However, none of the senators dared to belittle him. In fact, even if Vesba did not speak much, his presence was a strong show of support for Damabas. He was one of the leaders of the Lucanian faction, and Damabas was a Lucanian. Vesba's speech represented the support of the Lucanian faction in the Senate. In the Senate, the Lucanian faction was equally influential. Vesba's son, Bagoule, and son-in-law, Asistes, were senior senators and important ministers of the kingdom. Now, they had been appointed as regional governors. The other leader, Hemont, was not only the rotating president, but he also had many daughters and was in-laws with many senators. He had a lot of influence in the Senate.
In addition, as the Lucanians had been fighting with the mercenaries led by Dyvers for a long time, their development in the kingdom's military could not be underestimated. Other than Elder Lizaru, who had made outstanding contributions, there were also many Lucanians in the army serving as middle and senior officers …
The two powerful Senate factions clashed in the first round of the election, but it did not make the other senators retreat completely. The third person to recommend the candidate stood up. He was the Minister of Agriculture, Burcos. He was not afraid of the dissatisfied gazes of Strompoli and Vesba. He said calmly, "Everyone, I would like to recommend Micheps as the regional governor of Corsica! I think everyone is familiar with him. Since the establishment of Diónia, he has been working in Turií. He has served as the village chief, agricultural adjutant, the person in charge of the copper mines in Turií, the governor of Demo, the governor of Abyssinia, the governor of Heraclea …
He had a wealth of administrative experience, as well as experience in managing metal mines. As for his experience in managing other races, which town in the kingdom didn't have a mix of races? Every official faced such a problem, and the kingdom had long since developed a set of mature administrative experience, especially for someone like Mikheps, who had direct contact with various races for a long time in government affairs. He had long since gotten used to it.
As for his experience in dealing with the allies, that was not a big problem. The kingdom is already so powerful, and most of the allies have become our vassals, especially the Etruscans. They are extremely reliant on us now, so how could they abandon us so easily … In summary, I think Micheps is the most suitable candidate for the regional governor of Corsica! "
Burkos's words were very direct, but the senators looked at each other in dismay. What's going on? The first election was already a clash between the three major factions since the establishment of Diónia's Senate!
The Turií faction was also one of the most important factions in the Senate of Diónia. They had once suppressed the other factions and dominated the affairs of the Senate. However, the Polyxis incident had dealt a heavy blow to them, causing many influential senators to be imprisoned, such as Enanilus, Masiscus, Orifis … Coupled with the death of the influential Cunogorata, Burcos and Ancitanos, due to their personalities and abilities, did not shoulder the responsibility of leading the Turií faction, which led to its decline in the past few years. However, Turií was, after all, the central town of the Kingdom of Diónia. There were many talented Turií officials with outstanding political achievements who entered the Senate in recent years, and it was showing signs of a resurgence.
The three senators stood in the first and second rows, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle, forming an approximate isosceles triangle, representing the three major factions in the Senate. Since the establishment of Diónia, they had been pushing the kingdom's rapid development. This made the other senators both sigh and vigilant. Looking at the resumes of the three candidates, they all had similar experiences. They were all in their forties, had served as legionnaires when they were young, had made meritorious contributions, and retired from active service due to injuries. It was precisely because of their performance in the military that they were successfully elected as the village chief of their village. Due to their outstanding performance, they were noticed by the important figures of their faction, and were subsequently taken care of.
For example, during the war in the Western Mediterranean, Strompoli was urgently appointed as the governor of Saros. He made some requests to the Senate, and only agreed to take office after they were satisfied. One of the requests was to transfer Flocrates, who had just been appointed as the governor of Castellón for a year, as his deputy to help manage Saros. It did not take long for Flocrates to be recommended as the governor of Santa Iberia. Although at that time, the ranks of the governor of a town in Diónia were not clearly divided. However, as a town under the jurisdiction of the Turií region, many senators believed that the position of the governor of Castellón was only a little higher than that of the governor of Dermo. Since Santa Iberia was a famous financial and smelting center in the Western Mediterranean, becoming the governor of Santa Iberia was much more important. Wiesba and Bagoule had contributed a lot to Damabas becoming the person in charge of the Lucania Iron Mine and the governor of Poseidonia. Similarly, Burcos had a lot to do with Micheps becoming an official in the Ministry of Agriculture and managing the copper mine (the mine was also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture).
