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Volume 2 291, God¡¯s Vineyard

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    291. God¡¯s vineyard

    After the end of the Greco-Persian War, the city-state of Arron established the League of Aron to dominate the sea, and there were constant conflicts with the League of Qibada established by the city-state of Gibala. There were more and more frictions and battles, and the scale was getting bigger and bigger.

    In the eyes of Amon, the former general of the Eju Empire and the commander-in-chief of the battlefield, the war on the Heaton Peninsula seemed somewhat funny, and sometimes it was almost like a competitive game.  Although wars are always accompanied by casualties, the casualty rate of city-state conflicts here is much smaller than on the battlefields of other countries on Tianshu Continent, and surrender is commonplace.

    The Heaton Peninsula lacks large open plains, and the city-states are relatively small in size. Therefore, the chariot formations popular among mainland countries are very rare here, and the city-state armies are mainly infantry.  There are also heavy cavalry, but the equipment of the cavalry is relatively expensive. They are basically composed of noble warriors. They are also the main force in launching charges in battle, followed by a swarm of infantry.

    In small-scale battles between city-states, the charging, slashing and individual combat of noble warriors often become the main factors that determine the outcome, and the momentum of both sides also determines the morale.  Once the battle line collapses, in most cases they will not fight to the death, but choose to surrender very opportunistically, and the winning side usually will not kill everyone.

    This kind of battle is very similar to the wrestling in the heroic age in myths and legends, where the losing side surrenders to the winning side.  After a period of time, the covenant changes or the balance of power between city-states changes, and new conflicts will occur. Therefore, the situation among the city-states on the Heaton Peninsula is very chaotic. The spheres of influence controlled by the Qibada League and the Aaron League  It is also constantly changing.

    How could such a military organization defeat the invasion of Botz's army?  In fact, when Boze invaded, many states surrendered. It was Yarun and Qibada who united the city-states and used their logistics and terrain advantages to fight a protracted war of attrition against the Boze army, which was attacking from afar.  The key to determining victory or defeat is the powerful navy of the city-state of Aren and the well-trained Kibada warriors. The Aren people are proficient in naval warfare, and the Kibada warrior army has a heavily armored battle formation.

    After Potts¡¯ army retreated, the Heaton Peninsula fell into low-intensity but frequent civil war conflicts. This was also the period of the most intense divisions between various social classes.  The residents in the various city-states of Heaton are composed of complex people, mainly including nobles and citizens. Of course, nobles also enjoy citizenship.  The so-called citizens are not the same concept as civilians or freemen, but adult men who enjoy the political rights of the city-state.

    During the period of city-state alliance struggle for hegemony, more and more free people lost their land and commonwealth due to various reasons.  These free people did not have many choices in order to make a living. They became mercenaries during wars and helped whoever paid them to fight, no matter who the opponent was.  In this case, many wars between city-states were resolved only by conquest or surrender, rather than fighting to the death.

    Those free people who lost their land often had nothing to do when there was no war, often working part-time in various merchant houses or farms.  There were many such people outside the farm where Amon was.

    Amon came to the road outside the vineyard early in the morning. He shouted: "You people who have nothing to do, who can help me complete the work in the vineyard?"

    Soon someone came around and asked: "Do you want to hire part-time workers? How much will they pay?"

    Amon stretched out a finger and said a generous and surprising reward: "Work until sunset, and each person will be paid one silver coin."

    Many people happily walked into the vineyard and started working. When it was three o'clock in the morning, Amon was still standing at the gate of the vineyard hiring people. Another person came to ask for wages. He still offered one silver coin. More people walked into the vineyard and were busy.  stand up.  At noon, Amon was still standing in front of the door hiring people, and workers continued to enter the vineyard. Until the afternoon, Amon was still standing in front of the door, and the price he offered for hiring workers was still one silver coin.

    There was a busy scene in the vineyard. After the sun went down, the workers came out one after another.  Amon was still standing at the door. His feet had not moved since sunrise. He paid every hired worker who came out of the vineyard a silver coin.

    The workers who entered the vineyard early in the morning shouted unhappily: "This is not fair! We have worked under the scorching sun all day, but the workers who came in the afternoon only worked for a while. Why are they all paid the same?"

