Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1067: Mercenary Legions and Pay

Hermon's impassioned words moved the ministers, and even Davos paused, momentarily stunned. "We have indeed neglected the issue of adult citizens," he said. "Fortunately, Hermon, you reminded us in time. We need to take this seriously. We must cherish these young men, for they are the kingdom's future! So, after this meeting, Hermon, Raphias, and Bulcos—the three of you will convene to discuss whether adult citizens should receive land allotments and how that land should be distributed. Draft a proposal for us to review at the next executive meeting before we submit it to the Senate for approval."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the three responded in unison.

"Alright, let's return to the main topic: reinforcing the Etruscan League. I believe Heracleides's proposal to build a military fortress on the land granted by the Etruscan League is excellent.

"Cyprolus's suggestion to recruit registered freemen to form a border defense force is also very good.

"The issue Bulcos raised also warrants our deep consideration. Daionia grew so rapidly precisely because we steadfastly upheld our immigration decrees. That is how we won the support and aid of so many registered freemen, allowing us to triumph in every war. Today, even though the kingdom has grown powerful, we still have many enemies, and we will face even stronger foes in the future.

"Furthermore... a pool without fresh water soon stagnates, and a nation that closes itself off to new blood will lose its vitality. Therefore, I do not believe we should completely suspend the previous Immigration Law. However, we must find a way to secure the borders of the kingdom and our allies while still giving other foreign freemen the chance to become kingdom citizens—all without making our own adult citizens feel slighted. This requires careful thought. We must devise a practical, effective solution!"

Davos spoke slowly, summarizing and evaluating the ministers' earlier discussions. He firmly laid out a general framework to keep them from straying off-topic and failing to reach the ideal outcome he desired.

King Davos's words cast the ministers into deep thought.

It wasn't long before Cyprolus, who had been pondering the matter, spoke up. "Your Majesty, I believe this will be relatively easy to resolve if we simply set different timeframes for foreign freemen to become kingdom citizens.

"This way, those eager to become kingdom citizens sooner will be willing to take the risk and join the border legions, while those unwilling or unable to take such risks still have a path to citizenship, provided they are willing to bide their time within the kingdom."

Davos stroked his chin, thinking for a long moment before nodding. "That is a good method. Does anyone have any objections?"

Seeing Davos's approval, the other ministers voiced no major objections. They spent some time debating the details and ultimately finalized the new bill: Any foreign freeman recruited into the Daionian Army would become a full citizen of Daionia after five years of service. Other foreign freemen must reside in Daionia for ten years, pay their taxes on time, and obey the law to earn full citizenship. If a foreign freeman died during this period, their family members could complete the remaining duration to inherit that citizen status...

After half a day of discussion, they finally reached a consensus. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Rotating Chairman Lysias spoke up.

(Following Cornelius's passing and Vespa's retirement, the sixty-five-year-old Lysias had attempted to resign from all his posts a year ago, citing failing health and an inability to handle the complex administrative workload. He wasn't exaggerating. After the Western Mediterranean War, the Kingdom of Daunia's territory had expanded drastically, its population had exploded, and its resources had multiplied. A massive influx of merchants, registered freemen, and envoys from various city-states and factions had flooded into the central city of Thurii. This caused the administrative duties of the Thurii Region to skyrocket. Even after the number of officials nearly doubled, they still felt severely short-handed. However, Davos repeatedly urged him to stay, ultimately only allowing him to resign as the administrative chief of the Thurii Region while retaining his position as a Rotating Chairman. In truth, many Senators still viewed him as the head of the five Rotating Chairmen.)

"Your Majesty, now that we have established the new Immigration Law and decided to recruit freemen to defend the Etruscan borders and our Iberian territory, exactly how many men do we need to recruit?"

Davos looked toward Alexis.

Alexis had already considered this and answered without hesitation, "As I mentioned before, the northern border of Etruria needs about three to five thousand men. Considering there will be constant casualties and a need for continuous reinforcements, and that temporary recruitment takes time for training, we might as well recruit the equivalent of an entire legion at once. This way, we can train them in legion tactics from the start, making command much smoother when they eventually fight alongside the kingdom's Regular Legions.

"Furthermore, the Iberian territory also requires a full legion to properly protect the populace. If we reinforce an allied nation with a full legion but assign fewer soldiers to defend our own kingdom's territory, the public will likely be dissatisfied.

