Chapter 164
However, the prosperity of the port had the elders of the Senate extremely busy.
The governor of Turín, Cunogorata, was busy all day dealing with all sorts of disputes and lawsuits. He also had to choose patrols and firefighters to maintain order in the bustling port area, prevent fires, and pay attention to the new management problems brought about by the increasing number of probationary citizens in Turín.
The governor of Amendola, Cornelos, was also facing the same problem due to the influx of outsiders into the warehouse area and the newly built market.
The inspector, Antonios, paid close attention to the changes in the morals of the people in the two cities, whether the people were friendly with each other, whether there were cases of abuse of the elderly, women, and children, and whether there were abuses against freedmen and slaves.
The military officer, Felicius, was having a headache over how to properly integrate the large number of probationary citizens into the army and train them into qualified soldiers in the shortest time possible.
The census officer, Rafias, was very busy. He had already proposed to the Senate more than once to increase the number of scribes and archivists.
The treasurer, Mercies, was busy collecting the citizens' land tax and business tax. Although he had lost a lot of weight because of this, the more busy he was, the happier he was.
The commercial officer, Marigi, was under a lot of pressure. He had to ensure the quality of service in the market and port, and also maintain order in these two areas with the most human traffic, especially in the port area where there were many outsiders. At the same time, he had to consider the continued development of the Tua Alliance's trade. As the reconstruction of Turín was gradually completed, the demand for certain goods would naturally decrease. How could he prevent the rapid decline of foreign trade? He had been thinking of ways. The Devers' suggestion was that before the Tua Alliance developed new, unique, and high-quality goods, they could rely on novel competitions and entertainment to attract foreign wealthy people to spend their money in the city …
Although the agriculture officer, Burcos, was a businessman, he was actually a large landowner who grew grapes, olives, and wheat. He was also familiar with agriculture. Not only did he have to survey, distribute, and rent land, he also had to resolve disputes between neighboring landowners. He also had to provide good advice to the people based on the actual situation of the land, so that they could obtain a higher harvest and income.
The supervisor, Alexis, was undoubtedly one of the busiest high-ranking officials. Although the reconstruction of Turií was the overall responsibility of the Reconstruction Committee and presided over by Heraclede, the specific implementation was his job. He was not only responsible for the timely purchase of building materials, but also for the organization of manpower and the maintenance of order. At the same time, he had to oversee the construction of the roads and bridges that Heraclede Jr. was responsible for, as well as the construction of the new market under the city of Amendola. Therefore, he was busy from morning to night, tired like a dog. Whenever he saw the Devers, he would shout that he would quit his job, but the next morning, he would be back to work energetically.
Other than the Devers who were extremely busy, the other Devers were not idle either. Under the Devers' suggestion, they set up many committees to assist the Alliance in managing affairs.
The most important thing was that the Alliance Mediation Committee was made up of three people. Once there was a major dispute in the city that couldn't be resolved by the law, they would be handed over to them to mediate.
The Public Officials Investigation Committee was made up of five people. They were responsible for monitoring the positions of middle and lower level public officials and establishing files for future promotions. At the same time, if a citizen reported a public official, they would need to investigate whether it was true and give a response.
There was also the Coinage Committee, which was made up of three people. Most of the Greek city-states minted their own coins for the convenience of trade and profit, as well as to commemorate major events and offer sacrifices to the gods, and to advertise their existence to other city-states. The Tua Alliance was no exception. They were waiting for the reconstruction of Turií to be completed so that they could introduce their first batch of coins …
There were also some temporary committees, such as the Temple Building Committee, which was led by Plesinas. The Devers of these committees served the same as public officials. Most of them served for two years, and they would be rotated at the end of the term.
Although October wasn't the election day of the Tua Alliance, it was a good day for the various departments to recruit public officials after the promulgation of the Alliance Public Officials Law. There were many applicants, and the person in charge had to test the applicants and screen them according to the citizens' conditions. Those who had served in the army many times, paid taxes on time, obeyed the law, and had performed meritorious deeds in battle or had paid the wounded with bravery. The first two were mandatory. Those who didn't serve in the army and didn't pay taxes were not qualified to be a public official. As for disabled citizens, it depended on whether it would affect their work.
While the Devers of the Senate were busy, and the citizens were busy preparing for their jobs, the Devers received a special guest in the mansion of Turií.
