"Lord Sesta, not all patriarchs are as accustomed to a dull life as you are. The point is that if they just give and don't gain, there will definitely be an imbalance in their hearts, so it will be difficult to resist the temptation. Sedorum said beside him.

"Then don't be a patriarch, it's better to go into business!" Sesta replied.

"Okay, I'm calling you here to discuss and solve the problem, not to let you quarrel." Davers's soft words made the room immediately quiet again.

His gaze swept over everyone's faces, and seeing Mersis looking nervous, he knew what he was worried about, and smiled in his heart, and fixed his gaze on Antaorris, who had been quiet since entering the King's Office.

Of course, Wesbah is also a quiet one, as one of the rotating presidents of the Lucanians, except for the issue of safeguarding the interests of the Lucanians, he will fight, the rest of the time in the Senate is almost silent, in private is criticized as a "puppet", thinking that his ability is far inferior to Hermon, and to be able to sit in this position is completely stained with the light of his son Bagul. When Wesbar heard about it, he was still the same, and nothing changed.

As a veteran who has just become the rotating chairman, Antaoris has been relatively low-key in the past few months, but Davers didn't want him to be silent, so he asked directly, "Antaorris, what do you think about this?" ”

Antaoris was stunned for a moment, then straightened his body, his quiet temperament immediately changed, and he said in a solemn voice, "Your Majesty, the patriarch is the best person in a country, and his position is also noble, this should be the pride of the patriarch, but now the people look at our patriarch like criminals, full of doubts, 'Who will be the second in Polyxis?' Who would be La Odisien second? We are gradually losing the trust of the people, and the foundation for the supreme power of the Senate is crumbling, which is a very terrible thing! Therefore we must forbid the patriarchs to accept any more gifts and gifts, to restore the trust of the people in us, and to regain our dignity! ——”

"But, Lord Antaorris." Cornerus interrupted.

But before he could continue, Antaoris quickly said unceremoniously, "Honorable Lord Cornerus, please listen to me!" ”

Corneruston looked a little embarrassed.

But the most honorable patriarch does not mean the poorest. When the poor stand in front of the rich, they have no confidence in speaking, and the same is true of the senators who are in distress when they face the rich citizens. In this way, not only does it reduce the prestige of our patriarchs, but it also causes the citizens to look down on us and have other ideas, which is not conducive to the governance of the people and the kingdom.

While the kingdom should give honor to the senators, it should also give them corresponding wealth. Because it was their efforts that made the prosperous kingdom it is today, the patriarchs deserve the wealth they deserve! Therefore, I recommend that the veterans be paid, and that they be paid a high enough amount! ”

After Antaoris finished his impassioned words, everyone was a little moved.

Davers remained silent, and before he could speak, Mersis shouted "No! No way! There is not much money left in the treasury to pay other officials! Send money to the senators again, there is no such thing at all! ……

"Don't be in a hurry, Mercis." Davers nodded at him, and then said unhurriedly to the crowd, "Anta Oris said it well, and I think so in my heart." Laws were enacted prohibiting the senators from accepting gifts and from being supervised by the Ombudsman, the local councillors, and the tribunes. At the same time, the elders began to be paid, and it was enough to allow the elders to live like a real patriarch...... What do you guys think? ”

"Your Majesty wants to send us money, how can I disagree." Sedorum said jokingly. In fact, whether or not to pay salaries and forbidden gifts did not have much effect on him and Weisbah, their other identity was the leader of the tribe, although the young and middle-aged men in the tribe were basically independent, but they owned a large area of tribal land, a lot of slaves, a large number of cattle and sheep, and there was no shortage of money at all. As a result, Davers consulted primarily with other people.

In the face of Davers's proposal, Cornerus still had the same attitude: "Your Majesty, I agree with your proposal. However, how much is the right salary? Where does the money come from? ”

"It seems that there is a consensus on the proposal to prohibit the patriarchs from receiving gifts and imposing remuneration." Davers said, his gaze sweeping over Lucias and Marigi, both of whom were nodding their heads.

