Chapter 1247
Axikus greeted the guards standing at the door of the wooden house, then gently opened the door. An unpleasant stench assailed his nostrils, but he only sniffed, not showing any signs of discomfort.
Inside the house, Avriya was also unaffected by the smell. She was wearing clothes specially made for animal trainers, and her hair was tied into a bun behind her head. She was holding a fat black cat in one hand, and her other hand was holding the pen. She looked at the pen with a slightly nervous expression.
"Avriya … Avriya …" Perhaps because Avriya was too focused, Axikus called her a few times, but she didn't respond. Instead, the black cat turned around and stared at Axikus with its big eyes. Then, it meowed twice. "Meow."
Only then did Avriya see Axikus waving at her from the door. She walked over unhappily and complained softly, "Why have you been chatting with brother-in-law for so long? Nana (a female antelope) is about to give birth!"
"Just now, Lord Hilos' son, Perkestas, sent someone to find me. He said that he and his cousin brought some guests to the zoo, and there has been a long line outside. The weather is too hot, and there are too many people. He's afraid that the child can't take it, so he wants to come in early." Axikus made a small lie, changing the person who asked him for help to Perkestas.
This trick worked. Avriya immediately said, "Ah, Brother Perkestas is here. Hurry and let them in! I'll — "At this point, she looked back at the animal pen with some reluctance, then changed her words." After Nana gives birth, I'll go see him immediately. "
In the past, those who were called to the king's mansion by the Devers for family banquets included Heniboris and his family, Aristiras and Asuna's family, Bagoule and Andrea's family, and Hilos' family … So Avriya was more familiar with Hilos' children.
"Then I'll go greet them first." With that, Axikus turned and left.
At this moment, the trainer's voice came from inside the house. "Princess, Nana has given birth!"
Hearing this, Avriya immediately became excited. She grabbed her husband's hand and ran inside. "Nana finally has a lamb! Quick, pray with me. I hope that Hades will bless the little one and let her survive this time! "
… …
While Sosiklis and Sosiklis took their guests to the zoo, a meeting of the ministers of the kingdom was going on in the palace hall of the inner city of Turií.
When the chief of the palace guards, Martius, saw that the assistant minister and the chief officials of the various departments had arrived on time and were seated as per usual, he immediately reported to the Devers who were resting in the side chamber. Only then did the Devers lead the royal clerk, Heniboris, into the great hall through the side door and onto the throne.
The ministers immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.
"Have a seat." Devers smiled and waved his hand. The ministers sat down. Then he looked at them and said slowly but clearly in a deep voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, today is the last regular administrative meeting of this month. Turís will hold a sports meeting next month, so today we will focus on the sports meeting."
At this point, he looked at Cloto Catax, who was sitting on the lower right side. "Consul, you're the main person in charge of organizing this sports meet. Please give us a detailed introduction about the preparations for the sports meet."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Klotokatax, who had been the consul of the kingdom for more than four years, stood up unhurriedly and said in a loud and clear voice, "Sirs, it has been two years and one month since His Majesty announced the holding of the sports meet in June the year before last. Our preparation work has basically been completed. Now, I will give you a detailed report on the whole preparation situation."
For the past two years, Cloto Catax had devoted most of his energy to the preparation of the sports meet. He did most of the things himself, so he knew the whole situation like the back of his hand. He did not prepare a speech beforehand. He coughed lightly and sorted out his thoughts before saying loudly, "According to His Majesty's suggestion, the sports meet held in Turií will not only consist of the traditional running, wrestling, boxing, car racing, horse racing, five athletic events (including running, long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, and wrestling), but also archery, discus throw, high jump, pole vault, marathon, swimming —"
"I can understand the rest, but what is this marathon?" Asked the new assistant minister, Bagoule. At the beginning of March, Hemont requested to resign from the position of assistant minister on the grounds of old age. The Devers approved it. With the support of the Lucanian senators led by Hemont, the Senate elected Bagoule, the regional governor of Rome, to take over the position. The Devers approved the election result, and Bagoule officially took office last month.
