Volume 4: The League of Dionia Chapter 8 :The Construction of the Bridge and the Discussions in the Great Senate

Kynogoratas sighed heavily and said with a somber expression, "When Davos originally planned to build these warehouses and inns in Amendolara, he hoped they would not only increase the treasury’s revenue but also benefit the people. If you monopolize all these warehouses and inns, and we are outsiders at that, what will the people of Amendolara think! I believe that doing business and governing a city-state are the same—they are not just about making money, but also about winning people's hearts!" Kynogoratas earnestly admonished his son, though he actually wanted to say that Davos was the example Sostratus should learn from. Through his observations over this period, he found that this young leader not only had outstanding military talent but was also a genius in politics. Every proposal he made always considered the interests of the city-state and the people, rarely taking care of his own private interests, making people almost forget that he was the only lifelong magistrate. As long as Davos could continue like this, Kynogoratas was willing to serve him.

"Father... I understand." After some thought, Sostratus replied, albeit reluctantly.

"Good that you understand." Kynogoratas smiled with relief. He recalled something and continued, "Sostratus, it seems you intend to engage in commerce and not take up public office?"

"In the Thua Alliance, can't one hold public office and engage in commerce at the same time?" Sostratus asked in confusion.

"Of course you can. Since you like spending time in the marketplace, why not become a tax collector under Mariji? But you have to pass a test first."

"Test?"

"If you can't do arithmetic, how can you be a tax collector!"

"That's too easy for me."

"In a few days, the 'Thua Alliance Public Office Law' proposed by Magistrate Davos will be promulgated. At that time, all citizens of the Thua Alliance will have the right to hold public office and receive compensation." Kynogoratas decided to give his son a hint.

"Wouldn't that be like Athens!" Sostratus exclaimed.

"It's not quite like Athens; you'll know then." Kynogoratas said calmly, but inwardly he sighed: The promulgation of this law would make the people, who already strongly supported Davos, probably love him even more! Truly a daring and remarkable young man!

...

Three months after the Thua Alliance signed the peace treaty with Croton, the road from the Sinni River ferry to Thurii was completed. The Lucanians who had participated in road construction were rewarded that day by the Thua Alliance Senate: a reduction of six months of labor service.

From then on, the Lucanians had only one and a half years of labor service left (they had reduced two and a half years by participating in the war against Croton, and another half year by capturing Melanthius and other senior officers). Of course, they and the Croton prisoners had to continue building the road to Castron.

After the road between Heraclea and Thurii was completed, the wide, flat, and sturdy road sped up travel for pedestrians and carts, reducing travel time by at least two-fifths, especially convenient for vehicles.

In fact, once the slaves and prisoners streamlined and became skilled at the road construction process, progress was very fast. The main difficulty lay in the bridges. This section of road crossed four rivers. Apart from the Sinni River, which was on the border between Amendolara and Heraclea and already had a floating bridge (it was impossible to build a bridge inside Heraclea), three other bridges had to be constructed. Davos also required that they must be flat bridges, not floating or arched bridges, to facilitate cargo transport.

Little Heracleides spent most of his time thinking about how to build the bridges. He not only consulted his father but also experienced carpenters, and even two apprentices of the Pythagorean school: what kind of geometric supports would make the bridge more stable. After careful thought, he submitted his bridge-building plan to Davos, which was approved. However, the magistrate also demanded that the prisoners not build the bridges; instead, citizen soldiers should participate in the construction.

At the same time, Davos ordered that on military training days, the soldiers must participate in road construction in the morning. Davos hoped to have the soldiers master road and bridge building skills in preparation for future campaigns.

Little Heracleides directed the soldiers to first bind pairs of felled logs together, sharpen one end, and drive them diagonally into the riverbed. Then, ten meters parallel to the piles, they symmetrically drove another pair of logs diagonally into the riverbed. Between the two sets of piles, they placed a thick log that fit into the gaps at the top of the piles (since the logs were bound in pairs). After tying them tightly, row after row of piers were completed. Then they laid planks on the piers to form the deck, and the main bridge was finished. Subsequent work was easier—adding railings and additional supports to the piers to prevent long-term water erosion, etc. After seven days, the first flat bridge, fifteen meters long and nine meters wide, spanned the Brano River.

