Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1089: Plato's Praise

Plato smiled, speaking in earnest. "I shared all my insights at the previous scholar conferences. With nothing new to offer, I would be embarrassed to take the podium again. Besides, many of the young scholars gave brilliant speeches this year. Your son Apox, in particular, made such an astonishing discovery at his age—it is truly enviable! Furthermore, most of these young scholars hail from your Theonia Akademia. It proves that Daionia's long, unremitting investment in education has finally begun to bear fruit. In comparison, other city-states, including our Athens, have fallen far behind!" As he spoke, a trace of worry clouded his face.

"Speusippus's speech yesterday also won the praise of many scholars!" Lysias consoled him. "Plato, you have absolutely no need to worry about lacking a successor."

Speusippus hurriedly stood up to thank his elders.

Plato did not feign modesty. Pointing at his nephew, he said, "Compared to the first scholar conference, Speusippus has indeed made tremendous progress. However, my Academy still only has him as someone worthy of the title 'young scholar,' while your academy has produced many outstanding young scholars. The gap is vast!"

"Theonia Akademia is a public institution of the kingdom, funded and supported by the Daionian treasury," Lysias explained. "Every year, we select the very best graduates from town schools across the kingdom for further cultivation. Naturally, our success rate is high. The Academy, on the other hand, was established with your personal funds. Restricted by money, space, and the number of teachers, you cannot enroll more students. The two are, of course, completely incomparable.

"However, I hear the Academy's reputation has already begun spreading across the Eastern Mediterranean. I believe more and more outstanding young people from various Greek city-states will eventually be willing to study there, and the situation will vastly improve," Lysias consoled.

Plato sighed. "Just as I wrote in 'The New Republic': 'If a nation or a city-state wishes to achieve sustained and prosperous development, it must first focus on education. Education not only grants young citizens wisdom but also nurtures sound thoughts and morals from a young age. Only when the qualities of the citizens are elevated and they learn to think can the entire nation develop healthily...'

"Unfortunately, our Athenian citizens do not think this way. They only care about immediate benefits and wish to evenly distribute the treasury's wealth. That is why, a few years ago, the ecclesia unanimously agreed to implement the citizens' assembly allowance system. Every Athenian citizen who attends the assembly receives half a drachma as compensation. As prices rise, this allowance increases accordingly, and it has even been expanded to compensate attendance at other meetings.

"Having tasted the benefits of sharing the city-state's wealth, the year before last they officially passed the theater subsidy system. During Athenian festivals, they occasionally provide subsidies for poor citizens to buy theater tickets—a tradition that originally started in the era of Pericles of Athens. They even created a dedicated financial official just to manage the theater subsidies..."

"A while ago, Conon's son Timotheus proposed in the Council: 'We should lead the navy to circumnavigate the Peloponnese Peninsula, strike the Spartan navy, and completely establish the Athenian Navy's dominance.' The Council passed his proposal but allocated no funds for the expedition. The citizens were not eager to enlist, either. Timotheus had to raise the money himself, hire soldiers, and pay their wages just to assemble the expeditionary Fleet.

"Consequently, after conquering Corcyra Island, the sailors refused to fight for him any longer due to a lack of funds. The entire military operation was hastily terminated halfway through. Timotheus is not the only military commander to face such a dilemma; Iphicrates and Chabrias have as well... These fairly outstanding Athenian generals suffer from the same military budget constraints, resulting in Athens's military campaigns yielding very little over the past few years.

"This also forces the excellent generals who are willing to serve Athens to frequently work for foreign monarchs. Doing so ensures they have enough money, or the ability to secure loans, to support the military operations they conduct for Athens. Iphicrates, for example, not only serves the Thracians often but also married the daughter of a Thracian king. Timotheus enjoys high prestige in Ionia and similarly married the daughter of a king from an Asia Minor city-state...

"During peacetime, they spend more time abroad than in Athens. There, they have more freedom and can live luxurious, extravagant lives without facing the condemnation of public opinion. Over time, how much loyalty will they have left for Athens?!

