Chapter 656
His Majesty once said, 'You can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever.' People like this will not only be severely punished by the law, but they will also be tortured by Infernal Purgatory after death! Therefore, since the establishment of our kingdom's examination system, there has not been a single case of cheating. "
After Henipolis finished speaking, he saw that the three of them were deep in thought. A mischievous feeling rose in his heart, and he could not help but ask, "The official examinations of the Kingdom of Dionysia are usually held in October, but they are occasionally held at other times. It just so happens that the examinations are being held these few days. Can you guess why?
His question made the three of them fall into deep thought. The youngest, Aurelias, asked tentatively, "Is it because of us?"
Henepolis looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot. Plato scolded him sternly, "Don't talk nonsense, Aurelias! The examination for citizens and the selection of officials are important matters of the Kingdom of Diónia. How can it be as casual as playing a game! I think the reason why the Kingdom of Diónia is holding the examination at the last minute must be because there is a shortage of officials, right? "
"That's right." Henepolis nodded and said, "We conquered Downey last year. In order to govern there, a large number of officials were transferred from other regions, causing the other departments and cities to be in urgent need of civil servants. Therefore, the examination has been going on since the beginning of the year."
"But you just said it will only be held in the next few days!" Aurelias said, unconvinced.
Henepolis blinked his eyes and said, "Of course, the next few days are included in this period of time."
The few of them chatted and laughed as they arrived in front of the building.
The official in charge of the examination center, Klintus, who was notified by the guard at the door, quickly came out to welcome them. "Sir Henepolis, welcome to the inspection!" Klintus bowed respectfully.
As a senator of the Senate, Henepolis did not hold a high official position. However, the King of Devers stood behind him, so no one dared to slight him.
"Which departments are conducting the examination today?" Henepolis did not bother with small talk and asked directly.
"Court and Construction."
"Should we go in and rest for a while? Or should we go and take a look now? "Henepolis turned around and asked Plato.
"We're not tired now. We don't need to rest," Plato said.
"Then … let's go to the court's assessment first," Henepolis said after thinking for a while.
Klintus immediately brought them to a "warehouse". There was a wooden sign hanging on the door that read "Courtroom Assessment".
Clyentus motioned for them not to make too much noise and walked in.
The room was very spacious, and there were close to a hundred wooden tables on the ground. Almost all of them were filled with examinees, but it was abnormally quiet.
Only the examiner sitting on the podium imitated the defendant in the court, purposely telling his "own experience" in a disjointed and illogical manner.
The examinees had to write a fluent court record according to what he said. Thus, no one raised their heads to look at Plato and the others who came in. They were all listening attentively, at the same time using an iron pen to record on a wax tablet.
There were also three examiners patrolling the examination hall to prevent cheating.
Plato and the others stood by the door and watched for a moment, then left the examination room.
"Just based on the level of their written records to determine who will be admitted and who will be eliminated?" Plato asked. Obviously, he felt that the examination was a little too simple.
"Of course not. Next, we will have to examine their familiarity with the law. The sum of these two scores will be their final score. This time, they're in luck. The court of the entire Kingdom of Diónia is short of 20 positions, so more than 15 of them will be admitted. "
Clyentus seemed to have read Plato's mind and continued, "Don't think that as long as they pass this examination, they can become judges."
"Isn't that so?" Aurelias asked curiously.
"Of course not." Henepolis took over the conversation and said, "Even if they pass, they will have to start from the court recorder, orderly … and other low-level positions. After two or three years, they will be assessed according to their performance. At that time, not only will they be tested on all the legal provisions, but they will also have to simulate real court debates to test their thinking ability and debating skills, as well as the application of the legal provisions and control of the court … After all these are passed, they can then serve as trainee judges or trainee prosecutors, and then as Judge De Mo, City Judge, and Senior Judge … This process will take about 20 years. If there is a major mistake during the process, they may be kicked out of the court … "
Aurelias could not help but exclaim, "It seems that it's too difficult to be a judge in Diónia!"
