Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 939: Crotokatax's Choice

"Therefore, the Kingdom of Daunia can only have one center of power—the king! No other power centers can be permitted, or it will lead to obstructed decrees, public unrest, and even internal rebellion! To ensure the kingdom's stability and development, we must avoid concentrating too much power in the hands of any single minister. Instead, we must disperse it. This brings us to another essential skill a king must possess: the art of checks and balances!"

"Checks and balances?!"

"Dispersing power and letting the ministers check one another, thereby creating a balance..." Davos patiently explained. "If a king masters checks and balances, he can ensure the kingdom's stability while still preserving his friendships with his ministers..."

This was the first time Crotokatax had heard Davos explain the art of managing subordinates in such detail. It completely reshaped his understanding of politics. He sank into deep thought, his mind momentarily wandering.

Davos affectionately patted his son's still-youthful shoulder and said softly, "Croto, you don't need to overthink it right now. You can gradually come to understand it through your future administrative duties... Next, you have an important task to handle, so you will not be able to accompany me to Sicily."

"Why?" Crotokatax asked in surprise.

"In my heart, Rome is the kingdom's most important city after Thurii! It possesses land even more expansive and fertile than the Sybaris Plain, a massive population, and an abundance of various metal resources nearby... Therefore, in the kingdom's northward expansion strategy, Rome is even more vital than Thurii.

"As foreign peoples, the Romans and Latins are primarily agricultural. They are naturally hardworking, fierce in battle, yet capable of following discipline, making them one of the best sources of troops. However, they have just been conquered and have not yet fully submitted to the kingdom, meaning their sense of identity with the Daunian Royal Family is quite low. I fear that after Asistes governs here for a few years, the local Romans, Latins, Etruscans, and other races will identify more with him than with us. That would be detrimental to the stability of the Kingdom of Daunia!

"To avoid repeating the flaws of Antonios's time in the Sicily Territory, it is best to have a member of our royal family working here. On one hand, you can supervise Asistes, and on the other, you can win the hearts of the people. This is checks and balances! You are almost twenty years old now, and it is time for you to shoulder heavy responsibilities!" Davos stopped there, gazing at his son with eyes full of anticipation.

"Excellent!" Davos smiled with gratification, his hand firmly clapping his son's shoulder once more. "Although this is your first time formally holding an official position in the kingdom, I do not intend to give you an easy one. I want you to serve as a Junior Aedile of Rome. You will assist the aediles in completing the reconstruction of the City of Rome, the building of the temple on Capitoline Hill, and the rebuilding of the Roman Pile Bridge... You will be extremely busy handling this series of public construction tasks in the coming days. Are you willing to accept?"

"Of course I am willing!" This time, Crotokatax did not hesitate at all; instead, he felt excited. After all, as an ambitious young man, he had always hoped to take on important responsibilities.

As for Davos, after careful deliberation, he had ultimately decided to assign his son the demanding role of Junior Aedile because these public works—whether urban reconstruction, temple building, or road and bridge construction—would undoubtedly win the praise of the Roman people. As a Junior Aedile, Crotokatax would naturally share in that glory and draw the public's attention.

Moreover, these construction projects required a tremendous amount of manpower, mostly drawn from the Roman populace during the agricultural off-season. By interacting with them frequently, Crotokatax could not only understand their condition but also foster their goodwill toward the Daunian Royal Family. In this regard, Davos had absolutely no doubts about his son's charm.

Of course, the only issue that required consideration was his safety.

After Crotokatax left, Davos remained in the drawing room.

Before long, Emilius hurried in. "Your Majesty, I am here!"

The slight, thin intelligence chief was covered in sweat. He looked exhausted, yet his expression carried a manic excitement.

Davos knew that ever since the conquest of the Latium region, Emilius's team had expanded rapidly with his permission to ensure surveillance coverage and intelligence gathering across the entire territory. His intelligence duties had grown increasingly demanding, yet the energetic man reveled in the work.

Davos spoke bluntly. "Emilius, in light of your contributions during the kingdom's war with Rome, I am appointing you as the kingdom's intelligence director for the Latium region!"

Even though Emilius had already been doing the work of this position and was now merely receiving the formal title, he still looked incredibly excited. "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you! I will definitely continue to work hard!..."

