Chapter 279
"Well … the people of Tarantum aren't as obvious as Hebrus said, but they really don't like to interact with our Greek city-states," the soldier who knew Tarantum very well, Seetarsis, answered seriously. The soldier who knew Tarantum very well, Sitarsis, answered seriously, "It's just that in recent years, because of the constant invasion of the Mesapi, they proposed to establish a southern defense alliance in Greece to resist the indigenous barbarians together! Although the previous city-states like Turií and Crotto have joined, everyone is actually not very enthusiastic … "
"What right do these Tarantum people have to look down on us!" Hebrus said loudly. "Brothers, in fact, you don't know that the people of Tarantum say that they are the descendants of Sparta, but that is all false! They are the descendants of illegitimate children, the children of Sparta women and slaves! "
As soon as this was said, the soldiers were in an uproar. Most of them were born poor and had little education. Of course, it was impossible for them to understand the history of Tarantum. They asked in surprise, "Hebrus, is what you said true?! The people of Tarantum are Sparta women and slaves — "
"Of course it's true! As long as you are a soldier of the original Turií citizens, you should know about this. It is said that hundreds of years ago, the Sparta men were fighting outside for a long time, and the women … Hehe … How unbearable, they actually slept with the slaves! When the children were born and grew up, the Sparta men came back and found out about this. How could they bear this insult, so they drove them out of the city. So, the people of Sparta built Tarantum not because they had a large population and insufficient food, and were forced to colonize, but for the stability and reputation of the city-state of Sparta. So, it should not be the people of Tarantum who look down on us, but we who look down on them! A group of illegitimate children! A group — "Het Barus was mocking them smugly when he suddenly heard the people around him shouting." Be careful! Get out of the way! "
Before he could react, he received a heavy punch in the face. Suddenly, his vision turned black, and he fell forward. Fortunately, he was supported by his comrades behind him.
"Hey, why did you hit people!" The surrounding soldiers were shocked and rushed forward to stop the angry soldier.
"You shut up! Shut up! If you say another word, I'll beat you to death! The soldier's eyes were bloodshot as he roared at Het Barus.
"Shut up, Prososus, you're crazy!" As the team leader, Seatharsis quickly stepped forward and angrily reprimanded the soldier who had injured him. "Picking a quarrel and beating up a comrade. You will be punished by military law!"
At this moment, Het Barus woke up. When he saw who it was, he was furious. "How dare you hit me! Brothers, beat him up for me! Beat this annoying rock! " With that, he rushed over, pushed Sitarsis aside, and started fighting with Prososus. A few soldiers were actually encouraged by him and joined in the fight.
The ship was in a mess, and the noisy shouting naturally alerted Parmanius, who was also on the same ship. When he arrived with his men, Prososus had already knocked down the soldiers, including Het Barus.
"Prososus, do you want to be chased out of Diónia?!" Parmanius's shout made Prososus, who was still angry, shudder. He thought of something and immediately stopped kicking people. He stood where he was with his hands behind his back.
"Tie him up!" Parmanius ordered.
The soldiers hesitated and stepped forward. Prososus did not move and allowed them to pin him down on the deck.
"Team leader, he started it. I didn't provoke him, but he suddenly came up and punched me!" Het Barus pointed at the scar on his face and complained to Parmanius.
"Don't say anything." Parmanius ignored him and asked Seatharsis the team leader for the reason. His face immediately darkened.
"Why did you beat up your comrade?!" Parmanius shouted.
Prososus's hands were tied behind his back and he was forced to the ground. However, he did not say a word as Parmanius interrogated him.
This time, Parmanius felt a headache coming on.
Previously, many soldiers of the First and Second Legions had migrated to Crimissa and Asprostum, where Legio IV would be established. Hence, the First and Second Legions had to recruit more soldiers to fill the vacancies.
Prososus was a registered foreigner who applied to become a probationary citizen. It was said that he came from Agos. Therefore, after he entered the recruit camp, his performance in training quickly amazed the instructors in the camp. This young man was not only physically strong, but he was also highly skilled. Whether it was a shield, a spear, a saber, or a javelin, he was also adept at marching and listening to orders. Some of the tactical movements unique to Diónia were also learned by him. He easily won first place in the recruit camp's grand tournament.
The instructors were surprised by his military talent. The team officers of all levels also heard of his deeds and fought to get him to join their teams. Matonis was also one of them. It was said that he used his connections with the Devers to finally get Prososus to join his team. He reminded Parmanius many times to focus on training him.
However, Parmanius soon found out that Prososus had a huge shortcoming — he was not sociable. He performed well during training, but he did not like to talk during breaks. He rarely talked to his teammates and always sat alone at the side, thinking about something. His teammates gave him the nickname "Stone" and accused him of being arrogant. That was why Het Barus had so many helpers during the fight just now. It was obvious that the soldiers in the team did not like him.
