Chapter 482
"Marigi, thank you for reminding me. Looks like when we send someone to Carthage, we should also send someone to Cyrenaica to contact them. An additional channel to purchase food means an additional layer of security! "The Devers corrected him.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask where the money will come from for the food we've been talking about?! The national treasury doesn't even have a single drachma! "Mercies asked loudly, not caring about the new identity of the Devers.
The Devers did not care about such a small issue. He placed his right hand on the back of his chair. He had thought about this question on the way back to Turií. Now that he understood the true financial situation of Diónia, his thoughts were more solid. "Mercies, do you remember that the national treasury was also depleted during the second war with Crotone? What measures did we take to tide us over?"
Mercies slapped his head and shouted, "Oh my, how could I forget that! War bonds! We can issue more war bonds! "
"No, we won't issue war bonds! The cost of this war is huge. If we issue war bonds, even if we win the war, the Alliance will be saddled with a huge debt, which will severely affect its future development! " The Devers stood up, his gaze determined, his tone firm. "This war doesn't only concern my interests, nor does it concern the interests of the Senate and the Senators. It concerns the life and death of the millions of citizens of Diónia. It concerns whether we will be destroyed by Syracuse, killed, or enslaved? Or will we completely defeat Syracuse and drag it down from its throne as the Hellenic hegemon of the Western Mediterranean, and win a brighter and brighter future for the citizens of the Alliance?
So, this is a war between nations! It requires everyone in the Alliance to put in all their efforts and gather them together to fight the final battle against Syracuse! Whoever could last until the end would be the victor in this battle for supremacy!
So, I propose that the Senate encourage the citizens of the Alliance of Diónia to raise funds, and I will be the first to do so! Other than providing three meals a day for my family and slaves, I will donate the remaining food reserves! Other than the normal expenses, all the profits from the banks, restaurants, and shops my wife has set up will be donated to the Alliance for the war! "
The Devers' words shocked the four present.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to be the second donor!" Capus shouted excitedly.
"Me too, Your Majesty! "The Alliance is my home. If it's gone, it doesn't matter how much gold and silver I have. I'm willing to pledge my loyalty to the Alliance!" Marigi said.
"Don't forget the people of Abyssinia, Your Majesty!" Bagylipi said sincerely. "The people of Abyssinia are already inseparable from the Alliance of the Alliance. Not only will I donate myself, I will also donate when I get back to Abyssinia!"
Seeing that the other three had expressed their stance, Merses hesitated for a while before gritting his teeth and saying, "Alright, I'll donate too.
… …
In the afternoon, the Senate passed a resolution: In order to win this great war against Syracuse, the people of Diónia were called upon to unite and donate money and food to the Alliance, which was already short of resources, to help the Alliance tide over this crisis!
This news quickly spread throughout Turií, Amendola, Abyssinia …
While the people were still in heated discussions, another shocking news came. The new King of Diónia, the Devers, was the first to step forward and generously donated 51 Taliente, 3,500 Drachmas, more than three tons of wheat, and dozens of cows and sheep … The Devers Mansion's Chief Slave Manager, Ribazot, led a transport team consisting of dozens of carts filled with goods to the Victory Square for the public officials of the treasury, led by the treasurer, Mercies, to receive.
When the people saw the carts passing by, they were greatly moved.
However, such excitement did not stop, because soon after, Cunogorata, Cornelus, Scombras, Rafias … all the elders of the Senate announced that they would donate money and grains to the Alliance.
When they saw the carts filled with goods entering the various gates of Turií and heading towards the Victory Square, the people finally could not hold it in any longer. They began to exchange slogans that no one knew when, "The Alliance is our Alliance. If the Alliance prospers, our families will prosper. If the Alliance perishes, our homes will no longer exist!" "We don't want to be the slaves of the cruel Syracuse. As long as we unite and contribute, and carry on the war to the end, victory will belong to Diónia!"
If the people were a little pessimistic about the future of the war before yesterday, they had regained their confidence after the two great victories. The new King's Devers and the elders took the lead in donating, and the slogans that spread quickly made the people aware of the difficulties that the Alliance was currently facing, awakening their sense of responsibility as a citizen of Diónia. Hence, everyone began to take action.
Not only that, but even the soldiers in the barracks collectively expressed their wishes to the Devers, hoping that they could return home and prepare money and food to donate to the Alliance.
