me see!" As soon as Davos finished speaking, Martikolis couldn't wait to snatch it from Davos's hand.
Mento Tikers leaned over, looked at the drawing, and asked, "What is this device called?"
"The Syracusans call it a ballista. It is said that it can shoot stones weighing more than ten pounds hundreds of meters away. A dozen days ago, the Syracusans used it to repel the Carthaginian reinforcements," Davos said seemingly calmly, but his heart was not calm.
When Aristilas reported the battle situation of the Battle of Motya to Davos, he was very surprised. Daonian catapults were still in the trial production stage, while Syracuse's ballistas and belly bows had already appeared in large quantities in Motya and successfully sunk many Carthaginian warships. Their power and accuracy were not comparable to Daonian's crude catapults, which showed the gap between Syracuse and Daonia in military engineering technology. This made Davos feel the pressure, and he immediately ordered Aristilas: Get the drawings of the Syracuse ballista at all costs!
For Aristilas, who hated Syracuse, he certainly couldn't ask for more. After paying a considerable price, he obtained this rough image of the Syracuse ballista.
Hearing the name "Syracuse", the two scholars who had also lost their motherland looked even more carefully, wishing they could get into the drawing.
"Mento Tikers," Davos asked at this time, "How is the matter I told you last time about attracting and recruiting more of your classmates to Daonia to expand the scale of the research institute and further promote the research of mathematical theory and application progressing?"
Mento Tikers reluctantly shifted his gaze away from the drawing and said helplessly, "Governor, since the school condemned us for violating the rules and publicly teaching, many classmates have cut off correspondence with me. Only a very few foreign classmates with good relationships have listened to my introduction of the good environment in Daonia and are willing to come to Daonia."
"As long as they are willing to come, the promises given by Daonia will be fulfilled! In addition, if they have any needs, you can tell me directly, and I will try my best to satisfy them! Daonia will create the best learning, discussion, and research environment and conditions for you. Although you are few in number, I believe you can also make fruitful achievements no less than those in Taranto!"
Davos showed his full support for the Mathematics Research Institute without reservation, which made Mento Tikers grateful and also aroused his ambition. He said solemnly, "We will not let you down!"
"How is your discussion about sending teachers to teach at the newly built school going?" Davos asked again.
"Originally, because there were too few people, we were still a little hesitant. Now that some new classmates are coming, after discussing with Martikolis, we think you are right. Going to school to give lectures can help us sort out the mathematical theories we have mastered, consolidate basic knowledge, and at the same time expand the influence of the research institute. Maybe we can get new inspiration in the communication with students… We are very willing to send people, but there is one requirement."
"What requirement?"
"If we find students with talent in mathematics in the school, we hope to give them special training and join the research institute in the future," Mento Tikers said somewhat, because this was his and Martikolis's selfishness. Since they had fallen out with the Pythagorean school in Taranto, they also wanted to develop their own academic group to compete with the Pythagorean school.
"Of course, there is no problem, but you have to ask for the student's consent," Davos agreed without hesitation. In fact, he was very happy to see this. Martikolis and Mento Tikers could consider the problem from their own interests, which showed that they were getting farther and farther away from the Pythagorean school in Taranto, both emotionally and in action.
"In addition, I am also preparing to let those engineering mechanics in the various legions come to the Mathematics Research Institute as your assistants, so that not only can you solve the problem of insufficient manpower, but also closely integrate theory and practical application."
"The research institute certainly welcomes them to help!" Mento Tikers was more tactful than Martikolis. He euphemistically said, "But we don't have enough money to pay their salaries."
"You will soon have it," Davos said with a smile, "After testing, the water mill you designed has increased the efficiency of grinding flour several times, which can save people a lot of time and animal power. I have ordered people to build water mills in Amendolara, Thurii, and Crimisa respectively. The price of grinding a pound of flour is very low, less than a third of an obol. I believe people will be willing to use the water mill after trying it. According to my agreement with you, the research institute will receive 20% of the application income of the machines you invented. I think that will be a considerable amount of money, which will be completely at your disposal. I hope you make good use of this money, especially to give heavy rewards to the main inventors and encourage their enthusiasm. Only in this way will more people be motivated to invent better machines, and your income will also increase."
Matikolis was completely obsessed with mathematics and indifferent to worldly affairs.
Mentor Tikers was different.
He was not opposed to spending time dealing with various affairs, and mathematics gave him a careful mind, allowing him to manage the research institute, arrange manpower, and formulate plans with ease, so Davos would let him serve as the dean of the research institute.
Matikolis agreed with both hands.
"I will consider this matter." Mentor Tikers replied cautiously.
"I understand the principle of this crossbow!" At this time, Matikolis came to Davos excitedly, pointed at the drawings, and said excitedly: "Look here! Look here! The most important things about this crossbow are these two things: one is the strong animal tendon made of string, and the other is the pulley that can easily pull the string.
