"What do you think you are in the eyes of Timasone, Criano and the others? Imagine what would happen if I left you here with your wife and daughter!" Davos sneered.
"You said you'd send me to Asia Minor!" Marij said sadly.
"There's going to be a war in Asia Minor, didn't you hear that just now!"
"I ... can go to the remote mountains of Asia Minor and live in anonymity!" Marigold remained stiff-lipped.
"That's a shame about your talents, Marigi, I've always thought that Cyrus the Younger was burying your abilities by making you only his royal merchant! Of course, your origins in Persia limit your ability to excel! But by following me, you will not be limited in any way, and I will give you a wide world in which to display your talents!" Davos promised him.
"Follow you? Going to fight the natives again and then reign supreme in a 'small village'?" Marigold bristled.
"Marij, there is a saying in the East, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river'. Your Persian founding monarch Cyrus was initially just a chief of a small Persian tribe, much bullied by Midian, who would have known that he would build a powerful empire a few decades later! I am just a mercenary leader today, I may not not have a glorious day in a few decades!!!" Davos said with confidence and bravado.
"How can you ... compare to Cyrus the Great!" Marij said disdainfully, but his voice was much smaller. The hot gaze in Davos' eyes made him afraid to look directly at him, and he hesitated and squirmed, "Do I have a choice?"
Davos laughed, "You bet!"
"If ... if you do succeed, what would you have me do?" Marij lifted his head, his eyes meeting Davos'.
Davos pondered for a moment, raised two fingers, and said seriously, "Two options. One is to make you the Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for diplomatic matters with all city-states; the other is to create a new Minister of Commerce, responsible for all business and trade matters."
Mariji hesitated and finally made up his mind, "The last time I negotiated with the Kesokont tribe, it was enough to make me scared. I'll choose the second one!"
"Yes, I'll save it for you!" Davos made a promise.
............... ......
The next day, Bulcos is excited when he learns that all the squad officers from Davos' barracks will be going to Turii. Davos has Marigi negotiate an employment agreement with Bulcos, while he takes off to focus on convincing the soldiers to accept employment at Turii.
In fact, most of the mercenaries were destitute and unattached before they chose this life of licking blood at the tip of the sword; their long career in war had made them unable to adapt to a peaceful life, and the powerful difference between their longing for home in Persia and the treatment they received when they returned to the Greek city-states made them, under the charm of Davos and the attraction of the lucrative pay of Turii, choose to stay only about three hundred, while the rest of the soldiers were willing to follow Davos to Magna Graecia. The rest of the soldiers were willing to go with Davos to Magna Graecia. At the same time, the lobbying of the officers in the other camps also bore fruit, due to the imminent return to their homes, the generals had neither the heart nor the ability to control the soldiers, so that the other camps were joined by soldiers one after another, and by the evening, the total number of Davos's army was as high as more than 2,000, which surprisingly also included Hieronymus, the general.
The dust also settles on the hotly contested negotiations, and the key elements of the finalized employment agreement are:
I. Turii employed the troops led by the chief Davos, two thousand one hundred and thirty-three in all, at a pay of two dalic gold pieces per soldier per month, which must be paid off at the end of each month, and provided with free quarters and sustenance of one catty of wheat flour per man per day, and, in case of arrears and delays, the pay and sustenance were doubled in the following month. (This was a lesson learned from Cyrus the Younger, by whose early death the mercenaries were subsequently not only not paid a penny, but also had to lose their lives and spend a year in returning from Persia. So Davos learned his lesson, in case the mercenaries beat back the Lucanians early and Turii stopped hiring, wouldn't that be a problem! (That's why he set up a deadline, regardless of whether the mission was completed or not, the deadline had to be paid according to the agreement)
Second, the mercenaries are only responsible for the defense of Turii and repelling the Lucanians' attack on Turii's direct territories, if there are any other requirements to be negotiated separately. (This is because Davos is afraid that the Turii will propose some extra difficult tasks, such as attacking Lucania's territories and so on, which will greatly deplete Davos's troop strength.)
III. Upon arrival in Turui, mercenaries shall not violate the laws governing the handling of Turui, and if they do, they shall be penalized in accordance with Turui law.
IV. Mercenaries are not allowed to enter the city of Turui without its permission.
V. In combat, the mercenary's captures go to the mercenary.
...
The agreement was signed on April 1 of the second year of the 95th Olympiad (i.e., 399 B.C.) and ends on April 1 of the third year. The agreement will be renewed at the end of the contractual period according to the wishes of the parties.
After swearing an oath to the gods and goddesses in the name of the Turii Council along with Davos, Burgos signed his name to each of the two agreements written on parchment (Davos had been primed with Greek writing under the tutelage of Kristoia).
Burkos stuffed the parchment into his arms and asked seemingly casually, "Chief Davos, there's a question I don't quite understand. All those slaves and women that you're taking to Turii, not only do you have to buy food for them out of your own pocket, but you also have to protect them from the Lucanians, it's obviously a burden, so you might as well just sell them here, so why do you have to bring them with you?"
Those slaves and women alone numbered nearly five hundred, and to prevent Bourcos from getting suspicious, Davos of course had to answer seriously, "Most of the mercenaries are single men, and their families don't have the money to buy slaves to help with their work or to take wives, so they consider these slaves and women plundered from Persia as their valuable property, and if I don't take them with me, I'm afraid the soldiers won't follow us to Turii!"
"There's really no need for that, they could all be rich in a year's time." Bulcos said jokingly, in a good mood as the agreement was successfully signed.
"That's only if you're alive!" Davos returned.
"Alright." Burks shrugged helplessly and said, "I was just worried that they would interfere with your fight. Now that the agreement has been signed, we'll leave next year, I've already contacted the ships, now I'm going to rush to the city and prepare food and water according to the number of people in your party."
"Kriand has given us permission to enter the city?"
"Oops, I almost forgot!" Burkos slapped his hand to his forehead, "Kryander allows you to enter the city, but asks that you do so empty-handed."
"Empty-handed?" Davos' mind reeled.
"That is, give up your round shields, bayonets, and swords." Bulcos reassured, "But that's okay, we'll equip you with new weaponry when we get to Turii."
"No, it matters, it matters a great deal!" Davos looked serious and said word for word, "We will never give up our weapons!" Not to mention the fact that Krilkus and the others were cheated back then, on the way back there were many times when the local natives greeted them with a smiling face and then raised their knives in the twinkling of an eye, in case this was a conspiracy by Krielander, the mercenaries entered the city empty-handed, wouldn't it be a case of leading their necks into a poke! Davos would never allow his life to be pinched in the hands of others! Weapons were his credentials!
"If we don't give up our weapons, Kryander won't let you into the city, and we won't be able to leave!" Burkos said anxiously.
Davos thought for a moment and made a concession, "I'll let the soldiers wrap their spearheads in cloth and wrap their swords, but never give up their weapons!" He reiterated.
Burkos had to compromise when he saw that Davos was being tough, "Alright, I'll go back and consult with Kryander."
Note: The ancient Greeks' method of dating was primarily to use the number of times the Olympic Games were held to calculate the chronology, as the ancient Olympic Games were also held once every four years.
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