Chapter 100
Although the Devers, Archita, and the others did not participate, the Turís' victory celebration was still held. The whole city temporarily suppressed their sadness and celebrated the hard-won victory.
The banquet held by the generals lasted until late at night. Ancitanos, who had drunk countless bottles of wine, slept until the sun was high up in the sky. When he left the city, it was almost noon. When he arrived at the empty Devers' camp, he was dumbfounded. Fortunately, they saw the reinforcements from Tarantum who were still stationed at the mercenary camp. Only then did they know that the mercenaries had gone to Armendolara.
The mercenaries had taken over the city of Armendolara! The shocking news shocked Ancitanos and Burcos again.
They immediately sped up and headed north, eager to see the Devers. Halfway there, Ancitanos suddenly stopped the team. "Let's go back immediately."
"Why is that, General?" Burcos asked, puzzled.
Ancitanos, who had calmed down, sighed. "The mercenaries were so anxious to take over Armendolara last night. Today, they even moved their slaves and supplies into Armendolara. What does this mean?"
"Ah!" Burcos exclaimed in surprise. "Don't tell me they want to occupy Armendolara?!"
Ancitanos nodded and said with some melancholy, "More importantly, Archita has also gone to Armendolara. What does this mean?"
Burcos immediately came to a realization after Ancitanos' reminder. He shouted in surprise again, "Does Tarantum support the mercenaries to occupy Armendolara?!"
"Maybe it's just Archita's personal wish …" Ancitanos was comforting Burcos and himself. He smiled bitterly. "If Tarantum really supports the mercenaries, can we, the Turís, refuse? Tarantum and the mercenaries are heroes who saved the Turís … "Ancitanos sighed again with a worried expression." Sigh … But from now on, Tarantum's influence will cross Heraclea and approach the Sebari Plain! "
"Then … then what do we do now?!" Burkes asked anxiously.
"Of course we'll go back and discuss our strategy before we come back …" Ancetanos said. Judging from his helpless expression, it was obvious that he did not think the Turís had any good ideas for the mercenaries to occupy Amendarra.
On the way back to the city, he kept muttering to himself. "Sigh … It's only been half a year and Turín has fallen to such a state … Teacher is right, 'war is the fastest way to change the rise and fall of a city'. What Turín lacks now is military talents like Devers and Acheta! … "
Upon hearing this, Burkes recalled that he hadn't had the time to invite the Devers to join the Turií. Now it seemed that even if he said it, the Devers wouldn't agree. He also recalled the scene of his trusted slave, Medus, leading the Devers to explore Amendarra. Perhaps at that time, the Devers had already set their sights on this mountain city! Before the situation was clear, he actually began to plan for Amendarra and finally succeeded. Was this luck? No! The victories of these two battles were won by the mercenaries he led. It was achieved by his own hard work step by step!
Although the mercenaries' act of occupying Amendarra infringed on the interests of the Turís, Burkes couldn't tell if he was more resentful or in awe …
… …
The Devers were accompanying Acheta to visit Amendarra.
Acheta listened to the Devers' narration of the capture of the mountain city last night while checking out the mercenaries' attack route and trying to use the rope hook with great interest.
After entering the city gate, Acheta saw most of the bloodstains along the way and the mercenaries patrolling every few steps. Their faces were filled with the same excitement and pride as the Devers. He hesitated again and again and decided to make a suggestion to the Devers. "Devers … I think if you mercenaries want to successfully enter Amendarra, it's best to get the consent of the citizens of Amendarra."
"Okay! Okay! "The Devers responded.
Acheta saw that he was being perfunctory. He thought about it and was ready to persuade him. "If a city wants to have good order, not only must it have strict laws, but it must also be obeyed. After a long time, the law will become a good tradition of the city and become the natural cornerstone of the city's order, bringing stability to the people and development to the city. If it was destroyed from the beginning … "Accita stopped and pointed at the strange pine tree that grew obliquely on the hillside and said meaningfully," Just like this tree, it grew askew from the beginning. Later on, even if it tried its best to grow, it wouldn't be able to become a towering tree. "
Of course, the Devers understood the metaphor in Acheta's words, causing him to fall into deep thought. China's historical tradition emphasized results. No matter what means were used, everything that had been done before would be forgiven and ultimately recognized. That was why there were such deep-rooted sayings as "the winner is king and the loser is bandit" and "the situation is urgent". However, the Devers who graduated from the University of Political Science and Law in his previous life knew that in the Republic of Rome, which was known as the "Son of Law", the hundreds of years of inheritance had caused its laws and traditions to restrain the excesses of those in power. Even if there was a series of upheavals, it would not cause the country to be greatly shaken. For example, when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, he did not allow his army to enter the city of Rome because it was a tradition; Anthony, who doted on Cleopatra, did not agree to her request to incorporate the Jewish Kingdom into Egypt because it was the duty of every citizen of Rome not to harm the interests of Rome; it was a tradition; Octavian, who held great power, did not turn the Republic of Rome into an empire because it was a deep-rooted tradition that the Senate and the Citizens' Assembly were the centers of power in Rome. He could only slowly change the institutions of power in Rome bit by bit over the decades … However, when the commander of the Imperial Guards assassinated the extreme Emperor Caligula of Rome whom he had been protecting since he was a child, it was a bad tradition that the Imperial Guards frequently assassinated the Emperor of Rome …
It would have been fine if the Devers was just a leader who only cared about immediate benefits and seeking temporary pleasure, but his ambitions were not limited to the small Amendola. Archita's advice was like a blow to his head: the actions of the mercenaries not only had to consider the feelings of the people of Amendola and be beneficial to their future rule; they also had to consider the feelings of the mercenaries as outsiders who had taken root in Great Greece and the feelings of the surrounding city-states towards them. Forceful actions were obviously unwelcome and could easily lead to isolation.
The Devers decided to change his previous method of seeking quick success and instant benefits. At the same time, this reflection also changed his behavior and began to think from the perspective of a true Greek.
"Archita, thank you for the reminder!" Out of gratitude to Archita, the Devers decided to immediately put one of his ideas into action. "I heard that the Pythagorean School of Thought is not in a good situation in Great Greece."
Hearing this, Archita's face darkened slightly as he said with a complicated expression, "Yes. The people of many city-states in Great Greece do not agree with the philosophy of our school and use various means to suppress the members of the school, causing most of the disciples to have no choice but to leave Great Greece and settle down in Greece's mainland, Felios. Now, only Tarantum remains tolerant of the school. "
"I agree with your school's philosophy of 'all things are numbers'. I think that if we use numbers to manage the city-states, it will definitely be more detailed and efficient. Also, your school encourages self-control, abstinence, purity, and obedience, which I also agree with very much. At the same time, you also dare to break the customs and allow women to participate in the study. That's a pioneering move! " The Devers said sincerely, "If the mercenaries become the masters of Amendola, I will definitely invite the members of the Pythagorean School to come here to train students and establish an academy, with the city-states providing funding."
The reason why Archita was so frank about the current situation of the Pythagorean School was because everyone in Great Greece knew about the Pythagorean School. Moreover, the Devers had also expressed his good impression of the school before, but he did not expect the Devers to have such a good impression of the school. For a moment, he could not believe it. "Is what you said true?"
"Do you want me to swear to the gods?"
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