With the experience from the first bridge, subsequent bridge construction went faster... By the third bridge, it was completed in just two days.

Upon hearing this, Davos praised Little Heracleides greatly and asked him to compile the method and steps for constructing wooden flat bridges into the "Thua Alliance Military Code" to guide campaigns.

Little Heracleides was greatly encouraged, but then he faced a headache because building a bridge over the Crati River was even more difficult. Although it was at the site of the original floating bridge west of Thurii, with the delta as a buffer, the Coseni River was still over twenty meters wide and too deep to ford. Little Heracleides had to first figure out how to drive bridge piles into the riverbed more easily and stably.

While he was pondering, Davos, to encourage and stimulate him, said, "Now the Thua Alliance is only building wooden flat bridges. In the future, we will build stone bridges, and even bridges under which triremes can pass. If you can do all that, you will surely become a master bridge builder and be remembered by later generations!"

Davos' words made Little Heracleides feel pressure but also ignited his fighting spirit...

A few days later, the reconstruction of Thurii came to a temporary halt. Countless freemen rushed to the registration office. The Registrar, Raphias, received tens of thousands of applications to become citizens of Thurii in one day, overwhelmed to the point that he had to request more staff from the Senate.

Meanwhile, the Senate was also holding a meeting to discuss building a large square capable of accommodating tens of thousands of citizens for assemblies and for mustering troops when the alliance went on campaign.

"I have no objection to building a large square. From Raphias' plea for help, we can see that our formal citizens will easily exceed ten thousand in a few years." After nearly half a year in the position of City Administrator of Amendolara, especially the three months of rebuilding Thurii, Cornelius had gained experience and confidence. He spoke calmly before the dozens of senators, eliciting knowing laughter from them.

Then Cornelius raised a question, "But I doubt whether the Senate chamber needs a venue for six hundred people. Currently, the Senate has fewer than fifty members. Building such a large hall would not only waste manpower and materials for the reconstruction of Thurii but also make it hard for us to hear each other when discussing issues in such a huge space."

Cornelius' words gained approval from some senators.

At this point, Davos stood up from the grass (the Thua Alliance senators were meeting in an open space in the camp, as the chamber had not yet been built), immediately drawing everyone's attention. Not only because building a large meeting hall was his proposal, but also for the Thurii senators who had just survived a catastrophe, Davos—as the savior of Thurii twice and the supreme ruler of the new alliance—inspired awe in those who were not yet familiar with him.

"The rebuilding of Thurii is not just about rebuilding homes for our people, but also about considering and planning for the future development of the alliance. That is why we are building better roads, better bridges, a better-located port, a larger square, more orderly neighborhoods, and elevated aqueducts never seen before... In the future, the new city of Thurii will be one of the most beautiful city-states in Magna Graecia and even the entire Greek world! Then, the Senate, as the power center of the alliance, where the elite meet daily to discuss and decide matters of life, death, development, and prosperity, a place constantly watched by the people and frequently visited by neighboring states—if it remains unchanged as before, we could be frugal, but the people would not agree. They would say, 'Look, that tiny Senate chamber does not match our beautiful city at all; it makes our lovely Thurii ugly!'"

The senators chuckled, and many nodded in agreement.

Then someone said, "Magistrate, we... could build the meeting hall to look finer without having to make it so large."

Davos found the voice somewhat unfamiliar. Looking closely, it was Polyxides, whom he had met once before. Davos nodded to him and said, "Proposing a six-hundred-seat venue is for future considerations. The Amendolara senators know that half a year ago the Senate had only a little over twenty members, and now it is nearly fifty. Perhaps in the future, we will invite other city-states or tribes to join our alliance. Should we not incorporate their elites and tribal leaders into our Senate, as we are doing now, to smoothly integrate new city-states into the alliance, stabilize the hearts of new citizens, and safeguard their interests?! For example, a year from now, Vespa's tribe may request to join us as citizens. Or Castron might one day request to join the alliance..."

The Amendolara senators knew that Davos had long planned to attack Lucania. The successful repulsion of Croton and the merger of Thurii further convinced them of Davos' ability, so there were no more objections.