The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe

The senators looked at each other in silence for a moment. The former mercenary senators were skilled in land warfare, but not naval combat. The Lukarian senators understood mountain warfare but feared the sea. Amendolara had no ports or warships, so its senators naturally had no experience in naval warfare. Only the Thurii senators remained...

Kunogorata glanced at the others and said, "I recommend Enanilus. He was originally a Thurii naval commander."

The other Thurii senators agreed. Davos recognized Enanilus's talent in this area; otherwise, he wouldn't have discussed the establishment of a navy with him in advance. The only concern was that the Enanilus family owned a shipyard, and Davos worried he might misuse public resources for personal gain. But then he thought: how could the shrewd and stingy Melses be easily fooled?

Compared to the army's wealth of talent, there were still too few who understood naval warfare! Davos sighed inwardly.

Finally, Enanilus successfully assumed command of the Dionysian navy. He excitedly declared, "We Dionysians have powerful heavy infantry. I no longer have to worry about my warships being burned in the harbor before they even leave!" It seemed he still harbored resentment over the destruction or capture of Thurii's warships after Crotone's capture.

"The Dionysian army has already earned a reputation for prestige. My role is to lead this newly formed navy to actively cooperate with the army and achieve greater victories for the Dionysian Alliance!" Enanilus declared, and the entire senator, including Amyntas, smiled and applauded Enanilus's inauguration.

Polyxes gazed at Enanilus's back, a hint of scorn on his face.

Davos' second proposal was for the construction of a highway from Castelon to Crimisa to Asprustum. This proposal was unanimously approved by the entire senator. The Dionysian League had already benefited from the construction of the highway, and even if Davos hadn't mentioned it, other senators would have made similar proposals. By now, the Dionysians had developed a significant difference in perspective from other Greeks. They no longer believed that a city-state only needed convenient sea transportation, and that roads were irrelevant. They not only cared about sea access, but also considered well-built roads essential infrastructure for a city-state's development.

However, Davos's second proposal wasn't over yet. He continued, "During our siege of Crimea, messengers carried messages between Thurii and Crimea every day, traveling over a hundred miles back and forth. The horses themselves were exhausted, and sometimes important messages weren't delivered in time. I've been wondering: as the Dionysian League's territory expands, the border cities will only grow further and further away from Thurii, the center of the territory. How can we keep abreast of the situation in other Dionysian cities so that our Senate can respond promptly to any emergencies?"

Davos's question sparked everyone's reflection.

"We have frequent merchant ships, so we can keep abreast of the situation in other cities." Maliji suggested: "We can set up a special small boat to deliver letters, which is fast and will not consume horses."

"There are several problems with delivering letters by sea. First, ships cannot sail during sea storms, especially in winter; second, this only applies to seaport cities, and inland cities like Niutum and Asprustum cannot be delivered; third, during war, letters transported by ship are prone to interception, because the sea is too large to be completely defended, and the army cannot always march along the coastline when marching and fighting. So how can urgent orders and letters be delivered from the ship to the commander in time?"

Davos pointed out the drawbacks of using ships to deliver messages. Maliji was speechless for a moment. He said embarrassedly: "My lord, I haven't thought about it yet."

"It seems that we still have to go by land. We are now building roads to connect the cities of Dionia, so that using mules and horses to deliver letters should be faster and more convenient than before." Cornelus said.

"You're right. We should prioritize land routes, supplemented by sea routes. I think what we should do now is assign dedicated civil servants to deliver mail, making it a daily routine for the city-state. That's why I propose that the Alliance establish a post office," Davos said confidently. "

Post office?" Everyone was unfamiliar with the word Davos uttered; it was clearly something he had coined.

"The main function of the post office is to receive letters and parcels from the people of Dionia, and then deliver them to the recipients..." Davos gestured with his hands and patiently explained, "We have established a post office in every city, staffed with civil servants, who receive and deliver letters every day. At the same time, we will also set up post stations every forty or fifty miles along the highway, also staffed with civil servants. The post stations will have simple hotels and horses. When messengers arrive at the post stations, they can rest, drink water, and then continue their journey... In this way, while the post office serves the people in peacetime, news from other cities will be collected through it every day to the Senate, so that we can understand what is happening in the Dionysian territory; and in wartime, military messengers can use our highway system to go to various post stations to replenish water, change horses, and quickly transmit military orders..."