"Very well, if you don't say it now, the military judge will let you say it when we get ashore!" Parmanius said angrily and left. He still had to think about how to mention this to Matonis.
Prososus was tied to the mast. He did not care about the strange looks from the soldiers around him, nor did he care about the punishment. However, his eyes were still red. He lowered his head and tried not to cry. At this moment, he thought of his mother.
Prososus was not his real name. He was Leotychides, the son of the former King of Sparta, Arcis. His mother chose to commit suicide because of the rumors, and he finally made up his mind to leave Sparta.
When he was looking for a place to stay, he found that there were not many places for him to choose from. The eastern Mediterranean Sea was now the world of Sparta. Persia, which was at war with Sparta, might be a good place to go. However, although Leotychides wanted to take revenge on Sparta, he did not want to ruin the reputation of himself and his father. He did not want the people to believe that his uncle Agesilaus was the right choice to inherit the throne. The western Mediterranean Sea was out of the reach of Sparta. There were many Greek city-states, but he still hoped that one day he could cause trouble for Sparta, who humiliated him and caused his mother's death. Therefore, there were only a few city-states he could choose from.
Syracuse was one, but it was an ally of Sparta. Carthage was another, but it was a foreign race and could not speak the language. Moreover, Leotychides knew nothing about it. In the end, he chose Diónia because Phoebidas complained to the Council of Elders about Diónia's rudeness to Sparta when he was sent to Diónia. However, he was at the meeting and was very curious about this city-state alliance that dared to look down on Sparta. Before that, the censor Chrysops had recommended to the Council of Elders a "foreigner with extraordinary military talent", and this person was the current Consul of Diónia. Leotychides clearly remembered that his uncle had also expressed concern about this person.
When he found an opportunity to escape from Sparta and came to Great Greece, he found that Diónia had great influence in Great Greece. It was almost the most powerful city-state alliance in southern Italy, and it had only been less than two years since its establishment.
Leotychides was surprised by the rapid rise of Diónia, so he stayed at the port of Turií to observe. After learning about the past deeds of Diónia, the unique city-state management system, and the urban customs, especially after witnessing a triumphant victory, he had a vague premonition that one day, this city-state alliance would fulfill his wish. He felt that he had come to the right place, so he decided to live incognito and stay in Diónia.
He took some of the gold and silver that his father, Arkis, had secretly stored in Crete to maintain his living expenses. He applied to the alliance to become a citizen of Diónia. Thanks to the cruel "Agog" training he received from Sparta since he was a child, he stood out in the recruit training of Diónia. He even obtained the official citizenship of the legion before becoming a probationary citizen.
But he was obsessed with the grief of his mother's death and had an unforgettable hatred for the people of Sparta, so he could not integrate into this new group. The word "illegitimate child" was simply taboo to him. No wonder he would go crazy when he heard it.
… …
The bay of Tarantum was shaped like a gourd. Two naturally formed arc-shaped bays were stacked together. It not only expanded the capacity of the port, but also made it safer. The people of Tarantum had reinforced the opening of the gourd bay and the narrowing of the waist, building two water gates to strengthen the defense of the port.
At this moment, the first water gate was wide open, and countless troop ships filed in. Under the guidance and supervision of dozens of patrol ships from Tarantum, they sailed to the northwest corner of the bay one after another. The coastline of the entire bay was quite long. The city of Tarantum was located in the southeast corner of the bay, so it could not include the land defense of the bay. Therefore, Tarantum arranged for the garrison of Diónia reinforcements to be stationed in the northwest corner of the bay. This was the place where Tarantum's control over the bay was the weakest, and it was also the intention of letting the people of Diónia help defend the bay.
Devers's ship sailed through the first water gate. The originally stormy sea was calm here, and he could not help but sigh. Although the port of Turií had built a breakwater and excavated and widened inward, the port was still a little crowded. It was inevitable that ships would be damaged during storms. Unlike the bay here, there was no need to worry about these problems at all. It was a natural and excellent port. I wonder what the port of Crotone, another famous good port in the Great Greek city-states, looks like?
Note: I have some time today, so I want to talk about Archita in history. The information I have collected is mostly about his achievements in mathematics, and there are only a few words about other aspects. He was known as the "Pericles of Great Greece." After serving as the consul of Tarantum for many years, Tarantum remained prosperous and powerful in the Apulia region for more than ten years. But please note that even during this prosperous period, Brindisi and Manduria have never been occupied by Tarantum, which means that the prosperity of Tarantum was defensive. He also invited Plato to Tarantum as a guest when he was rejected by Dionysius II. Plato once thought that Archita was the expected philosophical king in the utopia he described because the Pythagorean school not only inherited mathematics but also had its own philosophical ideas. Archita finally died in a shipwreck, and it was said that his body was only fished up after centuries.
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