Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 45: Crossbows

“两位最近在研究什么？”戴弗斯笑着问道。

“Besides helping the Coinage Committee of the Senate design the molds and tools for silver coins, we’ve mainly been studying pulleys recently,” Mentotikels answered honestly.

“Pulleys?!” Davos’s heart stirred at the word.

“Last year, when you defeated Croton and annexed Thurii, didn’t Archytas come to Amendolara?” Matikoris said casually.

Davos nodded, unfazed.

“He saw our newly built water wheels and was very interested, so he discussed their working principles with us. At the same time, he mentioned that he had recently developed an interest in mathematical mechanics and had started researching the application of pulleys…” Matikoris said somewhat sheepishly, “So… I…” He glanced at Mentotikels, “We started… studying pulleys…”

Davos understood. Though Archytas was an important figure and mathematical genius of the Pythagorean school, while the two in front of him were just ordinary disciples, academically they had a competitive spirit that rivaled anyone’s—especially Matikoris, who possessed boundless energy, strong curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge. Now, with a comfortable life, he poured all his energy into research, eager to compete with Archytas in scholarship.

“How is the research progressing?” Davos gently interrupted Matikoris’s stammering. Although he had returned much of the science he’d learned in his previous life to his teachers, he still knew what a pulley was—basic middle-school physics.

“We’ve already established a mathematical formula for why pulleys reduce effort, and we’ve verified it multiple times. Of course, using those numerical symbols you invented saved us a lot of time and effort. Now we’re further experimenting with combinations of multiple pulleys to perfect the theory… When that’s done, this discovery will surely change the entire Mediterranean world! Can you imagine a single person using pulleys to lift a huge stone dozens of meters high?! Can you imagine a single person using pulleys to haul a small boat all by themselves!…” Once Matikoris started talking about mathematics, his eyes lit up and he gesticulated wildly.

Davos wasn’t as surprised as they expected. Instead, he smiled and said, “I believe your research and invention will bring great convenience to the lives of the alliance’s citizens!”

The two exchanged glances, a little deflated. As the God-Touched One of Hades, Davos seemed to have already foreseen the future development of a mathematical study, leaving them without any sense of scholarly superiority standing before him.

Matikoris could only grumble, “If you hadn’t made us help them mint coins, our research could have progressed even faster!”

“Isn’t minting coins proving your abilities to the Pythagorean school?!” Davos laughed. When he had first entrusted coinage to Tritodemos, he hadn’t actually considered these two Pythagorean disciples. It was Tritodemos’s difficulty meeting Davos’s high demands that led him to seek out Davos and request Matikoris and Mentotikels’ help. Decades ago, after Pythagoras was driven out by the people of Croton, he had stayed in Metapontum and designed exquisite coin molds for them, making the coinage of that obscure Greek city in Magna Graecia highly popular. That was why Tritodemos thought of asking the Pythagorean disciples for assistance.

“Compared to the era of Teacher Pythagoras, our school’s research on coin mold design has become more refined, so—” Mentotikels started modestly, but Matikoris snorted: “But they didn’t have hydraulic presses, so the silver coins we mint are definitely better than theirs!”

Having spent so much time with them, Davos had come to understand these two young men. Initially, most of the Pythagorean school had been unwilling to come to the remote little town of Amendolara, so they forcibly assigned these two obscure foreign disciples—a heavy blow to the sensitive Leontini-born men. Under Davos’s long-term, deliberate guidance, the two, once low in status within the school, had gradually deviated from and disagreed with some of the school’s doctrines, and now had a mind to compete with their former teachers and classmates.

Davos smiled slightly, pulled out a piece of papyrus, and said, “I have a drawing here of a kind of device that involves the use of pulleys. I wonder if you can build it?”

“Let me see! Let me see!” The moment Davos finished speaking, Matikoris snatched it from his hands impatiently.

Mentotikels leaned in to look at the drawing and asked, “What is this device called?”

