Chapter 344
However, these carriages could not be driven and carried at will. There was a civilian organization — the Carriage Guild, which specialized in managing the public carriages in the Diónia Alliance. Only those whose driving skills and carriage equipment passed the examination could be qualified to operate the carriages. Otherwise, if they were found to be carrying passengers without permission, the patrols would come looking for them.
Moreover, Diónia had also promulgated a special law on the situation of vehicles driving on the main road. It was said to have been proposed by the Devers. 'All vehicles on the main road must drive on the right.' In this way, the traffic on the main road would not interfere with each other. Not only was the probability of accidents on the main road reduced, but the speed of the carriages was also naturally increased.
Of course, Nix and Tratus did not pay attention to the details behind the carriages. They enjoyed the speed of the carriages.
After an hour, the carriages entered the swamp area of the Crokoli River. No, it had now been renamed as the Crokoli River Plain. After more than two years of hard work, the people of Diónia had successfully transformed the area. They built dams on the flat riverbanks of the Crokoli River, dug ditches, drained and filled in soil, and dried and burned the land. The swamp, which was originally wet and filthy with snakes and insects, had been developed into fertile, high-yield arable land. Even the senators of the Senate were envious.
The Devers stood their ground and fulfilled their original promise, distributing part of the land to the freedmen who had participated in this long project. Because of this merit, almost all of them had successfully become probationary citizens of Diónia.
Someone in the Senate had once proposed to build a small city on this land.
This idea was strongly opposed by the governor of Crimissa at the time, Scombras. His reason was that Crimissa had spent manpower and material resources to support the transformation of the swamp, and the construction of the Crimissa – Castellón Avenue also gave Crimissa the ability to manage this new small plain.
Under his insistence, the Crokoli River Plain was placed under the jurisdiction of Crimissa. This made the originally small city of Crimissa suddenly jump in strength to the forefront of the cities of the Alliance of Diónia. This also caused some natives of Crimissa to feel that their status had risen, and they wanted a share of the land of the Crokoli River Plain. Of course, the Senate would not allow them to act rashly. This was also one of the reasons for the disputes among the people of Crimissa.
There were also large tracts of farmland here, but unlike the Crokoli River Plain, the newly developed land was still overgrown with weeds. Under the blessing of the Goddess of Spring, Persephone, the fields were full of colorful wildflowers, making the land even more colorful. In the distance, there was a village vaguely visible, and smoke could be seen from the chimneys. The sounds of children playing, parents scolding, chickens crowing and dogs barking could be heard from time to time. It was a scene full of vitality …
Lycassus, who had been watching the outside world through the window of the caravan, suddenly focused his eyes on a few shepherds who were driving a large herd of cattle to drink water by the river. Their attire was different from the Greeks, but it was so familiar to Lycassus.
"Those are the Bruti!" Lycassus cried out with a stab of pain in the depths of his memory. When he was a child, he had seen the Bruti people burning and looting on the Crokoli River Plain, so the memory was still fresh in his mind.
Nix Tratus also looked out of the window in shock.
"There's nothing strange about it. The Bruti people don't just live in the mountains in the west. They also live in other places within the Diónia Alliance. Even in Aspuztum, there are Bruti people who came down from the upper valley of the Netto River. Here, the Crokoli River Plain, is the place with the most Bruti people other than the Bruti mountains. It is said that there are several tribes here," Efyarte said proudly.
Lycassus stared blankly at the few Bruti shepherds who were talking freely by the river. There was an indescribable feeling in his heart. To the young people of Crotone, the Bruti people were "nightmares" that their parents used to frighten them to make them obedient when they were young. Now, they were citizens that had been conquered by the Diónia Alliance.
"I heard that there have been battles in the Bruti region for the past few years," Nix Tratus said casually.
"There are no battles. It's just some small conflicts between the various Bruti tribes over land. The governor of Cosenza easily solved it for them," Efyarte explained.
Nix Tratus laughed coldly, and the carriage returned to its usual silence.
In this narrow space, the people of Crotone and the people of Diónia did not seem to get along easily.
The carriage entered the city of Castellón before noon. The driver needed to rest the tired horses for a while to recover their strength. At the same time, they had to be fed with pasture and water, so the passengers had an hour to rest.
