After the others tried going to Taranto, the people of Otranto felt the third advantage of joining Theonia.
Yet the benefits they received from Theonia continued as Nicomachus announced the construction of a road connecting Otranto to Rudiae.
Having a road was the dream of the people of Otranto, but they were not sure if it was possible.
When the people of Otranto beca doubtful, the Departnt of Road Managent officials, together with the kingdom's slaves and war prisoners, started working around the hills outside Otranto.
After being pleasantly surprised to see the smooth road stretching along the rugged terrain, Nicomachus once again announced the port's expansion to take advantage of Otranto's unique geographic advantage to make Otranto's mariti trade prosper.
This ti, instead of just standing around and watching, the people of Otranto actively and enthusiastically joined in the port's construction.
The town of Otranto, which had stayed silent for a hundred years, has undergone trendous changes in just a few years. The people of Otranto are no longer what the other ssapian city-states used to call ‘fishern from that remote fishing village’, as Otranto has now beco a famous port town in eastern Theonia.
Thus by the ti praetor Nicomachus' term ended, and he was about to leave, the people of Otranto had completely forgotten about their anger and swearing when Nicomachus first ca. Instead, they ford a long line to see him off. Then the town council unanimously approved the erection of a statue of Nicomachus in the town square so that the people of Otranto would never forget him and all the things he had done for Otranto!…
Cheirisophus' expression turned serious as he listened. From the way the coachman spoke, Cheirisophus could sense that the people of Otranto identified themselves with the kingdom of Theonia. And if that was the case in Otranto, it should also be the sa in the other towns of ssapi and Peuceti.
The might of the kingdom of Theonia had already put pressure on Sparta, but Theonia's ability to assimilate the natives terrified Cheirisophus even more. He then beca doubtful and uneasy about whether Sparta’s act of taking in the ssapians and Peucetians nobles who escaped from this place was helpful or not.
Then the coachman talked about his love of rugby and said that Cheirisophus was quite lucky because if Thurii hadn't suspended the rugby champions league these two days, Cheirisophus wouldn't have gotten into his carriage.
Except for the first section of the road that wasn't easy to walk to, the other sections were flat and wide, so the carriage drove fast and arrived outside the city of Rudiae before noon.
Then the coachman stops for a while to feed the horses and have their strength recover.
Cheirisophus also took this ti to eat sothing to fill his stomach.
When he entered the city of Rudiae, he found guards and sentry at every few steps, with heavily ard soldiers patrolling everywhere.
Cheirisophus cheered as he thought that the people of Rudiae were revolting because he had heard that Rudiae had revolted many tis in previous years. But after hearing the coachman's explanation, he realised that wasn't the case.
It turned out that Rudiae's team was unexpectedly eliminated in the first round of Theonia's rugby champions league and the one to defeat them was the weak Uzentum.
When they learned about it, the people of Rudiae regarded it as a great sha. Thus besides insulting and swearing at the players angrily, they also went to the tavern in groups to drown their sorrows. After getting drunk, they used their drunkenness as an excuse to cause trouble in the city, resulting in several injuries. Thus the Rudiae guards had to monitor the whole city closely to prevent further troubles.
But the coachman didn’t know how to explain to Cheirisophus why the people of Rudiae cared so much about winning or losing a ga. Hence he just said that besides playing rough and often causing fouls in ssapi’s tournant, Rudiae's team would even defy the referee's decision, so the other ssapian teams don't like to play with Rudiae much now.
In fact, the reason why the people of Rudiae hold the rugby ga in such high regard is that as the centre of the forr ssapian kingdom and the largest city-state of the ssapian League, it was the one that resisted the Theonians the most after their occupation. Thus the praetor of Rudiae, Milo, severely suppressed them, and at the most severe ti, Milo would ask the legion to enter the city, and anyone must stay at ho during the day and not be allowed to go on the street. After that, the state of resistance that lasted for a year began to accept Theonia's rule.
Then once the people of Rudiae got in touch with the outside, they found that the surrounding ssapian towns had obeyed the rule of Theonia early and thus gained the benefits earlier. With the vigorous developnt of mariti trade, they began to get rid of poverty and gradually beca wealthy. But Rudiae, which was inland and once had fertile and vast land, a large population and dominated the city-state of ssapi, beca less important.
