"Haha, that's because he hasn't had enough!" The Devers said and became excited. "Do you guys want to play?"
"Of course!" The Lucanian youths rushed to answer.
"Alright! I'll be the quarterback. Who's willing to form a team with me and challenge the winner of their game? "The Devers said loudly.
"I'm willing!" Cécima quickly shouted.
Uraza also stood up. Soon, a team of fifty-five people was formed. Apart from the Devers and the guard captain, Martius, who were Greeks, the rest were youths from the Lucanian tribe. The Devers led the unusually excited youths toward the arena. More Lucanians followed closely behind. Due to the Devers's instructions, the guards did not stop them. They could only protect the fifty-five youths in the middle.
Sesta quickly pulled Capus back, hoping that he would command the soldiers of the First Platoon to maintain order in the arena.
The families of the Fourth Platoon were arranged to enter the city while the Turií elders slowly walked toward the arena.
"Vesba, did you really become a Senate elder of the Diana Alliance like your son said?!" He Meng looked enviously at Wesba, who was standing among the elders. He was wearing the same clothes as the other elders, and his every movement seemed to have the aura of a big shot.
This kind of envious gaze greatly satisfied Wesba's vanity. He Meng wasn't the only one who reacted this way. Many of his old acquaintances looked at him differently now. It was a mixture of surprise, fear, and respect. It made Wesba feel like he had returned home in glory. This feeling of satisfaction drowned out the guilt he felt for defecting to the "enemy."
"Of course it's true!" Vesba answered with certainty. Mimicking the other elders, he shook the sleeve of Bolton's robe, revealing the purple sleeve that symbolized Senate elders. "Didn't the Consul just say that the Alliance belongs to the Greeks and the Lucanians? Therefore, it's normal for a Lucanian to enter the Alliance's Senate and become an elder!"
"Sir Devers is indeed very friendly to us Lucanians. The fact that he was able to gain the recognition of those young people so quickly shows that he truly has no prejudice against us! But — "Hemont pointed at the Turín senators in front of him and whispered:" Their attitude seems to be a little worse. "
"There's nothing we can do about it! They are either Turií or Amendarans, and they have suffered at the hands of the Lucanians, and it is impossible for them to change their attitude in a short time. Lord Devers said, 'It takes time to change them.' Fortunately, the Consul is in charge of the alliance! "Vesba also said honestly in a low voice.
"What do you do as an elder of the Senate?" Hemont asked curiously.
"I propose proposals, pass bills, discuss major events in the alliance, and help the Consul come up with solutions …" Vesba said with a hint of pride, "Sometimes, I am also in charge of specific matters. For example, I am now in charge of the affairs of the citizens of Lucania and Lucania Municipality. The Senate will first ask for my opinion on any issues related to Lucania, and I can also put forward my own proposals and plans to protect the interests of the Lucanians. For example, I suggested imposing a five percent tax on the Lucanian citizens in Niutum. Originally, the Greek citizens in the alliance had to pay ten percent for renting their land …" It was obvious that Vesba was bragging. When the proposal was passed, he had not yet entered the Senate.
"Oh! You have done a great thing for us! " Hemont looked at him with admiration, which made Vesba even more proud. Fortunately, he did not forget his main purpose in coming to Niutum. "But the Lucanians only have me and Bagoule in the Senate. Bagoule may stay in Niutum in the future, and my power alone is too weak to argue with so many Greek senators to fight for more benefits for the citizens of Lucania! Sigh … "
"Then … can the other Lucanians also become … become Senate senators?! This way, we can also help you gain more benefits for the Lucanians! "He Meng asked anxiously.
Vesba laughed inwardly. What other Lucanians? Aren't you talking about yourself? What are you pretending for? It's not like I don't know what kind of person you, Hemont, are!
He cleared his throat and said, "Of course, as long as he can make a great contribution to the Alliance, such as getting more Lucaria tribes to join the Alliance, getting more support from the Lucanians, being able to complete some difficult tasks in Lucania Municipality … and so on, making the Senate feel that he can play a greater role in Lucania's affairs, then it will be easy to become a senator …"
Hemont listened carefully, his eyes flashing with a burning light …
… …
In the evening, the Devers and senators listened to Sesta's report at the governor's residence.
