Chapter 587
"It's possible that they … they cut down trees secretly … or secretly reclaimed the fields in the mountains, or even violated the rules when hunting …" Gabrinus guessed.
According to the Law of Diónia, citizens must obtain the permission of the local agricultural officer before they could cut down trees. Secretly reclaiming land in the territory of the kingdom was not allowed either. The approval of the Ministry of Agriculture must be obtained. Even hunting was not allowed, especially young animals. Otherwise, they would be fined heavily by the Ministry of Agriculture. Of course, it was impossible for the Ministry of Agriculture to have so many people to supervise these illegal activities. It was more dependent on the reports of the people, especially the civil protection officers who were most keen on punishing the people who violated the law.
Karanax did not speak. He thought that his colleague, in order to please his superior, would offend the powerful Laodisian family in Naxos. It was completely unnecessary.
Galadmos was deep in thought. His eyes swept across the mountainside and saw a servant of the Laodisian family standing on the edge of the field, supervising the work of the workers. The foreman, who was quietly looking over, met Galadmos's eyes and hurriedly looked away.
Galadmos's heart skipped a beat and he walked straight over.
The man immediately bowed and greeted Galadmos, and even promised that he would pay his taxes at the tax office in time after the harvest.
Since the incident last year, the Laodisian family had obviously been warned. Every time they met Galadmos, they were very respectful.
Galadmos had no choice but to ask euphemistically, "Are the two slaves who just came down from the top of the mountain yours?"
"Of course not. I was just about to call the workers to arrest the two slaves who came out of nowhere and tried to break into my field. I didn't expect my lord to beat me to it. I still have to thank my lord for your help!" The foreman said gratefully, "It's such a hot day today. My lord, you must be tired and hungry after being busy for most of the day. On behalf of my young master, Paphogris, I invite you and your men to our house for dinner to express our gratitude! Paphogris will be very happy to know that you are going! "
Galadhmos thanked him and declined the offer. Then he looked at the Sikels in the field, and a few Greeks whom he did not know. He did not think that these temporary workers would know the two slaves. Although he had doubts in his heart, he was after all just a tax officer, not a patrol officer. It was not his responsibility to investigate illegal activities. When he returned to the Prospero Town Hall, he would talk to the agriculture officer about this matter. Whether it was illegal tree cutting, hunting, or reclamation, it was all their work.
Galadmos went down the hill. When he reached the foot of the hill, he looked back at the golden wheat field. He vaguely felt that the foreman who had just spoken was still looking at him.
"That person should be Antrus," Gabriel said uncertainly.
"Yes, he is Senator Laodisian's most trusted slave butler, Antrus. I heard that even Paphogris has to listen to him," Cabanax said with certainty.
"No wonder Laodisian put him in charge of the house in Naxos. Paphogris is not a good person. I heard that he dared to molest the daughter of a senator when he was in Turií, so he was chased back to Naxos. Is this true, my lord?" Gabriel asked curiously.
"Of course it's a rumor!" Galadmos immediately denied it. He was not interested in gossiping, but the conversation between his men made him secretly pay attention. He did not expect that the slave who greeted him with a smile was the same Antrus that Strompoli had mentioned, the one who secretly played a role in last year's storm and made things difficult for him for a period of time.
You really can't judge a book by its cover! Galadmos secretly became vigilant. He decided that when he returned to the Prospero Town Hall, he must remind the agriculture officer to do a thorough investigation.
It was already around six o 'clock in the evening when they returned, but the sun was still hanging in the sky at this moment. Galadmos and the other two walked east along the north bank of the Alcántara River.
On the right side, there was a surging river, and the green grass was swaying in the wind. On the left side, there was a continuous wheat field. The golden setting sun shone on the golden wheat seedlings, on the farmers returning from the fields, and on the lively town in front of them … It shrouded everyone and everything in the joy of harvest.
Although it was a small town, the area of Mejaro was much larger than the city of Siculi and had a larger population. Ten years ago, the exiles of Naxos rebuilt the old city near the Naxos Bay, but some of the people living in Mejaro were unwilling to move because their fields were all on the banks of the Alcántara River. If they moved back to the new city of Naxos, they would have to spend a lot of time traveling back and forth every day. As a result, almost half of the people living in the city of Naxos and Mejaro felt empty.
