“Oh, which two are they?” Kanios leaned forward with extreme curiosity.

“The first one—” Cipros slowly placed a wooden skewer on the table and said, “Anyone can apply for Theonia citizenship. Whether they are foreign wanderers, captured enemy citizens, or even freed slaves, as long as they meet the requirements of the bill, they can become Theonian citizens…”

Kanios drew a sharp breath. Elea also granted city-state citizenship to some freedmen, but only due to war, when soldiers and labor were scarce. It was indeed unimaginable for a state like Theonia to keep citizenship open all the time. “This… this… wouldn’t this make Theonia citizenship less important? Would they not enjoy as many alliance rights? And can just anyone become an alliance citizen? How is the city-state’s order maintained?…”

“Theonia citizenship is very attractive!” Facing Kanios’s numerous questions, Cipros shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Leaving aside other rights, the single right for every new citizen to be allocated ‘five mu of land’ is enough to make freedmen crazy. Not to mention, they can receive new land based on the military merits they earn during service.”

“Is this… is this true?!” Kanios found it hard to believe. He couldn’t help but swallow. For Elean citizens long trapped in the city, land held a huge temptation.

“Of course, it’s true. Otherwise, in the decisive battle between Theonia and Croton before, why could the numerically inferior Theonia easily recruit 7,000 freedmen without spending money? And why did these freedmen fight so bravely to help Theonia defeat Croton? It’s all because of the allure of Theonian citizenship.” Cipros glanced around at the diners enthusiastically talking, turned back, and continued, “As for whether it will disrupt the city-state’s order, were there at least twenty to thirty thousand Theonian people present at today’s celebration ceremony?”

Prompted by Cipros, Kanios immediately realized, “This is the first time I’ve seen so many people attend an alliance’s celebration or festival, and no major disturbance occurred. I suspect it’s not just because there were large numbers of patrol soldiers maintaining order.”

Cipros quietly responded, “Of course. This has a lot to do with the constraints of Theonia City-State Alliance’s laws on citizens, freedmen, and even slaves. What Thurii city has more of compared to other city-states is not just patrol teams, but also courts. And these courts not only adjudicate cases and disputes but also record the names of those who violate the law. If they are freedmen, it affects whether they can obtain citizenship on time. If they are citizens, it affects their land allocation… Therefore, for a better future, most people living in Theonia consciously abide by the laws here…”

“This is a brilliant idea! Over time, the Theonians naturally develop the habit of obeying the law. No wonder…” Kanios couldn’t help but praise, “This solution fundamentally addresses the potential disorder in Theonia caused by its diverse population origins. I wonder who proposed this initially…”

He saw a smile flash across Cipros’s face and immediately realized, “Is it Davos again?”

Cipros nodded.

Kanios shrugged helplessly. He had nothing more to say about the Archon of Theonia.

“What is the second law?” Cipros’s familiarity with Theonia and unique insights deepened Kanios’s understanding of Theonia, so he eagerly wanted to know more.

“Vassal city-states.” Cipros uttered two words, his eyes sparkling with a peculiar brilliance. “Theonia’s approach to handling vassal city-states or occupied territories is very different from most Greek city-states.”

“How is it different?” Kanios was again drawn by Cipros’s words and asked quickly.

“Asprostum, do you know of it?”

“I’ve heard of it. It used to be a Brutian town, later a vassal city of Croton. I hear it has now joined the Theonia City-State Alliance.”

“Take Asprostum, for example. What did the Crotoniates do after they occupied it back then? They killed all the Brutians in the city and moved landless Croton citizens into Asprostum city, implementing the same system as Croton there.” Cipros skewered a piece of tripe, threw it into his mouth, and said with a sarcastic smile, “The residents of Asprostum were Croton citizens, and the political system was Croton’s political system. Logically, Asprostum should have become completely part of Croton. But why did Asprostum experience two riots in those decades, demanding separation from Croton?”

“Asprostum had two riots?” Kanios was slightly surprised. In his impression, Asprostum was just a town of Croton.