    Amon replied: "Because I promised them that the wages would be one silver coin, and I have to keep my promise."

    The workers who entered the park in the morning shouted dissatisfied: "But we do much more work than they do, and we deserve more pay!"

    Amon added: "But you also promised me, and the reward is one silver coin, and you must keep your promise."

    Some people still wanted to argue. At this time, the majestic Medanzo came over on the road on a tall horse. Seeing that he was coming with bad intentions,So everyone received their wages and quickly dispersed.  Metanzo dismounted and saluted Amon, who smiled and said: "Medanzo, you came just in time, otherwise I might have been beaten. Please evaluate this matter, am I doing the right thing?"

    Metazos blinked his eyes and said: "My God, what you just said is completely correct, but no farm owner would do this, so what is your purpose?"

    Amon fell into deep thought, and after a while he replied: "I just show simple truths in somewhat complicated things to see how people will react?"

    Medanzo said: "You did nothing wrong. You not only gave these idle people a chance to work, allowing them to receive far more generous rewards than they deserved for this job, but also expressed your commitment to your promise.  and generosity to laborers.¡±

    Amon smiled: "But I didn't do anything right. Things in the world have their own reasons, and human nature also has its own characteristics. If I come back tomorrow morning, I'm afraid I won't be able to hire anyone."

    Amon¡¯s prediction was indeed correct. When he came to the vineyard gate early the next morning, there were many people wandering around, but no one was willing to work in the vineyard.  Amon called out: "People who have nothing to do under the sun, why don't you work? Is there no one to hire? Then come and help me work. Work until sunset. I hope to pay you one silver coin."

    But no one came, everyone was waiting.  There were a few uninformed newcomers who wanted to accept the employment after hearing that the remuneration was so generous, but they were stopped by the people next to them and whispered a few words, so they stood still.  Even if someone wants to enter the vineyard, it is not good to come here in this situation, otherwise they will be laughed at by everyone as stupid.

    People have been waiting and waiting, wanting to wait until sunset in the afternoon.  But as soon as noon passed, Amon turned around and walked into the vineyard, and never saw him come out again until sunset.  In the afternoon, a group of people gathered around the gate of the vineyard, shouting: "We are going to work in the vineyard, where is the man named Amon? Why doesn't he keep his word?"

    Metanzo walked out of the vineyard and said with a straight face: "When did Amon say he would hire people in the afternoon? When he couldn't hire workers, he naturally left."

    The crowd dispersed again. Medanzo walked into the vineyard and saw Amon. He smiled and said, "My God, you are bad enough. You are just kidding me!"

    Amon smiled and asked: "Then what have they lost? I have never deceived a word, but they think they are smart, but they think they have been deceived."

    Medanzo didn¡¯t say much, he just smiled and said, ¡°You can hire enough workers tomorrow.¡±

    Medanzo¡¯s prediction was indeed good. When Amon appeared at the gate of the vineyard early the next morning, there were many people waiting here.  Amon still expressed his willingness to hire them and work until sunset for a silver coin.  On this day all the work in the vineyard was finished.

    When all the workers left, Metanzo asked Amon again: "My God, I want to know what you think of these three days?"

    Amon pondered: "People are blameless for me, but in the past three days, what I have done is not consistent with common sense. It only demonstrates my free will. The choices people make are based on their reactions and feelings.  When people in the world are accustomed to so-called human nature and often ignore the simplest thinking, when they make all choices - what is the original and most fundamental purpose?"

    The story of Amon in the vineyard is basically like this. People regard him as a stubborn weirdo, but his boss Aesop is quite tolerant of him.

    The situation on the Heaton Peninsula was as predicted by Aesop. The Aaron League launched a maritime expedition, but lost to the Qibada League in a land battle. The trade routes with many city-states were cut off, and they lost their status as an economic hegemon.  .  The city-state of Miduli has also been increasingly severely affected. This winter seems to have become extremely cold. How merchants can get out of trouble has become the hottest topic in the city-state.