"To this day there are two thousand five hundred and three prospective citizens registered at Neutum, of whom two thousand two hundred and one are Lucarians and three hundred and two Greeks. In those days there were six hundred and twenty-seven mixed marriages between Greeks and Lucanians. We have distributed 785 cows and 5,400 sheep, and the remaining 203 cows and 2,000 sheep are going to be distributed to the soldiers of the Fourth Brigade. "When the Asistes said this, Bagoule immediately expressed his gratitude.
"Now the small tribes, captives, and slaves in Niutum have all become prospective citizens of the Alliance. If the Fourth Brigade settles here, then there will be a total of 3,455 citizens in Niutum, including the prospective citizens …" As soon as the Asistes finished speaking, the Devers directly said, "I can tell you clearly that the Fourth Brigade will settle in Niutum and become the backbone of stability and defense of Niutum!"
"This is what the soldiers of the Fourth Brigade hope for! As citizens of the Alliance, we will definitely keep Niutum firmly under control! "Bagoule solemnly declared.
The senators nodded one after another, they were satisfied with this answer.
"Lord Sesta, Bagoule, and Asistes, you were able to stabilize the situation in Niutum in such a short time and achieve so many results. On behalf of the Senate, I extend my sincere respect for your outstanding performance!" With that, the Devers took the lead and applauded with the senators.
In the applause, all three of them seemed a little excited. Sesta was excited because he had used his performance to prove to the Devers that his talent was not inferior to the leaders of the expedition to Persia, thus attracting the attention of the consul; Bagoule was excited because he and his Lucanian tribe's performance had been recognized by the Greek senators, making it easier for them to integrate into the Alliance; and Asistes was excited because he had proved to the Devers that he had the ability to work independently, perhaps the Devers would assign him a more important task next time.
"In addition, I heard from Bagoule that the leaders of the small tribes such as Hemont, Csima, and Uraza are going to send people to the mountains to persuade the tribes that fled into the mountains to come down and join the Alliance. In the past two days, people from Laos have also come to Niutum to ask to join the Alliance," the Asistes added.
"Our cattle and sheep have been distributed. What should we do?" Scombras asked hurriedly.
"These tribes all have livestock. We only need to distribute land to them, and we have enough land," Bagoule replied.
"Even if the 'fertile land between the mountains' has been distributed in the future, we can still distribute it to Turií. Now that the land in Turií has been rented out to the probationary citizens, there is still a lot of vacant land in the west (mainly the higher land west of the Coseni River and the Tyrol River) that has been prepared to be rented out to the free people who have registered to apply for probationary citizenship, "the Devers reminded everyone.
Some of the senators nodded, while others were a little hesitant.
"As for the matter of Laos, we have to put it aside for now. We will wait for Avinogis to come and discuss it," the Devers said hesitantly.
"Will Avinogis come?" Masisakus asked uncertainly.
"He has to come!" Protesilaus said loudly. "The Alliance helped him capture Laos, and he has yet to express his gratitude to us. Now that we have arrived in Neutum, and he still hasn't come. Are we supposed to go to Laos as the Alliance Master?! "
"Maybe he doesn't know we are here yet," Sesta put in a good word for Avinogis.
"Laos has always been in contact with Neutum. With so many of us and such a large force, it is impossible that he has not heard of it. We will know tomorrow if he is coming or not. If he is not coming, then we need to reconsider how much sincerity Laos has towards the Alliance! " The Devers understood that Sesta, as the governor of Neutum, would still need the help of Laos in the future, but as a consul, the Devers needed to consider the overall situation from a higher position.
The Devers' words were met with approval by the senators.
"Sesta, Bagoule, after you settle down the people of Neutum, you have to implement military training. I will ask Felicius to send instructors over to train. Split up the youths of the tribes and try to mix with the Greek citizens. If there are not enough Greeks, mix with the other tribes. We must not let the warriors of the various tribes gather together! Also … Hold as many rugby matches as possible. I think the young people of Lucaria like this game very much! "
"Yes, Sir. Csima and the others have told me many times that rugby is much more interesting than bullfighting. We Lucanians like this kind of intense sport! "Bagoule interrupted.
"Then let them compete, but they must be mixed with Greeks and Lucanians. This will also help the Lucanians learn to speak Greek. Oh … speaking of this, Bagoule, you have to think of a way to let the Lucanians of Neutum learn to speak Greek as much as possible! "
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