In addition, you see, the longer its slide is, the farther the range will be, because the string will be pulled open as much as possible, then the greater the force of its rebound to the stone… I think the Syracuse people are very stupid.
They only used one pulley, which is too simple and will be very laborious to use.
In fact, making a set of pulleys and fixing it at the tail end of the slide will easily pull the string to the end of the slide.
Give me the best carpenters and materials, and I can quickly make a better crossbow than them!"
Matikolis' confident expression made Davos feel satisfied.
He smiled and said: "I just told Mentor Tikers that I will let the mechanics of the legion's engineering camp go to the Mathematics Research Institute to be your assistants, and Daonia has the best cattle in the entire Western Mediterranean—Lucania cattle, which can supply you with a large amount of high-quality beef tendons at any time."
"Great!" Matikolis said, and walked out with the drawings.
"Matikolis, I have an idea." Davos hurriedly stopped him: "If the crossbow can accurately know the landing point of the stone before it shoots the stone, it will be very helpful for the operator to accurately hit the target."
"This…" Regarding the suggestion made by Davos, Matikolis and Mentor Tikers did not feel that this was an extra burden.
On the contrary, they fell into thinking.
"I have another idea." Davos said seriously: "I think that no matter how much force we use or at what angle we throw an object, the trajectory of the object in the air should be like this—" Davos stretched out his finger and drew different arcs in the air.
Matikolis and Mentor Tikers stared at Davos' moving fingers thoughtfully.
"If there is no wind and the ground is at the same level, with the highest point of the trajectory of the thrown object in the air as the center, the trajectories on both sides should be able to overlap when folded…" Davos said in a calm tone.
The two people seemed to be struck by lightning, and their expressions suddenly became extremely excited.
"Governor… Your Excellency, is this… this… is this another revelation from Hades?!" Mentor Chikers asked stutteringly.
Similar situations had occurred several times before.
When Davos was talking to them, he would occasionally put forward some novel ideas.
After verification, they were all correct.
Each time, he and the two of them achieved breakthroughs in the research of mathematical theories, and also greatly expanded their knowledge.
"You can think so." Davos smiled mysteriously.
"Come! Come! Draw the trajectory for me to see carefully now!" Matikolis grabbed Davos' hand excitedly and walked out without Rongfen.
Davos understood what he meant.
The floor of the living room was paved with marble, so he could only draw on the dirt in the courtyard, so he followed him out of the living room without taking it seriously.
… … … … … … … … … … …
"Mother, come and see! What is father doing in the garden with people? He has trampled on your flowers!" Cynthia pointed to Davos and the other three in the courtyard from the window of the bedroom on the second floor and shouted loudly.
"Shh!" Christoia gestured for silence and said softly: "Don't wake up your brother!"
She came to the window, poked her head down and glanced, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and then she turned back and smiled: "It's nothing, it's your father and several uncles discussing math problems." Although Christoia loves flowers, she is a woman who understands the big picture and will never embarrass her husband in public.
"What is mathematics?" Adoris asked curiously beside him.
"That is a very interesting knowledge that your sister will soon learn." Clistoya said softly with a smile.
"Can I go to school too?" Adoris asked yearningly.
"Of course you can." Clistoya stroked his head: "But you are still young, you have to wait another year."
"I don't want to! I want to go to school with my sister now!" Adoris said dissatisfied.
"Brother, stop making trouble! Listen to your mother, otherwise I won't let your father tell you stories tonight!" As soon as she said this, Adoris kept silent even though he was pouting.
"Mother, is it really okay for me to go to school and study with other boys?" Cynthia said hesitantly to Clistoya.
At this time, Cynthia was already seven years old.
According to Greek tradition, girls could marry at the age of 16.
She already understood a lot of things.
From an early age, her biological mother had set an example of how to be a good Greek housewife.
In her impression, her mother had never left the house, but now she had to study with many boys in public year after year, day after day, which made her feel a little uneasy.
Clistoya pulled Cynthia in front of her, combing her slightly messy long hair while gently saying: "Child, do you know how lucky you are!
Except for Daonia, girls like you in other Greek city-states are confined to their homes for most of their lives, busy raising children and managing household affairs.
They don't know what the outside world is like, they haven't seen the Olympic Games, they haven't appreciated dramas, and they haven't even seen the sea.
Do you want your future life to be like theirs?!"
Cynthia looked scared and shook her head vigorously.
Clistoya continued with emotion: "Your father is a great man!
He took great pains to persuade the Senate to give you girls the same opportunity to study as boys.
When the time comes, not only you will go to school, but also girls from other citizen families.
Cynthia, you will not be alone in school.
You must study hard and prove that our women are no worse than men.
Don't let your father's efforts be wasted!"
Cynthia nodded as if she understood.
