Chapter 60 - Expansion of the League

In order to maintain the friendship with Sparta, Dionysius had to move the Messenians out of Messina and build the city of Tyndaris not far from Messina, in an inconspicuous place, to house these Messenians.

The reconstruction of Messina and the construction of Tyndaris made the people of Rhegium across the strait feel uneasy. The Rhegians felt Dionysius's covetousness towards their city-state. They even felt that joining the Southern Italy League was not very safe, because Syracuse at this moment not only unified the Greek city-states in eastern Sicily, but also basically conquered the Sicels, and its strength was too astonishing. Whether the other city-states in the Southern Italy League were willing to confront the powerful Syracuse for Rhegium was a big question! The only one who dared to challenge Syracuse was probably Daunia, the overlord of Southern Italy, who had this strength.

Therefore, the Rhegians held a citizens' assembly, and after several days of discussion, there was no result.

Just at this time, a Syracusan fleet sailed into the port of Messina. Originally, this fleet was to escort the Syracusan army to continue its westward expedition to the northern coast of Sicily, but who knew that it would stimulate the sensitive Rhegians. The citizens' assembly quickly passed a motion, and envoys were quickly sent to Thurii.

In the Daunian Senate, when the Rhegian envoy proposed that "Rhegium is willing to join the Daunian League," the senators, including Davos, were quite shocked. It should be known that in the Daunian League, Laos, Castrum, Metapontum, Elea, Heraclea, and Galasus were all small and medium-sized city-states in Southern Italy. Although Potentia was a large state in the alliance, it was forced to join due to the situation and facing Daunia's military strength. It was not very obedient to Daunia, and Daunia had been busy rectifying and governing Bruttium and Pyxous in the past two years, and had no time to pay attention to Potentia, which was far away on the edge of the mountainous area north of Daunia.

But now Rhegium actually voluntarily requested to join the Daunian League! It should be known that Rhegium is not only a strong state in Magna Graecia, but also ranks first among the city-states of Magna Graecia in terms of maritime trade and wealth. With the addition of Rhegium, Daunia's merchant ships and fleets can smoothly pass through the Strait of Messina, which will not only facilitate trade with Iberia, Gaul, and other far western Mediterranean regions, but also be more conducive to the navy escorting Daunia's cities of Cnape and Pyxous on the west coast of Italy, as well as the allied city-states of Laos and Elea, connecting Daunia's territorial waters.

The Daunian senators were of course very happy to prepare to accept Rhegium's joining, but the Rhegian envoy put forward a prerequisite: Davos, the Archon of Daunia, must marry a Rhegian woman, and this woman has already been chosen by the Rhegians. Her name is Agonis.

Who is Agonis? She is known as the "Rose of Rhegium." She was very beautiful at the age of 16, and even attracted the marriage proposal of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, but was resolutely rejected by the vigilant Rhegians.

The angry Syracusan envoy threw down a sentence: "Our omnipotent general will open his eyes and see who is more qualified than him to marry Agonis!"

Then, Dionysius turned to marry a woman from Locri, and decorated the passenger ship that welcomed his Locrian wife with jewels, making it dazzling, which became a hot topic in Magna Graecia at that time.

In Rhegium, due to the words thrown down by the Syracusan envoy, Agonis has not been able to marry, because as Syracuse continues to expand and become stronger, not only the men of Rhegium, but the entire city-state does not want to anger Dionysius, so that Rhegium becomes the target of the Syracusan tyrant's anger.

As a result, several years have passed, and Agonis is already a 21-year-old unmarried woman (Greek women generally marry after the age of 14, that is, after the end of puberty), and no one dares to marry her, so she has to become a priestess of Artemis, the famous virgin goddess in Greek mythology.

Now, facing the threat of Syracuse, the realistic and worldly Rhegians believe that Davos is the real power holder of Daunia, so they want to tie Davos and Rhegium together through Agonis to jointly deal with Dionysius.

Davos saw through the Rhegians' thoughts and immediately refused.

Who knew that a few days later, this Rhegian envoy actually persuaded most of the senators, including Melsis, Marigi, Cunogolata, Cornelius, etc., to jointly visit Davos, hoping that he could agree to Rhegium's request, and also refuted Davos's statement that "Daunia should abide by the law of one husband and one wife," because there is no such mandatory provision in Daunia's laws. This is just a convention. Even in Athens, which once clearly stipulated "one husband and one wife," during the great plague before the Peloponnesian War, polygamy was also advocated due to the sharp decline in population.

At the same time, they also emphasized that Dionysius of Syracuse and other Sicilian city-state tyrants have married multiple wives, so of course the life-long Archon of Daunia, the overlord of Southern Italy, can also do so.

They also refuted Davos's concern that Daunia would be dragged into a war with Syracuse by Rhegium. Felicius, Antonios, and others believed that although Syracuse seems powerful, the Carthaginians will always be its great enemy. How dare Dionysius risk fighting on two fronts and rashly offend the equally powerful Daunia.

In fact, news from Sicily also seemed to prove this point: the Syracusan army swept westward along the northern coast of Sicily and began to approach Solus, finally prompting the Carthaginian Senate, which had been angered by Dionysius's siege of Tauromenium, to finally make up its mind to appoint Mago, the brother of Himilco, as commander, recruit soldiers, and prepare to lead the army to Sicily again to resist the Syracusan attack.

For the senators in charge of political affairs in the Daunian Senate, accepting Rhegium is not risky, but on the contrary, it is very beneficial; for the senators in charge of military affairs, Rhegium has a relatively strong naval fleet, which can just make up for Daunia's shortcomings.

Under the persuasion of everyone, Davos was a little hesitant. At this time, his wife Christoia stood up, expressed her support for the Senate's hope that Davos would marry another Rhegian wife, and persuaded Davos to accept Agonis.

Born in Miletus, Asia Minor, Christoia was influenced by Persian culture from an early age and was not too resistant to polygamy. Cyrus the Younger had more than a dozen concubines. Moreover, as a successful businessman, she knew better the importance of Rhegium's surrender to Daunia's trade.

Davos was finally persuaded and married the 21-year-old Rhegian woman Agonis into the official residence of the Archon of Daunia, and Rhegium also successfully joined the Daunian League.

This incident shocked the entire Magna Graecia.

When Dionysius learned of this news, he was leading an army to besiege Solus. He had already ordered a retreat, but he reissued the order: sound the horn of attack… …

… … … … … … … … …

In these two years, on the land of Asia Minor, the Greek coalition led by Dercylidas caused a lot of trouble to Persia.

So in 396 BC, Persian King Artaxerxes, at the suggestion of his mother, appointed Conon, an Athenian who was temporarily residing in Persia, as the admiral of the Persian Navy (Conon was originally the commander of the Athenian Navy, but was defeated by Lysander of Sparta in the Battle of Aegospotami, which eventually led to Athens' surrender to Sparta).

Conon fled to Persia and never forgot to seek revenge on Sparta, so he often went to please the Persian Queen Mother Parysatis. Now that he finally had military power in his hands, he immediately led 300 Persian warships to actively cooperate with the Persian land forces, which soon caused heavy casualties to the Spartan army and put it in a difficult situation.

So, Persia proposed a truce and peace talks, but Sparta refused.

At this time, Sparta, which was already the overlord of Greece, was unwilling to accept peace talks when the war was passive, because not only would the peace talk conditions be very unfavorable to Sparta, but it would also damage Sparta's prestige among the Greek city-states. So, the Council of Elders decided to send King Agesilaus to replace Dercylidas and launch a larger war in Asia Minor.

Agesilaus had always shown the Spartan people that he was approachable and kind, but under the mask of adhering to Spartan traditions and laws, he hid an ambition that had never been known. He craved great glory, worshiped ancient heroes, and hoped to use unprecedented victories to make the world forget his lameness and only remember his achievements. So when he received the order from the Council of Elders, he had already regarded himself as the Agamemnon of this era, who was going to conquer a new Troy, namely Persia.

So, he led a part of the army to the city of Aulis (which is located in the region of Boeotia, whose most famous city-state is Thebes), just like the King of Kings Agamemnon had done before leading the entire Greek army across the sea to attack Troy, to offer sacrifices to the Temple of Artemis there.

But during the solemn and solemn sacrificial process, the Thebans appeared and claimed that the Spartans' actions had not been notified to Thebes, thereby forcibly interrupting the ceremony.

This incident cast a shadow over the already strained relationship between Sparta and Thebes. And for Agesilaus, who was extremely self-respecting, this was simply a great humiliation! From then on, he remembered Thebes.

Finally, Agesilaus led an army of 2,000 new Spartan citizens and a 30-member military committee headed by Lysander, and quietly crossed the sea to Asia Minor and stationed in Ephesus.

Lysander thought that Agesilaus, whom he had supported, would rely on him, the true "king" who had conquered Asia Minor, after arriving in Asia Minor, and would hand over the command of the Spartan army to him.

---

As the Spartan hero who defeated Athens, Lysander had once established puppet regimes loyal to Sparta in Athens' maritime allied states. Now that he had come to Asia Minor, the rulers of these city-states flocked to visit him, attending to his every need, making it seem as if he were the true king, while Agesilaus was merely a follower.

But soon, Lysander tasted Agesilaus's power. Any request he made to Agesilaus, even if reasonable, was invariably rejected by the Spartan king. Agesilaus even secretly sent people out to spread the word that Lysander was just an ordinary member of the Spartan "30-man military committee" without any real authority.

As a result, Lysander's promises to these people ultimately could not be fulfilled, leading the rulers of these city-states to realize that the situation had changed and to turn to ingratiate themselves with Agesilaus.