In the following year's rugby champions league, the Rudiae players played for the first ti in the tournant. With their strong spirit stimulated by their loss and unwillingness, they won victory after victory and finally encountered Thurii's team in the quarterfinals and fought a gruelling match.
In the match, Rudiae had three injured players, with one was sent off, while Thurii had one player seriously injured. In the end, Thurii's team narrowly won. After that match, Theonia's Rugby Union changed so of its rules for the ga, such as imposing stricter penalties for ga fouls.
And once the Rudiae players reached their hos, they could only place their heads down but what greeted them was the public's warm welco, praising them for letting the people of Theonia know the strength of Rudiae’s warriors. From then on, the people of Rudiae beca obsessed with rugby that they devoted themselves to it and used it as a tool to show the unyielding spirit of the Rudiae to the Theonian Senate. So when the Rudiae team was eliminated in the first round of the champions league, the people of Rudiae were greatly stimulated.
Cheirisophus naturally doesn't understand these deep-seated reasons. Still, he could feel the people of Rudiae attached so much importance to the rugby invented by the Theonians, which indicated that they had recognised Theonia's rule, which made him sowhat depressed.
After all, he had received orders from Agesilaus to learn how the Peucetians and ssapians were doing under Theonia's rule, which is why he chose to take this route instead of taking the ship directly to Thurii. But from his observation, Theonia's rule in ssapi would only beco increasingly secure as ti passed.
After leaving Rudiae, the carriage continued to head northwest.
A few hours later, they passed through Manduria, a forr ssapian fortress that had been the front line of the Tarantine's invasion. But now, the Ninth Legion of Theonia used it as a military post. After all, the land in this place is neither beneficial to farming nor grazing. At the sa ti, they built the main camp of the Ninth Legion on the plain not far from the north of Rudiae, right in the centre of the ssapian region, which was convenient for when they gathered the citizens of the ssapian towns for training and mobilisation, and also act as surveillance and deterrent for the most restless ssapian city, Rudiae. But since it wasn't next to the road, Cheirisophus naturally didn't see it.
Finally, Cheirisophus arrived at Taranto at dusk.
Cheirisophus had co to Taranto several tis, and his impression of Taranto: Although it was once Sparta's colony, it did not inherit the Spartan's bravery, it only conducted a few military training for its citizens annually, and its people didn't have the ntality for battle readiness. But what surprised him when he ca into the city this ti was that he could see no soldiers patrolling and guarding the city. What’s more, the guards at the gates weren't well ard, and their inspection wasn't strict that all those entering the city could just lift their hands and be let in.
Then Cheirisophus thought about it and soon understood that since Taranto had now beco a free city of the kingdom of Theonia and Theonia also conquered Taranto's mortal enemy, the ssapian, they were no longer in danger. And since Theonia had even taken over the task of defending Taranto's territory, it is only natural for their military equipnt to be lax.
However, the city of Taranto remained busy even if it was already dusk, with its street crowded, and the stores, bars and brothels…that lined up from the city to the ports had travellers lining up here and there. After all, Taranto beca more prosperous after becoming the transportation and trade hub in eastern Theonia.
Cheirisophus then saw so young citizens of Taranto entering and leaving the bars and brothers in droves. Afterwards, they would walk drunkenly in the street and sotis talk about Taranto's past ‘glory’, venting their dissatisfaction at Theonia and even speaking ill of Sparta's ‘cowardice’…
Cheirisophus could only show a helpless and wry smile on his face as he understood that the ‘cowardice’ ant by the Tarantines was their grudge against Sparta for abandoning them and signing a treaty with Theonia. However, Cheirisophus didn't mind it too much. On the contrary, he felt a slight regret when he saw the current state of the Tarantines, who could only move their lips but didn't even know how to use the shields and spears, making it truly difficult for them to resist Theonia's rule.
At last, Cheirisophus reach the port.
When he was in Sparta, Cheirisophus knew there were special ferry terminals in Taranto's port, where they would load the transport ships with goods and guests. Then the ship would set out from these docks uninterruptedly and arrive at other coastal cities in the Gulf of Taranto; of course, the main destination was Thurii.
Cheirisophus soon boarded the transport ship that led directly to Thurii.
After the transport ship sailed out of the port and into the Gulf of Taranto, nurous ships that covered the always calm gulf filled Cheirisophus’ sight. And even though the sun had fallen behind the mountains and only a few remaining lights shone on the horizon, the sea was still quite lively.
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