Chapter 159
Plaisinas was obviously well prepared. He said calmly, "Don't forget, Hades is still in charge of the Elysium. That is a happy place where you don't have to worry about death, not having to worry about clothes, not having to worry about anything, not having to worry about anything, and not having to worry about anything. It is the place where all Greeks yearn to go after they die! What's more, as the Lord of Hell, Hades controls the wealth of the underground. He can bless our Alliance's territory with more minerals! As for saying that it's gloomy and scary, that's only for our enemies, because it brings death to our enemies, but it brings us victory! "
"That's right, I love Hades!" Amyntas cheered.
"I agree to build the Temple of Hades! He has already brought us victory, and he will bring us more! "
"Our Lord Consul is a descendant of Hades. With Hades as a protector, the Alliance will receive even more protection!"
…
The former mercenary elders expressed their approval one after another, creating a lot of noise.
Polyxis sat down resentfully, and the others couldn't stand up to object at this moment.
Devers patted his thigh with his left hand and watched this scene calmly. He really didn't communicate with Plesinas beforehand, and because he was busy during this period of time, he didn't think about this at all. However, he didn't expect Plesinas to give him a huge surprise, making him realize that there were indeed many things that could be done.
His brain worked quickly as he thought about the pros and cons of this. He then stood up, and everyone's eyes focused on him again. "Everyone, when we are helpless, we pray to the gods. When we are lost, we pray to the gods. The gods not only have great divine power, but they can also give us enlightenment in terms of wisdom and heart. Hades is a god who can give a lot of help to the people. Not only can he bring victory to our army and protect the peace of the city, but he can also enlighten the people at the same time.
You see, good people can go to Elysium after death and live a happy life, but evil people can't escape the judgment of the three judges, Milos, Rhadamantos, and Eyago, and finally go to hell to suffer. Hades is a just and selfless God King. Once his temple is built in the city, it will always remind the people that even if the wicked are temporarily not bound by the law, they will not be able to escape the punishment of the Nether Purgatory after death. This will force them to repent and do good as much as possible while they are still alive. As for the people who do good, worshipping the temple of Hades will also encourage them not to give up their good hearts because of temporary grievances, because the beautiful Elysium will call to them … In this way, the morals of the people of the Alliance will become better, the order of the city will be more orderly, and the people will get along better! Am I right? "
"I agree! With the Temple of Hades, my work will be much easier! "Inspector Antonios immediately echoed loudly.
Just when some people were still hesitating, the Devers continued, "I have a suggestion for the construction of the Temple of Hades. We can have two temples, one main and one auxiliary. The main temple should be in bright and cheerful colors, with a happy picture of Elysium painted around it. Hades should be gentle and kind. The auxiliary temple should be dark and terrifying, with a tragic scene of hell around it. Hades should be dignified and selfless. In addition, we can also build a temple of heroes in the main temple. All the people who died for the Alliance and the city should have their names engraved on it, so that they can enjoy the people's reverence and worship! I think their heroic souls must also be accompanying Hades in Elysium! "
Daves talked about his idea with some emotion, especially the last sentence that moved the elders. In the end, they decided to build the Temple of Hades.
Then, the Devers proposed that the construction of the temple should be handed over to Plesinus, which was approved.
Putting Plesinus in charge of the Alliance's most important public construction project was not only because Dyvers wanted to repay Plesinus' good intentions, but also because it was his proposal to build the Temple of Hades. Since he was in charge of it, he would naturally redouble his efforts to build it.
When the meeting ended, Plesinus came to thank them in private, and the Devers also reminded him to communicate with Heraclede.
The next topic of discussion was the issue of "distribution of Turín land". Originally, Melantius had massacred the nobles and rich merchants in Turín. Among the remaining citizens, except for Burcos, Polyxis, Orifis, Enanilus, Masisakus, and a few others, there were almost no big landowners left.
Because the original city of Turín had been destroyed, everyone had lost the proof of their land. In order to avoid disputes and ensure fairness, the newly established Alliance Senate redistributed the land of the original Turín citizens. Basically, each household was guaranteed five acres of land, and most people had no objections. After all, it was already a blessing from the gods for those who had lost their homes to regain land. Moreover, most of the Turín citizens did not have so much land in the past. Only a few people expressed objections, and Polyxis was the one who objected the most. His reason was simple: everyone knew that his family used to have more than five hundred acres of land, but now they were only given five acres, not even a fraction of that. This was too unfair for the Senate to do!