“The Syracusans call it a ballista. They say it can shoot stones weighing over a dozen pounds several hundred meters. A dozen or so days ago, the Syracusans used it to repel Carthaginian reinforcements.” Davos spoke calmly, but inside he was far from composed.

When Aristilas reported the details of the Battle of Motya to Davos, he was very surprised. Daonia’s stone-throwers were still in the experimental phase, while Syracuse’s ballistas and belly bows had already appeared in large numbers at Motya and had successfully sunk many Carthaginian warships. Their power and accuracy far surpassed Daonia’s crude stone-throwers, revealing the gap between Syracuse and Daonia in military engineering technology. This put pressure on Davos, and he immediately ordered Aristilas: at any cost, obtain the blueprints of Syracuse’s ballista!

For Aristilas, who hated Syracuse, this was a welcome order. After paying a considerable price, he obtained this rough sketch of a Syracusan ballista.

Hearing the name “Syracuse,” the two scholars, who had also lost their mother cities, studied the drawing even more intently, as if trying to bore into it with their eyes.

“Mentotikels,” Davos then asked, “Last time I mentioned the matter of attracting and recruiting more of your schoolmates to Daonia to expand the Research Institute and further promote the study of mathematical theory and its applications—how is that progressing?”

Mentotikels reluctantly tore his gaze away from the drawing and said helplessly, “Magistrate, ever since the school strongly condemned the two of us for violating rules and teaching publicly, many schoolmates have cut off correspondence. Only a few close foreign schoolmates, after hearing my account of the good environment in Daonia, are willing to come.”

“As long as they are willing to come, Daonia will fulfill its promises! Also, if they have any other needs, you can tell me directly, and I will try my best to satisfy them! Daonia will create the best environment and conditions for learning, discussion, and research. Though you are few, I believe you can achieve results no less fruitful than those in Tarentum!”

Davos’s unreserved and full support for the Mathematics Research Institute filled Mentotikels with gratitude and also stirred his ambition. He said solemnly, “We will not let you down!”

“What about your discussion on sending teachers to give lessons at the newly built school?” Davos continued.

“Originally, because we were short-handed, we hesitated. But now that some new schoolmates are coming, Matikoris and I have discussed it and decided you are right. Teaching at the school can help us organize our mathematical theories, solidify our basic knowledge, and also expand the Institute’s influence. Perhaps in exchanges with students, we might even gain new inspiration… We are very willing to send people, but there is one condition.”

“What condition?”

“If we discover students with mathematical talent at the school, we hope to provide them with special training so that they can join the Research Institute in the future.” Mentotikels said this somewhat cautiously, because it was a private ambition of his and Matikoris’s. Now that they had fallen out with the Pythagorean school in Tarentum, they wanted to develop their own academic group to rival the Pythagoreans.

“Of course, no problem, but you must obtain the student’s consent,” Davos agreed without hesitation. In fact, he was very pleased to see this. The fact that Matikoris and Mentotikels were considering matters from their own self-interest showed that they were drifting further from the Tarentine Pythagorean school, both emotionally and in action.

“Additionally, I plan to send the military engineers from each Army Corps to the Mathematics Research Institute to serve as your assistants on a regular basis. This can both address your manpower shortage and closely combine theory with practical application.”

“The Institute certainly welcomes their help!” Mentotikels, more diplomatic than Matikoris, said tactfully, “But we don’t have enough money to pay their salaries.”

“You will have it soon,” Davos said with a smile. “The water mills you designed have been tested and proved to increase the efficiency of grinding flour several times over, saving the citizens a lot of time and animal labor. I have already ordered water mills to be built in Amendolara, Thurii, and Crimissa. The price for grinding a pound of flour is very low, less than a third of an obol. I believe once people try it, they will be willing to use the water mills. According to our agreement, the Research Institute will receive twenty percent of the revenue from any device you invent and put to use. That should be a considerable sum, wholly at your disposal. I hope you will use it wisely—especially by giving substantial rewards to the main inventors to encourage their enthusiasm. Only then will more people be inspired to invent better devices, and your revenue will grow even more.”