Chapter 717: The kingdoms year-end assembly
Chapter 717: The kingdoms year-end assembly
Davos announced loudly from his throne, “You need not worry about food supplies, for Theonia has allied with Egypt. Moreover, the Egyptian Pharaoh Nectanebo promised to continue supporting Theonia with large quantities of wheat, free of charge, until the autumn harvest, with the first shipment of nearly 100,000 tonnes of grain already leaving Egypt.”
The statesmen cheered and beamed with joy at the news. Some even shouted excitedly, “All hail, the kingdom! All hail King Davos!”, knowing that this natural disaster no longer threatened the people in the towns of the Kingdom of Theonia.
In this festive atmosphere, the Minister of Military, Hielos, began talking about the kingdom’s military situation last year and the daily army work. He mainly focused on the report about the formation and training of the Eleventh Legion and the camp’s construction, for which he expressed his gratitude to the towns of the Dauni region for their active cooperation.
Next, he recounts the causes of the two wars that took place last year: From Caudini’s repeated violation of the treaty and their invasion of the Campanian League, an ally of Theonia, to the Campanian envoy coming to Thurii asking for help, then to the Theonian envoy going to Caudium to stop the war but turned down, and finally to the Kingdom sending the Third Legion to crush the Caudini’s attempted invasion of the Campanian League…
He then goes on to discuss the Carthaginians’ long-standing support and assistance to Rome, the sinister purpose behind this move and Rome’s attack on Volsci, why Theonia allied with Volsci and sent troops to support them at their request for help, and a summary of the whole battle at Volsci…
At the end of Hielos’ recount, he loudly reminded everyone, “Carthage has taken the initiative to tear up our treaty and announced that they would declare war on Theonia as long as there is a war between Rome and us. According to our intelligence, Carthage is preparing for war, so this year’s war with Carthage is inevitable!”
After Hielos said that, the meeting hall was relatively calm since most of the local council members were well-informed and had paid attention to the major events in Thurii. Furthermore, they would usually visit the statesmen from their hometowns to get information about the assembly beforehand. Thus they didn’t condemn Theonia for the two wars and the possible war with Carthage. On the contrary, they were more concerned about this coming war’s impact on their towns.
For example, the council members of Irna and Compsa feared the coming war would break the peace between Theonia and its neighbours, the Samnites. Would the Samnites, already at odds with Theonia, seize the opportunity to attack the whole of western Campania? Although the Third Legion has gone to garrison the Campanian League, they still hope the Ministry of Military can continue strengthening the region’s defences.
The council members from the Dauni region had the same idea. Especially since the recently incorporated Dauni region has a weak military, unlike the heavily fortified north-western border of Theonia, fearing they will become the focus of the Samnites’ attack and must be taken seriously by the Ministry of Military.
The council members from Sicily are more direct, as the Theonians in Sicily have already begun mobilising for war. They thought the Theonian army in Sicily would not be enough to resist once the Carthaginian army attacked, so they hoped they could receive more troops.
The council members of Henna and Herbita have received some proposals from the Sikeloi tribe, who hope to join the kingdom of Theonia, win the battle and gain fertile land in the coming war.
There were, of course, many more local council members who called for the mobilisation of the legionaries to be postponed for a while to ensure a smooth spring sowing season.
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Of course, Davos and his ministers in the centre of the meeting hall hadn’t responded immediately to the active questions and suggestions of the assembly members. Because once the scribes had taken down their proposals, they would discuss them with the statesmen and local council members over the next few days to find solutions and formulate the final proposals. Only after the majority approved would King Davos sign it, which would become a new law implemented in the kingdom.
The newly promoted statesmen, Alkibiades and Pheidon, attended the Kingdom’s National Assembly for the first time. Since the Kingdom of Theonia had recently incorporated Rhegium, they still had yet to elect council members and tribunal officers, let alone representatives, to attend this assembly. As such, the two were unfamiliar with the proceedings and didn’t do many preparations.
