Douluo: The Adventures of King Skin

"My lord, times have changed."

——Michael Hunter

The biggest characteristic of the so-called Mediterranean climate is that there are different periods of rain and heat. There is a lack of precipitation when the sun is hot in summer, and there is more precipitation but less sunshine in winter. This climate causes great inconvenience in food production.

However, the agricultural production of the Greeks was not just about growing rye, but also supplemented by beans such as lentils and chickpeas, which were grown in spring and harvested in summer and autumn.In addition, grapes and olives also account for a large proportion in agricultural life. The former is harvested in autumn and the latter is harvested in spring. One can make wine and the other can press oil. They are very important commodities in the Mediterranean, filling the shortage of grain production.

But food still plays an irreplaceable role.

Why is it that the western part of the continent, which has different periods of rain and heat, has developed, but the tropical areas with year-round water and sun have been so backward for so long?

It's because they lack this most basic hard currency.

The former can be eaten, stored for a long time, traded remotely, and made into general equivalents. It is no exaggeration to say that food is the foundation of civilization.

Let’s not talk about preparing for famine. As a ruler, you don’t even have food. How can you pay wages to your civil and military subordinates?Do you give out cassava and durian to people?There are so many in the wild that people wouldn’t pick them up themselves?If one day God doesn't show mercy and there are no more wild ones, it's okay if you can still grow durians, but can you?

Therefore, many ethnic groups in the ancient world developed agrarian ideas.

Food production is God. If you don’t farm the land well, make grapes, make silk, and make all those fancy things, God will always show mercy. One day the food harvest will stop. I have food but you don’t. Do you think you can survive this? One wave?

Food production is inseparable from plains, but there are really few plains in Greece.

Greece is located at the junction of the Eurasian Plate, the African Plate, and the Indian Ocean Plate. Due to tectonic movements, a series of mountains and volcanic islands have been generated here. The terrain is fragmented and there are few plains.

But there is no shortage of it. There are Thessaly and Macedonia in the north, and Messenia and Laconia in the south - Messenia and Laconia are the two sagging eggs of the Peloponnese.

Why are the Athenians and Spartans so awesome?It’s because their land is well cultivated.

The Athenians used food income rather than other property as evidence of class division, precisely because they were also fully aware of the importance of food production to hegemony.There is a small farming plain on the Attica Peninsula. Although it is a far-out place compared to other peoples in the world, the land of your other allies in the Delian League is even smaller. You are destined to be my little brother in Athens.

Sparta was even more awesome, Messenia and Laconia were both theirs.Maritime trade and culture are all superfluous. These two fertile lands are the two thighs of Sparta, and there are so many helots plowing the fields for them. It is not destined to dominate Greece!

But other city-states are not fools either. Every time they start a fight with Sparta, they take advantage of their family's lifeblood.

The Messenians were originally natives of the Mycenaean era. After being conquered by the Spartans, they became helots who had been enslaved for generations.No one is born willing to be a slave. The Messenians have been engaged in riots all year round in order to fight for freedom. It can be said that Sparta's **** and various strange traditions were also developed in the process of suppressing uprisings.

In the past few hundred years, these Helots had three major uprisings, known as the Messenian War. Each time, many city-states came to attack Sparta.

It was not until the third time that it was more than 100 years ago. A major earthquake occurred in the Peloponnese. The Spartans suffered heavy casualties. The Messenians took the opportunity to launch an uprising. The momentum reached an unprecedented scale and even built a fortress to carry out the uprising. After a long confrontation, the battle finally lasted for ten years. The Spartans could no longer stand it and allowed them to leave by ship.

These freed people later established two new city-states, one in the north of the Gulf of Corinth and across the sea from Patras, called Nafpaktos, which has since become the younger brother of the Athenians; the other at the northern end of Sicily , called Messina, now the younger brother of Syracuse.

Later, the remaining Messenians also seized the opportunity to engage in several attacks. Finally, the Spartans' nemesis Ipaminondas defeated the Spartans in one battle, allowing the entire Messenia to gain gained independence and established the new city-state of Mosseni.

From then on, Sparta's thigh was completely broken, and his days were getting worse day by day.

When Alexander beat them again and forced them to abolish the helot system, the Spartans really had no choice but to isolate themselves in their hometown.

To put it bluntly, Sparta's land annexation has reached this level and the citizen-military system can no longer be maintained. It is already dead. It is better to stop being feudal and stop clinging to the classical military state.