"It's indeed difficult." Henepolis said, "The assessment for a judge is the most difficult of all the assessments for a public servant. This is because Diónia emphasizes the rule of law. The judge is the representative of the law. If he is incompetent, it will affect the correct implementation of our laws! "
Upon hearing this, the three of them were touched. After all, in Athens, there were no judges in all the courts. Instead, it was up to the citizens to decide the case. This determined the outcome of a case, and it depended on the debating skills of the plaintiff and the defendant, as well as the emotional guidance of the jury.
"I saw in the room just now that there seemed to be a lot of foreigners participating in the assessment?" Speisippus suddenly said.
"You're talking about the Lucanians, the Bruti, and the Mesapi, right?" Henepolis replied disapprovingly, "There's nothing strange about that. They are all citizens of Diónia, so of course they have the right to participate in the assessment and become judges."
"In fact, in that room, there are not only foreigners, but also a liberated slave who is participating in the assessment," Klintus interjected.
A liberated slave?! Plato and the other two were shocked.
As the person in charge of the assessment center, Klintus was clear about the identity and origin of each candidate. At this time, he explained, "His name is Plaika, and he came from Libya under the rule of Cyrenaica. He was a slave of the army of Syracuse that invaded Greece. After the surrender of the army of Syracuse, he became a slave of our kingdom. He has always performed well, and in the war to conquer Mesapi, he was a member of the supply team. He also made great contributions, and thus obtained his freedom.
Last year, he obtained the citizenship of Diónia. According to the certificate issued by the Turií City Hall, 'All these years, he has worked as a laborer in the court of Turií, a cleaner in the library … He has always performed well, and the money he earned is either to study in the adult classes at school, or to read books in the library … "
After listening to this, Henepolis could not help but be moved. He sighed and said, "It is because of this citizen's hard work that he dares to participate in the judge's assessment. In the kingdom, citizens who were born as emancipated slaves have positions in the finance department, the commerce department, the city hall, and other departments. Only the court hasn't. If he can become a judge, he will set an example for others. Any official position in the kingdom is open to any citizen, as long as they work hard enough! "
"Sir Henepolis, you said it so well!" Klintus praised.
Aurelias and Vesippus were a little confused. It was completely beyond their understanding that non-Greek people and slaves could hold important public positions in the city.
Plato remembered the tactful criticism made by the Devers when they first met him. They said that "his writing of the Republic excludes slaves and foreigners, and his thinking is too narrow. He should give all people equal opportunities, and let the whole society have a kind of upward mobility …"
Plato could not help but look back at the examination room. He was thinking and sighing in his heart. Is this the bearing of a strong kingdom?!
After that, they went to watch the assessment of the construction department.
The assessment of the cultural level of the candidates here was a little lower. The candidates were only required to be able to read and do simple writing. The most important assessment was in an open space. The candidates were required to bring two or three neighboring slaves of the kingdom, use fixed materials, and build a small section of the city wall, a small section of the road, or make a siege weapon within a specified time. This was to test the candidates' hands-on ability, as well as their ability to coordinate and arrange people to supervise and command the construction.
This special assessment was also an eye-opener for Aurelias and Vesippus, and it also made Plato feel refreshed. He thought that the assessment of the public officials of the kingdom of Diónia was the embodiment of his view in the Republic that "the first principle of the establishment of an ideal city is a strict social division of labor".
Just as he reluctantly walked out of the door, Henepolis said with regret, "Tomorrow is the Hercules Celebration of the Kingdom of Diónia. Please forgive me for not being able to accompany you for the time being! I also suggest that all of you participate in this celebration tomorrow and relax. You will find that it is a very interesting celebration! "
After his reminder, Plato and the others, who had been busy visiting the city, realized that the increase in the number of people in the city of Turín and the full number of inns had something to do with the celebration.
However, there were many gods in Greece, and most of the Greek city-states worshiped different patron gods. As a result, each city-state had a lot of celebrations every year, but they were not exactly the same. For example, the Pan- Athens Festival in Athens was unique in the Greek world. The Hercules Celebration was also held in Sparta. However, the people of Sparta advocated frugality and forbade pleasure, so the celebration was extremely simple. Therefore, Plato did not pay much attention to it.
But the next day, they found that the Hercules Celebration in Diónia was very unusual.
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