Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1200: Rebuilding Sparta (3)

With Crotokatax's guarantee, the men felt slightly more at ease. Anxious to leave, they temporarily pushed the troublesome issue to the back of their minds.

Crotokatax explicitly ordered his men to prepare rations and ready horses for them, a thoughtful gesture that completely erased their remaining doubts.

After seeing the men off, Crotokatax breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly collected himself, however, and walked toward a room adjoining the meeting hall.

Even if the Helots proved timid and clumsy, Crotokatax refused to accept the perioikoi's initial proposal to exclude them from the new government. Without the Helots to keep them in check, the perioikoi might become the new Spartans within a few short years.

Naturally, he had no intention of marginalizing the Spartans within this new government, either. For one, retaining them allowed Daionia to confidently face any scrutiny from the Greek city-states concerned about Sparta's fate. They could boldly argue that "they had not destroyed the ancient city-state, but merely altered its system of government—just as Sparta had done to others at the height of its power." For another, integrating the now deeply weakened Spartans into the new system would likely stabilize New Sparta's politics, making it far easier for Daionia to maintain control.

Returning the salute of the Daionian sentry stationed at the door, Crotokatax gently pushed open the unlatched wooden door.

The room was crowded with thirty Spartan Elders led by Agesilaus and five ephors. Despite the cramped conditions, it was unusually quiet.

This slightly surprised Crotokatax. His gaze swept slowly across their faces before a faint smile touched his lips. The Spartans feigned composure, but they could not hide the anger in their eyes. "Gentlemen, I trust you heard what I said in the hall just now, and I suspect you have already discussed it. Now, will you tell me your decision?"

The words had barely left his mouth before a younger ephor roared, "This is an insult to the Spartans! As descendants of Heracles, we will never associate with filthy, lowly Helots—"

The ephor's roar died in his throat.

Agesilaus gave a few more light coughs before turning back to Crotokatax. "We Spartans are your captives," he said, his expression calm. "We have no other choices left. We can only submit to your arrangements... However, I would like to know how we Spartans are supposed to cooperate with the perioikoi and those... Helots to form a new Spartan government."

Crotokatax did not answer directly. Instead, he locked eyes with the Spartan who had just been yelling and asked again, "Are you truly willing to accept our arrangements?"

The man shot a glance at Agesilaus. Lowering his head, he gritted his teeth and forced out a single word: "...Yes."

"What other choice do we have?!" Agesilaus immediately declared loudly. "If we Spartans had to accept the fate of the Helots, we would be better off dead!"

His words were less an answer to Crotokatax and more a reminder to the surrounding Spartans. Dejected, every one of them lapsed into a heavy silence.

"It seems you have reached a consensus. Excellent!" Crotokatax said, deliberately pitching his voice loud. The bitter reluctance and pain in their eyes gave him a touch of satisfaction. "You Spartans must also elect ten council members and two ephors within four days, joining the representatives chosen by the perioikoi and the Helots to form Sparta's new government!"

"Thirty council members, six ephors..." Agesilaus murmured softly with a probing gaze. "That sounds little different from the old Sparta."

"No, there is a difference," Crotokatax answered firmly. "They will only be responsible for running the government. The drafting and passing of laws and all major policy decisions must be debated and approved by the ecclesia. Every citizen of New Sparta will have the right to participate in this assembly."

At this, Crotokatax pointedly added, "Of course, the old Sparta also had an ecclesia, so it is indeed somewhat similar."

The men's expressions shifted. Sparta's ecclesia had always been a mere facade; true supreme power rested firmly with the Council of Elders. This new government engineered by the Theonians completely altered Sparta's power structure.

Unable to hold back, an elder asked, "What about the kings?"

"New Sparta will no longer have kings," Crotokatax declared clearly. "There will be two elected consuls serving one-year terms, primarily responsible for commanding the army in battle."

Everyone reflexively turned their eyes to Agesilaus.

Agesilaus remained completely calm, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. "When will you lift the confinement of the Spartan citizens?" he asked.

"Once the new Spartan government is established."

"Our people are all locked up! How can we hold an election?!" someone protested.

