Chapter 189
Everyone felt a little depressed when they heard this.
"This is the Goddess of Fortune's arrangement. It's our fault for not following the Devers back then!" Tormid sighed. "The Devers are indeed God's Chosen. It's only been half a year and they've created such a huge business. It's not too late for us to follow them!"
Hearing Tormid's words, Zantiparis, who was already old, looked up at the silent starry sky. A wave of sadness welled up in his heart. "I don't know how you all feel. I'm old, and I'm tired of wandering around and killing non-stop. I'm afraid there won't be a tomorrow after today. It's not bad to settle down here … "
After saying this, everyone fell silent.
"Alright, everyone, don't think about the future. Think about how to smoothly pick up your other companions and stop them from causing trouble. Otherwise, we'll be in trouble!" Timason reminded everyone worriedly.
… …
Timason's worries were confirmed the next morning.
Before Timason and the others arrived at the port, they learned that more than a dozen outsiders were robbing the market. They even had a conflict with the managers who rushed over and injured some people. They were only arrested when the market patrol team (a total of 50 people, a team) arrived. Timason rushed over to take a look. It was indeed their mercenaries. In the end, they invited Agathia, who compensated them and made a promise. The mercenaries who committed the crime were sentenced to a month of labor. Only then did the matter come to an end.
To prevent such a thing from happening again, Timason and the others rented a house at the port and waited there.
Even so, conflicts began to increase every day. Most of them were related to these mercenaries. Some elders even proposed to expel these mercenaries from the Alliance and restore peace to the Alliance. In the end, Agathia, Antonio, Capus, and the others objected, but it still put some pressure on the Devers.
Time passed quickly. At the end of November, the shipyard in Enanilus was completed. The Devers and the other elders came to congratulate the shipyard and placed an order: three three-decker oar warships.
The establishment of the Dionysian fleet as soon as possible had been put on the agenda by the Senate to protect the increasingly prosperous ports and maritime trade of the Diónia Alliance. At the same time, it was necessary to change the awkward fact that the Diónia Alliance did not have a fleet and was even weaker than its two allies.
At the beginning of December, the Assembly Hall of the Senate of Turií was completed. Finally, the sad history of the senators having to travel to Amendola whenever they had an important meeting came to an end. It was a waste of energy and secrecy, and the coachmen took advantage of them.
At the same time, the Turií – Castellón Avenue was completed on land, except for the bridge over the Crati River, which was still under construction. The Turií Arena Plaza was about to be completed.
Just as the good news came from all the construction sites, a small cargo ship with a big symbol embroidered on its sail entered Greece's Taranto Bay. When the passing ships saw the symbol, they took the initiative to make way for it.
Phoebidas, the Sparta general who had just turned 30, took it for granted. He ordered the helmsman to steer straight to the port of Turií without any hesitation.
In the Western Mediterranean, Sparta had the most dealings with Syracuse, so it knew something about Sicily. Most of the Spartans didn't know much about Greece. Apart from seeing athletes from the Greek city-states during the Sports Meet, they didn't have much contact with them. True Spartan citizens couldn't do business, and they didn't have any trade relations with the Greek city-states … Thus, after entering this sea area, Phobidus sized up everything around him with great interest.
After looking at the port of Turií for a while, he said to his attendant, Dorobisis, "There are quite a lot of merchant ships here. I think it's about the same as Corinth."
Dorobisis was a Piriaci. Piriaci were also Lacidians, but they were not citizens of Sparta. Most of them lived on the border of Laconia. They had personal freedom and the right to deal with local affairs, but they had no political rights in Sparta. In the past, they mainly engaged in trade that Sparta citizens could not do. But now, due to the long years of war, the number of Sparta citizens dwindled, and the Piriaci began to join the army. Because of his different occupation, Dorobisis had a liveliness that was rarely seen in Sparta. He looked at the Crati estuary and deliberately asked, "The port of Corinth is not as lively as it is here. Phoebidas, you should ask me, 'How does it compare to Athens?' "
At the mention of Athens, Phoebidas's face darkened. Originally, after the defeat of Athens, Lysander established the "Council of Thirty" in Athens in an attempt to control the political situation in Athens. Although some people in Athens rebelled, if Sparta fully supported this puppet council, the people in Athens who rebelled would not be able to do anything. However, King Pausanias and the Elders led by Diopetius were not on good terms with Lysander. Not only did they deprive Lysander of his military command, they also pushed the Elders Council to negotiate peace with the democrats in Athens. In the end, the democrats in Athens overthrew the Council of Thirty and established a new democratic regime. Also, the Athens government, which had learned a painful lesson, became more flexible in its policies. On one hand, it tried to please Sparta, on the other hand, it tried to restore trade and agriculture after the war. Only a few years had passed, and the trade in Athens had begun to flourish again.
