Chapter 1069
Moreover, if these disgruntled foreigners were to gather together and form an army to guard the dangerous border without any hope for the long term, it would only lead to more trouble. In his previous life, the reason why the Roman Empire could allow its soldiers to serve for more than 20 years was because most of the soldiers they recruited were citizens of Rome.
Perhaps at this stage, the length of service given by Cypross is more appropriate … The Devers tapped his fingers on the back of his chair as he thought to himself.
Unlike the Devers who were calm, the ministers were a little surprised by Cypross's proposal.
Raphael was the first to ask, "Lord Cypross, do you mean to abolish the immigration law that has been in effect for 20 years and replace it with this new law that states that one must serve at the border to become a citizen of the kingdom?!"
"Yes, Lord Raphael," Cypross replied calmly. Cypross calmly replied, "If the new Immigration Act is promulgated, and the old Immigration Act is still in effect, then the vast majority of the Free Outlanders will still choose the old Immigration Act instead of serving. After all, it is relatively easy to achieve, so the new Immigration Act will be meaningless."
"But if the old law is abolished and the new law is implemented, the free citizens who are willing to join the kingdom will all run to serve, and the labor force in the kingdom will be greatly reduced … We all know that after the war with Carthage, the kingdom's land has more than doubled, and there is still a lot of land that has not been distributed. We urgently need a large amount of labor. If we suddenly change the original law, it will definitely seriously affect the development of the kingdom!
Moreover, those who were recruited into the army were definitely young and strong free citizens. Then what about those who were a bit older, possessed certain skills, unmarried women, or children who lost their parents? Will they never be able to become citizens of Diónia no matter how hard they work? Are we going to give up on the belief that has gradually been formed among the Greek freedmen of the Mediterranean Sea after a long period of hard work since the establishment of the kingdom? "Burkos took a deep breath and said in a clear voice," Dionia is a kingdom of fairness and fraternity. Anyone, regardless of their origin, race, age, or gender, can become a citizen of this kingdom as long as they yearn for this kingdom and work hard for it! "
Burcos' last few words were powerful and resonant, and even the Devers were moved. Of course, it also caused a wave of discussion among the ministers.
Cypross obviously did not consider this aspect of the problem, so he fell into deep thought and did not immediately respond.
At this moment, Ataris said, "Lord Burcos, you spoke very well just now. But I would like to ask, does Athens only have citizens of Athens? "
Burkos was a little puzzled by this irrelevant question, but he still answered seriously, "Of course not. There are many foreigners in Athens, even more than the citizens of Athens."
"So did these free people stay in Athens for a long time to become citizens of Athens?" Antares asked.
This time, Burkos more or less understood what Antares meant, but he still answered the well-known fact honestly, "Of course not. Athens does not allow foreigners to become citizens. In fact, not only Athens, but also Thebes, Corinth, Argus, Sparta … almost all the Greek city-states do not easily accept foreigners as citizens. But this is also the reason why Diónia can attract a large number of Greek free people from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to come here every year. "
"But in Athens, Corinth, Argus, Thebes, and even Sparta, there are still a large number of free people. They stay in these city-states for a better life, even if they do not have any political rights, and their lives are not guaranteed (the Greek city-states do not have any special laws to protect free people). They can only do all kinds of menial work in the city-states, and even when war breaks out, they must be conscripted as auxiliary soldiers or sailors. The living conditions are terrible!"
