Chapter 105: The first council meeting (IV)

Chapter 105: The first council meeting (IV)

“But…but…a war will result in many people dying…Amendolara…too many of our people died!” Cornelius stammered.

“With leader Davos leading us, we will only be victorious. Surely, you also want to take revenge?! To attack the Lucanians?!” Amintas looked at Cornelius with a slight contempt.

Before Cornelius could answer, Protesilaus and Tritodemos, who were behind him, cried out, “Of course we want to have our revenge! We must make those wicked savages taste the strength of Amendolara!…”

Amendolara has been weak for a long time, and its people were also thinking of changing! Davos was very happy to see this change, and he immediately said, “Although conquering the indigenous people is our goal, we are not going to war blindly. First we need to strengthen the power of Amendolara, and then wait for an opportunity. Therefore, do you all agree in submitting this proposal ‘Anyone who is interested in joining and becoming a citizen of Amendolara will be accepted by the council of Amendolara as long as they are willing to abide by the laws of Amendolara and meet some conditions’ to the ecclesia and to first vote for it? As for the conditions that needs to be fulfilled, we will need to discuss it again and then decide.”

“AGREE!!” Shouted everyone.

Cornelius sighed and closed his eyes for a bit. He now understand that from now on, Amendolara will no longer be the traditional conservative Amendolara that will not change for decades, because according to the current composition of the citizens of Amendolara (new citizens accounted for the vast majority) and with the atmosphere at this time, this proposal is bound to be passed by the ecclesia.

(A few days later, Davos’ proposal was approved with a lot of votes in the ecclesia. This proposal will be later known as the “Davos Immigration Law” written by the world historian in the history of Europe in later generations. Its promulgation has changed the tradition of the city-states in Magna Graecia, and changed the political system of the entire Greek world, and finally changed the history of the Mediterranean Sea.)

“In that case, I recommend Mariji to be elected as the commercial officer, so that he can be the first benificiary of our new bill and set a good example for later generations.”

“Agree!”

“We have no problem!” The new citizens, specially the squad leaders, have all agreed. This the reason why Davos insisted on letting them participate, and with their support, even if some of the original citizens were dissatisfied, they could only keep their silence.

At this moment, the mood on the venue is very different from before. With a new goal, the enthusiasm of these new citizens is obviously high, and Davos decided to strike while the iron is hot, “Do we have an aedile* in Amendolara?” (T/L Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedile)

“Aedile?” Cornelius said that he had never heard of it, “You mean the one responsible for the construction of public buildings? Amendolara has no such fixed position. If the council decides to build a public facilities, then we will just elect a temporary person to be in charge.”

“The duty of an aedile is not only to build some public facilities, but also to supervise and build various buildings in the city, and to regularly maintain them. At the same time, he would need to supervise the cleanliness, hygiene and safety of the roads, and pay attention to the entertainment facilities of the city. His responsibilities does not only involve the daily life of the citizens, but also relate to the image of the city-state, ranging from building wells, and roads to the temples and the arena, is the scope of his authority, which can be said to be a very important position!” Said Davos seriously.

“Which city-state has this position?” Cornelius was a bit suprised.

Davos laughed and didn’t answer, because the city-state that has this official position is Rome, which had the world’s top in terms of architectural technology in his previous life. Of course, he doesn’t know whether the current Rome had such an official position.

“Since our goal of development is to attack the indigenous people, it is very important to create this official position, because we need to build solid, wide and flat roads and bridges to facilitate our army’s transportation, and to connect and dominate the land that we would occupy in the future. We also need to build magnificent buildings to show our superior culture to the indigenous people and speed up their submission to us.” After another ardent sentence, Davos then asked, “Who would like to recommend himself?”

“I’m afraid that someone has to have experience in construction to take it.” Said someone, and everyone who was eager to try became hesitant.

Alexius decisively stood up.

Davos smiled and asked, “Alexius, do you have any experience as a bricklayer before?”

“My lord, since I am the only one who has recommended myself, does it mean that this position is considered mine?” Alexius asked instead of answering.

“I have no objection. How about everyone else?” Davos looks at the others.

“Since there is no one else but him, then just let him have it!”

“But can he do it?”

Everyone said in succession.

“Tell me, how will you guarantee that you can do your job well as an aedile??” Asked Davos.

“Although I don’t know how to build, I can still learn, and I can also have someone who is proficient in construction as my subordinate. Even if there is no such person in Amendolara, I can go to the nearby city-states and find one among the freemen and I will apply for his citizenship according to the bill that you have proposed my lord Davos…” Said Alexius confidently.

The others suddenly realize that they can still do it this way.

Many of them began to consider whether or not to recommend themselves.

“It seems that you are already thinking on how to do your best on your job as an aedile!” Davos then said with appreciation, “I hope that you and your men will research on construction technology, so that the construction technology of Amendolara can be ahead of other Greek city-states!”

“I will try to do my best!” Said Alexius.

“The treasury of Amendolara is not rich. So if we want to build large-scale projects, I’m afraid…” Cautioned Cornelius.

“Of course, we won’t do a lot of constructions now, and we will only just setup the organization first, and then act once we have a lot of money.” After a few words to relieve Cornelius, Davos then continued, “Next, I propose the establishment of a military officer to be responsible for the defense of the city, the training of the citizens, researching and maintenance of weapons and equipment, pre-war preparation and post-war statistics…and so on.”

“Agree!” For the new militant citizen, this position is the most important, so they are a bit excited.

But when Davos asked, “So who do you think is the best fit for this position?”

The new citizens became dumbfounded. To say who is the most prestigious in the army that deserve this position is without a doubt, Davos, but he is already the archon, and he himself is also the supreme commander of the army of the city-state. Besides him, they can also consider Hieronymus, after all, he was once a mercenary leader, but he is a newcomer in Davos’ troops. As for the others, Kapus, Amintas, Epiphanes…and so on, these squad leaders have made many achievements in the war, and each has their own characteristics. However, it wasn’t clear who is the best of them.

In the end, the gazes of everyone fell on Philesius. This former mercenary adjutant who was usually low-key and was easy to be overlooked. In fact, he had been a mercenary for nearly 20 years, he has rich military experience and is familiar with military affairs. Since Davos became the leader, he had been carefully assisting him, Davos’ success was inseparable from his silent assistance, which includes camping, training, pre-war preparation, post-war stastics and so on. ‘Isn’t the work he is already doing is the work of a military officer now?! It turned out that this position proposed by leader Davos is for him!‘ With this in mind, everyone became at ease.

Therefore, Philesius was smoothly elected.

“Before, in the mercenary, we have a military law, but it was relatively simple. And so I hope that once you assume your post, you will gather everyone in a few days, and I will also participate in the discussion and formulate a more perfect military law, so as to help us train our citizens and to guide them.” Said Davos seriously.

“Got it.” Philesius nodded.

On hearing the need to enact a stricter military law, Matonis and the others at the back immediately lamented.

When Davos heard them, he sternly said, “In the past, we were mercenaries, and in order to survive, we followed the orders of our employers and attacked others indiscriminately. We could kill and plunder at will, but from now on, you are the citizens of Amendolara, and the interests of Amendolara are your interests. Your image when going out to war also represents the image of Amendolara, unnecessary killing and looting will only provoke more enemies for Amendolara and cause the people of Magna Graecia to hate us. Moreover, we now have a grand goal, and without strict training and a complete military law, how can we build an army of Amendolara’s citizen with discipline and strength! However with it, we can win against large numbers of indigenous people with the small number of Amendolara and dominate Magna Graecia!”