In fact, although the social customs of the newly emerging Daonia League were different from those of other Greek city-states, and were more open in treating women, Davos still faced opposition from many senators when he proposed to the Senate that "girls should go to school with boys."
Davos was able to convince them, and one of the words aroused everyone's resonance: "…Let the girls of Daonia citizens also enter schools to learn, let them learn more knowledge and skills, and learn how to get along with boys harmoniously.
Knowledge will make them more cultivated, more elegant, and more intelligent.
After they grow up and get married, they will have more common topics and hobbies with their husbands, which will reduce the possibility of husbands going out to brothels for pleasure and ensure the stability of the family; let them be able to manage family affairs more wisely and not be deceived by cunning slaves; let them be able to raise their children better, and it is crucial for Daonia's future citizens to develop good habits in early childhood!…"
… … … … … … … … … … …
In this era, because there were no electric lights, most people went to bed when it got dark, except for a few wealthy people who used candles for lighting and continued to work.
Because they went to bed early, they also got up early in the morning.
Often after the rooster crowed, people began to get up and move around.
But for the hardworking Daonia people, most of them got up earlier, often before dawn and when the stars were still twinkling in the night sky, they got up to prepare for the labor after sunrise.
Only children don't like to get up early and start washing up under the urging of their parents.
However, today, 13-year-old Patroclus got up very early.
He hurriedly washed up and helped his mother bake bread, which made his mother feel very gratified: her always naughty son had really grown up after experiencing the invasion of Kroton.
At the dinner table, the mother asked again with concern: "Klos, do you really not want me to send you to learn… school?"
Patroclus shook his head like a rattle: "No! When those bad guys from Kroton came, I was still alone sending letters to the nearby villages to report the police!
Even Uncle Agilas praised me as a warrior.
I am so old, the school is in the city, and I still need you to send me, how embarrassing would that be!"
"But—" The mother, who was a little worried, was interrupted by Patroclus's father, Parian Doros, before she could finish her words: "Let him go alone!"
Parian Doros looked at Patroclus with a serious expression: "When you get to school, listen to the teacher.
Do whatever he tells you to do.
If you don't perform well, I will beat you!" The illiterate father certainly hoped that his son could write and calculate and have a better future, but the rude him couldn't say better words of encouragement, so he could only scare the child in his usual tone, but Patroclus, who often argued back, replied obediently today: "I know, Dad!"
When Parian Doros was surprised, there was a knock on the door: "Who is it?"
"It's me."
"It's Uncle Agilas!" Patroclus cheered and immediately rushed to open the door.
"Little Klos should go to school today." Agilas came in and touched his head with a smile and said: "I brought you a schoolbag, an iron pen, a few waxed writing boards, and a folding wooden chair, which you can use when you go to school."
This era cannot be compared with later generations. Papyrus is still relatively expensive for ordinary people, and it is generally used for formal writing. Children mostly use sand and soil to practice writing. Therefore, Patroclus prepared a wooden frame filled with soil. Waxed writing boards can preserve writing for a long time, are easy to carry, and are inexpensive, but Patroclus's parents were reluctant to spend the money. As for the folding wooden chair, it is the masterpiece of the newly built Christoia Learning Supplies Store. The price is also cheap, and it has been welcomed by the people as soon as it was launched, which is much better than the simple wooden stools made by Patroclus's parents themselves.
Therefore, when Patroclus took the gift from Agilas, he jumped three feet high with excitement.
"Village Chief, this...this..." Parian Doros, who was just scolding his son fiercely, was grateful and a little timid in the face of Agilas, a former veteran and now highly respected, and didn't know what to say.
"What is this!" Agilas glared: "Little Kross saved several villages, this is the reward he deserves! I am optimistic about this child, he is bold, has a flexible mind, and doesn't panic when things happen. When he can read and count, he will be stronger than you in the future!"
Hearing Agilas's evaluation of his son, the father repeatedly said yes with excitement.
The mother covered her face, tears streaming down uncontrollably. She remembered the hard days she had spent with her child following her husband over the years. Her husband worked as a porter at the port, and she took her child to accept employment, helping merchants watch stalls in the market. She was busy from morning to night every day, not only enduring the discrimination and Make things difficult of customers, but also enduring the sweltering heat and severe cold. She had several heatstrokes and fainted, and without pay, she had to compensate for the lost goods. She really didn't know how those hard days were survived... Fortunately, the Daionian City-State Alliance was established, and the great Consul Davos took power, giving poor foreign nomads like them the opportunity to become citizens of the city-state, own land and houses, and live a stable and prosperous life...
Therefore, she hoped that her child would not follow her husband's old path, learn knowledge well, and take up a city-state public office in the future and live a decent life.
