Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

As soon as he went downstairs, Hemis saw three patrols standing in the lobby of the inn.

“He's the Syracusan!” Then someone next to him identified him loudly.

The heavily armed patrol came forward and asked coldly, “Hemis of Syracuse?”

“What do you want?!” Hemis became a bit flustered. He then exclaimed, “I am an envoy of Syracuse. I want to meet your archon!”

“Then you have to come with us!” The patrol sneered as he forced him out of the inn.

This scene undoubtedly added to the discussion of the Thurians, who are still confused even today…

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Father, I heard that Pollux was locked up for violating the laws of the union!” Sostratus hurried into the living room.

Kunogelata glanced at him and said calmly, “This incident has shaken the whole city, and only now you know? What have you been doing all this time?”

“What else?! Of course, it is to participate in military training. It was my turn today, and I am so exhausted!” Sostratus complained. He sprawled on the wooden chair and said lazily, “Too bad that the hot spring is closed, else I would have come back a bit later.”

Kunogelata frowned, feeling a bit annoyed with the laziness of his eldest son. Then he said in a deep voice, “All the young and middle-aged citizens of Theonia have to take part in military training, yet there is no one afraid of hardship and exhaustion like you. Learn from your brother. He had not only taken part in the afternoon training in the Akademia but also took the initiative to find someone to practice fighting after coming back home!”

“That is why the hope of our family will fall on my brother, while I just want to be a rich man, eating delicious food, sleeping with beautiful women and watching sports competitions.” Sostratus said with disapproval.

Kunogelata was just about to speak when his younger son, Dicaeogelata, said in a loud voice, “Elder brother, did you know that besides Pollux, they had also detained the other statesmen such as Enanilus, Marsyas, Ariphes and Eurypus.”

“Is that true?!” Sostratus stood up, leaned his head forward and asked in an urgent tone, “Old man, you estimated last time and said that ‘Enanilus, Marsyas and Ariphes are likely to join Pollux which would cause a huge impact on the authority of Davos’, how come they are all in a dead end now?!”

Kunogelata' face twitched a few times, then gave a cold snort, “What's so strange about that?! The archon remained in harmony with the other statesmen to the point that even if someone in the Senate pointed at him, he wouldn't even have a grudge…but after spending so much time with him acting like this, I forgot how he had become an archon for life, he is a wolf…he was born to eat meat! I am afraid that not only I, but many people in the Senate, will once more felt that kind of feeling when the union was first established…hmph…”

He then said emotionally, then sneered again, “Not only had these people violate the law, but they actually tried to dream beautiful dreams…I fear that this time, Davos will not easily let them off!”

“Never let them go! It's even said that Pollux had even colluded with a Syracusan! The crime of treason is only punishable by death!!” A gleam of hatred shone in Dicaeogelata' eyes, as he could never forget that day…when the people of Thurii turned into bandits and rushed into their house…and behind those bandits, is the figure of Pollux…

“Syracuse?! You mean that Dionysius have something to do with Pollux?!!” Sostratus' eyes widened.

It must be known that with the rise of Theonia, it and Syracuse, two powerful and large city-states, one south and one north, are very close yet have almost no diplomatic contact.

There is even a story circulating in Magna Graecia that illustrates the delicate relationship between the two city-states: One day, in a port of a city-state in Magna Graecia, a merchant of Syracuse and Theonia met, and they boasted about their country to each other, “Theonia's establishment was not even a fraction of Syracuse's several hundred-year of history, with Syracuse being the hegemon of Magna Graecia and Sicily a hundred years ago, and still are!”

While the Theonian merchant retorted, “Don't be proud of yourself, as it has only taken Theonia Union five years to become so powerful. So in another five years, we will be twice as powerful as Syracuse!”

Naturally, these were just made up by some bored people. And the truth is, although Syracuse and Theonia were like two beasts in the forest, carefully guarding their own territory, both sides tried to not intrude on each other.

It is why Sostratus was astonished from hearing that “Dionysius had extended his hand to Theonia.”

Kunogelata reached out and patted his younger son on the head, as he knew what he was thinking, as this was the eternal pain in his family's heart, “Is there any collusion between Pollux and Syracuse? It could only be determined after the union's investigation, so don't spread such rumours.”

Kunogelata pondered for a while, then said with a serious expression, “If there is…it would become a huge problem for Theonia!”

