Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 6: Pregnancy

Third, Croton will not interfere with Castron becoming an ally of the Thua Alliance, but Crimissa must remain neutral. (After all, Crimissa is very close to Croton; joining the Thua Alliance as an ally would be like a dagger pressed against Croton's belly. Lysias naturally could not agree, and Mariji did not insist, because the Thua Alliance did not yet have enough strength to help Crimissa defend against enemy attacks. However, Davos still decided to release the Crimissa prisoners after six months, in accordance with the ransom terms agreed upon with Croton. The Crimissa envoy expressed endless gratitude and promised: "We will no longer be enemies with the Thua Alliance!")

Fourth, the Thua Alliance must not form an alliance with Locri or sign any agreement directed against Croton. (This was a strong demand from Lysias. Mariji pretended to find it difficult, but in fact Davos had privately told him: "For now, there are no plans to ally with Locri, to avoid provoking Croton and Tushu and causing the negotiations to fail." Mariji used this as leverage to force Lysias to make concessions in other areas.)

Fifth, from the date the agreement was signed, Croton and the Thua Alliance would maintain peace for three years. Upon expiration, the situation would be reviewed for renewal.

…

The Croton delegation returned to their mother city with the preliminary draft agreement. After it was confirmed by the Council, they entered the city of Thurii again.

The observant Lysias noticed that the walls of Thurii no longer showed signs of smoke and fire damage. The collapsed sections had all been repaired with newly laid stones and bricks, coated with mortar, and from a distance they looked as good as new. He was shocked by the Thuriians' high labor efficiency and enthusiasm. In truth, he no longer wished to have any conflict with the Thua Alliance, but before leaving, Myron had repeatedly reminded him: even if a ceasefire agreement was to be signed, it should not exceed two years.

Lysias understood: the majority of Croton's generals and Council members, led by Myron, were unwilling to accept this defeat and were still preparing for future revenge! Croton was famous throughout Greece for its athletic competitions, and its people's character was stamped with the tenacious quality of athletes who never admitted defeat. In this respect, they were somewhat similar to the Amendolara people in the Thua Alliance, whom he had interacted with for over two days.

Lysias sighed softly and led his group into Thurii's camp again.

Except for changing the duration to "two years," the rest of the ceasefire agreement had no major alterations. Both sides sacrificed livestock to Apollo, loudly recited the names of the gods, issued the sacred oath that "neither Croton nor the Thua Alliance will violate the ceasefire agreement," and finally signed the names of their respective city-states and their own names. (Why sacrifice to Apollo? Because both Croton and Thurii previously revered Apollo as the patron god of their city-state, which made both sides more likely to abide by the agreement.)

The agreement was reached. Lysias was eager to return, and Davos and the others did not try to detain him. Before seeing Lysias off onto the ship, Davos said sincerely, "I hope Croton and the Thua Alliance will never go to war again!"

Lysias felt that Davos's sharp gaze had seen through Myron's schemes. He then said, "By Apollo, that is also my sincere hope!"

Standing at the bow of the ship, looking at the still-bustling construction site of Thurii and the merchant ships shuttling back and forth at the mouth of the harbor, Lysias left Thurii with a heart full of worry…

Davos and his group watched the Croton ship disappear from the dock.

Cornelius let out a long breath. "Now we're safe!"

"Yes, temporarily safe! I'm afraid that in two years, Croton will attack us!" Kynogoratas said calmly.

"That's right. Otherwise, they wouldn't have specifically demanded to shorten the term of peace. So we must make full use of these two years to make the Thua Alliance strong as soon as possible, so that any power coveting us will not dare to invade!" Davos encouraged them all.

"Well said!" The others were also stirred with ambition.

"Magistrate, regarding the reparations money in the ceasefire agreement---" Mariji immediately wanted to make a request.

Davos interrupted him and said, "All those reparations will go to the treasury and be managed by Mesis."

Mesis immediately beamed.

"Its use will be planned, managed, and disbursed by the Reconstruction Council, just like the supplies we recaptured earlier. They will all be used for the people's daily expenses, city reconstruction, and public works. Any department that needs to spend money must submit an application to the Council. Only after approval will funding be granted, and the Treasurer must oversee the process!"

After Davos finished speaking, Mesis winked at Mariji, who turned away in anger, unwilling to look at him.

"In addition, on the first day of each month, Mesis, you must give a detailed report on the treasury's receipts and expenditures at the Senate meeting. If there are any mistakes, you will bear full responsibility!" Davos said sternly.