After finishing breakfast and putting the learning supplies into the brand-new linen schoolbag, Patroclus came to the shrine in his home under his mother's guidance. Previously, only simple statues of the agricultural goddess Demeter and the war god Ares were enshrined here, one was to hope for a good harvest in the farmland, and the other was to bless the husband who served as a legion soldier during the war to be safe and gain military merit. It was not until the child was about to go to school that the statue of the sun god Apollo was added, because this god also controls art.
Under the guidance of his mother, Patroclus finished praying to Apollo.
The mother gave four drachmas to her son, which was a year's tuition. After repeated instructions, Patroclus finally set off.
At this time, the sky was just dawning, and the crescent moon could still be faintly seen on the horizon. Fortunately, it was summer, and he was wearing a linen short coat,
Barefoot, otherwise the dew on the weeds on the roadside would definitely wet his clothes.
The cool and fresh morning breeze mixed with the smell of soil and some herbs, blowing on Patroclus, making him feel refreshed and unable to restrain his excitement. He shouted twice, and he heard the sound of "Gurgle! Gurgle!" from the ditch on the side of the dirt road. That was the sound of frightened fish making trouble. If it had been before, Patroclus would have taken off his leather sandals and jumped into the ditch to make a fuss, but today his mind had already flown to school.
He carried his schoolbag, carried a wooden chair and a wooden frame, humming an unintelligible ditty, and strode forward.
On the avenue, there were obviously more pedestrians. Passengers in horse-drawn carriages, caravans loaded with goods, farmers carrying burdens... Of course, there were also many parents taking their children to school to register, and the bustling crowd flocked to Thurii City, as well as the port and the market.
In Davos's initial vision, the Daionian school site should be built on the slope on the west side of Thurii City and the north bank of the Tilone River. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there is a large area of wasteland, which is conducive to further expansion of the school. In the future, the Daionian Academy will be built near the school, turning it into the largest education base of the Daionian League.
However, in consultation with Kunogorata and others, Davos temporarily dismissed this plan. After all, most of the students in the school are children. Building a school on the north bank of the Tilone River is not only far away, but also a bit desolate now. Children will not only consume too much physical strength, but also not be very safe. Therefore, the final school site was set in the delta area in the center of the confluence of the Crati River and the Cosenza River. It not only belongs to the greater Thurii urban area, but also happens to be located in the middle of the Sybaris Plain, which is more convenient for the children of Daionian citizens on both sides of the Crati River to arrive at school on time.
None of the elders objected, because they knew that this was for the children of Daionian citizens, and this of course included their own children. Therefore, the construction efficiency was very high. In less than half a year, walls, classrooms, school buildings, and playgrounds were built. It is naturally impossible to make it beautiful in such a short time, but the playground for children to play and train is large enough to accommodate all the parents and children who come to register today.
Thousands of people crowded on the playground. To prevent accidents, Ancytanos also invited patrolmen to maintain order.
Patroclus stood in the line, looking around. He found that there were not many children like him who came to register alone, and there were very few children as old as him, so when many curious eyes were cast on him, he felt a little uncomfortable.
At this time, there was a commotion in the queue behind him, and the noise became louder and louder. People around him looked back, which made Patroclus very curious.
"It's Consul Davos's wife, Christoia, and his daughter!"
"Consul Davos is very young, how can his daughter be so old?!"
"That's his adopted daughter, said to be the daughter of Marcellus, the former Consul of Amendolara..."
...Consul Davos's daughter?! Listening to the discussions around him, Patroclus became even more curious. He squatted down and looked up through the crowd. What came into view was a tall adult woman with an elegant temperament and beautiful appearance, just like the goddess Aphrodite he had imagined in his young heart, with an indescribable beauty. And beside her was a cute-looking girl. Facing the onlookers, although she was a little shy, she was also quietly and curiously observing her surroundings. When she noticed the pair of young eyes in the crowd, she did not dodge, but instead opened her bright, sparkling eyes and looked over.
Patroclus quickly avoided shyly.
"Madam, please come to the front!" Not only out of respect for Davos, but also out of gratitude to Christoia, because her bank has helped many families, so many people are willing to give up their seats.
Christoia expressed her gratitude while politely declining. As the wife of the highest authority in the Daionian League, the intelligent Christoia has always demanded herself as an ordinary citizen in public places, not giving Davos's opponents any excuse. If it weren't for considering that today's registration was important to Cynthia, she had originally planned to have Asuna accompany her daughter, so she specially wore a simple outfit, trying to accompany her daughter to school in a low-key manner, but it still caused some confusion.
It was not easy to restore order, and school registration continued.
When it was Patroclus's turn, under the gaze of the staff, he said his and his parents' names and handed over the certificate issued by Agilas.
According to the enrollment regulations of the Daionian School: only the children of Daionian formal citizens can enroll. On the one hand, it is to reduce the pressure on the school and control the number of students; more importantly, it is to let the foreigners and slaves working in Daionia know that only by becoming a Daionian formal citizen can they enjoy these rights, which makes the identity of Daionian formal citizens even more precious, prompting them to work harder to achieve this goal.
