Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy Chapter, 41: The Deployment of Daonia

Georgios was considered wealthy in Amendolara (actually, his wife was), owning ten acres of hillside land there, all planted with olive trees over a decade old, and he had his own oil press to make olive oil. Originally, the household only had a simple cart, mainly used to transport finished olive oil to the port of Thurii. Ever since Dania married Georgios, considering his frequent trips between Thurii and Amendolara for military training and handling military affairs, and to give her husband some prestige, she specially purchased a passenger carriage for him to ride in. In truth, Georgios spent most of his time on horseback.

Though there weren't many travelers on the road yet at this hour, all carriages departed in sequence. The Amendolara—Thurii Road had been completed for nearly a year now, and through usage, the people—guided by the Alliance—had formed some customary rules for safety and convenience.

Now the Alliance's Road Bureau had been established, and Little Heracleides had been smoothly elected as its head. According to leaked news, he planned to immediately tackle two matters: first, to submit to the Senate a "Daonia Road Maintenance and Usage Bill," which would convert these folk road rules into formal, universally adopted road regulations for the Alliance, improving road efficiency; second, he intended to propose new road design plans and a road renovation project to Magistrate Davos.

The driver urged the pair of horses forward at a steady trot. The wooden wheels, bound with iron bands, spun rapidly over the flat road with a clattering bang.

Inside the jostling carriage, Georgios listened to his wife’s chatter while mulling over the bits he'd heard about the newly established road department.

“I plan to buy four more slaves tomorrow,” his wife said, catching his attention.

“Aren’t we already using enough slaves at home?” Georgios asked, puzzled.

“You were just allotted three acres of land in Crimissa, which I haven’t seen yet, but I hear it’s good land. According to the Alliance’s Agricultural Affairs Department regulations, it can only be used for planting wheat. You’re busy with Alliance military duties now—when would you ever have free time to go all the way to Crimissa to work the fields? So of course I need to buy more slaves to tend the farmland for us year-round out there,” Dania explained.

“Only three acres—no need for that many slaves. Just supporting them would cost a lot,” Georgios said. He’d been poor for so long and still kept the good habit of thrift.

“Darling, you don’t realize—nowadays, almost every ordinary citizen family in Daonia has at least two or three slaves. Everyone understands that only by freeing the adult men’s time for military training can they build achievements in war, win honors, and gain more land and benefits. The slave market built at the Port of Thurii only half a year ago has already expanded several times over. The price of an ordinary slave has risen from an initial 160 drachmas to 200 drachmas. If I don’t buy a few more now, when we want to buy later, the price might already have climbed to 300.”

“Besides, with extra slaves, we can send them to Crimissa to speed up plowing our fields, dig irrigation ditches, and rush to plant wheat seedlings. Once the work there is done, we can also send a few back to the oil press in Amendolara to help transport jars and look after our olive oil stall at the port… and when the busiest autumn comes and we need more labor to harvest wheat, beat olives, press oil, grind flour, and all that farm work, we’ll have enough slaves—no need to hire temporary labor, which wastes money and isn’t efficient either…” Dania explained in detail to Georgios.

Georgios didn’t really understand all this, but he trusted his wife’s ability, so he nodded. “Since that’s the case, do as you see fit.”

Dania happily nestled into Georgios’s arms.

The carriage stopped at the southern gate of Thurii. According to regulations, carriages were not allowed inside the city, so the couple had to get out and walk. Slaves followed behind, carrying his weapons and equipment.

Along the way, they could see many citizens accompanied by their wives, and even elderly people and children came to see them off.

Ever since Davos set the example (he often appeared in public with Christhoya), and with the large influx of Lucanians, the traditional Greek polis custom of keeping the wives of citizens at home and rarely showing their faces was hardly observed anymore in Daonia.

"Georgios! Georgios!"

Georgios heard someone calling him and turned to look—it was Olivus.

He hurried over with his Persian wife, Mitra.

After exchanging greetings, Olivus said excitedly, "I heard you're back with the First Army Corps this time!"

"Captain Heilos has been appointed Chief Magistrate of Asperustum, so I'm just temporarily filling his vacancy," Georgios still kept the old habit from his time in Persia, calling Heilos "Captain."

"Temporary! Don't be naive—Davos will definitely keep you in the First Army Corps!" Olivus puckered his lips and gave a mysterious smile.

