Chapter 150
In the afternoon, the Devers convened an emergency meeting of the Senate of Turín and invited Cunogorata, Ancetanos, Burcos, and a dozen other prominent and influential citizens to attend. The list even included Plesinas and Polyxis.
The Asistes were puzzled and asked, "Sir, why did you invite Plesinas, a shameless and untrustworthy villain, to attend the meeting?"
The Devers said seriously, "To us, Plesinas is an untrustworthy villain. To the Turín, he is a patriot who does not hesitate to destroy his own honor for the benefit of the city. We should respect such a person! "
"What about Polyxis? He is a deserter! "
The Devers did not answer. He had asked Cunogorata. Although Cunogorata was betrayed by Neonesis and Polyxis, he still suggested that the Devers invite Polyxis to attend the meeting, because the Polyxis family had always been very influential among the Turín Pioscia immigrants.
Plesinas had been restless ever since the people of Turín came to rescue the people of Turín. He even wanted to leave Turín and emigrate to other cities. When Amendolara's messengers found him and sent him an invitation, he was still skeptical. The messenger told him what the Devers had said, and Plesinas actually shed tears. The Turín, who had been taken care of by the people of Amendolara for the past two days, felt guilty and blamed Plesinas for destroying the friendship between Turín and Amendolara. Even his relatives were distancing themselves from him. He was very grateful for the Devers's affirmation.
At the same time, the invitation to Plesinas also showed the Turín that Amendolara was willing to let bygones be bygones, and many Turín who had worked against Amendolara were relieved.
At that time, because the conditions were simple and crude, the meeting was held on the grass. Everyone sat cross-legged on the ground in a circle, surrounded by guards.
At the meeting, the Devers proposed that the Turí-Amendola Union be established. The citizens of the two cities would share a Consul and a Senate. They also invited the Turís present, including Cunogorata, to join the Senate and become a member of the Senate of the new Union.
This was a suggestion that the Devers had discussed with the Senators of Amendarra beforehand. The Turís were weak, and they relied heavily on Amendarra's help and protection. Moreover, they could become Senators of the Senate, so why not?
The news quickly spread to the Turís, and most of them cheered. The main reason was that if the alliance was established, they would be able to accept the aid and protection of the powerful Amendolar soldiers without any qualms! They would not have to worry about betrayal or abandonment because they would become a family!
When the cheers reached the ears of the new Turís who were in the meeting, their last concerns disappeared.
Then, the Devers said that since the Turís and Amendarra had become a family, the laws of Amendarra would also apply to the Turís. The rights and obligations of the Amendarans would also apply to the citizens of Turís.
Except for a few Turís Senators who slightly disagreed with the bill that citizens who owned land would have to pay an annual land tax of one percent, the Devers's proposal passed by a large margin.
Then, the Devers proposed that the slaves who participated in the battle against the Lucanian army would be granted freedom. The freedmen who participated in the battle against the Lucanian army and did not betray the Turís and join the Crotone army would become citizens of the new Union. The leaders of the freedmen who caused the rebellion and caused the fall of the Turís would be sentenced to death by the Turís!
This proposal was passed without any controversy. Because through the burning of the city of Turís, the Turís also had a deep reflection. They realized that it was precisely because the Turís broke their promise and mishandled the freedmen and slaves that it was one of the main reasons for the disaster.
After listening to the Devers's proposal, Plesinas was slightly embarrassed. Unexpectedly, the Devers proposed that Plesinas be responsible for the execution. This was a good opportunity for Plesinas to wash away the stain on his name. Once again, he was grateful to the Devers.
In fact, most of the freedmen who participated in the battle of Lucania participated in the rebellion and followed the Crotone army to transport the spoils of war to the Crotone army, but they were captured by the Amendaran army. The slaves, on the other hand, lost control because of the fall of Turís. Most of the miners and slaves fled deep into the mountains, while most of the slaves in the city chose to stay. Because instead of fleeing elsewhere, most of them would still become slaves. If they were captured by the indigenous people, their situation would be even worse. It was better to follow a familiar master. Other than the lack of freedom, their lives were still passable. There were very few freedmen and slaves who truly met the conditions of the proposal, but for the freedmen and slaves who still lingered around the ruins of Turís and had yet to leave, it was undoubtedly great news. Because they believed that the rumored consul did indeed have a good impression of the freedmen and slaves, and he was also a consul for life, which meant that in the future, they would have more opportunities to gain freedom and become official citizens.
