Chapter 385
To the west was the vast sea and several large islands such as Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic Islands. Most of them were under the control of Carthage. The Devers did not have the guts to offend another powerful force in the western Mediterranean when they were faced with the threat of Syracuse. As for occupying an enclave in Gaul, the Devers had never considered it. Not to mention that the navy of Diónia was not very strong. At the same time, such a long-distance attack across the sea would not only waste the national strength, but it was also not guaranteed that they could defend it.
Diónia's expansion was really restricted. How could they break out of this situation? The Devers fell into deep thought …
… …
September was the favorite month of the people of Diónia. Not only was it the harvest season, but it was also the month of the birth of Diónia's patron, Hades, on the 9th of September. Not only would there be a lively celebration, but the All-Diónia Rugby Union Final would also be held. It was a month of celebration for the people of Diónia, especially in Turií.
Therefore, many Greek city-states, led by Athens, called September the Month of Erapheporion (the Month of Deershooting, used to worship Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt). In Diónia, September was officially designated as the Month of Hades. Similarly, April was also designated as the Month of Marriage, used to worship Hera. In many Greek city-states, the Month of Marriage was set in July …
It was evident that Diónia had begun to gradually differ from the traditional Greek city-states in terms of life, customs, and culture.
On this day, a young man named Megalis arrived at the port of Turií. He was of medium height and not very strong, but his body was well-proportioned and vigorous.
It was his first time coming to Turií. He did not expect to see so many ships at the port. It took him a long time to get to the port, and then he squeezed out of the port. Outside the port, even the carriages and wagons had all been booked. He had to walk for more than an hour to the outskirts of Turín, where there was already a long queue.
On the other hand, Megalis was not in a hurry. He queued up in an orderly manner while listening to the people around him excitedly chatting about "what kind of large-scale performances will be held in the Victory Square during this year's Hades Celebration" or guessing which city's football team would be the champion this year … as he walked along with the crowd. When he was interrogated by the city guards, it was already past noon.
Although he was hungry and thirsty, he still had to patiently answer the city guard's questions.
"A citizen of Diónia? If not, please go back. For the next few days, foreigners and freedmen are not allowed to enter the city of Turín! "
"I'm a citizen of Diónia. My name is Megalis, and I live in Crimissa. My serial number is 1356 …" Megalis spoke fluently.
The city guard stared at him and said, "Show me your identity card." According to the suggestion of the Devers, the year before last, Diónia had created a palm-sized bronze plate for every official citizen (Turín had copper mines, so it was more convenient). The front of the plate was engraved with the citizen's name, and the back was engraved with the city of residence and the citizen's serial number. This was just a simple identification, but it was a great innovation in this era. It made it convenient for Diónia to manage the movement of citizens in their territory, especially for the public officials of the Household Register Department. It was a great blessing. For example, if a citizen living in Turín committed a crime in Asplustom, the city would record the crime and send it to the Household Register Department in Turín by mail. The public officials would have to find the citizen's file before they could record the crime. There were tens of thousands of citizens in Turín, and many of them had the same name, so it was very troublesome to find them. With the citizen's serial number, it was very easy to find them. Although it was easy to make the identity card, every city's serial number was unique. It was easy to check if it was forged. If someone forged it, it would be a serious crime according to the laws of Diónia, and no ordinary person would dare to forge it.
Megalis took out the bronze plate from his pocket calmly and handed it to the city guard.
The city guard looked at it carefully and threw it back to him. There were many people entering and leaving Turín every day, so it was impossible for the city guard to do the registration. He pointed at the bulging bag on Megalis's back and said, "What's inside?"
"It's all coins. You know, the football match lasts for almost a month, so it must be expensive, "Megalis said.
"Open it and take a look." The city guard looked serious.
Megalis opened it helplessly.
Whoosh, whoosh … The city guard reached in and fiddled with it. It was indeed coins, then he nodded and said, "Go in."
Megalis carried the bag and took two steps.
