As soon as he said this, everyone felt depressed.
“This is the arrangement of the goddess of fate. Who told us not to follow Davos back then?!” Tolmides said it with a sigh, “It still not too late for us to follow him since he has made such a great career in only half a year!”
Listening to the words of Tolmides, Xanticles, who was already in his old age, looked up at the quiet starry sky, and his heart was filled with sadness, “I don’t know how you feel, but I am already old and I am tired of wandering around and fighting. I always fear that after today, there will no longer be a tomorrow. It would be good for me to settle down here….”
After saying this, everyone became quiet.
“Erm, everyone, don’t think about the future, but first think about how we will receive our other companions, and prevent them from making trouble, otherwise, we will be in trouble!” Timasion reminded everyone worriedly.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Timasion’s concerns were answered the next morning.
When Timasion and the others hadn’t yet arrived at the port, they learned that there were more than a dozen foreigners looting in the market, and also having conflicts with the management personnel who had come there, and injuring people, until all the market patrol teams arrived and arrested them. Timasion then rushed and saw that it was their comrades. In the end, he asked Agasias to pay and make a promise and the mercenaries were also fined for a month’s worth of hard work before the matter was settled. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕.𝚝
In order to prevent such a thing from happening again, Timasion rented a house in the port.
Even so, every day, the conflicts and disputes began to increase, most of which were related to these mercenaries. Even some of the statesmen proposed to expel these mercenaries from the Union and restore peace to the Union at the meeting. Eventually, the proposal was aborted under the opposition of Agasias, Antonios, Kapus and the others, but it also made Davos feel a bit of pressure.
The time passed quickly, and by the end of November, the shipyard of Enanilus was completed. The statesmen such as Davos and the others had come to congratulate the completion of the shipyard and ordered three triremes.
The establishment of the Theonian Fleet as soon as possible has been put on the agenda of the Senate in order to protect the increasingly prosperous harbor and the maritime trade of the Union. At the same time, it is also necessary to change the embarrassing fact that the Theonia Union has no fleet and has even fewer ships than its two allies.
By the beginning of December, the assembly hall of the Senate of Thurii was completed, which finally brought an end to the sad history of the statesmen who had to go to Amendolara once they had an important meeting, which is no longer confidential and is also energy consuming. And the sorrows of the coachmen of driving them for free has also come to an end.
At the same time, the land part of the bridge on the Crati river that is still under construction has been completed, and the Thurii’s Sports Square is also about to be completed.
When the good news from various construction sites came, a small warship with a large “Λ” symbol on its sails entered the Gulf of Taranto in Magna Graecia. When the various ships saw that symbol, they had all taken the initiative to avoid it and made way for it.
Phidias, the Spartan strategos who was just over 30 years old, had taken it for granted. He then instructed the helmsman to drive straight to the harbor of Thurii without the need to avoid the ships.
In the western Mediterranean, Sparta deals with Syracuse the most and therefore has some knowledge of Sicily, but most Spartans have little understanding of Magna Graecia. Apart from seeing the athletes from the city-states of Magna Graecia at the Sport Games, they have no contact with other aspects. Because true Spartan citizens can’t do trade and do not have any trade relations with the city-states of Magna Graecia….therefore, after entering this area, Phidias looked at everything around him with interest.
After looking at the port of Thurii for a while, he then said to his entourage, Dorotheus, “There are quite a lot of merchant ships here. I think that this place is similar to Corinth.”
Dorotheus is a Perioikoi. The Periokoi are also Lacedaemon, it’s just that they are non-Spartan citizens and most of them live on the border of Laconia. They have personal freedom, and have the right to handle local affairs, but they don’t have political rights in Sparta. In the past, they mainly engaged in trades that the Spartan citizens could not engage in, but now, because of the years of war, the number of citizens in Sparta has decreased, and so, they also began to join the army. It’s because of the different occupations that he was engaged in the past that made Dorotheus have a character that was rarely seen in Sparta. He watched the ships passing through the mouth of the Crati river, then he deliberately asked, “The trade in Corinth is sluggish and it is not as lively as here. Phidias, you should’ve ask me ‘How does it compare with Athens?’”
When it comes to Athens, the face of Phidias became unsightly. Originally, when Athens was defeated, Lysander founded the “Thirty Tyrants” in Athens, to try manipulate Athens’ political situation. Although some Athenians revolted, with the full support of Sparta to this puppet government, the Athenians who were rebellious did not have wonderful days. However, King Pausanias and the elders headed by Diopetus who were at odds with Lysander, not only did they deprive Lysander of his military command, he had also advocated to the Gerousia to negotiate peace with the Athenian Democrats. In the end, the Athenian Democrats overthrew the Thirty Tyrants and established a new democratic regime. Moreover, Athens, which has learned a bitter lesson, has adopted more flexible policies than before. On the other hand, they tried to please Sparta, on the other hand, they are trying every means to restore trade and agriculture after the war. A few years have passed and the trade in Athens began to boom again.