Patroclus's parents are only probationary citizens, and according to regulations, he is not qualified to enroll. However, Agilas applied to the Senate on the grounds of his outstanding performance in the war. In view of the child's contribution in the war, the senators finally made him an exception and gave him the green light. Therefore, Patroclus is actually the only student in the school whose parents are not Daionian formal citizens.
He himself did not know his special status. After the staff found his name in the student roster and confirmed his identity, they looked at him with interest, took the tuition he paid, ticked his name, and encouraged him: "You will study in classroom number one in the future. Go, study hard, little guy!"
Patroclus hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd and came to the edge of the playground. There were rows of buildings with large wooden signs hanging on them, with Greek letters written on them.
Patroclus was dumbfounded, because he was illiterate, so he had to ask someone else.
"Hello, where is classroom number one?"
At this time, a clear voice came from behind: "Classroom number one is right next to you, you idiot!"
Patroclus turned around quickly, only to see the daughter of Consul Davos he had seen before standing behind him, looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes, and a teasing smile on her round face.
"Cynthia, it's very impolite of you to say that, apologize to this brother." Christoia gently rebuked her.
Cynthia usually listens to Christoia very much, but she couldn't say anything to the boy who was only a few years older than her, and her little face suddenly turned red, and she quickly turned her head away.
Christoia had to apologize to Patroclus herself.
Facing the noble consul's wife at close range, the 13-year-old Patroclus was at a loss, lowered his head shyly, and said repeatedly: "It's okay! It's okay..." and ran away in a panic.
The classrooms in Daonia were cubic structures with a height of three and a half meters. They were designed as colonnades, with a brick wall on the northern side, plastered with cement, smoothed with gypsum, and painted black to maintain a smooth surface. The other three sides were open, with roofs supported by numerous stone pillars to ensure ample light, making it an open-air structure.
Patroclus hadn't even entered the classroom when he saw that many children were already seated inside. If Patroclus didn't want to sit outside the stone pillars and be exposed to the sun for a long time, he would have to sit in the back row. He was reluctant, and seeing that they were all boys (although the Senate had approved the proposal that 'girls can also attend school,' the long-standing tradition still imposed restrictions, and boys and girls could not be in the same classroom), his usual mischievous nature began to surface.
Carrying his folding wooden chair, he pushed straight ahead, shouting loudly, "Move back! Make way for me!"
Most of the boys in the classroom were only seven or eight years old, so the 13-year-old Patroclus appeared tall and strong. Everyone was afraid and reluctantly retreated, but one child stood up and rebuked Patroclus.
The two refused to yield to each other, and the verbal conflict escalated into physical fighting. By the time the teacher arrived, he saw Patroclus knocking the boy to the ground.
He quickly stepped forward to stop them, and after finding out the reason for the fight, he immediately ordered the culprit to stand outside the classroom as punishment.
Patroclus was not convinced.
The teacher sternly said, "If you are unwilling to accept the punishment, then you don't need to come to school anymore!"
Although Patroclus was mischievous, he knew the importance of things and obediently walked out of the classroom. Who knew that the boy who had been beaten took the opportunity to kick him in the butt, infuriating the teacher, who shouted, "You go out and stand as punishment too!"
After dealing with the fight, the teacher placed a large hourglass on the wooden table, then sat down on a wooden chair, took out the student roster, and said to the children sitting around him, "From today on, I will be the teacher in this Classroom Number One, teaching you to recognize Greek letters. My name is Onatas…"
… … … … … … … …
"Hey, big guy, I'm Stiphilus, the adopted son of Amyntas. What's your name?" Boys' grudges come and go quickly. Standing outside the classroom, the helpless boy couldn't help but say to his opponent.
"Patroclus, son of Pariandros," he replied casually, then, thinking of something, quickly asked, "Your father is Amyntas! Which Amyntas?!"
"Of course, the brave Amyntas of the First Legion!" Stiphilus said proudly.
"My father, Pariandros, is a soldier under your father, Amyntas," Patroclus said in surprise.
The two little boys became enthusiastic because of this…
… … … … … … … … …
One consequence of Dionysius's military campaigns to unify southeastern Sicily over the past two years was that many people from the city-states in southeastern Sicily were forced to flee their homes. Most of them were attracted by Daonia's immigration laws and chose to come to Thurii, which was not too far from Sicily.
As the earliest place where the Greeks developed colonies in the western Mediterranean, Sicily not only had developed agriculture and trade, but also had closer cultural exchanges with mainland Greece. Its cultural heritage was deeper than that of the city-states in the Italian peninsula. Therefore, some Sicilians successfully passed the tests organized by Ansitanos and became teachers of the Daonian League. Onatas was one of them.
