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“Cheers!!!” All the guests in the restaurant drank with joy.
“In addition, the Senate issued a notice-” The patrolman looked around and said solemnly, “That the freemen who have participated in Theonia military training can immediately register in the Nike Square, as the Ministry of Military wants to draft two thousand freemen to go to Besidiae and assist the legion in the battle-”
“Why did you not say that earlier! With only two thousand spots, I am afraid that it would only take a while for all to be taken.”
“Go! Let’s go!” Complaints soon filled the restaurant, and after a burst, most of the diners run out.
And Dicaeapolis and Tios could only look at each other.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Now there is a sea of people in Nike Square.
The Census Registry Department first has to confirm that the freemen who come to register are indeed previously registered. Then the court staff will check the records to make sure that they have not committed any crime during their stay in Theonia. Then, the military training camp officers will select those who are physically fit, young and have shown seriousness in their previous training. Only after passing all these tests will the Census Registry Department will confirm, take a note, and sign their records, which would be the basis for shortening their time to becoming a preparatory citizen in the future.
These sets of procedures were followed by hundreds of public officials of the unions alone, and the various files were stacked like a hill. To prevent accidents, they have even mobilised a thousand heavily armed reserve soldiers to maintain orders.
In fact, even though more than ten thousand freemen came to the square, they were still able to abide by the order, not because they were afraid of those soldiers staring at them, but because they knew that even if they were not selected this time, it doesn’t matter, as they do not lack the opportunity to make contributions in Theonia. There is the temple that is being built in Amendolara that is short of labour and is calling for freemen; the construction of Krimisa-Aprustum road is also calling for freemen…such large construction jobs, even though the union only provides three meals a day and minimal pay, could likewise help the freemen reach their aspirations of becoming a preparatory citizen of Theonia sooner.
However, if the freemen were to disturb the public order of the union and violate the Theonian Law, then the way to becoming a citizen of Theonia will become even more difficult, and they might even be expelled from Theonia. Therefore, even if they are not selected, these freemen would at most swear, but they would not dare to have any radical behaviours. And if someone thinks that the selection process is unfair, they could appeal it to the notary office set up by the Ministry of Investigation on the other side of the square for a reassessment.
Standing outside the Senate’s Great Assembly Hall, looking at the heated sight of Nike Square in front of him, Philesius suddenly said, “In fact, I still think that it’s better to send the soldiers of the Legion reserve to help the second legion in Besidiae. They have also undergone rigorous training, and the gap between them and the legion soldiers are not large. Compared with these freemen, they are more effective and are more able to obey orders.”
Marigi, who was next to him, asked back, “If you were to send out all the soldiers, Thurii would be empty. Then what should we do in case of an enemy attack or a big commotion happens?”
Philesius was at a loss for a moment. He then hesitatingly said, “Thurii is surrounded by either cities of the union or allies, so where would the sneak attack come?”
“We could sneak on Besidiae, so why can’t someone else sneak on Thurii?” Quibbled Marigi. In fact, what he was thinking was about Philesius, besides being good at military affairs, was a complete idiot in politics. With Davos leading the army outside, then there must definitely be an army to stay. Now the Senate members are more complex than before, so in case of chaos, they could immediately suppress it.
At this time, Mersis is on the same page as Marigi, though his explanation came from a different angle.
“Send the reserve?!” Mersis shouted, “That’s easy for you to say! Philesius, you must know how much effort Davos and I put into preparing for this war! Not only did the treasury run out of money, but we also owed a huge debt to the citizens, yet we could only provide rations for four legions to go out fighting for four months. And the rations of a reserve soldier are the same as those of a legion soldier, at least 1.5 kilograms of grain a day and two salted fish for their rations, while the rations for these freemen are much simpler that as long as they are barely fed, it would be enough. Philesius, use your head and just don’t think how to fight every time. If you were to fight without food, you would all have starved to death.”
Mersis and Philesius are old acquaintance, so Philesius naturally understood the character of this fat man. Therefore, instead of talking back, he showed acceptance with an open-mind
Behind them was Androlis, who was still shocked by the news of the victory he heard this morning.
“Androlis, didn’t you say that the city of Besidiae occupied a geographical advance and was almost impossible to capture, but how did the lord archon capture it so quickly?” Eurypus asked in confusion.
“I am also at a loss, and the messenger who brought back the news did not tell us in detail of the capturing of Besidiae.” Androlis’ mind was still filled with the thrilling images of walking along the riverside trail, and he said helplessly, “It’s true that Besidiae has a natural geographical advantage making it difficult to conquer, but who let our archon be the favoured of Hades? With the blessing of Hades, even with the greatest difficulties, it would just be a breeze for him. You can ask him for the details after he returns victoriously.”
