Chapter 1133
Looking at the place that the Diónia people called the naval base, it was not a naval port as the Greeks understood it to be. It was more like a town. But according to the captain of the clipper, the people living in the base were all the sailors and their families of the Diónia navy …
Xenophon could not help but recall some of the information he had learned about the war in the Western Mediterranean. "In the few naval battles between Diónia and Carthage, both sides sent out about four to five hundred warships …" He had thought that it was an exaggeration, but now it seemed that it might be true …
At this time, Xenophon had realized that he had been making a mistake since yesterday. He looked at Diónia with the eyes that he was used to looking at the Greek city-states, and naturally felt that everything was wrong. But in fact, Diónia was not an ordinary city-state. It was a kingdom, a country similar to Persia!
Although Xenophon had adjusted his mentality, he continued to be shocked by the following journey.
The ship left the port of Tarantum and sailed into the "Gulf of Turií" named by the Diónia people. But in Xenophon's eyes, it was not a gulf, but a sea. It was just that this sea was surrounded by Diónia on three sides, and became a convenient route for the coastal towns to trade with each other. So the Sparta emissaries saw an endless stream of ships shuttling to and fro around the passenger ship, as though they were in a prosperous port. But in fact, they were on the vast sea, just that the Diónia people had completely turned this sea into their inland sea.
When the passenger ship arrived at the mouth of the Krati River, they were even more surprised by the prosperity and bustle of the port. They were awed by the huge size and large population of Turií. Even the few Sparta people who were the most disapproving of this mission became uneasy. Because even the stupidest person could tell that with such a prosperous trade and large population, Diónia was fully capable of sending a large army to bring trouble to Sparta who were in trouble at the moment.
So everyone in the emissary group became a little gloomy, and gradually, they did not even speak.
When the passenger ship entered the port of the inner city of Turií, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Diónia came to welcome them. But they did not bring the emissary group to the Royal Hotel, but directly to the palace, because the King of Devers wanted to meet the Sparta emissaries.
Walking in the streets of the inner city, Xenophon saw the dazzling statue of Hades on the hill in the distance, making him feel as though he was in the inner city of Athens. But in fact, there was a big difference. The inner city of Turií was obviously much quieter and tidier than Athens, and there were many strange buildings, such as the rumored elevated bridge, huge waterwheels, automatic water spraying pools, the triumphal arch that represented the glory of Diónia, the different Arena, a unique and profound library, and the magnificent, the Hall.
Xenophon knew that it had been less than 30 years since the establishment of Diónia, but at this moment, he had the illusion that the city of Turií had a deep and long cultural heritage.
Finally, they came to the palace, where the national flag of Diónia was flying high. Xenophon and another Sparta emissary (the elders and censors of Sparta finally agreed to Agesilaus' suggestion, but they only made Xenophon the deputy emissary, and the chief emissary was a Sparta general who had made many military achievements. This way, he could monitor Xenophon and prevent him from doing anything wrong, and at the same time, minimize the criticism from the people), led by the ceremonial officer into the palace.
Because of what he had seen and heard, even the Sparta emissary, who was known for being overbearing and unreasonable, was a little nervous at the moment, let alone Xenophon. He had already forgotten the joy of seeing his old friend, and all he could think about was how to complete the task given to him by the Sparta people, and at the same time, prevent the powerful people of Diónia from retaliating.
"Your Majesty, the emissary of Sparta has arrived!"
"Invite them in."
The voice was steady and heavy, almost without the familiarity it once had … Xenophon composed himself, adjusted his clothes, and stepped into the hall.
In addition to the palace guards and the ministers of the main departments of the kingdom, there were also six former presidents of the Senate. They did not happen to be here, but had been serving in the palace for the past few years, because they were now known as the "Assistant Ministers of the Kingdom."
In the second year after Diónia conquered Gaul, in a Senate meeting, a newly promoted senator suddenly raised an objection, criticizing the current Senate system. The presidents presided over the Senate meetings, and at the same time, participated in the kingdom's administrative affairs, which allowed them to obtain more important information in advance, and use their power to better help those close to them, which was unfair to the other senators.