He chose to become a teacher in the newly established Daonian school. Although the salary was not as high as that of private tutors, he could immediately become a citizen of Daonia and be allocated land.
The school did not have unified teaching materials. The content and progress of teaching were determined by the teachers themselves, but the school required that after three academic years, elementary school students must be able to recognize and write at least a thousand Greek characters, be able to pronounce letters accurately, and be able to write short articles that were grammatically correct and clearly expressed their meaning, so that students could successfully pass the test and enter intermediate education. Moreover, the teaching performance of each teacher would be assessed every year, and teachers who performed poorly for three consecutive years would have their teaching qualifications revoked,
which also meant that he would be deprived of all the rights granted to teachers by Daonia.
Therefore, Onatas felt a sense of urgency. As a cultured person with higher education, he could not allow himself to lose to other teachers. However, he had learned knowledge from teachers hired by his parents to teach him one-on-one at home, but now he was in a school, facing more than 30 students. How could he ensure the effectiveness of teaching?
Onatas had carefully considered this beforehand, so he first punished the two fighting children, and after calling the roll, he sternly emphasized that the rules of the classroom must be followed. Students who violated the rules would be criticized and punished, and in serious cases, they would be expelled from the school.
As a result, the originally noisy classroom became quiet.
Onatas was very satisfied with this effect. He stood up, picked up a white pen from the wooden table, which was said to be made by boiling limestone into a slurry, mixing it with animal fats and other substances, and then drying it. Onatas had tried it beforehand and found that writing on the black wall was very clear and could be seen clearly even from the back of the classroom.
Facing more than 30 pairs of curious eyes, Onatas couldn't help but feel emotional: an emerging city-state alliance actually attached so much importance to the quality education of its citizens, not only creating an unprecedented teaching system in the Greek city-states, but also attracting high-quality foreigners to serve as teachers with various preferential conditions, and even spending effort to carefully research and produce teaching supplies. How lucky the children living in this alliance were!
At this moment, he, who was already a citizen of Daonia, felt a sense of pride. He supported himself on the smooth wall with his left hand, and wrote a string of letters on the wall with a white pen: "Before I teach you to learn the Greek alphabet, I want you to recognize this word 'Daonia'! Whether you are Greek or Lucanian, you live in Daonia, grow up in Daonia, and will be citizens of Daonia in the future, so repeat after me loudly, 'Da—o—ni—a'…"
"Daonia!!…"
… … … … … … … … … …
For most of the city-state's citizens' children, they had already begun to learn to recognize letters under the guidance of their parents at the age of six or seven, so compared to the students who eagerly answered questions, Patroclus's learning progress seemed difficult.
However, when it came to arithmetic class, under the influence of his mother guarding the stall in the market since he was a child, he showed a strong sensitivity to numbers, and even the teacher who came from the Mathematics Research Institute cast a concerned look at his performance.
By noon, the classroom teaching was over.
Originally, the Greeks had two meals a day, morning and evening. Under the influence of Davos and military training, Daonian citizens had begun to get used to three meals a day, morning, noon, and evening. Children living in the city of Thurii could go home for lunch. Those who lived farther away, like Patroclus, had received notice from the school in advance and prepared dry food for lunch. Some children had household slaves go to the city to buy lunch…
In the afternoon, the main focus was on outdoor courses: for girls, it was dance and music, and priests from the Temple of Hera were invited to teach; for boys, it was physical training, running, and long jump, interspersed with some of the simplest military exercises, such as queuing, forming formations, and advancing as a whole, which were taught by disabled veterans, so that children could cultivate a martial spirit from an early age, and gradually understand and become familiar with the formation changes and some basic tactics of Daonia's light and heavy infantry, and understand unity and cooperation, so that when they came of age, they could easily integrate into the legion once they were conscripted. In this regard, Davos and the Senate humbly borrowed some practices from Sparta.
After military training, the children's favorite was a ball game newly invented by Archon Davos—football, because it was not as confrontational as rugby and was less prone to injury.
The children chased and snatched, using their feet to skillfully control a nearly round leather ball sewn from cowhide and filled with inflated cow stomach, passing and dribbling each other until they kicked the ball into the goal…
… … … … … … … … …
"The trees on both sides of the avenue are too close to the road, and over time, the roots will easily emerge from the road surface and damage the roadbed. The Thurii-Amendolara Avenue has experienced such situations many times… Also, now pedestrians and pack animals and carriages are all walking on the avenue. During busy times of the day, the avenue is crowded with people and livestock, which not only easily causes long-term congestion, but also causes many accidents of hitting people…
My suggestion is to cut down the trees on both sides of the avenue and build another road outside the drainage ditch for pedestrians to walk on, so that people and livestock can each go their own way without interfering with each other, and the avenue will become smoother…"
Davos listened to Little Heracleides's explanation while reading his "Avenue Reconstruction Plan". Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel shocked.
