Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 31: Davos's Visit (Part 4)

“Haha, that’s because he hasn’t had his fill yet himself!” Davos said, his enthusiasm growing. “Do you want to play?”

“Of course we do!!...” The young Lucanians vied to answer.

“Alright then! I’ll be quarterback. Who’s willing to team up with me and challenge the winners of their game?” Davos called out loudly.

“I will!” Kxima shouted eagerly.

Ulaza stepped forward right after him... Soon a team of fifty-five was formed. Apart from Davos and his guard captain Martius, who were Greeks, the rest were all young Lucanian tribesmen. Davos led the excited group toward the playing field, with even more Lucanians following close behind. Because of Davos’s prior instructions, the guard did not stop them, but only surrounded the fifty-five in the middle.

Sestas hurriedly grabbed Capus, hoping he would order the soldiers of the First Battalion to maintain order on the field.

The families of the Fourth Battalion were arranged to enter the city, while the Thurian senators strolled leisurely toward the field.

“Vespa, is it really true, as your son said, that you’ve become a senator in the Senate of the Dionian League?!” Hemon gazed at Vespa among the senators with awe and envy. Vespa wore the same attire as the other senators, and every gesture seemed to carry the air of a great man.

That look of envy greatly satisfied Vespa’s vanity. It wasn’t just Hemon; many old acquaintances looked at him differently now—a mix of surprise, fear, and respect. It gave Vespa a feeling of returning home in glory, and this exhilaration drowned out his guilt over having sided with the “enemy.”

“Of course it’s true!” Vespa replied emphatically. Imitating the other senators, he flicked the sleeve of his chiton, revealing the purple edging that symbolized a senator: “Didn’t the Chief Magistrate just say, ‘The League belongs to both the Greeks and the Lucanians’? So it’s perfectly normal for a Lucanian to enter the League’s Senate and become a senator!”

“Lord Davos is indeed very friendly toward us Lucanians. To earn the recognition of those young people so quickly shows that he truly has no prejudice against Lucanians! However—” Hemon pointed subtly toward the Thurian senators ahead and whispered, “Their attitude seems somewhat worse.”

“There’s no help for it! They are either from Thurii or from Amendolara, and have all suffered at the hands of us Lucanians. It’s impossible to change their attitude in such a short time. Lord Davos said, ‘It takes time to gradually change them.’ Fortunately, the Chief Magistrate mainly runs the League!” Vespa also whispered candidly.

“What do you do as a senator?” Hemon asked curiously.

“Propose suggestions, pass bills, discuss major events in the League, and assist the Chief Magistrate in finding solutions...” Vespa said with a hint of pride. “Sometimes I’m also in charge of specific matters. For instance, I’m now responsible for affairs concerning Lucanian citizens and the Lucanian region. Whenever there’s an issue related to Lucania, the Senate first consults me. I can also put forward my own suggestions and plans to safeguard the interests of the Lucanians, for example... um... um... like proposing the five percent tax on Lucanian citizens in Nerulum. Originally, the preparatory citizens in the League who leased land had to pay ten percent...” This was obviously Vespa boasting; when that proposal was passed, he hadn’t yet entered the Senate.

“Oh! You’ve done a great deed for us!...” Hemon looked at him with admiration, which made Vespa even more pleased. Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten his main task in coming to Nerulum: “But there are only two of us Lucanians in the Senate—Bacule and me. Bacule might stay in Nerulum permanently, and I’m too weak alone to argue against so many Greek senators and win more benefits for Lucanian citizens! Alas...”

“Then... can other Lucanians also become... become senators?! That way they can help you and gain more benefits for us Lucanians!” Hemon asked urgently.

Vespa laughed inwardly: *What ‘other Lucanians’—he means himself, doesn’t he! Stop pretending; don’t I know what kind of man you are, Hemon!*

He cleared his throat and said, “Of course, as long as he makes a great contribution to the League—for example, getting more Lucanian tribes to join the League, gaining the support of more Lucanians, completing some difficult tasks in the Lucanian region... and so on. If the Senate feels he can play a greater role in Lucanian affairs, then becoming a senator is an easy thing...”

Hemon listened intently, a blazing light shining in his eyes...

...

That evening, Davos and the senators listened to reports from Sestas and the others in the Chief Magistrate’s residence.