Antares pretended to lament with a heavy expression. Then, he raised his voice and said confidently, "But what about the free people living in our kingdom? There are several laws specifically formulated to protect some of their rights, and they have been amended many times! They can rent the public land of the kingdom, and the tax rate they pay is not very high. They can also serve as the lowest public officials in the kingdom. Although in our eyes, they are lowly, they still have a lot of influence on ordinary people. Although we also conscripted them in war, we almost never let them directly participate in the battle. And if they die accidentally, their families will receive a lot of compensation …
Although there is still a big gap compared to the rights obtained by the citizens, compared to the free people in Greece, their lives are already very good. Moreover, the Kingdom of Diónia is powerful and prosperous, and its territory is peaceful and peaceful, unlike the Greek city-states in the east, which are weak and often suffer from wars, resulting in their homes being destroyed. So even if the old immigration law is abolished, causing many foreigners to be unable to become Diolian citizens, I think they will still come here to settle down, because the Kingdom of Diónia is indeed the most suitable place for them to live! "
"Lord Antares is right!" The rotating chairman, Hemont, took the initiative to resign from his position three years after the end of the Western Mediterranean War. Affected by the illness of Cornelus, the 70-year-old Vespa took the initiative to resign from his position to the Devers. He also begged not to participate in the Senate meetings and to retire at home. The Devers agreed to his request, and suggested that the Senate elect Hemont to replace him. He continued, "In the past, Diónia needed a large number of new people to quickly replenish the strength of the kingdom, and to deal with the dangerous surrounding environment. So, the foreign free people were treated very well. But as Your Majesty has said, as time and the situation change, the old laws have to adapt to the new needs and should be changed accordingly.
Now that the kingdom is strong, not only do any city-states and countries dare not challenge us, but they will also take the initiative to seek an alliance with us. Under such a relatively safe environment, do we really need to be so eager to convert these foreign free people into citizens of the kingdom?! Now, there are indeed many vacant lands in the kingdom. Apart from considering the free people who want to become citizens of the kingdom, can't we focus on our own people?! Now, the population of the kingdom is more than three million. How many adult citizens are there every year? "
Hemont asked this question to the new Minister of Education, Montoticus. Why did he ask him and not the Minister of Household Registration, Raphael? Because Hemont believed that after the establishment of Diónia 20 years ago, almost all the children of the citizens had to enter the various cities to study. Therefore, the Minister of Education, who was in charge of all the schools, should have more say.
However, Montoticus said, "I don't know how many adult citizens there are every year, because many students have already graduated from school before they are of age. I can only tell you that the number of graduates last year was 23,571."
Raphael interrupted, "Every year, there are about 20,000 adult citizens in the kingdom, but the number has been rising sharply in recent years. This is because after the last war, the kingdom has merged with several regions and has a larger population …"
Hemont expressed his gratitude to the two of them and then asked the Minister of Household Registration, "Sir Raphael, as far as you know, how many families have more than two boys among the citizens of the kingdom?"
This question was a little difficult for Raphael. He thought for a while before saying with uncertainty, "I'm afraid there are at least 70% of them. Due to the blessings of Hades and the high level of medical skills in the kingdom, Sir Helpes has led the doctors to invest a lot of energy in childbirth and the treatment of children with the strong support of His Majesty. They have made great progress, greatly increasing the success rate of pregnant women in childbirth and greatly reducing the death rate of babies after birth. Now, most families have more than two children, and for the old citizens, almost every family has a child who has successfully grown up …" At this point, Raphael turned and nodded to the Minister of Health, Helpes, to express his gratitude.
"So, how many foreign freedmen does the kingdom accept every year to become official citizens?" Hemont asked again.
"This number is uncertain. In the years before the last war, because there was very little land left, according to the request of His Majesty and the Senate, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Household Registration Department deliberately controlled it. Coupled with the stable situation in the eastern Mediterranean, there were only about 2,000 people a year … In recent years, the kingdom has been in urgent need of labor, and the war in Greece has been getting more and more intense, so there are at least 10,000 people a year …"
"Everyone, you have all heard it. The kingdom has about 20,000 adult citizens every year, which is almost the same number as the citizens of a traditional strong Greek state. Although the Household Registration Department has been distributing land to them in recent years, this is only a temporary measure to occupy the vacant land more quickly. In fact, there is no special law in the kingdom that requires the distribution of land to adult citizens because, according to our usual thinking, they will inherit the property left by their father in the future.
But now, the situation in the kingdom is that most citizens have several sons. According to the kingdom's law, 'the inheritance is freely distributed by the original owner according to their own will', most citizens will choose to divide their property equally among several children, so the land area owned by each child may even be smaller than the original land allocated to the citizens by the kingdom. These children born and raised in the kingdom receive the kingdom's education from an early age, abide by the kingdom's laws, and are familiar with everything in the kingdom. They love and are loyal to the kingdom, but after they become citizens, they receive less than these foreign freedmen who have become official citizens! Everyone, do you think this is fair?! "
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