Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 26: The Merchants' Restlessness

In the corner, Theos and Dickopolis sat quietly, savoring their food.

Theos finished the pan-fried beef on his plate and said loudly, “Please bring me a cup of wine.”

After receiving a response, he picked up the clean linen cloth on his left side and wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth.

“Anyone who watched the public trial today—” Dickopolis gestured with his fork at the diners arguing loudly around them, “—would be furious. Yet you seem calm.”

“What’s there to be furious about! In my former city-state, Corinth, such things were not uncommon.” Theos took the wine from the waiter, thanked him, and continued, “Important positions in the city-state are all held by the aristocrats, and the election of generals always takes place among those dozen or so families. Wasn’t it the same in your Keldoria?” (Keldoria was a city-state on the island of Crete, at its westernmost tip.)

“That’s true. That’s why I’m as calm as you.”

Both laughed.

“But there’s one thing you got wrong—Keldoria is only my former city-state. Now I am a Daonian citizen.” Dickopolis pretended to be serious as he reminded him.

“So am I.” Theos raised his cup with a smile, and they clinked lightly.

“However, there was one thing that Polyxides did… that I agree with…” Dickopolis glanced around, leaned in, and whispered, “Calling an Assembly.”

Theos looked at him without speaking.

Dickopolis continued in a low voice, “All decisions in the Daonia Alliance are made by the Senate. We ordinary citizens can neither participate nor oppose anything. We can decide nothing. Although an ordinary citizen might become a senator, according to the laws, that path is far too long! For merchants like us, always traveling, it’s impossible to hold any public office. If—”

Dickopolis hesitated but still said, “If the Daonian system doesn’t change, I’m afraid… I’m afraid some merchants will leave. After all, having a lot of money yet being unable to influence any decision of the Daonia Senate always leaves us merchants dissatisfied, doesn’t it?”

Theos lowered his head and took a sip of wine, suppressing his surprise, and asked, “Are you one of those who might leave?”

“Of course I won’t leave here!” Dickopolis said emphatically. “This place has the best food in the Mediterranean! The best entertainment and competitions! The best hot spring baths! And there’s no threat of invasion—it’s like the Elysian Paradise on earth! Why would I leave?” Dickopolis leaned back in his chair and said loudly.

“Well said, friend!” A man with a flushed face and tipsy demeanor came over, slapped Dickopolis hard on the shoulder, and exclaimed excitedly, “It’s precisely because of Lord Davos that we have this beautiful city of Thurii today! Brothers, let us toast the great Lord Davos!”

As he finished, the diners at his table stood up and raised their cups: “To Lord Davos!”

Influenced by them, the other diners also stood up one after another.

“Lord Davos, Hail!”

“Hail to our great commander!”

The originally noisy restaurant converged into a single voice.

After everyone had toasted, someone stood up and joked, “To our damned Senate!”

Immediately, laughter and curses erupted again.

Dickopolis laughed, watching the commotion. Theos reminded him, “But Daonia isn’t without the danger of war right now!”

Dickopolis was startled, then said, “Are you worried about Syracuse?”

Theos nodded slightly.

Dickopolis waved his hand dismissively. “As a former Corinthian, I don’t think you should worry about that. In mainland Greece, between Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Thebes, Argos… and other city-states, sending spies, bribing councilors of enemy states, even defending enemy interests in the Assembly… haven’t such things happened often enough! If war broke out over such trivial matters, mainland Greece would have fallen into chaos long ago! …But honestly, things are really terrible in mainland Greece right now, especially Corinth. I hear the Spartan army is stationed right on Corinthian territory, constantly clashing with the allied forces of Corinth, Athens, Thebes, and Argos. People die every day… You were so lucky to get out early!”

Theos fell silent for a while after Dickopolis brought up his mother city. Finally he sighed long and deeply, “Yes, times are hard for the Corinthians… I hear that King Agesilaus of Sparta has landed his army from the Persian campaign in northern Greece and is preparing to march south. Together with the Spartan forces at home, they will attack from north and south. The anti-Spartan coalition is certainly in danger! …Speaking of which, I really should thank you properly. If it hadn’t been for your persuasion, I wouldn’t have made the decision to join Daonia so quickly!”

