Chapter 957
As the young and strong citizens were deployed to war and did not return for a long time, there was a shortage of labor in the households. Many families needed to buy more slaves to ensure that the farming and harvesting could be completed smoothly. This led to the prosperity of the slave market.
There were only two places in Turií that were basically unaffected by the war. One was the Turií School, where the teachers continued to teach as usual. Even if a student's father died in the war, he would gradually walk out of his grief with the guidance of the teachers and the playfulness of his peers. The other was the Diónia School, where both the knowledgeable teachers and the high-level students continued to focus on their own research and learning. However, this did not mean that they were deaf to the current situation.
At the back of the classroom belonging to the Faculty of Arts, Ancetanos was sitting under a big tree and talking about the history of Egypt. More than 20 students sat around him on the grass and listened attentively while writing down the main points on the wooden boards that they carried with them. They also raised their hands to ask questions. The atmosphere was relaxed and lively.
Ancetanos looked up at the sky and said, "Today's class will end here. We will continue in the morning two days later —"
As he spoke, he saw a student raise his hand, so he asked gently, "Aeonicus, do you have any more questions?"
"Teacher, now His Majesty the Devers is leading the army to fight against the powerful Carthage in Sicily. Can we win?"
Ancetanos frowned. "This is not the content to be taught —"
"Teacher, tell us about it!"
"Teacher, don't you always say that learning history is to find experience from the past and make more sensible choices in times of crisis? Now that we are fighting against Carthage, isn't this the most difficult time that the kingdom has encountered? So, can we win this important war? Can you use your method of analyzing history to analyze this war?! "
"Ever since I heard that 'Carthage's army has invaded our territory in Sicily', I have been very worried, and I can't even focus on my studies! Teacher, you are knowledgeable and know more than us. Whether your analysis is good or bad, I can calm down and work harder to prepare for the future! "
"Teacher, please tell us about it!"
…
The students' request made the good-tempered Ancetanos sigh helplessly. "Alright, I'll tell you about this war."
The students cheered.
Ancetanos didn't speak immediately. He pondered for a while before saying, "I'm sorry, I can't disclose some details of this war to you because it involves the secrets of the kingdom. Besides, I don't know much about military affairs, so I can't understand and analyze the strategies and tactics adopted by both sides. I can only share my views based on what I know and my analysis of the past history of the Mediterranean Sea …"
The students immediately sat up straight, ready to listen attentively.
Ancitanos cleared his throat and slowly said, "I've just said that Egypt was once conquered by the Assyrians from the Mesopotamia. Before that, Egypt had always been a powerful kingdom in the Eastern Mediterranean. Let's talk about Assyria. Assyria dominated the eastern part of the Eastern Mediterranean, but it was later destroyed by the rising Persia. This is also mentioned in the book "History" written by Herodotus. The insufferably arrogant Persians tried in vain to conquer the whole Mediterranean Sea to the west, but they were defeated by the alliance of the Greek city-states, led by Sparta and Athens, which they despised. Herodotus describes in more detail. After that, Athens and Sparta began to dominate the Eastern Mediterranean …
What am I trying to explain by saying all this? If you carefully read the history of these countries, you will find that they all had a process from weak to strong, and from strong to weak. A country is like a person. It has to go through childhood, adolescence, youth, middle-age, old age … the whole period, and it may also die prematurely.
When it was young, because it was weak, it had to endure bullying and was forced to sign all kinds of unequal agreements. It worked hard to make friends with the strong men around it. When it was young, it had a strong body and exuberant energy. It wanted to compete with the strong men. When it was middle age, its strength and energy declined. It became steady and steady, and it would work hard to maintain the honor it had won. When it was old, it would be old and weak. Not only would it be easy for its wealth to be stolen by others, it would also be hard for it to keep its life … Tell me, when is the most terrifying period of a kingdom?
"Of course it's in adolescence!"
"No, I think it's in middle-age!"
The students scrambled to speak.
After they all expressed their opinions, Ansitanos said, "I think it's in adolescence, because this is the time when people are the most energetic, enterprising, and united. Like a stream between mountains, even if there are tall rocks in the way, it will still rush down until it becomes a wide river … Basically, Assyr and Persia basically destroyed the powerful countries that stood in their way at this time, rapidly expanding and establishing their position as hegemons.