Speaking of Messenia, after all, they had mixed with the Spartans - they had military obligations as slaves - ever since they gained freedom, the style of this land has been ruthless and domineering, and they will not obey anyone. Because of this , obviously such a fertile land was left here, but the Spartans were never able to conquer it again, and the successors also lacked interest in such a difficult-to-rule place.

Having said that, after Polyperchon lost Okomenus, he no longer had his last stronghold, and the remaining defeated troops would shrink all the way into the mountains of the Messenian border area.But he has neither the ability to conquer this place nor the other surrounding city-states, which means he has basically completely lost his territory.

Perhaps because he felt that the old man Polyperchon was already a withered bone in the grave, at this time, Cratesipolis also received Dmitri's order, and the combat operation ended here.

The Macedonians dispersed to the garrison in various city-states to eat. The Arcadians who came to help went home to farm through Megarapolis. Cratesippolis took a private army that had just been put together. Returning to Patras, she had definitely captured the Achaean Alliance and became the ruler here.

Pyrrhus and others also followed him back north.

"Dmitri will regret it. Only Polyperchon is not dead yet, and he will come back sooner or later." Cratesipolis said.

Pyrrhus was noncommittal. His daughter-in-law's knowledge of his father-in-law must be authoritative.

Perhaps the capture of Aucommenus made the woman feel better, and the relationship between the two was no longer as stiff as it was a few days ago.

On the way back, the two of them chatted.

Cratesipolis was very interested in the staff system established by Pyrrhus, and Pyrrhus was also curious about this woman, such as how she took the Achaean city-states into her hands with a bare-handed white wolf.

These Greek city-states, not to mention tyranny, even democracy and oligarchy were very unstable. It can be said that they could not manage themselves.Counting Polyperchon, countless followers, large and small, have left here in disgrace.

How did you, Crate Sipolis, a woman, take this place with your bare hands?

Pyrrhus expressed his question tactfully, but Cratesipolis did not answer directly, but asked him to look carefully at his guards.

Most of the generals and cavalry led by Pyrrhus were Thessalians, with a small number of Epirus and Greeks. They all wore muscle breastplates pasted with newspaper. The one of Cratessipolis was said to be made of " The all-female bodyguards of the Amazons wear Asian-style fish scale armor.

The battle is over. In addition to the necessary reconnaissance and vigilance, the restraints on the troops have also been slightly relaxed.

After so many days of coordinated operations, the two sides have become very familiar with each other, and now they can be seen casually gathering in twos and threes to ride forward during the march, just like ordinary men and women going out for spring outings.

As I was walking, I turned a corner and entered a fork in the road, not knowing what I was doing.

Pyrrhus couldn't care about this kind of thing and didn't bother to do it. In theory, it now belonged to the winter camp. If the general interfered too much in the private lives of the soldiers, he would suffer a mutiny.

Pyrrhus watched for a long time and didn't see anything. He just felt that the number of people had increased?

Cratesipolis rolled her eyes and had to remind him directly, and then he saw:

Originally, the so-called "Amazon female warriors" wore short skirts with tassels of colorful cloth strips. Now many female warriors wear pleated skirts under their armor like the Greeks.

Of course, this is not that they have changed their clothes with Pyrrhus' soldiers, but that Cratesipolis is adding friends from among the Greek women!

Pyrrhus suddenly realized

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This aunt wants to establish feminist politics in Achaia!

Disrespect disrespectful!

I have to say that this idea is really brilliant, and only Crate Sipolis can do it.

Whether your Achaean city-state is a tyrant, an oligarchy, or a democracy, whether you are farming, doing business, or working as a pirate, there must be women in your city-state, right?You ruling class must have wives, right?

There is no need to change the inherent systems of your city-states. I just require your wife, your mother, and your sisters to have a certain say. Is this too much?

It must be nothing too much!

Cratesippolis, capable of writing and martial arts, good-looking and well-spoken, an outstanding example of women, famous throughout the Greek world, the only female stepmother, she promised to protect the status of women in all city-states, these Of course women will support her wholeheartedly!

No wonder this woman uses Amazon as her trademark and imitates Athena in everything.

What a grand plan this is!

Not to mention those whose husbands are still alive and who are not yet married, now that half of Eurasia has experienced successive years of war, there are countless rich and powerful widows. In the past, these women could only rely on their natal families or find another husband. Protecting one's own property and status is so humbling and frustrating!

It is conceivable that as long as her brand is launched, women from all over the Hellenistic world who are unwilling to be lonely will come one after another!

The current so-called voice and property rights are only temporary. The next step will be for them to demand real political power, and even ask for the adoption of common men to establish a real Amazon country...

Pyrrhus was deeply shocked.

What exactly went wrong?Is my butterfly effect so big?