Nix Tratus, on the other hand, was discussing with Statipus whether they should hire another carriage to send them to Turií. He could not stand the strange sense of pride that came from the Diónia citizen, Efyarte, who was also in the carriage.
Caldis watched as the three Crotone people rushed into the carriage. He shook his head helplessly and turned around to walk to Cristoya's restaurant not far away.
Fortunately, there were still empty seats in the restaurant. As soon as he sat down, he saw Efyarte and his fiancée enter the restaurant. He greeted the two of them and began to order.
Two years ago, the blacksmiths of Turií invented the frying pan (after countless experiments under the guidance of the Devers). Cristoya's restaurant quickly introduced a series of fried food made with olive oil, and it quickly became popular throughout the Diónia Alliance.
Caldis ordered a fried codfish and two rolls of honey. Not long after, the golden-fried codfish and fragrant bread were served on the table. Already hungry, he couldn't wait to grab the warm bread and take a big bite. The crispy and soft bread mixed with the sweet fragrance of honey stimulated his taste buds and made him even more hungry.
He quickly picked up the knife, cut a piece of fish, forked it, and put it in his mouth …
Caldis quickly finished his lunch and stroked his bulging belly with satisfaction. He then wiped the cutlery clean, arranged it properly, and bowed solemnly. It was said that this set of cutlery was invented by the Consul Devers of Diónia, inspired by Hades. Caldis had no doubt about it. Wasn't that little fork with only two teeth Hades' double fork?!
The waiter removed the plate, and Caldis ordered another glass of wine. He sipped the tea while listening to the other diners chatting. As a person who had traveled to the Diónia Alliance many times, Caldis could tell that most of the diners in this restaurant were locals of Castellón. Although the Greek pronunciation of each Greek city-state was more or less different, the pronunciation of the Diónia people was undoubtedly the most unique. Since they treated the Lucarians, the Bruti, and the Thracians equally into the Alliance and became citizens of Diónia, their respective cultures had constantly collided and merged. Even the accent of their speech had changed a lot. From time to time, a few unfamiliar words from the Lucarian or Bruti language would pop out. This was the basis for the people of Crotone and Tarantum to regard the people of Diónia as "barbaric".
Caldis did not have such discrimination.
Most of the things these people of Castellón talked about had nothing to do with the city they lived in, Castellón. Instead, it was about their neighbor, Turín. Something about how lively the upcoming wedding festival was! … How beautiful was Aegnis, the second wife of the Consul Devers of Diónia! … How did the Devers satisfy the needs of their two beautiful wives? … The Diónia Medical Forum was about to be held in Turín. Which doctors of Castellón were going to participate? … Wait a minute.
Some people talked mysteriously: It was said that Diónia was going to start building its first stone bridge …
Some people talked excitedly: The newly completed third arena in Turín was going to be dedicated to football matches …
Some people bragged: Last autumn, I went to Cosenza Plateau and saw how spectacular the horse racing celebration was …
Some people would retort: Lucaria's sheep-fighting competition was more exciting …
But more people would say in unison: What was more interesting and exciting was undoubtedly the Southern Italian rugby and Diónia football matches …
When the diners talked about their city-states, there were more complaints. Some people even declared: It would be better to let Castellón become a part of the Diónia Alliance, instead of being independent of the Diónia Alliance as it was now. Although it would be freer, it would not be able to get more benefits from the Diónia Alliance. The citizens of Castellón also wanted more land …
Not only did no one refute his outrageous words, but it was also approved by a few diners.
The influence of Diónia in Greece was getting bigger and bigger! Caldis thought with a sigh. He estimated the time, left the restaurant, and walked to the carriage house. Next to the carriage he was in, he saw the three dejected people of Crotone.
It turned out that the carriages in the carriage house had all been hired. Many of Castellón's fiancés and citizens wanted to go to Turín to participate in the wedding festival of the Shrine of Hera.
So, the six of them were still on the same road, speechless along the way.
After three hours of bumpy ride, the carriage finally stopped.
"We've arrived," the coachman shouted.
Lukasus looked out and saw a crowded crowd, towering sentry towers, and a long wooden bridge.
"This … we shouldn't have arrived at Turín yet, right?" Lukasus said doubtfully.
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