Chapter 135
"The other city-states believe that land is the greatest wealth, so they are unwilling to accept foreigners and free citizens. They are unwilling to share the benefits and wealth of the city-state with them. I'm the exact opposite. I believe that 'people' are the greatest wealth of the city-state! Only with people can we grow food, create art, and create wealth! Only with people can we build weapons, build armies, and defend the city-state! Only with enough people will we be able to get enough land! "Dyvers said in a firm tone.
His words shocked Cunogorata like never before. He was smart enough to know how to get enough land. Obviously, the Devers were subtly telling him about the source of the 'land' for the new citizens, so he fell silent …
On the other hand, Cunogorata's eldest son, Sostatus, looked at the warehouses and hotels that were almost completed and asked, "I heard that you're going to attract Turií merchants and foreign merchants to store goods and stay here. Are these the warehouses and hotels under construction?"
"Yes."
"I see that there are many warehouses and hotels to be built here. Is the city-state going to manage them personally?" Sostatus asked again.
Mercies understood what he meant and immediately said, "Of course not! The city-state doesn't have that many civil servants. Everyone has their own things to do. We're going to open an auction and rent them out. "
"Auction" was a new word. The Greeks' excellent merchant genes allowed Sostatus to quickly understand what was going on. He asked, "Can we participate?"
"You're very welcome!" Mercies answered happily.
… …
Even though the entire family was rather tired after moving and decorating the house for most of the day, Kunogorata woke up early the next morning. Waking up early was a habit he had developed over the years. The slaves helped him dress and get up. He decided to go out for a walk with the help of the slaves before returning for breakfast.
Cunogorata's house was at the foot of the mountain. After the new citizens were allocated housing, there were still many empty houses. It was obvious how much damage the war had done to Amendora. Only when Cunogorata was in the middle of it did he understand why the original citizens of Amendora were so angry at the Turií.
Most of these empty houses were rented to free people at low prices, so when Kunogorata went out, he could see groups of free people hurrying to work. Their faces were brimming with energy and passion that the free people of Turii lacked. Even when they saw a stranger like Kunogorata, they would greet him in a friendly manner with a strange accent in Greek.
Cunogorata knew why they were so passionate about life. After becoming free citizens from slavery, their employers even paid the so-called 'preparatory citizen tax' to the city-state. As long as they obeyed the law and worked hard, they would become preparatory citizens of the city-state in two years.
It was already June, and the weather was getting hot. The city of Amendora was relatively cool because it was built on a mountain. The sea and mountain breezes took turns blowing against the small city.
Cunogorata walked up the road and occasionally met citizens who were going down the mountain. They were all going to work in the fields. Old citizens and new citizens alike greeted and joked with each other, appearing very harmonious. The slaves who followed them were also very spirited. They must have seen hope after the mercenary slaves became citizens.
What really surprised Cunogorata was that there were women accompanying them. From the conversation, they seemed to be the wives of citizens and not the women of free citizens. (In order to make a living, the wives of free citizens would often work to earn money to support their families, such as setting up stalls and working as restaurant employees.) She was even prepared to accompany her husband to work in the fields. He recalled that his son had mentioned some of the strange things he had seen in the city yesterday afternoon. Looking at the woman's appearance, she was indeed a Lucanian woman. If he was a traditional and conservative foreigner, he would have made a fuss. However, Cunogorata, who had been in politics for many years, first thought of the significance of this phenomenon for the city-state. Obviously, the Devers were not just talking about it. They were trying to assimilate the Lucanians in various ways.
This young man had an extraordinary ambition! Under his leadership, the small city of Amendora was so strange and different, but it was rejuvenated and full of vitality in such a short time! Cunogorata's interest grew. He found that there were many people going down the mountain, but there were also many going up the mountain. Many of them were children. After asking, he found out that there were disciples of the Pythagorean school of thought teaching mathematics for free in the square.
There was actually a Pythagorean school here! While Cunogorata was shocked, he suddenly remembered the scene of their first meeting, and instantly understood. This must have been Archita's matchmaker! The Pythagorean school opposed democracy and supported aristocratic politics. How could the Devers tolerate it?!
However, Cunogorata changed his mind. The Devers were lifelong consul, and Amendora was not a democracy!
When they arrived at the square, there were already some people surrounding the platform in front of them. On the platform, a young man was teaching basic mathematics.