Stabilizing the freedmen and slaves' emotions and arousing their enthusiasm for the new alliance, the safety of the Turís was guaranteed, because they far outnumbered the Turís.
The first Senate meeting of the Turís — Amendaran Alliance was highly efficient. Proposals to help the reconstruction of Turís were passed, and Cunogorata was proposed by the Devers and elected as the Turís city governor with a large number of votes, including the votes of the Turís Senators. The main reason was that Cunogorata disregarded the past and did his best to help the Turís, causing the Turís to feel guilty. In addition, the shrewd Turís Senators knew that the political situation would be dominated by the Amendarans for a long time in the future, so in order to gain the favor of Cunogorata, they had to work hard to make Cunogorata speak up for the Turís.
Since the two cities were not far from each other, apart from the official position of the chief executive of each city, the rest of the official positions were shared. According to the needs, there would be deputy positions or assistants assigned to each city to perform their duties.
At the same time, the Turís Reconstruction Committee was established, headed by the Devers and assisted by the two city governors, Cornelos and Cunogorata. They would lead the reconstruction of the entire Turís.
In the end, Burcos asked the question that the Turís were worried about, "What if the Crotone attack again?"
The Devers's expression did not change. He smiled and said, "I think we can let the military officer answer this question."
Felicius stood up and said, "Senators, let me give a brief account of the results of this battle. We sent out a total of 4,895 soldiers, killed more than 6,000 people, and captured 9,000. This is a very high casualty rate. On average, an Amendaran soldier killed more than one enemy. According to normal battles, no matter how powerful the Amendolan soldiers are, such a situation shouldn't have happened. It's only because it was a sneak attack, and the Crotone soldiers were drunk, asleep, unarmed, and unarmed that they suffered such a high casualty rate. On the other hand, we only suffered 72 deaths and 200 injuries. "
As soon as he said this, the Tuliyi elders were dumbfounded.
Felicius continued, "Among the 9,000 prisoners, there are about 5,000 Crotone soldiers. This is mainly because when the Crotone set up their camp, they arranged for the soldiers of the other cities to be on the periphery." Felicius glanced at the Devers. "We can use these prisoners to force the Crotone to negotiate with us. If the negotiation fails, I see that although Turís was destroyed by fire, the walls are mostly intact since they are made of stone. We can organize a large number of people to quickly repair the walls and defend against the Crotone's attack. At the same time, we can ask for help from Tarantum. "
"Will Tarantum help us?" Burcos was doubtful. After all, the Turís had tried the same thing before. Tarantum had sent messengers as a token, but after the persuasion failed, there was no more movement.
"With the Crotone greatly weakened, not only will Tarantum help us, but Rockley will also take action!" Cunogorata, who was familiar with the situation in Greece, said, "Lord Consul, we should organize the manpower now and first build the walls. Also, we must immediately try to form an alliance with Tarantum!"
"We have always been allies with Tarantum!" Amyntas said abruptly.
"That's not the same. Back then, it was Amendola that signed a contract with Tarantum. Now, Amendola has become the Turís — the Amendola Alliance," Antonios explained to him in a low voice.
Amyntas scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Lord Cunogorata, you have reminded me that we really need Tarantum's help now!" Although the Devers said this, he did not think that Tarantum's help was necessary, but it was important to understand Tarantum's attitude. Originally, Amendola was just an inconspicuous ally of Tarantum. Suddenly, it became an alliance of two cities, and its strength soared. What would Tarantum think? Cunogorata was reminding him! Therefore, the Devers gave him a look of gratitude.
… …
Marigi and Ancitanos were ordered to go to the Senate of Tarantum.
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