Hemont's words moved the ministers. Even the Devers was a little stunned. He could not help but say, "We have indeed neglected the issue of adult citizens in the past. Fortunately, you reminded us in time, Hemont. We need to pay attention to this issue. Of course, we should cherish these young people, because they are the future of the kingdom! So after the meeting, Hemont, Raphael, and Burcos, the three of you will discuss the issue of whether and how the adult citizens should be given land, and come up with a draft plan. We will discuss it at the next meeting, and then submit it to the Senate for approval. "
"Yes, Your Majesty," the three of them replied in unison.
"Alright, now let's return to the issue of 'how to reinforce the Etrurian Alliance'. I think Heraclid's proposal of 'building a military fortress on the land given to us by the Etrurian Alliance' is a good idea.
Cypross's proposal of 'recruiting free citizens and forming a border army' is also a good idea.
The problem that Burcos mentioned should really make us think deeply. The reason why Diónia could grow so quickly is because we have been carrying out the 'Accept Immigrants' Act for a long time. That's why we have the support and help of the free citizens, and we have been successful in every war. Today, even if the kingdom has become stronger, we still have many enemies, and in the future, we will encounter more powerful enemies.
Also … If a pool is not fed with running water, it will easily rot; if a country is too closed, without fresh blood, it will lose its vitality. Therefore, I don't think we should completely stop the previous Immigrants Act, but how to solve the border defense problem of the kingdom and the alliance, and at the same time give other free citizens a chance to become citizens of the kingdom, and not let our adult citizens feel that it is unfair? This requires us to think carefully and come up with a good and practical solution! "
The Devers summarized and evaluated the ministers' discussion in a slow manner, and at the same time, drew a general framework for the ministers in a firm tone, so that they would not deviate from the direction of the discussion and fail to achieve the ideal result he wanted.
The Devers's words caused the ministers to think deeply.
Not long after, Cypross, who had been thinking, said, "Your Majesty, regarding this problem, I think it will be easier to solve as long as we set a different period for the foreign free citizens to become citizens of the kingdom.
Free citizens who join the army and guard the border only need to serve for five years, and then they can become official citizens of Diónia. Other free citizens will have to work in the kingdom for more than ten years before they can become official citizens.
This way, the free citizens who wish to become citizens of the kingdom as soon as possible will be willing to take the risk and join the border army. Meanwhile, the free citizens who are unwilling or unable to take the risk will still have a chance to become citizens, as long as they are willing to slowly endure in the kingdom. "
The Devers stroked his chin and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "This is a good idea, does anyone have any opinions?"
Seeing that the Devers had agreed, the other ministers did not have much objection, but after discussing the details, they finally perfected the new bill: all foreign free citizens who are recruited by Diónia and join the Dionysian Army will become official citizens of Diónia after serving for five years; other foreign free citizens will have to live in Diónia for ten years, pay taxes on time, and abide by the law before they can become official citizens of Diónia. If they pass away during this period, their family members can continue the period, and they will still be able to become citizens of Diónia …
After discussing for a long time, there was finally a result. Just when everyone was relieved, they heard the rotating president, Lucius (Due to the death of Cornelus and the seclusion of Vespa, Lucius was already 65 years old a year ago), wanted to resign from all his posts, citing his poor health and inability to cope with the complicated government affairs. What he said was true. After the war in the western Mediterranean, the territory of the kingdom of Diónia had greatly expanded, the population had skyrocketed, and the resources had become richer. Therefore, a large number of merchants, free citizens, and some envoys from the cities and forces had poured into the central city of Turií, causing a huge increase in government affairs in the region of Turií. The number of officials had almost doubled, but there was still a lack of manpower. But the Devers repeatedly urged him to stay, and in the end, he only resigned from his position as the chief executive of the region of Turií, but still remained as the rotating president. In fact, many of the elders regarded him as the head of the five rotating presidents. "Your Majesty, now that we have established a new immigration law, we have decided to recruit free citizens to defend the borders of Etruria and our Iberian territories, so how many people do we need to recruit?"
The Devers looked at Alexis.
Alexis had already considered this, and he said without hesitation, "I have already said before that the northern border of Etruria needs about three to five thousand people. Considering that there will be continuous casualties in the process, we also need to constantly replenish. If we recruit more people at the last minute, it will take time to train them, so it is better to recruit a legion of people at once. This way, we can better use legion tactics to train them. In the future, when we fight with the regular army of the kingdom, it will be more convenient to command.
