ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1039 The mission of Crotokatax
Since the demolition, clearing and road reconstruction of the old city in southern Rome have been completed, the remaining residential construction has been contracted by real estate merchants from the Kingdom Chamber of Commerce. Construction officials only need to supervise and inspect, so the manpower of the Rome Construction Office is freed up. .

However, the most important thing in the construction of the entire Roman city is the temple. According to the requirements of Assistes, the scale of the new temple in the Roman city should be roughly the same as that of the main temple in Thurii. The key point is that it is not one but Two (Temple of Hades and Temple of Diana), and was also approved by King Davos.However, to build such a temple requires a lot of manpower and material resources. Dionia, which is in the middle of the war, is now more difficult to bear. The stone bridge over the Taibo River is not a Roman vertebral bridge, but a bridge connecting Hexin Island.

Since Dionia occupied Rome and established a new alliance order with surrounding forces, peace and tranquility have been restored throughout Latium and Etruria. With the vigorous promotion of Asistes, Rome and the north The wealthy Etruscan alliance gradually began to trade.

There are two ways of transportation between Rome and the Etruscan city-states in the north: one is the waterway, and the port of Ostia is now under construction; the other is the land route, but the Roman Vertebra Bridge was not originally built for trade, it was a bridge. It is not wide and is still a wooden bridge, which is increasingly unsuitable for the development needs of Rome.

Therefore, Asistes set his sights on the two bridges on the island in the middle of the river that had been destroyed due to the war. This could be regarded as a kind of compensation from the kingdom to the original residents of Rome. For this reason, he also asked the construction officials Passion suggested that it would be best to build a stone bridge at the beginning of the new year to show the Roman people the new atmosphere after joining the kingdom.

Pasion made a promise to Asistes. After accepting the task, he led a group of men to survey the terrain, select the location for building the bridge, and design drawings... The labor was sufficient, and the materials were basically ready (the burning and demolition of Rome) There are a large number of regular-shaped stones left in the temple, and it does not take long to pour cement. In addition, the construction department has built many stone bridges in the kingdom over the years and has rich experience, so the construction official Passion thought that building such a small bridge should be a sure thing, but unexpectedly something went wrong at a critical moment.

"So... what do the engineers say?... Can it be repaired quickly?!" Crotokatax asked eagerly. Although he has been supplementing his knowledge about construction during this period, he is still a Novice, and tomorrow Chief Executive Asistes will lead the city hall officials to the site to congratulate the completion of the stone bridge. After long-term teaching by Daves, he knows that this stone bridge is now more than a simple project. At the same time, it was given a deeper political significance, so he also felt anxious.

"The bridge foundation must be re-consolidated and the bridge piers reinforced. They judged that it will take about seven or eight days..." Passion hesitated and said sincerely: "I am going to explain this to Lord Asistes now. I hope... you can come with me!"

Although Clotokatax is now Pasion's subordinate, he is also the prince of Dionia. Pasion usually treats him very politely, but now he is asking for help from him, and his attitude is even more humble.

"Okay!" Clotokatax did not hesitate.

The two rushed to the residence of the city lord in Rome, and were quickly received by Assistes.

After listening to Pasion's explanation, Asistes's face darkened: "I thought you came to see me so late to tell me that the construction department has made all preparations to welcome tomorrow. Celebration!' Unexpectedly, something went wrong!"

Acestes angrily yelled: "Why didn't you find it before?! We'll tell you when it's the end! Tomorrow, not only our city hall officials, but also many Roman people will go to Mars Square to celebrate. The matter is so big, what should we do? end!"

Pacion's face was pale, his lips moved, but he didn't dare to say anything, he just looked pitifully at Clotokatus.

In the past, Assistes had always given Crotokatax a gentle and amiable impression, but this time the important minister of the kingdom showed him his majestic side, and he said bravely, "My lord——"

Asistes immediately interrupted him: "Krotokatax, don't talk, you just arrived at the construction site not long ago, this matter has nothing to do with you."

When Clotocathus heard this, he knew that Asistes was taking care of him and wanted to keep him out of the matter, but because of this, he put aside his worries and expressed his feelings directly: "My lord, as a member of the Roman Construction Office, I The low-level construction officer has been following Master Pasion for more than two months and is responsible for supervising the construction of this stone bridge. If something goes wrong with him, of course I also bear a lot of responsibility!"

Asistes looked at Clotokatax, who had a sincere attitude and a guilty look on his face, then turned to look at the uneasy Pasion, and was silent for a moment.