The two of them witnessed the opening of the Assembly, the kingdom’s officials talking about their department’s work for the year, the questions raised by the Assembly members and the heated debates and compromises of the following days, and the proposals they agreed upon in the end… It was an eye-opening experience for both of them, especially for Pheidon, who couldn’t help but sigh, “The Theonians have created a great political system that allows for the centralised administration of a vast territory while satisfying the demands of the various cities through democracy. How can such a kingdom not become prosperous and powerful?”
Alkibiades couldn’t stop himself from saying, “I have heard that this system was initiated and formulated by my brother-in-law!”
“The kingdom of Theonia is lucky to have such a wise and wondrous king!” Pheidon’s repeated praise made Alkibiades, a relative, feel proud. So he said excitedly, “Fortunately, we are also Theonians now!”
Pheidon said, “This is the best decision we have made in the past ten years!”
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While the National Assembly was having a heated discussion on the second day, Davos came to the city hall of Thurii. Since Thurii has the largest population and the most members compared to other cities, they naturally have the largest city hall, accommodating about five hundred members. And this is where they held the annual assembly of the kingdom’s tribunal officers.
After delivering his opening speech, Davos sincerely thanked the tribunal officers for safeguarding the entire kingdom’s security, stability and fairness last year.
The Supreme Censor Sesta then briefly summarised how the tribunal officers had uncovered irregularities in the cities and defended the people’s interest last year. He then highlighted some of the cases of bribery that they had worked with the inspectors to solve. Finally, Sesta named ten outstanding tribunal officers and their outstanding deeds last year.
The already informed ten tribunal officers from the various cities of the kingdom walked to the centre, and Davos personally pinned the medal on their chiton.
This medal is a small silver button carved into a delicate snake shaped like a whip. The idea came from the populace’s nickname of the Tribunal Officers, the Whip of the Kingdom, as they oversaw and whipped the outlaws. This medal is the highest honour a Tribunal Officer can receive, so they were excited when they came on stage to accept King Davos’ congratulations.
Unlike the National Assembly, the tribunal officers were the main character of this assembly. They would take the lead and spend the rest of the time on stage talking about their towns’ situation, problems and proposals. Since most of them came from the towns and villages, they were more accustomed to finding and looking at issues from the perspective of ordinary people, which was of great benefit to Davos and the Minister, as well as the Senate, in understanding the situation at the local level of the kingdom more comprehensively. Therefore, the scribes would carefully record each tribunal officer’s reports and summarise some of their useful suggestions to discuss in the Senate.
At the end of that day’s meeting, Davos would once again thank the tribunal officers for their service to the Kingdom and remind them that a massive war was likely to break out in the Kingdom! During the war, it is crucial to ensure the kingdom’s stability!
He then told them that he hoped the tribunal officers would assist the local council members in their administration, become more alert to the coming and going of suspicious strangers, and prevent unrest. They should also help the families of the citizens serving in the army defend their interests… So whether the kingdom of Theonia can work together to defeat the enemy depends on their efforts!
Davos’ words made the tribunal officers excited. Then, one by one, they made their promise to the king and took his words back to their colleagues in their city.
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While Davos unified the kingdom’s cities through the two assemblies held in the New Year in preparation for the coming war, Cynthia received Adoris, who had come to visit her, at Patroclus’ residence on the southern bank of the Crati. Cynthia then asked the cook to prepare good food and wine to entertain her brother.
“Sister, don’t you want to eat a little? The fish tastes good!” Adoris casually asked as he ate.
Cynthia touched her belly and shook her head, “I would vomit just at the sight of fish and meat, so Mother Cheiristoya had sent a cook to make me dishes suitable for pregnant women.”
“Mother treats you so well!” Adoris exclaimed.
“Were father and mother not good to you?!” Cynthia asked back.
Adoris couldn’t speak for a while, so he quickly buried himself in eating.
Cynthia looked at him and suddenly asked, “You’re usually busy training at the military camp and rarely go home. So why did you come to see me today when you are free? Is something wrong?!”
Cynthia’s sudden question stunned Adoris. He stammered, obviously unprepared, “No…there’s nothing. I just heard…heard that you are pregnant, so I came to see you.”
Cynthia became serious as she displayed her authority as the older sister, “I’m your sister. Do you think I don’t know you?! Stop dawdling and tell me what you want!”