"Is it necessary to return it to the temple, and not to allocate land to the entire Thirteenth Legion and the Serapis Legion? But after killing so many Egyptian magnates before, haven't their farms already begun to be rationed to the soldiers as settlements? Saab carefully verified, and replied cautiously.

Li Bida laughed and said that Saab got half of the answer right:

I was going to return half of the land to Thebes, and then the remaining quarter was to be used as the chief of Nome to supply the river guards and the tomb guards.

But the catty is in the half of the land that was returned, and instead of returning them to the temple completely, they will become the property of the Legion and the Medejie Guard.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying." Saab Kemus said with some embarrassment, he was the smartest among his subordinates, and his reaction made Li Bida very proud.

So he explained his plan in detail, the Pied Piper had actually approved another new decree, but I have not yet announced it to the temple authorities, that is, to add the rank of the lower officials of the Temple Fortress of Serapis, to the ten captains of the River Guard, the Tomb Guard, and the new Serapis Legion (which has now been expanded to a full ten brigades and 6,000 men), and to add the official titles of "Farm Treasurer" and "Workshop Treasurer".

Treasurer, when Sabo pronounced this strange new word very awkwardly, he felt full of evil taste of the commander-in-chief in front of him, "That's right, the ration of the Thirteenth Legion is mainly concentrated near Alexandria, which used to be the estates of the magnates, but now it is all owned by the Ptolemaic royal family, and every month the officials of these estates will convert a part of the income into money. It's called 'Lipidausgin' to feed us officers and soldiers from Rome. Because after all, we are still a foreign garrison. The soldiers were only interested in money and not in the mud-fertile land of the Nile. As for the treasurer, after I entered Egypt, I recruited and reorganized Nubian Cusi black officers, who fought with me on weekdays, but at the same time served as administrative functions, and the treasurer head of each manor and workshop under the name of the temple had to be appointed to 'manage'. Pharaoh decreed that the wheat, linen, and oil produced by these manor workshops must be sent to the treasurer before being paid to the capital or to Thebes. ”

"You mean, the head treasurer has the right to a cut in the middle?" Saab seemed to understand something.

No, the most basic thing is indeed a commission, but Saab, think about it, after a long time, will these treasurers still be satisfied with the commission? They will use this authority to send less and less income to the nobles of the temple and the capital. And more and more will be detained by them. And then, guess what? In time. The temple would struggle to support the large group of priests who were out of production, and the Macedonian magnates of the capital would be troubled by piles of slaves and extravagant expenses, and there was only one way to go.

"I guessed that if the property rights of the fields were sold exclusively to these treasurers, and then in exchange for the rest of the security, their power would gradually decline, and the estates and workshops would slowly be swallowed up by the treasurers."

Li Bida's finger nodded, indicating that Sabo, you kid is very understanding, "Elect the chief treasurer of Nome above the treasurer head to replace the previous local governor, the chief treasurer of Nome is directly appointed by the pharaoh and is responsible to the pharaoh, and is generally selected from the level of centurion and deputy general of the legion." ”

"But I still have a question, that is, who is the treasurer's allegiance?"

"You say, Saab. I'm the designer of this blueprint, and I'm the one who can hold down these dark-skinned people. Li Bida spoke brilliantly.

"But the treasurer has the strength, what if he starts a rebellion?"

Li Bida sneered, and said that it is very simple to prevent the treasurer from starting a rebellion within fifty years, that is, the treasurer is not hereditary, but can be appointed and dismissed, as long as I hold this authority, everything will be fine. Also, don't forget that there are some of my best troops stationed in Alexandria. ”

"Not Pharaoh's?"

"Of course not, I will soon be banished from the Republic, and this time my money and my people have nothing to do with the Republic, and I wrote to Caesar to get angry, saying that the number of the Thirteenth Legion is still reserved for me, because I have paid the fifteen hundred Talents that the Piper owes him in advance, and it is too late for him to be happy, and you don't know how important this money is to his political joints. And Saab, we are in the gray area between Rome and Egypt, making a windfall and making a big move. Soon, I will further expand the 'Imperial Guard', and of course I will be at my command. ”

"Your Excellency, I have no other idea of this plan, except to remind you that this kind of road is like the alleys of the city of Rome, and when you happily walk towards the entrance of the alley with a garland on your head, please be on guard against the attack of drunken beggars at any time." Saab doesn't seem like a joke.

After the two fairs, the city of Thebes had surrendered everything, and the priests wept bitterly in the temple, and fell from the clouds to dust so quickly, but when they heard that Li Bida had submitted a document to Pharaoh asking for the return of half of the estate, everyone rejoiced, and even when the cunning general added the entry "The head of the treasurer appointed by the Pharaoh" in the footnote of the deed document, nine out of ten of the priests could not see the state of affairs in front of them, and the mountain of tributes piled up in front of the altar of the temple was the most important thing. Even if only half of it was left, it would be enough for them to splurge and enjoy, wouldn't it?

"Ten years from now, you're going to be even more fascinated." Li Bida smiled darkly in his heart, his half-tax order was also accepted by Thebes, stimulated by abundant financial resources, the magnificent Temple of Serapis with a huge dome and Greek Ionic columns was completed, and three hundred pharaohs appointed, not at all Theban faction "holy service" personnel, sat in gorgeous boats, and went south along the Nile River to take over the temple, and three thousand black "tomb guards" began to build barracks, walls, and warehouses around the temple, and swore a collective oath in front of the statue, To be loyal to the god of Serapis as loyal to the god Amun, to protect the tombs of the Valley of the Kings, and to monitor the city of Thebes (of course, this is tacitly and not publicly read in the oath), the "river transport guard" north of Thebes also sandwiched the Nile, built two fortress camps, and had a light river fleet, so that one west and one north, the city of Thebes was completely sandwiched, "untouchable".

It is said that the deformed ox, which symbolizes the evil spirit, was also found among the people, and was killed and sacrificed in front of the altar of the god Serapis. (To be continued......)