In fact, in the traditional Greek view, it was not Hades' priesthood to be in charge of rivers and springs, but since he performed miracles at the spring of Turi and brought them back from the dead, the Dioonians have come to believe that Hades is the true protector of springs and drinking water, and Poseidon has become an assistant.

At this time, several women were carrying several clay pots by the pool, chatting and touching the water. Children are playing around the pool and the surrounding stone pillars.

Asimus's two children were eager to join in, but were stopped by Forvia.

Although Massimus was surprised and puzzled by how the water in the pool came out, he did not ask, but followed the servant all the way up the stairs to the third floor, down a somewhat dark corridor, to the room to be rented.

Along the way, I met several tenants, all of whom greeted the slave politely, apparently the owner usually let the slave take care of the entire rental building.

Although the room was simple, with only a bed, a table, and a few chairs, it was neat and spacious, and it was well lit, much better than the house he lived in the slave camp, and Maxim immediately decided to rent it.

After placing the parcel in the room, he went with the servant to the tax office and signed the lease agreement.

Finally settled the rent, and it was already dusk, Massimus and his wife were feeling a little hungry, and the two children had no energy to play, so Massimus decided to take the family to eat and fill their stomachs.

There are quite a few restaurants in the vicinity of their rented quarters, among which Christoya's is the most famous, which fills up early and there are queues outside the door.

But considering the price, Massimus finally chose to eat at a cheaper street-facing tavern.

This type of street-facing tavern usually has a circular counter with several circular pits in the stone counter, in which opened cans of wine, beer, and clay are inserted, and a shrine is inlaid in the stone wall at the end of the counter, but it is usually not Hades, but Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.

When the Massimus family walked into the street-facing tavern, there were already a few diners inside, making the small storefront a little crowded.

The cook in the center of the counter saw them and immediately smiled and asked, "What do you want to eat and drink?" ”

"What's there to fill your stomach?" Maximus asked, looking at the bottles and jars on the counter.

"Bread, cheese, vegetables, nuts and olives...... It can be served to you right away, and if you need a little hot soup, we can also cook haggis soup and beef soup on the spot, and boil wheat porridge and bean porridge, but it will take a little time. The cook looked at the Massimus family, estimated their needs, and said fluently: "Of course, the most important thing here is that we can provide you with all kinds of wines and beers produced in the kingdom, and they are relatively cheap. ”

"Bring me four loaves of bread, four slices of cheese, two bowls of porridge, and a big bowl of haggis soup." Massimus thought for a moment and said.

"Won't you have some drink?" The cook tried her best to persuade her: "It seems that you have walked a long way, you should be more tired and thirsty, it is better to have a beer, moisten your throat and relieve fatigue." ”

Maximus was not one to be easily moved, but when he saw the diners at the counter talking loudly with their glasses, he suddenly changed his mind: "Bring me a beer." ”

"What kind of beer are you going to drink?" The cook pointed to a round pit on the counter in front of her, and said enthusiastically: "I recommend to you Christoya beer, which is made by Princess Christoia's brewery, it is they who invented Dionia's beer, so their beer is the most authentic, the best, very refreshing, very popular with the people of the kingdom, because of the great demand, most of the output is bought and stored by those damned rich merchants and officials, used for banquets and entertaining guests, and not much is sold in the market." Our tavern is because of a special relationship, so we got some, although the price is a little more expensive, but it is very rare. ”

Although she was a little moved by her, Massimus suppressed her tongue and said, "Just bring me a normal beer." ”

Although the cook's persuasion failed, she did not show frustration, and said to him with a smile: "Okay. Then one loaf of bread is 5 opol, and four loaves of bread is 20 opol...... It's a total of 67 Opol, which is converted into 9 drachma and three Opol, you pay the money first, and I will prepare food for you immediately. ”

Well, the price of this dinner is close to a month's rent! If it had been before, Massimus would have cared about this little money, but more than three years of slavery made him know the hardships of life, he took a breath, counted 10 drachmas from his money bag, and retrieved 4 opol.

