Chapter 1087
The kingdom's evaluation of his death was also intense, especially after his will was announced to be "donating most of his inheritance to the kingdom". The senators no longer had any objections: the statue was placed in the Pantheon, and at the same time, a statue of him was erected in front of the Ministry of Finance.
Even for his funeral, the opening of the Congress of Greek Scholars was postponed for a few days.
A few days later, the Senate announced another important news: the only governor of the Kingdom of Diónia, Hakkar, who had served for more than four years, stepped down, and was replaced by the senator Bagoule as the governor of southern Iberia. The Senate also created a rotating president position, which Hakkar would take over after he was transferred back to Turií.
The important changes in the political arena of the Kingdom of Diónia did not attract much attention from the general public. Now, the hottest topic in the streets and alleys of the kingdom was whether the citizens of Diónia should pay more taxes to increase the kingdom's military expenditure and solve the security problem of the border.
From the very beginning of the fierce debate (most of the registered freedmen and prospective citizens supported paying more taxes, while the vast majority of citizens opposed it), to many citizens began to think that "as long as they don't have to experience the pain of guarding the border for a long time, it is worth paying more taxes", and now the main topic of the people's debate has become the question of "how much taxes should be paid", the whole process of evolution only took ten days.
The rapid change was partly the result of the full promotion of the intelligence department, and the other main reason was that most of the citizens were the first generation of the Kingdom of Diónia. They were all participants and founders in the process of the establishment and rise of the kingdom. They promoted the growth of the Kingdom of Diónia with their sweat and spears. At the same time, under the long-term influence of the law of Diónia and the Temple of Hades, they developed a strong sense of ownership in their hearts. When the kingdom did encounter difficulties and needed them to sacrifice a little of their own interests to provide help, they could finally make a reasonable choice.
In the taverns on the street, the diners were still arguing fiercely. "I hope the direct tax paid by the citizens should be 15%. Since traditional Greek city-states like Athens, Corinth, and Thebes are willing to pay such high taxes for the public interest of the city-states, and some of the taxes are even higher than this, the citizens of Diónia, who are known as the 'most patriotic' and own a lot of land, should calmly accept this tax rate."
"15% is a little high, and it was only 1% before. Now, it's suddenly 15%. This change is too big, and I think many people can't stand it. 7 or 8% should be more reasonable."
"I say, all of you are so happy to discuss the tax issue here, but have you ever considered that we will also increase the tax if the official citizens want to increase it?!"
"I'm single, and no matter how much tax I pay, I can make do with my life. I don't have to worry about starting a family for the time being, so I'm not worried."
"Of course I've considered this problem. I think that the more taxes we pay, the richer the kingdom will be, and it will be more beneficial for us freedmen and preparatory citizens. This is because after the kingdom pays for its military expenses, it can use more money to build better public facilities, buy more food to stabilize food prices, and subsidize the hospitals to reduce the medical fees … These benefits will be greater for us than the official citizens. After all, they are already rich enough and don't care too much."
"That makes sense, so I've decided to change my mind and support the 15% tax."
…
The group of people were chatting happily when they suddenly heard the cook shout, "Maximus, you're here!"
"Ah …"
"Or a glass of beer?"
"Yes."
The diners immediately looked over, and a busybody immediately asked, "Maximus, how did it go when you went to look for a job today?"
"I say, are you stupid? Do you even need to ask? Just by looking at him, I know he didn't succeed."
Maximus forced a bitter smile and tried his best to explain, "Actually, during the interview, the person in charge of the library was already willing to hire me as a scribe, but the person next to me said a few more words. After he found out that I'm … a slave freed from Rome, he hesitated and said to me, 'If I come back in a few months, when the incident has calmed down, he'll definitely hire me.'"
"I say, Maximus, don't blame the Turís officials for not hiring you. The conspiracy of the people in Rome hasn't ended yet. They want to assassinate the great King of Devers. This is a huge matter! The Turís City Hall is so close to the Senate and the palace. If … I mean, if they really hire you and you cause trouble again, they'll all be implicated. So, for the sake of safety, of course, they won't dare to take the risk to hire you. That person said it nicely, 'a few months later' … Haha, I think the Turís City Hall won't dare to hire people from Rome for a year or two! "
The customer's words made Maximus's expression turn ugly in an instant.
