Chapter 3: Massimus and the Comus
Because Hades is not only the protector of the kingdom of Dionia, but also the protector of slaves, if they want to restore their freedom as soon as possible, they also need its protection, and the hatred in their hearts has gradually been wiped out for a long time, and they have begun to have a little affection for the Dionian king who once defeated them, not only because he is a descendant of Hades, but also the life of the dukes under his rule is indeed much better than the slaves of their former city-states and races, so most of this cheer is from the heart
"And thanks to our camp commander Acarus!" The middle-aged chef reminded loudly again.
This time the cheers were noticeably quieter, but they were still audible to Acarus, the head of the Turiyi slave camp, who had just entered the kitchen to check on the improvement of breakfast.
A smile involuntarily appeared on his face, and he turned around and asked his entourage, "What's the name of this chef?" ”
"My lord, his name is Isnikas, he is from Asia Minor, he worked as a slave for four years in the Kristonia restaurant in the outer city of Turiyi, and then he was freed and became a reserve citizen, and he has been recruited to us as a cook for more than two years......" The attendant who spoke was an archivist of the slave camps, and naturally knew everything about it. The reason why Acarus took him with him during his inspection of the canteen was because if he found that the cooks in the canteen had not carried out his request well, the most severe punishment for them would be to put a note on their files, which would have a great impact on their future conversion to full citizenship or freedom.
But at this moment, Acarus said in a deep voice: "Well, he knows how to preach His Majesty's kindness, and his performance is very good, make a note for him." ”
The recorder, who was also a pre-citizen student, looked at the middle-aged chef in the distance with some envy, and replied in a low voice: "Yes, my lord." ”
One of the main reasons why many freedmen and prospective citizens chose to serve in low-level public positions or even hired laborers in the city halls or departments was that it was easy to obtain merit and become citizens of the kingdom at an early age.
Departments such as the slave camps were not as glamorous as other administrative departments, and their highest rank was the junior administrative position, and there were not many formal officials under them, and even the army guarding the slaves and patrolling the camps was sent from the nearby barracks in turn, and was not under the jurisdiction of the slave camps. But because of this, the low-level public offices and hired workers in the slave camps were more likely to be valued, more likely to make meritorious contributions, and there were many conscripts, but unfortunately the camps often preferred to recruit people from emancipated slave background.
Despite the fact that one of Davers's orders made the head of the slave camp, Acarus, nervous and busy, the slaves sat in the cafeteria and happily ate a much richer breakfast than usual.
Comus, a former Roman nobleman and now a slave of the Kingdom of Dionia. Fabius. Vibranus sat quietly in the corner, munching on bread and drinking broth.
He was not as fortunate as the Roman soldiers who surrendered due to the plague at Satnikum, having been taken prisoner during the previous Roman army's rescue of the city of Gabi, although a Roman senator like Publius proposed several times in the Dionian Senate that "Roman soldiers captured throughout the Western Mediterranean War should also be free", but this proposal never passed, and these Roman noble soldiers became the kingdom's slaves at the beginning, and also fought several times, but after suffering ruthless repression, They had to come to terms with the harsh reality and become numb and submissive under the long hours of heavy manual labor and the education of the whip, just as the Camus, who was born into the great Roman clan, ate breakfast with joy as the other slaves.
At this moment, someone sat down beside him.
He glanced up, and then said happily, "Massimus, you're well?!" ”
Massimus was also a former Roman nobleman, but he was not captured in battle, but was captured when the city of Rome was broken and he tried to escape with his family to Capitoline Hill.
"I saw a doctor, took medicine for two days, and I'm already well." Massimus said.
The public ** is the wealth of the kingdom, and most of the people who are usually engaged in heavy physical labor, and the diet is not as good as that of ordinary people, and it is very common to get sick and injured, so there is a special hospital in the camp, and doctors are sent by the Turiyi Hospital in turn to be on duty to ensure the health of the slaves.
Hearing this, Comus said happily, "That's great! In the past few days, you have been here, and the foreman has arranged the work to be done by our team, and everyone is not doing well, and they are all looking forward to your speedy recovery! ”
Massimus was startled and hurriedly asked in a low voice, "You guys didn't mess around, did you?!" ”
"Where do we dare to mess around, the most we can do is complain." Cumus muttered.
