Novels online

Chapter 927

The road surface of the neighborhood was filled and compacted. Sewers were dug on both sides, and the road was widened enough for two carriages to travel side by side. Walking on the road, there was a sense of security that had never been there before. The houses in the neighborhood were gradually being demolished. (The reason why the houses were being demolished with great fanfare was that the civilians living in Raventine were basically assigned to houses close to the center of the city. Other than the Temple of Diana, the rest of the city was basically empty, so it was convenient for renovation.) After the rubble and tiles were cleared, the houses here would be planned and rebuilt, and the previous crowded scene would no longer appear.

Stolo's eyes swept across the unrecognizable neighborhood and looked at the brand new road. He could not help but sigh in his heart. The slums in the west of the city had tortured the people of Rome for ten years. Every year, the Senate would have many debates on how to transform it, but after ten years, it had not changed at all. However, under the rule of the people of Diónia, it had been completely changed within a month. Although they had some advantages from the war, it had to be said that the people of Diónia were indeed very decisive and efficient. They really wanted to improve the lives of the people of Rome …

Recalling what Mainas said, Stolo's heart did not seem to be so tangled anymore. Walking through the slums, he saw some people gathered in front of the arena in front of him. Most of them were the citizens of Diónia who had migrated here, and a small number of people from Rome. They were busy under the command of two priests in white robes.

Stolo knew what they were busy with. It was said that the birthday of Hades, the protector of the Kingdom of Diónia, the Greek god in charge of the law and the underworld, was coming soon. Every year, Delnia would hold a grand celebration for him at this time.

Ten days ago, the governor of Rome, Asistes, announced that Rome would also hold a celebration for Hades. Stolo did not feel much about it. Rome used to be a city-state that believed in many gods. There were many foreign gods, such as Etruscan, Sabine, Wolsey … and even many new gods. However, this event not only made the citizens of Diónia who had just migrated to Rome rejoiced, but also received positive responses from the Temple of Diana and many civilians of Rome. This was a little strange.

However, after careful analysis, Stolo felt that it was reasonable. As far as he knew, after the priest of Hades came to Rome, he was gentle and friendly to the civilians of Rome. He often consulted and treated them for free, and actively provided help to the people who had difficulties in life. Therefore, although the Temple of Hades had not been built in Rome, and there was only a simple altar for Hades, more and more people went to worship him. Therefore, when the people of Rome heard that the celebration for Hades was about to be held, they were very enthusiastic.

According to the announcement issued by the City Hall, on the day of the celebration, not only would the believers solemnly worship the Hades, but according to tradition, some of the kingdom's slaves who had performed well would also be granted freedom. More importantly, the names of the soldiers of Rome who had joined Diónia and died in the war would be engraved on a stone tablet and enshrined in the Temple of Hades. Their souls would be blessed by the King of Hades after they died. These practices naturally attracted the attention of the majority of the people of Rome and the slaves.

What was more, there would be a rugby tournament after the celebration. According to the announcement, each of the Demos in Rome must send a team to participate in the tournament. In addition, towns directly under the control of Diónia, such as Venus, Gabi, Pheidina, and other towns would send a team to participate in the tournament. It was not hard to imagine that it would be a grand tournament. Although most of the people who participated in the tournament were citizens of Diónia who had migrated to the Latin region, there were also some Rome civilians who liked novelty and excitement. Hence, the Piazza del Mars was bustling with activity these few days. The rugby teams formed by the Demos in Rome were actively training there.

To be honest, even Stolo himself was a little tempted. He wanted to come to the arena to watch the game. He wanted to see how the popular rugby game in the Kingdom of Diónia would perform in an official game.

Stolo stood in the distance and watched the group of people working together to erect a tall statue in front of the entrance of the arena. They then began to fix the pedestal.

The statue was of a man with thick black hair and an extremely strong body. He was holding a rugby ball in his hand and making a throwing motion. The gold foil on his body shone brightly under the sunlight.

Was this the Hades that the people of Diónia believed in?! Although Stolo was a little curious, he did not take a closer look. He squinted his eyes for a while before he turned around and left.

As he walked further, the streets became a little more crowded because most of the people passing by were carts. The carts heading east were filled with freshly harvested wheat that had basically been shelled, while the carts heading south were filled with sacks of flour.