Although Cloto Catax had explained this issue several times in the previous council meetings, he still patiently explained to Bagula: "I think everyone should know the legendary story of how the Athenian army defeated the Persians at Marathon a hundred years ago. The soldier Phidipides ran all the way from Marathon to the city of Athens without stopping, and after announcing the good news to the people, he fell to the ground and died. In order to commemorate this historical event, His Majesty specially suggested that we set up this race. Therefore, the marathon is a special long-distance race. The distance between the marathon and the city of Athens is a total of 84 miles. "
"84 miles?!" Bagoule exclaimed. "Who can run such a long distance?! Even if they can, they will probably die of exhaustion! "
"We have specially tested it. As long as they don't run too fast, they can definitely run." Klotokatax earnestly replied, "Up until now, there are 10 contestants from our kingdom who have signed up to participate in this event."
"Oh, it's fine as long as they can run." Bagoule nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Your Majesty, I have a question for a long time," Military Minister Olivers couldn't help but ask. (The year before last, Alexis also resigned from her position as Military Minister on the grounds of old age. The Devers had originally drafted a few candidates to replace her: Leotychides, Matonis, Lizaru, and Olivers. However, the other three refused to leave the army. In the end, Olivers, who had the least hope, became Military Minister.)
"Go ahead."
"The marathon is just a super long distance race. Why must it be named to commemorate the battle of Marathon in Athens? Why not use some of the famous battles that our kingdom's army fought in the past? For example, the First Legion's long-distance attack on the Roman army in Wolsey, and our army's landing on Peleus Beach five years ago, the long-distance raid on Larissa … Isn't it better to use these battles as a name? "Olivers tactfully suggested.
"Of course not!" Devers rejected without hesitation. "Whether it's the people from Rome or the people from Thessaly, they are all citizens of our kingdom. Using these battles as a name is disrespectful to them and will have a negative impact. The Marathon is a battle between the Greeks and the people from Persia. Not only will we not have to worry about this, but it will also show our respect for the native Greeks, especially the people from Athens. It will help increase the native Greeks' recognition of us. At least, it will make them more eager to participate in this event. "
"Your Majesty is right. In our reply from Athens, there are five athletes from Athens who have signed up for the marathon," Cloto Catax added.
Olivers's confusion disappeared. He nodded and said, "Now I have no objections."
"Everyone, in order not to waste time, let's wait for the consul to finish his report. If you have any questions, let him answer them together," Devers reminded them in a calm tone.
The hall immediately became very quiet. Cloto Catax continued, "… Marathon, swimming, rowing, sailing, and military events (including the heaviest race, javelin throwing, horseback riding, and swimming). There are a total of 15 major events. At present, all the venues and necessary equipment for the events have been prepared. All regions of the kingdom and the city-states that have received the invitation, except for Persia, have promised to send athletes to participate. According to their replies, the total number of athletes participating in the event is 1982, with more than 50 participants in each event …
According to the preliminary schedule, the event will last for 15 days. Therefore, we are going to empty all the hotels around the arenas and the Royal Guesthouse in the inner city of Turín to provide free accommodation and food for the athletes and officials sent by various regions and city-states to ensure that the athletes participating in the event can compete in a good condition. (At first, because of the annual national rugby and football finals, the Turín City Hall set up temporary camps for athletes near the arenas. Later, hotels managed by the City Hall were built on these temporary camps to provide accommodation for the athletes who participate in the two games every year, as well as convenience for the tourists. As a result, the hotels are often full, earning a lot of profit for the City Hall.)
At the same time, we have also reached an agreement with the Carriage Association of Turín. During the event, they will be responsible for escorting the athletes to the venue to avoid being late.
The Temple of Hades has organized a team of priests and referees from various temples. They have been training for several months and have basically mastered the judging standards of each event. I believe that the entire team of referees will be able to judge the issues in each event fairly and avoid cheating and other ugly phenomena.
Lord Stasikodas has provided us with a lot of help. During the event, the medical department will send experienced medical teams to each venue to treat the injured athletes and spectators. (Herpes has retired, so Stasikodas has taken over as the medical minister). "
Comments