Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 19: Polyxius's Persuasion

Although the bathhouse was a bit crowded due to the large number of people, it did not feel stuffy, because aside from the thick, tall stone walls all around, the bathhouse had no roof, which allowed for good air circulation. In fact, some citizens enjoyed bathing here when it rained.

Polyxides looked at the somewhat crowded bathhouse ahead and said enviously, "I’d estimate that five or six thousand people come here to bathe every day. Davos must be making a lot of money!"

"Who told you not to join in when the Chief Magistrate was raising funds back then?" Eanilus retorted, then slipped off his chiton, removed his sandals, handed them to his slave, and strode barefoot across the smooth marble floor toward the hot spring pool.

Polyxides hurried after him.

Eanilus slowly sat down in the pool water. The comfortable temperature made him let out a long, contented sigh. He cupped the spring water and thoroughly wet his face and head.

The constant back-and-forth of figures passing before them blocked people’s view, and no one noticed the two senators sitting naked among the crowd.

Eanilus closed his eyes, leaned against the pool wall, and seemed to be dozing off, causing Polyxides to swallow several words that had been on the tip of his tongue.

After soaking in the large hot spring pool for over ten minutes, Eanilus moved to a smaller pool nearby. The water was not deep, and the bottom was covered with sea sand. Another small pool had pebbles on its bottom, and yet another was lined with river mud.

Eanilus simply lay down flat and rubbed his back against the soft fine sand… After another ten minutes of soaking, only when his skin had turned red did he get out of the pool and call over a bathhouse slave to give him a full-body massage.

After another ten minutes, Eanilus got up, had the slave pay the massage fee, and then, dragging his limp and relaxed body, staggered to an unoccupied corner. He sat down on a bench by the window-wall, closed his eyes, and rested.

Polyxides came over and sat beside him, stretching lazily. "A hot spring bath is really comfortable! And honestly, Davos built this bathhouse, bringing great benefits to the people of Thurii! Why didn’t any of us think of doing this before? No wonder he’s called the God-Touched One!"

Eanilus slowly opened his eyes, looked at him, and said unhurriedly, "Since you know full well how formidable Davos is, why do you so often take the lead in opposing him in the Senate? Polyxides, I don’t recall you being this bold in the past!"

Seeing that Eanilus was finally talking to him, Polyxides felt a wave of relief inside, but put on a aggrieved expression and said, "Of course I know that without Davos, the Daonia Alliance wouldn’t be where it is today. I’d like to follow Davos and do something, but he never gives me a chance! He only values those mercenaries of his, who only know how to use their fists, and he puts those illiterates in high positions! And those even more barbaric tribal chiefs, reeking of a foul odor, sit in the Senate every day, shouting in Greek that no one can understand! And those Amendolarans, who were once under our heel, now wear that so-called 'preparatory citizen' badge every day and deliberately flaunt it in front of us… We are the true masters of Thurii, yet now in the Senate we can only stand aside! I, Orpheus, Massisacus… we only wear the senator’s cloak as a show for the Thurians, but in reality we’re no different from ordinary citizens!…"

Eanilus glanced around. Amid the noisy, crowded bathhouse, no one noticed their odd behavior. He warned in a low voice, "You’re too agitated. Keep your voice down! Polyxides, you just haven’t had your turn yet. Maybe by next year, you could be appointed Chief Magistrate of some city."

Polyxides gave a cold laugh. "Eanilus, don’t comfort me. You don’t even believe what you’re saying yourself. Think about it—a Persian has been sitting in the important position of commercial officer for so many years without any rotation or election. Is my ability inferior to his? I myself served multiple times as one of the ten generals of Thurii in the past. And now, because I have nothing to do in the Senate, I sometimes get sent by Davos to help that foreigner and be ordered around by him! Is the Daonia Alliance still a place for us true old-timers of Thurii?!"

Eanilus opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Of course, you might say, 'You, Bourkos, Antistanos, and Pleisinas are all deeply trusted by the Senate.'" Polyxides sneered. "Pleisinas can’t compare to us! He’s just a commoner, now nothing but Davos’s dog. Davos uses him to bite people. As for Antistanos, he puts all his energy into writing that book of his and ignores everything else—in fact, he has no real power. Bourkos has been serving as Agricultural Affairs Officer all along, but he deals with farmers and slaves every day. How many times a month does he even return to Thurii? Sometimes he can’t even attend important Senate meetings. He’s called a senator, but I think he’s more like an ordinary public official of the Alliance. As for you—Eanilus—you do hold great power over the navy, but—"

Here Polyxides paused deliberately, leaving the sentence hanging.