Agesilaus's alienation of Lysander made Lysander uneasy. He finally realized that he had misjudged the situation, and that this new king was by no means a mediocre person to be manipulated.

At this moment, Lysander was no longer the glorious Spartan hero of a few years ago. The failure of his conspiracy to overthrow the Spartan system and the vigilance of the other members of the Council of Elders had long deprived him of his real power. In the end, he had to take the initiative to propose to Agesilaus that he was willing to go to the Hellespont to win over the city-states that had previously been attached to Persia.

Agesilaus agreed to his request.

After dealing with the ambitious Lysander, Agesilaus began to demonstrate his military talents. His use of troops was more flexible than that of Dercylidas, shuttling back and forth between the territories of the Persian satraps Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus, leaving the Persian army at a loss. In the Battle of Sardis in the spring of 395 BC, he severely damaged Tissaphernes's army.

Due to this crushing defeat, the Persian King Artaxerxes's mother, Parysatis, finally seized the opportunity to have her son dismiss Tissaphernes and eventually execute him, thus avenging her younger son, Cyrus the Younger.

When the news reached Agesilaus's army, the mercenaries who had experienced the "March of the Ten Thousand" cheered. Xenophon even wrote a letter to Deiphas in Thurii to express his joy and admiration for the Spartan King Agesilaus.

Agesilaus's military actions in Asia Minor put great pressure on Persia. The Persian king had to transfer troops from other regions to cope with the Spartan offensive, which led to a weakening of defenses in other areas. In the province of Egypt, the farthest from the Persian mainland, the Egyptians, who had been resisting Persian rule, finally seized this opportunity. Under the leadership of Achoris, they revolted, successfully drove out the Persians, achieved independence, and rebuilt the Egyptian kingdom, with Achoris becoming the new pharaoh (this is the 29th Dynasty in ancient Egyptian history).

In order to regain Egypt, Persia repeatedly sent envoys to Agesilaus in 395 BC to propose peace talks, but Agesilaus rejected the Persian requests. King Artaxerxes saw that the Spartans had no intention of withdrawing from Asia Minor. On the contrary, Agesilaus's ultimate goal was himself. So, on the advice of his ministers, he sent people to Greece to lavishly bribe the generals and councilors of Thebes, Corinth, Argos, and other city-states that were not on good terms with Sparta, on the condition that they must wage war against the Spartans.

The answers from these city-states were similar: even without the money, they were eager to go to war because the Spartans were too domineering, not only disrespecting them but also repeatedly damaging the interests of their city-states!

Under the instigation of the Persian envoys, these city-states began to secretly discuss forming an alliance. Among them, the Thebans were the most active in declaring war on Sparta. They began to incite their ally, Locris, to clash with Sparta's ally, Phocis. When the Phocians finally invaded Locris, the Thebans declared that Phocis had violated their ally, and in order to protect their ally, they declared war on Phocis.

Thus, Thebes summoned its army and invaded Phocis.

The weak Phocis had no choice but to ask Sparta for help. Although small, Phocis was an important city-state near the Delphi region, which was conducive for the Spartans to intervene in Delphi's religious affairs. Moreover, the Spartans still vividly remembered Thebes's contempt and destruction of their temple sacrifices before their expedition to Persia. Therefore, they were very happy to find a reason to attack Thebes and immediately decided to punish Thebes for its disrespect towards Sparta.

Thus, the Spartan army invaded Thebes in two routes. One route, led by another Spartan King, Pausanias, advanced northward, and the other route, sent by the Council of Elders, was led by Lysander, who had already returned to Sparta, to Phocis, to organize a local allied force and attack Thebes from the south. Lysander quickly and excellently completed the task and also instigated the people of Orchomenus in Boeotia to defect.

Faced with the powerful threat of Sparta, Thebes turned to Athens, the closest powerful city-state, for help.

After experiencing the failure of the Peloponnesian War, the dark rule of the "Thirty Tyrants," and the restoration of the democratic faction, the Athenians shed their former arrogance. Domestically, they used a moderate system to reconcile the differences between the democratic faction and the aristocracy. Externally, they treated their former allies equally. Under this stable and pragmatic policy, after nearly ten years, Athens's strength was rapidly recovering. With strength, Athens wanted to get rid of Sparta's control and gain true freedom in military and trade.

Therefore, after receiving Thebes's request for help, Athens convened a citizens' assembly. At the assembly, the vast majority of citizens voted in favor of allying with their former enemy, Thebes, and waging war against Sparta.

Finally, Thrasybulus, the democratic leader who had led the arduous battle against the resistance army, ultimately overthrowing the rule of the "Thirty Tyrants" and giving Athens a new life, informed the Theban envoy of the Athenian resolution and said in a firm tone: "...Although Piraeus does not yet have walls, we Athenians will bravely face danger and stand shoulder to shoulder with you Thebans against the brutal Spartans!"

The Thebans were moved. The two city-states, which had been feuding for decades, quickly concluded an alliance, declaring that Thebes and Athens had formed a permanent alliance.

At this moment, Lysander and Pausanias led their troops, one from the south and one from the north, approaching the Boeotia region. They agreed to meet near the city of Haliartus, an ally south of Thebes.

However, after Lysander arrived, Pausanias's army was nowhere to be seen. Lysander tried to persuade the Haliartians to defect from Thebes.

The Haliartians pretended to agree, secretly stalling for time. When the Theban reinforcements arrived, they suddenly came out of the city and attacked Lysander's troops from both sides.

Lysander, the founder of Spartan hegemony, unexpectedly died in this sudden battle, but in the ensuing war, the Thebans failed to completely defeat the remnants of the army that had lost its leader and instead suffered heavy losses.

Pausanias did not lead his troops to attack immediately but instead set up camp nearby.

By the third day, the Athenian reinforcements had also arrived.

The Thebans were immediately boosted in confidence. They and the Athenians formed a formation, preparing to face the Spartans.

However, Pausanias did not immediately lead his army to approach the allied forces, nor did he accept the enemy's challenge. Instead, he summoned his officers to discuss whether to start the war immediately or sign a truce in order to recover the bodies of Lysander and other fallen soldiers.

In the end, the Spartans decided to truce.

After negotiations between the two sides, the Spartan army withdrew from Boeotia with the bodies of their comrades.

The ordinary Spartan citizens were extremely saddened to see Lysander's body. They recalled the great contributions Lysander had made to Sparta and transformed their grief into anger, accusing the Spartan King Pausanias of deliberately delaying the time of the meeting, causing Lysander's death, and his crime of retreating without a fight.

The elders of the Council of Elders did not fully defend the Spartan king, because the death of Lysander and the retreat of Sparta had a huge impact. It directly led to the formation of an anti-Spartan alliance by four important Greek city-states: Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos.

Thus, the Spartan King Pausanias was found guilty and exiled.

The Spartans realized that this anti-Spartan alliance was extremely harmful to Sparta's hegemony and quickly summoned troops in an attempt to eliminate the alliance.

The anti-Spartan alliance also quickly assembled its troops in the Corinthian Isthmus, hoping to withstand the Spartan offensive and then counterattack into Spartan territory, completely destroying the "wasps' nest."

Thus, the two sides began a protracted battle in the Corinthian Isthmus...

......

Also in this year, war was taking place in Sicily.

The armies of Syracuse and Carthage had been fighting on the north coast of Sicily for more than half a year.

By the time it entered 494 BC, the important countries and city-states of the Mediterranean were mired in war, while Magna Graecia had been enjoying more than three years of peace.

Early in the morning, Lykasus came to the clinic to start cleaning and tidying up. As a physician's apprentice, the preparation work before the daily opening of the clinic was his job. He firmly believed that diligence and hard work would win the teacher's trust and learn the true medical skills. Today, he was in a particularly good mood because he was going to accompany his teacher on a long journey.

When the doctor Nicostratus slowly came to the clinic, Lykasus had already packed the baggage. Nicostratus, who never liked to worry about trivial matters, only asked: "Have you brought everything?"

After receiving Lykasus's affirmative answer, he nodded and said, "Let's go."

----

Lycas shut the door and hung a wooden sign that read "Out, no consultations today."

"Hey, Nicostratus, are you going out?!" The owner of the butcher shop across the street waved a boning knife and shouted loudly.

Nicostratus snorted, not wanting to pay attention to the butcher. He always believed that it was this butcher's daily loud hawking that kept wealthy people from visiting his clinic. He had considered moving his clinic several times, but the housing prices in Croton were not low. The houses he could afford were not as well-located as his current one, so he had never given his rude neighbor a pleasant look.

"How long will you be gone?!" The butcher shop owner was already used to the doctor's attitude. Seeing that he didn't answer, he continued to shout loudly.

The obedient Lycas, seeing his teacher's face gradually darkening, hurriedly said for him, "About 20 days, Uncle Cus."

"That long!" The butcher shop owner exclaimed, "What will we do if we get sick and you're not here?!"

Nicostratus's face twitched a few times, and he couldn't help but turn his head and shout, "Then endure it and don't get sick before I return!"

"Whether or not we get sick isn't something I can decide. It's all the mischief of the gods!" the butcher shop owner complained.

Nicostratus didn't want to pay attention to her anymore and strode forward.

"Doctor Nicostratus, where are you going for so long?" another person asked.

This time, Nicostratus stopped because the person asking was the baker, one of his rare and important customers, who always paid a generous consultation fee each time he came to see him.

"To Thurii," he replied earnestly.

"Thurii? You must have been invited to treat someone?" The merchant, seeing Lycas carrying a medical kit, said proudly, "The medical skills of our Croton are famous throughout Magna Graecia! Daonia may have a larger territory and be able to fight, but in other aspects, it is far behind Croton, which has a long history!"

