Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 9: The City of Seven Hills-Rome! (1)

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Tapilus took the entourage members ashore in Ostia.

Soon, he was surprised to notice that in this prosperous port, it was not the black-haired and black-eyed Latins who appeared the most, but the Carthage merchants from the south of Dionian that he was familiar with. They docked here with a ship full of cargo, and then they were first unloaded by port personnel, and were transported to Rome in the east by trucks. Compared with merchants from other city-states in this port, it was much faster. The process is orderly and obviously has been in operation for a long time.

In addition, I saw Dionian merchants in Tapirus, the port area. Over the past ten years, the expansion of the Kingdom of Dionia, the rapid expansion of its territories, the increase of various resources, the construction and improvement of roads and bridges in the kingdom, and the convenience of transportation provided by the various benefits issued by the Ministry of Commerce The implementation of the measures for the development of commerce and commerce has led to the prosperity of commerce and trade. Many businessmen have sprung up in various cities, and foreign businessmen have also actively applied to join Dionian. This has made Dionian businessmen's footprints all over the world. The entire Western Mediterranean. Of course, Sardinia, Corsica, southern Iberia and other regions under the strict control of Carthage should be excluded.

In the early years, some Dionian businessmen came to Rome to do business, and they also became an important source of information for the Dionian intelligence department to learn about Rome. Compared with the Carthage merchants who had established a close relationship with Rome, they couldn't get more concessions.

Rome is somewhat similar to Dionia, neither is a seaport city. Both are located on the middle reaches of a large river. But the difference is that Rome is farther from the coast, more than 40 miles, so it becomes very difficult for a ship to go upstream and straight into Rome, so it needs the port of Ostia for the transfer of goods.

Tapirus and his party left Ostia and headed north along the south bank of the Tiber River.

By 3 o'clock in the afternoon, they saw the city of Rome standing in front of them.

"...Rome is a city jointly formed by the Latins and the Sabines 300 years ago. It is said that it was full of tidal flats and swamps at that time. Many powerful forces in the surrounding area looked down upon this place, but this It does not mean that the Romans can develop silently and steadily, they are invaded by foreign enemies from time to time.

The Etruscans once ruled it, the Gauls destroyed its city, and the Wolsi, Equés, Sabines, and even the Latin League of the Romans... and other forces have been defeated one after another. After passing it, the Romans gradually developed and expanded in the constant setbacks and wars. To this day, it has become the most powerful city-state in central Italy..."

When Tapirus heard these words from King Davos, he deeply felt the respect of the Dionian ruler for Rome, and at the same time made him feel: the surroundings Rome, with so many hostile forces, can still grow to the point where it is now. The Romans must be a tough and tenacious race!

Tapilus was full of interest while observing the city of Rome that became clearer and clearer, while searching for information about it from his memory.

Rome is called the City of Seven Hills, because there are seven hills in the city, all of which are concentrated at the turn of the Tiber River. Because of such a chain of river bends that head west, then east, and turn west, once flooding occurs in the rainy season in spring and summer, depressions are easily formed here. Therefore, the first Romans lived in these hills. Up...

The Roman city that Tapirus is seeing now is a new city. It was built on the ruins by the Romans after the Gauls were driven away ten years ago. It is said that the Romans only took a year to build it. Build it well, can a big city be built in such a hasty time? !

As a result, Tapirus was surprised to find that the Roman wall standing in front of him was not at all flat and straight like the walls of Turiné. The walls were smooth, but curved, and the bricks and rocks were irregular. They are put together in a disorderly manner, so the walls are rough, with large gaps, and even edge outwards. Of course, the city wall is high enough, so it can be judged that the wall is also thick enough, otherwise it will not be able to support it with such a bad wall...

Of course, this is just Tapirus’ personal opinion. More professional people are hidden in his mission. They will quietly and carefully observe the city, from military, politics, commerce, society... and more To record the situation in Rome and the surrounding areas in detail, and after summarizing the information, go back and report to King Daves.

In fact, what Tapirus didn't know was: Seven years ago, after Camillos drove away the Celtics, the city of Rome was already in ruins. The Roman people debated endlessly on the question of "Whether to relocate this city that has suffered misfortune due to the curse of the gods? Or rebuild a new city on the ruins?" In the end, they had to hold a citizens' assembly to vote.