Eanilus turned his head and asked casually, "But what?"

Polyxides chuckled lightly and said, "In recent years, Davos has allowed foreigners to build shipyards in Thurii, breaking your family’s monopoly on shipbuilding. I wonder what you think about that?"

Eanilus’s brow twitched slightly. He said slowly, "That’s because… the Daonia territory is too vast; we need more warships to protect our coasts, and my family… couldn’t produce that many warships in a short time…"

"Oh, how considerate of you for the Alliance!" Polyxides said sarcastically, his gaze sharp as he looked at him. "But Davos doesn’t seem grateful. What do you think about how he gave the family of his second wife a larger share of warship contracts than your family?"

Eanilus fell silent. The reddened skin from the hot spring water hid his embarrassment. He knew very well: due to the monopoly of his family’s shipbuilding in recent years, management had grown lax, leading to frequent quality problems with completed warships. Davos had even spoken to him privately about it several times, which was why the Senate later passed Davos’s proposal "allowing merchants from allied city-states to build shipyards in Thurii"…

"And… what about that hero who conquered Besidia, the standard-bearer in the triumph, whose statue stands in the Hall of Heroes—Seclian? In just a few years, he went from an ordinary sailor to the commander of a division in your fleet, frequently visiting Davos’s residence. What do you think of that?" Polyxides’s follow-up question made Eanilus’s expression change.

"Davos made you the naval commander because he had no choice—he had no one who understood naval warfare on his staff. But now he seems to have found someone, and he appears to trust him more than you! Eanilus, do you think Davos still needs you, an original Thurian noble who never fit in with his crude mercenaries?!"

Polyxides’s words gnawed like a viper at Eanilus’s already unsettled heart.

Polyxides kept his eyes fixed on Eanilus’s face. He let out a long sigh. "If we old-timers of Thurii don’t think of some way soon, we might really end up as mere spectators in the Senate, doing nothing until we die. I can’t accept that!"

Eanilus clenched his fists and shook his head. "Polyxides, you don’t understand how powerful Davos is! Even the sailors in the Daonia navy under my command—who are preparatory citizens and freemen—regard that young man as their true commander. I am merely an executor. As for the soldiers and officers of the Daonia army, need I say more—"

"Eanilus, what are you thinking! Do you think I’m plotting to overthrow Davos?" Polyxides interrupted, shaking his head with a light laugh. "No! No! No! I’m not that foolish. We have to admit… Davos’s immense contributions to the Daonia Alliance. Without him, Thurii would have ceased to exist long ago. We’re simply asking for a little of the rights back for the citizens of Daonia, and at the same time, limiting some of Davos’s power, so that he won’t arbitrarily neglect and dispose of us old-timers of Thurii!" Polyxides pointed excitedly at the men in the bathhouse. "Do you think they don’t want to attend the Assembly? The blood of Greeks runs with a passion for politics and participation! It’s just that Davos’s glory has made them forget for now. As long as someone keeps reminding them, again and again, as I have been doing, things will change greatly! The protests of the citizens in Thurii, Crimissa, and other cities show that the tide is already turning!… Eanilus, for our own sake, and for the sake of the Daonia Alliance, will you join me in continuing to call for the convening of the Assembly in the Senate, to make the distribution of power in Daonia fairer?!"

Listening to Polyxides’s inflammatory speech, Eanilus’s face took on a shifting uncertainty. Finally, he said hesitantly, "But… there are too few senators in the Senate supporting this proposal!"

"Actually, there are quite a few. I’ve already gained the support of some others…" Polyxides leaned close to Eanilus’s ear and whispered a few words.

Eanilus’s expression turned to shock. "Really?"

"Just like last time, when I told you how to gain more land by freeing slaves—have I ever deceived you?" Polyxides reminded him.

Eanilus clenched his hands again and again, and finally balled them into fists.

…

"Respected senators, I have a proposal." Polyxides stood up from his seat.

Seeing this, the others immediately wore expressions of resignation, silently thinking, "Here we go again."