When he made a fuss, people like Orifis, Masisakus, and the others watched with cold eyes.
The Devers quietly asked Burcos to stand up and take the lead in expressing that he was willing to give up his original land and accept the new distribution.
At the same time, he secretly asked Amyntas and the others to stand up and criticize Polyxis. He even warned him that the original Turín had been destroyed, and although the new city was being rebuilt, it had nothing to do with the former Turín. If anyone insisted on associating the original city with the new one, then they should properly account for the crimes that some people had committed in the destruction of Turín. He believed that the people would not just expel these accomplices who had destroyed their families!
Polyxis was scared out of his wits and no longer dared to oppose. Naturally, the others could only agree. In fact, it was the greed in their hearts that was causing trouble. They did not consider that in this war, they had not only lost land and money, but also a large number of people and slaves. Even if they were given more land, they would not have enough people to work in a short period of time, and they would not even be able to support such a large population.
After this bill was passed, the "land" that was previously allocated to some of the citizens of Amendola was also made up for.
The Xubari Plain was vast and fertile. After distributing the land to the citizens of the Alliance, the Senate discovered that less than a tenth of the Xubari Plain had been allocated, and there was still a large amount of land left uncultivated. For the Tua Alliance that was in dire need of money and food, how could they just watch it go to waste?
After a discussion with the elders, the Devers enacted the "Land Lease Law", which stated that all probationary citizens of the city-states of the Alliance could rent the public land of the city-states, with the land area not exceeding five acres, and would pay a tenth of the income from the land as a tax every year.
Merces had proposed a tax of one-fifth, but was rejected by the Devers. He believed that since they had already become probationary citizens, they should naturally enjoy the benefits of the Alliance in advance. Only then would other free citizens be eager to join the Alliance.
At the same time, the Senate also announced that all probationary citizens who actively worked in agriculture and paid taxes would be able to smoothly become full citizens after completing their preparatory period.
This was a suggestion from Cunogorata. He believed that farming could show whether a person was hardworking, patient, and strong. A good farmer was a good citizen of the city-state, so this was a form of assessment.
The elders all agreed with his opinion. In the end, it became a custom for all probationary citizens to rent land for two to three years to observe.
The more land there was, the more people there were renting it. The Devers proposed to establish an agricultural officer to centralize the distribution, leasing, farming, and other matters of the Alliance's land.
The proposal was passed, and Burcos, who was nominated by the Devers, was appointed.
At the same time, the military officer, Felicius, had a rather heavy responsibility. There were still three months before the release of the Crotone captives. To prevent the Crotone from suddenly breaking the contract after the captives returned home, the Tua Alliance had to organize the many probationary citizens, train them, and give them a certain level of combat ability after three months. Thus, Felicius had no choice but to order more veterans to enter the boot camp as instructors on the training day.
The next topic of discussion was still the Devers' proposal. They would give the low-ranking public servants of the Tua Alliance a salary of two to three Opals a day to supplement their needs.
As soon as the proposal was made, Mercies stood up in agitation. "Lord Devers, since every citizen owns land and pays no more than one percent in taxes every year, their income is more than enough to support their daily lives. Holding public office is the duty of the city-state's citizens, and it's also an honor. Why should they be paid?! According to your proposal, a low-ranking public servant's salary is around three Opals a day, and the treasury will pay him around 16.7 drachmas a month. Right now, the Tua Alliance probably needs around 200 of the lowest-ranking public servants. That's one Talient a month. That's not a small amount! We can't be like Athens. Athens has the Laurion silver mine that can produce three Talients a day. Right now, our expenses are only greater than our profits! "
"Don't be anxious, Mercies. Let's talk slowly." The Devers gestured for Mercies to calm down and asked softly, "How many bookkeepers do you have under you?"
"Five, but they're all probationary citizens."
"Do they work in the treasury every day?"
"No. In the past, our treasury didn't have much income. We only let them do the bookkeeping when we need them. The rest of the time, they rent land from the citizens."
"What about now?"
"Now … Now that we have Turií, the market, and the port, the income from customs alone is quite a lot. Of course, they have to follow me back and forth between the treasury, the market, and the port every day."
"Do they still have time to farm?"
"No."
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