The Devers took advantage of the situation and agreed. They announced that the First, Second, and Seventh Legions would be temporarily disbanded and would report back to the barracks before noon tomorrow. Those who were late would be punished according to military law.
Turií, which had been deserted for many days, finally became lively on this day. The people brought their slaves with them, carrying or carrying money boxes, money bags, and leading the beasts of burden that carried the grain stored in their homes. They came from all directions, from Amendola, from Abyssinia, from the outskirts of Turií, from the port of Turií, from the city of Turií, and from all directions, rushing towards the Victory Square …
"Palliandorus, you're fast!" Agilas shouted when he saw Palliandolus and his son Patroclus in front of him in the queue.
"Uncle Agilas!" Patroclus waved excitedly.
"Little Patroclus, I heard that you helped your father manage the village and repelled the ambush of the Syracuse sailors. Good job! You've become a soldier of Diónia! " Agilas felt gratified to see the naughty little fellow perform so well.
"But the legion still won't let me serve!" Patroclus complained.
"You're not 18 yet, so you don't meet the requirements of the military law. Wait another two years," Agilas comforted him, remembering his age.
"Wait?! This war will be over if I wait any longer! "Patroclus said, feeling wronged.
"Don't worry. After this war ends, there will be another one. You'll have to participate in many battles in the future!" Agilas said with a sigh.
At this moment, Palliandorus had already handed the supplies on his back to the slaves. He turned around and saluted.
Agilas also saluted back.
Agilas was a veteran soldier of the legion, and so was Palliandorus. Although they had both retired from active service due to injuries, one of them was crippled, and the other had a crippled hand, they had already left the mark of the Legion of Dionysia in their bones.
In such a crowded and noisy environment, the people around them did not find it funny or interesting that two disabled people were saluting each other. Instead, they looked at them with respect.
"Master Agilas, you don't have to come in person since you can't move freely. Just let the slaves bring the supplies to the Victory Square," Palliandorus said with concern.
Why did he call him Master Agilas? It was because he had been promoted to Officer Demo.
With the continuous influx of immigrants and the rapid development of the Diónia Alliance in the past few years, the suburbs of the cities, especially Turií, were no longer just a few villages on the vast plains. Not only had the population become denser, but the number of villages had also been increasing. Villages and towns had also appeared to make it convenient for the villagers who were far from the city or the market to buy what they needed, or to have fun and exercise when they were idle. More importantly, to make it easier for the cities to manage these scattered farms, some administrative tasks could be handed over to these villages and towns to complete, such as tax collection, military training, and so on.
Therefore, the governors of the cities in the alliance had suggested to the Senate that there should be an additional administrative division between the cities and the villages.
Coincidentally, the proposal of the Devers to set up a local council in each city was passed by the Senate. Sesta took the opportunity to inspect the situation in the suburbs of each city and referred to the political systems of other city-states, especially Athens. Finally, he proposed to the Senate that there should be an additional Demo (or township).
However, the Demo that Diónia wanted to implement was not composed like the Demo of Athens. A Demo of Athens had to include a seaside village, a mountain village, and an urban area that were not adjacent to each other. This would be too complicated to manage. Instead, the Demo of Diónia had the surrounding villages under its jurisdiction. This made it easier to manage, thus improving the administrative efficiency.
At the same time, the Chief Administrator of Dionysia, Demo, was selected from the village chiefs of the governed villages with outstanding performance. After being nominated by the city's Chief Administrator, the Dionysia Alliance's Public Officials Management Committee would appoint the Chief Administrator before he could take office. Compared to the village chiefs who were elected by the villagers, Chief Administrator Demo had already entered the public register of the Senate. Moreover, Chief Administrator Demo, whose administrative power was only lower than that of the city's governor, was already considered a mid-level official in the alliance. It was not too much to call him 'Lord'. Furthermore, the village of Palliandorus was under his jurisdiction.
"What Lord? I'm the same as you." The system of Demo had just been implemented but was quickly halted by the invasion of Syracuse. Therefore, Agilas had not yet adapted to this change in identity. "You and I were once soldiers of the Legion and have participated in battles. We know the importance of rations to the army. Without rations, the soldiers will starve. No matter how powerful the army is, it will still be defeated. So, I had to come! I have to set a good example for the people of my place! Apart from the rations that are enough for me and my family to last until next year's harvest, I have donated the rest of the rations. I hope that Lord Devers … Your Majesty can use these donated resources to form a powerful army and completely defeat the people of Syracuse. Our land will no longer be destroyed by these damned enemies! "
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