Polyexis‘s words hit upon the worries of most Senators. Those born in Thurii and Amendolara, including Kunogelata, had all suffered the catastrophe of city destruction; therefore, deep down, they harbored a fear of war. Antaoris, Orikepos, and Plaedes from Crimisa, being newcomers and closer to Cornelius and Kunogelata, supported their decision.

The hawkish Senators were either sent by Davos to serve as key officials in other cities—like Hylos, Sextus, Butler, etc.—or had followed him to Taranto, like Capus, Drakos, Antonios, Alexis, and so on.

Only Military Officer Philesius and Commercial Officer Marigi decisively stated: We should support the Siro tribe and stop Cosenza’s annexation. We cannot let the Bruttian Tribal League become stronger.

Even Mersis, another confidant of Davos, wavered because he worried about the massive consumption of money and materials if war broke out.

On the other hand, Vesba and Hermon, who were of Lucanian origin, expressed support for the Siro tribe successively due to similar past experiences.

Overall, few supported the Siro tribe. Most Senators opposed interfering in Bruttian internal affairs to avoid triggering a war.

Polyexis was feeling smug that his opinion was about to gain majority support in the Senate for the first time and be passed.

At this time, Praexinas stood up: “Fellow Senators, I remember Lord Davos briefly mentioned the Bruttian matter before leaving. He worriedly said, ‘The Bruttians might become a major hidden danger to our Theonia!’ Therefore, for any decision involving the Bruttians, I believe we must let Archon Davos know, and he should make the final decision, especially when we cannot reach a consensus.”

Praexinas was no ordinary Senator. As the Chief Priest of the Temple of Hades, most of his energy was invested in temple affairs: cultivating young priests and priestesses, perfecting various temple systems, supervising the construction of temples in other cities… It could be seen that Davos, serving as the High Priest, valued him greatly and gave him free rein. Praexinas also repaid Davos’s trust with excellent performance. The fact that the belief in Hades could be accepted by the people of other Theonian cities in such a short time was inseparable from his efforts. Therefore, he not only had a certain prestige among the Theonian people but also carried weight in the Senate.

When he spoke up, others had to weigh the true intention behind his words carefully. After all, Davos stood behind him.

Philesius and Mersis were also Davos’s confidants, but one focused on military affairs and the other was obsessed with money; neither was very politically sensitive. Marigi was no stranger to politics, but unfortunately, he was a citizen of Persian descent. When Davos was not in the Senate, most Senators from Thurii and Amendolara often intentionally or unintentionally ignored his opinions.

Polyexis thought Praexinas was deliberately ruining his good thing. unable to hold back, he stood up again and said indignantly, “Davos! Davos!! Is it that without Davos, the Senate can decide nothing and do nothing?!”

Praexinas pretended to be surprised and said, “Lord Polyexis, in your eyes, do we do nothing?! Lord Kunogelata and Lord Cornelius exhaust their energy every day for the prosperity and stability of Thurii and Amendolara! Lord Burkos has traveled to every city and village of Theonia to supervise the people farming the fields! Lord Vesba and Lord Hermon pay close attention to the situation of the tribes in the Lucanian region, ready to go and resolve their conflicts at any time! Lord Stromboli minted silver coins for our own alliance comparable to the ‘Owl’! Lord Anxitanos is creating new schools for every city in Theonia! Lord Herpus is said to be calling on the city-states of Magna Graecia to hold the first medical discussion meeting in all of Greece! Lord Protesilaus proposes new bills every once in a while to perfect Theonia’s laws! The Alliance Public Office Management Committee led by Lord Tritodemus is concerned about the appointment and performance of officials in every city every day! Lord Enanilous supervises the construction of warships and strives to train the navy! Lord Scombras…”

Every time Praexinas mentioned a Senator’s work deeds, he would bow respectfully to that person, and the named Senator would smile in response. He spoke unhurriedly, mentioning almost most of the Senators: “The reason we have so many things to worry about and enjoy it is because of Lord Davos’s genius leadership. Only then can we have today’s powerful Theonia, allowing us not to worry about invasion by other city-states and to govern the increasingly large alliance territory with peace of mind! Who among us has more outstanding military talent than Lord Davos? More outstanding leadership ability? Stronger judgment of the situation? …”

“No one!” Although only Mersis answered, all the Senators remained silent, more or less agreeing with this sentence in their hearts.

