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“I had led my people to build new roads and residential areas for the Thua Union, and I had also led my people to participate in the battle against Crotone, and now, we have captured Nerulum. Hence why I had become a statesman of the Senate!” said Bagul with pride, “And even though my father didn’t do anything else, he had bravely led more than 2,000 people to join a Greek Union, which no other Lucanians had ever done before. He created a history and had agreed and encouraged me to lead our people to do everything for the Union, and so, Lord Davos has invited him to join the Senate!”

Everyone could only exclaim in admiration.

Asistes also stressed, “The Senate is open to any citizen in the Union. As long as you make enough contribution to the Union, the Senate will take the initiative to invite you!….”

Hemon nodded with understanding.

“But, what if Grumentum, Pyxous, and even Potentia attack Nerulum, who had just joined Thua Union?” Someone asked with concern.

“I think you all know very well that Grumentum and Pyxous are currently fighting each other, they are in such a mess that they wouldn’t be able to care about us in a short time. And even if they attack, there is nothing for you to be afraid of, because we have Lord Davos!” Said Asistes in a loud voice, this sentence is worth thousands of words, which immediately relieved everyone’s worries.

“I am willing to lead my people to join Thua Union!” Said Kesima, standing up.

“I am willing as well!” Said Ulasa, while also standing up.

“I won’t let Vespa be proud of himself in the Senate!” Hemon stood up, as well.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Seeing that almost all the guests are willing to join and become a preparatory citizen of the Union, Bagul and Asistes looked at each other and smiled. They then raised their glasses and said, “Let’s drink to the Thua Union, which belongs not only to the Greeks but also to the Lucanians.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning, the troops of Avinoges opened the city gate and the army of Thua Union joined them. After easily defeating the garrison of Lucania, he finally rushed into the residence of the great chieftain. When they caught Tula, the great chieftain of Laos, he was shivering in his bed, and next to him lay a female Greek slave who had been strangled to death, with her body turned cold. Then the angry Thua Union soldiers immediately pierced his chest with their spears.

Avinoges then graciously invited Philesius to lead his troops to camp in the city, but was politely refused by Philesius, “Laos has just been recaptured, and the order in the city still needs to be rectified. If there are too many soldiers in the city, I am afraid that it will cause chaos to you and affect the friendship between Laos and Thua Union! We will rest outside the city for a while, and then leave. Lord Davos had explained it to us before we came here!”

The persistence of Philesius and the initiative of the Thua Union for the sake of Laos made Avinoges very moved. So, he gave Philesius half of the money and livestock that they have seized to show his gratitude.

Philesius did not refuse it. In addition to the loot that they seized in Nerulum, the Thua Union has gained a lot in this campaign. According to the order of the Senate, all the livestock will be left to Nerulum for Sesta to use in assisting the Lucanians who had joined the Thua Union, while most of the money will be brought back to Thurii, part of it will be use as military funds, and another part of it will be turned over to the treasury, and a small part will be given to the soldiers as rewards. The weapons that they had seized will be donated to the soldiers’ council free of charge.

Philesius then left the second and fourth brigades to guard Nerulum for the time being, and then led the rest of the troops to leave Laos with only 5 days’ worth of rations. Then they came to the entrance of the pass and the whole army stopped and began to build their camp according to the order of Philesius.

Alobamus, who was accompanying him, was surprised.

In the face of Alobamus’s inquiry, Philesius replied truthfully, “The order of the Senate* was, ‘After capturing Laos and Nerulum, the army must build a fortress at the entrance of the mountain pass and send soldiers to guard it in order to prevent the invasion of Lucania in the north in the future. So that even after they encircle Nerulum, they won’t be able to hinder the support of Thua Union to Nerulum and Laos by blocking the mountain road.’”

Alobamus was silent for a moment and asked, “What about the trade and personnel exchanges between Laos and Nerulum in the future….”

“It won’t be affected! They can pass through the fortress without any fee!” Said Philesius affirmatively.

In order not to destroy the good alliance relation that had just been established between Laos and Thua Union, Alobamus had no choice but to express his approval. In fact, both sides understand that building a fortress here and protecting the mountain road connecting to Thurii, is not only for the Thua Union to smoothly support Nerulum in the future against the army of Lucania, but also, if one day, Laos betrays the alliance or there are other abnormalities, the army of Thua Union can still go through the fortress and go straight to the city of Laos. This is an open conspiracy!

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Early in the morning, many Lucanians, who wanted to join the Union, and to rent livestock and farmland, have swarmed into the temporary residence of Sesta.