Although they had received a lot of care along the way, their political experience in Diónia was about 20 years, far longer than the time that many senators had spent in the Kingdom of Diónia. They could not help but sigh at their inferiority. There were several senators in the three major factions who had such rich political achievements at such a young age. Although this was because the three major factions had participated in the establishment of Diónia and had the advantage of time, it also made the other senators feel the pressure of competition.
But now, due to the good political experience of the three, the senators could not find any obvious flaws in them. So they simply remained calm and unruffled, wanting to see the excitement of the three major factions colliding with each other.
However, just as the ceremonial officer announced the start of the election, Strompoli looked at Wiesba and then turned to look at Hemont. He blinked and suddenly said, "I'm sorry, I choose to abstain!"
There was a commotion in the hall. Many of the senators were stunned. Strompoli might be old, but he was stubborn and would not easily admit defeat in an argument. Why did he withdraw before the battle even started?
Wiesba and Hemont seemed a little surprised.
The ceremonial officer frowned and said loudly, "Sir Strompoli, since you have already proposed a candidate, your abstention now does not count. Does Sir Flocrates agree to abstain?"
Flocrates stood up from the back of the hall. He looked at Strompoli, who was still standing. After their eyes met, Strompoli simply said loudly, "I agree to abstain from being a candidate for the governor of Corsica!"
"Then, next up is Damabas and Micheps —" Before the ceremonial officer's voice trailed off, Burcos said, "I also abstain!"
There was another commotion in the hall. Some of the senators saw the clues and sneered without saying anything.
It was the ceremonial officer's first time encountering such a situation. He looked back at Antares nervously.
Antares motioned for him to remain calm, and then said loudly, "Are there any senators to be elected?"
Due to the withdrawal of Flocrates and Micheps, a few senators saw an opportunity. They proposed candidates with the attitude of giving it a try. Now, including Damabas, there were three more candidates.
Antares nodded to the ceremonial officer.
The ceremonial officer took a deep breath and said loudly, "The nominations are over. The election begins! Senators, please choose the most suitable governor of Corsica from these three candidates! "
The five scribes immediately held a wooden board with the names of the three candidates written on it. Each of them was in charge of an area of the hall. From the back to the front, they began to ask each senator in a low voice about the candidate they had in mind.
Some senators said it out loud, while others did not speak and pointed at the names on the board.
The scribes used a white pen to underline the names they had chosen.
Behind the scribes, there was a prosecutor who was responsible for ensuring that the scribes strictly followed the rules of the hall and did not cheat.
Every year, the Senate held countless elections for the governor of the town. Everyone was already familiar with the process, and the tabulation was soon completed.
Antares did not say the result immediately, but wanted to submit the tabulation results to the Devers first.
The Devers did not take it and waved their hands, "I have said before, the election of the governor is completely up to you. I will not interfere."
Antalys expressed that he understood. He held the wooden board, faced the elders, and read aloud, "According to the statistics, Damabass has obtained 545 votes … So the final election for the Corsica region's chief executive is Damabass! Does anyone have any objections? "
No one in the hall expressed any objections, but many people understood that Damabas had obtained such a high number of votes because Strompoli and Burcos had abstained.
After a while, Antares said loudly, "I announce that Damabas has become the governor of Corsica. Congratulations, Sir Damabas!"
There was a burst of applause in the hall.
Damabas stood up with a face full of joy and bowed to the people around him.
After a while, Antares stretched out his hand and gestured downward. The ceremonial officer immediately shouted, "The meeting continues, please keep quiet!"
"Next, we will proceed with the election of the governor of the northern region of Sardinia." As soon as Antares finished speaking, he saw a familiar figure stand up.
Strompoli coughed lightly and said solemnly again, "I elect Flocrates. The reason for the election has been stated before."
There were a few chuckles in the hall, but it quickly returned to silence.
In the northern region of Sardinia, besides the metal-smelting center Santa Iberia, there was also a relatively wealthy and prosperous seaport town, Saros, and a small coastal town, Olbia, which was also rich in precious metals.
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