Chapter 167: Killing and Appeasement (I)
Sesta himself agreed to it and expressed his gratitude to Davos for his recommendation. While the other statesmen have no objection. If there is an objection, I am afraid that it would be Anticles who was in Amendolara, because he now has to continue to serve as the captain of the fire brigade.
At the same time, Davos has also made Asistes take up the post of being the clerk of Sesta, to assist him in dealing with the affairs of Nerulum and carrying out policies that targets the Lucanians. In addition, he had also appointed Bagul as the special inspector of Nerulum, dealing with various disputes and contradictions in the city, and coordinating the relationship between the Lucanians and the Greeks…and so on.
After capturing Nerulum, the first thing Sesta did was to screen out the captives. First of all, the ruling native people of Nerulum and their affiliated family members were detained, while those small tribes that were forced to joined Nerulum, were advised to submit. He gave this task to Bagul.
The second is, to release the slaves. Nerulum had a lot of slaves, and many of them came from two sources. First, the Greeks that were captured by the Lucanians, and most of them were people of Thurii, because Nerulum was close to Thurii, so they harassed them every year. Especially after the great defeat of the army of Thurii last year, the Lucanian alliance went deep into the Sybaris plains and captured a lot of people in Thurii. The second was the Lucanians, mainly those tribes that were defeated by the Lucanian alliance led by Grumentum and were unwilling to submit to Nerulum. These Lucanian slaves were left to Bagul and Asistes to manage.
The Greek slaves were summoned outside of the city by Sesta. Looking at these skinny Greeks who once had plenty of food and clothing, and even the women were not covered with clothes…Sesta was greatly concerned, and so he said, “Greeks, you have all suffered. However, today, Hades has sent us the Thua Union to save and avenge you!”
With that, most of the slaves burst into tears.
At the command of Sesta, the soldiers took the nearly 700 naked captives to the Greek slaves and gave each of them spears and swords, then Sesta said out loud, “You may take on your revenge on those who have oppressed and humiliated you!”
As soon as Asistes noticed that the situation was not right, he tried to stop Sesta and said, “Milord, you can’t do this. This is a violation of the order of the Senate!”
“So what?!” Sesta pointed to the Greek slaves and said angrily, “Look at them! Any Greek who sees this will do what I will do! The Archon have slaughtered the high-ranking officers of Crotone in Thurii and told Magna Graecia that the Thua Union should not be provoked! And today, I want the Lucanians to know that the Greeks can’t be provoked!”
As he was saying this, a fierce male Greek slave howled, then he grabbed a spear in both of his hands, then rushed up towards one of the captives and stabbed him.
With this as an example, the other slaves rushed to kill them. Knowing that the disaster is coming, the captives screamed in horror and tried to resist. The soldiers who have surrounded them knocked them down with their shields, to stifle their attempts and then allowed the slaves to continue killing them…
The killing continued, but in the end, it didn’t go on, because the remaining captives were protected by the female Greek slaves…
Sesta was astonished. Asistes then went to inquire about the situation, and when he returned, he told Sesta with a sad expression, “These women were either raped by these captives and have given birth to their children, or that they are still pregnant…pity!…it’s because these Greek men did not do their best to protect them that they have fallen into such a miserable situation!…Milord, will you still continue?”
“Damn Lucanians!” Sesta fiercely sweared, then he raised his hand and said coldly, “Stop!”
After the order was sent out, there were still slaves brandishing the spears, threatening the female slaves that were in front of the Lucanians to move away. But the soldiers immediately went to disarm them.
Sesta then stepped forward, then put his foot on a corpse and called to the Greek slaves, “Listen up! According to the new law passed by Thua Union, ‘Those who were formerly citizens of Thurii and Amendolara or were slaves of the people of Thurii and Amendolara* will immediately become citizens of Thua Union! Those who are not citizens or slaves of Thurii and Amendolara, if you want to stay in Thua Union, then after two years, you can apply to become a preparatory citizen of Thua Union. Three years later, if you meet the requirements, you can become an official citizen!’ So, would you like to stay in Nerulum or go back to Thurii?” (note: In Greek city-states, the women of the city-state cannot become a citizen, but they are still part of the people of the city-state)
Most of the male slaves said that they wanted to go back to Thurii, while most of the women hesitated. Because the Greek city-states of this era have a very strict requirements on the women’s chastity. Not only before marriage, but especially after marriage, The women can only stay in the house after marriage and not in public places, they must be as diligent and frugal as bees when managing the housework, and even the design of the houses had considered the prevention of their wife from cheating. Therefore, the bedrooms of traditional Greek couples are all on the second floor, and the only stairway is at the door of the living room. So that both the master and the slaves could see when the woman goes in and out. This is to prevent the husband from being tired of his wife and staying in a brothel for a long time, which will lead to the resentment of his wife who could only sleep in their bedroom alone. Some city-states even stipulate the frequency of sex of the citizens. For example, Solon of Athens has stipulated in the Athenian law that, ‘Having sex three times a month is enough care for a virtuous wife of a citizen.’