September arrived with a bountiful harvest. The citizens of Rome who had joined the Kingdom of Diónia, according to the agreement they had with the City Hall, harvested their newly distributed wheat. They handed over two-thirds of the harvest and kept the rest for their own use. (Since the Dionysian Army had occupied Rome, these farmlands were supposed to belong to the army. However, the Asistes had made this decision after careful consideration in order to win the hearts of the people of Rome and stabilize the order. At the same time, they also wanted to reduce the burden of food and material aid from the City Hall to the citizens of Rome who had joined the Kingdom of Rome. This proposal was approved by the Devers. Not only could the citizens of Rome obtain all the harvests from their original farmlands (if they had any farmlands in the past), but they could also obtain the additional income for free. Naturally, they were overjoyed. What made them even more excited was that the fertile land would completely belong to them. They only needed to pay a small amount of land tax every year. Therefore, these days, Rome and the nearby towns that were occupied by Diónia were enveloped in the joy of harvest.

A few days later, the City Hall once again gave the citizens of Rome a surprise. The announcement clearly told them that the City Hall had funded the construction of several water mills, which were designed and built by Diónia's engineers day and night. They could grind flour for the citizens of Diónia for free. In fact, the construction of the water mills was not as time-consuming and laborious as the announcement said.

The materials were ready-made. After the attack on Rome, many siege weapons were discarded. The engineers and carpenters were also ready-made. The Devers brought a team of more than 500 engineers, and this number did not include the engineering battalions of the legions. The technology was ready-made. The water mills were developed more than 10 years ago by Martiris, the deputy dean of the School of Mathematics in Diónia, and it had become a common large-scale public facility in the cities of the kingdom. The only thing that was needed was whether the administrative officials could consider all these on behalf of the people in a timely manner. Not only did Asistes consider all these, but he also immediately started to implement them. Finally, the construction of the water mills was completed just after the harvest ended.

Asistes had served as the chief executive of many cities in the kingdom. He understood the feelings of the people. He knew that although the harvest was joyous, it was a time-consuming and laborious task to remove the husks of wheat and grind the flour.

Before the emergence of the water mills, the Greek people used stone mills to grind flour. The thick stone rollers had to be pulled by horses or donkeys. In order to prevent the wind, rain, and birds from pecking at them, they had to be carried out in a relatively closed hut, and they had to be watched by someone. The constant crunching sound of the rolling stones rubbing against the stone mills was not only unbearable to the people, but also to the animals. They would refuse to work, and sometimes they would even go crazy and hurt people. Therefore, for the slaves of the rich families, guarding the mill was the biggest punishment. Therefore, Asistes believed that the introduction of the water mills would deepen the recognition of the people of Rome to the Kingdom of Diónia.

What was a water mill? When the people of Rome saw the announcement for the first time, they were puzzled. After all, Rome was an inland city-state. It was mainly agricultural, and its trade was not developed. In the past, it had little contact with the Kingdom of Diónia in the south, and the people knew even less about the outside world. It was normal that they did not know about this new invention that had been widely welcomed by the people of southern Italy.

However, since the people of Diónia came to Rome, they had gradually won the trust of the people of Rome through a series of practical actions. Therefore, many people of Rome drove the pack carts filled with wheat to the riverside of the Piazza de Mars. (The engineers of Diónia had inspected the river near the city of Rome and found that the Tiber River near the Island of Tiberina had a faster current due to the diversion in the middle of the river. Therefore, they built a few water mills here.) As a result, they were pleasantly surprised to find that this magical device could rotate continuously. Not only could it grind flour, but it was also very efficient. The quality of the flour produced was also very good. There was no need for people to stay there all the time to watch over it, and there was no need to worry about the animals getting tired. Therefore, the news quickly spread from one to ten, and from ten to hundreds. The people of Rome all over the city, either carrying burdens or driving the pack carts, lined up by the riverside of the Piazza de Mars every day, just like now.

The people who had just returned from the riverside of the Piazza de Mars were loudly boasting about the magic of the water mills to the people who were preparing to rush there. Some of them even opened their flour bags to show the results of their labor, which made the people even more eager to rush to the riverside.

Listening to these people, the people sighed from time to time, "No wonder Diónia is so powerful. Even the tool for grinding flour is so magical!" Everyone seemed to be proud of the people. Stolo felt sour in his heart. He was afraid that not long after, the Rome that had raised them would be completely forgotten by them!

Stolo hastened his pace home. When he arrived at the hill of Sirio, his mood improved again because there were people who greeted him in a friendly manner, "Stolo, you're back so early today!"