ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1108 Haka meets Okriton

"To be honest, the creation of the gods is really wonderful! You see, the two elephants are so huge and mighty, but their characters are very docile, especially the baby elephant, her little trunk is pulling the tail of the mother elephant, and she has been relentless all the time. I was willing to let go, but the mother elephant was not annoyed. Instead, she kept sucking leaves with her nose and feeding them to the baby elephant... This reminded me of Avia when I was a child. She was always next to me. She's just afraid that I'll leave her..." Agnes said, sighing with a smile.

Davos looked at Agnes, who rarely became so active, and said with a smile: "I see you, you seem to be fascinated by these elephants too!"

"That's right!" Christoya finally found a close friend and complained loudly: "Just now Agnes told me that she would not go to the Temple of Hera today and would spend the day watching elephants at home. Let me accompany her! Tell me, we are almost 50 years old, how can we act like children! Besides, I am so busy now, how can I have free time to watch elephants..."

"I see, let's put other things aside today, go see the elephants with the children, and enjoy the happiness of being together as a family!" Davos suggested loudly.

"Okay!" Agnes smiled brightly and immediately clapped her hands in agreement.

Kristoya frowned slightly and was about to object when Davos gently pressed her hand and said softly: "You are busy every day. Let yourself relax today."

Davos's concerned gaze made Crystal's heart soften: "Okay, today we will stay at home with the children and not go anywhere. But... it is not a good idea to place the elephant next to the mansion. .Although that guy looks docile, they are so big after all. If they go crazy one day, they will pose a danger to us!

And... after all, this elephant is a rare animal that the people of the kingdom have never seen before. After it was transported to the mountain yesterday, many people wanted to come in and watch it, including some elders.This morning, the children also let their close friends pass the checkpoint and go up the mountain to watch the elephants... In the long run, it will be difficult to guarantee safety here! …”

"I have already considered this matter." Davos said calmly: "Krystoya, we will have another business next."

"What?!" Kristoya immediately became energetic.

"Build a zoo."

"zoo?"

"We have heard the story of Hercules strangling the Nemean lion since childhood, but have you ever seen a real lion?"

The two sisters Christoya shook their heads (actually in this era, there were still habitats for lions in the interior of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, but Miletus was a seaside city-state, and Greek women were not allowed to travel far, so Clery Stoya had no chance to meet).

"We have heard the story of Apollo shooting the python to death. You may have seen snakes, but have you ever seen a real python?"

The two shook their heads again.

"We have all heard that there are hippos and crocodiles in the Nile River in Egypt, but what do hippos and crocodiles really look like? I'm afraid not many Dionians have actually seen it." Davos tapped his fingers on the dining table and said confidently : “So why don’t we build a zoo?If you keep these weird and exotic animals in this zoo, let them live in a fixed area of ​​the park, and create a suitable living environment for them, do you think people will come to watch it? "

"Of course there will be!" Agnes replied immediately: "Just one elephant makes the people so crazy. When I came back yesterday, I heard the captain of the palace guard down the mountain complaining that the people wanted to see the elephant. I almost clashed with them when I tried to force my way in.”

Crystal, who has been in business for many years, immediately understood the meaning of Daves’ words and asked uncertainly: “You mean, it’s like charging tickets to people watching the games when rugby and soccer games are held in the arena. Same?"

"That's right." Davos secretly praised his wife's quick thinking and continued to explain: "After all, it costs money to raise these animals, and a large number of people need to be hired to maintain the entire zoo...The money collected through tickets can just make up for these expenses. .As for where the rare animals in the zoo come from? We don’t have to worry at all. Those city-states and forces that have good relations with Dionia and want to have relations with Dionia will learn that I have built a zoo and are collecting them. After that, they will take the initiative to send me rare animals in order to strengthen our friendship with me...

As the kingdom expands, our zoo will only get bigger and bigger, housing more and more rare animals.By then, Tulii can not only eat delicious food, watch games, soak in hot springs, and enjoy celebrations... but also visit the zoo. Ordinary people, school students, and academy scholars can learn about it without risking their travels. And studying most of the rare animals in the world is a very lucky thing!At the same time, it also lets them know how great God is. He not only created us humans, but also created so many wonderful animals. We are not alone..."