"It's not okay to complain! Have you forgotten what happened to Brutus before! Besides, you have been doing well before, and when this big project is completed, we will definitely be able to get more rewards, and strive to get free places every year from next year's celebration, so don't cause the foremen to be jealous because of the momentary refreshment, which will ruin our previous efforts! Massimus admonished with a serious expression.
The "lessons of Brutus and others" he refers to the two riots caused by the Romans in the Turriyi slave camp in the previous years, after which the Dionian senator proposed that the Roman slaves were disobedient and troublesome, and that the Turii was the center of the kingdom, and that in order to avoid any accidents and destabilize the Turriy, all Roman slaves should be moved out of the Turriy slave camps and dispersed to slave camps in other towns far from the Turriy region.
Due to Publius's strong obstruction, it was not completely passed in the end, leaving a small number of Roman slaves who did not participate in the riots and were usually relatively peaceful, and Publius also sent people to the camp and repeatedly warned the Roman slaves who remained: Among all the slave camps in the Kingdom of Dionia, the camp in Turiyi is the best treatment and the easiest place to make meritorious contributions (because Turiyi is the center of the kingdom, the supervision is very strong, and the camp administrators generally dare not mess around, like the slave camps in some remote areas, such as Sardinia, There are slaves who die in the mines every month, and the conditions can be imagined), if you want to be free as soon as possible, it is best to keep to yourself here!
"We've been really doing a good job these days! Every day, there are several more stones than the other teams! Comus swore an oath, peeking at the foreman patrolling back and forth in the cafeteria, and whispered hatefully, "If he dares to underreport our team's results, I will go and report it to the tribune!" ”
The number of slaves in the slave camps in Turii was in the tens of thousands, at its peak, and now there are nearly 10,000 people, and in order to better manage and pacify them, and to supervise the officials of the camps, there are also separate tribunes in the camps. After the camp riots a few years earlier, the number of tribunes was also increased, mostly by slave-born Ionian citizens.
"Don't say more, hurry up and finish your meal and go up the mountain to work!" Massimus reminded.
Not long after he finished speaking, he heard the foremen urging loudly.
The two of them devoured their breakfast, even picking up the crumbs that had fallen on the table and eating them, which they would not have done a few years ago, and the difficult circumstances changed them.
When they hurried out of the canteen, a large number of slaves hurriedly walked in, and the schedule was so tight that the thousands of slaves in the camp could finish their breakfast in a short time and go to work in time.
The last group of women and children in the canteen were always female slaves and children, their number was not large, less than a thousand, after all, the kingdom slaves were different from private slaves, most of them were engaged in heavy manual labor, and the main ones needed were male slaves, but in the Western Mediterranean War a few years ago, Dionysia captured many prisoners with their families, among which Romans, Latins, and Phoenicians were the majority.
According to the provisions of the Dionian Law on slaves, it is not permissible to forcibly break up slave families and resell them separately. Moreover, Dionya did not prohibit the union of male and female slaves belonging to the kingdom, because slaves with families were naturally more secure and self-motivated, which was conducive to the stability of the slave camps.
Of course, these female slaves, regardless of whether they had families or not, were forced to work as kitchen helpers, sew slaves' clothes, assist in the purchase of food, work as salesmen in the shops of the slave camps, and were even sent out to work as temporary hired laborers......
Because there were more men and fewer women in the camp, in order to prevent them from being harassed and violated, the "Slave Law" had strict provisions on this, whether it was male slaves, or camp officials and hired workers, violators must be severely punished, so such bad behavior was almost extinct in the Turii camp, and it also allowed male slaves with families to stay with their families and work outside the home.
In the center of the camp was a simple square, a well-groomed meadow that was used not only for gathering slaves for roll calls and announcements, but also for slaves to play sports and games during leisure.
On the sides of the square were several large black wooden boards, on which were written in white pen a number of announcements about slaves, and some of the information issued by the camp that "hired workers were needed". As public officials, their usual work is mainly responsible for the construction and maintenance of public works, such as temples, bridges, roads, ......, and the excavation of public mines.
Literature Museum