Sesta was very happy to let Bagul and the soldiers of the fourth brigade to maintain the order and act as his interpreters. And the deputies of the census officer and agricultural officer were all prepared.

Household registration, signing, fingerprint….

Writing lease contract, signing, seal….

However, more and more Lucanians came. Not only because of the group effect, but also because of the 《Intermarriage Law》 that Thua Union had announced in order to quickly consolidate the newly occupied Nerulum, which have made some smart Lucanians to realize that they must get the benefits from Thua Union quickly, else the Greeks from Thurii will rob them.

On the northwest of Nerulum is the Lao River, on the other side of the river is a mountain that is not too steep. To the southeast is a narrow and flat valley less than a kilo-meter wide, which leads directly to Laos. Further east, there are continuous and insurmountable mountains, with only one path leading to Thurii. Only in the northeast on the area between the upper reaches of the Lao river and the upper reaches of the Agri river, although the terrain is high, the soil is still fertile and it used to be the settlement of many small tribes, and later fell under the control of Nerulum. The shape of this area is irregular, the terrain is rugged, and part of it is divided by mountains, which is not easy to measure and distribute. Therefore, Bagul suggested to Sesta that the land be divided according to the number of tribes, and the tax will be collected by the chieftains of each tribe. And those Lucanians without tribes will have lands allocated to them separately*. This will save them time and manpower and avoid direct friction and conflict between the Union and the Lucanians of Nerulum. (note: In fact, this situation is relatively rare.)

Sesta agreed with the suggestion of Bagul after he considered the peculiarity of the mountain area in Lucania and the Lucanian tribes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Just as Sesta was racking his brain on how to govern Nerulum, Davos received an urgent report on the situation on the west, it was the victory of Nerulum and Laos that he had already expected, and the only part of his uneasiness caused by the fact that he did not lead it directly was eliminated. He has repeatedly warned himself that he cannot follow the steps of Napoleon. The Mediterranean is very large, and Thua Union will inevitably encounter many enemies in the future, so he needs more excellent commanders who can independently command operations.

The performance of Sesta in Nerulum was beyond his expectation, however…after handing the papyrus roll over to Aristocrates and asked him, with a slight anger, “What do you think about Sesta allowing the Greek slaves to slaughter the Lucanian captives?”

After he made the decision to let Asistes assist Sesta in governing Nerulum, Davos did not intend to let Asistes return to be his clerk. The young eagle will eventually grow up and fly in the vast sky independently, but he still needs to find another candidate.

Davos remembered Aristocrates, who had faced Plesinas, who had come to demand the return of the slaves that fled to Amendolara. He was able to defend himself calmly and moved the Senate, and so, he sent Aristias to look for him, and turns out, he ends up working in Cheiristoya’s new restaurant in Thurii, and when Aristias told him that Lord Davos needs a secretary*, he readily accepted it. (because the clerk is a public office, and Aristocrates is only a freeman, so he cannot be appointed as one.)

As a result, when Davos came home that night, Cheiristoya complained that he dug people into her own place, and finally carried out her “revenge” and had almost squeezed him dry….

“Milord, I don’t know anything about Nerulum, so I can’t comment about it.” Aristocrates, who had suffered a lot since childhood, was much more cautious than Asistes.

Davos glanced at him, ‘Is this a subtle reminder to me?’

Davos thought for a moment and said slowly, “You are right. About the situation of Nerulum, Sesta knows it better than us. Since he was appointed to manage Nerulum, we should just let him do what he thinks is right…but I didn’t expect that Sesta, who was usually ordinary in normal times, would act so straightforwardly and violently, which is much more fiercer than me!”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Because the Senate Hall of Thurii has not yet been completed, the meeting of the Senate in the afternoon was still held in Amendolara.

At the meeting, Davos announced loudly that the Thua Union had successfully captured Nerulum and helped Avinoges recapture Laos.

Although the statesmen had already received the news before the meeting, they still cheered loudly.

Then Davos said passionately, “Everyone, from today on, the Thua Union will now have the territory of Thurii, Amendolara, and Nerulum, and we also have two allies, Roscianum and Laos, who are our main allies. Although Krimisa is still neutral and Poseidonia is still in the hands of the Lucanians, we now have Nerulum. In addition to the shortage of population, and the prosperity of trade and prestige not being enough, but we, Thua Union, has basically restored the territory and allies of Sybaris a hundred years ago, and with this, we will recreate the glory of Sybaris in Magna Graecia once more!”

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