Davers talked about the prospects of the zoo, but he was full of emotions: when he learned from Ansitanos that the Mauritanian envoys had sent several elephants, his first reaction at the time was ——This must be a branch of the legendary North African elephant and African elephant from the previous life!Pyrrhus used it to defeat the Roman army several times, and Hannibal also incorporated it into the army to pose a threat to the Romans. However, it is a pity that it became extinct during the Roman era, not because of war, but because of war. Because of the gladiatorial games that the Romans were crazy about.The Romans captured various beasts from all over the Mediterranean and transported them to the Colosseum for gladiators to kill them in order to earn money and at the same time provide excitement to the audience...

Davos read an article in his previous life. A Roman emperor held a grand gladiatorial match to please the people of Rome. During the entire gladiatorial match, thousands of various beasts were killed.During the continuous killings of the Romans, let alone North African elephants, no lions, leopards and other beasts could be seen in the entire Mediterranean region. If it were not for the terrible difficulty of crossing the Sahara Desert, which allowed the animals south of the desert to survive, I am afraid that in previous lives, Modern people can only learn about African elephants, lions and other beasts from literature.

It can be said that Westerners in previous lives have pursued a crazy way of plundering nature from ancient times to the present.In this life, Davos wants to change them, so he should start from the zoo to cultivate children's good habits of getting close to animals.

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Okriton asked officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Dionia to submit his request to meet King Davos, but there was no news for two days in a row. Seeing that the celebration was about to begin, he felt anxious and had to Choose to follow another idea given by the Foreign Ministry official.

During the celebration, not only many foreign envoys and distinguished guests come to Turiyi, but also the chief executives and important officials of various towns will try their best to spare time and rush back to participate.At the same time, visits to the kingdom's important ministers will become more frequent. Generally speaking, the residences of the five rotating presidents and ministers will become crowded.

It stands to reason that Haka's mansion would be even more like this, because since their brothers came to Thurii last year, Hasdrubal directly became the commander of the army and soon went north to take office, while Haka became the official rotating chairman of the Senate. , although he was still recovering from illness, Davos could not wait to start letting him take charge of some government affairs in order to familiarize himself with the operation of the kingdom's political system as soon as possible. In addition, Dido, another important member of the Magonid family, became the prince and concubine, and gave birth to a child. Two little princes were born... The Magonid family is very popular in the kingdom's political arena. It can be imagined that the kingdom officials who came to visit them should be like crucian carp crossing the river, but the actual situation is that there are only a few families.

Because Haka has publicly declared: "He himself is weak and sick and needs to rest, so officials are not welcome to visit his home."

Moreover, Helps also endorsed him.

At first, the officials of the kingdom were still doubtful. After several Phoenician senators came to visit and were rejected, they finally confirmed that what Haka said was true.

After Okriton arrived in Turiyi, he deliberately learned about this situation. Coupled with the years of grievances between the Magonid family and the Hanno faction, he had been hesitant, but now he had no choice but to be brave. I came to visit, but I didn’t expect that I got permission.

Of course, the former Carthaginian nobleman and today's important minister of the Kingdom of Dionia had a very special way of receiving guests from his hometown - taking a bath.

The bathhouse was invented by the Dionians, but it was quickly introduced to Carthage after the two countries signed the first peace agreement more than ten years ago. The Germe Hot Spring Bathhouse is a favorite place for Carthage people, and of course it is now It already belongs to the Kingdom of Dionia.

Although Okriton felt strange about this request, it was already an unexpected surprise that Haka was willing to see him, so he dared to refuse.

Haka's bathroom was built strictly in accordance with the traditional Dionia bathroom pattern. By the time Okriton completed the previous procedures and walked into the heated pool, Haka was already sitting in the pool.

Okriton had not seen Haka before, but he had long heard that the head of the Magonid family, Himilko, had a second son who was very smart since he was a child. Unfortunately, he was born with diseases, and he had seen a doctor. The doctor diagnosed that the child would not live to be 20 years old.

But now Haka in front of Okriton, although his body is slightly thin, his face is rosy and his eyes are bright, and he does not look like a person who is about to enter the grave.

Haka looked at him and said in a calm tone: "After I came to Turiyi, Dr. Dionia suggested that people like me who cannot do strenuous exercise should take more baths, which is good for health. I obeyed I suggested taking a bath every day. I happened to be taking a bath when you came, so I invited you to meet me here."

(End of this chapter)