ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1130 Meeting
Looking at this place called a naval base by the Dionians, it is not a military port as the Greeks understand it at all. It is simply a town. However, according to the captain of the clipper: all the people living in the base are Dionians. Navy crew and families...

Xenophon couldn't help but think of some of the news he had learned about the Western Mediterranean War before: "In the several naval battles that took place between Dionia and Carthage, the number of warships dispatched by both sides was around four or five hundred... ..." He thought there was moisture in it before, but now it seems that it is probably true...

At this time, Xenophon had realized that he had been making a mistake since yesterday: he looked at Dionia with the eyes he was used to looking at the Greek city-states. Naturally, he felt that nothing was wrong with Dionysia, but in fact, Dionysia Asia is not an ordinary city-state, it is a kingdom, a country similar to Persia!

Although Xenophon adjusted his mentality, he was still shocked for the rest of the trip.

The ship left the port of Tarentum and sailed into the "Gulf of Thurii" named by the Dionysians, but in Xenophon's view, this is not a bay, it is just a sea area, but this sea area It is surrounded on three sides by the land of Dionia and has become a convenient route for coastal towns to trade with each other. Therefore, a group of Spartan envoys constantly saw an endless stream of ships traveling from all directions around the passenger ship, as if they were They are in a prosperous port, but in fact they are on the vast sea, but the Dionians completely turned this sea area into their inland sea.

When the passenger ship arrived at the mouth of the Krati River, they were even more surprised by the prosperity and hustle and bustle of the port. They were shocked by the huge size and large population of Thurii City. Even the few Sis in the envoy group who were the least satisfied with this mission were The Badans also became uneasy, because even the most stupid people can realize that with such prosperous trade and a large population, Dionia is fully capable of sending a large army to Sparta, who were in trouble at the moment, were in big trouble.

Therefore, everyone in the envoy group became a little heavy-hearted, and gradually they stopped even speaking.

When the passenger ship entered the inner city port of Turiyi, officials from the Dionia Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to greet them. However, they did not take the envoys to the Kingdom Hotel first, but took them directly to the palace because King Davos wanted to meet Spar immediately. The messenger.

Walking in the inner city block, Xenophon saw the dazzling Hades colossus on the hill in the distance, which made him feel like he was in the inner city of Athens, but in fact there was still a big difference between the two: Thurii The inner city is obviously much quieter and tidier than Athens, and there are many strange buildings, such as the rumored viaduct, the huge water wheel, the automatic water fountain, and the triumphal arch representing the glory of Dionia. It is different. The arena, the library with its unique shape and profound meaning, the majestic meeting hall...the eyes of the envoys were overwhelmed.

Xenophon knew that Dionia had been established less than 30 years ago, but at this moment he had an illusion: the city of Thurii has a profound and long cultural heritage.

Finally they came to the palace with the Dionian flag flying high. They only let Xenophon serve as deputy envoy, and the envoy was a Spartan general who had made many military exploits. This way, they could monitor Xenophon and prevent him from doing wrong things, and at the same time, minimize criticism from the people) Under the guidance of the etiquette officer, we walked into the palace.

Due to what he had seen and heard before, even the Spartan envoy, who was known for his domineering arrogance, was a little nervous at the moment, not to mention Xenophon. He had already forgotten the joy of meeting his old friend and was filled with thoughts. The question is: How to complete the task assigned to him by the Spartans while preventing the powerful Dionians from retaliating?

"Your Majesty, the Spartan envoy has arrived!"

"Please come in."

The voice was calm and thick, almost without the familiarity it once had... Xenophon calmed down, rearranged his clothes, and stepped into the hall.

In addition to the palace guards and ministers of the kingdom's main departments, there are also six former rotating presidents of the Senate. They are not here by chance, but have been serving in the palace in the past few years, because they are now called "Kingdom Assistants". Minister of State."

In the second year after Dionia conquered Gaul, at a Senate meeting, a newly promoted senator suddenly launched an attack and criticized: The current Senate system is flawed, and the rotating presidents preside over Senate meetings as well. , and at the same time participate in the administrative affairs of the kingdom, which allows them to obtain more important information in advance and use their rights to better help those close to them, which is unfair to other senators.

His words immediately caused an uproar in the Senate. The senators who supported the rotating chairman criticized him one after another. The senators who had been dissatisfied with this for a long time were not willing to be outdone and helped the senator to refute, and gave many examples of the current situation. In recent years, there are examples of elders such as Li who won the election with the help of the rotating chairman...