It was a strong middle-aged man. Although he was wearing Greek clothes, it couldn't hide the wild nature of the mountains. As expected, under the watchful eyes of the guards, he spoke in strange Greek, "Honorable Consul of the Tua Alliance, Avinogis of Laos asked me to greet you on his behalf. I'm his brother, Arobuma. "
The Devers's heart skipped a beat, but his expression didn't change. He said slowly, "Laos? Laos of Lucania? "
"Yes." Arobuma stared at the Devers and said straightforwardly, "Although Laos belongs to Lucania now, my brother and I are Greeks!"
The Devers obviously knew this, but his expression didn't change. He turned to look at the Asistes beside him.
The Asistes understood and immediately asked, "As far as we know, Avinogis is an important leader of Laos. Before the war between Lucania and Turií, he strongly supported the Lucania Alliance in the war against the Turií. He's one of the main enemies of the Tua Alliance. It doesn't matter whether he's Greek or not!"
Arobuma didn't expect the other party to know him so well. Trying to play the family card didn't work, so he panicked a little. "We really are Greeks! Laos is a colonial city built by Sybaris. A hundred years ago, the Lucarians invaded south, and Sybaris was destroyed by the Crotone. No city-state sent troops to rescue Laos. We, the Laos, had no choice but to turn to Lucania to protect our people. However, we didn't forget that the blood of the noble Greeks flows in our veins. We speak Greek at home, worship the great Apollo and Hera, and look forward to the day we can return to Greece! Because of this, the Lucanians are very wary of us. They suppress us, bully us, and treat us as aliens. In order not to be suspected and destroyed, we have to do things that go against our own wishes! "
Arobuma said excitedly. He looked at Devers with a respectful gaze, "Ever since we heard that you defeated the Lucanian Alliance with fewer people, my brother and I were very excited! We didn't expect that not long after, you would lead an army to defeat the powerful Crotone again, and become the master of Amendolara and Turií, which is why your territory is adjacent to the Lucanians'! My brother admires your great military achievements, and sincerely hopes that you can help us, the suffering descendants of Sybaris and Laos, to return to the embrace of the Greeks! "
Devers wasn't moved by Arobuma's praise. He nodded calmly, "What help do you need from the Tua Alliance?"
"My brother hopes to ally with the Tua Alliance and plan to fight the Lucanians together after we take back Laos!" Arobuma said excitedly.
As expected! Devers thought to himself, but his expression remained calm, "What kind of alliance?"
"Just like what the Tua Alliance and Castellón signed …" Arobuma recalled what Avinogis taught him, "Forming an alliance, the Tua Alliance will not interfere with the alliance's internal affairs, but will control … diplomatic … diplomatic … and war … leadership …"
Obviously, Avinogis had done a detailed investigation on the Tua Alliance, and they came prepared. This meant that they valued this visit very much! After understanding the situation, Devers said calmly, "I understand. Go back to the hotel and rest first. I'll give you an answer after I discuss with the elders of the Senate."
"I hope you can give me an answer as soon as possible, Mr. Consul!" Arobuma said anxiously.
"Why?" Devers pretended to be confused.
Arobuma was speechless for a moment.
Asistes smiled and said, "It's because Neutum has chosen a new leader, and is urging Avinogis to lead his people to move to Neutum, right?"
Arobuma was dumbfounded. The people of the Tua Alliance knew everything!
"Alright, I will give you an answer as soon as possible," Devers said with certainty.
After Arobuma left uneasily, the Devers asked, "Yasi, what do you think of Laos' request?"
"Sir, as we analyzed before, Avinogis was forced to resist, but according to his current situation, he will definitely agree to our further requests. Giving him a covenant like the one with Castellón is too easy for him! "Asistes said unwillingly.
The Devers shook his head and said, "Although Avinogis can only rely on us after he rebelled against Lucania, the Avinogis can only rely on us. But if our request is too harsh, Avinogis will be dissatisfied, and if something unexpected happens, it will likely cause him to rebel again! We don't have any foundation to the west of the mountains, so we have to rely on Laos' full help. If Laos joins our alliance, we will have a foothold on the west coast of the Apennine Peninsula, which will greatly promote the development of our alliance's trade! Therefore, we need to look further ahead and not haggle over those little benefits! "
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