“Since that is the case, when encountering such a major event concerning the safety of the Theonian League, even if Lord Davos is absent, we should listen to his opinion before making a decision. Because no one can make a correct judgment better than him!” Praexinas’s words left the very small minority of Senators, led by Polyexis who were dissatisfied with Davos’s excessive control over the Senate, speechless. Indeed, the decisions Davos had made so far had no mistakes or omissions, which was why Theonia developed so fast.

At this time, Kunogelata stood up to support the proposal to “hand over the issue of the Siro tribe to Davos for decision.”

The Amendolara Senators led by Cornelius, and Thurii Senators Anxitanos, Burkos, Enanilous, Masisacus… also agreed one after another. Thus, this matter was settled.

After the meeting adjourned, Praexinas and Herpus walked out of the venue together. The two were discussing whether some freedmen and foreigners who were believers in Hades but had no money for medical treatment could be treated by the hospital first, with the costs advanced by the newly established relief fund of the Temple of Hades (this money was also donated by Theonian people when praying at the temple).

“Lord Chief Priest!” Praexinas heard someone calling him. looking back, he saw Marigi rushing up. “If it weren’t for you just now, the Siro tribe’s request for help would probably have been rejected!”

Having been tempered by engaging in specific government affairs for the past two years, Praexinas’s mind was much more mature and steady than before. He immediately said humbly, “I didn’t actually do anything. It was mainly Lord Davos’s prestige that played the main role. Don’t look at how loud Polyexis shouted; his persuasive ability is actually very average.”

“Yes, Polyexis has been quite active recently!” Marigi said pointedly.

“Don’t worry, he can’t do anything,” Praexinas replied immediately.

“This Polyexis is so annoying; how was he allowed into the Senate in the first place?!” Herpus, who cared about medicine and not much about politics, interjected.

Praexinas coughed a few times.

Back then, after Davos led the army to repel the Croton army and wanted to control Thurii, in order to appease and stabilize the Thurii populace and also to absorb useful talents, he recruited famous, high-status, and learned people who survived the city burning into the Senate, including Praexinas who had once opposed Davos. Facts proved that this method was very effective. Not only did the Thurii populace quickly accept the Amendolarans led by Davos, but it also indeed unearthed many talents, such as Burkos, Praexinas, Anxitanos, Naval Commander Enanilous…

Herpus’s thoughtless words embarrassed Praexinas somewhat. Marigi stepped forward to smooth things over: “Lord Philesius is holding a banquet tonight. Is Lord Praexinas interested in attending?”

Praexinas’s eyes lit up. He knew that although he was valued by Davos, those Davos trusted most were still the group of former mercenary Senators and citizens who had gone through life and death with him. Moreover, these people were relatively united and were the most powerful political force in Theonia, especially in the military. Now that an invitation was extended to him, did it mean he had gained the recognition of this group?

***

The next day, when Davos, Diomilas, Eumachus, Triphias, and Tudepris discussed the army’s next plan of action, a divergence of opinion occurred again.

Triphias believed: Although the coalition won the “victory” in this battle, the soldiers suffered heavy casualties. It is not suitable to continue attacking. Instead, we should withdraw into the city to rest and reorganize, waiting to meet the Messapian-Peucetian coalition when they invade again.

Diomilas was inclined toward this opinion in his heart, but as the commander of this Taranto army, with such heavy casualties among citizen-soldiers and few results to show for it, once the people knew the situation, they would inevitably pour their anger on his head. There had to be a decent achievement so that he wouldn’t be impeached by the Citizens’ Assembly. Therefore, he suggested: Rest briefly, continue north, and attack Brindisi. If the Messapian-Peucetian coalition blocks us, then we will have a pitched battle with them. This time fighting on the plain, Greek heavy infantry and the Greek phalanx will have their use. Since the coalition cavalry has already suffered heavy damage, the Greek Allied Forces, though fewer in number, will definitely have the upper hand in this pitched battle. If the coalition avoids battle, then we capture Brindisi, rescue the captured Taranto citizens, obtain war spoils, and take the natives in the city captive back to Taranto as slaves to please the populace and make up for faults with merits.

Eumachus had a similar idea, but Tudepris, because too many Metapontum soldiers had been killed or wounded, actually explicitly supported Triphias’s opinion this time.