"Tomorrow, all adult Spartan men will be gathered at the Port of Helos to vote."

"I have one more question," Agesilaus said, looking at him seriously. "I heard you say just now that you will distribute land to the perioikoi and the Helots. Does that mean you intend to give them the land that originally belonged to our Spartan citizens?"

"Please note that Daionia has conquered all of Sparta. You are all captives, and the lands of Laconia have become the spoils of the Daionian Army! It is only to rebuild Sparta that His Majesty King Davos has generously taken out these lands to distribute to the citizens willing to serve this new government.

"To be blunt, even if you still owned this land, the perioikoi and the Helots have already gained their freedom and no longer have any obligations to you. With your meager manpower, you simply cannot manage so much land. Furthermore—" Crotokatax raised an eyebrow, revealing a mocking smile. "Do you Spartans even know how to farm?"

The men's faces turned somewhat ugly, but for a moment, they could not refute him.

The guards beside Crotokatax heightened their guard, but he acted as if he did not notice and continued, "Over the past few days, I have carefully reviewed some of Sparta's records and found a problem. The number of Spartan citizens has been decreasing year by year, and war is not the primary cause. According to the records, many were stripped of their land and reduced to the lower class because they repeatedly failed to pay their share for the public mess, losing their dining rights... I originally thought it might be due to constant warfare. Even with the Helots working the fields for them, they did not have enough time to supervise and manage, causing the harvests to consistently fall short of your requirements.

"But strangely, the Spartan nobility could always pay their dues in full every year. Later, someone secretly told me that this was because they often served as garrison commanders in city-states and strategic chokepoints controlled by Sparta, acquiring vast amounts of wealth through bribery or other means. Using that money to buy grain and pay their dues was more than enough...

"I also discovered another issue. The land confiscated from common Spartan citizens was ultimately distributed to the royal family and the nobility, on the grounds that they had the ability to ensure better harvests. As a result, the land gradually concentrated in the hands of you nobles, while more and more commoners lost their land and became lower-class... Have you really not noticed? The current situation in Sparta looks remarkably similar to the rumors of what it was like right before your sage Lycurgus reformed the government!"

"You are spouting nonsense!" someone blurted out, cursing.

Crotokatax looked at him without a hint of anger, instead speaking with pity. "You are an ephor, right? Whether as a commoner or as an ephor, failing to notice that greedy nobles are aggressively swallowing up the commoners' allotments is a dereliction of your duty! You should be thanking Daionia. If we did not forcefully rebuild Sparta, this land would have given rise to one Cinadon after another!"

The faces of the men in the room turned utterly grim.

Agesilaus gave a light cough, immediately changing the subject. "How much land do you intend to distribute to each new citizen of Sparta?"

"Roughly five mu."

"There are too many Helots. I am afraid there will not be enough to go around."

Crotokatax said unhurriedly, "We have given the territory of Tegea to the people of Mantineia, but Mantineia's population is already small, making them unable to manage such vast and fertile new lands. Under our persuasion, I believe they will be more than willing to accept the Helots who fail to secure land in Sparta as new citizens of Mantineia."

Agesilaus froze. "What about those Tegeans?"

"They are all being escorted to the slave market in Thurii to be sold. That is their fate for betraying their treaty and secretly launching a sneak attack on their allies," Crotokatax said, his tone turning glacial.

The men instantly felt a chill in their hearts, and for a moment, they actually dared not meet the young man's eyes.

Seeing this scene, Crotokatax suddenly felt a touch of weariness. No matter how much he intimidated the Spartans, it could not bring back the precious life of his brother Adoris. Losing interest, he said, "Alright, everyone. I hope you will return today and organize your citizens, leading them safely to the Port of Helos tomorrow to ensure the election proceeds smoothly."

Crotokatax left, and the room fell into complete silence.

After a long time, someone finally asked in unease, "King Agesilaus, what should we do now?"

Agesilaus still appeared calm. "We can only endure for now to avoid suffering the fate of the Tegeans," he said softly. "But with the Theonians acting so recklessly, they will definitely force Athens, Corinth, and the others to unite against Daionia. When that time comes, our opportunity will arrive!"

(End of Chapter)