His words resonated with the butcher shop owner: "You're absolutely right! Those people in the north are just vagrants; they don't have any culture or city-state traditions!"

Daonia's influence in Magna Graecia was growing year by year, causing the ordinary people of Croton, a once-powerful city-state, to feel a sense of loss. Out of sour grapes, they always liked to compare some of their city-state's advantages with Daonia and then ridicule the Daonians to gain some psychological satisfaction.

Nicostratus made a few perfunctory remarks and quickly walked out of his neighborhood.

"Ignorance," he muttered softly.

The rise of Croton's medical skills originated with Democedes a hundred years ago. This Crotonian was determined to become the best doctor in the Mediterranean when he was young. He traveled to various city-states to study medicine. After completing his studies, he practiced medicine in Athens and earned a large sum of money due to his good medical skills. Later, he went to Samos to treat its tyrant, but it coincided with the Persian invasion of Asia Minor. Samos was captured, and he became a prisoner. He was escorted to Susa, where King Darius was ill. He cured him and was released from prison to serve the royal family, but he was restricted from returning to Greece.

He lived in Persia for five or six years, missing his distant hometown very much.

One day, Atossa, the Queen of Darius and daughter of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, developed a tumor that no one could cure, causing her great suffering. Atossa heard that Democedes was a highly skilled doctor, so she decided to give it a try and asked the Greek to treat her in the inner court, promising that if he cured her, the queen would grant him any request.

As a result, Democedes restored Queen Atossa's health. At his request, Atossa suggested to Darius that Democedes could take Persian spies to travel around Greece to collect intelligence in preparation for the future conquest of Greece.

Darius agreed, and Democedes also vowed to return to Susa.

As a result, after leaving Persia, he found an opportunity to get rid of the Persians' surveillance and fled back to Croton.

At that time, although Persia was powerful,

it had not yet gone to war with mainland Greece and could not affect the western Mediterranean thousands of miles away, so it could only let it go.

Democedes opened a clinic in his hometown, took in many apprentices, and selflessly passed on his many years of medical experience and the medical skills he had integrated from Greece and Persia, which greatly improved the medical level of the Croton city-state, achieving the leading position of Croton doctors in Magna Graecia for a hundred years.

However, in recent years, Daonia's medical level has been rapidly improving, just like its alliance strength. It is said that some difficult and complicated diseases that Croton doctors could not solve could be miraculously cured or improved by Daonia doctors. Some Greeks who were not members of the Daonian alliance tried to go to Daonia's hospitals for treatment, and most of them happily returned to their homes. In this way, the reputation that "Daonia doctors are highly skilled and taught by Hades" gradually spread...

As far as Nicostratus knew, many wealthy citizens of Croton had often gone to Thurii, the center of Daonia, for medical treatment in recent years. Daonia's doctors had also organized something called the South Italian Medical Forum, which was held once every spring, inviting doctors from the Daonian League and its allies to gather in Thurii to discuss new medical discoveries and exchange medical skills. Last year was the first session, and the conservative Nicostratus did not go, but in chatting with returning colleagues, the bits and pieces they said about the novel medical theories and methods learned from Daonia, after surprising Nicostratus, led him to think deeply.

Therefore, at the beginning of this year, when the Thurii Hospital sent out invitations to various allied states, he couldn't wait to prepare to set off.

Originally, it would only take half a day to reach Thurii by boat from the port, in favorable winds, but the unfortunate Nicostratus had seasickness and could only travel by land.

Arriving at the north city gate, another doctor, Stasipus, was already waiting there. The three left the city of Croton and walked north on the soft dirt road.

The three came to the pontoon bridge over the Neto River.

During the Second Croton War, the pontoon bridge was burned down to prevent the Daonians from breaking into the city of Croton. When it was rebuilt, for some reason, the bridge deck was not only narrow but also less stable than before.

Stasipus couldn't help but complain while crossing the bridge, "The Crati River in Thurii has a real wooden bridge, which is not only wide and flat but also allows ships to pass under it. Compared to them, our pontoon bridge is more like something built by natives!"

Nicostratus didn't say anything. He remembered that Croton had held a citizens' assembly last year specifically to discuss whether to invite the Daonians to help them build a wooden bridge over the Neto River. Most of the self-respecting Croton citizens opposed it, so the proposal failed to pass. Nicostratus himself was one of them. His idea was the same as most people's: facilities like roads and bridges should just be functional. The treasury's money should be used to repair public facilities such as theaters, arenas, and temples, and even to distribute additional benefits to citizens during special celebrations.

Because of the gods' blessing, Magna Graecia had enjoyed good weather in recent years, and crops had been harvested in succession. Moreover, the surrounding wars had been frequent in the past two years, and grain prices had risen. After leaving enough for their own use, the people sold grain on the market and made a small profit. Therefore, spring came early this year, and the energetic citizens took their slaves to plant wheat seedlings in the fields early.

Walking on the Croton Plain, all you could see was green wheat fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Slaves were diligently working between the ridges of the fields.

There was more rain in the spring, and the roads became muddy. To prevent falling, Nicostratus and his party walked slowly, and they didn't leave Croton's territory until the afternoon.

When they were wading through the slippery mud, their feet starting to ache, what appeared in front of them was a flat, solid, and wide road, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Teacher Stasipus," Lycas, who had never been far from home since he was a child, shouted excitedly, "Is this the Crimisa-Asprostrum Road built by Daonia that you mentioned?!"

"That's right," Stasipus glanced at Nicostratus. "Old friend, what do you think of this road?"

Nicostratus snorted and didn't say anything. He walked straight ahead and found an empty stone pier among the pedestrians resting by the sidewalk and sat down. He originally had a problem with his back, and after walking that section of the road, he felt like his back was about to break.

Lycas was young and energetic. Seeing the traffic on the avenue, he was very excited and even crossed the drain, wanting to try walking on the avenue, but he was almost hit by a cart, earning a scolding from the driver, and embarrassedly retreated to the side of the sidewalk.

Nicostratus scolded him, and he quieted down a bit. But after a while, he pulled Stasipus again and asked, "What is that cart used for?"

Following the direction of his finger, a two-horse covered cart was heading north at a relatively fast speed. The Daonian symbol "Double-pronged fork and three-headed dog" was painted on both sides of the tarpaulin, and the vehicles on the avenue deliberately gave way to both sides.

"That's the mail cart."

"Mail cart?"

"That's what the Daonians call it. It is specifically responsible for delivering letters and packages between the people of the two places. It is said that Daonia has a department dedicated to this matter," Stasipus said.

"This method is not bad, it is convenient for the people of the city-state," Nicostratus interjected.

"It would be great if we had a mail cart in Croton too! At least for sending medicine to patients, we wouldn't have to run back and forth, wasting time," Lycas said with some envy.

"Young man, that costs money," Stasipus sighed.

"We don't have any other cities in Croton, so it would be a bit wasteful to use the state treasury to set up a special postal service just to deliver letters. If... if Asprostrum still belonged to us, we could consider it. But in that case, our roads and bridges would have to be built like this," Stasippus said, stamping his foot. Indeed, Croton's uneven dirt roads could easily cause a carriage to fall apart.

"Asprostrum!" Speaking of which, it was a pain in the hearts of the people of Croton. Nicostratus snorted and cursed angrily: "It's all the fault of the incompetent council! You should know that a few years ago, this was still part of our Croton Plain, all fertile land! Now it all belongs to the people of Thurii..."

"We should get going, otherwise we won't be able to reach Crimisa for rest tonight!" Stasippus changed the subject, reminding the two.

"How far is it to Crimisa?" Nicostratus asked, rubbing his thigh, feeling a little tired from not walking around often.

Stasippus stood up, looked ahead carefully, pointed forward and said, "Lycas, go and see that stone tablet. How far is it to Crimisa?"

"Is the distance engraved on the stone tablet?" Lycas asked doubtfully as he walked over.

After a while, he pointed to the stone tablet and shouted loudly, "Crimisa, 20 li, is this it?"

"That's right."

"And... the next line has a small house engraved on it, with '5 li' written next to it. What does that mean?"

"That means there is a post station five li ahead, which can provide short breaks, food, and even accommodation," a passerby next to Lycas replied.

"Oh, thank you!" Lycas hurriedly thanked him politely.

"Are you doctors?" The man saw the medical kit he was carrying and asked with a smile.

"Yes, my teacher and I are going to Thurii to attend a... uh... medical forum."

"The doctors of Thurii have superb medical skills and are blessed by the God of the Underworld, able to save dying people. You've come to the right place to learn!" The man looked knowing. "Coincidentally! I'm going to Thurii too."

The man's words made Nicostratus feel uncomfortable. He stood up: "Let's go, we still have a journey to make."

The group walked on the sidewalk.

Outside the sidewalk was a continuous stretch of wheat fields being cultivated, no different from what they had seen before. What was different was that the irrigation canals were crisscrossing, wider and deeper; and the slaves were more enthusiastic about their work, even singing loudly while working. Not only did their masters not stop them, some even sang along in response. Compared with the dullness of the Croton slaves, the Thurii slaves were more like normal people, and this was not an isolated phenomenon. Almost all the Thurii slaves Lycas saw were in this state.

Lycas didn't quite understand this. He came from a farming family and knew a lot about the life of a farmer. The farmers of Croton usually had one or two slaves, and they couldn't afford more. Because they needed labor to do farm work, they relied heavily on slaves. Therefore, unlike the workshop owners in the city, they didn't desperately exploit them, but regarded the slaves as part of the family.

When Lycas was a child, he was carefully taken care of by the slaves in his family. He always thought that the honest Thracian old man was more like a father than his own father.

