Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 68: Questions and Explanations (Part 1)

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At this time, Burkes was questioned by the generals of Turii at the city hall.

The political system of Turii is similar to that of Athens. The administration of the city-state usually adopts the "ten generals in charge system" (after all, it is a city established under the leadership of Athens), but it is different from the generals of Athens, who are elected by the citizens' assembly. , because when it was founded, the main immigrants of Turii came from ten regions of Greece, namely Arcadia, Achaia, Pioxia, Ionia, Athens, Dorian... etc. Therefore, the annual election is A general was elected by the citizens of Turii from each of these ten regions, and the chief general had always been a descendant of Athens.

But after the end of the Peloponnesian War and the defeat of Athens, in order to prevent the retaliation of Sparta and the city-states that joined the Spartan League in the Greater Greece region (such as Tarantum, Crotone, Syracuse, etc. is a strong state). Under the impetus of Kunogolata of the Arcadia ethnic group, all the descendants of Athens in the city of Turii were expelled. So far, there are only "nine generals" left in Turii, and the chief general is elected by the council among the nine members of the ethnic group. The re-election decision among the elected generals, Kuno Gorata has been the chief general for four consecutive years, until last year because of the Lucanian invasion, and after the tragic defeat of Turii, the Citizens Assembly voted for the majority of the votes they believed. On Ferris, who has the most military talent. Although he lost the chief, Kunogorata was still elected as one of the nine generals, after all, his prestige among the Arcadian tribe was too high.

Now, he is holding the employment agreement signed by Bulcos and asked: "Burcos, as the person in charge of recruiting soldiers this time, you should know the price of mercenaries in the entire Greek region. What is the approximate value?"

"Usually about half a month's Dalic gold coin." Burkes answered truthfully.

"Very good, about the same as I understand. I noticed that of the two employment agreements, the first one did indeed get half a Dalic per month, but in the second one—" Kunogorata confronted The other generals said loudly: "The same is more than 2,000 mercenaries, but the fee you gave is two Dalic gold coins per month!"

Hearing this, the generals let out a surprised voice.

Before Bulcos could explain, Kunogorata held up the parchment with the agreement and continued: "Not only that, but you also signed them a six-month employment period, according to the above regulations, regardless of whether the war ends or not. , they have to pay them two Dalic gold coins every month! Think about it, if the Lucarians suspend the attack, according to this agreement, these mercenaries will be able to get nearly two dollars in vain without any effort in this half year. Fifteen thousand gold coins!"

"Oh my God, this is too much! In the amazement that everyone made again, another general Neonsis said angrily: "Last year, in order to prepare military resources for the army of Turii to attack the Lukarians, the national treasury They took out three hundred talents of silver, and as a result... In order to comfort the families of the citizens who died in the war, they took out another fifty talents. At the same time, in order to defend the Lucanians from attacking the city, they hurriedly made weapons, repaired the city walls, Citizens were called up, and another 150 talents were given out; this year, one hundred and fifty talents have been spent to buy food, to supply the Tarantum reinforcements and mercenaries, and to rebuild ruined villages, farmlands and other facilities. One hundred and twenty silver talents are not enough! The war has not yet begun, and the treasury is almost empty. Before, we discussed whether to levy a special war tax on citizens. This is the wealth accumulated by Turiyi over the years and the hard-earned tax income of the citizens! As the general in charge of the taxation of the city-state, I cannot tolerate such absurd agreements, and I will refuse to pay them!"

"Yes, we do not recognize this employment agreement!" Most of the generals followed suit.

At this time, the chief general Phiris spoke: "Kunogolata, the Lucanians are gathering forces in Laos, the news has been confirmed, we all know it, so there is no Lucaria. The possibility of people not attacking within six months, because the army is assembled together, the food consumption is very huge, with the grain production capacity of the Lucania region, it is impossible to support half a year, and if it is canceled after the assembly, it will only be Weakening the prestige of its tribal alliance chief, unless there are special circumstances, the Lucanian attack will come soon! And at this critical time, we need more soldiers to help us resist the Lucanian attack !"

"Ferius, you can't rule out accidents. For example, everyone thought that the Lucanians would attack the city after a great victory, but they suffered a plague and were forced to retreat..." Kunogorata retorted: " Whether the enemy attacks or not is not the key, the key is that this agreement makes those mercenaries gain the benefit no matter what situation they are in, while Turii is always the loser. This is the problem! The person in charge you recommended, Bull Kos, I don't think he did his best in this mission! Look at the treatment he gave those mercenaries, not only salary, but also this... Look... 'The mercenaries led by Davos are only responsible for Defending Turii and repelling the Lukarians' attack on Turii, if there are other tasks, it must be decided by the two parties separately... '" Kunogolata read the terms of the employment agreement aloud, and then sneered He said to Burkes: "Are you sure you are recruiting only mercenaries, not Spartans?! We spend money, we are the masters, and now these mercenaries have become VIPs, and they have to ask for everything. Agree! I now seriously suspect that Burkes has a private deal with this mercenary, and I demand that a financial officer be sent to investigate it!"

"Enough, Kunogolata!" Ferris finally couldn't help but shouted loudly: "Although Burkes was recommended by me, it was decided by the generals after discussion, don't forget that you are the second to agree. Yes! It shows that his ability has been recognized by everyone. In such a short period of time, he ran from place to place and worked tirelessly. He quickly recruited more than 4,000 soldiers for Tuliyi, and solved Tuliyi at once. The shortage of soldiers has reassured the citizens and ensured the safety of the city-state! He should have been rewarded by the city-state and thanked by the citizens, but he still has to accept your humiliation here. Could it be that Turiyi treats a The way citizens who contribute to the city-state should be! If so, who will volunteer to do things for Turii in the future!!" Phiris's words caused the city hall to fall silent for a while.

Burkes took advantage of the situation and said: "I didn't expect the city-state's finances to be so embarrassing! However, the reason for signing this agreement and recruiting these soldiers is on the one hand because the situation is urgent at the time, on the other hand, because they are worthy of my doing! Although they are not Spartans, they are not weaker than Spartans!"

This sentence immediately attracted everyone's attention. Neonsis obviously didn't believe it, and said sarcastically: "Everyone knows that the Spartans were trained as warriors since childhood, so they are so scary when they grow up. Is there a second city-state with a similar system in the world? Oh... by the way, there are also Persian undead guards mentioned in the "History" written by Herodotus, are they Persians?"

Burkes looked at Neonsis coldly: "These soldiers really have something to do with the Persians!"

"Oh?!" Ferris asked with interest: "Does this mercenary have any special origins?"

Seeing that the eyes of the generals were all focused on himself, Burkes glanced at Polyxis, who had been silent, and said calmly: "After receiving the tasks assigned by the generals, I set off by boat that day, and the result was Passing through the Adriatic Sea, I encountered two pirate ships and were almost captured by them, but thanks to Poseidon's blessing, a strong wind blew up, and at the risk of the ship being overturned, I escaped and sailed all the way to Crete. , went ashore to rest and repair the ship, and originally wanted to recruit some archers there. The locals told me, 'It's okay to recruit a few people, if you need a large number, you must get permission from Sparta, because Crete is now part of Sparta He also told me that most of the mercenaries are now gathered in Asia Minor, and suggested that I go there to recruit, but it would be better to get permission from Sparta to recruit. After careful consideration, I decided to go to Sparta.”

Several generals became nervous unconsciously. Although they expelled the Turian citizens who were descended from Athens in order to eliminate the revenge of the Spartan alliance city-states, turning the main ten tribes in Turians into nine tribes, they did not. Know, what is Sparta's attitude towards Turii.