Chapter 152
When the news of the Crotone army's defeat reached Ciudad Crotone, the whole city was shocked.
There was a heated debate in an emergency meeting in the city hall.
Chief General Myron cursed Amendolara's despicable (referring to the sneak attack) and Melantius's incompetence. He proposed to organize another army to fight against Amendolara and restore Crotone's reputation.
Lysias attacked Myron, arguing that it was his order to burn the city that caused the surrounding city-states to feel uneasy and turn against Crotone. Now that Crotone had suffered a great defeat, they should not use their weapons to avoid being besieged by Rockley, Tarantum, Amendolara, and other city-states.
Both sides had their own supporters, and there was no compromise.
Half a day later, news deliberately spread by the Amendolara- Turií Alliance (hereafter referred to as the Tua Alliance): the Tua Alliance had captured more than five thousand Crotone people, about a thousand Asprostum and Sirians, twelve hundred Crimissa and Castellón, and more than a thousand freedmen and slaves …
The sad people of Crotone heard the news and saw hope. They gathered and went to the city hall to pressure the council to ransom their loved ones.
At this time, another news came: the Tua Alliance and Tarantum had formed an offensive and defensive alliance.
Myron finally stopped insisting. After discussion, the council finally decided to send Lysias as an emissary to Turií to ransom the Crotone captives in the hands of the Tua Alliance. If necessary, they could sign a truce.
Lysias led the emissary group to the north by boat. They caught the wind and arrived at the mouth of the Krati River in less than half a day. Here, he saw a surprising scene: countless merchant ships were densely lined up at the mouth of the river like wooden walls. Ships sailed out from between the wooden walls from time to time, and ships continued to converge from all directions …
Wasn't the city of Turií burned to the ground? Why were there still so many merchant ships trading here? Lysias was puzzled.
Soon, his doubts were answered. A simple fishing boat came to greet them, "Hi, are you here to trade or to discuss business?" A man at the bow said loudly.
After receiving Lucius's instructions, the attendant asked, "What do you do?"
"Do you see the pattern on the sail?" The man pointed his finger upwards with a proud look on his face. The black hair on the sail was like a flame wrapped around the weapon in the middle of the sail. It was the symbol of Hades, the double-pronged fork. "Do you know that our Consul Davus is the descendant of Hades? My name is Sequerian, and I'm now the navigator appointed by the commercial officer, Lord Marigi. I'm in charge of maintaining the smooth navigation. You have to tell me what you're here for, or I'll have to ask you to leave so that you don't block the navigation of the ships behind you. "
Lysias hesitated for a moment before making a firm decision. "We're envoys from the Crotone, here to negotiate with the Tua Alliance!"
There was no anger, no insults, or any other abnormal emotions. Instead, Sebastian's expression was calm. He nodded and said, "You people of Crotone sure are patient to only arrive now. The envoys from Castellón, Crimissa, and Siletina have arrived long ago! "
Lysias's heart skipped a beat. The attendant asked curiously, "Why aren't you angry?"
"Why should I be angry? It's because you're people of Crotone." Sebastian shrugged. "You burned Turií, but I'm not a citizen of Turií. I'm just a free man. On the contrary, I'm quite grateful to the Crotone. "
Sebastian smiled mysteriously and said, "Let's not talk too much. Quickly follow my boat and don't block the navigation."
Sebastian's fishing boat led Lysias's boat into the Krati River and sailed upstream.
Lysias looked at the northern estuary. He could vaguely see a few simple wooden docks on the shore. Goods were constantly being unloaded from merchant ships and transported by carts to an earthen enclosure not far from the docks. It seemed to be located in the old city of Barris.
Lysias furrowed his brows. When the Crotone had sent envoys to question the Turií on why they had violated the agreement, everyone in the council had agreed. However, Lysias had objected to the idea of sending troops to attack Turií to avenge the envoys. He believed that accepting the Turií's apology and receiving more compensation had already achieved the Crotone's goal. There was no need to send more troops to battle. It would be a waste of manpower and resources, and he was afraid that accidents would happen. In the end, after the Crotone's crushing defeat, the Turií no longer cared about the Crotone's attitude and began to make use of the old city of Barris again.
"You haven't said why you're thanking the Crotone?" one of the envoys asked loudly at the bow of the boat.