A year later, the people of Siculi sent an envoy to Turií, asking to be incorporated into the Kingdom of Diónia.
Why did Siculi, who had only joined the Diónia Alliance, ask to become a territory of Diónia so eagerly? The reason was simple: Siculi had Naxos to the north and Catanai to the south. These were all cities of Diónia. Siculi was sandwiched on the coastal corridor between the two cities (with Mount Etna to the west), and its territory was small. The originally occupied town of Mejaro was also taken back by Naxos, so more than half of the citizens of Siculi had no land. How could they not be envious when they saw the people of the two cities getting a piece of land and living a prosperous life? As a result, the people of Siculi held a citizens' meeting and unanimously asked to become citizens of Diónia.
Many of the Siculi who became citizens of Diónia went to Catanai and got a piece of land, and some came to Mejaro which they were familiar with, making the population of the town of Mejaro far exceed that of Siculi and the new city of Naxos.
Therefore, there was a proposal from the elders of Naxos: simply upgrade Mejaro to a city and send a governor to manage it.
This proposal was strongly opposed by the elders of Naxos, and the reason for their opposition was simple: because Mejaro was originally in the territory of Naxos.
Antonios, who was the governor of Naxos at that time, also expressed his opposition. After all, if Mejaro was separated, the direct annual tax money that Naxos could get would inevitably be greatly reduced (the Kingdom of Diónia implemented a tax sharing system, the central government and the cities split the tax 50/50).
It was not until the continuous influx of new citizens of Diónia that the population of Naxos caught up with the population of the new city of Naxos, which reduced the controversy a lot. However, the people of Diónia still jokingly called Naxos the "Two Cities of Naxos".
Indeed, in order to better manage Mejaro, every governor of Naxos had to send an administrative adjutant to Mejaro to be responsible for the management of this small town that was not a city, but more like a city.
The city adjutant was a new official position in the Kingdom of Diónia. Depending on the size of the city, a governor of a city would be equipped with one to three administrative adjutants. These adjutants would assist the governor in managing the city affairs, and each of them had their own division of labor. When the governor was away for important matters or was seriously ill, they would assume heavy responsibilities. Mejaro also became a place where the Senate of Diónia trained the elders who lacked administrative experience. The elders were appointed to directly serve as the administrative adjutant of Naxos and the manager of Mejaro. In the territory of the Kingdom of Diónia, there was also a city known as the "Two Cities", and that was Crimissa. It was just that the town built on the marshy plains was smaller than Mejaro.
The population of the new city of Naxos eventually grew, but the population of Siculi never increased. There were also some elders who suggested that Siculi was too small and that it was too shabby. They suggested that it be better to remove the name of a city and downgrade it to a small town, just like Tauromenian, which would save a lot of administrative expenses. (Because Tauromenian was too strong and the land was too barren, Tauromenian was designated as a military fortress in Sicily by the Devers. It was also one of the training camps of the Eighth Legion.)
Such a proposal was, of course, strongly opposed by the elders of Siculi. No one wanted to see their mother state downgraded, so the matter was left unsettled.
Galadmos thought about these anecdotes about Mejaro and walked into the town. His office was in the town hall, which covered the entire middle and lower reaches of the Alcántara River. All the officials of the five Demos worked here instead of in their own Demos area. This was also another administrative feature of Naxos in the Kingdom of Diónia.
Ten years ago, the First Legion occupied the square around the Mejaro Town Hall. After a difficult battle, they finally defeated the Syracuse coalition army, laying the foundation for Diónia to finally own the Catania Plains. To commemorate this great achievement, a memorial pillar was erected in the middle of the small square next to the Town Hall. At the top of the pillar was a statue of a soldier of the First Legion holding the flag of the First Legion.
There were two small temples not far from the Town Hall. One was the Temple of Hades, and the other was the Temple of Demeter. There were already temples for these two gods in Naxos, but the people who lived in Mealor proposed to build two more temples in Mealor on the grounds that the temples were too far away and inconvenient to worship, but they were rejected by the chief executive and the council. As a result, the people of Mejaro collectively raised funds to build two small temples, which was another feature of Naxos.
Although it was already dusk, there were still many people going in and out of the two temples. Most of them were farmers who had just returned from the fields, praying for the upcoming harvest.
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