Since the demolition, clearing and road reconstruction of the old town in the south of Rome has been completed, the remaining residential construction has been contracted by real estate merchants from the Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, and the construction officials only need to supervise and inspect, so the manpower of the Roman construction office has been vacated.

But the most important part of the construction of the whole city of Rome was the temple, and according to the requirements of Asistes, the new temple of Rome was to be roughly the same size as the main temple of Turiy, and the key was not one but two (the temple of Hades and the temple of Diana), and it was also approved by King Davers. However, the construction of such a temple required a lot of manpower and material resources, and Dionia, which was at war, was now more difficult to bear, so the construction officer Pacion and Arcistes decided to build a stone bridge over the Taibo River first, but not a Roman vertebral bridge, but a bridge connecting the island in the middle of the river.

Since the occupation of Rome by Dioonia and the establishment of a new alliance with the surrounding powers, peace and tranquility have been restored throughout the Latin and Etruscan regions, and Rome has gradually entered into trade with the wealthy Etruscan League to the north, under the strong impetus of Assistes.

Rome was connected to the Etruscan city-states to the north by two routes: one was by water, and the port of Ostia was now under construction; One is the land route, but the original Roman vertebral bridge was not built for trade, it is not wide, and it is a wooden bridge, which has become less and less suitable for the needs of Roman development.

Therefore, Arcistes set his sights on the two bridges on the island in the middle of the river, which had been destroyed by the war, as a kind of compensation from the kingdom to the original inhabitants of Rome, and suggested to the construction officer Pacion that it was best to build a stone bridge at the beginning of the new year, so as to show the Roman people the new atmosphere after joining the kingdom.

Pacion made a promise to Arcistes, and after accepting the task, he led a group of men to begin surveying the terrain, selecting a site to build the bridge, and designing the drawings...... The labor is sufficient, the materials are basically ready-made (a large number of regular-shaped stones are left in the temples burned and demolished by Rome, and it does not take long to pour them with cement), plus the Ministry of Construction has built a number of stone bridges in the kingdom over the years, and has rich experience, so the construction officer Pacion thought that it should be safe to build such a small bridge, but he did not expect that something would go wrong at a critical time.

"So...... What do the engineers say? …… Can it be fixed soon?! Crotokatáctus asked eagerly, although he had been making up for his knowledge of construction during this time, he was still a novice after all, and tomorrow the chief executive, Arcistes, would lead the city hall officials to the scene to congratulate the completion of the stone bridge, which he knew for a long time that the stone bridge was no longer just a simple project, but also had a deep political significance, so he was also anxious.

"The foundations must be re-tamped and the piers reinforced, they judge that it will take about seven or eight days......" Pacion hesitated for a moment, and said earnestly, "I will now go and explain the matter to Lord Assistes, I hope ...... You can come with me! ”

Although Crotocatactoques is now a subordinate of Pacion, he is also the prince of Dionia, and Pacion usually treats him very politely, but at this moment he asks for him, and his attitude is even more humble.

"Good!" Klotocatax did not hesitate.

The two rushed to the mansion of the lord of Rome and were soon received by Arcistes.

After hearing Pacion's explanation, Assistes' face sank: "I thought you had come to see me so late to tell me, 'The construction office has made all preparations for tomorrow's celebrations!'" Unexpectedly, something went wrong! ”

Arcises rebuked, "Why didn't you find it before?!" Just say it when it's over! Tomorrow is not only our town hall officials, but also many Roman people go to Piazza Mars to celebrate, how should we end up with such a big incident! ”

Pacion's face turned pale, his lips twitched, but he did not dare to say anything, but looked at Klotocatax pitifully.

In the past, Arcistes had always given Crotocatacus the impression of mildness and amiability, but this time the kingdom's important minister showed him his majestic side, and he stubbornly said, "Your Excellency—"

Assistes immediately interrupted him: "Crotokatax, don't speak, you just arrived at the construction place, and this matter has nothing to do with you. ”

When Crotocatacarchs heard this, he knew that Arcistes was taking care of him and wanted to keep him out of the matter, but because of this, he let him put aside his worries and express his heart: "My lord, as a low-level construction officer of the Roman Construction Office, I have been following Lord Pacion for more than two months, responsible for supervising the construction of this stone bridge, he has a problem, of course I also have a great responsibility!" ”

Assistes looked at Crotokatax, who was sincere and guilty, and then turned to look at Pacion, who was nervous, and was silent for a moment.