"Don't talk nonsense." Another customer comforted him, "Maximus, don't listen to him. It's not that serious. Everyone knows that His Majesty the Devers has always treated all the races in the kingdom equally. He will never allow such a thing to happen. So, this is only temporary. It doesn't even need to wait for a few months. Just wait and see, things will get better soon because the new Turís Chief Executive is about to take office. He's Manlilius Pubrius. He's a true Rome. How can he allow the City Hall to discriminate against his compatriots?"
"You don't understand!" The first customer retorted, "Pubrius being the Chief Executive of Turís has always been controversial. In order to avoid suspicion and safety, it's very likely that he will strictly control the people of Rome in the city of Turís in the early days of his administration …"
Maximus listened and felt more and more uneasy in his heart. This was because the assassination of the Devers also involved Pubrius' eldest son. Whether he knows that I'm the one who reported it or not, the relationship between us in the past must have been destroyed. Not only can I not go to him for help, I'm afraid I have to hide from him. It seems that I can't go to the City Hall of Turís, and I don't want to go back to the slave camp. Do I really have to go to the Port of Turís to look for work? But in this way, the opportunity to become an official citizen as soon as possible will be reduced a lot … "
While Maximus was thinking painfully, another customer sighed, "These damn Rome people! Oh, Maximus, I'm not talking about you … They made such a big deal that the security of this year's Scholar Conference is much stricter than in previous years. With our identity, it's much more difficult for us to enter and exit the school freely and listen to the speeches of the scholars. "
"What's so good about those speeches? We can't understand them. Instead of sitting there blindly, it's better to use this time to earn more money and come here to buy a few more glasses of wine!"
"That's right! That's right! "
"You guys don't understand. I can't understand most of the speeches of the scholars, but you can see some celebrities that you usually can't see at this conference, such as Senator Ancitanos, Senator Mattiris … and of course, our great King of Devers. Many of you may not have seen our king in person even once, but I can see him every year. If I'm lucky, I can even enter the venue where he is and listen to his speech at a close distance. That's really …"
The intoxicated look on this customer's face made the hearts of the others itch. Someone eagerly asked, "Tell us, what did His Majesty say at the Scholar Conference?"
"Err … this … His Majesty is the descendant of Hades, the God of Heaven. He has been inspired by God. In private, some scholars call him the Omniscient. His speech was so profound, how could I possibly remember it? I only remember that before the speech, he humbly thanked everyone for coming to listen to his speech …"
"Isn't that how all the speeches in our kingdom start now? How could His Majesty be like them? I think you're just bragging. In fact, you've never heard His Majesty's speech at all!" A customer questioned, and the others also booed. They were dissatisfied with this person's self-satisfaction, so they took the opportunity to make a fuss.
The customer became anxious. "Of course I've heard His Majesty's speech! Let me tell you … I … I tell you … There's something very interesting that happened at this year's Scholar Conference! Not only did His Majesty give a speech, but Prince Apox also came on stage to give a speech … "
"Prince Apox? I remember he's the second son of His Majesty Devers. He shouldn't be 18 years old this year, right? "A customer obviously expressed his doubts.
"You don't know this. Although Apox is not an adult yet, he's the descendant of Hades. He's been very smart since he was a child. Not only did he graduate from Turií School early, but it's said that all the colleges in Diónia Academy competed to get him to study in their academy. They even fought over this. As a result, Apox became an official student of both the School of Mathematics and the School of Liberal Arts at the same time. This has never happened since the establishment of Diónia Academy!" The customer said arrogantly, "He's been studying in the academy for a few years. Now, he can give a speech at the Scholar Conference and express his own opinions. What's so strange about that?!"
"We're just a little curious … After all, he's young …" The customer who raised the question before said embarrassedly.
Seeing that the other party had admitted defeat, the customer didn't take advantage of the situation. Instead, he expressed his understanding. "In fact, it's not just you who think so. Some scholars in the venue also think so. A few people from the Pythagorean School of Tarantum tried to make things difficult for Prince Apox. In the end, don't be fooled by Prince Apox's young age. He's very talented. Soon, those Tarantum people were speechless. In the end, everyone cheered for him! You didn't see the depressed look of the Tarantum people. It was really satisfying! "
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