The two sides had a fierce quarrel on this matter, which did not subside for several days, and even tended to expand. Finally, it was King Davos's strong intervention that restored order to the Senate, but it also led to a crackdown on the Senate. A new reform: the rotating chairman of the Senate will be held by the elders in turn, and there will be no fixed number of people;
In addition to formulating and amending legal provisions, electing regional chief executives, and supervising the administrative performance of middle- and senior-level officials, the Senate will no longer submit all administrative resolutions and foreign affairs of the kingdom to the Senate for review and approval, but will be directly decided by the Kingdom's Administration Office. ;

The Kingdom will establish the position of Assistant Minister, with a total of 6 ministers, whose terms are the same as those of ministers. They will assist the King in managing the administrative affairs of the Kingdom.After the term of office expires, he can be elected by the Senate and approved by the king to take over...

After Davos took advantage of the turmoil in the Senate and reformed it, the powers of the Senate were reduced and its functions became more single. More powers were transferred to the Kingdom Administration Office, making administrative efficiency faster and more efficient.

The reason why the Senate made such a big concession was because since Davos was named "Hades", his prestige in the kingdom was unprecedented. Ordinary senators did not dare to fight against him, but they had the ability to organize everyone. The opposing rotating presidents were caught in the act and became the core of the turmoil. They had no time to take care of themselves. In addition, Davers used the position of auxiliary minister to give them a way out, so his plan to take over power went smoothly in the end. be realized.

Xenophon certainly did not understand the changes in the political arena of the Kingdom of Dionia, and he did not pay attention to the ministers standing on both sides. Since entering the hall, his eyes have been looking at the man sitting high on the throne.

But Davos, who was wearing the crown, stood up, walked down from the throne with excitement, strode up to Xenophon, and gave him a strong hug.

Because things happened so fast, the ministers and guards in the palace had no time to stop them, and they heard Davos' hearty laughter: "Xenophon, Xenophon, I thought I would never see you again in this life. Unexpectedly, with the blessing of Hades, we finally meet again!"

Davos's sudden move was beyond Xenophon's expectations, and he was quite moved. He immediately put aside what he had planned to say when they met, and sighed with emotion: "Yes, since the Byzantine Empire, No, we haven’t seen each other in 27 years!”

"You have a good memory. Davos put his hands behind his back, leaned slightly and looked at him, and asked with a smile: "Do you remember what I said at that time?
Xenophon frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head: "I don't remember."

Davos raised his eyebrows slightly, pointed around, and said slowly: "I said at the time, 'I'm going to Magna Graecia, I'm going to build a country of my own, and invited you to join, but you refused'... ...Twenty-seven years have passed, do you think what I said at that time has come true?"

"His Majesty King Dionia, you have created countless miracles when you were in Persia, so I take it for granted that you will do any amazing things later." Xenophon did not rush replied.

"Hahaha..." Davos laughed heartily again. He patted Xenophon on the shoulder and said meaningfully: "I haven't seen you for so many years, but you have become very good at talking. It's because I have been with you for a long time. The reason why King Agesilaus of Sparta stayed together?”

"It's because everything I saw in Dionia made me feel awe!" Xenophon said sincerely.

Davos looked at him, suppressed his smile, and said seriously: "Every time I read the book "The Long March" you wrote, I will think of the difficult days when we shared weal and woe in Persia, and our friendship. It should not fade away with the passage of time, just like Dionia will always treat its friends sincerely no matter how powerful it is. So over the years, I have specially asked messengers to send you invitations and invite you to Dionia Participating in the Scholars Conference allows us to have a good gathering, but we have never been able to do so..."

"..." Xenophon felt guilty and remained silent without responding.

"It seems that you are not doing well in Sparta!" Davos said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"That's wrong!" Someone nearby immediately retorted loudly: "Xenophon is highly respected in Sparta, otherwise he would not be allowed to serve as an envoy to your Dionia this time!"

Davos's gaze immediately became sharp, piercing the man wearing a red cloak with his hair in a thick braid, and asked in a deep voice: "Who are you?"

"Gathyrus, a citizen of Sparta, was appointed by the Council of Elders to accompany Xenophon on his mission to Dionysia." The man answered in a loud voice without avoiding Davos' sharp gaze.

　Thanks to Hanhai Huangsha for the tip!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)