The Croton farmers were already good enough to their slaves, so could it be that the people of Thurii were even better to their slaves? Lycas felt it was a little impossible. He wanted to ask Stasippus, but he turned his head and saw Nicostratus discussing medical issues with Stasippus, so he had to give up for the time being.

Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see the man who had spoken earlier walking not far behind them. With a thought, he slowed down his pace: "My name is Lycas, from Croton. Thank you for your reminder just now."

"My name is Cardias, a Siris native." The man smiled gently: "I go to Thurii many times, and I know more about the affairs of Thurii. If you have any questions about this city-state alliance, feel free to ask me."

The man seemed to see through his thoughts. Lycas scratched his head embarrassedly and asked: "I don't understand why these slaves are so happy?"

Cardias followed the direction of Lycas's finger and saw the slaves singing in the wheat fields. He thought for a while and said a word: "That's because they have hope."

"Hope?"

Cardias's expression became solemn, and his voice was low and drawn out: "The great God of the Underworld once said, 'Everyone's fate is different. Some are born rich, some are born poor, some are unfortunately reduced to slaves, and some are fortunate enough to become nobles. But as long as you always have good intentions and don't give up your efforts, when the end of life comes and the judgment of the Underworld, facing the fair and selfless golden scales, the status and wealth of your life are just illusions. What really determines each person's soul is whether to go to the beautiful Elysium or the terrible hell? It is what you have done in your life. The kind go to Elysium, the wicked go to hell, and those who struggle throughout their lives can enjoy music and food, while those who are lazy will always suffer hard labor..."

Lycas listened in stunned silence: "You... you mean... these slaves are working so enthusiastically in order to enter Elysium in the future?"

"It's not entirely because of that." Cardias said softly, "Davos, the Archon of Daonia, who possesses the blood of Hades, was inspired by the Father God and passed a law in the Senate that 'every year at the Hades Festival, freedom will be granted to the best-performing slaves of the city-states.' And Davos will also grant freedom on this day to the slaves he owns who have performed excellently. Because Davos is deeply loved by the people of Daonia, influenced by the Archon, they will also consider granting freedom to private slaves who have contributed to the family, if they have the means…"

"I remember last year, a Nubian slave was sent by his master to the port market to buy goods, and on the way, he rescued two drowning children in the Krati River. Not only was the children's father willing to pay for his redemption, but the entire city's people unanimously demanded his freedom… So you see, Daonia has such an atmosphere, how can these slaves not desperately try to show their worth!"

Lykasos nodded. Although Croton also granted freedom to slaves, it was never enshrined in law like in Daonia, and the number of slaves released was so frequent and so large.

Actually, there's another reason that Cardias doesn't quite understand: Although the age composition of Daionian citizens and prospective citizens is mainly young and middle-aged (due to the large number of immigrants Daonia accepts), the number of times citizens have to participate in military training is more than ten times that of Croton. They also have to undertake some garrison duties, and they don't have much energy and time to take care of their own land properly, relying more on slaves. Therefore, they not only regard slaves as part of the family, but also give them more autonomy in their labor, which is more conducive to encouraging the slaves' enthusiasm.

"In the past two years, slaves from Sybaris have occasionally fled to Knepetia because of this reason," Cardias added.

"Ah… we in Croton also experienced a large-scale slave escape!" Lykasos recalled, "But it wasn't to Knepetia, but to Asproustum, not far from Croton. At that time, we even held a citizens' assembly and sent people to protest to Asproustum, demanding the return of the escaped slaves. They quickly escorted the slaves back…"

"If Sybaris and Croton don't make changes on the issue of slavery, such things will continue to happen in the future." Cardias said with a sigh. As a Sybarite, he didn't seem worried about it, but rather somewhat pleased to see it happen.

Of course, the young Lykasos didn't think so much, and he asked about another topic with confusion: "By the way, what you just said… about Hades, the King of the Underworld, I've never heard of those words before?"

"Regarding the affairs of the gods, there are too many things you haven't heard of." Cardias's eyes gleamed. "You must know that when the God Zeus and his brothers and sisters joined forces to overthrow their father, Cronus, and were about to divide their father's power again, Hades, as the eldest brother, could have chosen the sky or the sea as his domain, but he preferred to choose the dark and humid hell, thereby residing underground for a long time, creating a fair and selfless dwelling for the souls of weak humans, ensuring the stability of the earthly world. Isn't he great!"

"Is… is that so?" Lykasos said doubtfully, "Everyone knows that Hades was forced to choose hell."

"Have you ever thought about who passed down the facts you know?… If it weren't for the permission of Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, how could such a secret matter be known to us ordinary humans? Zeus rules the Olympian gods, so of course he would make the content of the rumors favorable to himself. Hades, the King of the Underworld, is introverted and has a somewhat gloomy appearance. The Greeks don't like him, so they all believe that rumor." Cardias said seriously, "But in fact, among the main gods, Hades is the most loyal to his duties and keeps to his own responsibilities. Zeus is licentious and willful; Poseidon is violent and ruthless; Ares is crazy and bloodthirsty; Hermes is mischievous and playful; Hephaestus is drunk and promiscuous; Apollo is proud and insidious… Only Hades, have you ever heard of anything bad about him?"

After listening to Cardias's words, Lykasos felt his brain was a little muddled. He covered his forehead and said after a long while, "He… he forcibly took Demeter's daughter, Persephone, as his wife."

Cardias had an expression of "I knew you would say that." He explained earnestly, "The harshness of the underground environment made it so that no goddess was willing to go there. Hades had no choice but to marry a wife for himself by means of forceful abduction."

"But Hades doesn't just snatch anyone randomly. Persephone possesses the earth divinity of her mother, Demeter, which allows her to help Hades control the resources of the underworld. Moreover, Persephone is beautiful and kind, capable of soothing the restless souls in hell… Facts also prove that Hades and his wife, Persephone, have always loved and respected each other, far surpassing Zeus and Hera, Poseidon and his queen. They rule the underworld with fairness and justice, rewarding good and punishing evil. People in the world, fearing punishment after death, do not indulge too much in life, and our city-state society becomes stable! Therefore, Hades is the deity who helps us humans the most!" Cardias said piously.

Cardias's words completely overturned Lycasus's understanding of the gods. He wanted to refute, but felt that Cardias's words made some sense. After a long while, he murmured, "Are you a priest of Hades?"

"I wish I were, but I am not yet!" Cardias said regretfully.

"I am a merchant. A year ago, when I went to Thurii to do business, I contracted a serious illness, almost losing consciousness. My despicable slave even stole my money bag. I originally thought I would quietly go to the underworld in a foreign land like that…" Cardias was immersed in the memories of the past: "…But when I woke up, I found myself in a warm bed in the side hall of the Temple of Hades. A holy maiden in white robes served me meals and medicine, and a kind priest came to visit and comfort me from time to time. I quickly recovered my health. The priests of Hades not only did not ask me for money, but also gave me travel expenses to return home… It was the great Hades who saved my life!" Cardias choked slightly, his eyes a little moist: "Later I learned that the Temple of Hades is not only like this to me alone, but they treat every Greek who encounters difficulties with the same kindness! Tell me, which other deity's temple can treat the people as well as the Temple of Hades?!"

"…No." After listening to Cardias's words, Lycasus couldn't help but yearn for the Temple of Hades in Thurii.

"So this time I decided to go to Thurii to serve Hades!" Cardias said with a firm expression: "In the future, I will return to Sybaris and build a temple for Hades!"

… … … … … … … …

At dusk, Nicostratus and his group arrived on the south bank of the Crathis River and entered the city of Crimisa through the wooden bridge over the river.

"I have asked all the inns here, and they are all full. How is the situation on your side?" Nicostratus saw Stasippus approaching with a frustrated expression, knowing that things were not good, but asked with a glimmer of hope.

Stasippus shook his head: "The inns in the north city are the same, there are no vacant rooms. I heard that because the Daunian marriage festival is approaching, many engaged men and women in Acherontia are rushing to the Temple of Hera in Thurii to participate in the marriage celebration, so the inn rooms are all booked up by them…"

It was getting dark, and the two of them were anxious, but they were helpless.

Could it be that they would have to sleep on the streets tonight?! Thinking of this, Nicostratus couldn't help but hug his thin body.

"I have a way." At this moment, a voice sounded from behind him. Nicostratus saw that the speaker was that Sybarite he didn't like very much, but he couldn't care about being reserved and asked: "What way?"

"Follow me." Cardias smiled mysteriously and led them to a place.

"This is a temple?" Nicostratus looked at the building in front of him suspiciously. Its shape was somewhat similar to the temples Nicostratus had seen, but also somewhat different, and there were no walls.

"This is the Temple of Hades." Stasippus had stayed in Thurii after all.

"What are we doing here?" Nicostratus suddenly felt nervous. That gloomy and terrifying Pluto was the master of the night.

"Accommodation." Cardias said, and walked straight in.

Lycasus followed closely behind, both excited and curious.

After learning about the situation, the priest of the temple readily agreed to let them rest in the temple.

However, the spare rooms in the side hall were already full, so the priest led them to the main hall.

Nicostratus and the others were still a little panicked: Would they disturb Pluto Hades?

The priest said with a smile: "Hades is benevolent and happy to help the people in need, as long as you don't defile the environment in the hall."

In fact, some people were already sleeping on the floor in the main hall. Nicostratus and the others were relieved. The priest even asked the believers to provide them with blankets and hot water, so that even Greeks like Nicostratus who had never had contact with the Temple of Hades before praised "Hades's" kindness.

They slept relatively peacefully that night. Of course, the main hall where they slept was the side where the Elysian Fields were painted, and no one dared to sleep on the other side of the hall, which depicted hell.

