I was a priest in the city-state era

1597 BC.

May.

Roy returned from India to the city of Athens, thousands of miles away.

After enjoying a wonderful night with Procne and Philomela, which was better than a wedding after a long separation, the first thing Roy did when he returned to Athens was to attend the citizens' meeting of Athens in person.

Early the next morning.

Roy took Procne and Philomela to the Royal Opera House of Athens.

The Royal Opera House of Athens is not only a theater for singing and dancing performances, but also a forum for holding citizen meetings.

After all the citizens attending the meeting arrived, Procne, as the speaker presiding over the meeting, spoke first.

"Dear citizens of Athens! Today's citizens' meeting is different from the past. Our great emperor has also returned to the city of Athens and participated in this citizens' meeting in person. Now I hope everyone can stand up and applaud to celebrate the triumphant return of His Majesty the Emperor from conquering the East."

Procne did not use a commanding tone.

All citizens participating in the meeting spontaneously stood up and applauded, and the thunderous applause echoed in the Royal Opera House of Athens.

When the citizens' meeting officially began, a white-haired old man left the auditorium and walked to the stage, questioning Roy directly.

"Your Majesty, the great Emperor, may I ask you a question?"

"sure!"

Roy said with a smile.

"Although as the founder of the Athenian Empire, I have supreme authority in the Athenian Empire. But from a legal perspective, the emperor only serves as the defender of the law and has the power granted by the law. In the case where neither party has violated the law, the emperor and the Ordinary citizens are equal beings, and any citizen has the right to ask questions to the emperor.”

After hearing Roy's answer, the white-haired old man took a deep breath and said.

"Your Majesty, the great emperor! One of my sons and one of my grandsons died on the battlefield as soldiers of the Athenian Empire. So I really can't help but want to ask you, when will your ambition be satisfied, and how much more do you want to sacrifice?" Soldiers sent to the battlefield? Now that the territory of the Athenian Empire has become so large, and none of the surrounding barbarians have challenged the strength of the Athenian Empire, I ask you to stop foreign wars and let our soldiers usher in an era of peace."

After the white-haired old man finished speaking, a middle-aged man who looked like his son hurriedly ran to his side, trying to pull his father away from the stage.

All the citizens in the audience stared at Roy, as if waiting for Roy's thunderous wrath.

Roy stood up and looked at the father and son fighting on the stage and said.

"Dear old man, first of all I want to apologize to you because I failed to bring your son and grandson back from the battlefield. Although you all think that I have endless ambitions, I must say that I am better than any of you. Everyone hates war. If I have a choice, I will not launch any more wars, but I can only tell you that in order for our descendants to no longer experience war, I will continue to launch wars that will threaten all our barbarians. Conquer. I believe you are not naive, so you all understand that even if we do not attack the surrounding barbarians, these barbarians will attack us for survival. Do you want to kneel down to the barbarians and give them food and wealth? Peace?"

"I support His Majesty the Emperor!"

After Roy finished speaking, a one-eyed young man immediately stood up and said.

"We can now enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life in the city of Athens because there are thousands of soldiers fighting with our enemies. I am an Athenian soldier myself and retired early because I was injured on the battlefield. But I do not regret losing one Only eyes, because my sacrifices are all worth it. Even if I have to choose my own destiny again, I will become an Athenian soldier and give my life to His Majesty the Emperor."

Immediately afterwards, more and more citizens stood up to support Lowe.

After all, this was the third year of the establishment of the Athenian Empire, not the thirtieth year of its establishment.

Everyone present has experienced the difficult days three years ago and knows that the happy life now is hard-won.

After the white-haired old man and his son left the stage in despair, a businessman in gold and silver walked to the stage and said.

"Your Majesty, the Great Emperor, I hope that we citizens who are doing business can get tax relief. When we hire employees to solve employment problems, we can also contribute to the Athenian Empire. But the bigger our business is, the heavier the taxes we will bear. "

"It is impossible to reduce taxes!"

Roy refused without hesitation.

"If your business is not competitive, you can end your business. Today I meet your request for tax relief, and tomorrow you will squeeze your employees to increase your profits. I have provided businessmen with a safe business environment and a huge market. If you want to do business in the Athens Empire, you must abide by the rules here.”

Lowy is not worried about businessmen closing their businesses and creating employment problems.

Because the Athenian Empire did not implement a twelve-hour work system, one person could complete the work of two people.

The Athenian Empire not only had an eight-hour work system, but also a weekend system, with enough jobs to meet employment needs.

If the Athenian Empire also had a twelve-hour working day and one person could do the work of two people, half of the population of the Athenian Empire would be unemployed.

After the businessman left the stage in disgrace, a young man dressed as a priest walked onto the stage and shouted wildly.

"Your Majesty, the Great Emperor! You are the greatest human being of our time and the great sun god. You should be worshipped by everyone in the Athenian Empire. As your believer, I want to establish a church to worship you and spread your greatness and faith to everyone."

"No!"

Roy frowned and said coldly.

"The Athenian Empire prohibits the establishment of any form of religion. Just as power is only responsible for its source, gods are only responsible for the source of their beliefs. If the gods' beliefs come from specific believers, the gods will inevitably favor the believers and cause injustice, so all the gods in the Athenian Empire, including me, will only accept state worship. The main belief of the gods does not come from specific individuals, so the gods will naturally not favor specific individuals."

The young man who claimed to be a Roy believer immediately looked shocked.

Roy continued.

"Soldiers, take off his priest robes and take him to prison for one year. In the Athenian Empire, except for real priests, no one can wear priest robes to pretend to be a priest. Priests who serve gods are a group that enjoys special treatment, supported by the state and respected by the people. Impersonating priests will be punished according to the severity of the crime."

"Your Majesty, you can't do this to me, I am your loyal believer!"

Hearing Roy's punishment for himself, the young man dressed as a priest immediately shouted.

Two wolf-like soldiers rushed to the stage, quickly grabbed the young man like an eagle grabbing a chick, and carried him off the stage.

After the citizens' meeting ended successfully, Roy took Procne and Philomela back to the Athenian Palace and began to formulate a new battle plan.

In order to achieve the goal of turning the Mediterranean into an inland lake, Roy decided to incorporate the German metropolis, Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula into the territory of the Athenian Empire.