ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1065
At this time, senior judge Critodemus expressed his opinion loudly: "According to the laws of Dionia, citizens are obliged to perform military service, but the length of one military service has not been determined. Strict regulations. However, the citizens of the kingdom are mainly Greeks. According to Greek military traditions, unless faced with critical situations, citizens rarely go out to fight during the busy farming season, and a battle generally does not exceed a month.

Those who can fight for a long time are usually mercenaries who have no other income and rely only on fighting for a living. When the fighting lasts too long, the citizen soldiers may gather to protest to the general and even ask to retreat back to the country... Of course the citizens of the kingdom do not. It may be possible to be as undisciplined as the citizens of other Greek city-states, but this aspect must be carefully considered. "

After Tritodemus finished speaking, the ministers were silent for a moment.

Alexis looked at Davos and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, I attended the Kingdom's administrative meeting today. I was originally going to report another important matter to you. In the past few years, our territory in Iberia has It has been harassed by Lusitanians and a small number of Celts, and starting from this year, the frequency of these indigenous attacks became more frequent, and the No. 18 Legion had to keep gathering troops (the No. 18 Legion was in the Western Mediterranean War Established after the end of the war, the military camp was established in the central town of Sisi in what is now southern Iberia. The source of troops mainly came from the Dionian citizens in this area. More than half of the soldiers were Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and a few were Greeks. people, and a very small number of Iberians) to resist. The citizens there were demoralized because they could not go home for a long time, resulting in a decrease in combat effectiveness, and there were many casualties... And because there were too many young and middle-aged citizens in the Iberian territory Being transferred to fight, the lack of labor force has affected other affairs in the region. Therefore, the Iberian Governor Haka has many complaints about our Ministry of Military Affairs...

The Iberian natives invaded in a very similar way to the Gauls, and if we responded in the same way, I fear we would repeat the mistakes of the Iberian territories.I am not against the kingdom sending troops to assist Etruria. On the contrary, I hope that your majesty and your lords can find a better way during the discussion, which can not only defend against the enemy's invasion, but also avoid the above-mentioned problems. The issues mentioned... Then we can apply this method to the northern border of Etrusia, to Iberia, and to the borders of the kingdom that need to be defended everywhere to ensure the stability and development of the kingdom. "

Davos nodded solemnly, then looked around everyone, and said in a deep voice: "What Alexis said is good, and it needs to make us all think deeply. Nowadays, the territory of the kingdom is getting wider and wider, and vastness means Since we can no longer be like before, the enemy is ten or a hundred miles away. We gather the troops and arrive at the battlefield in a day or two. After the battle is over in four or five days, we have not even finished the rations we carried.

Now the border of the kingdom is quite far away from Thurii. Alexis, tell me, how many days does it take for the army to march from Thurii to the northern border of Etruria? "

Alexis immediately replied: "If we take the sea route and there is always a favorable wind, it will take about five or six days, but this is almost impossible, it will take at least seven or eight days; and if we take the land route, considering the distance from Campania to The road to the north has not yet been built, so it will take 15 days anyway; the combination of land and sea routes will take at least 10 days.

From Turii to southern Iberia, it is mainly by sea, which takes 15 days. However, the sea route is long and there is the risk of encountering storms.

The journey from Thurii to Carthage is mainly by sea, which takes at least 10 days. The risks at sea must also be taken into consideration..."

"Alexis, I only asked one question, but you answered so many." Davos said jokingly, but none of the ministers laughed, they were all thoughtful.

"Just marching will take so much time, and fighting until the end of the war will take even longer." Davos calmed down and said solemnly: "Now our kingdom is already the largest in the Western Mediterranean. Powerful countries, like Syracuse and Carthage, who dared to lead large armies to directly attack the kingdom's territory will basically never happen again. The forces hostile to us are afraid of our strength, and I am afraid more of them will take measures like Lu's. The tactics used by the Sitanians and Gauls avoid direct decisive battles and adopt harassment methods to destroy our territory and tire our soldiers, thus prolonging the war process...

Ladies and gentlemen, we must not be indulging in past successes. We must realize that as the strength of the kingdom changes, the surrounding environment also changes accordingly. Some past successful experiences may no longer be suitable for the new situation.