This young man was Mentoticus, Els. Back then, he and Martikoris had been promised by the Devers to go all out and accept apprentices. However, they strictly followed the traditional requirements of the Pythagorean school: the disciples must have a certain mathematical foundation, so they had to undergo a test.
However, when they excitedly went door to door to ask, they were all rejected. First of all, most of the new citizens had a low level of education. Now that they had just been allocated land and houses, they were busy taking care of everything and had no time to take the test and learn. A few wanted to learn, thinking that they would participate in public office in the future, but when they heard that they had to pass the test first, they immediately got a headache. Although the old citizens had a higher level of education than the new citizens, on the one hand, they were busy with the funerals of their loved ones, and on the other hand, the Pythagorean school had a bad reputation in Greece. Rumors of secret associations, worship of evil gods (they worshipped "number" as their god), opposition to the city, and so on had long spread throughout the city. Of course, the two of them were not welcomed.
After being busy for a few days, they did not manage to recruit a single disciple. The two of them were greatly discouraged and wandered around the city all day long. Inadvertently, they discovered the Hades number (actually, Arabic numerals) that the Devers had taught Mercies to use for bookkeeping purposes. One had to know that the Greek scholars who studied mathematics in this era had a very troublesome problem. As the Greek characters that represented numbers were complicated to write, once the number exceeded 10,000, it was very difficult to write. This brought a lot of trouble to the scholars when they carried out mathematical calculations. On the other hand, the Hades number was simple, easy to learn, and easy to remember. It easily solved the most troublesome problem in mathematics, and it would definitely improve the efficiency of mathematics research. Most importantly, mathematics would be easier to popularize among the people. (In history, the person who solved this problem for the Greeks was Archimedes, who created the method of recording large numbers.)
Thinking of this, the two of them felt as if they had found a treasure. However, Mercies expressed his refusal to teach them the secret of using this symbol and said, "This was taught by Lord Devers. It is said that it is a gift from Pluto. You must get his permission to learn!"
The two of them had no choice but to look for the Devers again. They had originally thought that it would be more difficult. But Dyvers agreed at once. "Mathematics comes from everyday life," he said. "Of course I want everybody to be able to learn it, so that they can apply it to their lives, so that they can solve their problems, so that they can make life easier. That's the real meaning of learning!"
The Devers' words greatly touched the two young people.
Therefore, Devers suggested that they hold free public lectures on mathematics in the square and teach the basics of mathematics to the citizens of the city who were willing to come. The Senate was willing to endorse them and encourage the people to actively participate. This way, over time, they could cultivate a large number of mathematics enthusiasts for the Pythagorean School. Naturally, the Pythagorean School would also be able to take root in Amendolara.
The two young and energetic disciples did not want to return to Tarantum with their tails between their legs. After thinking about it again and again, they finally decided to break the tradition of the Pythagorean School and hold public lectures.
After getting their agreement, the Devers was overjoyed and immediately invited the two to participate in the design and manufacture of the waterwheel.
In his previous life, the Devers were a common sight in the water villages of southern China. Waterwheels were everywhere and seemed like something that could be easily made. However, after the Devers asked the supervisor Alexis to lead a carpenter to try it out, they found that it was not easy. Either the support frame collapsed due to uneven forces, or the angle of the wheel's axle was different, causing the rotation to be sluggish … etc. The small waterwheel was actually related to the more precise calculation of mathematics and the application of mechanics. In this era, mathematicians were often proficient in physics. Because the two were closely related, Devers had no choice but to ask the two young disciples of the Pythagorean School for help.
When he took out a simple picture of the waterwheel and explained its purpose, the two were instantly attracted. After careful observation, they felt that it was a perfect example of the "God of Mathematics" helping humans to live a better life (completely ignoring that it was the Devers' idea). In addition, under the leadership of Archita, the Pythagorean School of Tarantum had been involved in the research of mathematical mechanics for a few years. It just so happened that they could apply what they had learned, so the two immediately expressed their willingness to help develop the waterwheel.
Today, while Mentoticus was lecturing on the stage, Martikoris had already started building the waterwheel by the Shinni River. Even though Mentoticus was a little anxious, he still tried his best to calm down and finished his lecture. After patiently answering the enthusiastic questions of the people, he hurried down the mountain …
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