“As of today, Nerulum has registered 2,503 preparatory citizens, of whom 2,201 are Lucanians and 302 are Greeks. During these days, there have been 627 mixed marriages between Greeks and Lucanians. We have distributed 785 head of cattle and 5,400 sheep, with 203 head of cattle and 2,000 sheep remaining, intended to be fully distributed to the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion.” When Asiastes said this, Bacule immediately expressed his gratitude.

“Now all the small tribes, captives, and slaves in Nerulum have become preparatory citizens of the League. If the Fourth Battalion settles here, then Nerulum will have a total of 3,455 citizens including the preparatory citizens...” Asiastes had just finished when Davos spoke directly: “I can tell you clearly that the Fourth Battalion will settle in Nerulum, becoming the core force to stabilize and defend it!”

“That is exactly what the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion hope for! As citizens of the League, we will surely keep Nerulum firmly under the League’s control!” Bacule declared solemnly.

The senators nodded one after another, satisfied with this answer.

“Lord Sestas, Bacule, and Asiastes, you have stabilized the situation in Nerulum in such a short time and achieved so much. On behalf of the Senate, I express our sincere respect for your outstanding performance!” With that, Davos led the senators in applause.

Amid the applause, the three of them appeared visibly moved: Sestas was excited because he had proven to Davos that his abilities were no less than those of the leaders who had marched to Persia, thus drawing the attention of the Chief Magistrate; Bacule was excited because his and his Lucanian people’s performance had earned the recognition of these Greek senators, making it easier to integrate into the League; Asiastes was excited because he had shown Davos that he was capable of independent office, and perhaps next time Davos would entrust him with a more important task.

“Additionally, according to Bacule, small tribal leaders like Hemon, Kxima, and Ulaza are preparing to send people into the mountains to persuade the tribes that once fled into the hills to come down and join the League. Moreover, in the past two days, people from Laüs have come to Nerulum asking to join the League,” Asiastes added.

“Our cattle and sheep have all been distributed. What do we do?” Scombrus asked quickly.

“These tribes all have livestock; we only need to allocate land to them, and we have plenty of land,” Bacule replied.

“Even if the ‘fertile land among the hills’ is all distributed in the future, we can still allocate land in Thurii. Currently, after leasing the land in Thurii to preparatory citizens, there is still a fair amount of land left in the west (mainly the higher ground west of the Coseni and Telo Rivers), which was originally prepared to be leased to registered freemen applying for preparatory citizenship,” Davos reminded them.

Some senators nodded, while others hesitated.

“As for the matter of the people from Laüs, we need to put it aside for now. We’ll discuss it after Avinogis arrives,” Davos said hesitantly.

“Will Avinogis come?” Massisacus asked uncertainly.

“He must come!” Protesilaus said loudly. “The League helped him seize Laüs, and he hasn’t thanked us yet. Now that we have come to Nerulum, if he still doesn’t come, are we supposed to go to Laüs as the hegemon?”

“Maybe he hasn’t heard that we’ve arrived yet,” Sestas said a good word for Avinogis.

“Laüs and Nerulum have always had dealings. With so many of us and such a large presence, he couldn’t possibly not have received the news. We’ll know whether he comes or not by tomorrow. If he doesn’t come, then we need to reconsider how sincere Laüs is toward the alliance!” Davos understood that Sestas, as the Chief Magistrate of Nerulum, would need Laüs’s support in the future, but as Chief Magistrate, Davos had to think from a higher perspective.

The senators expressed agreement with Davos’s words.

“Sestas, Bacule, after you have settled the people of Nerulum, you must focus on military training. I will have Philistos send instructors to conduct the training. Break up the youths from the various tribes and mix them with Greek citizens as much as possible. If there aren’t enough Greeks, mix them with other tribes; definitely do not let the warriors from the same tribe cluster together! Also... hold as many rugby ball games as possible. I see that the young Lucanians really enjoy this game!”

“Yes, my lord. Kxima and the others have told me many times that rugby ball is much more fun than bullfighting. We Lucanians love this intense sport!” Bacule interjected.

“Then let them compete, but they must also be mixed teams of Greeks and Lucanians. That will also help the Lucanians learn to speak Greek. Oh, speaking of that, Bacule, you need to find a way to make the Lucanians in Nerulum learn to speak Greek as much as possible!”

“I’ll do my best, my lord.”