Early the next morning, after thanking the priest, the group left the Temple of Hades.

Because Nicostratus's back pain had not yet healed, Stasippus suggested taking a carriage, so the group came to the carriage house.

Unexpectedly, the business here was also very popular. There were no empty carriages until four people from a carriage from Acherontia got off, and then they were able to pay and get on the carriage.

There was already a young couple in the carriage. The woman intimately held the man's arm, and did not let go even when she saw strangers coming up.

This greatly stimulated the conservative Nicostratus, who cursed inwardly: The Daunians are barbaric and do not understand Greek traditional etiquette.

Cardias, on the other hand, often walked in Daunian territory and was used to seeing Daunian women showing their faces in public places. Instead, he took the initiative to talk to them. After exchanging pleasantries, he learned that the man's name was Epialtes. He had just become a formal citizen of Daunia last year and lived in Acherontia; and the woman was a native of Acherontia. When Daunia and Croton signed the peace agreement, her family was one of the few who chose to stay, and now it seems that they are doing quite well.

This made the few Crotoniates in the carriage feel a little uncomfortable.

The carriage had only traveled a short distance when it stopped, and a loud noise could be heard from outside the carriage.

Stasippus lifted the tarpaulin in front of the carriage and asked the coachman what had happened.

"The front is the square. Those damned rich people and nobles have gathered some people there to make trouble, blocking the road completely!" the coachman said angrily: "We can only take a detour!"

After Stasippus sat down and explained the situation, Nicostratus became interested: "Why are the people of Crimisa making trouble?"

"I do know a little." Cardias thought for a while and said: "Since the autumn of last year, a small number of people in the city of Crimisa have begun to protest outside the city hall near the square, demanding that the citizens' assembly be reconvened and that citizens be given the right to participate in politics… Unexpectedly, this year, there would be so many people protesting outside the square!"

"The Daunian citizens should have done this long ago! Which of the Greek city-states does not convene a citizens' assembly, only Daunia is an exception!" Nicostratus said with relief.

Lycasus interjected as if possessed: "Syracuse doesn't either."

"Shut up!" Nicostratus glared at him fiercely, and then loudly expressed his views: "A city-state without a citizens' assembly, where the people have no right to participate in politics, is a dictatorship! A dictatorial rule cannot last long, and the citizens should of course rise up to resist, and even overthrow it…"

Stasippus pulled him with his hand, stopping him from continuing to speak. After all, they were only here to participate in the forum and exchange medical skills, and it was not appropriate to talk nonsense and be involved in Daunia's internal disputes.

Epialtes had already turned red with Can't hold it in, and retorted loudly: "Only stupid people of Crimisa would do such stupid things! No one is making trouble in Acherontia, no one is making trouble in Amendolara, no one is making trouble in Thurii, and even no one is making trouble in Grumentum! It is because of the rule of Lord Dionysius that we can become citizens from refugees, have land, and have peace! The priest of Hades is right, we must know how to be grateful! The same is true for you Crotoniates. I heard that the war in Greece has been going on for a year, and the people's lives are very difficult. Why is it that our Magna Graecia can enjoy such a long period of peace?! Isn't it because we have our great commander, Hades's descendant, Dionysius!!"

Epialtes's heartfelt words were impassioned. Although Nicostratus spoke harshly, he was just a doctor, not an orator. He was not good at arguing with others until his face turned red. Seeing the young man's aggressive appearance, he became cowardly instead and muttered in a low voice: "…Another Dionysius…"

At this point, the atmosphere in the carriage became silent.

The carriage detoured around the square, exited from the south gate, and drove back onto the avenue.

The public carriage that Nicostratus and the others were riding in was a four-wheeled carriage pulled by two horses, which could seat up to six people. The carriage was covered with a leather canopy, and there were small windows on the left and right sides, so the light was sufficient. The wooden seats were padded with relatively soft cloth and fur, which could slightly alleviate the vibration constantly transmitted from the wheels rubbing against the ground.

Even though the roads built by Daunia were far superior to those of other Greek city-states, the bumps of the carriage were still unavoidable. And what would bother passengers the most should be the noise. In order to prevent the wooden wheels from breaking after being used for a long time, they were fastened with iron rings on the outside. When the wheels rotated, the iron rings came into contact with the stones on the road, and the noise produced was quite loud.

Of course, in the eyes of the engineers who manufactured the carriages, this was because Davos's requirements for the carriages were too high, even somewhat picky. For the people, the appearance and popularization of public carriages had greatly facilitated their travel.

These carriages were not just for anyone to drive or carry passengers. There was a civic organization called the Carriage Guild, which specialized in managing public carriages within the Daonian League. Only those with driving skills and carriage equipment that passed the assessment were qualified to operate. Otherwise, if caught privately carrying passengers, the patrol would come knocking.

Furthermore, Daonia had enacted a special law regarding vehicles traveling on the main roads, supposedly at Davos's suggestion: 'All vehicles must keep to the right on the main roads.' This way, vehicles traveling in opposite directions would not interfere with each other, reducing the likelihood of accidents on the main roads and naturally increasing the speed of the carriages.

Of course, Nicostratus and the others would not delve into these details behind the carriages; they simply enjoyed the convenience of the carriage ride.

After an hour, the carriage entered the Krucoli River swamp area. No, it was now renamed the Krucoli River Plain. After more than two years of effort, the Daonians had successfully transformed this area. They built dikes on the low-lying riverbanks of the Krucoli River, dug ditches, drained and filled the land, dried it in the sun, and burned off the vegetation... The once foul and muddy swamp, teeming with snakes and insects, had been developed into fertile farmland with high yields, making even the senators of the Senate envious.

Davos, defying public opinion, fulfilled his original promise and distributed some of the land here to the free people who participated in this long project. Because of this achievement, they almost all successfully became probationary citizens of Daonia.

Someone in the Senate had proposed building a small city on this land.

This proposal was strongly opposed by Scombrus, the administrative officer of Crimisa at the time. His reason was that Crimisa had spent manpower and resources to support the transformation of this swamp, and the construction of the Crimisa-Castron road had also enabled Crimisa to manage this newly emerged plain...

At his insistence, the Krucoli Plain was placed under the jurisdiction of Crimisa, which immediately elevated Crimisa, originally a small city, to the forefront of the cities in the Daonian League. This also led some of the native residents of Crimisa to feel that their status had been elevated, wanting to get a share of the land on the Krucoli Plain. Of course, the Senate would not allow them to mess around, which also became one of the reasons for the disputes among the people of Crimisa.

Here, too, were large expanses of farmland, but unlike the Croton Plain, the newly developed land was still overgrown with weeds between the ridges, and under the blessing of Persephone, the goddess of spring, it was covered with colorful wildflowers, making this land even more vibrant. In the misty distance, a village was faintly visible, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys. The sounds of children playing, parents scolding, and chickens and dogs barking occasionally reached their ears, creating a vibrant scene...

Lycas, who had been watching the outside world through the window of the covered wagon, suddenly focused his gaze on several shepherds nearby who were driving a large herd of cattle and sheep to drink water by the river. Their attire was different from that of the Greeks, yet it was so familiar to Lycas.

"Those are Bruttians!" Lycas exclaimed, as a sharp pain arose from the depths of his memory. As a child, he had personally witnessed the Bruttians burning, killing, and looting on the Croton Plain, so the memory was still fresh.

Nicostratus, also surprised, leaned over to the window and looked out.

"There's nothing strange about that. The Bruttians don't just live in the mountains to the west anymore. Other places within the Daonian League also have their settlements. Even Asprostrum has Bruttians from the upper reaches of the Neto River settling there. And here—the Krucoli Plain—is where the most Bruttians live, besides the Bruttian mountains. It is said that there are several tribes," Aphiartes said smugly.

Lycas stared blankly at the Bruttian shepherds by the river, speaking freely, and he couldn't describe what he was feeling. To the young people of Croton, the Bruttians were the 'nightmare' that their parents used to scare them into obedience when they were young, but now they were citizens conquered by Daonia.

"I heard that there have always been some battles in the Bruttian region in recent years,"

Nicostratus said seemingly casually.

"What battles? It's just some small conflicts between the various Bruttian tribes over land. The administrative officer of Cosenza easily helped them resolve it," Aphiartes defended.

Nicostratus sneered twice, and silence returned to the carriage.

In this small space, it seemed that the Crotonians and the Daonians did not get along easily.

Before noon, the carriage entered the city of Castron. The driver needed to rest the tired horses for a while to restore their strength, and also feed them pasture and water, so the passengers had an hour to rest.

Nicostratus discussed with Stasippus whether to re-hire a carriage to take them to Thurii, because he could not stand the inexplicable sense of pride emanating from the bones of that Daonian citizen, Aphiartes, in the same carriage.

Caldius watched the three Crotonians rush into the carriage station, he shook his head helplessly, and turned to the Christoia Restaurant not far away.

Fortunately, there were still empty seats in the restaurant. As soon as he sat down, he saw Aphiartes from the same carriage bringing his fiancée into the restaurant. After greeting them, he began to order.

Two years ago, a blacksmith in Thurii invented the frying pan (under the prompting of Davos, after countless experiments), and Christoia Restaurant quickly launched a series of fried foods made with olive oil, which quickly swept the entire Daonian League.

Caldius ordered a fried cod and two honey breads. Before long, the golden-fried cod and fragrant bread were brought to the table, and he, already hungry, couldn't wait to grab the hot bread and take a big bite. The crispy and soft bread mixed with the sweet fragrance of honey stimulated his taste buds, making him even more appetizing.