You have just reached a consensus that aiding Etruria is protecting the security of the kingdom, but how to rescue is also a big problem.You must understand that finding a solution is not just to temporarily deal with the Etruscan and Iberian problems, but to find a way to improve the military system and defend the kingdom for an increasingly vast kingdom. A new way to safe kingdom territory! "

Although Davos's voice was not very loud when he spoke, these words echoed in the hearts of every minister, suddenly raising their attitude towards this issue a lot, and making them feel pressure. The expressions on the crowd became solemn and exciting, but the hall suddenly became extremely silent.

Davos stopped urging and leaned back in the back seat. It seemed that he was closing his eyes to rest, but in fact he was thinking about it: The Etruscan envoy had been here for two days, and the diplomats were responsible for receiving him. In fact, the envoy had already been I roughly figured out the purpose of my visit and reported it to him.After thinking about it, he already had some ideas in his mind. After all, unlike ministers who had to feel their way across the river by feeling the stones, he had thousands of years of Eastern and Western historical experience as a backing in his previous life, and he also understood some of the military practices of ancient Macedonia and Rome. He could refer to, learn from, and absorb the development process... It's just that the method he came up with involved several thorny issues, which required discussion, consensus, and concerted efforts with the ministers to solve. That's why he deliberately guided them. Of course, he I also hope that ministers can come up with better ways to solve this problem...

After a long time, the rotating chairman Sipulus asked (in the second year after the Western Mediterranean War, Cornelus became ill from overwork and was bedridden. At the suggestion of Davos, the Senate unanimously elected to serve in the war Siplos, the wartime governor of Sicily who had contributed a lot and had outstanding merits, temporarily replaced Cornelus. However, Cornelus died of illness soon after, and Siplos was able to rehabilitate him.): "Excuse me, Alexis. Sir, when the Carthaginians opened up the Iberian territory, they must have encountered the same difficulties that we encounter today. How did they continue to resist and conquer the indigenous people over a long period of 2 years, while also Who can stabilize and develop the territory?"

This question made Alexis think about it for a while before he considered it and said: "Perhaps only the Governor of Iberia, Mr. Haka, can answer the details of the past in the Iberia region. What I know is that... Carthage at that time Mago, the governor of Iberia, has an army of nearly 5 people. They are very powerful and are all mercenaries. They do not have to work, so they can fight against the indigenous people at any time. This is why The suppression of the indigenous people was gradually completed, but even so, the Carthaginians paid a heavy price for it. It is said that most of the income from the Iberian territory and 1/3 of Carthage's annual tax were spent on Feed this army—"

"This is too expensive! It is impossible for the kingdom to adopt this method, otherwise there will be no need to do other things!" Financial officer Archibides expressed his opinion loudly.

Although they thought his voice was a bit noisy, many ministers agreed with his opinion.

Sipulos said in a deep voice: "Of course we can't spend huge sums of money to support a mercenary force, but we can follow this method."

Davos's eyes lit up.

"I remember that if foreigners want to become citizens of Dionia, it takes at least 5-6 years from registration to becoming preliminary citizens and then to formal citizens. During this period, they must work in the kingdom and rent Farming land, working as a hired hand, serving as the lowest level municipal handyman, working as a laborer on the dock... Sometimes even responding to the kingdom's call to participate in public projects, or becoming an auxiliary labor force in the army, working on duty with the soldiers... And in During this long period, they must abide by the law and pay taxes regularly... It is very hard and they must live carefully in the kingdom before they can finally become full citizens. It is not easy to say.

Sipulos sighed softly: "Then why don't we amend the law on 'letting foreigners and free people become citizens of Dionia'? As long as it is announced that people who want to become citizens of Dionia must first Serve the Kingdom of Dionia and guard the borders of the kingdom. After serving for 5-6 years, you can become a formal citizen of Dionia and enjoy the various rights granted to citizens by the kingdom..."

Sure enough, as expected by Davos, the method proposed by Sipulos was roughly the same as what he thought. The only difference was in the number of years of service: Davos's idea was to serve for 10-15 years, which just encompassed The period when a young man is at his strongest physical strength and energy.

But after thinking about it carefully, Davers had to admit that Sipulos's suggestion was more practical, because it only takes about 6 years to become a citizen of Dionia at this stage, and suddenly this time is extended to more than 10 years. , and risking life and death, these foreign free people will definitely be dissatisfied.

(End of this chapter)