"What a brilliant idea! You're truly a favored one!" Kunogorata exclaimed in praise. "A postal... a post office would not only benefit the army and the people, but it would also strengthen ties between the citizens of each city, bringing the cities of the Dionysian League closer together! I see... we could even establish post offices in our allies in the future, strengthening our ties with them." As a seasoned former consul, Kunogorata immediately saw the bright prospects that a post office would bring to the Dionysian League.

"I hope it's established soon! Once I get to Crimisa, I won't have to worry about my children so much!" Scumbras said happily.

"I hear you're always scolding them, 'They're disobedient, don't you want to live with them?'" Stromboli asked, feigning surprise.

Scumbras raised his head and said, "Childless people don't understand. Keep your mouth shut."

This remark nearly provoked a quarrel between Stromboli and him, and everyone laughed as they tried to mediate.

Melses stood up with a bitter face: "Mercis, you are building a post office and a post station. How much money will the national treasury have to pay for the expenses of these buildings, civil servants' salaries, and horse breeding?!"

Without Davos's explanation, Maliji said first: "Mercis, don't you understand? Does the post office charge for delivering letters and parcels for the people? There is a hotel in the post station. Do pedestrians have to pay for staying there? I really don't know how you became a financial officer!"

Maliji seized the opportunity to squeeze Melsis.

Melses didn't care at this time. Instead, he asked Davos eagerly: "Do I have to pay to deliver a letter? How much is it?"

Davos nodded: "The establishment of the post office is mainly to deliver news and facilitate the people, so it can't be too expensive. I think one letter per Opol is enough. The price of delivering a package depends on its size and weight. Let Maliji and the future head of the post office discuss this."

"One Opol per letter, I think the people will be happy to accept this price. I'm afraid the affairs of the post office will become very busy in the future!" Cornelus smiled: "Because after we distribute the land this time, many citizens''shares of land'' will be in different cities. This post office is needed to deliver news to strengthen the management of the land."

Cornelus's words resonated with many elders, not only ordinary citizens, but also those who were allocated land. Therefore, they all agreed with Davos's proposal.

Melses, still silently calculating the Post Office's revenue, noticed it was considerable and immediately asked, "Does the Post Office's profits go to the treasury?"

"After deducting civil servants' salaries and various costs, the remaining profits, of course, go to the treasury." Davos's words made Melses beam. "In addition, I propose the establishment of a Road Bureau, which will be responsible for the planning, construction, maintenance, and management of all Alliance roads and roadside facilities."

Davos's proposal was also endorsed by the elders. While they enjoyed the benefits of the highway, they also knew that a highway requires constant and professional maintenance after construction, otherwise it will fall into disrepair within a few years.

"In the future, there will be a fee for using the highway," Melses said, looking at Davos hopefully.

"Free," Davos said.

"Building a highway between cities costs at least 30 talents (this doesn't include the cost of the land, as the land used for roads is pre-allocated before it's distributed to citizens and belongs to the Alliance, so there's no cost involved. Otherwise, including the purchase price, the cost would be several times higher). Subsequent maintenance costs are constantly increasing. Can't we charge a small fee?" Melses pleaded.

"Roads are different from postal services. If we charge a fee, most people won't use the highways we build. This won't affect their travel. Instead, it will mean that the roads we painstakingly built to serve the people will only be used by a few. This contradicts the original purpose of building highways," Davos explained earnestly.

"Your Excellency is right! The people of the Dionysian Alliance enjoy comfortable and smooth roads! They enjoy high-tech, yet affordable medical care! They enjoy convenient and fast, um... postal services! Our citizens can be allocated land simply by serving in the army! Our citizens can hold public office and receive salaries simply by passing tests!... Dionysian has created so many benefits for its people. Can Athens, the most prosperous of the Greek city-states, achieve the same?" Plessinus said passionately.