He quickly picked up a knife, cut a piece of fish, forked it up, and put it in his mouth...

Caldius quickly finished his lunch, satisfiedly stroking his bulging belly, then wiped the tableware clean, arranged it, and solemnly saluted. It is said that this set of tableware was invented by Davos, the Daonian governor, inspired by Hades. Caldius was convinced of this, wasn't that small iron fork with only two prongs Hades's double-pronged fork!

The waiter cleared the plate, and Caldius ordered another glass of wine, sipping it while listening to the other diners chatting. As Caldius, who had traveled extensively in the Daonian League, could tell, most of the diners in this restaurant were locals of Castron. Although the Greek dialects of the various Greek city-states had more or less differences, the pronunciation of the Daonians was undoubtedly the most unique. Since they had equally included the Lucanians, Bruttians, Thracians... into the League, becoming Daonian citizens, their respective cultures were constantly colliding and merging, and even their accents had undergone considerable changes, occasionally popping up a few unfamiliar words from the Lucanian or Bruttian languages. This was the basis for the self-proclaimed noble Crotonians and Tarantines to regard the Daonians as "barbaric."

Caldius did not have such discrimination.

Most of the content these Castronians talked about was actually unrelated to their city, Castron, but about their neighbor—Thurii: How lively the upcoming marriage festival would be!... How beautiful Agnes, the second wife of the Daonian governor Davos, was!... How did Davos satisfy the needs of two beautiful wives?... The Daonian Medical Forum was about to be held in Thurii, which doctors from Castron would participate?... And so on.

Some people mysteriously talked about: According to rumors, Daonia was about to start building the first stone bridge...

Some people excitedly talked about: The newly completed third arena in Thurii would be specially used for football games...

Some people boasted: How spectacular the horse racing festival they saw on the Cosenza Plateau last autumn was...

Some people would retort: The Lucanian ram fighting competition was even more exciting...

And more people would say in unison: The more exciting and stimulating ones were undoubtedly the Southern Italian rugby game and the Daonian football game...

When the diners talked about their city-states, there were more complaints, and some even declared: It would be better to let Castron become part of the Daonian League, rather than being independent of the Daonian League like it is now. Although it is more free, it cannot get more benefits from the Daonian League. The citizens of Castron also want to have more land...

His outrageous words were not only not refuted by anyone, but also gained the approval of a few diners.

Daonia's influence in Magna Graecia is getting bigger and bigger! Caldius thought with a sigh. He estimated the time, left the restaurant, and walked to the carriage station. Beside his carriage, he saw the three dejected Crotonians.

It turned out that the carriages in the carriage station had been hired out, and many unmarried couples from Castron, as well as other citizens, wanted to go to Thurii to participate in the marriage festival of the Temple of Hera.

Thus, the six of them continued on their way together, without a word.

After three hours of bumpy travel, the carriage finally stopped.

"We've arrived," the driver shouted.

Lycas looked out and saw a crowded stream of people, towering watchtowers, and a long wooden bridge.

"This... shouldn't be the city of Thurii yet, right?" Lycas said doubtfully.

"This is already outside the south gate of Thurii. Carriages are not allowed to cross the bridge, otherwise it will cause congestion. The medical school you are going to is not far from the bridge, inside the Daonian Academy..." Although it was awkward to be with these Crotonians, as a Daonian citizen, Aphiartes had a sense of being the host. After saying these words, he took his fiancée's hand, got off the carriage, and walked towards the south gate checkpoint along with the crowd.

Subsequently, the other four also got out of the carriage and walked forward.

People coming from the south have two routes to enter Thurii: First, enter South Thurii and take a boat from the pier to the main pier on the opposite bank, which is mainly for Daunian citizens and visiting envoys from other city-states; Second, like Cardias, go through the wooden bridge west of the South City to reach the delta where the two rivers meet, then cross the wooden bridge to reach the north bank of the Crati River, and finally enter the main city.

The three of Nixstratus, who had passed through the sentry post, went onto the wooden bridge. Lucasus did not feign composure like his teacher. He curiously stomped his feet, patted the bridge railing, and occasionally craned his neck to watch the boats passing under the bridge... Suddenly, he shouted, "Look what they are doing?!"

Nixstratus looked in the direction he was pointing. Not far from the bridge, a group of teenagers were swimming in the river. They were not just playing in the water, but were lined up in several teams, one after another, vying to swim from the north bank to the south bank and back. Greeks are a maritime people, and many are good swimmers, but it is rare to see such a tense and exciting swimming scene where each child wears leather armor.

"Could it be a competition?" Stasippus said uncertainly.

"They are in military training," a middle-aged man with a missing right arm, who had been leaning on the bridge railing watching for a long time, interjected.

Stasippus sized him up and down, and asked curiously, "Military training?"

"They are all students of the Thurii school. According to the requirements of the 'Daunian Education Law', in addition to learning knowledge, they must also undergo military training..." the middle-aged man explained.

"Forcing such young children to do such dangerous exercises is too cruel! What if they run out of energy and drown?! What if they are injured by a boat?!" Nixstratus said dissatisfiedly.

In fact, not only are there instructors accompanying them in the river, but also several boats are parked on the river, ready to rescue them at any time. But the middle-aged man did not explain much, but said lightly, "Fierce enemies will not spare anyone because they are young. Only through strict training can they kill the enemy on the battlefield, instead of being killed by the enemy."

Nixstratus was speechless for a moment, so he simply strode away. The men of Daunia, whether young or middle-aged, had an aura that he hated. No wonder some people called the Daunians "Little Spartans". Their methods are indeed cruel enough!

The middle-aged man ignored the departure of these foreigners and continued to watch the children's training in the river until the instructor called them all ashore, and then he leisurely crossed the bridge and went down to the river beach.

"Hey, Parian Doros, my brother!" An instructor saw him and enthusiastically went forward to embrace him. Both of them had been soldiers in the Amyntas Battalion of the First Legion, and their combat friendship was naturally deep: "Your child is still performing excellently as usual, and today he won first place in his group in the armed swimming training!" The instructor praised without hesitation.

"I saw it all from the bridge."

"I say, Parian Doros, you've been so concerned about your child's military training performance lately, are you planning to let him take your place after he comes of age and become a Daunian legion soldier?" the instructor joked.

Who knew that Parian Doros nodded seriously: "I want him to join the First Legion."

The instructor was stunned, and then persuaded: "My brother, although Patroclus is performing excellently, it has been several years since we fought. The number of legion reserves has exceeded ten thousand, and the First Legion is not that easy to enter. Moreover, he is not yet eighteen years old. Even when he reaches the age of military service, the officers will not be in such a hurry to send recruits like him to the battlefield. Let him first train himself into a qualified legion soldier in the reserves."

Parian Doros thought for a while and admitted that the instructor was right. He was still a little worried and asked: "I don't understand the current situation of the legion. How long do you think it will take for Patroclus to enter the official legion in the future, especially the First Legion?"

The instructor laughed: "You, you should usually interact more with the old brothers of the First Legion, especially our old battalion commander Amyntas. He is the most sentimental. Do you know that he was just appointed as the legion commander of the Second Legion this year? If your son wants to join the Second Legion, it's just a word from him. Even if you insist on letting Patroclus join the First Legion, with the friendship between Amyntas and the First Legion commander Antonios, it's just a word from him."

Parian Doros listened silently to his comrade's advice. Indeed, since he was injured, he had less contact with his comrades and officers. Now, for the sake of his child, he should make some changes.

"By the way, haven't you been studying at school recently, preparing to take the Thurii exam and become the village chief? How are your studies going?" the instructor suddenly remembered and asked curiously.

Parian Doros smiled bitterly: "I used to be illiterate. Now that I'm older, my memory is not good. Just memorizing those letters is enough to give me a headache..."

"Then you have to work harder. I'm still waiting for you to enter the Senate in the future and take care of us old comrades!" the instructor said jokingly.

Parian Doros rarely showed a smile.

"Father!" Patroclus, who had changed his clothes, walked over.

"Is school over?"

Patroclus nodded. He, who was almost 17 years old, was taller than Parian Doros. Although he was not as strong as the instructor, his body was well-proportioned and strong. For students like him who were about to come of age, the school's afternoon courses were no longer general sports and military training, but more rigorous exercises that were closer to actual combat, in preparation for joining the legion.

"Parian Doros, don't forget what I told you," the instructor shouted loudly as he watched the father and son walk away.

Parian Doros waved gratefully.

"Father, what did you and the instructor talk about?" Patroclus asked curiously.

"About you joining the First Legion..." Parian Doros told his son the truth.

Patroclus whistled a long whistle: "I heard Stiphilus say that it is impossible for a recruit like me to enter the First Legion at the beginning. But I believe that no matter which legion I am in, I will become the person holding the flag in the triumphal procession!"

Parian Doros patted his child's shoulder with relief. Although Patroclus was a flamboyant character, he was an extremely confident child.

The father and son left the academy, and Patroclus suddenly stopped and shouted loudly, "Hey, Cynthia!"

Cynthia, who was returning home with her classmates, turned her head and smiled at him.

Patroclus winked: "The ribbon on your head is loose."

Cynthia reached out and touched her hair, and realized she had been tricked. She immediately spat and cursed, "Annoying Pallo!"

Patroclus laughed and stared at Cynthia as she walked away before withdrawing his gaze.

As someone who had been there, how could Parian Doros not understand his son's thoughts? It's just that most people in Thurii know the girl's identity - the adopted daughter of the Archon Davos, while he is just an ordinary Daunian citizen who has just obtained citizenship. It's just that his son is stubborn and has his own ideas since he was a child. He doesn't want to say anything, and only hopes that this is just a child's pure liking, and everything will change when he grows up.