His words immediately caused a huge uproar in the Senate. The elders who supported the rotating chairman all criticized him, while the other elders who were dissatisfied with him also helped him to refute. They even cited many elders who had won the election with the rotating chairman's help in the past few years … Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The two sides quarreled fiercely over this matter, which did not subside for several days, and even seemed to expand. In the end, the King of Devers forcefully intervened, and order was restored in the Senate, but because of this, a new reform was carried out in the Senate: the rotating presidents of the Senate would be held by the senators in turn, and there would no longer be a fixed number of people;
In addition to enacting and amending laws, electing regional governors, and supervising the administrative performance of mid-level and senior officials, all the kingdom's administrative decisions and foreign affairs would no longer be submitted to the Senate for review and approval, but would be directly decided by the Kingdom's Administrative Office;
The kingdom would establish the position of Assistant Ministers, a total of six, whose terms were the same as the ministers of the various ministries, and would assist the king in managing the kingdom's administrative affairs. At the end of their term, they could be elected by the Senate, and approved by the king to take over …
The Devers took advantage of the storm in the Senate this time to reform it. The Senate's power was reduced, and its functions became more singular. More power was returned to the Kingdom's Administrative Office, which made the administrative efficiency faster and more efficient.
The reason why the Senate made such a big concession was that ever since the Devers were crowned with the name "Hades", their prestige in the kingdom was unprecedented. The ordinary senators did not dare to oppose them, and the rotating presidents who had the ability to organize everyone to oppose were caught in their weakness, becoming the core of this storm, unable to fend for themselves. In addition, the Devers gave them a way out by using the position of Assistant Minister, so his plan to take back power was successfully realized in the end.
Of course, Xenophon did not understand the political changes in the Kingdom of Diónia, nor did he pay attention to the ministers standing on both sides. Ever since he walked into the hall, his eyes had been fixed on the man sitting high on the throne.
Dyvers, who was wearing a crown, stood up and walked down the throne with an agitated expression. He strode up to Xenophon and gave him a strong hug.
As it happened too quickly, the ministers and guards in the hall had no time to stop them. They heard the Devers' hearty laughter. "Xenophon, Xenophon, I thought I would never see you again in this life. I didn't expect that with the blessing of Hades, we finally meet again!"
The Devers's sudden action was also beyond Xenophon's expectations, and he was quite touched. He immediately put aside what he had planned to say when they met and sighed. "Yes, we haven't seen each other for 27 years since we parted at Byzantium!"
"You have a good memory. The Devers put his hands behind his back and bowed slightly to look at him. He asked with a smile, "Do you remember what I said at the time?
Xenophon frowned and pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't remember."
The Devers raised his eyebrows slightly and pointed around. He said slowly, "I said, 'I'm going to Greece, I'm going to build a country of my own, and I invited you to join us, but you refused.' It's been 27 years. Do you think what I said at the time has come true?"
"Your Majesty, King of Diónia, you have created countless miracles when you were in Persia. So, I take it for granted that you can do anything amazing after that," Xenophon replied unhurriedly.
"Hahaha …" The Devers laughed heartily again. He patted Xenophon's shoulder and said meaningfully, "I haven't seen you for so many years, and you've become very eloquent. Is it because you've been with King Agesilaus of Sparta for a long time?"
"It's because of what I've seen in Diónia. I can't help but be in awe of it!" Xenophon said sincerely.
The Devers stared at him and stopped smiling. He said seriously, "Every time I read the 'Long March' that you wrote, I would think of the difficult days when we went through thick and thin together in Persia. Our friendship should not fade with the passage of time. Just like how no matter how powerful Diónia is, it will always treat its friends with sincerity. So, all these years, I've specially asked an envoy to send you an invitation to Diónia to participate in the Scholar's Conference so that we could have a good gathering. But I've never been able to fulfill my wish … "
"…" Xenophon felt guilty and did not respond.
"It seems that you're not doing very well in Sparta!" The Devers said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"That's not right!" Someone beside him immediately retorted loudly. "Xenophon is highly respected in Sparta. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent as an envoy to Diónia this time!"
The Devers's gaze immediately became sharp and pierced the man in a red cloak with his hair combed into a thick braid. He asked in a deep voice, "And who are you?"
"Citizen of Sparta, Gaesulus. I was appointed by the Council of Elders to accompany Xenophon to Diónia." The man did not avoid the Devers's sharp gaze and answered in a loud voice.
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