Four days later, in the early morning, Haka and Hasdruba, who had recovered from their cold and refreshed, had eaten breakfast together, and then left the mansion and walked on a flat and sturdy road to the senate.

Along the way, there were many people wearing black and white robes, obviously all of them were veterans who went to the meeting, they walked together in twos and threes, and greeted each other with smiles, and acquaintances gradually gathered together, talking about the topics to be discussed today with great interest, and some groups had gathered more than 10 people before they arrived in the square, so from time to time there were pedestrians who took the initiative to give way and greeted them, and got their friendly responses.

Haka was a newcomer, and sat in a palanquin, and although the patriarch gave him curious glances from time to time, no one came up to ask.

Hasdruba had called Turii, but had not appeared in public except for a banquet at Davers' mansion, and was rarely known, until he approached the Great Council and was greeted by a man who greeted him happily.

Hasdruba, on the other hand, has no idea who the other person is.

"I am Antioca of Mazara." The man said with a smile.

Hasdruba's eyes suddenly widened, staring at the other party's face, remembering something, and said angrily, "It's you!" It was you who led the Mazaras to stealthily open the gates! ——”

"Big brother, just like His Majesty said at the banquet, 'don't fight, don't know each other', the past has passed, and now we are all Ionian citizens, colleagues who work together, and we should strengthen contacts!" Haka poked his head out of the palanquin and reminded.

"Haka-sama is right!" Antioca smiled with relief, "We are all Phoenicians, we are all outsiders to Turi, and we should help each other!" Of course, I am more than happy to follow the orders of Lord Haka and Master Hasdruba, and I am sure that the other Phoenician senators are of the same opinion. ”

Hasdruba snorted, turned his head away, and did not respond.

After attending the palace banquet last night and talking to Davers, Haka already had a bottom in his heart, so he calmly said in the sedan chair: "Thank you Lord Antioca for your trust, I will do my best to live up to your trust!" ”

Antiocha smiled at him, and soon he summoned several Phoenician senators from western Sicily and Sardinia.

The other senators saw the Phoenician senators, who were usually not very important, gathered around a sedan chair, and more or less guessed the reason, and unconsciously thought a little more highly of the sick new rotating chairman.

Seeing the dome-like circular building in front of him, Hasdruba couldn't help but feel a little nervous, originally he and Hasdrupa were going to enter through the side door, because the distance was relatively close, but Antioca suggested: "Since Hasdrupa and Hasdruba are attending the Senate meeting for the first time, they should enter through the main entrance, so that they can show their existence." ”

Even Hasdruba, who had a grudge against him, had to admit that he had a point, so the group bypassed the senators, who were queuing up to enter the side door, and reached the front of the Great Council Hall.

There were also patriarchs lining up to enter, and Haka stopped the sedan chair, stepped out with the help of the servants, and stood in front of the steps, looking at the Victory Square and the towering memorial column in the center, the statue of the goddess of victory at the top of which was particularly dazzling in the morning light.

Although it was still morning, there were already a lot of pedestrians in the square, or officials working in various departments near the square, or vendors working in the shops along the square, or people preparing to go to the high court next to the square for hearings, or people who just went to the square to walk and relax, and some children with small dogs chasing and frolicking in the square, and the patrol team in velvet clothes patrolling back and forth in the square did not stop them, but would pick up the children who fell to the ground with a smile and pat them off the dust...... A scene full of life.

Haka looked at it for a while, and then sighed and said, "Victory Square is much bigger than the square of Carthage!" ”

Hasdruba wanted to say, "But the Carthaginian Square is much more ornate than this one." ”

But then he heard Antioca say, "It's big! After that war, there was a triumphal ceremony in Turii, which I watched at the time. This square can accommodate nearly 40,000 soldiers, which is equivalent to 5 legions, and the scene is indeed shocking! ”

Hasdruba remained silent, but judging by his uncalm expression, he must have something on his mind.

"Hey, what's this?" Haka curiously pointed to the protruding platforms on both sides of the steps: the two platforms were connected to the main entrance of the Great Assembly Hall, and the platforms were built with fences, and the stone walls of the platforms were welded with bronze protrusions, and between the protrusions were inlaid with round shields, making the stone walls of the platform seem to be made of bronze, which looks a little hideous.

