The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe-Chapter 96 Juleios’ Thoughts

Although Juleios and Archita were not present, Turii’s victory celebration was still held. The entire city temporarily suppressed their sorrow and celebrated this hard-won victory.

The banquet hosted by the generals lasted until late at night. Ansitanos, who didn’t know how many jugs of wine he drank, slept until the sun was high in the sky. By the time he left the city, it was almost noon. When he arrived at Juleios’ empty camp, he was stunned. Fortunately, they found the Tarantine reinforcements still stationed at the mercenary camp and learned that all the mercenaries had gone to Amendolara.

The mercenaries had captured the city of Amendolara! This shocking news left Ansitanos and Bourkos astonished once again.

The group immediately accelerated their march northward, eager to meet Juleios. Halfway there, Ansitanos suddenly halted the team.

"We must return immediately."

"Why is that, General?" Bourkos asked in confusion.

The now-calm Ansitanos sighed deeply and said, "The mercenaries hurriedly captured Amendolara last night, and today they’ve already moved their slaves and supplies into the city. What does that indicate?"

Bourkos gasped, exclaiming in surprise, "Could it be... Could it be that they intend to occupy Amendolara?!"

Ansitanos nodded and said somberly, "More importantly—Archita also went to Amendolara. What does that suggest?"

Reminded by Ansitanos, Bourkos suddenly realized and once again exclaimed in shock, "Could it mean that Tarantum supports the mercenaries in occupying Amendolara?!"

"Perhaps it’s just Archita’s personal intention..." Ansitanos spoke, trying to comfort both Bourkos and himself. Smiling bitterly, he added, "If Tarantum truly supports the mercenaries, could Turii refuse? Both Tarantum and the mercenaries are heroes who saved Turii..."

Ansitanos sighed again, his face filled with worry. "But from now on, Tarantum’s influence will extend beyond Heraclea, approaching the Sybaris Plain!"

"Then... what should we do now?!" Bourkos asked anxiously.

"Of course, we’ll go back and discuss a strategy before acting..." Although Ansitanos spoke resolutely, his helpless expression showed that he didn’t believe Turii had any good way to deal with the mercenaries’ occupation of Amendolara.

On the way back to the city, he kept murmuring despondently to himself, "Sigh... In just half a year, Turii has fallen to such a state... My teacher was right: ’War is the fastest way to change the rise and fall of a city-state.’ What Turii lacks now are military talents like Juleios and Archita!"

Hearing this, Bourkos recalled how he hadn’t had the chance to invite Juleios to join Turii. Now, even if he had the opportunity to ask, it seemed clear that Juleios wouldn’t agree.

He also remembered how his trusted slave, Moras, had led Juleios on a daring reconnaissance of Amendolara. It seemed likely that Juleios had already set his sights on the mountain city at that time!

Before the situation became clear, he had started planning for Amendolara. In the end, he succeeded. Was it luck? No! Both victories were achieved under his leadership of the mercenaries,

through step-by-step effort and persistence.

Although the mercenaries’ occupation of Amendolara violated Turii’s interests, Bourkos couldn’t tell whether he felt more resentment or admiration for Juleios...

Juleios was accompanying Archita in inspecting Amendolara.

As Archita listened to Juleios recount the events of the previous night’s assault on the mountain city, he also observed the mercenaries’ attack routes on-site. Enthusiastically, he even tried out the use of grappling hooks himself.

Upon entering the city gates, what Archita saw most, apart from the bloodstains along the way, were the mercenary soldiers stationed every three steps and on sentry every five steps. Their faces were filled with the same excitement and pride as Juleios’. After much hesitation, Archita finally decided to offer Juleios some advice. "Juleios... I believe that if your mercenaries want to take control of Amendolara smoothly, it would be best to gain the consent of Amendolara’s citizens."

"Good! Good!" Juleios replied casually.

Seeing Juleios’ perfunctory attitude, Archita thought for a moment and decided to persuade him further. "For a city-state to maintain good order, it must not only have strict laws but also abide by them consistently. Over time, laws will form a city-state’s excellent traditions, becoming the natural foundation of its order. This stability brings prosperity to the people and development to the city-state.

"If a tree’s growth is twisted, no matter how much it grows, it can never become a towering tree in the future."

Juleios understood the metaphor in Archita’s words, and it left him deep in thought. Whatever means were used, if they led to success, all actions would eventually be forgiven and recognized. This is why sayings like "the victor becomes the king, the loser becomes the bandit" and "desperate times call for desperate measures" were so deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.

However, as a graduate of a university of law and politics in his past life, Juleios knew that in the Roman Republic, known as the "Son of Law," centuries of traditions constrained the excessive behavior of those in power. Even during periods of upheaval, the country never faced major instability. For example:

Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon but did not march his army into Rome because it was a tradition.Mark Antony did not annex the Kingdom of Judea into Egypt, as Cleopatra suggested, because protecting Roman interests was the duty of every Roman citizen.

If Juleios were only a leader focused on short-term gains, it would not matter. However, his ambitions extended far beyond a small city like Amendolara. Archita’s words were like a wake-up call, reminding him that the actions of the mercenaries not only needed to consider the feelings of Amendolara’s citizens to facilitate future governance but also how their behavior as outsiders would be perceived by the surrounding city-states. Forceful seizure would obviously be unwelcome and could easily lead to isolation.

Juleios decided to change his previously short-sighted, quick-results approach. This introspection also shaped his behavior moving forward, prompting him to think from the perspective of a true Greek citizen.

"Archita, thank you for your reminder!" Out of gratitude to Archita, Juleios decided to immediately act on an idea he had. "I’ve heard that the Pythagorean school hasn’t been faring well in Greater Greece."

Hearing this, Archita’s expression darkened, and he said with a complex look, "Yes. Many citizens in Greater Greece’s city-states do not accept our school’s philosophy. They’ve used various methods to suppress its members, forcing most of our disciples to leave Greater Greece and settle in Phlius on the Greek mainland. Currently, only Tarantum remains tolerant of the school."

"I personally agree with your school’s philosophy that ’all things are numbers.’ I believe that using numbers to govern a city-state would make it more precise and efficient. Furthermore, your school’s encouragement of self-discipline, moderation, purity, and obedience is something I deeply support. Breaking societal conventions to allow women to participate in education is truly groundbreaking!" Juleios said sincerely. "If the mercenaries become the masters of Amendolara, I will invite members of the Pythagorean school to come here to train students and establish an academy, funded by the city-state itself."

Archita had been open about the current state of the Pythagorean school because its plight was well-known in Greater Greece. Additionally, Juleios had previously expressed goodwill toward the school. However, he hadn’t expected Juleios’ admiration to be this profound. For a moment, Archita couldn’t believe it. "Are you serious?"

"Do I need to swear an oath to the gods?" Juleios replied with a smile.

"On behalf of the school, I thank you for your support! I will inform our members of your proposal as soon as possible!" Archita said excitedly.

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