“Father, will there be a war?!” Asked Sostratus and Dicaeogelata at the same time.

Looking at the excitement in his two son's eyes, Kunogelata knew that his younger son was excited because he is eager to fight, while his older son is probably thinking about how to seize this opportunity to make a fortune in the market. Shaking his head, he pondered for a bit and said, “…Syracuse and Theonia are huge and powerful city-states. Every move they make is related to the security and survival of Greek city-states in the western Mediterranean, making it hard for them to clash! So these will probably end up as diplomatic protests and negotiations…”

Dicaeogelata sat back depressed, while Sostratus just rolled his eyes, not knowing what was on his mind.

“Sostratus, I heard from your brother-in-law that you went to find him a few days ago and hoped that he could purchase some of your goods…” Kunogelata suddenly changed the topic.

Sostratus was surprised. He quickly said, “I just gave a small suggestion to him. Father, as you know, my brother-in-law is a serious man, so it is impossible for him to agree.”

During the riot in Thruii and the expulsion of Kunogelata’s family back then, his youngest daughter killed herself after getting r*ped. At the same time, his eldest daughter was forcefully divorce by her husband's family and remained single since then. It wasn't until ‘Davos was concerned about Hielos' marriage’ that Kunogelata made up his mind and gave his proposal to Davos after learning about it.

At the urging of both sides, Kunogelata's eldest daughter asked to meet Hielos before deciding whether to get married. Davos, as the matchmaker, had actually agreed to this “absurd” request, while Hielos, for the sake of Davos, did not mind it much.

As a result, after the two met, they hit it off. In particular, after the betrayal of her first marriage, Kunogelata's daughter felt that Hielos was simple, honest, and dependable, a man worthy of a lifelong commitment. Thus she had even taken the initiative to ask Kunogelata to contact Hielos.

In the end, the two got married, which also made the relationship between Kunogelata and Davos go a step further.

After leaving his position as the praetor of Aprustum and the legatus of the fourth legion, Hielos was right in time in Davos reformation and decentralisation of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Back then, the authority to deal with the specific matters of the army was concentrated on the Chief of Military, but now, Davos divided it into three:

First: In the military and political aspects, Philesius, the Chief of Military, is responsible for the personnel appointment of the legion, the rotation of the troops, the naval patrols, the citizens' military service, the statistics of the troops' performance in the war, and so on. Naturally, important personnel appointments of the legion, such as the legatus and the senior centurion, must be named and confirmed by Davos;

Second: In terms of military training, Hieronymus, who has retired from the third legion, was responsible for supervising the military training of the citizens in various cities, checking the training's effectiveness, arranging instructors, and so on;

Third: In terms of military logistics, the Greek city-states of this era did not have specialised personnel in managing military logistics. Since the time they secured their foothold in Amendolara, Davos has sent Mersis to manage the army’s logistics. However, with the expansion of the union and the increase of work, Mersis was too busy just managing the union’s finance. Moreover, local government affairs and the army should not be mixed up and must be separated, which is why there is a need for officers to manage the logistics affairs of the military in a specialised and professional way. So the first one that Davos thought of was Hielos. He not only had abundant military experience but also had a history in administration. He is dedicated and careful in his work, and was also the former squad leader of Davos and one of his most trusted people, and could take on a huge responsibility.

“Anyway, I forbid you harassing your brother-in-law anymore! Especially in this special period!” Kunogelata ordered with seriousness, as an old statesman, he could already feel that a political storm was about to set off.

Sostratus bowed his head and nodded.

How could Kunogelata not understand his disobedient son? So he immediately said, “You are no longer young anymore. Several families have sent matchmakers to propose marriage to me, so you should not go out on these two days. Hurry up and settle your marriage!”

“Eh?!” Sostratus' eyes widened.

“Great! At last, I am going to have a sister-in-law!” Dicaeogelata jumped with joy.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Davos was discussing with Burkes, the Chief Agricultural Officer, in the study room at his house.

“Burkes, I disagree with your resignation from your position as the Chief Agricultural Officer! The statesmen have elected you as the Chief Agricultural Officer for four consecutive years due to their recognition of your achievements in Theonia's agriculture. You should know, only when you are in the Ministry of Agricultural can our soldiers and I leave the city and go out to fight without worrying that our farms would be deserted…” Davos sincerely persuaded him.