Sebastian replied loudly from the fishing boat, "Isn't it obvious? If the Crotone hadn't burned Turií, there wouldn't have been an alliance between Amendola and the Turií, and there wouldn't have been a Devers as our archon. He's the descendant of the Hades and has such a noble status, but he cares about the people very much. Not only does he not discriminate against us freemen and slaves, he's very friendly, just like he treats his own citizens! Have you heard of the Amendolara Immigration Act proposed by the Devers? Oh, no, it should be called the Immigration Act of the Tua Alliance now. "
The Crotone man shook his head.
Sebastian gave him a look that said, "You're ignorant!" and explained the general content of the Immigration Act loudly. He then said excitedly, "The Devers said that after the initial construction of Turií is completed, the Act will be implemented. Anyone who wants to become a Turií citizen and behaves well can apply for registration with the census officer. I heard that once you become a probationary citizen, you can join the army and fight for a piece of land! My comrades are working hard now, wishing that Turií can be built by tomorrow. Who knows, I might be an official citizen by the next time you come! "
Seeing Sebastian's intoxicated expression, someone couldn't help but refute, "I've never heard of a city that would allow outsiders to become citizens so easily. Maybe this Immigration Act is a lie, made up to make you work hard for them!"
"Shut your mouth, don't spout nonsense!" Sebastian was furious, "The Devers announced this act in front of all the freemen and slaves. How can it be fake? Do you know who the Devers are? When faced with the threat of the Turií, he would rather cut ties with them and pay for the freedom of the escaped slaves! When faced with the Crotone army, he would rather fight you than cut ties with the occupied Turií! Lord Devers has proven that he is a man of his word. So, I believe what he says, all of us believe him! If you weren't an envoy here to negotiate, I'd feed you to the fishes in the river right now! "
The Crotone people blushed and wanted to curse loudly, but Lysias stopped his follower's impulse.
Sebastian stared coldly at the movements of the ship behind him. Seeing that the situation had quietened down quickly, he was a little disappointed. He purposely spat at the river behind him and ignored them.
Lucius fell into deep thought. Based on what he knew, Turil's current population was probably no more than three thousand, while Amendola's population was estimated to be at most four thousand. Crotone's population alone was more than thirty thousand, and there were also the affiliated cities of Aspuztum, Siletina, Corunna, and so on. The difference in strength was like the difference between heaven and earth. However, if the Tua Alliance could make use of the tens of thousands of freemen and slaves here, it would definitely be worth paying attention. However, how could their loyalty to the city compare to that of the natives who had been citizens of the city for generations, who had come from all over the world in such a hurry to become citizens of the city?
Lysias deeply doubted it.
He stared at the river and saw many fishing boats with double-pronged patterns on their sails coming and going, unusually busy …
When the towering city wall appeared in front of them, Lysias knew that they were almost at the city of Turií. He looked at the towers on the city wall. In the past, the two towers were connected by an iron chain, which was quite spectacular. When the enemy ships attacked, the iron chain would be lowered to prevent the enemy from entering Turií through the water. However, this time, Melantius had used a spy to directly attack the south of the city, rendering the iron chain useless. Now, it had disappeared. Melantius must have cut it off … Thinking of Melantius, although Lysias did not have a good relationship with Melantius, and their governing philosophy was completely opposite, he could not help but feel sad when he heard about his tragic fate (he was beaten to death by the Turií people, his body was so bloody that it was impossible to tell that he was human).
Sebastian's fishing boat docked at the port of Turií. He got off the boat first and ran to report the situation to a group of soldiers stationed at the dock.
The group of soldiers quickly came over under the leadership of the captain.
The Crotone people noticed that even in the city, the group of soldiers still maintained a complete formation.
"General, we should disembark," the attendant reminded Lysias who was thinking.
Lysias, who came back to his senses, looked around: he had been to Turií several times. At that time, the port of Turií had more than a dozen docks, some made of stone, some made of wood, and there were hundreds of ships docked there. The port area had warehouses, hotels, and residences, and it was bustling and messy. Now, there were only a few lonely stone docks here, and everywhere was scorched black. Of course, this was the masterpiece of the Crotone people!
Lysias calmly disembarked from the boat. The group of soldiers also calmly checked them. After confirming that they were the emissaries of the Crotone, a soldier immediately rode to report to the Senate, while the emissaries continued to wait in place.
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