Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 15: Harassment by the Croton Navy

Thus, in this new village of several dozen households, mostly preparatory citizens, Agilas was elected without dispute. He had been one of the mercenaries who followed Davos to Thurii; during the encirclement battle against the Lucanian alliance, his left leg was severely wounded, and after recovery he was left lame. When the Thua Alliance was formed, and Davos came to console them—the wounded soldiers—Agilas made a request: he hoped to exchange the "allotment" originally given to him in Amendolara for land on the south bank of the Crati River. His initial purpose was simply to stay as far away from his vigorous comrades as possible, so as not to be reminded of what he had lost and feel sorrow.

With the influx of people, the farmland on the Sybaris Plain was greatly developed, and new villages rose rapidly like bamboo shoots after spring rain on that flat, fertile plain. At first, in the eyes of the dozens of new households, Agilas seemed a stern and unapproachable man. But when, under the supervision of a notary sent by the Senate, Agilas was easily elected village head, they realized he was a veteran mercenary who had followed the God-Touched One, the merciful magistrate, the undefeated general Davos, through life-and-death battles. Their gazes immediately turned somewhat awed.

Agilas was a conscientious man. Since he had become a village head, he had to fulfill his duties: maintain order in the village, resolve disputes among villagers, educate them in morals and customs, inspect the village's farmland, remind villagers to participate in military training on time, supervise their military service and tax payments, record population growth, prevent epidemics... He took care of everything, no matter how small.

Every morning at dawn he got up, leaned on his cane, and walked through every corner of the village. Sometimes he even dragged his injured leg and jumped into the mud with the villagers to repair irrigation ditches...

Months passed, and the entire village praised his performance. When they met him, their faces showed genuine respect, which made him rediscover the meaning of his own survival and struggle.

After Croton went to war with Daonia, the adult men of the village all went to fight. Spring was the planting season, and there was a clear shortage of labor. Although each household had slaves, agriculture was different from commerce or industry; the land was not that extensive, and the output was not great. Having too many slaves would only waste money and food. When labor was really tight, they could rent slaves to get through the busiest period, so each household had only one or two domestic slaves. Agilas made a special trip to the Thurii Senate, registered, and brought back thirty state slaves to help the entire village with farm work.

Apart from Agilas, a disabled man, the whole village consisted of women, the elderly, and children. The rest were all slaves, most of them able-bodied adult males. But Agilas was not worried that these slaves would cause trouble, because the alliance's law stipulated that every year on the anniversary of the founding of the Daonia City-State League (that is, October 30), in front of the Temple of Hades, a group of hardworking, well-behaved state slaves would be granted freedom. This was a reward for their obedience and also a display of Hades' mercy. Ever since this law was enacted, the work enthusiasm of state slaves had soared, and their efficiency had doubled. As for domestic slaves in the countryside, owning a slave was not easy for a farmer, and the reliance on them was great. Naturally, they treasured them, often treating slaves like family. The longer the time, the closer the emotional bond between them. The domestic slaves also had greater freedom, and as long as the master was wealthy enough to pay the redemption fee required by the alliance, many domestic slaves could gain their freedom before the master's death. Afterward, those freed slaves often returned to the master's home, continuing to help with household chores as hired workers.

With the help of slaves, the village's spring plowing was completed satisfactorily. Of course, when they were free, Agilas would also console the women and elderly in the village who were worried about their relatives away at war, drawing on his own experience.

One day, because the water wheel used to draw water from the riverbank in the village had broken down, Agilas went to Thurii city early in the morning to find someone to repair it. After finally making an appointment with a skilled carpenter, he hurried back home.

As soon as he opened the door, the female slave in the house immediately came to him and said, "The mistress is sleeping now. She didn't vomit today."

Only then did Agilas relax. He had spent most of his life on battlefields, thinking he would die in the wilderness or live a lonely life. But he never imagined that after following Davos to Magna Graecia, he could become a citizen of a city-state, receive land, marry a wife, start a family, and now even have a child on the way. This was truly the grace of Hades!

When he had first heard the news from the doctor, he was so overjoyed that he danced with excitement and immediately used his savings to buy a female slave to take special care of his pregnant wife.

"Master, please drink water," the female slave obediently offered a wooden cup filled with water.