This silence made the two visiting people feel a little uneasy.

After a few moments, Arcises spoke: "The officials of the town hall said that they would cooperate well if they postponed the celebration for a few days, but the people of Rome and its surrounding towns rushed in a hurry, but they saw nothing and were persuaded to go back...... How much resentment will they have against the town hall?! ”

Speaking of this, Assistes could not help but increase his tone again, and he was not angry at the thought that the trust and authority that he had painstakingly built up in the city hall among the Roman people in the months since he became the administrator of Rome might be destroyed because of this incident.

"Big ...... My lord......" Seeing that Assistes' tone was a little loose, Pacion immediately said nervously: "The tilt of the bridge piers cannot be seen by ordinary people, what they see is a complete stone bridge, but we will block the two ends of the stone bridge and tell them, 'For the sake of beauty, the stone pillars on the bridge railing will be carved, and they will not be able to pass for ......the time being.'"

"It seems that you have been prepared for a long time, do I still want to send you some more carvers?!" Arcisstes sneered, and said in a deep voice: "Thousands of people have come from afar, gathered on the Tiber River, and can only look at the stone bridge, and you are not afraid that they will be angry and cause a riot!" ”

Pacion was startled and did not dare to answer.

Klotocatachus, after all, young, quick-witted and quick-witted, advised: "My lord, we Turi's are accustomed to creating a lively and joyful atmosphere in the New Year, and since the people have gathered tomorrow on the banks of the Tiber by Mars Square, it is better for us to take the opportunity to hold a game, which will not only achieve the purpose of celebration, but at the same time divert the attention of the people." ”

"Competition......" Arcises' heart moved, he muttered for a while, and shook his head: "Time is too tight, there is no time to prepare......"

"How's the fishing? Within a certain period of time, see who catches the most fish, and then rank them and give ......a reward," said Klotockataks at once, and the reason why he was able to give advice so quickly was because in the early spring, Davers would bring his family to the banks of the Klatty River under the King's Hill for a family fishing tournament, and the atmosphere was very warm and happy, which made Klotocatax miss it very much. Although it is not yet early spring, the temperature has begun to warm slowly, and the Tiber River is not frozen, so fishing is no problem.

Arcistes was somewhat moved by Klotocatax, after all, the preparation for the fishing tournament is relatively simple, each person has a fishing rod, and it can be carried out by sitting on the river, and the operation is relatively strong.

Arcistes looked at Pacion again and asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure you can completely repair the stone bridge in 7 days?!" ”

"My lord, I swear in the name of Hades that after 7 days, the stone bridge will be completely built so that it can be used normally without problems!"

"Because of this mistake, I want to make a note in your examination file first, if the bridge construction still fails after 7 days, then your public office will come to an end!" Assistes warned coldly.

Pacionlian claimed that although the merit in the appraisal would affect his promotion, he had managed to get through the danger under the notoriously strict Assies, but he knew that it was largely to Crotocatax, so he nodded to the Dionian prince in thanks.

"You go back and get ready, I'm going to talk to Klotokatax about tomorrow's fishing tournament." Assistes raised his hand to drive people away, and where did Pacion dare to stay for a long time, he hurriedly took his leave and left.

There were only two people left in the living room, and Arcises' face returned to normal, and he sighed kindly: "Your Highness, you shouldn't have come tonight, Pacion brought you with me, just to use your kindness to help him get rid of him......"

"Uncle Acistrius." Crotokatuques said seriously: "I know the intentions of Lord Pacion, but he is really hard-working, since he took on the heavy responsibility of building the stone bridge, he has been busy from morning to night every day, I have not seen the slightest slack in him, and he has taken great care of me, and taught me a lot by hand...... I can't afford to see Lord Pacion's future thwarted by this mistake, for he is really devoted to his work and wants to build this stone bridge! ”

"You are worthy of being called the 'benevolent prince' by the people, Your Highness, you are still as compassionate as before!" Asistes praised and smiled: "Ten days ago, His Majesty wrote to me asking how you were doing in Rome?" I complained to him and said, 'You have paid no attention to the image of the Prince of Dionia, and the court guards have complained many times that you have refused their protection, and that you have toiled every day with the Roman and Latin citizens recruited from the Establishment, learning their Latin language, and sometimes buying food for them at your own expense because you are too late......

Later, His Majesty wrote back to me, and guess what he said in the letter? ”