Chapter 221
As a result, in this new village, which was made up of dozens of families who were mostly probationary citizens, Agilas was elected without a doubt. This was because he was one of the mercenaries who followed the Devers to Turín. During the battle against the Lucania Coalition, his left leg was seriously injured, and he became a cripple after he recovered. After the Tua Alliance was established, when the Devers came to visit the wounded soldiers, he made a request: he wanted to change the "land" assigned to him in Amendola to the south bank of the Krati River. Initially, he just wanted to be as far away from his lively comrades as possible, so as not to be reminded of the past.
With the influx of people, the farmland on the Xubari Plain was developed, and new villages sprang up quickly on the flat and fertile plain like bamboo shoots after a rain. Originally, in the eyes of the dozens of new families, Agilas was a serious and unapproachable person. However, under the supervision of a notary sent by the Senate, Agilas was easily elected as the village chief. Only then did everyone know that he was a veteran mercenary who followed Hades, a benevolent consul, and an undefeated General Devers. They immediately looked at him in awe.
Agilas was a serious person. Since he had become the chief of the village, he had to fulfill his duties: maintaining order in the village, resolving disputes between the villagers, educating the villagers on morals and customs, checking the farming in the village, reminding the villagers to participate in military training on time, supervising their military service, paying taxes, recording the population growth, and guarding against epidemics. He was in charge of everything.
Every morning, he got up early, walked to every corner of the village with a cane, and sometimes even dragged his injured leg, jumping into the mud with the villagers to repair the canals.
After a few months, the entire village praised his performance. When they saw him, they all looked at him with sincere respect, which made him rediscover the meaning of his life and struggle.
After the war between Crotone and Diónia, all the adult males in the village went to war. Spring was the planting season, so there was obviously a shortage of labor. Although every family had slaves, agriculture was different from industry. There were not many fields, and the output was not high. Having too many slaves would only waste money and food. When labor was really tight, they could rent slaves to get through the busiest period. Therefore, every family only had one or two household slaves. Agilas went to the Turín Senate, registered, and brought back 30 city-state slaves to help the village with farm work.
In the whole village, except for Agilas, the disabled man, the women, the elderly, and the children, the rest were all slaves, mostly strong male slaves. But Agilas was not worried that these slaves would cause trouble, because the law of the League stipulated that every year, on the celebration day of the founding of the League of the Cities of Diónia (October 30), a group of city-state slaves who worked hard and performed well would be granted freedom in front of the Temple of Hades. This was a reward for their obedience, and it also showed the mercy of the Hades. Since the law was promulgated, the city-state slaves became more enthusiastic about their work, and their efficiency doubled. For the household slaves in the countryside, it was not easy for farmers to have a slave, and they relied heavily on the slave, so they naturally cherished the slave very much. They often treated the slave like family. The longer the time, the closer the bond between the two parties would be, and the greater the freedom the slave would have. As long as the master was wealthy and could pay the ransom required by the League, many of the slaves would be freed before their master passed away. After being freed, these slaves would often return to their master's house and continue to help with the household chores as servants.
With the help of the slaves, the spring plowing of the entire village was done well. Of course, when he was free, Agilas would comfort the women and the elderly in the village who were worried about their loved ones who were going to war.
One day, because the water wheel in the village was broken, Agilas rushed to the city of Turín early in the morning to find someone to fix it. After making an appointment with a skilled carpenter, he hurried home.
As soon as he opened the door, the female slave at home immediately came up to him and told him, "Madame is sleeping now. She didn't vomit today."
Only then did Agilas relax. He had fought on the battlefield for most of his life, and he thought he would die in the wilderness or be alone for the rest of his life. He did not expect that after coming to Greece with the Devers, he would become a citizen of the city, get a share of the land, marry a wife, start a family, and now have children. This was really a blessing from the Hades!
When he heard the news from the doctor, he was so happy that he danced with joy. He even used his savings to buy a female slave to take care of his pregnant wife.
"Master, please drink some water." The female slave obediently held a wooden cup of water.