In middle-age, not only are there strong external enemies, but there are also many internal conflicts. The whole country has to spend more energy to solve these problems, and the country's wealth is also greatly wasted in the internal friction. So not only will it stop expanding, but it will also sometimes be forced to shrink inward. Which country do you think is in this situation? "
"Teacher, it's Persia, right?!" A student rushed to speak first, "More than 20 years ago, Persia had internal strife because of the fight for the throne, and His Majesty the Devers even participated in that war. After that, Sparta invaded Asia Minor, and the Persia was actually unable to repel them. Although Sparta eventually sued for peace, that was also because of the Corinth War. And a few years ago, the Persia army attacked Egypt, but they were also repelled … Isn't this in line with what you said, teacher?! "
"That's right, Ansitanos! I agree with you. " Ansitanos did not hesitate to praise loudly, and then asked the other students, "So what period do you think the kingdom is in now?"
"It's in its adolescence!" Some students said in unison, while others wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Our kingdom has only been established for less than 10 years. If we count from the establishment of the alliance, it has only been 20 years. If we look at the time, the Kingdom of Diónia, which only has a short history of more than 10 years, is indeed like a teenager." Ansitanos first analyzed the reason why the students made this judgment, and then said, "But if we look at other aspects, it isn't so. Our kingdom directly owns far more land than any of the Mediterranean city-states, including Carthage. The number of citizens of our kingdom also far exceeds those of these countries, and the kingdom's annual income is far from what they can compare with, only slightly less than that of Carthage. We don't need to take the initiative to befriend the surrounding forces and races, because they will either take the initiative to form an alliance, or seek the support of other powerful forces out of fear.
The kingdom is still expanding, and our territory is still expanding. Not long ago, we defeated Rome and Samonae and obtained a lot of land. Although our citizens are also afraid of death, they are more eager to win glory in the war, and their relatives will try their best to support them, not hinder them. Our great king, our Senate will never succumb to external pressure, but will respond to the enemy's provocation with more active action … The whole kingdom is full of vitality and hope, just like the sun rising in the morning … I believe you all feel the same. Isn't this the period of youth! "
The students nodded excitedly, expressing their agreement.
"Teacher, what about Carthage?" Someone asked eagerly.
"The situation of Carthage is a bit complicated." Ansitanos said thoughtfully, "Carthage has been established for 200 years, which is a long enough time. It has suffered many defeats in the battle with Syracuse before, but it has also conquered Numibia and southern Iberia.
There is no unified country in the Numibian area, and the tribes have been under the influence and control of Carthage for a long time. It is actually very easy to conquer it, and its resistance is also very weak. Carthage has a small population, and its citizens occupy a large amount of Numibian land. They command many Numibian slaves to farm for them, and they can easily enjoy a luxurious life without putting in much effort …
His Majesty the Devers once said, 'Living too comfortably will lead to the corruption of the Carthage people.' His Majesty's judgment was correct. That was why when the Carthaginian army fought with us for the first time, we easily defeated them despite being outnumbered …
But the situation of the Carthage people's conquest of southern Iberia is different. According to my understanding, the Carthaginians originally didn't have much influence there, and there were a large number of fierce indigenous people living in that area. The Carthaginians were able to conquer the southern part of Iberia and take the land, resources, and population for their own use. It was indeed not easy, but it also showed that the Carthaginians there had a strong spirit of enterprise. So when the Carthage army attacked Sicily again, and with the Iberian army as the main force, we were no longer their opponent by relying only on the Sicilian army …
If we look at the Carthaginian and the southern part of Iberia together, I feel that Carthage is neither in its youth nor in its middle age. Instead, it is in the period of youth moving towards middle age. However, you have to know that southern Iberia is actually ruled by Carthage's Magonid family alone. There is a lot of conflict between them and the other nobles of Carthage. In such a long and difficult war, it is difficult to say whether the two sides can unite without any disagreement and fight with all their strength.
So, in summary, Carthage is a young and strong man. He looks strong and powerful, but his development is actually not sound, and there are many hidden diseases. And our energetic, healthy, and enterprising kingdom is at war with him. I believe that even if there are a few failures in the middle, the final victory will belong to us! "
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