"It's Turiyi again! Selfish Turiyi! Damn Turiyi! May the goddess of doom curse them!" Cornelus said through gritted teeth.
To make a good man who has always been kind to others hated like this, Davos could guess the reason (which Archita told him), but he pretended to be curious and asked: "Lord Cornerus, I remember Turii and Amendolara is an ally, but you seem to hate Turii very much."
"The Turui threatened us to leave the city of Amendolara temporarily and help them defend the city of Turui, otherwise once the Lucania besieged Amendolara, they would not offer any help. At that time, considering the Lucania People invaded from the south, and the north was safe. We had no choice but to carry a large amount of supplies to open the city gates and prepare to move to Turii. As a result... As a result, we were caught unprepared by... Luca, who had ventured down from the Sini River. The Nians took advantage of the attack... In the past six months, we have suffered a lot... Temples have been defiled, women have been insulted, children have been starved to death, and citizens have been slaughtered..." Having said this, Cornerus has already burst into tears: "It all stems from the selfish decision of Turii, and their own city is still intact! Every one of us Amendolara hates Turii more than Lucanians!"
"Alas!..." Davos sighed, not knowing what to say.
"I heard from your soldiers that it was your own decision to take back Amendolara, not Turii's order?" Cornelus asked while wiping away his tears.
"That's right."
"That's good, we don't have to owe Turiyi any more! How much money they used to hire you, we'll pay you double, as long as you stay!" Cornelus said resolutely.
Davos said helplessly: "Why is this, we have 3,000 mercenaries, and the monthly consumption of money and food is not a small amount, and Amendolara is not a wealthy city-state, and we have accepted your employment. , when the deadline comes, we will still leave. We are people without a home, and we have to go out to accept employment tasks and earn money to make a living... " Davos looked a little sentimental, but his words reminded Cornerus: "No Home..." He blurted out, "Then stay."
As soon as the words came out, he seemed to be encouraged, and said loudly: "Yes, all stay! Become a citizen of Amendolara!"
… … … …
Before, the square in Amendolara was used as the location of the military camp by the Lucarians, and it was also the only place where the mercenaries encountered any decent resistance in the city last night. This afternoon, the square had been cleaned up, and only the bloodstains left on the marble floor revealed that fighting had taken place here.
The surviving people of Amendolala, in addition to young children, other people including women and underage teenagers gathered in the square.
At this moment, standing on the wooden platform in the center of the square are the five remnants of famous citizens of Amendolara, headed by Cornerus. Cornerus looked at almost all the people in Amendolara, the old and the young, and most of the rest were women. Sadness comes from the heart: Thinking that a year ago, there were 4,000 citizens of Amendolara (the citizens of the Greek city-state can only be adult males), and the total population was more than 10,000, but now there are only old and young women and children. The poor thousand people, let alone defending the family and the country, even planting wheat and grazing cattle and sheep, these daily labors could not be completed smoothly, which made him firm his determination.
"Citizens, women, and children of Amendolara, I, Cornerus, a member of the Senate, have gathered everyone to the square today because there is an important matter for us to decide together! More than a hundred years ago, our ancestors left Siberias and came here to build a city. For two hundred years, with the nourishment of the Cisno River and the Burano River, and the protection of Mount Amendolara, our life is stable and the supplies are abundant. Our lands have never been engulfed by war, even with the fall of our mother state, Sybaris. But... Since last year, our citizens followed the Turii into Lucanian territory, we..." Cornerus Some choked up, and many people in the audience even burst into tears.
"My wife didn't want to be insulted by the Lucarians and committed suicide by hitting a pole... One of my children died of illness... You all in the audience have the same tragic experience as me... For two hundred years, Amendolara has only suffered This time of war, and this time, Amendolara has almost become a thing of the past like our mother state, Hyparis. When we prayed for Zeus' redemption in the temple day and night, Zeus answered our call and sent our Savior, they are the mercenaries from the Ionian region of Greece, our compatriots!" Cornerus pointed to the rear of the people, Davos led the team officers and some soldiers, and the witness Archita wearing civilian clothes , was standing there, waiting quietly.
"They defeated the vicious Lucarians, saved us from suffering, and took care of us warmly! To be honest, I have seen quite a few mercenaries before, but they are completely different, like family members! …" Cornelius' words won the approval of many in the audience, especially those women full of sensibility.
"But they are about to leave us and leave Great Greece!" As soon as he finished speaking, many people started to panic.
"They're gone, so what should we do? Who will ensure the safety of Amendolara? Is Turiyi?" Cornerus paused for a moment, and the audience scolded.
"No! I'd rather be perished by the Lucarians than be deceived by the Turians again!"
"The selfish Turians are not allowed to enter the city of Amendolara!"
…
In the anger of the people, Cornerus took advantage of the situation and said loudly: "This time the painful lesson has taught ourselves that our homeland can only be guarded by ourselves! But Amendolara is very weak now, so what should we do? What to do?" Cornelus looked at the people in the audience, and said this question again, which caused them to think deeply.
"The consuls of Amendolara have all died. As a member of the Senate, I, Cornerus, now propose an important motion to apply for a citizens' assembly and vote to decide whether to pass it or not. Since the number of citizens is too small, and this This matter is related to the interests of each of us Amendolaras, so I specifically ask all Amendolaras to participate in the voting." Cornerus just finished his words, and before there was a commotion in the audience, there were other people on the stage. All four spoke in support.
The majority of women in the audience were excited for the first vote in their lives. Naturally, those who opposed could not make waves.
"I've heard people say that Cornelus of Amendolara is a good person, but he doesn't seem to have much opinion on politics. I didn't expect such an amazing move today!" Archita was half surprised and half surprised. Is to treat Davers suspiciously. After all, letting women vote to decide city-state events is something that has never happened in Greek city-states. Perhaps it only appeared in ancient times. Legend has it that Athena can become the patron saint of Athens, and women's votes play a key role.
Davos smiled and said nothing. Of course, it was his idea to let women participate in the voting. Compared with men who value interests more, women are more emotional and yearn for the protection of the powerful. In the face of the mercenary soldiers who saved them and treated them kindly, their choice As you can imagine.
"Since everyone agrees with this approach, then my next proposal is-" Cornerus glanced at Davos and the others in the distance: "Accept our benefactor—all the mercenaries who saved Amendolara. Soldiers become citizens of Amendolara, so we don't have to worry about the safety of the city-state!"
The people in the audience were in an uproar. After all, it is not easy for a freedman to become a citizen of a Greek city-state, let alone accepting more than 3,000 people as citizens of the city-state at one time, which is very rare (Greece is not Rome after all).
But after a commotion, when a woman raised her right arm first and shouted, "Agree!"