Chapter 138
A few days later, Cunogorata, who was recuperating in bed, heard something: some of the slaves in the Turií stone mine had rioted, defeated the guards guarding them, and escaped from Turií. Some of the slaves even fled to Amendolar to ask for protection, and the Turií emissaries arrived shortly after, asking Amendolar to send the slaves back.
At this moment, in the Senate of Amendolar, the Turií emissary and the representative of the escaped slaves were glaring at each other.
It was the new Turií general. If Cunogorata was here, he would definitely recognize him as one of the main instigators who incited the Turií to expel him. At this moment, he faced the senators of Amendolar and loudly rebuked, "Amendolar is an ally of Turií, is this how you treat an emissary of an ally?! Letting a lowly slave stand together with a noble Turií general is an insult to the Turií! If Amendolar does not respond kindly to the Turií's request, the Turií will reconsider their alliance with Amendolar! "
As soon as this was said, the senators sitting on the wooden chairs in the hall were in an uproar.
At this moment, the censor, Antonios, stood up and said, "Dear Turií emissary, we have yet to discuss the Turií's request. I didn't expect you to take the initiative to walk to the center of the hall as soon as you entered. I forgot to remind you that your seat is here. " Antonios pointed to a seat at the side of the hall. "I think the noble emissary from Turií should know the diplomatic etiquette of the city-state better than us. Without permission, foreign emissaries should remain silent."
The senators roared with laughter.
Plesinas wasn't embarrassed at all. He pointed at the slave and continued to say loudly, "I've never heard of a slave being allowed to sit in when a city-state is discussing a major issue! The Senate of the City of Amendola is such a sacred place, how could it be desecrated by a lowly slave! "
"This is because, as the representative of the slaves who escaped to Amendarra, his request concerns Amendarra and Turií. I think it is necessary to ask him to state his request again, so that we, the nobles, can have a fair discussion and judge whether his request is reasonable or not. Well then, esteemed Turií emissary, are you prepared to stand there and prevent us from starting our meeting? " Devers, who was sitting in the middle of the hall, spoke in a calm and dignified tone, causing Pleasinath to sulkily sit in his seat.
"Slave, you can now state your request," the rotating chairman of the Senate, the city's governor, Cornelus, said loudly.
The slave respectfully saluted and said, "Respected lords, my name is Aristokrati. First of all, I want to say that I was not born lowly. My father was a nobleman from Cyrenaica who mainly dealt in silphion grass. He had hundreds of slaves and a large farm. Eight years ago, my father took me to the Olympia to watch the Games. During the voyage, we encountered pirates … My father … My father was killed … I was sold to Turií … "
Aristokrati took a deep breath and suppressed the surging sadness in his heart. He continued, "Although I encountered misfortune, I did not complain too much. Perhaps it was the punishment of the gods. In Turií, I did my best to complete the tasks given by my master and never slacked … Until two months ago, when the city-state gathered us and brought us to the mercenary camp. My lord, you stood in front of us and called us to fight for Turií. " Aristokrati respectfully saluted the Devers again, "You also said, 'As long as we win, we will be free!' For freedom, we, who had never held a weapon before, picked up a weapon! For freedom, we, who had never killed before, fought against the ferocious Lucanians! It was these ferocious Lucanians who defeated Turií, but freedom made us fearless! We fought bravely, and when we won the war, there were more than two thousand slaves left … "
Aristokrati gently sniffled, causing the new citizens to fall into a trance. It was as if they were in the midst of a fierce battle with a slim chance of survival.
"We waited for the exciting moment to come, but what we got was cold swords and spears! Turií was saved, and we were brought back to the dark and damp mine to continue carrying the heavy ore. We protested, but what we received was only beatings and fasting … Just as we were in despair, we heard a piece of news. The mercenaries and slaves who had fought alongside us had now become free citizens, and they might even become citizens of the city in the future. Why did the same slaves, who fought for Turií, end up with two completely different outcomes? Unwilling to give up, we attacked the guards of the mine and escaped here. I want to ask you, my lord, is the oath you made in the name of the gods still valid? "
Aristokrati's emotional narration moved the elders present, and for a moment, the hall was silent. Only Pleasinus shouted, "He's lying! They are not the slaves who participated in the battle at all! "
Antonios immediately stood up and said, "As for whether they are slaves who participated in the battle, we have a way to verify this question. Because the free people of the city-state have fought with them for a night and a day, they are more familiar with them. I have asked them to go to the slave prison to identify them, and I request to let the representatives of the free people enter the Senate to testify. "
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
The elders agreed, and Pleasinus's objections were completely drowned out.
Taking advantage of this free time, the Devers looked with interest at Aristokrati, who had a thick beard, a few scars on his face, dark skin, and a somewhat stooped figure, and asked, "What you asked me just now, I will answer you in a moment. From what you said just now, it seems like you have received a good education. Why did you become a mining slave? " A well-educated slave like Aristokrati would usually fetch a high price, and he would never be too wasteful to do the dirty and hard work that only ordinary slaves would do.
Aristokrati smiled bitterly, "I was bought by a wealthy Turií merchant to help him manage his vineyard and winery. I did a good job and won his trust. He even said that he would give me freedom … Unfortunately, he died of illness. His wife soon married again, and my new master gave me to the city-state of Turií for free. At that time, the city-state was lacking mining slaves, so they took me …"
There must be some complicated inside story behind this, but seeing Aristokrati's calm face, it was obvious that he had already gotten over it. Dyvers said in admiration, "I don't think the gods are punishing you, but training you!"
When Aristokrati heard this, he suddenly became excited. It was obvious that he had heard something from the Devers' words.
At this moment, the representatives of the free people entered the hall. After swearing to the gods, they gave the answer: these escaped slaves had indeed participated in the battle!
Pleasinus did not accept this. He stood up and retorted, "It is common for a city-state to let slaves participate in battles! For example, Sparta often let Helots fight with them, and they won countless victories. Did Sparta let Helots free? Obviously not! Based on the many years of friendship between Turií and Amendolar, as well as the busy trade during this period, I don't think the Devers would make such a promise. This slave is obviously lying! Returning lost property to the owner is a virtue of the Greeks! I once again request the Senate of Amendolar to return these slaves that originally belonged to Turií to Turií! "
Aristokrati's expression changed slightly, and he looked at the Devers.
Dyvers, on the other hand, looked at the arrogant and tough Pleasinas and sneered in his heart. 'This Turi man was actually threatening me and Amendolara in a subtle way!'
He stood up and said to Aristokrati with a serious expression, "What you asked me just now, I can answer you. I am the Devers. Amendolar is the Life Consul, and the promise I made is like the raging fire of hell that will never be extinguished! That's right, I promised to give you freedom after the battle is won! Because you are Turií slaves, I asked Burcos to be my witness, and I asked him to write my promise on a piece of paper and rush back to the Turií city for the generals to sign. Before the battle started, when Burcos came to persuade us to return, I once again reiterated my promise to Burcos, but I did not expect that you are still shackled to this day! "
The Devers's expression was sorrowful, and he said loudly, "You saved Turií, Turií owes you! You helped the mercenaries, Amendolar owes you too! I ask the Turií emissaries, please give them freedom! "
As soon as the Devers's voice fell, the senators shouted in unison, "Give them freedom! Since you have sworn to God, you should give these poor and respectable slaves freedom, Turií! "
Pleasinus looked flustered, and he said shamelessly, "Turií has never seen an agreement to give them freedom! I have never seen it either! Lord Devers, you must have remembered wrongly! Yes, you must have remembered wrongly! "
Comments