“It seems that the lord archon is really very powerful in commanding the citizens to battle. Eurypus, why don’t we apply to him and join these legions of Theonia as well.” Pleitinas suggested.
“I had already inquired about it. The unique legion system created by the archon is quite different from the military system of an ordinary city-state. Every promotion in the army has a strict assessment. Even if it’s you and me, who are statesmen of the Senate, must also start training again from the military camp as we are not familiar with the tactics and the military formations…” Eurypus was still quite angry about this. To think that he, who had an honourable status as a nobleman of Krimisa and now a statesman of the Theonian Senate, had to sweat and train together with those poor freemen, according to Philesius of the Ministry of Military, who was a former mercenary,
“If we need to train, then train. Could it be that we are no better than those freemen?!” Pleitinas did not mind it at all.
Listening to their arguments, Androlis could only sigh. It seems that it is not only him that have accepted the fact that he became a citizen of Theonia, but so did Pleitinas and Eurypus. Even though he has been the polemarchos of Krimisa for several years, the plundering of a small Bruttian tribe had made him and the city-state people worry, while in Theonia, just by sitting in the Senate alone is enough to decide the life and death of the whole Bruttii race! There is an old saying that, “the higher you stand, the more scenery you can see. And the more you are used to eating delicious food, the more you naturally looked down on those hard bread.”
On the other side of the terrace, Kunogelata and Cornelius are talking about another issue.
“With the occupation of Besidiae, it seems that the day of our conquest of Bruttii will soon come!” Cornelius couldn’t help sighing as he watched Theonia move from weak to strong for only two years.
On the other hand, Kunogelata was considering more lasting issues, “However, it would be a big problem on how to deal with the Bruttians after they are defeated!”
Cornelius thought for a moment and said with uncertainty, “We should govern the Bruttians the same way as we govern the Lucanians!”
Kunogelata considered it for a moment and then said, “The Bruttians are different from the Lucanians…” Here, he stopped talking and couldn’t help but shake his head again, ‘How far would the war would go on? What agreement would be signed?’ It is still too early to consider this as it is still impossible to predict the outcome. However, if they were to conquer the Bruttii region, then from now on, Thurii will be completely safe!
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the Sicilian island of Motya, the war still continuing, in the same way, day after day. The people of Motya are all soldiers, and despite the heavy casualties, they still did not give in. The Syracusans’ attack advanced bit by bit, but they still failed to occupy the whole city despite their considerable cost.
As time went on, Dionysius became more and more anxious that it even made him execute two guards for petty reasons.
Finally, he realised that a forceful attack on Motya was not good. After accepting the proposal of the former mercenary leader Marsyas, he decided to organise a death squad to sneak into the area defended by the Motyans at night.
Fortunately, his gamble succeeded. After a short but fierce battle, they finally shattered the resistance of the Motyans.
However, the Greek soldiers had no desire to grab and loot their spoils at all. Having lost too many of their comrades in the previous battle, the only thing they wanted was to exact revenge. And with the atrocities of the Carthaginian general – Hanibal* ten years ago still fresh in their minds, they had also decided to be as cruel and ruthless as the Carthaginians had been towards the Greek cities, and so the massacre began. (This Hannibal is not the Hannibal during the Roman era. There were many Carthaginian generals named Hannibal in the different periods of Carthage, and this Hannibal is also more famous as the head of the Magonids.)
After a day of continued slaughter, which Dionysius eventually put a stop to, not because he was merciful, but because he thought that the dead could not become captives, hence the victorious soldiers turned their pleasure in slaughtering to plundering, looting this city of Carthage of everything of value and selling all the captives as slaves.
Dionysius then left a group of men to guard this empty city, which was filled with corpses, and another to continue attacking Segesta while leading the rest of his army back to Syracuse. At this moment, the Carthaginians still have a few coastal cities left in the northwest corner of Sicily, such as Eryx, Salus, and Palermo. It was not that he did not want to eliminate the remaining Carthaginians in Sicily completely, but that the rations he had prepared for his army were almost gone, and as it was already October, the winter is approaching. Thus he decided to return to the city for the winter and come back next spring to solve Segesta.
The fall of Motya is a great honour for Dionysius and a great victory for the Greek city-states that had never been accomplished in the history of Sicily. For the Carthaginians, however, it was the greatest blow. With the loss of Motya, the Carthaginian cities on the continent of Africa will face the Greek forces in Sicily directly, seriously threatening their safety.