"Oh, right!" the city guard shouted from behind. Megalis's heart skipped a beat.
"It's best if you deposit all your money in Cristoya's bank and withdraw it when you need it. It's safe this way."
Megalis heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the city guard.
After entering the city, he asked people along the way according to the map he had seen before and finally found the hotel that was not far from the Diónia Coliseum.
There were already many people in the lobby.
Megalis squeezed to the counter. The waiter inside glanced at him and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the rooms here are all full."
"I have a reservation," Megalis replied immediately.
The waiter was stunned and quickly asked, "Which room? Who reserved it? "
"Room 17. Auroras' reservation," Megalis answered fluently.
The waiter immediately flipped open the registration book. "That's right, room 17. It's indeed booked for five days. So, your name is Megalis?"
Megalis showed the bronze card to him.
After the waiter confirmed it, he nodded and said, "Please follow me." With that, he led Megalis upstairs.
"Lucky man," someone in the lobby mumbled. In fact, many of the people who came to attend the ceremony stayed directly in the homes of Turín citizens. Only some new citizens or prospective citizens had no friends or acquaintances in Turín, so they had no choice but to stay in the hotel.
Megalis entered the room. After the waiter left, he quickly locked the door and carefully observed the decorations in the room.
Then, he walked to the side of the bed and forcefully moved the bed away. He reached under the bed that was against the wall and quickly took out something tightly wrapped in linen.
He carefully opened it, only to see a blue dagger inside …
… …
For the next few days, Megalis walked the streets and alleys of Turín, especially the Temple of Hades. He went there many times to observe the terrain. Other than asking the Turín carefully about the ceremony, he usually went alone and tried his best not to interact with others.
However, he caught a bad habit in Turín. He fell in love with the food in Cristoya's Restaurant. Even though he had gone through many trials of death on the battlefield, this mission still gave him a lot of pressure. What was the best place to relieve his stress in a city? Of course it was a restaurant (but in Diónia, it was an arena).
As a mercenary, Megalis, who had lived a simple life, was soon captivated by the food in Cristoya's Restaurant. Boiled beef and mutton, boiled tripe, fresh fish soup, honey bread, fried codfish … Every food made him drool, so he quickly learned some of the "bad habits" of the rich in Diónia — eating three meals a day in the restaurant.
But he forgot one thing. In order to get a room in Turín in time, he came eight days before the ceremony on the 9th of September. The food in Cristoya's Restaurant was not cheap. Moreover, it was during the ceremony, and the city was full of people. The prices of various consumer goods were rising, and food was naturally the same. After a few days, Megalis realized that he had run out of "silver Hades" coins. He had to pay with the currency of another city, but the waiter refused to accept it. He said that other than the silver coins issued by Diónia, they would not accept the coins of other cities.
Megalis had no choice. For convenience's sake, he brought all the money in the bag to Cristoya's Restaurant.
When it was finally his turn, the bank employee asked him through the iron window, "Do you want to deposit or withdraw money?"
"Exchange for silver Diónia coins." Megalis patted the bag on his shoulder.
The employee looked at it and handed him a piece of papyrus, "Write down the name of the currency you want to exchange and the amount …"
Megalis looked awkward, "I … I can't read."
The employee was obviously used to this situation. He continued in the same tone, "How about this … You tell me how many coins you want to exchange, then put the money in and watch me verify it for you. Do you agree?"
Megalis hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement. He then told the employee the type of currency he wanted to exchange, the amount, and so on.
The employee took notes as he listened. When he heard "Siracusa Four Drachmas", his pen trembled slightly. However, there were Sicilian merchants who came to Turín to deposit and exchange money from time to time, so this kind of currency was not uncommon.
After he finished recording, he called another employee over to count and check when Megalis put the bag in the window.
When he opened the bag and counted the coins, the employee seemed to be careless, but he was actually very careful. Among the coins in the bag, "Syracuse Four Drachmas" accounted for the most, and some of them were brand new. His heart could not help but beat faster …
… …
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