The cook looked into the crowd and shouted, "Eh! There are children who want to eat, please take the initiative to give up a seat! ”

As soon as she shouted in a shrill voice, someone got up from the bench against the wall, and Forvia quickly squeezed over with the children, thanked the diners, and sat down.

Massimus stood at the counter.

In a few moments, the cook put all the bread and cheese he had ordered into a small wooden blue and handed it over.

Feeling that the bread was still hot, Massimus couldn't help but nod his head secretly at the tavern's attentiveness.

The cook lifted a wooden lid, slipped a slender wooden spoon into the clay pot in the stone pit, scooped up the beer, poured a full glass, and handed it to Massimus, who still needed time to boil the porridge and mutton soup.

Massimus took the beer and took a sip of it, feeling his parched throat moisturized. In fact, beer did not exist in Rome before, and it was in the slave camps that Massimus began to enjoy this cheap and soothing drink.

The family sat in the corner and began to eat, Massimos munching on bread while listening carefully to the conversations of the diners.

"Hey, did you hear that? It is said that the kingdom is preparing to send troops to the southern borders of Iberia and Etrunia to build fortifications for the defense of fortresses' may be canceled! ”

"You are mistaken, it is impossible to cancel, if the kingdom does not send troops to the border for defense, then the raiding of those barbarians in the mountains will not be stopped, it will only make them stronger and stronger, and more and more rampant, and maybe even launch an attack on the kingdom's border territories."

"Isn't that just the right time for the kingdom to start a war and destroy these barbarians, maybe we can also get some war merits and become citizens as soon as possible."

"I heard that the kingdom is not ready to start a big war in the past few years, because the last war has only been a few years ago, and the consumption is too great, and it has not yet recovered."

"You're right. But this is not only the reason, it is said that both the northern Etruscan and the southern Iberia are full of rolling mountains, and the terrain is treacherous, and most of the indigenous tribes live in the mountains, and if they are unable to defeat the kingdom's army, they are likely to hide in the mountains. It will be very difficult for the kingdom to completely destroy and conquer them, so it is necessary to send troops to defend the border first, and severely attack the barbarians who come to invade, but I heard that because the opposition of the people is too great, it may be necessary to cancel the decision to send legions to defend and hire free people to form a border army instead. ”

The diners let out a burst of exclamations: "Is this true?!" ”

Maximus's heart moved, and he fixed his eyes on it: most of the diners were dressed in shabby linen shirts, and they were obviously of relatively low status, and only a few were well-dressed, and this man who seemed to know a lot of inside information was one of them.

He took a sip of beer and said proudly: Of course this is true, when did I, Gorgian, lie to you! Let me tell you, this matter, which has been discussed above, has not been settled because mercenary armies cost a lot of money, and the kingdom cannot afford more money to support a mercenary army dedicated to guarding the border.

But I heard from a good friend who served as a court guard that His Majesty King Davos had said very firmly in the meeting that the kingdom's border troops must be established as soon as possible! Because the kingdom's territory is constantly expanding, it now takes ten days or half a month to reach the border with an army from Turii, and maybe two or three months or even half a year later. Once the foreign enemy invades, and then mobilize the army to meet the enemy, I am afraid that the enemy has captured the border area and killed countless people in the kingdom, so we must form a border army to guard the security of the kingdom's borders, if it is really because there is no money to form a mercenary army, then he will send troops to guard the border for a long time regardless of the opposition of the people! ”

"His Majesty the great King Davos is genuinely thinking about the kingdom, but the citizens of Deonia seem too selfish!" Another diner exclaimed: "If I had become a full citizen, I would definitely fully support His Majesty's decision and guard the border as a legionnaire without hesitation!" ”

"Cut!" Another diner said disdainfully: "As a registered freedman, if the kingdom decides to establish a mercenary army composed of freemen, I will definitely not hesitate to join, and I will not be paid an Opol, just make me a full citizen of Dionya immediately." ”

A few diners followed suit.

"If you become a full citizen and have a share of land, you will definitely regret it." Someone said something suddenly, which caused a burst of laughter.

"The Kingdom of Dionya has a vast territory and a large population, why would it have no money to support a small mercenary army?" Another diner asked, confused.