Now, a large number of Greek women who have long been slaves of other races have given birth to children, and some are currently pregnant…what will happen to their families when they return to Thurii?! Every female slave didn’t dare think about it, nor face it…
Just then, Asistes stood up and said in a loud voice, “At the suggestion of Lord Davos, the archon for life of Thua Union, and was passed by the Senate, ‘Any Lucanian who marries a woman of Thua Union will automatically become a preparatory citizen of Thua Union and after two years, they will become an official citizens, and enjoy the rights of having a land allocated to them by the Union and a tax exemption for two years. Any Greek man who marries a Lucanian woman in Thua Union and is willing to become a citizen of Thua Union will automatically become a preparatory citizen and become an official citizen after two years, and will also enjoy the right of land allotment and tax exemption for two years.’”
“…is this true?” The slaves couldn’t believe what they had heard, so someone braced himself to ask.
“Of course it is true! The couples who will marry according to my previous statement can immediately go to Nerulum’s town…no, at the house of the great chieftain to register!” Exclaimed Sesta affirmatively.
These female Greek slaves, like a long drought, shed tears with excitement. They knew that as long as there was this law, and as long as Nerulum was in the hands of Thua Union, they could live in this land with their heads held high! The archon, Lord Davos, was such a good man for them!
The male Greek slaves, who were not citizens of Thurii, hesitated for a moment and made a decision. In contrast to taking a long time to become an official citizen of Thurii, marrying a Lucanian woman will immediately make them enjoy many benefits, which seems to be more attractive!
Asistes could guess that once this bill is announced in Thurii and Amendolara, countless freemen will come to Nerulum and take the lead to marry a Lucanian woman!
He then looked at the execution ground, where the bodies were piled up like hills and their fresh blood like a flowing river, and thought that at least a large number of widows in Nerulum will be taken care of.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The bloody scene created by Sesta outside the city scared all the Lucanians, and the bereaved families wept in fear.
Even in the evening, when Bagul hosted a banquet for some well-known Lucanians, such as Kesima and Ulasa, they were still trembling.
“Sit down! Sit down! We are all old friends, sit down!…” Bagul subconsciously imitated the expression and the tone of Davos when he had served them before, but the guests couldn’t relax.
“Kesima, why I still couldn’t see Abinu even now?” Asked Bagul, while glancing at the crowd.
“Abinu…he once had a quarrel with the son of Wudlei, Tamalu, and was killed!” Said Kesima gloomily.
“Damn Wudlei! Damn those big tribes that have oppressed us! Where is this Tamalu now?” Roared Bagul angrily.
“He is dead! The last time they went to Thurii, he died at the hands of the Greeks, just like his father, Wudlei.” Said Ulasa, while taking a glance at Asistes, who was beside Bagul.
“Hmph, too bad…I couldn’t avenge him myself! However, it is good that Abinu can serve the mountain god!” Sighed Bagul and he then calmed down.
At this time, one of his guests said, “Wudlei and Rhiam, have oppressed us. Won’t the Greek also oppress us?! Won’t we get slaughtered like what they did to Rhiam earlier?!”
“Right! Right! The Greeks have killed more than 500 Lucanians, who have surrendered, outside the city in one breath!”
“Soon, they will also kill us like livestock!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
There was a commotion among the guests, who had vented their dissatisfaction at the Greeks.
At this time, Asistes felt that the massacre outside the city had an impact on the hearts of the people. So, he had to stand up and said, “We, the Thua Union, will never oppress you! We-”
“How can a Greek attend a Lucanian banquet?!!” A voice from the guests interrupted Asistes.
“Of course he can!” At this time, Bagul did not wait for the guests to cause another disturbance. He immediately said, “He is the son-in-law of the Lucanians, my brother-in-law, and the husband of Dina!”