"This is the Senate's external podium, which was remodeled three years ago, and is where His Majesty King Davers and the President-in-Office will address the people during major celebrations, or when important events or important bills are passed." Antioca looked at Hasdruba, pointed to the bronze protrusions, and said, "And this is the bronze ramming horn of the warship...... It was unloaded from a captured Carthaginian warship...... And those bronze shields were captured by the Ionian army in that war—"

Antioca saw that Hasderogba's face was ugly, and quickly added: "But most of them are from Rome." His Majesty King Davers once said, 'The reason why the podium is designed in this way is not to show off the exploits of war, but to remind the people and the elders that the day of Dionya is not easy to come by, and everyone must always be vigilant, and remember that the warlike will perish, and forget the war, and the danger of forgetfulness!' ’”

Haka savored these words, then showed a look of respect, and said, "His Majesty Davers is indeed wise, and I believe that under his leadership, the Kingdom of Dionya will become even stronger!" ”

Hasdruba finally couldn't help but say indignantly: "If those fools in the Carthaginian Senate understood this truth, they wouldn't be what they are today!" ”

Haka obviously didn't want to say much about this, he looked at the elders who were looking here in front of him, and said softly, "Let's go, let's go and line up too." ”

Antioca immediately said, "Lord Haka, you are the rotating chairman, you can go directly to the venue!" ”

Antioca deliberately spoke so loudly that the elders around him heard his voice, and their eyes immediately focused on him, and they began to whisper.

The hostess officer who was on duty at the main entrance quickly ran down the steps and said uncertainly, "Lord Haka? ”

"I am." Haka nodded.

"Then please come with me." After the ceremonial officer finished speaking, he turned and walked up.

Hakka glanced back at her brother.

"I'm glad I didn't let you line up here, otherwise if you faint, it would have been a joke, so let's go." Hasdruba waved his hand impatiently.

Hakka walked slowly down the steps under the gaze of the crowd, and then he saw a golden column standing in front of him, facing the main entrance of the Great Council Hall, and there were some words engraved on it, and he looked closer, and it was written in Greek: xx li from Crotone, xx li from Siliting, xx li from Hadru Mentum...... There is even a distance from Cessi xxri (the central town of the southern Iberian region).

"This is a milestone that records the distance between Victory Square and all the major towns in the kingdom." The ceremonial officer explained beside him.

"Well, the milestone, that's interesting." Haka patted the cylinder lightly, he knew in his heart that Dionya was not Carthage, and according to its unique form of government, the number on it actually meant that the distance and area that Dionia's power could cover was remarkable!

"Your Excellency, please sign your name here." Coming to the tall wooden door, the ceremonial officer said to Haka with a plank in one hand and a white pen in the other.

Haka saw that the time was marked on the top of the board, and some names had been written, he did not hesitate to write his name, and then asked curiously: "Does every veteran who attended the meeting have to sign?" ”

"Yes, so that we can know that those senators did not attend or were late, especially those who did not have an administrative appointment and should have attended the meeting, if they were absent several times in a month, they would be criticized and punished by the Supervisory Yuan, and those who did not attend for a long time may even be stripped of their status as senators! ……”

Hakka nodded slightly, but thought in his heart: As Ionian senators, he and Hasdruba have never been to the Senate in the past few years, so how should this be counted?

The ceremonial officer seemed to understand his thoughts, and continued: "In the past, you and Lord Hasdruba had been guarding the southern region of Iberia for a long time, and the situation was special, but now that you have returned to Turiyi, I hope to be able to abide by the order of the Senate in the future!" ”

"Of course!" Haka immediately responded solemnly.

At the signal of the ceremonial officer, the guards gave way to the entrance.

Hakka followed the ceremonial officer inside, then ascended another stone staircase, and soon came to the second wooden door, which was also guarded by guards, and was politely searching the senator who entered.

The ceremonial officer turned around and said, "My lord, since there are often heated arguments in the venue, there may be insults and even small clashes when you are excited...... For the safety of the senators, so it is necessary to check. ”

"I understand." Haka, who was sick and weak, agreed with this, and after calmly accepting the soldier's search, he followed the ceremonial officer into the venue.

As soon as he stepped through the door, Haka's eyes were directly attracted by a large pure white chair carved from ivory in the open space in the center of the venue, which was firmly placed on a stone platform about two meters high, and the back of the chair was covered with brown and yellow lion skin, facing the countless wooden chairs that surrounded it.