It should be admitted that when the avenue was built in the first place, there were some flaws in his design, such as the problem of roadside trees, and he did not expect that Daonia's development would be so rapid, and after only a little over a year, the four-horse-wide avenue was not enough…
But what he didn't expect was that Little Heracleides could think of paving sidewalks so quickly. Of course, he knew that sidewalks were not new things that only appeared in the technological age. In the late Roman Republic, there was already a complete road system including avenues, sidewalks, and drainage ditches.
He breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a gentle expression, "What else needs to be improved?"
Little Heracleides pondered and said, "Archon, if a foreigner starts from Crotone and walks to Thurii, after walking for a long time, he is tired, thirsty, and hungry, and he doesn't know how far ahead there is a town? Where are there restaurants to eat? Where are there hotels to stay? In order to facilitate pedestrians, can we erect a stone tablet next to the avenue every certain distance, marking the distance to nearby towns… Also… um, aren't we building post stations? We can also engrave the distance of the post stations on the stone tablet, so that pedestrians can see the stone tablet and plan their itinerary based on the prompts on it, avoiding sleeping in the wild at night…"
"That's great!" Davos finally couldn't help but stand up excitedly: "Little Heraclides, it's truly remarkable that you could think of these things!"
"Lord, these aren't just my own ideas, but proposals after discussions with other members of the Roads Bureau," Little Heraclides said truthfully. He was a little puzzled: how could some road reconstruction ideas make this young, wise, and divinely inspired Archon so excited?
Of course, he wouldn't understand that at this moment, what Davos was thinking about was the national character of the Greeks. Through historical materials from his previous life and his personal experience in this era, he felt that the Greeks were indeed an excellent race, creating brilliant civilizations in technology, culture, military affairs, politics, sports, and other fields. But why was it Rome and not Greece that later unified the Mediterranean?
Davos believed that there were some fatal flaws in the national character of the Greeks: they were too self-centered to form unity, too unrestrained and enthusiastic, and lacked steadfastness and resilience. The various Greek city-states built countless magnificent temples, arenas, and theaters, but they couldn't manage their cities in a clean and hygienic manner... Therefore, since becoming the leader of the mercenaries, Davos had used strict military law to restrain the undisciplined mercenaries, and had intentionally and slowly guided and changed the Greek people under his jurisdiction.
The fact that Little Heraclides' Roads Bureau could pay attention to these details and make changes, this serious and pragmatic approach of thinking for the people, of course, made Davos feel gratified. He praised: "My vision was not wrong. You are not only an excellent master of road and bridge construction, but also a good director of the Roads Bureau, managing the road system within the Daonian League well!"
Facing the praise, Little Heraclides was a little embarrassed, but still continued: "The cost of the avenue reconstruction is not small, I am worried that the Senate—"
"Don't worry, the Senate will pass your proposal," Davos assured: "The benefits that the avenue brings to Daonia are enormous. Reconstructing the avenue will only make it more convenient for people to travel and transport goods. This is a good thing, and no matter how much it costs, it's worth it."
"Then I can rest assured!" Little Heraclides sincerely thanked Davos. It was this young man who allowed him and his father to no longer wander! It was also this young man who allowed him to find his career! And it was this young man's support that allowed him to emerge in the Daonian political arena!
"How is your father's health?"
Davos's words brought him back to his senses: "Not very good, he often wakes up at night feeling suffocated, coughing constantly, and I can even see blood in his phlegm... I told him to rest more at home, Piasicos is watching over the temple, there won't be any problems, but he just won't listen!" Little Heraclides said with a worried face.
Davos sighed inwardly. In fact, Herpus, who had treated Heraclides, had already quietly told him: this stubborn, thin old man was running out of time...
Davos softly comforted: "Your father regards the newly built Thurii as his own child, he can't rest assured! Don't worry, I will have Herpus send a doctor to take care of your father at any time..."
… … … … … … … …
After sending away Little Heraclides, Davos stretched his back, preparing to return to the backyard to accompany his sleeping wife and children.
At this time, the slave chief Libazo came in to report: "Master, Phelisius, Bagulus, Vespa, and Hermon, the four lords, request to see you."
Davos certainly knew why these few had come. This was a major event related to whether Daonia's arrangements during this period could finally be effective. He had to brace himself: "Please invite the four senators of the Senate in."
Speaking of which, Davos was also a little helpless. The public officials of the several cities of the Daonian League, such as the city administrator, judge, and tax official, all had offices—the city hall. However, the senators of the Senate, who controlled the supreme power of the entire league, had no personal offices except for discussing national affairs, discussing and formulating laws in the Senate's Grand Council Hall. Including Davos, the only Archon and chief senator of the entire league, was the same. Therefore, the living room of his mansion became Davos's usual office.