"Next, let's talk about what the specific salary should be?" Davers's gaze fell on Mersis, who was nervous, again, "Mercis, tell me, what is the approximate salary of the next level of the city administrator?" ”

"The next level of the city administrator?" Once he got down to business, Mersish regained his composure, thought about it carefully, and said, "Deputy Administrator, Intermediate Construction Officer, Intermediate Inspectorate, Intermediate Agricultural Officer, Intermediate Judge...... And so on, all of which can be counted as officials of the same rank, but the salaries are more or less different. For example, agricultural officials and construction officials will be paid more because they have to run outside for a long time, while judges and supervision officials will be paid less because they have to work more easily...... That's about ...... on average About 40 silver drachmahates. Mersis pinched his fingers and counted, finally spitting out the number.

The Hades silver coin he refers to, since the establishment of the kingdom, the design of the silver coin has been recast to the head of Hades on one side and the head of King Davers on the other, and the people of Dioonia also call this silver coin "Davers silver". In addition, the kingdom also minted copper coins, both of which were depicted in Persephone and the Senate or Hercules and the Senate, and stipulated that the exchange rate for copper and silver coins was 61, which was not much different from the exchange rate of Opol to silver coins, so in Dionia, copper coins had replaced Opol's original status. These two currencies became the only currency in circulation in the Kingdom of Dionya due to their high purity and exquisite designs, and also became one of the main currencies used by other countries in the Western Mediterranean.

"40 silver coins...... About the price of a cow and a half. Davers was not surprised by the figure, for he had already known it in detail, and it was only through Mersis's mouth that everyone present would know it. In fact, this salary is not low, a citizen who owns five acres of land will earn three times as much as this amount by harvesting grain in a good year, and this is only a month's salary of a middle-ranking official in the kingdom of Dionia. Because of the abundance of cattle and horses in the kingdom, the price is low, generally between 25 and 30 silver coins, and if it is in Greece itself, a cow costs at least 50 silver coins.

Davers tapped his fingers on the table and said slowly, "I suggest that the salary of the senators be set at one hundred Hades silver coins. In addition, if the patriarch has a position, his salary will be increased according to his position. For example, if a city administrator is paid, his total salary should be 100 silver coins plus the chief executive's salary...... Well, since the deputy chief executive's salary is about 40 silver coins, then the chief executive should be about 50 silver coins, so that his monthly salary should be 150 silver coins.

For example, Sesta, you are a senator and the highest prosecutor, and his position is the same as that of the city administrator, and his salary should be about 150 silver coins. And like Cornerus, you are the rotating chairman, the rotating chairman is different from ordinary veterans, and he also needs to take on some extra work, and he should also have additional pay......"

Everyone carefully digested Davers's proposal, and everyone's eyebrows furrowed. No one would dislike having too much money, not to mention that this salary could reflect the noble status of the senators in the kingdom, so that even if the "prohibition of gifts" law was enacted, I believe the senators would not have many complaints.

Only Merses shouted dissatisfiedly, "Too much! Too much! Even if the salary of more than a hundred senators of the Senate is calculated according to the salary of one senator of one hundred silver coins, the treasury will have to pay two more talientes every month, and I don't have so much money there! ”

Before Davers could speak, Cornerus asked suspiciously, "I remember that the Finance Department earns hundreds of Talients every year from the lottery tickets for various ball games alone. In addition, now that domestic trade is booming, the ports of various cities are full of merchant ships, and the monthly commercial tax is almost 100 taranto. Not to mention that the population of the kingdom is as high as 1.8 million today, and the land tax is also a large number, as well as the annual redemption fee for slaves, the postage fee for the post office, and the escort fee for the fleet...... It's also a lot of money, how can the treasury have no money?! ”

"Lord Cornerus." Mersis sneered, "You only see the treasury taking in the money, but you don't see the treasury spending a lot of money. You must know that there are now more than 1,000 mid-level officials in the kingdom, and the salary of the treasury to them every month is more than a dozen Talientes, not to mention the jailers, patrolmen, and sentries you mentioned earlier...... and other low-level public officials who also have to pay salaries, counting these, then there are tens of thousands of people, and a total of more than 50 taranto salaries per month!

In addition, the cost of building new roads, bridges, ports, temples, libraries, and other public buildings, the maintenance of old roads, walls, temples, etc., the cost of each time the military department calls soldiers and warships for military training, and the cost of building and maintaining military equipment and warships...... Not only does it take money, but it also costs a lot of money.