"It is simply a vicious cycle! Yet the citizens of Athens are blind to these dangers. Most of them only care about watching free plays and getting paid to sit in various meeting halls every day... This is what is truly tragic!"

Hearing this, Davos initially did not want to voice an opinion on Athenian affairs. After a moment's thought, however, he spoke with a serious expression. "The Athenian government's refusal to use the treasury to fund its armies will lead to an even worse outcome. When Athenian generals use the money they raise themselves to pay their mercenaries, the mercenaries naturally obey the generals rather than the government. Athens completely loses control over its military, making it exceedingly difficult to order the army to execute its strategies. Furthermore, if a commanding general harbored some ambition toward Athens and ordered the army to attack the city, do you think those mercenaries would obey?"

Plato froze upon hearing this. He slowly lowered the wine cup he had just brought to his lips. After a long pause, he said hesitantly, "Although Timotheus and Iphicrates have their conflicts, the current Athenian generals are still full of love for Athens... But what you say is also true. Since the army serves the city-state, the city-state naturally ought to pay the soldiers and secure their livelihoods. Both sides have mutual obligations. If one side abandons this duty, the other naturally gains the right to ignore its own...

"The day before yesterday, when I arrived in Thurii, I already heard that Daionia is raising taxes to form border armies. It is truly a fortunate thing for the people of Daionia to have such a powerful and wise government!"

Plato took a sip of wine. Unwilling to discuss this vexing issue any further, he shifted the topic. "The reason I arrived in Thurii only as the scholar conference was drawing to a close is that I spent some time touring other towns in Daionia."

"Oh!" Davos said, a look of regret on his face. "You should have told me in advance so I could make arrangements for you. That way, your journey would have been much more convenient and safe."

"I didn't tell you precisely so my travels would be freer, allowing my own two eyes to see the unfiltered truth." Plato pointed at his eyes and asked mischievously, "Esteemed King Davos, did you want to arrange things for me because you were afraid I might see something bad?"

Davos let out a hearty laugh. "You should know me better than that. I have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Indeed, I should offer you my congratulations!" Plato said with vibrant enthusiasm. "I traveled south—to Lilybaeum, Carthage's former military stronghold. I also went north to the great city of Rome, and even stayed for two days in Beventum, the former center town of the Samnites... Daionia's territory is remarkably vast; the travel time on the road alone took up quite a bit of my schedule.

"However, I must correct something you said just now, Your Majesty. The entire journey was extremely safe. Whether by sea or by land, I encountered no pirates and no mountain bandits. I certainly saw no war. Everywhere I passed seemed peaceful and tranquil, even in the lands of the Samnites, whom the Greeks call 'ferocious barbarians.'

"As you know, a decade or two ago, Magna Graecia and Sicily were constantly plagued by war, just like the Greek Mainland. There were wars among Greek colonial city-states, wars between the colonial city-states and the natives, wars between Greek city-states and Carthage... Today, the conflicts on the Greek Mainland persist, but west of the Adriatic Sea, it is an entirely different picture. This is the monumental change the existence of the Kingdom of Daunia has brought to the western Mediterranean!"

Plato took another sip of his wine and continued loudly, "I must also mention another significant change. Although the journey was long, transportation was highly convenient. The maritime routes are clear, and regardless of size, the port towns I visited all had fairly robust harbor facilities and orderly management.

"As for the land routes, I have to bring up the roads you spent fortunes from the treasury to build and manage. They are smooth, wide, and sturdy, extending even deep within the rolling mountains of Samnium and Lucania. You have even constructed roads in the territories of allies like the Volscians and Campanians... Ah, you call it a 'road network,' and a network it truly is. This web connects most of the races on the Italian Peninsula, providing great convenience for their travel and trade while strengthening the communication between the people of various ethnicities.

"When I walked along those grand avenues, there was an endless stream of travelers. Most wore optimistic expressions, and on their faces, I saw a kind of yearning. This yearning compelled them to hurry, whether they were driving wagons or carrying bundles on their backs. But this rush did not stem from poverty; it was for a better life... And this very yearning is exactly what the Kingdom of Daunia has bestowed upon them!"