Just as the voting began, a centurion who became a hero in the previous battle brought the flag officer to the stage and suddenly shouted: "Stop, put the flag up, this place is The best location to build a city!"

His words immediately received the support of many former comrades-in-arms. Immediately, Camilos and several other respected elders quickly announced with a pious attitude: This is a sign!

The citizens were actually bored with this long debate, and anxious. Under the guidance of the elders they trusted, their emotions quickly changed. Everyone cheered and asked for Rebuild Rome here.

In order not to waste the people’s passion that was finally instigated, causing another change, the construction of the city was quickly launched. Since there is basically no normal planning and construction division, the construction process is completely arbitrary or convenient, so Both the city walls and the private buildings were very poorly constructed, but the speed was guaranteed. The reconstruction of the city of Rome was completed within one year, and you can imagine the effect.

If it weren’t for the “Celtic occupation of Rome” that gave the Romans a painful memory, coupled with years of wars, the Romans would have repeatedly repaired their city defenses during the slack seasons in the past few years. To ensure the safety of urban residents. Otherwise, Tapirus came to Rome five years ago, and he will see the condition of the walls even more unsightly.

There was already a long line in front of the city gate to the west of Rome, and Tapirus and his party did not stand in front of the city guard until dusk.

The Roman Guard looked at Tapirus standing in front of him and the entourage behind him in surprise: "Are you messengers from Dionia?"

After listening to the translation from his entourage, Tapirus said calmly and loudly: "Yes, I am on the order of King Dionia to come to Rome to discuss important matters!"

The city guard no longer hesitated, and said to another soldier next to him: "Hurry up and call Minusius!"

After a while, I saw a young man with a full uniform and a red cap on the top of the helmet coming out of the city. He was also surprised after hearing the description of the city guard: Dionia, that is A kingdom as powerful as Carthage! Why did its messenger come to Rome? !

With this doubt, Minusius stepped forward and said in fluent Greek: "I am the chief of the city guard of Rome, Minusius. Are you a messenger from the Kingdom of Dionian?" /

"I am Dionian's diplomat, Tapirus, with the important mission of the kingdom, to discuss with the Roman Senate." Tapirus saluted.

"Rome welcomes you, honorable messenger of the Kingdom of Dionian!" Minusius smiled and said apologetically: "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. During this time, our citizens of Rome are invading together. Wolsey fought, and another unit went to quell the Tusculam rebellion. In order to prevent the enemy from attacking, the Senate stipulated that'only Roman citizens are allowed to enter and exit the city.'"

Tapilus understood this.

Minusius led them into the city gate.

After entering the city of Rome, Tapiros discovered that his previous judgment was not wrong. It was not just that the walls were distorted. The high and low, large and small houses in the city were also rushed to build a big city within a year. Bad results. These houses, which must not have undergone overall planning, grow wildly around like weeds on the ground, turning the streets into small and curved streets, dumping garbage randomly, flowing sewage on the ground, and smelling strange smells in the air. If you are not careful, you may step on excrement and urine. ...

Minusius frowned when he saw Tapirus and others, and some even covered his nose, how could he not understand what the problem was.

He explained with a blushing face: "More than ten years ago, the Celtics invaded our city. When we drove them away, they found that most of our Roman city was destroyed by them. Rebuilding the city At that time, we encountered allied betrayal and enemy invasion. Our main energy was spent on how to repel the enemy. Therefore, we did not have enough time and wealth to rebuild the various urban areas. We had to let the people solve it by themselves, so it became the present This way...

A few years ago, the Senate had made a resolution to widen the roads in various neighborhoods, but the wars that took place every year made us really unable to spare time...Even during this time, we couldn’t afford it. Enough manpower to transport the garbage in the city..."

Tapirus expressed understanding on the surface, but disapproved in his heart. He believes that such a bad inner city environment reflects the Romans' inadequacy in urban planning and indifferent care to people's lives. If it were in Turiyi, where there were so many densely spaced and skewed houses, the officials of the Ministry of Construction would have sent people to forcibly demolish them, because it would cause insecurity in the city and cause houses to collapse and fire... …and many more. And those houses that over-occupy the streets will not only be demolished by officials of the Road Bureau under the Ministry of Construction, but also their owners will be severely punished because they encroach on public interests...