.........

Cynthia bid farewell to her girlfriend and entered her home.

A house slave quickly came over, took her schoolbag, and she immediately bowed to him to express her gratitude.

Now, Davos's mansion has been expanded compared to before, and is divided into three courtyards: front, middle, and back. The front courtyard is the residence of ordinary slaves, and the stables are also here; the middle courtyard is Davos's place for office and meetings, and also has the bedrooms of the slave stewards and office staff; the back courtyard is the residence of Davos and his family.

Cynthia went straight ahead, and wherever she went, the slaves bowed to her, and Cynthia returned the salute one by one. This is Davos's family rule, and although Cynthia doesn't quite understand it, she has developed a habit.

After entering the middle courtyard, she also met Aristilas. Cynthia was more afraid of this follower of her father. She always felt that his eyes, with more black than white, seemed to have some kind of magic that could see through people's hearts. In comparison, among Davos's followers, she preferred the former scribe Aristocles, but unfortunately he had become a Daunian citizen, and on Davos's suggestion, he had passed the alliance's examination and had become a judge in the Thurii court.

Cynthia pushed open the door of the back courtyard, and a familiar voice came: "Oh, Cynthia is back!"

Christoia stood by the garden, smiling at her, and Asuna was bending over to weed the flowers.

"Mother!" Cynthia exclaimed Scream, ran forward and gave Christoia a hug. After several years of living together day and night, this sexy, elegant, and amiable woman has replaced the gradually fading image of her mother in her mind.

"Lighten up! You reckless little thing, don't startle your sister!" Christoia subconsciously covered her slightly bulging abdomen and lightly tapped Cynthia's forehead reproachfully.

"Sister, I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep!" Cynthia approached Christoia's belly and said playfully.

Then, she suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "She kicked me! Mother, my sister kicked me!"

"That's right, I felt it too!" Christoia also had a look of joy. This was her second pregnancy. She didn't know if she was pregnant with a boy or a girl, but after having Little Cloo, she wanted a daughter wholeheartedly, so she told everyone she met that she was pregnant with a girl. This was the first time she had felt fetal movement.

"She… she kicked again!" Christoia shouted, a happy smile on her face.

Asuna hurried out of the garden, wiping the dirt from her hands on her clothes, and together with Cynthia, helped Christoia to sit down.

After the three women had played around for a while, Christoia felt a little hungry in her stomach: "Cynthia, your brother has already returned and is upstairs playing with little Crocus. Go up and call them both down, we're about to have dinner."

The "brother" Christoia was referring to was Cynthia's own younger brother, Adonis. He was already eight years old and also studying at the Thurii School.

Cynthia gave an "oh" and got up to go upstairs, but saw a plate of dark stuff on the wooden table next to her, and asked curiously, "What's this?"

"This is from your Aunt Andrea. Following your father's suggestion, she smoked dried beef with salt and sent it specially from Grumentum for us to try.", Christoia said.

Cynthia grabbed a small piece and took a bite: "It's a bit hard."

She chewed hard for a while, swallowed it, and said, "It tastes quite good after chewing for a while, but it's a bit too salty, suitable for eating as a snack."

"Your father is planning to use this kind of dried meat as one of the soldiers' rations." Cynthia's unintentional words made Christoia's eyes light up. She only cared about the taste, and didn't care about the excessive salt. Since Davos had the people from the Daonian Academy come up with a way to improve the salt drying method, the production of sea salt had greatly increased, and the price of salt was extremely cheap.

Cynthia stuffed the whole piece of dried meat into her mouth and walked around the garden.

On the other side of the garden was a small altar, with a stone statue of Artemis smiling with a bow. After Ligimm's pearl Agnese married Davos, she could not forget the years when she served as a priestess of the hunting goddess Artemis, even though Davos had her reassigned as the chief priest of the Temple of Hera. After obtaining her husband's consent, she built a small altar to Artemis in the backyard. Unexpectedly, Cynthia became a believer of this goddess. Perhaps it was because the Greeks regarded Artemis as the moon goddess, and the night was her domain, and "Cynthia" itself meant the moon, so there was a natural sense of intimacy. So Cynthia prayed devoutly to Artemis before entering the main building.

Seeing Cynthia enter the building, Asuna hesitated and said to Christoia: "Madam, shouldn't we wait… wait for Lady Agnese to come back before we have dinner?"

Christoia was stunned, then smiled and said, "She has to prepare for tomorrow's Marriage Festival celebration, and will probably be busy in the temple until late at night, so we don't have to wait for her. With her personality, she won't mind."

"What about the master?"

"Don't wait. The Senate has been meeting these past two days to discuss something, I don't know when it will end. It's all the fault of those nobles and merchants who are making trouble in the square… and that damned Polyxis!" Christoia became a little irritable when she mentioned this.

… … … … … … … … … … …

"Honorable Senators, it's not just in Thurii, but also in Crimisa, Pyxous, Amendolara and other cities, many people are protesting in the squares. Please open the doors and listen to their voices – listen, they are shouting, 'Call a Citizens' Assembly!'"

Polyxis's impassioned speech was immediately interrupted by Antonios: "As far as I know, only a small number of people are protesting in Thurii and Crimisa, not the 'majority' as you said! Moreover, Amendolara and Pyxous have no such thing happening at all!"

"That's right, as a citizen of Amendolara, I can confirm that Antonios's words are true!" Scombrus said.

Polyxis had expected someone to say this, and immediately sneered: "The absence of a voice does not mean that no one disagrees. The citizens are just hiding this dissatisfaction in their hearts, and dare not vent it. It's funny to think about it, their demands can be said to be very simple and not excessive, do we need to be so nervous? You must know that every city-state established by the Greeks will have a Citizens' Assembly! Even if we go back to the era of kingship hundreds of years ago,

Citizens' Assemblies still existed even when there was a king! Only city-states under tyranny, because they fear the people and suppress the people, dare not have Citizens' Assemblies, such as Syracuse."

As Polyxis spoke, he turned to face Davos, who was seated in front, and asked with courage: "May I ask, Governor, is our… is our League ruled by a tyrant?!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was shocked.

Davos remained calm, as if he didn't know that Polyxis's words were directed at him: "Of course not. The Daonian League is under the joint management of all the Senators of the Senate." Davos's faint words did not carry a trace of emotion.

"Then is there an article in the laws of Daonia that 'prohibits the convening of a Citizens' Assembly'?!" Polyxis became even bolder and continued to ask.

"Of course not." Davos still replied unhurriedly.

"Since this is the case, the people's request to convene a Citizens' Assembly is reasonable and legitimate. I hope the Senate will carefully consider this matter and not disappoint the citizens!" Seeing that Davos had fallen into the linguistic trap he had set, Polyxis took the opportunity to say loudly.

"Lord Polyxis, convening a Citizens' Assembly is not an easy task." Cunogolata stood up and said: "The situation of the Daonian League is very different from other Greek city-states. Our citizens are not concentrated in one city-state, but are spread throughout all the cities of the League. Just gathering them is a big problem that is both time-consuming and energy-consuming! In addition, Daonian citizens are not only Greeks, but Lucanians and Bruttians account for a considerable number. They don't understand what a Citizens' Assembly is, and they have never participated in a Citizens' Assembly. Holding a Citizens' Assembly rashly will not only make them feel at a loss, but also may cause the order of the Citizens' Assembly to fall into chaos and become a laughing stock to neighboring countries…"

Cunogolata listed the difficulties of Daonia in convening a Citizens' Assembly. In fact, he also had a personal idea in his heart: as a powerful figure in the Daonian Senate, he did not want the Citizens' Assembly to be convened, because he was tired of having to please the citizens and attack political enemies in Thurii in order to be elected general… and so on, doing some things against his will. And after being elected, if he did anything, he could be instigated by political enemies to force him to step down, which was far less reassuring than being able to do things now, and only needing to be responsible to the League, to… Davos.

There were actually quite a few people who had similar ideas to him, such as: Cornelius, Scombrus… and so on, some Senators who had always held important positions in the League.

"Lord Cunogolata is right! We Bruttians don't care about any Citizens' Assembly, as long as we have something to eat, women to sleep with, and wine to drink, that's enough!" Sedulum said loudly, pretending to be boisterous: "We Bruttians only believe in whoever is strong and whoever has the biggest fist, and they will obey whoever it is!"

"We Lucanians are the same, Citizens' Assemblies are too troublesome, we are not interested!" Hermon immediately echoed.

The explicit opposition from the two major forces in the Senate, Lucania and Bruttium, made Polyxis's face look a little ugly, but he still did not intend to give up, and continued: "There are difficulties in convening a Citizens' Assembly, but should we give up because there are difficulties? Is this the style of doing things for us Daonians! Building the Thurii-Laos Avenue required crossing towering mountains and was full of difficulties, but didn't we finally build it after several years of effort!

The citizens have been looking forward to the convening of a Citizens' Assembly for a long time. If Daonia faced a threat to its survival at the beginning of its establishment and had to unify the people's thinking and concentrate all its efforts to defeat strong enemies, so the Citizens' Assembly, which would take a lot of time and energy, was temporarily suspended, this is completely understandable. But now Daonia is stable and prosperous, and the people are rich and leisurely. As Greeks who have always had a strong tradition of participating in city-state politics, the Daonian citizens' demand for convening a Citizens' Assembly will only become stronger and stronger as time goes by! As the most respected representatives of the Daonian citizens, I hope you can deeply recognize this point, make the right choice in time, and don't wait until the citizens' dissatisfaction accumulates to a dangerous level before rushing to make a decision, which will be detrimental to the Senate and the Daonian League!"

