Chapter 1057
But at the same time, the slave camp also accepted some private employment, temporarily renting out the remaining labor. Part of the gold and silver earned would be handed over to the Slave Management Office, part of it would be used for the camp's own expenses, and a small part of it would be used to pay the slaves. (According to the regulations, slaves who worked in the camp for half a year could be paid a certain amount of monthly salary according to their performance. Although the salary was far lower than the normal salary in the market, it also greatly boosted the enthusiasm of the slaves in their work and reduced their sense of resistance.)
Although the Slave Management Office clearly marked the price of all kinds of labor performed by private employees, and they were not allowed to hire them for more than a month, the demand for such temporary employment was still very strong. For example, various celebrations caused a surge in foreign tourists, and various restaurants, hotels, and shops were short of manpower. Also, during the autumn harvest, there would also be a shortage of labor in private households. One of the main reasons why short-term employment of public employees was very popular was that the cost was lower than that of normal employees.
But because of the strong demand, the financial aspect of the slave camp was often an important target of the censors and conservators. In the past 10 years, dozens of officials in the slave camp of Turín had been severely punished for corruption and bribery.
The reason why the management office of the slave camp would write detailed information, requirements, and the specific number of employees on the blackboard was that they hoped that after seeing the information, the slaves would sign up voluntarily according to their own situation. For example, Christoya's restaurant needed to temporarily hire 4 slaves who could keep accounts, so the applicants needed to have a certain ability to count and write Greek, and the slaves could make judgments according to their own situation. On the other hand, in addition to a little extra pay from the management office, the slaves who completed the private employment would be given priority by the camp management office. After all, this fully showed that they could integrate into the life of the kingdom.
This forced the slaves in the camp to take the initiative to learn the language and writing of Diónia. (There were special schools in the camp to teach the language and writing, but they had to pay for it.) This was a very good means of assimilation.
When Maximus passed by these bulletin boards, he subconsciously looked at the content on them. This had become his habit. As long as he stayed in the camp, when there was no task, he would come to the field to check the bulletin boards to see if there was any work to do. As the head of the family, not only did he have a wife, but he also had two underage children. Although the cafeteria also provided some free food for the children, that little bit of food was not enough to meet the needs of the children's growth. He still needed to spend money to buy food from the camp's shops to satisfy the children's desire for good food.
Besides, as a former noble of Rome, Maximus not only longed for freedom, but he also longed for his children to develop well in this new kingdom. Therefore, he had to let his children learn the language of Diónia from now on. However, this required money. Therefore, he had never been idle. He had worked as a private employee many times, which had also deepened his understanding of the kingdom.
Today's bulletin board was the same as usual. There was no extra content except for one — encouraging the slaves to work hard to complete the task of expanding the main temple of Turií Hades. When the task was completed, the slaves with good performance would be given the priority of freedom and so on.
Maximus was not excited about this because he knew that, according to the rules, slaves generally had to work for four years before they were eligible for freedom. As for whether they could get freedom or not, it depended on their past performance and whether they could get the approval of the management office. He did not have enough years.
There were already hundreds of slaves gathered in the square. Maximus's arrival made some slaves happy. They greeted him.
The foreman also came over and asked with concern, "Are you well?"
"I'm fine."
"Don't force yourself. If something happens, I will be implicated."
"I'm really fine."
"Well, you still care about your original team." As soon as the foreman finished speaking, the slaves around him cheered.
The foreman patted Maximus's shoulder and turned to leave.
The reason why the foreman had a good attitude towards Maximus was that in the slave camp, the foreman was the direct person in charge of managing the slaves and supervising their work. They were all hired workers of the camp, free people and temporary citizens who applied to join the kingdom. One of them often had to manage hundreds of slaves. The performance of the slaves also determined whether they could get extra pay and rewards and become official citizens in advance.
In order to facilitate management, they often divided the slaves under their charge into more than ten teams and selected the most capable ones as captains to assist them in managing the slaves. These captains were often the priority of the slave management office in selecting the slaves to be freed, so both sides were mutually beneficial.