"Ideally, we should recruit one additional legion to guard against sudden large-scale enemy invasions. If the kingdom lacks the time for a full military mobilization, we can send this newly recruited legion to the front lines to buy us some time..."

Hearing this, Lysias's expression darkened somewhat. "Three legions—over twenty-four thousand men! That is a massive number. Has Lord Alexis considered how much pay the kingdom will have to hand out for this?!"

Alexis looked somewhat confused. "Pay? They shouldn't need any pay. Once these freemen become soldiers, they will eat and sleep in the military camps. After completing their service, they will receive the kingdom's reward, become full citizens, and be granted land. Do we really need to give them extra money?"

Having served as the administrative chief of Thurii for many years, Lysias calmly explained, "A foreign freeman living in the kingdom, as long as he is diligent, can earn at least fifteen drachmas a month. After a few years, by the time he becomes a full citizen of Daionia and receives his land allotment, he will have already saved up a considerable sum. He wouldn't even need to take out a loan from Cheiristoya's Bank; he would have enough money to build a house, buy wheat seeds and livestock, or perhaps even purchase a slave, allowing his life to quickly stabilize. Setting those freemen aside, let's consider the kingdom's state slaves. Lord Raphias, does your slave camp not also distribute some pay to them?"

"Yes, but very little," Raphias answered.

"But at least there is some," Lysias said slowly. "I heard there was a very strong young slave in the Thurii slave camp who always did more work than the others. Because of this, he earned quite a few extra rewards. He saved up all that money, and when he finally gained his freedom, he actually went to the slave market and bought a female slave to be his wife..."

"That is a true story. The slave's name was Winram. He worked incredibly hard and always received rewards, so after spending only three years in the Thurii slave camp, the Slave Administration Office granted him his freedom last year," Raphias said with a smile. "Since he had been a slave since childhood, rumor had it he had never been with a woman. Hearing other slaves talk about such things in the camp made him extremely curious, which is why he did something so impulsive."

After he finished speaking, many ministers smiled in amusement.

"Lord Alexis, you see, even slaves receive pay, let alone these foreign freemen who will become the kingdom's soldiers and guard our borders. Should their treatment be worse than that of slaves? If that is the case, not only would it make us seem overly harsh, but it would also breed resentment, affecting their willingness to enlist and their morale in future battles. Wouldn't you agree, Lord Alexis?"

Alexis had always been immersed in the Ministry of Military Affairs and didn't understand much about the kingdom's civilian life. Hearing this, he felt a bit embarrassed and could only reply honestly, "Thank you for the reminder, Lord Lysias. I did indeed overlook this issue. Once I return to the Ministry of Military Affairs and consult with my colleagues, we will decide how much pay these freemen soldiers should receive."

"This isn't just about pay," Sedorum, another Rotating Chairman, chimed in. "Their military rations, their weaponry, their material consumption... I'm afraid the kingdom will need to provide all of these. Tens of thousands of men! What they consume will not be a small amount. Moreover, as His Majesty just said, this is not a temporary arrangement; it is a long-term decree, a major new decision for the kingdom! This means the strong support from the Etruscan League will only be temporary, and our kingdom will inevitably have to bear this massive extra expenditure in the long run. But where will this huge sum of money come from?"

After Sedorum finished speaking, several senior ministers and Rotating Chairmen exchanged glances, all understanding that this was the true difficulty in executing the new resolution.

Alexis was taken aback but immediately replied, "Naturally, it will come from the treasury."

The moment he finished speaking, the financial officer Akibides, who had been struggling to contain himself, shouted, "No! That won't do! I already stated earlier that the treasury's funds are tight. There is no extra money to support a long-standing mercenary army!"

As a high-ranking minister of the kingdom, being publicly contradicted by a mid-level official like Akibides caused Alexis to lose face, regardless of his usual self-restraint. His expression darkened, and he said in a low voice, "Our army has suffered heavy casualties, captured countless gold and silver mines for the kingdom, secured vast tracts of fertile land, and brought enormous wealth to the realm. Now that the military needs some assistance from the treasury, is this how the Ministry of Finance treats the Ministry of Military Affairs?"

Met with Alexis's harsh glare, Akibides felt a momentary wave of apprehension. However, he firmly recalled the instructions Mersis had given him: "When we guard the kingdom's treasury, we must defend it like a mother protecting her child. We must never yield easily. Even if it means spending a single extra Obol, we must haggle over it relentlessly. Only by doing so can one be a qualified minister of finance, and only then will you earn His Majesty's high regard!"