Dickopolis laughed heartily. “In that case, how should you thank me?”

It was meant as a joke, but Theos said quietly, “A few days ago, I went to Lord Davos’s residence to discuss the stone bridge donation. You know, it was by repeatedly following Lord Davos’s lead in making donations that I qualified under the new law passed in recent years—the ‘Reward Provisions for Foreigners Donating Public Buildings’—and that’s how I became a Daonian citizen so quickly…”

“You’re a big merchant now,” Dickopolis remarked.

Theos ignored the slight sourness in his tone and continued, “Lord Davos asked me in detail about some merchants protesting in the square. Finally he said, ‘It can’t go on like this. Daonia must change!’”

“Did he really say that?!” Dickopolis asked in shock.

“Of course. I remember it clearly!” Theos said with absolute certainty. “Lord Davos has always been a man of his word!”

A gleam shone in Dickopolis’s eyes…

…

“Sir, you called for me?” Aristelas entered Davos’s study.

“Sit down, Aristelas.” Davos casually pointed to the wooden chair beside him.

“Yes, sir.” Although Davos was casual, Aristelas sat down respectfully.

Davos half-leaned back against his chair, looking at his intelligence chief, and said, “You’ve been with me for almost five years now, haven’t you?”

“To be precise, it’s four months and nine days short of five years,” Aristelas said seriously.

“You remember it very clearly.” Davos smiled. “You’ve followed me this long, but I haven’t seen you gain any weight.”

“I’m just built this way, sir. No matter how much I eat, I never gain weight,” Aristelas said helplessly.

“If Cheiristoya had your constitution, she’d be overjoyed.” Davos chuckled.

He looked with emotion at the tall, lean young man. “You’ve followed me this long, and even after becoming a Daonian citizen, you’re still willing to continue gathering intelligence for me. With your abilities, you could easily hold any public office in the alliance… I can say that you have quietly made great contributions to the alliance! Just like in this public trial case, I’m truly grateful to you, and also feel very guilty!…”

A sudden unease stirred in Aristelas’s heart: Could Davos be about to send me away?

Davos tapped his right hand lightly on the armrest of the wooden chair a few times, then said slowly, “Starting now, I can finally do something to repay your help.”

The abrupt shift in Davos’s tone almost made Aristelas choke. Then he heard Davos continue, “Aristelas, you know Syracuse very well. Tell me, if we go to war with that powerful city-state across the sea in Sicily, do we have a chance of winning?”

Arestelas’s anxious heart finally began to pound violently. He suppressed his excitement, thought for a long while, then said, “Sir, I believe that compared to Syracuse, Daonia still lags considerably in strength.”

Davos was not surprised by the content of Aristelas’s words. What satisfied him was his attitude—even harboring hatred toward Syracuse, he could still analyze the problem objectively. “Oh? What are the gaps? Tell me in detail.”

“According to the method you once taught me, sir, the strength of a city-state is judged mainly from four aspects: population, economic capacity, territory… um… and… mobi…”

“Mobilization capacity,” Davos prompted.

“I nearly forgot.” Aristelas straightened his thoughts and continued, “Right now, besides the westernmost coastal city-states on Sicily—Lilybaeum, Eryx, Panormus, and a few others—still controlled by the Carthaginians, all other regions have been conquered by the Syracusans, including the Sicels of the eastern interior, whom Dionysius has subdued through vile tactics like bribery and assassination. Although the Carthaginians are still fighting fiercely at Solus against the Sicilian Greek coalition led by Dionysius, according to the latest news, the Carthaginians have suffered successive defeats, and their retreat is only a matter of time.

Based on intelligence gathered by our people sent to Syracuse, Gela, Agrigentum, Leontini…” Aristelas paused, “Catana, Naxos, and other city-states, combined with information overheard by Daonian merchants trading in the various Sicilian city-states, I have a rough understanding of Syracuse’s strength—”

He paused again. Davos tapped the armrest lightly. “Go ahead. I have a strong stomach.”

“The city of Syracuse and its surrounding towns have a population of about 400,000. Adding in the other city-states directly controlled or subjugated by Dionysius, it might approach 1.3 million…” He glanced at Davos as he spoke.

Davos’s expression was calm. He gestured for him to continue.