Phidias snorted and stopped talking.
At this moment, the Theonian water patrol boat came near.
Phidias then said aloud, “I am the envoy of Sparta, I want to meet the archon of your Union!”
The water patrol did not dare to neglect him, and so they immediately sailed back to Thurii.
Diplomatic matters like the visit of Sparta are of course handled by the Senate. But it is impossible for the more than 50 statesmen of the Senate to stay in the Senate hall every day, because not every day will have big events that need them to deal with. Moreover, many of them have official posts, so Davos adopted a rotating system, that is to say, every five statesmen are on duty for one day in the Senate Hall, and the next day, the other five will take over.
Just as the patrol boat rushed to deliver the news to the Senate Hall, Davos had already received the urgent report from Aristias in his courtyard.
The envoy of Sparta is here! Davos frowned and immediately thought that Sparta might have come for Timasion and the others.
Soon, the patrol boat returned to the mouth of the river and signaled the Spartan warship to follow it.
Before coming, Phidias didn’t know anything about Thurii, and so, he did not know that the city and the harbor were not at the same place, which was similar to Athens. However, because the harbor was not connected with the city wall, it is easy to occupy the harbor once a war breaks out. Phidias looked at everything in front of him from a military point of view.
“There is no such big river in Athens, and you can see that the terrain is very flat, and the soil should be very fertile, so the agriculture in Thurii should be very good!” While his entourage, Dorotheus, looked at it from an economic point of view.
After a few kilometers of sailing, Phidias saw the watchtower of Thurii on both sides of the river. Both watchtowers have chains hanging in mid-air across the Crati river. Phidias knows that once a foreign enemy fleet breaks through the mouth of the river, the iron chain will be lowered which will then block the warship’s path to the city.
The patrol boat finally entered the dock on the north bank.
Phidias noticed that the docks, trestles, and houses on the shore were all clean and tidy, except for the docks on the outermost side which were scorched black. So, Dorotheus asked the captain of the water patrol with curiosity.
“Our archon Davos has asked us to preserve it. They are all over the city, which also includes temples, because he wants every citizen to see the ruins wherever we go and remind ourselves all the time that the city was burned down by the invaders. So we have to remember this great shame, and not let Thurii be oppressed again. Only with victory can we regain our former glory! Just a few days ago, we had repaired a ruin because we managed to capture Nerulum!”
Looking at the captain’s serious and proud expression, Phidias looked at him disapprovingly on the surface, but felt moved in his heart.
At this moment, a group of guards came.
Phidias looked at their mindset and every move, and he can see that this is a team that has been well trained. The soldiers have a strong discipline and certainly have rich practical experience. To be frank, he has never seen a patrolman that can maintain a good formation and be ready to fight at any time, in any other city-state except for the citizens of Sparta. Phidias was indeed a bit surprised.
The water patrol captain then handed over the task of escorting them to the patrol captain, Olivos, and then sailed away.
“Please come with me to the Senate, but your soldiers must stay on board!” Olivos said to Phidias with seriousness, “The Union has a rule that forbids foreign soldiers from entering the city!”
“They are Spartan warriors! They are free to go in and out of any Greek city-state!” Phidias said in a loud voice. Although it is a bit exaggerated, the Spartans do indeed have this privilege in many Greek cities in the easter Mediterranean. Hence why so many city-states are dissatisfied with them.
Olivos looked at him and said disapprovingly, “I know who you are, but I don’t care what you do in other city-states, as long as you step on the land of Theonia, you must abide by our laws!”
Phidias was very angry, but Olivos, the patrol captain, did not give in and look at him with a firm expression of “Either you abide by the rules of the Union or you leave the territory of the Union.”
Finally, Dorotheus made a compromise and allowed the Spartan soldiers to change into civilian clothing before they were allowed to go.
Phidias then angrily entered the city of Thurii. Before he came, he had heard that Thurii had been burned down by Crotone a few months ago, but now, he could hardly see any trace of it in the city. The streets are straight and wide, the new courtyards are well-spaced, and the roofs are filled with blooming flowers. Looking in the distance, you can also see that there are two long elevated aqueducts extending from the huge wheel-like devices on the river bank to the two urban areas in the east and west through the towering water tower. The river water was then drawn into several pools where the children played, there are also fountains and statues in the pool. The people also used these to draw water and to rest. The water then continues to flow through the drain holes in the several directions under the pool, along the ditch beside the street, flowing in front of thousands of houses, washing away the garbage and dust, and making the whole city clean and tidy, and with the moisture of water, the who city is full of vitality.