"I led my people to build a new road and a residential area for the Tua Alliance. I even led my people in the battle against the Crotone. Now, I've taken Neutum. I've made all these contributions, and that's why I've become an elder of the Senate!" Bagoule said proudly, "My father didn't do anything else, but there had never been a Lucanian who joined a Greek city-state before. He courageously led more than two thousand of his people to join a Greek Alliance (including his family, so Bagoule was purposely distorting the facts here) and created history. He also agreed and encouraged me to lead my people to do things for the Alliance. Master Devers invited him to join the Senate!"
The crowd gasped in admiration.
The Asistes then emphasized, "The Senate is open to any citizen of the Alliance. As long as you contribute enough to the Alliance, the Senate will take you in! … "
Hemont nodded as if he understood something.
"But what if the Grumentum, Picsis, or even Potentia from the north attack Neutum?" someone asked worriedly.
"I believe you all know that the Grumentum and Picossis are fighting each other. They won't be able to take care of us for the time being. Besides, even if they attack, we won't be afraid. We have Master Devers with us!" the Asistes said loudly. His words were worth thousands of words, instantly relieving everyone's worries.
"I'm willing to join the Tua Alliance with my people!" Kersima stood up.
"Me too!" Uraza stood up as well.
"I can't let Vespa be the only one in the Senate!" Hemont stood up as well.
…
Seeing that almost all the guests were willing to join the Alliance and become probationary citizens, Bagoule and the Asistes looked at each other and smiled. They raised their glasses and said, "Come, let's toast to the Tua Alliance that belongs not only to the Greeks, but also to the Lucanians!"
… …
The next morning, Avinogis' troops opened the city gate and cooperated with the Tua Alliance army, easily defeating the Lucanian garrison. Finally, they rushed into the great leader's mansion and caught the great leader of the Laos, Tura. He was hiding in bed, shivering. Next to him lay the Greek slave girl whose body was already cold and had been strangled by him. The angry Tua Alliance soldiers immediately pierced his chest with a spear.
Avinogis warmly invited Felicius to lead his troops to camp in the city, but was politely rejected by Felicius. He said, "Laos has just been recaptured, and the order in the city still needs to be reorganized. We have too many soldiers, and I'm afraid that staying in the city will cause you trouble and affect the friendship between Laos and the Tua Alliance! We'll be resting outside the city for a while, and then we'll leave. Before we came here, Lord Devers had given us instructions! "
Felicius' insistence and the Tua Alliance's initiative to think of Laos made Avinogis very emotional. He immediately gave half of the seized money and livestock to Felicius to express his gratitude.
Felicius did not refuse. Coupled with the spoils of war that they had seized in Neutum, the Tua Alliance had gained a lot this time. According to the Senate's order, all the cattle and sheep were left to Neutum for Sesta to use to aid the Lucarians who had defected to the Tua Alliance. Most of the money was brought back to Turií. Some of it was used as military funds, some was handed over to the national treasury, and a small portion was distributed to the soldiers as rewards. The seized weapons were donated to the soldiers' committee for free.
Felicius left the Second and Fourth Brigades to temporarily guard Neutum. He led the rest of the troops with five days' worth of rations and left Laos. When they arrived at the entrance of the narrow road, the entire army stopped and began to build camp according to Felicius's orders.
Arobuma, who was accompanying them, was puzzled.
Faced with Arobuma's question, Felicius answered truthfully, "The Senate's order (actually, it was the Devers's order), 'After seizing Laos and Neutum, the army must build a fortress at the entrance of the narrow road and station soldiers there for a long time to prevent the invasion of the Lucanian army from the north. After surrounding Neutum, quickly block the mountain road to the south and stop the Tua Alliance's support to Neutum and Laos.'"
Arobuma was silent for a while, then asked, "In the future, the trade and personnel exchanges between Laos and Neutum …"
"They won't be affected in any way! They can pass through the fortress smoothly without charging any fees! "Felicius said with certainty.
In order not to destroy the good alliance relationship that Laos and the Tua Alliance had just established, Arobuma had no choice but to agree. In fact, both sides understood that building a fortress here to protect the mountain road that connected to Turií was not only to allow the Tua Alliance to smoothly support Neutum against the Lucanian army in the future. In addition, if Laos betrayed the Tua Alliance one day or something abnormal happened, the Tua Alliance's army could still pass through the fortress and directly approach the city of Laos. This was an open and aboveboard plot!