Agilas, who felt thirsty, did not drink it immediately. He asked, "Is it boiled?" In the past, Greeks were used to drinking unboiled water, but the skilled doctor Helpus had repeatedly urged citizens to drink "boiled water," insisting that this would reduce the number of illnesses. Agilas was no stranger to this. When he was marching in Persia, the Devers had been strict with their mercenaries like this. For the sake of his unborn child, he needed to take care of his body.
The female slave nodded, and he drank it without worry.
"Bang!" The door was suddenly pushed open with a loud sound, and a young boy rushed in.
Agilas stared at him and was about to scold him.
The boy said breathlessly, "Uncle Agilas, I was collecting seashells by the sea … I saw … I saw a big ship stop on the beach, and many people got off. They were all armed!"
Enemies! Agilas was immediately alerted. He turned around and said to the female slave, "Go to the field and call Pomis back. Then help my wife go north and wait for me at the square of Turií!"
"Yes, master!" The female slave ran out of the yard.
"Child." Agilas remembered that the boy was called Patroclus. He was naughty and often got beaten by his father, a strong Sassotian. "When you saw those people, was there anyone else on the beach?"
"Just me."
Agilas thought for a while and asked, "Can you ride a mule?"
"I've ridden other people's cows and mules many times." The clever boy obviously realized the urgency of the situation and told his secret without fear of being scolded.
"Do you know the village in the south that's very close to us?"
"Yes, I even fought with the children in that village."
"Uncle wants you to ride my mule and immediately go there to inform them. Tell them that the enemy is coming and tell them to evacuate! Can you do that?"
"Yes!" The boy nodded vigorously.
"Good boy!" Agilas patted the boy's head with praise. Suddenly, he remembered something and took out the village chief's seal issued by the governor of Turií and stuffed it into the boy's hand. "If they don't believe me, show them this."
"Okay." The boy nodded again.
Agilas immediately led the young mule out from the pen in the yard. The boy easily jumped onto the mule's back.
"Child, remember, after you deliver the message, go to the wooden bridge by the Krati River and wait for us!" Agilas said.
"Yes, uncle." The boy shook the reins and the young mule ran out of the yard.
Seeing the boy's skillful movements, Agilas was half relieved. As an old mercenary, he and most of his comrades had similar thoughts. This alliance was built by them with blood and sweat, and they had the responsibility to protect it, not just their own village.
Agilas looked at the house reluctantly, then strode out and limped to the village square to ring the bronze bell and call the villagers to evacuate immediately.
Not long after Agilas led the slaves out of the village with the old and the young, thick smoke rose behind them …
The women screamed and cried bitterly for the burning village …
Agilas could still remain calm. Based on his previous plundering experience, he judged that the enemy would not immediately leave the village to chase after them, so he urged the villagers to hurry up, but he clenched his fists tightly. His first new home in the alliance was destroyed just like that!
… …
"This morning, three villages in Turií were destroyed and fifteen people were killed, but we did not catch a single enemy! Felicius, you have to think of a way! If this continues, the Victory Square will be filled with people who lost their homes, and then the entire alliance will fall into panic! Will the citizen soldiers still have the mood to fight?! " Kunogorata said anxiously. As the chief executive of Tuliyi, he couldn't just watch as Tuliyi, which had just recovered its prosperity, suffer another calamity.
"Don't worry, Master Cunogorata, sit down and discuss this slowly." Cornelus comforted him and explained on behalf of Felicius, "To be honest, the Crotone are very cunning. They used small warships to land on the coasts of Turií and Castellón. There were dozens of sailors with bows and javelins on them. The young citizens of our villages have all gone to fight, or else they would not have been so easily ambushed! When these sailors found out that our troops had arrived, they immediately fled back to their ships. We could not catch up even if we wanted to! There are only three brigades in the city, and we do not have enough manpower to defend the port of Turií and take care of Amendola! "
"But the problem must be solved as soon as possible!" Cunogorata snorted and said, "If we do not have enough manpower, we can consider using the freedmen!"
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