After the foreman counted the number of slaves, the captain from the military camp commanded the soldiers to escort the hundreds of slaves to the mine.
It was the end of April, and the annual wedding celebration for the goddess Hera had already ended. The rainy season was coming to an end, and the sun was rising earlier and earlier. Even though the slaves got up early and set off early, they could still see some farmers who had begun to take care of their fields on their way under the rising sun.
When these farmers saw such a large group of people passing by, they were not surprised. Some even shouted, "Hey, I wish you all the best today. Dig more stones for the temple!"
The slaves soon crossed the stone bridge across the Coceni River, a branch of the Crati River, and entered the delta area of Turií.
Passing by in the early morning, they could always hear clear and loud voices coming from the high walls not far to the east. They knew that it was the students of the "Diónia School" who were reading or practicing their speeches. Most of the slaves were used to it, and only a few would cast longing eyes over there.
After crossing the stone bridge, the slaves turned west. The terrain was getting higher, and the ground gradually became uneven. Only the stone brick and cement road under their feet remained wide and straight. However, the truth was that the carts carrying stones and copper ores had been crushing the road for years. After a period of time, the road would collapse and crack. It was just that the Turiyi Construction Department maintained the road in a timely manner. At the same time, it also encouraged the construction officials and craftsmen to constantly improve the road construction techniques, search for better materials, and improve the hardness and load-bearing capacity of the road.
After extending for a while, the road forked to the south and north. The northwest road led to the copper mine, and the southwest road led to the stone mine. Usually, when they arrived here, the slaves would be divided into two groups. However, due to a special mission, all of the kingdom's slaves in Tuliyi were gathered together to mine stones. Therefore, the foremen led all the slaves on the road to the southwest.
Not long after, they arrived at the foot of the mountain. The hard stone road ended here. In front of them was a man-made valley. The open space could accommodate thousands of people, and there were many different shapes of stone laid out in picturesque disorder. There were also countless wood and tools piled up on the side.
The open space was surrounded by towering mountains. The green lichens on the mountains had been stripped clean, exposing the snow-white rocks. The part closest to the valley had been cut straight because of years of mining. Under the light of dawn, the mountain walls reflected a soft white light.
This was the marble mine of Turií. The marble excavated from it was regarded by the Greeks and Diónia as the main stone most suitable for the construction of temples.
At this time, a few people walked out of the valley. The leader was a middle-aged man with a burly body and a dignified appearance. It was a pity that he was missing a left hand. The bodies of the people behind him were more or less incomplete, but none of the foremen dared to show disdain. Instead, they greeted them respectfully.
Aristaglas was the man's name. Twenty years ago, he was a slave of the owner of the stone mine. Due to his prestige among the mining slaves, he was appointed as a foreman by his master. When the Crotone conquered Turií, his master's family was wiped out. Later, when the Diónia Alliance was established, he was freed and served as a laborer for the supply caravan to fight with the Dionysian Army. A few years later, he became a citizen of Diónia and joined the First Legion of Diónia. However, after landing in Sicily and fighting with the Syracuse army at Mejalo, he was seriously injured. Fortunately, he survived with the help of the doctors, but his left hand was amputated, so he could no longer serve in the army.
However, with the rewards and compensation he received, he could buy a few more slaves and farm at home. His life would not be too bad. Moreover, with his achievements in the war, he could easily run for the position of village chief. Then, with his achievements, he could rise step by step from village chief, chief Demo, town official, city governor … Finally, he could even become a senator of the kingdom. Just like King Devers's relative, Palliandolus (Cynthia's father-in-law), some citizens who were disabled because of military service were inspired by him to embark on the path of politics. If he did not want to overwork himself, he could also choose to run for the Protector of the People to protect the interests of himself and the villagers.
Of course, if he wanted to live a better life, he could also write to the Soldiers' Council of the kingdom and apply for a job in the legion's weapon shop. This legion's weapon shop was first established under the suggestion of the Devers. It would repair and modify the weapons, armor, and other spoils of war obtained on the battlefield and sell them in the market. The profits would be used for compensation for the dead and wounded soldiers, and could also be used to solve the livelihood of some disabled soldiers in the future.
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