“So, your brother also went to Cosenza.” Davos sat in his study listening to Aristelas‘s report about some events that had happened in Theonia and the surrounding areas during his absence from Thurii.

“He has been gone for six days; there is no news yet.” Aristelas answered truthfully.

Davos heard something in his stiff tone and asked, “Are you not worried?”

Aristelas remained silent.

“Don’t worry, the Bruttians don’t have the guts to harm our envoys! They might be on their way back, or they might be imprisoned by the Bruttians…” Davos comforted him seriously. “If there is no news in a few more days, Theonia will issue a ‘war threat’ to Bruttium to force them to release the people!”

“…Thank you, My Lord!” Aristelas said with some worry and gratitude.

Davos patted his shoulder solemnly and said, “Theonia will never treat a brave warrior who dares to risk his life for Theonia unfairly! When your brother returns, he will become a full citizen much earlier than you! But rest assured, I keep everything you have done firmly in my heart!”

Aristelas said nothing but bowed respectfully.

Davos asked again, “Anything else?”

Aristelas adjusted his emotions and said in a deep voice, “Yes, it’s about Polyexis.”

“Polyexis?” Davos blinked.

“We found that Polyexis granted freedman status to many slaves in his household. Then, with his help, these freedmen applied to the Ministry of Agriculture to rent a lot of land…” Aristelas paused here and looked at Davos.

Davos listened calmly. What Aristelas said about Polyexis’s actions so far was not unusual. On the contrary, Davos probably had to praise him for responding to his call and leading by example in freeing slaves.

But Davos knew things would never be that simple.

“These freedmen used part of the proceeds from the rented land to pay taxes, part for their own use, and handed over most of the remaining proceeds to Polyexis.”

Hearing this, Davos’s eyes opened wide abruptly: “How much of the proceeds do they hand over to Polyexis?”

“The specific proportion is unclear, but I’m afraid it’s not a small amount. Because he has about 35 freedmen who applied for about 180 mu of land,” Aristelas said, looking at the records in his hand.

“These slaves should understand the laws promulgated by Theonia regarding land rental. Why didn’t anyone report it?” Davos asked loudly.

“According to understanding, these slaves are Polyexis’s house-born slaves who have lived in his home for at least 20 years and should be very loyal to him. Secondly, through connections in the Ministry of Agriculture, Polyexis let these slaves rent fertile land. Besides paying the 20% rent tax and the money given to Polyexis (registered freedmen pay 20% land tax, preparatory citizens 10%, and full citizens only 1%), the remaining income far exceeded what they got as slaves. Moreover, these rented farmlands are close to each other. The freedmen live collectively in several large houses, monitoring each other. It is said that some people claimed to be ‘their family members’ live together, but they are likely overseers sent by Polyexis…”

After Aristelas finished speaking, Davos’s eyes narrowed into slits, with cold light flashing within. He asked sternly, “Does Burkos know about this?”

“From current signs, he should not be aware,” Aristelas answered seriously.

“Are you sure?”

“I am sure.”

Davos stared at Aristelas’s face for a long while, feeling slightly relieved in his heart. He had a very good impression of Burkos, especially after Davos led the army to defeat Croton and entered Thurii. Burkos actively cooperated to stabilize Thurii’s political situation, and he also actively responded to the new policies promulgated by Davos. Although he and Polyexis were both famous nobles in Thurii owning large amounts of land, he voluntarily gave up ownership of most of the land and released some slaves…

“It’s good that he doesn’t…” Davos said softly, but he knew in his heart: Only this time, Burkos might be dragged down by friendship.

“Is anyone else doing this?” Davos asked again with a gloomy face.

“We are still investigating, but with so many cities, we are short of hands…” Aristelas said with difficulty.

“Make a plan for how many people you need. After I review it, if I think it’s feasible, I’ll increase your funding. This matter must be investigated seriously! Carefully! Focus on all Senators of the Senate and citizens holding public office in the alliance!” Davos’s tone was severe. He hadn’t expected corruption to breed less than two years after Theonia’s establishment, and he was very annoyed.

But as Archon, Davos also had to consider other issues, so he reminded, “The investigation must be conducted quietly without alerting anyone. Report to me immediately if there is any situation!”

“Understood, My Lord!”

***

“Davos! Davos! …” Mersis shouted his name indignantly and strode hurriedly into the living room.

Davos knew this fatty definitely had something to ask of him again, so he kept a straight face and said, “Mersis, here you must call me Lord Archon.”

“Alright then, Lord Archon.” Mersis came to Davos, stretched out both hands, and said, “Please remove me from my position as Alliance Financial Officer. This job is impossible to do!”

“Why? You don’t want to take a break and travel somewhere else, do you?” Davos teased first, then seeing Mersis’s serious face, he said in surprise, “Haven’t you been doing quite well!”

“You asked Marigi to bring me a message to prepare grain reserves for four legions for two months in advance, right?” Mersis questioned.

Davos understood now. He nodded and said, “That’s right, I told Marigi.”

“I can’t do this!” Mersis said with grief and indignation. “Four legions are at least 30,000 men. Consuming nearly 60,000 jin (approx. 30,000 kg) of grain every day, that’s nearly 4 million jin in two months! For such a huge amount of grain, not counting the rising prices in the future, we have to pay at least… There isn’t that much money in the treasury now. Even counting the alliance land tax revenue in September and October and the usual commercial tax revenue, it’s still not enough. Because we also have to pay the salaries of all public officials, the construction of the Castellum-Crimisa Avenue and Crimisa-Aprustum Avenue, the reconstruction of the Crimisa swamp area, and the small Temples of Hades that Praexinas applied to build in Amendolara, Crimisa, Nerulum, and other cities. Which of these projects doesn’t cost money! Huh! A lot of money!”

“Alright, Mersis. I know you have exhausted all methods to save expenses for Theonia and have indeed worked very hard! But if you quit, I won’t be able to find a better Financial Officer than you in the alliance! Do you have the heart to watch the alliance we built so hard collapse due to lack of money because the treasury lacks effective management?!” Davos praised hurriedly.

“Now that the alliance is getting bigger and bigger, income and expenditure are quite considerable. To manage them well is indeed not something ordinary people can do!” Receiving Davos’s praise, Mersis immediately became spirited, and his previous bad mood was released. He no longer vented dissatisfaction but thought for a moment and said, “Lord Archon, I can prepare grain for at most three legions for one month. If you don’t accept it, then replace me!”

One month! Davos rubbed his chin. In the past, when he led troops in battle, most battles occurred near Theonian territory. The scope and scale of the battles were not large, and they ended quickly. Even the Second Crotoniate War, which lasted the longest, did not exceed fifteen days, so he had not felt the pressure of logistics yet. But this war with Bruttium was to conquer a region and make enemies of an entire race; the difficulty would inevitably increase greatly. Even if the war went smoothly, he expected the duration to be longer than before. Two months was just a conservative estimate. But he hadn’t expected that this would already make Theonia feel strained and unable to provide full support.

War is a contest of national strength! A sentence popped into Davos’s mind. He felt somewhat helpless. Thinking that Syracuse led an army of 80,000 to attack Carthage at the beginning of the year, and the war had lasted for half a year and still wasn’t over. Theonia still rose too fast, its foundation too thin, and its accumulation insufficient!

“Davos, I have a way to solve the problem of military grain supply.” Mersis took a step forward, called Davos’s name affectionately, and said somewhat mysteriously.

“Oh? What way?” Davos’s heart stirred.

“The autumn harvest is coming soon. After the autumn harvest, almost every citizen’s family will have ample grain. Can’t we solve it by letting each of them bring their own rations for 20 days or a month!”