This silence made the two visiting people feel a little uneasy.

After a moment, Asistes said: "It's okay for the officials in the city hall to postpone the celebration for a few days and they will cooperate well. However, the people of Rome and its surrounding towns came excitedly. As a result, They saw nothing and were persuaded to go back... How angry would they be with the city hall?!"

Having said this, Asistes couldn't help but emphasize his tone again, thinking about the trust that the city hall had built up among the Roman people in the past few months since he became the administrator of Rome. And his authority may be destroyed because of this incident, which makes him feel very angry.

"My... my lord..." Seeing that Asistes's tone was a little loose, Pasion immediately said nervously: "The inclination of the bridge pier is invisible to ordinary people. What they see is a complete stone bridge. It's just that we will block both ends of the stone bridge and tell them, 'For the sake of beauty, the stone pillars on the bridge railings need to be carved, and they are temporarily closed to traffic...'"

"It seems that you have been prepared for a long time. Do I have to send you some more carvers?!" Asistes sneered and said in a deep voice: "Thousands of people are coming from afar. , gather at the Tiber River, and can only take a look at the stone bridge, so you are not afraid that they will have grievances and cause riots!"

Pacion was startled and didn't dare to answer.

After all, Clotokatax was young, with a flexible mind and quick reactions. He suggested: "Sir, we Turiyi people are used to creating a lively and joyful atmosphere in the New Year. Since the people will gather at Mars Square tomorrow, On the banks of the Tiber River, it is better for us to take the opportunity to hold a game, which not only achieves the purpose of celebration, but also diverts the attention of the people."

"It's a competition..." Asistes's heart moved, he pondered for a while, then shook his head: "The time is too tight, there is no time to prepare..."

"How about fishing? Within a certain period of time, see who catches the most fish, and then we will rank them and give rewards..." Clotokatax said immediately. The reason why he could give advice so quickly was because In the past, in early spring, Davos would take his family to the banks of the Craty River at the foot of King's Hill for family fishing competitions. The atmosphere was very warm and happy, and Crotokatax missed it very much.Although it is not yet early spring, the temperature has begun to slowly warm up, and the Tiber River is not frozen, so fishing is no problem.

Asistes was somewhat persuaded by Clotokatax. After all, the preparation for the fishing competition is relatively simple. Everyone can hold a fishing rod and sit down by the river, which is relatively easy to operate.

Asistes looked at Paxion again and asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure you can completely repair the stone bridge within 7 days?!"

"Sir, I swear in the name of Hades, I promise that in 7 days, the stone bridge will be completely built so that it can be used normally without any problems!"

"Because of this mistake, I will first make a note in your examination file. If the bridge construction still fails after 7 days, then your official position will be over!" Asistes warned coldly. .

Passion even claimed that although demerits on performance appraisals would affect his promotion, he managed to survive under the hands of Asistes, who was known for his strict demands, but he knew that most of it was due to Clotocathus. Credit, so he nodded to the Dionian prince to express his gratitude.

"You go back and make preparations first. I have to discuss tomorrow's fishing competition with Clotokatax." Asistes raised his hand to chase people away. Paxion didn't dare to stay long, so he hurriedly said goodbye and left.

There were only two people left in the living room, and Asistes's expression returned to normal. He sighed kindly: "Your Highness, you shouldn't have come tonight. Paxion dragged you here just to take advantage of him." Your kindness helped him get out..."

"Uncle Asistes." Clotokatax said seriously: "I know Lord Pasion's intention, but he is really working hard. Ever since he took on the important task of building the stone bridge, he has been busy from morning to night. Towards the end of the night, I didn’t see him slacking off at all, and he also took great care of me, teaching me a lot step by step... In both public and private matters, I couldn’t stand to see Master Pasion suffer other consequences because of this mistake. His future was blocked because he really threw himself into his work and wanted to build this stone bridge!”

"You are worthy of being called the 'merciful prince' by the people. Your Highness, you are still as compassionate as before!" Asistes praised and smiled: "Ten days ago, Your Majesty wrote to me asking, How was your performance in Rome? I complained to him well, saying, 'You don't pay attention to the image of Prince Dionia at all. The palace guards complained many times that you refused their protection. Every day, you talk to those Romans recruited by the construction department. , Latin citizens worked together, learned their Latin language, and sometimes bought food at their own expense to give them extra meals because they were too busy...'

Later, His Majesty wrote me a reply. Guess what he said in the letter? "

(End of this chapter)