"Yes," Mesis replied weakly.

"Alexis, go and inform the prisoners of the agreement. Since the Crotonians won't let these prisoners go to the mines, we'll have them build roads. Build a main road connecting Heraclea, Amendolara, Thurii, and Castron. Have Heracleides' son, that---"

"Little Heracleides."

"Yes, him. Let him serve as the commander of the entire road project. According to the previous blueprint, he will lead a group of craftsmen to supervise and manage the work."

"Very well, Magistrate." Alexis, the Overseer of Construction, responded.

"I can understand building a road connecting Heraclea, Amendolara, and Thurii. But why connect Castron? If Croton might attack in two years, Castron won't be able to hold out anyway. Won't building a road just make it easier for the enemy to advance?" Antistanos asked doubtfully, and the other Thurii senators showed concerned expressions.

Davos explained seriously, "By building the road to Castron, our exchanges of people and trade with Castron will become more frequent, our ties will become closer, and Castron will become more dependent on us. With a road, our army and supplies can also reach Castron faster. Castron is now our ally, and we have a responsibility to defend its safety. Moreover, Castron will be our frontline for defending against enemies to the south. Of course, building a road will also make it easier for the enemy to attack us. So we will do our utmost to stop the enemy outside our territory, preventing them from using our roads."

Antistanos and Kynogoratas looked thoughtful. The others were either greatly encouraged or half-convinced…

After a busy day, Davos returned to his tent late at night and found someone waiting for him inside.

"Andria, why are you here? Has something happened to Cheiristoya?!" Davos asked hastily.

Andria bowed respectfully. "Honorable Magistrate, my lady has been seeing you busy with the reconstruction of Thurii recently and didn't want to disturb your work, but I thought you should know about this."

"What is it?!" Davos pressed urgently.

"A few days ago, my lady kept vomiting and couldn't eat. I suspected she might be pregnant. I had Helpus examine her, and it turned out to be true." As Andria finished speaking, Davos's face lit up with joy, and he asked again, "Christhoya is really pregnant?!"

"It's true, sir."

"Great! Great!..." Davos excitedly hugged Andria and spun her around several times, completely ignoring Andria's shy expression.

He shouted outside, "Martius! Martius!"

"Sir, what's the matter?" Martius entered.

"Go and bring the horses quickly! I'm going back to Amendolara!" Davos said urgently.

"Sir, it's too late now. The road might be unsafe. It's better to return tomorrow," Martius advised.

"I can't wait! Christhoya is pregnant! I'm going to be a father! I want to go see her immediately! Immediately!!" Davos said with firm excitement.

"Sir, congratulations! This is a gift from Hera! In that case, we'll escort you back," Martius said happily.

"Good!"

A group of men rode out of the camp. The urgent hoofbeats woke up many in the camp: "Who's riding in the camp so late? That's against the rules!"

"I heard the magistrate's wife is pregnant, and he's rushing home!"

"Really? That's wonderful news!!"

Late at night, cheers erupted from the originally quiet camp.

Davos hurried home, thumped up the stairs, and saw a small head poking out of a doorway, looking around warily.

"Cynthia!" He scooped up his little daughter and gave her a big kiss. "Why aren't you asleep at this hour? I'll have to spank you!"

"You woke me up," Cynthia said, wiping away the saliva on her cheek with her little hand and pouting in complaint.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I apologize," Davos said with a grin, stroking her head. "Where's your little brother?"

"Sleeping inside."

"And your mother?"

Cynthia hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the master bedroom.

Davos put her down and gently patted her bottom. "Go back to sleep now." He then strode toward the master bedroom.

Christhoya was looking over account books under the oil lamp. She heard footsteps, turned her head, and was surprised. "Why are you back?"

"If I hadn't come back, you would have kept it from me, wouldn't you?!" Davos said, pretending to be angry. He sat down beside Christhoya, wrapped an arm around her, and lightly patted her full, shapely backside twice. "How dare you not tell me we have a child! Don't you think you deserve punishment!"

"So you know." Christhoya immediately wrapped her arms around Davos's neck. "Andria told you?"

"Good thing she told me in time!" Davos pointed to the thick account books on the table and scolded, "You're not taking good care of yourself—or our child! From now on, leave these matters to Andria and the others. You just stay home and rest well, so our child can grow up healthy here!"