The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe-Chapter 104: The First Senate Meeting (Part 3)

Cornelius now fully understood: Juleios was intent on restructuring the political system of Amendolara. With Juleios already in control of Amendolara and the Senate, Cornelius could do nothing but nod in agreement.

Naturally, the appointments of the two positions were smoothly approved.

"Consul, sir, after sorting through the materials we confiscated from the Lucanians, Amendolara’s treasury contains only a little over 3,000 drachmas..." Melsis reminded.

"Oh, freshly elected and already getting to work? Such enthusiasm from a public official!" Epithenes joked, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

"Three thousand silver coins don’t even make one talent..." Juleios frowned slightly, murmuring to himself.

Cornelius felt his face flush with embarrassment and hastened to explain, "Amendolara has no port, and there aren’t many merchants coming to trade in the city. As for the stone quarries we’ve excavated, many city-states have similar ones.

Only Heraclea buys some from us every year..."

"It seems necessary to establish a position for a Commerce Officer, someone dedicated to managing trade and devising ways for Amendolara to generate revenue," Juleios said.

Melsis’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "I recommend Marigi for this position!"

"Oh, you’ve patched things up with him?" Juleios said, a bit surprised.

In reality, Melsis hadn’t truly reconciled with Marigi but was pragmatic when it came to money. He knew very well that Marigi was skilled at making money.

"Although Marigi is a Persian, his business acumen is undeniably strong. He managed the market next to our military camp quite well!" Oliver shouted from the back.

"I also agree with him becoming the Commerce Officer. I’ve been to that market, and it was indeed bustling," Epitenes added.

"Olivers just wants to curry favor with his future father-in-law after eyeing the man’s daughter," Matonis chimed in, making a joke at Oliver’ expense.

"Shut up, big guy!" Olivers snapped angrily.

"Quiet! The Senate is a sacred place, not a venue for insults! Anyone who disrupts the proceedings again will be thrown out!" Juleios glared at the two men.

What had been a good proposal was now at risk of being undermined by their antics, and he feared it would lead to unwarranted speculations.

Both Matonis and Oliver quickly fell silent.

"This Marigi is a Persian?" Cornelius asked, puzzled.

"He was once. However, after being persecuted by the Persian king, he fled with his family and joined us. He fought alongside us in Persia, came to Greater Greece with us, and participated in the battles against the Lucanians.

He is one of our mercenaries and is now a citizen of Amendolara," Juleios explained.

Cornelius listened attentively.

He hesitated about Juleios’ proposal and glanced at Lafayas several times, as if to say: "You’re the new Registrar; don’t leave all the opposition to me!"

After a moment of hesitation, Lafayas stood up and said, "But he’s a Persian... Greek city-states have never—"

"What’s wrong with being a Persian? As long as he genuinely wants to become one of our citizens and has made significant contributions to us, we should accept him!" Juleios suddenly stood up, addressing everyone in the hall loudly.

"There were some things I intended to say at a more appropriate time, but since the Registrar has raised this sensitive issue, I will share my views with all of you now."

"As everyone knows, in almost all Greek city-states, it is extremely difficult to obtain citizenship. The wealthier and stronger the city-state, the harder it is to gain this status. For example, in Sparta, it is nearly impossible for outsiders to acquire citizenship.

In Athens, the current rule is that ’only children born to both Athenian parents can become citizens after reaching adulthood.’"

Juleios’ words resonated with the audience, especially given their shared struggles and risks.

"That’s because they are afraid of outsiders sharing their city-state’s political rights, land, and wealth!" Alexis said resentfully.

"Exactly! This kind of selfishness in Greek city-states leads them to reject outsiders and, in doing so, abandon opportunities for growth. After Athens’ catastrophic defeat in Sicily, it never recovered. Why? Because they didn’t have enough young and strong citizens.

Sparta, even as it dominates Greece now, relies mainly on mercenaries and allied forces for its external battles.

Why? Because its population of about 8,000 Spartan citizens must also guard against domestic Helot uprisings.

The war-loving Spartans will only see their numbers diminish with each battle, eventually losing their hegemony over Greece.

After the allied army’s defeat, the people of Thurii, knowing we had defeated the Lucanians, still dared not open their gates to us, fearing that we would storm in and plunder them.

Why? They didn’t have enough young citizens to defend themselves!"

Everyone burst into laughter, including the older citizens, as they all shared similar sentiments regarding the situation in Thurii.

"And then, let’s consider Persia, where we once ventured.

Is Persia’s territory vast?" Juleios asked.

"Vast, incredibly vast!" the new citizens replied in unison.

"Is Persia’s population large?"

"Enormous! People of all ethnicities!" they answered.

"You should know that Persia initially started as a small tribe, bullied by the Medes.

Yet their leader, Cyrus The Great, was wise and open-minded. He forged friendly relations with surrounding tribes and generously accepted other ethnic groups.

Tribes oppressed by the Medes, who once dominated the Mesopotamian Plain, flocked to him. Eventually, even their enemies, the Medes, surrendered to Persia. A small tribe grew into a vast empire..."

The audience listened intently to Juleios’ recounting of Persian history. Even the well-educated individuals like Cornelius, who knew little about the great Eastern nation of Persia, found his words fascinating.

"Why is the Persian Empire so strong? Because it tolerantly accepts other tribes as its own, just as the Mediterranean becomes vast because countless rivers flow into it," Juleios said, leaving the audience in deep thought.

"As I said earlier, if you are content with farming daily in a small city-state, only to surrender when a stronger power leads an army to your gates, becoming their vassals, then I won’t say more.

Learn from other city-states and remain closed and conservative! But if we want to grow and thrive, we must be open.

We must sincerely accept everyone willing to join Amendolara and contribute to its prosperity, regardless of where they come from.

Only then can we grow stronger rapidly! You might say Amendolara doesn’t have enough land and wealth to share.

That’s because your vision is confined to this small piece of land called Amendolara!"

Juleios scanned the crowd, his left hand powerfully pointing west.

With great ambition, he said, "Look around us. To the west, there are the Lucanians and Bruttians; to the east, there are the Messapians, Peucetians, and Daunians.

I’ve heard that to the north, there are the Samnites... All these indigenous people have land and wealth. Are they not enough to share?"

"Defeat them and take their land!" Matonis shouted excitedly, leading the unit commanders in a chorus of cheers.

The other new citizens were equally stirred. For the first time, Juleios revealed his grand ambitions to them.

For these former mercenaries, who had broadened their horizons in Persia, becoming city-state citizens satisfied their basic needs.

Now, Juleios offered them a greater vision—a lifelong goal.

For these men, accustomed to war and unskilled in farming or herding, this newfound purpose reinvigorated them and solidified their loyalty to Juleios as the cornerstone of his power.

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