"Why?" Georgios asked, puzzled.

"Because serving as a battalion commander in the First Army Corps makes it easier to be appointed legion commander of other corps." Olivus leaned in and whispered, "I heard that yesterday Davos submitted a motion to the Senate that has already passed: from now on, anyone who serves as a legion commander for five years and shows outstanding performance can, after being nominated by senators, become a member of the Senate!"

Before Georgios could speak, Dania, who had been eavesdropping, said excitedly, "So that means my husband will become a senator someday!"

Olivus glanced at her and smiled. "He will, but only after me. Becoming a senator isn't just about being good at fighting—you also need administrative ability. You have to be like me: not only serving as Patrol Captain of Thurii in peacetime, but also hiring a private tutor to teach me to read, do arithmetic, and give speeches. Next year, I'm planning to run for Deputy Agricultural Affairs Officer and Commercial Officer…"

Dania looked at her silent husband and made a secret resolve: from now on, she would push him to study harder and get involved in more local affairs instead of just drilling recruits in the Military Affairs Department… and so on.

Olivus's gaze fell on her again. He found it interesting: honest, simple Georgios had married a sharp wife—a good match.

He studied Dania closely and suddenly showed a surprised expression. "You're pregnant?"

Dania proudly stroked her belly. "Five months along!"

"My wife is also pregnant!" Olivus announced just as proudly, and Mitra shyly lowered her head.

"Of all the mates in our squad, I guess only Captain Heilos and Matonis are left unmarried," Georgios said suddenly.

"You're so out of the loop! Kynogoratas has his eye on Heilos—wants him to be his son-in-law. He even asked Davos to play matchmaker. Davos has agreed. With Davos as the go-between, how can that blockhead Heilos refuse? And as for Matonis, didn't you notice he was acting a little strange when we left Crimissa?" Olivus gave a sly grin. "I had one of my men secretly ask around his battalion. Turns out that big lunk has fallen for some girl in Crimissa… Hahaha!"

"Really?!" Georgios looked delighted.

"Of course it's true! But don't go asking him—he might punch you, and I'll get dragged into it," Olivus warned.

…

The Daonia Alliance, in accordance with its treaty obligations, dispatched troops not only to quickly defeat Locri, but also to take this opportunity to display the alliance's military might among the southern Italian city-states, thereby increasing its influence in the region. For this reason, Daonia not only sent its elite First Army Corps, but also ensured that any company in the First Army Corps with vacancies due to casualties or illness could be replenished with experienced soldiers drawn from other corps. Even the personnel responsible for transporting supplies were made up of over a thousand mercenaries led by Xanthiparis. This not only guaranteed the safety of the supplies, but also served as a strong reserve for the combat troops. Naturally, Davos and Philistos also had their private hopes—that these former comrades-in-arms could distinguish themselves again and soon become Daonia preparatory citizens.

The First Army Corps, numbering over 7,000 men, plus a supply escort force of 1,500 men—nearly 9,000 troops in total—along with countless pack animals and supply wagons, formed a massive column. After being reviewed by Davos and the Senate in Victory Square, the army set off southward in great strength.

Locri first heard about the Daonia Alliance (it wasn't called that back then) during the First Croton War. Croton's great army had been defeated and captured by the much smaller Amendolara force.

Beyond their initial surprise, the people of Locri were elated. They were very happy to see a polis appear north of Croton capable of causing Croton trouble. Following the principle that "an enemy's enemy is a friend," Locri sent envoys to contact Amendolara, hoping to establish an alliance and jointly deal with Croton. But the Amendolara people gave no response; instead, they signed a truce with Croton and returned the several thousand Crotoniate soldiers—captives—half a year later. And during the negotiations, Locri was even used by the Amendolara as a bargaining chip to threaten Croton into agreeing to the truce. Thus, Locri began to bear a grudge against Amendolara.

Six months later, the Second Croton War broke out. Croton's army invaded the Daonia Alliance again, which had formed around Amendolara as its core. Locri, letting out a breath of satisfaction but not forgetting that their great enemy was Croton, quickly sent envoys to try once more to ally with Daonia. Due to various factors, the envoy Metrophanes wasn't able to get in contact with Davos in time. However, Croton's great army was crushingly defeated on the Trionto River just a few days later, leaving only a few thousand men retreating to Crimissa to resist the counterattacking Daonia forces.