    Aesop became good friends with Thales, the sage of Midori.  Thales often preached his views on all things in the city-state square. He had two famous sayings. One was "Water is the source of all things."  He told people that changes in water, air, and ice also exist in everything in the world, and that the world we can see is made of matter.  Another of his famous sayings is "God exists in everything." Whether you understand them or not, everything in this world has its own reasons and ways of existence.

    Thales was very knowledgeable and had traveled to many countries in the Tianshu continent. He taught various knowledge to the people in the square.  For example, he once told craftsmen how to measure the height beyond the reach of a ladder. You can use a ruler to measure the length of the shadow on the ground and calculate it in the same proportion.  He also explained astronomy and calendar to people. The content was very complicated and profound, and few people could understand it. However, he claimed that this knowledge was very useful and he also predictedThe occurrence of erosion.

    So someone asked Thales: "Most of the residents in Miduli are businessmen, either businessmen or businessmen's associates. What everyone is interested in is making money. If your so-called knowledge cannot make more money, what else can you do?  What's the use? As for whether a solar eclipse will happen in the sky, that's just a matter for the gods!"

    After hearing this, Thales said to Aesop: "In that case, I have a business to do. Are you willing to cooperate with me? If you are willing to invest, I will give you half of the proceeds."

    Aesop replied with a smile: "I am very willing, just take whatever capital you need."

    A well-meaning person next to him advised: "How can you trust such an academic who can only talk empty words? He is indeed very knowledgeable, but how can he do business!" Aesop smiled and said nothing.

    During the winter, Aesop gave Thales money, and Thales used the money to rent many olive presses.  At that time, no one was arguing with Thales. They all thought this incident was inexplicable and were waiting to see the joke between Thales and Aesop.

    Thales, who was proficient in astronomy, predicted a bumper harvest of olives in the mountains near the city-state the next year. However, due to the impact of the war, it was difficult to transport these olives.  Fresh olives cannot be stored for a long time and must be pressed into oil as soon as possible before storage.

    Olive oil has always been one of the most important export materials of the Arran League. Even if trade is temporarily blocked, merchants will store it and wait for it to be shipped to foreign countries for sale in the future.  As a result, Thales made a lot of money. He didn't need to operate the oil presses himself, nor did he need to hire people to extract the oil. He could easily do it by subletting all the oil presses at a higher price.

    The sage said to everyone in the city square: "Knowledge is wealth, and wealth is not just what you see. It's not that I can't make money with my knowledge, but that's not what I want."

    Aesop also quietly made a fortune and made a lot of money with Thales, while Amon was silently paying attention to these things from beginning to end.

    ¡­¡­

    Another autumn has arrived. The products of the Miduli city-state cannot be transported in time, and the import of materials from the outside world is also blocked. The prices of wheat and wine produced in Aesop's farm have skyrocketed.  Not only did the old man earn a lot of money, but he also proved his warning to the merchants in this city-state with facts.

    Amon has been staying in Miduli for a year, and as a farmer, he has ushered in the harvest season.  When the grapes are ripe, they need to hire day laborers to harvest them.  That day he came outside the vineyard. Before he could shout, a man came over and asked: "God Amun, do you want to hire someone to harvest grapes? If I help you pick all the grapes in the garden, what do you plan to do?"  How much will you pay me?"

    Amon was slightly startled. He had seen this person in the theater in Arron City. He was none other than Zeus walking on earth.

    The person who was supposed to come finally came. Ever since Hermes appeared in front of Aesop's store, Amon had thought of this day.  Zeus called him "God Amun" instead of "Amon", which is equivalent to clarifying his identity.  At the same time that Zeus spoke, Amon also confirmed one thing. The person in front of him was Zeus himself who came directly from the Kingdom of Olympus to the world, not any incarnation.

    Amon smiled and replied: "Zeus, if you are willing to accept my employment and can complete all the work, I can give you a sacred stone as reward."

    Zeus walked into the vineyard, but Amon was still standing at the door.  Zeus turned back and said: "Farmer outside the city of Miduli, won't you come in and supervise the work?"

    Amon still smiled and replied: "I don't need an overseer. Even if you are a hired worker, what you make is still a promise from the gods."

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    PS: Sorry, I was delayed by some mundane things today, so the update is a little late. This chapter only has 4,000 words. Please forgive me!

    ? **
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