Polyxis's emotional and threatening words made many people present change color slightly.

Davos looked at Polyxis thoughtfully.

"Now, let everyone vote to decide whether to pass this motion to convene a Citizens' Assembly!" Cornelius, the chairman on duty, announced loudly.

As usual, the Senators of the Legion system expressed their opposition, as did the Senators of the Lucanian system. Most of the powerful figures among the Senators also disagreed. Most of those who supported Polyxis were Senators who were not valued, mostly Senators of the Thurii system. But among those who agreed, Davos saw Bulcos, Petalus, and even Enanil, the naval commander of Daonia…

Davos narrowed his eyes, and a cold light flashed vaguely in the slits of his eyes.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Coming out of the Senate, it was already late, and the spring night was still cool, but Polyxis's Borton was basically soaked, which was the result of a cold sweat from being frightened when questioning Davos.

Although his motion was rejected again, Polyxis now had confidence because he saw that the number of people supporting him was increasing.

Davos is just like that, next time… he thought excitedly, and the pace under his feet became more powerful, and he spoke louder to the Senators who were traveling with him.

"I don't know what the reason is, this timid guy is getting more and more rampant now!" Marigi stood on the steps outside the Senate, resentfully watching Polyxis talking and laughing in the distance, and then said to Davos with some worry: "Master, we can't let him continue to be so arrogant!"

Davos said faintly, "Marigi, there is an ancient saying in the East, I don't know if you have heard of it?"

"What ancient saying?"

"If God wants to destroy someone, he must first make them insane."

Nikos, Stratos, and Lykas were standing in front of the gate of the Daunian Academy.

This was a uniquely shaped gate, a large, pure white arch with a large stone ball supported by the arch's apex. A thick, sword-shaped stone tablet extended straight up from the middle of the arch, supporting the apex and dividing the arch in two.

Engraved on the stone tablet was a sentence: All things operate according to their own laws, and their mysteries can only be obtained by those who tirelessly explore.

Nikos carefully pondered this sentence, nodding repeatedly. Looking down, he saw the signature—Davos.

"Davos? Which Davos?" Nikos asked in surprise.

"Who else could it be! Of course, the Archon of Daunia!" Stratos replied.

"This is a place where scholars gather, a sacred place! What qualifications does he have to be here!" Nikos immediately changed his expression and was about to say something.

Stratos was shocked and hurriedly dissuaded him: "Don't talk nonsense. Davos is not just an Archon. He is respected by the Daunian doctors as a teacher. Even those scholars who study mathematics respect him very much. It is said that they have received a lot of inspiration from him, so everyone in the academy respects him. Moreover, last year I listened to Davos's lecture, and the medical knowledge he talked about was indeed unique and thought-provoking. No wonder many people call him 'an envoy sent by the gods to the world.' If these people hear you insulting him here, they will definitely clash with you!"

"I'm not afraid of the Daunians." Nikos muttered stubbornly, stopped talking, and walked into the academy gate with Stratos.

Lykas had been staring at the sphere on the arch. He crossed the gate tremblingly, and after only a few steps, he couldn't help but look back, muttering to himself: "What's the point of putting such a heavy stone ball on top? Aren't they afraid it will fall down?"

"Little guy, you don't understand this." A young man in his twenties stood inside the gate and explained loudly: "The sphere on the arch symbolizes the land we live on—"

"Wait, are you saying that the land under our feet is round?!" Lykas interrupted him in surprise.

"Of course, otherwise why do we always see the sails first when looking at ships sailing in the distance?

You should know that Thales of Miletus calculated it many years ago. This problem cannot be explained to you clearly in a short time. You only need to remember that the land we live on is a large ball!" The young man said impatiently, then he pointed to the arch and said, "Look at what this arch looks like?"

Lykas was reminded by him and took a closer look: "Oh, it's a pair of arms!"

"That's right, hands holding up the sphere, which means that humans can transform the earth!" The young man said excitedly: "But what can we use to overcome terrible disasters and transform the earth?"

"How would I know?" Lykas glared at the young man who was pulling him and said angrily.

"Did you see the words engraved on that stone tablet!" The young man pointed to the sword-shaped stone tablet and said with high spirits: "It depends on knowledge, it depends on exploration, it depends on us scholars who are constantly working hard! Lord Davos's design of this gate is really profound!"

Lykas sneered, dissatisfied with his boasting.

The young man obviously didn't notice the other person's expression and took Lykas's hand, saying: "Now I'll tell you why the stone ball won't break the arch and fall down. That's because the arch has the characteristic of dispersing weight to both ends." As he spoke, he picked up a branch and drew a decomposition diagram of gravity on the ground: "Of course, the gravity of the stone ball cannot be completely dispersed, and the pressure on the arch still exists, and the support of the stone tablet is the key."

The poor Lykas felt as if he was listening to heavenly scriptures to the young man's professional explanation, and he was completely confused.

Nikos, who had been eavesdropping on the side out of curiosity, was now completely impatient and shouted: "Lykas, it's time to go! It's getting dark, don't miss the registration!"

"Yes!" Lykas was so frightened that he tried to pull his hand back, almost causing the young man to fall.

"Registration? Register for what?" The young man looked at them suspiciously.

"We are here to attend the Medical Forum." Stratos replied.

"You are here to find those doctors who deal with corpses and skeletons!" The young man suddenly realized.

"You go! Go!" He immediately lost interest in being a teacher and patted the hand that had pulled Lykas, as if afraid of being contaminated with something unlucky.

"This person is sick, crazy." Lykas slandered and followed Stratos forward.

The academy was full of lush trees, and a gravel path was hidden among the green shade and intertwined branches.

The three of them walked leisurely, and they hadn't gone far when they suddenly heard a shout: "Be careful, don't step on it!"

Stratos hurriedly stopped, only to find a man curled up on the ground beside the road, holding a piece of limestone. The paving stone in front of him was densely covered with words and symbols.

The man protected the stone with his body, glanced at them, and urged impatiently: "Go away! Go away!"

"These people are probably scholars from the Mathematics Research Institute in this Daunian Academy. It is said that most of them come from the Pythagorean school of Taranto." Stratos explained to the dissatisfied Nikos.

So it was this group of lunatics! Nikos suddenly realized that the Pythagorean school worshiped "mathematics as a god" and often held some strange rituals. Moreover, their whereabouts were secretive, and they had close ties with the nobles of various city-states in Magna Graecia in the early years, opposing democracy, so they were regarded as heretics by many people and avoided them.

Daunia actually accepted them! A sense of disgust arose in Nikos's heart.

When they saw: some people leaning against tree trunks, looking up at the sky, muttering to themselves; some people with dull eyes, walking like puppets, not knowing what they were thinking; some people originally lying on the mud, suddenly jumped up and were ecstatic, etc., the three of them were no longer surprised by the many strange words and deeds.

Going around a few tall trees, a small pavilion appeared in front of them. There were many people in the pavilion forming a circle, and there seemed to be something placed in the center.

They were fiddling with the object and arguing fiercely.

The curious Lykas approached the pavilion and only heard them saying something like "How long should the bridge span be?"

"Where should it be built to ensure the level of the bridge deck?"

"How many piers are needed to support this bridge?"

"How far apart should they be?"

"Are you here to attend the Medical Forum?" A person walked out of the crowd, looked at the medical kit Lykas was carrying on his waist, and asked quickly.

Before Lykas could answer, Stratos had bowed and said respectfully: "Doctor Stacey, hello!"

"You are?" Stacey looked at him suspiciously, trying to find his name from his memory.

"I am Doctor Stratos from Croton, this is Doctor Nikos and Lykas, both from Croton." Stratos immediately introduced.

"Oh, my memory, I'm so sorry! I remember, you gave a speech last year on the 'Application of Aloe Vera in Sports Bruises'!" Stacey slapped his forehead and said apologetically.

"Yes, that was a little experience I shared last year. It's been so long, and you still remember it!" Stratos was overjoyed.

"Of course I remember! Inspired by your speech, some doctors in our medical school have conducted more in-depth research on aloe vera this year and have made some new progress, which will be mentioned at this forum." Stacey said seriously.

"That's great!" Stratos couldn't help but cheer, completely forgetting the somewhat unnatural Nikos beside him.

But Stacey did not forget, he took the initiative to step forward and salute: "Welcome, Doctor Nikos!"

Nikos returned the salute reservedly.

"And you, Lykas! Welcome to the Daunian Academy!" Stacey said enthusiastically, while leading them towards the medical school.

"I'm really sorry! Today it's my turn to greet the doctors who come to attend the forum at the entrance of the academy, but I've been standing for most of the day and I'm a little tired, so I took a break in the pavilion and listened to the Mathematics Research Institute discussing the construction of the stone bridge. I didn't expect to almost miss you." Stacey said embarrassedly as he walked.

Stratos was stunned: "Are you talking about building a stone bridge?"

"Yes, the Daunia Road and Bridge Management Department is preparing to build a stone bridge on the Saracen River to replace the previous wooden bridge. After obtaining the approval of the Senate, the task of designing and measuring the data for the stone bridge was handed over to the Mathematics Research Institute. The Deputy Dean of the Mathematics Research Institute, Marticoris, has led a group of people to fight for more than ten days, and the plan has been basically completed.

If the Saracen River stone bridge is successfully built this time, and a few more bridges are built to accumulate enough experience, Little Heraclitus can build a large bridge on the Crati River!" Stacey laughed, obviously full of expectations, because if a stone bridge directly connecting the main city of Thurii and the South City could be built, then travelers from the north and south would pass over this stone bridge from now on, without having to take the wooden bridge through the delta, and the environment around the academy would inevitably be much quieter.