As a sign of respect, all the statesmen stood up at this moment. However, that wasn't unplanned but a bill passed by the Senate of the kingdom of Theonia, stating the need to observe courtesy when the king attends a Senate meeting. And the Grand Inspector may exercise his authority to expel the statesman who doesn't comply.
And the palace guards' entry into the venue was due to the sharp increase in the number of statesmen after the South Italian War. Even though the guards at the Grand Senate Hall’s entrance would search the statesmen to prevent anyone from carrying weapons, some statesmen who had just joined Theonia had deep conflicts with each other, such as Crotone and Locri, the statesmen of Terina and Hipponion, and so on. Especially in a debate where a disagreement would often turn into a conflict that even threatened the safety of Davos. Thus, Marigi and Plesinas proposed, with the consent of more than half of the statesmen present, to allow the palace guards under Davos to enter the venue to protect the king and help supervise the order in the venue. Of course, after ten years of operation and some improvements, the Senate meeting has become much more orderly.
Davos then stared at the nearly 200 statesmen, most of whom were concentrated in the front row so that they could hear the rotating speaker clearly.
In the front row were the senior statesmen, with Kunogelata's seat in the centre, which shows Davos’ appreciation for what he has done over the years and all statesmen’s recognition for his ability and prestige. But he was currently in bed, and Davos became worried after hearing Herpus say that Kunogelata's condition was worsening.
The seat beside Kunogelata should be Cornelius, who was also a hard-working statesman. But he was today's rotating speaker, so he had to stand in front of the table in the centre of the venue and in front of Davos. After ten years, his hair and beard turned white, and his back became a hunch.
Seeing him, Davos could only sigh: If it were not for Kunogelata's long absence and the Senate needing a prestigious statesman to hold his ground against him, Davos might have considered letting Cornelius, who was almost 60, not take the heavy task as the rotating speaker as he was afraid that Cornelius wouldn't be able to hold on.
Besides them were the three permanent rotating speakers of the Senate, namely Vespa, Sedrum, and Lysias, who were also seated at the forefront… Although Lysias of Crotone joined the Senate late, Davos proposed to make Lysias, who was once the polemarchos of Crotone, become a rotating speaker out of respect for Crotone, which was once a mighty city of Magna Graecia and even though it was in the past, they still have influences as it was once the leader of Scylletium, Terina and Caulonia.
Also seated on the first row were the statesmen who had made significant contributions to the kingdom before the South Italian War, such as Tritodemos, Protesilaus, Raphias, Androlis, Philesius, Mersis, Marigi, Plesinas, Burkes…
Additionally, the statesmen that were former mercenaries and had always sat together now have changes in their seating situation. For example, Antonios separated and was now surrounded mostly by statesmen from Sicily; Hielos didn't want to split up, but some statesmen from Locri and its allies that he conquered and subdued preferred getting close to him. As a result, some former mercenary statesmen started having different opinions. Ultimately, he had to stay away from his comrades a bit. Later, Davos sent two or three legions each time they attacked specific Messapi and Peuceti towns after the Battle of Brindisi to avoid such a situation as Antonios from happening again, which not only allowed every soldier to obtain military achievements and experience but also dispersed the influence of the legatus on the conquered areas.
But even with that, some statesmen from Messapi and Peuceti shamelessly gathered among the former mercenaries statesmen, gradually leading to the fragmentation of the largest group in the Senate. Instead of getting worried, Davos was happy to see this situation from happening as he no longer needed to rely on this group of mercenaries to stand firm in the kingdom.
At this moment, Davos placed his hands on the chair's armrest, leaned back to a more comfortable position and then said to Cornelius, “Let's begin.”
The first item they discussed at this meeting was the evaluation of the praetor of Irna, Asistes, whose term had ended.
The evaluation is a necessary procedure for every Theonian statesman whose term ended.
On the one hand, it would let the other statesmen understand and evaluate their actions during their tenure. If they perform well, it would be easier for them to take a new position in the next election. If they perform poorly, they would have a reason to be idle next time. In addition, the evaluation also forced the statesmen not to slack off when they took office as they would be regarded as incompetent by their colleagues, which anyone couldn't bear.