“Yes, twice.” Cipros extended two fingers and said slowly, “Because Croton quickly quelled the riots and deliberately suppressed the news, it’s normal that you, being far north in Elea, wouldn’t know… Although Asprostum was indeed fully subordinate to Croton initially, the situation changed after 20 years. According to Croton’s laws, only men in Asprostum whose fathers were Croton citizens could become Croton citizens. As time went on, some foreigners came to Asprostum, married women in the city, and their children could not become Croton citizens; they could only become citizens of Asprostum. There were also people born and raised in this small city who felt more loyalty to Asprostum than Croton and were unwilling to apply to become Croton citizens…

As a result, the number of true Asprostum citizens grew steadily in this small city, surpassing the number of Croton citizens. Naturally, their desire to protect the interests solely belonging to Asprostum surpassed their desire to protect Croton’s interests. And for the Crotoniates, as the blood ties became increasingly distant, they treated the Asprostum people more like slaves than their own. In case of war, they made the Asprostum people charge at the front. In land disputes, they favored the Crotoniates… As such, the resentment of the Asprostum people towards Croton deepened. How could they not demand independence?!”

Kanios nodded, took a large gulp of beer, hearing this.

“Croton’s measures toward Asprostum after the riots were—kill the people who firmly resisted Croton, then migrate large numbers of Croton citizens to the small city, while supporting Asprostum people who were friendly to Croton, and letting Croton citizens hold the highest power in Asprostum. But after another ten years or so, Asprostum rioted again, with the same situation as before… From what I know about Greek city-states, they generally dispose of their colonies and occupied territories in a similar manner. Asprostum is very close to Croton, and Croton is a powerful city-state in Magna Graecia. It had enough power to control the small town of Asprostum, yet such things still happened. For vassal city-states far from the mother city, or where the mother city is not strong, it’s common for them to later fail to unite with the vassal city-state to increase their strength. This is even considered good. What is more terrifying is when the mother city and vassal city-state become enemies—there are many such examples!…” Cipros said with emotion.

His words reminded Kanios of Elea’s mother city. Elea had once sent envoys to seek aid from its mother city, but the mother city ignored Elea’s predicament, refusing to provide any help. The two sides had become strangers. Kanios felt a little melancholy. “You are very right!” Saying this, he raised his beer pot, inviting Cipros to drink a toast.

Wiping the foam from his mouth, he asked with interest, “How does Theonia treat occupied territories?”

Cipros picked up another wooden skewer and placed it on the wooden table, saying slowly, “After Theonia occupied Asprostum, the first bill they implemented was to declare, ‘All Asprostum people willing to stay will become citizens of Theonia.'”

“Ah?!” Kanios looked astonished.

“Although very few Asprostum people chose to stay, I think they made the right choice.” Cipros emphasized this, then continued, “The second bill Theonia quickly implemented was—the Theonia Senate appoints public officials to govern Asprostum, and the city’s highest administrator, the City Chief Executive, must be a senator of the Senate. I remember the current City Chief Executive of Asprostum is… Hylos of the Theonia Senate, a senator closely related to Davos.

You see, the residents of Asprostum are now Theonian citizens, and Theonia’s law stipulates that ‘as long as either parent is Theonian, their child will be a Theonian from birth.’ Furthermore, the power holders of Asprostum are directly appointed by the Senate, and any Theonian citizen can apply to hold public office in the city-state. After serving for a considerable number of years with rich experience and outstanding performance, they can become a senator of the Theonia Senate.”

Cipros said with a slightly excited expression, “This way, the residents living in Asprostum, whether now or in the future, are not very likely to betray the Theonia City-State Alliance because they enjoy the same rights as Theonia citizens in other cities of the alliance. Asprostum is already a part of the Theonia City-State Alliance. The League’s Senate directly manages it. Whether it’s paying taxes or serving in the military, it directly strengthens the alliance’s power. That’s why, when Theonia’s strength was weaker than Croton’s, it could gather nearly the same amount of soldiers and resources as Croton, precisely because this political system allows it to better centralize all the strength of the cities under its jurisdiction! Croton couldn’t even get Asprostum’s full support, let alone its allies Scylletium and our Terina. This is probably the most terrifying aspect of the Theonia City-State Alliance: every piece of land it gains strengthens the alliance!”