… …
Early in the morning, many Lucanians who wanted to join the Alliance, rent livestock, and rent land flooded into Sesta's temporary residence.
Sesta was overjoyed and asked Bagoule and the soldiers of the Fourth Brigade to maintain order and act as translators. The household registration officers and agricultural officers who accompanied the army were also ready.
Household registration, signature, fingerprint …
He wrote the rental contract, signed it, stamped it with his thumbprint …
Who knew that more and more Lucanians would come. Not only because of the crowd effect, but also because of the Mixed Marriage Law that the Tua Alliance had specially formulated to quickly consolidate the newly occupied Neutum, some of the astute Lucanians realized that they had to quickly obtain the benefits offered by the Tua Alliance, or else the Greeks from Turií would snatch it from them.
Neutum's northwest side was backed by the Raa River, and on the other side of the river was a mountain forest that was not too steep. On the southeast side was a narrow river valley less than two miles wide that led straight to Laos. Further east was a continuous and impassable mountain range with only one narrow path leading to Turií. Only the northeast side, between the upper reaches of the Raa River and the upper reaches of the Agri River, was high and fertile. It used to be the settlement of many small tribes, but later fell under the control of Neutum. The shape of this area was irregular, and the terrain was rugged. Parts of it were also divided by the mountains, making it difficult to measure and distribute. Therefore, Bagoule suggested to Sesta: divide the land according to the number of people in each tribe, and the leaders and tribesmen would be responsible for collecting the taxes. The Lucanians without tribes would be distributed separately (in fact, this was relatively rare). This would save time and manpower, and also avoid direct friction and conflict between the Alliance and the Lucanians in Neutum.
Considering the uniqueness of the Lucanian Mountains and the Lucanian tribes, Sesta agreed with Bagoule after some thought.
… …
Just as Sesta was racking his brains for the management of Neutum, the Devers received an urgent battle report from the west. The victory of Neutum and Laos was expected, and the slight uneasiness he felt about not being in command personally disappeared. He had told himself many times not to learn from Napoleon. The Mediterranean Sea was very big, and the Alliance would encounter many enemies in the future. He needed more excellent commanders who could command independently.
Sesta's performance in Neutum was beyond his expectations, but … he handed the sandpaper roll to Aristocrates and asked with a slight anger, "What do you think about Sesta letting the Greek slaves kill the Lucanian captives?"
After making the decision to let Asistes assist Sesta in governing Neutum, the Devers did not plan to let Asistes return as a clerk. The eagle would eventually grow up and soar independently in the vast sky, but they would have to find another person to be a clerk.
The Devers remembered Aristocrates, who was able to calmly defend himself and move the Senate elders present in the presence of the fugitive slaves in Amendolara, so they sent Aristocrates to look for him. In the end, Aristocrates was working in the new restaurant that Christoya opened in the city of Turií. When Aristocrates told him that Lord Devers was looking for a clerk (as the clerk was a public office, Aristocrates was only a free citizen and could not fill the position), he gladly accepted.
As a result, when the Devers returned home at night, Christoya complained that he had poached her family, and in the end, she carried out "revenge" by using her mouth and hands to almost squeeze him dry …
"My Lord, I don't know much about Neutum, so I can't comment." Compared to the straightforward Asistes, Aristocrates, who had been through hardships since childhood, was much more cautious.
Dyvers glanced at him. 'Is he trying to subtly remind me?'
The Devers thought about it and slowly said, "You're right. We don't know the situation in Neutum better than Sesta. Since he has been appointed to manage Neutum, we should let him do it … I just didn't expect this Sesta, who is usually inconspicuous, to be so straightforward and fierce when he does things. He's better than me in this aspect!"
… …
As the Senate hall in Turií had not been built yet, the afternoon Senate meeting was still held in the Senate in Amendolara.
In the meeting, the Devers loudly announced that the Tua Alliance had successfully captured Neutum and helped their ally, Avinogis, recapture Laos.
Even though the elders had received the news before the meeting, they still cheered loudly.
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