On the other, it would be convenient for other statesmen to understand the current situation and the difficulties of this position or the region through the departing statesman so that they could carefully consider the relevant bills to make or whether to take over this post.
As Asistes had already gone through the evaluation three years ago, he was now more familiar with the process and could speak more briefly.
After his speech, applause rang around him, which was, of course, just out of courtesy.
Then, the rotating speaker, Cornelius, shouted, “Esteemed lords, it's now time to ask Lord Asistes questions.”
Asistes suddenly felt nervous as the most challenging part of the evaluation has come!
As soon as Cornelius said those, Philesius immediately stood up, “Esteemed lords, I remember Lord Asistes saying three years ago that Irna will become a bridge between the Campanian League and the kingdom of Theonia. Thus I would like to ask Lord Asistes what achievements has Irna made in this regard after three years?”
Asistes sighed slightly in relief and gratefully glanced at Philesius, who deserved to be called a veteran officer in the mercenary army as that question was basically to help him.
As he had already mentioned this aspect back then, he only now needed to explain it in more detail, “It is thanks to his majesty and you, esteemed lords, for your wise decision in allying the kingdom of Theonia and the Campanian League, which was the basis for Irna's rapid development with the city-states of Campania!
Back when the Samnites invaded the Campanian League, some city-states of Campania had fallen into the hands of the Samnites, including the ancient city-state of Compsa. Although the Samnites and the Campanian league made a truce through our mediation, the Samnites won’t return the lands they occupied. Hence there are numerous Campanians in the Campania region who have lost their homes and are now landless.
And in the past, most of them had to work as mercenaries to survive. After Irna became a part of the kingdom, its population growth was very slow even when the Samnites left because Greek immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean preferred settling in Magna Graecia of the kingdom, which is closer to Greece and has the same and more familiar customs. Thus, only a few are willing to come to Irna in the middle of the western coast of Italy. A few years ago, Irna's residents were mainly some soldiers of the third legion and their families who had settled down there-”
After saying that, Asistes nodded slightly to the Lucanian statesmen such as Vespa and Hemon because the soldiers of the third legion were mainly Lucanians, “With Irna having a lot of unused lands but lacking labour, Lord Alexius, who was the one in charge back then, had taken some measures to attract Campanians to Irna as labourers. And I, who was continuing Lord Alexius' measures, proposed some new measures to improve further the diplomatic environment, such as allowing Campanians to rent 3,000 square metres of land even if they didn't want to become Theonian citizens. And if they were to reclaim wasteland, they could rent up to 7,000 square metres of land… As a result, numerous wastelands in Irna developed into mature fields after six years. Consequently, the tax revenue significantly increased.
At the same time, I provided the Campanians with cheap accommodation in the city of Irna. Moreover, the port, the market, and all other places that needed labour were open to them, basically treating them the same as a Theonian freeman and preparatory citizen. As a result, countless Campanians flocked to Irna, significantly contributing to Irna's port's rapid development. And Irna's port, which had only a simple pier a decades ago, has now become one of the important ports of the kingdom on the western coast of Italia!”
The more Asistes spoke, the more excited he became, “And the influx of Campanians to Irna had also provided the basis for us to spread the kingdom's culture, such as the love to eat our delicious food, falling in love with bathing, and preferring to watch the fierce rugby and football games that they even organise their own teams. After knowing this, I specially hired experienced players to teach them. And recently, I also allowed the Campanians working in Irna to form teams to participate in the city's rugby and football matches so that when they return to Campania, they will spread these hobbies to their mother state. Last year, I held a special rugby tournament in Irna and invited the neighbouring Campanian city-states such as Pompeii, Naples, Sorrentum, Capreae…to form teams to participate. With the tournament's success, Pompeii, an allied city-state, had actively requested to participate in this year's Kingdom's Rugby Championship and was approved by his majesty…