And in the Iberian territories, we also need a legion of people to better protect the safety of the people in the territory. If we help the allies to reinforce a legion and defend the territory of the kingdom, but the number of soldiers is still not enough, I am afraid that the people will be dissatisfied with this.
It is best that we recruit another legion to prevent a sudden invasion of a large number of enemies. It will be too late for the kingdom to mobilize the military, so we can first recruit this legion to buy some time for us … "
Hearing this, Lucius's face was already a little ugly, "Three legions, more than 24,000 people, this is a huge number. Has Lady Alexis thought about how much the kingdom will pay for this?!"
Alexis was a little confused, "Pay? There is no need for any pay, right? After these freedmen become soldiers, they eat in the barracks, live in the barracks, and after completing their service, they will receive rewards from the kingdom, become official citizens, and get a share of land. Do we still need to pay them extra? "
Lucius, who had been the administrator of Turií for many years, explained unhurriedly, "A foreign freedman living in the kingdom, as long as he is diligent enough, can earn at least 15 drachmas a month. After a few years, when he becomes an official citizen of Diónia and gets a share of land, he will have saved a lot of money. He does not need to borrow from the Cristoia Bank at all, and he will have money to build a house, buy wheat seeds, buy livestock, and even buy a slave. His life will quickly stabilize. Not to mention these freedmen, even if it is the kingdom's public servants, Lord Raphael, does your slave camp also pay them some money? "
"Yes, but very little," Raphael replied.
"But at least there is," Lucius said slowly. Lysias said slowly, "I heard that there was a very strong young slave in the slave camp in Tuliyi. Every time he did more work than the other slaves, he received a lot of extra rewards. He saved all the money, and when he got his freedom, he actually went to the slave market to buy a female slave to be his wife …"
"This is true. This slave is called Vainram. He works very hard and always gets rewarded. So he only stayed in the Turií slave camp for three years before the slave administration gave him his freedom last year." Raphael said with a smile, "Because he has been a slave since he was young, it is said that he has never been with a woman. In the slave camp, he always heard other slaves talking about that kind of thing, and he was particularly curious, so he did such an impulsive thing."
When he finished, many of the ministers smiled.
"Lord Alexis, you see, even slaves are paid, not to mention these foreign freedmen who will become soldiers of the kingdom and guard the border for us. Are they treated worse than slaves? If that is the case, it will seem that we are too harsh, and it will also make them dissatisfied, which will affect their enthusiasm for recruitment and future battles. Am I right, Lord Alexis? "
Alexis had always been engaged in military affairs, so she did not know much about the kingdom's social life. After hearing these words, she could not help but feel a little embarrassed. She had no choice but to frankly say, "Thank you for your reminder, Lord Lucius. I have indeed neglected this problem. After I return to the Ministry of Military Affairs and discuss with my colleagues, we will decide how much to pay these freedmen soldiers."
"This is not just a matter of pay." The other rotating chairman, Cydorum, interrupted, "Their military supplies, their weapons, their material consumption … I am afraid that the kingdom will have to provide these. Tens of thousands of people! Their consumption is not a small number, and His Majesty has just said that this is not a temporary arrangement, but a long-term decree. It is a new and important decision of the kingdom! This means that the strong support of the Etrurian Alliance is only temporary. For our kingdom, this will be a large long-term expenditure. But where will this large sum of money come from? "
After Cydorum finished speaking, the senior ministers and the rotating chairman looked at each other. They all understood that this was the difficulty of implementing this new decision.
Alexis was stunned for a moment, then immediately replied, "Of course it will be from the national treasury."
As soon as she finished speaking, the impatient financial officer Archipedes immediately shouted, "No! This is not allowed! I have already said that the national treasury is tight. There is no extra money to support such a long-term mercenary army! "
Alexis, as an important minister of the kingdom, was directly contradicted by Archipedes, who was only a mid-level official. No matter how self-restrained he was, he could not keep his face at this moment. He immediately said in a deep voice, "How many soldiers have died in our army? We have seized so many gold and silver mines for the kingdom, obtained so much good quality land, and increased so much wealth for the kingdom. Now we need some help from the national treasury for the army. Is this how your financial department treats the Ministry of Military Affairs?"
Archipedes felt a little guilty after being glared at by Alexis, but he remembered Mersis' words. "We guard the treasury for the kingdom, and we must be like a mother protecting her child. We must not give in easily. Even if it's an extra Opol, we must haggle for a long time. Only then will we be qualified to be a finance minister, and only then will His Majesty think highly of us!"
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