"There is another important task that you must put all your effort into accomplishing!" Davos looked him straight in the eye and said solemnly. "My son Crotokatax will remain in Rome to serve as a Junior Aedile. During his time here, you must do everything in your power to guarantee his safety. You must nip every plot against him in the bud. If there is even the slightest mistake—"

As Davos spoke, he clenched his right hand into a fist and suddenly slammed it heavily onto the wooden table, producing a resounding thud.

Emilius shuddered involuntarily, but he quickly raised his right hand high, palm facing the sky, and swore with absolute solemnity, "By Hades above, I, Emilius, swear to you! I will exhaust all my strength to protect the safety of His Highness Crotokatax! If there is even a sliver of negligence, I willingly offer my soul—to be condemned to the underworld!"

Davos was taken aback. He hadn't expected Emilius to be so resolute, especially since he knew Emilius was indeed a devout follower of Hades. He coughed drily and said, "Very well! Once Crotokatax safely returns to Thurii, our entire family will thank you!"

Emilius hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, safeguarding your safety and the safety of His Highness is my bounden duty!"

Davos nodded; what Emilius said was indeed the truth. Although the salaries of the personnel in the Intelligence Department were now disbursed by the Ministry of Finance, the department was still not under the kingdom's formal jurisdiction. Instead, it answered directly to the king. Even Aristiras still held the title of court herald while carrying out the duties of the intelligence director. So, strictly speaking, all personnel within the Intelligence Department were Davos's private retainers, leaving Davos with no need to say anything more.

When Emilius walked out of the drawing room, he couldn't help but clench his fists in excitement. Although this assignment carried immense responsibility, it was an incredibly rare opportunity to forge a closer relationship with the future king!

Next, Davos summoned Martius and ordered him to arrange several loyal, reliable, and outstanding guards for Crotokatax.

The next day, Davos returned to the camp in Satricum, gathered his senior generals, and issued the order to "march on Sicily."

At the same time, he issued another command: they were to break up the nearly 7,000 surrendered Roman soldiers and integrate them into all units except the Mountain Scout Corps, including the Roman Reserve Cohort.

Several Legion Commanders voiced their opposition, arguing that integrating these Roman soldiers—who were entirely unfamiliar with the Daionian Army's tactics and couldn't even speak the language—into the legions would diminish the army's combat effectiveness.

However, Davos stood his ground, and the order was ultimately carried out.

..............................

In the crude hall of the chieftain's residence in Bovianum Vetus, the central town of the Caraceni, Grand Chieftain Contrucus sat beside the fire pit with a gloomy expression.

A servant carried over a bundle of firewood, placed it into the pit, and began lighting it.

Although it was still October, the temperature deep in the mountains had already begun to drop. Contrucus's aging bones could hardly withstand the encroaching chill, yet the blazing bonfire could not drive away the coldness in his heart.

"Grand Chieftain, our tribe is suffering from a severe shortage of food right now. If we don't think of a solution, I'm afraid we won't survive this winter!" said Vanni, the overseer in charge of the tribe's supplies, his face full of worry from the other side of the fire pit.

"It's not just our tribe that's short on food; the other tribes are lacking too!" Contrucus sighed helplessly, his white eyebrows knitting together as his thoughts wandered. In this war, the Caracenians had been utterly defeated! Not only had they suffered casualties among their brave warriors, but they had also lost an enormous amount of supplies. Initially, they were able to organize a massive army precisely because of the Carthaginians' assistance. But ever since their failed attack on the Dauni, the changing tides of the war in Sicily, and Daionia's pressure on the Frentani People, no more relief supplies had passed through Frentani territory.

To keep the war going, the four major tribes had been forced to gather rations from their own people and turn their attacks toward Campania. One of their reasons for doing so was to plunder more supplies. If it weren't for the interference of the Daionian Army, the Samnites would have achieved massive success, but they ultimately met a disastrous defeat instead. To lead his warriors safely back to their territory, Contrucus had abandoned all the plundered supplies at Beneventum, letting the Theonians reap the spoils in the end.

Now, the Caraceni tribe had not only suffered heavy casualties among its warriors but had also depleted a vast amount of supplies. They had suffered catastrophic losses in this war.

Contrucus rubbed his hands vigorously, then comforted him, "I have already sent men to the Pentri to seek out their grand chieftain, Badani, to ask him for a shipment of food—"

"Cough!" Rhogni, the high priest sitting to the side, coughed heavily.

Contrucus glanced at him but only strengthened his tone. "Even though they surrendered to the Theonians, they are still our fellow Samnites and have always maintained close ties with us. I am confident they will lend a helping hand this time."