Phoebidas snorted and said no more.
At this time, the Diónia patrol ship came to greet them.
Phoebidas said loudly, "I'm the messenger of Sparta, and I want to see the Consul of the Alliance!"
The patrol ship did not dare to delay and immediately sailed back to the city of Turín.
Diplomatic affairs such as Sparta's visit were, of course, handled by the Senate. There were more than 50 senators in the Senate, but it was impossible for them to stay in the Council Hall every day. This was because it was not every day that a meeting of the Senate's senators would happen. Moreover, many of the senators had official duties, so the Devers adopted a rotation system. Every five senators would be on duty in the Council Hall for one day, and the other five would be replaced the next day.
When the patrol ship hurriedly sent the news to the Council Hall, the Devers had already received an urgent report from Aristiras in their courtyard.
The messenger of Sparta was here! The Devers frowned and immediately thought that Sparta might be here for Timason.
Soon, the patrol ship returned to the estuary and signaled for Sparta's warships to follow it.
Before coming here, Phoebidas did not know much about Turín. He did not know that the city of Turín and the port were not together. This was somewhat similar to Athens, but there were no city walls connecting the port and the city, so if a war broke out, the port could easily be occupied. Phoebidas looked at everything in front of him from a military perspective.
"There is no river like this in Athens, and look at the flat terrain. The soil should be very fertile. The agriculture in Turín must be good!" Dorobisis observed from an economic perspective.
After sailing for a few miles, Phoebidas saw the towers on both sides of the Turín and the iron chains hanging in the air across the Clati River. Phoebidas knew that once the enemy's fleet broke through the estuary and went up the North River, the iron chains would be lowered to block the warships from entering the city.
The patrol ship finally entered the pier on the north bank.
Phoebidas noticed that the pier, the bridges, and the houses on the shore were all clean and tidy. Only the pier at the edge was scorched black, so Dorobisis asked the captain of the patrol ship curiously.
"That's what our Consul, Sir Dyvers, wants us to preserve it. It's everywhere in the city, including the temple. He wants every citizen to see these ruins no matter where they go. It's a constant reminder to ourselves that this city was once burned down by invaders. We must remember this great shame and not let Tuliyi be bullied again. Only victory can restore its former glory! Just a few days ago, we repaired one of the ruins because we obtained Neutum! "
Looking at the captain's solemn and proud expression, Phoebidas did not seem to care, but his heart was touched.
At this moment, a group of guards walked over.
Phobidus observed their mental state and every movement. He could tell that this was a group of well-trained, disciplined soldiers, and definitely had plenty of actual combat experience. To be honest, other than the citizens of Sparta, he had never seen patrols in their own cities that could maintain a good formation and be ready for battle at any time. He was a little surprised.
The captain handed over his duties to the patrol captain, Olivers, and sailed away.
"Your soldiers must stay on the ship. Please come with me to the Senate!" Olivers said to Phoebidas sternly, "The Alliance has a rule that foreign soldiers are not allowed to enter the city!"
"They are Sparta warriors! They can freely enter and leave any Greek city-state! "Phobidus said in a loud and righteous voice. Although it was an exaggeration, many of the Greek cities in the eastern Mediterranean did have this privilege, so many of the cities were dissatisfied with it.
Olivers looked at him and said disapprovingly, "I know who you are. I don't care what you do in other cities, but as long as you step on the land of the City Alliance of Diónia, you must obey our laws!"
Phoebidas was extremely angry, but the patrol captain, Olivers, did not give in. He had a firm expression that said, "Either you obey the Alliance's rules, or you leave the Alliance's territory."
In the end, Dorobicius compromised and allowed the Sparta warriors to change into civilian clothes before they were allowed to pass.
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