Most of the other senators were like this. The Senate had discussed several times to build a magnificent office building specifically for the senators of the entire league. Based on various factors such as funding and manpower, this proposal was still only on paper.
After the four people were seated, Phelisius, as the military officer, first said: "Lord Davos, we have come this time to ask you for instructions on whether to start the plan to seize Grumentum?"
"What is the current situation in Grumentum?" Davos asked with a serious expression. In fact, he had already learned about the situation in the Lucania region through Aristilas.
"Archon," Hermon bowed and said: "Not long after Potentia repelled Pixous and occupied Grumentum, their great chief Puamot led the main force back to Potentia, leaving only his brother Polet with two thousand tribal warriors to garrison the city of Grumentum. Lussau, the son of the original Grumentum chief Acpiru, also remained in the city to assist Polet in managing Grumentum."
Davos smiled: "That Lussau who was betrayed by his own tribesmen?! The Potentians really dare to use him?!"
"Lord, you are right, it was a mistake for Puamot to leave Lussau!" Vespa took over the conversation and sneered: "I have dealt with this person, Lussau. He bullies the weak and fears the strong, and is extremely vengeful. It was he who led the army to drive my tribe into the mountains... It is said that when he was in Potentia, he fawned over Puamot like a dog, perhaps that is why Puamot mistakenly believed that he would help Potentia stabilize its control over Grumentum.
"However, after Lussau returned to Grumentum, he gained the support of several tribes, his strength increased, and he began to become arrogant. Although the leaders of those tribes who betrayed him had been killed by Cincinnatus, Lussau did not let those tribesmen go. He often sent newly recruited tribes to provoke disputes, and then punish them for disobedience, and take the opportunity to encroach on their settlements and pastures... He often verbally agreed to Polet's orders, but secretly did not carry them out at all, and even opposed them.
"And those warriors from Potentia relied on being the victors and also oppressed the people of Grumentum in the city. It is said that Polet treated the tribes inside and outside the city of Grumentum fairly mildly, but he could not control his subordinates, let alone make Lussau obey his orders.
"Now, the people of Grumentum hate Lussau, and hate the Potentians!" Vespa said, glancing at Hermon: "So after the envoys I and Hermon sent to the city secretly contacted them, they were warmly welcomed. They are eager for us to drive away the Potentians!"
"The people of Grumentum hate Lussau, but we should thank him!" Davos said jokingly, and everyone laughed.
Davos then asked: "What are their requirements?"
"They are willing to join Daonia, but hope that after we capture Grumentum, we can allow them to migrate to Nium, giving them land with an area no less than their current settlements and pastures, and like the tribes in Nium, Daonia must not interfere with their management of their tribesmen. To this end, they are willing to provide the greatest help to Daonia in capturing the city of Grumentum."
After listening to Hermon's words, Davos was slightly surprised: "Their requirements are so simple?!"
"Initially, the requirements they put forward were far more than these, but our people made them realize that they betrayed Lussau, and then betrayed Cincinnatus, and now they are going to drive away the Potentians, then their only reliance is our Daonian League. It is not a smart thing to make things difficult for the master who will protect them in the future!" Hermon said somewhat proudly: "The peaceful and tranquil life of the Lucanians in Daonia and the League's consistent reputation for keeping its promises have made them finally choose to cooperate with us."
"If that's the case, why don't they stay in Grumentum after we capture it? After all, that is their homeland," Davos asked with some doubt.
"Lord, that's because they are afraid!" Bagulus said disdainfully: "Because they believe that Potentia and Pixous will come again to compete for the city of Grumentum in the future, and they dare not face their anger again!"
"These guys are indeed sensible," Davos muttered. To be honest, he was not at ease leaving these fickle tribes in Grumentum. Since they were sensible enough to voluntarily leave, Davos would of course reciprocate: "Does Nium have any extra pastures to accommodate them?"
"Not for the time being," Vespa said hesitantly: "However, I have already negotiated with all the tribal leaders in Nium. Some tribes are willing to migrate to Grumentum and exchange settlements with these Grumentum tribes, but they hope to obtain the mining rights to the iron mine in Grumentum as compensation."
Davos shook his head slightly. The iron mine in Grumentum had long been coveted by some senators of the Senate. Senators such as Masisacus had already approached him several times, hoping to contract the iron mine in Grumentum.
He pondered for a while and said: "It is impossible to have mining rights, but they can obtain a portion of the income from the iron mine. As for the specific amount, Hermon, you go and talk to them, but it cannot exceed 20%, on the premise that they provide manpower to participate in mining and transporting the ore."
"Okay, I will go to Nium tomorrow to discuss with them," Hermon nodded.
"Are the warriors all prepared? Have the raid plans all been drawn up?" Davos turned his gaze to Bagulus, who was beside him.