Only then did Agilas realize how thirsty he was, but he did not drink immediately. He asked, "Has it been boiled?" Previously, Greeks were used to drinking raw water, but the highly skilled Helpus had repeatedly called on citizens in public to drink "water heated to a boil," insisting that this could reduce illness. Agilas was no stranger to this; when marching in Persia, Davos had strictly enforced the same requirement among the mercenaries. For the sake of his unborn child, he needed to take good care of his health.

The female slave nodded, and only then did he drink with peace of mind.

"Bang!" The door was suddenly pushed open with a loud crash, and a half-grown boy rushed in.

Agilas glared at him, about to scold him.

The boy said breathlessly, "Uncle Agilas, I was picking up shells at the seaside just now... I saw... I saw a big ship anchored on the beach, and a lot of people came off it. They were all carrying weapons!"

Enemy!! Agilas became alert immediately. He turned to the female slave and said, "Go quickly to the field and call Bomis (the male slave) back. Then immediately help the mistress head north and wait for me at the square in Thurii city!"

"Understood, master!" The female slave ran out of the yard like the wind.

"Boy." Agilas remembered that the boy's name was Patroclus. He was usually mischievous and often got beaten by his father, a sturdy Thasian. "When you saw those people, was there anyone else at the seaside?"

"Just me."

Agilas thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you know how to ride a mule?"

"I've secretly ridden other people's oxen and mules many times." The clever boy clearly realized the urgency of the situation and even revealed his secret, not afraid of being scolded.

"Do you know the village close to us to the south?"

"Yes, I've even fought with kids from that village."

"Uncle wants you to ride my mule and go there immediately to notify them. Tell them that I, Agilas, say: 'The enemy is coming, let them evacuate quickly!' Can you do it?"

"I can!" The boy nodded vigorously.

"Good boy!" Agilas praised him, patting his head. Suddenly he thought of something and took out from his bosom the village head seal issued by the Thurii City Administrator, pressing it into the boy's hand: "If they don't believe you, show them this."

"Yeah." The boy nodded again.

Agilas immediately led the green mule out of the livestock pen in the yard. The boy easily jumped onto its back.

"Remember, boy, after you deliver the message, rush to the wooden bridge over the Crati River and wait for us!" Agilas instructed.

"I know, Uncle." The boy shook the reins, and the green mule ran out of the yard gate.

Seeing the boy's skilled movements, Agilas was half relieved. As a veteran mercenary, he shared a similar sentiment with most of his comrades: this alliance was created with their blood and sweat, and they had the responsibility to defend it, not just to stare at their own village.

Agilas looked longingly at his house, then strode out the door, limping toward the village square to ring the bronze bell and tell the villagers to evacuate immediately.

Agilas, leading the slaves, helped the elderly and carried the young. They had barely left the village when smoke rose behind them...

The women cried out and wept for the burning village...

Agilas managed to stay calm. Based on his past experience with raids, he judged that the enemy would not immediately leave the village to give chase, so he kept urging the villagers to speed up. But his fists were clenched tightly: the first new home in the alliance had been destroyed just like that!

...

"This morning, three villages in Thurii were destroyed, fifteen people were killed, and we haven't captured a single enemy! Philistos, you have to think of something! If this continues, Victory Square will be filled with people who have lost their homes, and then the entire alliance will fall into panic! Will our citizen soldiers still have the heart to fight?" Kynogoratas said anxiously and repeatedly. As the City Administrator of Thurii, he could not stand by and watch Thurii, which had only just regained its prosperity, suffer another disaster.

"Don't worry, Kynogoratas, please sit down and discuss it calmly," Cornelius said, comforting him while also explaining for Philistos: "To be honest, the Crotonians are very cunning. They use small warships to land separately on the coasts of Thurii and Castron. They're just a few dozen sailors armed with bows and javelins. The able-bodied citizens in our villages have all gone to war; otherwise, how could they have easily succeeded in their raids! As soon as our troops arrive, these sailors flee back to their ships, and there's no way for us to catch them! There are only three battalions in the city, and they have to defend the port of Thurii and also look after Amendolara. We really don't have enough men!"

"But the problem must be solved as soon as possible!" Kynogoratas snorted. "If we lack men, we can consider using those freemen!"

"Using freemen is indeed a good idea, Kynogoratas!" At this point, Philistos, who had been deep in thought, interjected. "There are tens of thousands of freemen doing nothing at the port. If this goes on for too long, it could easily lead to unrest. Yesterday, some freemen even came to the barracks saying, 'We have no food to eat; we want the soldiers to give us something to eat.'"