Chapter 70
At the same time, Burcos was being questioned by the Turís generals in the city hall.
The political system of Turís was similar to that of Athens. Usually, the administration of the city adopted a system of "ten generals in charge" (after all, it was established under the leadership of Athens). However, unlike Athens, where the generals were elected by the citizens of Turís, the main immigrants came from the ten regions of Turís, namely Arcadia, Achaia, Pioscia, Ionia, Athens, Doria, and so on. Therefore, the citizens of these ten regions elected a general each year, and the chief general had always been a descendant of Athens.
However, after the end of the Peloponnesus War and the defeat of Athens, in order to prevent the retaliation of Sparta and the city-states that had joined the Sparta Alliance in Greater Greece, such as Tarantum, Crotone, and Syracuse, the city-states that had joined the Arcadian Alliance were expelled. At the urging of Cunogorata, all the descendants of Athens in Turís were expelled. At this point, there were only "nine generals" left in Turís, and the chief general was elected by the council from among the nine generals elected by the community. Cunogorata had been the chief general for four consecutive years. It was only after the invasion of the Lucanians last year and the crushing defeat of Turís that the citizens' assembly gave most of the votes to Felix, who they believed had the most military talent. Although he had lost his chief general position, Cunogorata was still elected as one of the nine generals. After all, his reputation among the Arcadians was too high.
Now, he was holding the employment agreement signed by Burcos and asked, "Burcos, as the person in charge of recruiting soldiers, you should know the price of mercenaries in the entire Greek region. How much is it?"
"About half a Dalic gold coin a month," Burcos answered truthfully.
"Very well, it's roughly the same as what I know. I noticed that in these two employment agreements, the first one is indeed half a Daric a month, but in the second agreement — "Cunogorata faced the other generals and said loudly," The same two thousand mercenaries, but you're paying them two Daric a month! "
Hearing this, the generals gasped in surprise.
Before Burcos could explain, Kunogorata held up the sheepskin scroll with the agreement written on it and continued, "Not only that, but you also signed a half-year employment contract with them. According to the rules, regardless of whether the war ends or not, they have to be paid two Deric gold coins every month! Think about it, if the Lucanians delay their attack, according to this agreement, these mercenaries will not have to put in any effort for the next six months and will receive nearly twenty-five thousand gold coins for free! "
"Oh my god, this is too much! As the crowd gasped again, another general, Neonesis, said angrily, "Last year, in order to prepare military supplies for the Turís army to attack the Lucanians, the treasury took out three hundred Taliente silver. In the end, in order to compensate the families of the citizens who died in the war, another fifty Taliente silver was taken out. At the same time, in order to defend against the Lucanians, we took out another one hundred and fifty Taliente silver to make weapons, repair the walls, and recruit civilian soldiers. This year, in order to buy food for the reinforcements and mercenaries of Tarantum, as well as to repair the destroyed villages, farmlands, and other facilities, we've spent one hundred and twenty Taliente silver. It's still not enough! The war hasn't even started, and the treasury is almost empty. Before this, we even discussed whether we should impose a special war tax on the citizens. This is all the wealth that the Turís have accumulated over the years and the hard-earned taxes of the citizens! As the general in charge of the city's finance, I cannot tolerate such an absurd agreement. I will refuse to pay them! "
"That's right, we don't recognize this employment agreement!" Most of the generals objected.
At this moment, Chief General Felix said, "Kunogurata, the Lucanians are gathering their troops in Laos. This news has been confirmed, and we all know about it. Therefore, there is no possibility that the Lucanians will not attack for half a year. This is because gathering an army will consume a lot of food. With the food production capacity of the Lucanians, it is impossible for them to last half a year. If they cancel the gathering after gathering, it will only weaken the prestige of the great leader of the tribal alliance. Unless there are special circumstances, the Lucanians will attack very soon! And at this critical time, we need more soldiers to help us defend against the Lucanians! "
"Felix, you can't rule out the possibility of accidents. For example, everyone thought that the Lucanians would attack the city after their victory, but they were forced to retreat because of the plague … "Cunogorata retorted," Whether the enemy attacks or not isn't the key point. The key point is that no matter what the situation is, the mercenaries will always be the ones to benefit, while the Turís will always be at a disadvantage. That's the problem! I don't think the person you recommended, Burcos, has done his best in this mission! Look at the treatment he gave the mercenaries, not only the salary, but also this … Look at this … 'The mercenaries led by the Devers are only responsible for defending against the Turís and repelling the Lucanians' attacks on the Turís. If there are other tasks, both parties must discuss and decide … '"Cunogorata read the terms of the employment agreement out loud, then sneered at Burcos," Are you sure you're only recruiting mercenaries and not Sparta warriors? We're the ones paying, we're the masters. Now, these mercenaries have become our honored guests, and we have to seek their approval for everything! I seriously suspect that Burcos has made a private deal with these mercenaries. I request that the finance officer be sent to investigate this matter! "
"That's enough, Cunogorata!" Felix finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Even though I recommended Burcos, the decision was made by the generals. Don't forget that you were the second to agree! This means that his ability has been recognized by everyone. In such a short period of time, he's been running around tirelessly and quickly recruited over four thousand soldiers for the Turís, solving the Turís' shortage of soldiers. The citizens feel at ease, and the safety of the city is guaranteed! He should be rewarded by the city and thanked by the citizens, but he has to accept your humiliation. Is this how the Turís should treat a citizen who has contributed to the city? If that's the case, which citizen will be willing to work for the Turís in the future?! "Felix's words caused the city hall to fall into a momentary silence.
Burcos seized the opportunity and said, "I didn't expect the city's finances to be so poor! However, the reason why I signed this agreement and recruited these soldiers was because of the urgency of the situation, and also because they are worth it! Even though they aren't Sparta warriors, they aren't any weaker than Sparta warriors! "
This sentence immediately attracted everyone's attention. Neancis obviously didn't believe it. He said mockingly, "Everyone knows that the people of Sparta are trained to be warriors from a young age. That's why they're so scary when they grow up. Is there a second city in this world that has a similar system? Oh … right, there's also the Undead Guards of Persia mentioned in Herodotus' History. Are they Persia? "
Burcos looked at Neancis coldly. "These soldiers really are related to the people of Persia!"
"Oh?!" Felix asked with interest. "What's the origin of this mercenary army?"
Seeing that the gazes of the generals were focused on him, Burcos glanced at Polyxis, who had been silent all this time, and said unhurriedly, "After receiving the mission from the generals, I set out on the same day. As a result, when I was passing through the Adriatic Sea, I encountered two pirate ships and was almost captured by them. Fortunately, Poseidon blessed me and caused a strong gale to blow up. I risked the risk of capsizing the ship and escaped. I sailed all the way to Crete before going ashore to rest and repair the ship. Originally, I wanted to recruit some archers there. The locals told me that it's okay to recruit a few people, but if you need a lot of people, you have to get permission from Sparta, because Crete is now part of the Sparta Alliance. He also told me that most of the mercenaries are now gathered in Asia Minor. He suggested that I go there, but it's best if I get permission from Sparta. After careful consideration, I decided to go to Sparta. "
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