What was the one thing that, despite the distance, unifies Rome and Babylon? Why were they so great, grand and powerful?
Roads.
These, and other thoughts (like, how to have a great fun day with his concubines without getting spotted by the Moral Censor Council, which would result into him being exiled off to mine for iron in the March till he dies or becomes "morally pure", i.e dead.) raced through the head of the current Dacian king. But, mostly - roads. Right.
There were, obviously, roads in Dacia. Otherwise, it would have collapsed, the Slavs would have their own country, and he'd be fighting the third cousin in line for the throne while the Draco Council would spend an eternity up in Heaven while watching the chaos down there right next to the Zalmoxis's hand. Praise Zalmoxis, and all that. It is the stepstone of civilization, that roads are there. They must be there. Otherwise, your messengers asking for the tax revenue would come 1 month after you sent them, and by then foreign nations would already have taken all the cash.
But they weren't good roads. There are many nobles, who upon unravelling mysterious pretty silk from faraway lands, only to see it all dirty. Cue execution scene of said trader and the more and more popular "headball" game adopted by the Scythians up north who play with the recently executed's head. Very popular with children and the homeless.
The situation with Scythia and Yotvingia was a critical sign that the Dacian road system requires a major expansion and update. There probably are still troops marching to the Dacia Exterior to get their orders so they can fight the evil Scythians. Perhaps the worst was in the Dacian March, which probably was on purpose, as one of the many pastimes (besides executing traders, having orgies with plenty of women, scheming how to take the throne and this time, I promise ya all if you support me, I'll abolish the Draco Council, followed by falling unconscious due to the enormous amount of alcohol drank) was taxing Slavs, making their life miserable, and generally oppressing them. He generally accepted that - a focused nobility means schemes, and that means leaving very quickly before someone stabs him with a really sharp knife during the night.
But it was maybe time for a change. If the roads in Dacia were bad, then the ones in the March were almost non-existent. In the past, that was useful against the Germanic invaders, as their advance was drastically slowed down, which meant that they could be safely taken out. But the times when marauding armies of Germanics were gone; in fact, they have realised that Dacia can be an useful trading partner and defender, possibly even an arbiter in their petty squabbles for power.
However, the danger that Scythia was, and probably will ever be, remained. If Dacia ever has to fight the Scythians, and the armies are still in the dirt, only a tragedy would follow.
"Gather the Draco Council for a meeting! Important things will, and are going to be discussed!" told the king to the nearest servant.
Oh, how he loved the Draco Meetings. They were like a painting of the current sentiments through Dacia, and more importantly, to the Ones In Power, as the people who were in the hall and supposedly decided the "fate of Dacia", were actually just figureheads for the actual people who decide the fate of Dacia. Let us take for an example the noble and powerful Decebral of Butendavia. According to the Noble Archives, containing all the info about one and another noble (i.e empty gossip picked up by one and another author), he would own half of Butendavia, and even sweet portions of the Dacia Mare. Truth, of course, lies in the details. He doesn't own half of Butendavia, because of the merchant named Davos, who has multiple shops in the city. Due to the fact that Dacian laws are often a nightmarish mess, as all laws are, the noble Decebral both owns, and doesn't own his shops, as he gives him a permit, through which he leases the land..but also gives it to Davos. And since the churches are declared "holy land of Zalmoxis", which is solely used as an attempt to dodge taxes, something which clergy will do for the next several centuries, the mighty Decebral, actually owns barely one quarter of Butendavia, and that would be only his numerous villas where he makes spectacular parties, usually with a lot of sex, alcohol, and silk making a gamma of sounds thought impossible before.
And so, he reclined against his chair, as the Draco Council gathered, mostly because he was the king they have elected desired so. Such was life in Dacia; you're just another noble owning land in Dacia Interior and wondering where has your life has gone wrong, then some messenger comes and says, that by a pure coincidence of stars, you're the least hated candidate amongst the entire Draco Council, and now you have absolute power over at least half of the populace, and the other half won't even mind.
"Well, members of the Dacian Council! Well met! I have called you here for a simple reason. Roads. A lot of roads."
"Roads?"
"Yes, roads. I believe you're High Priest Cyprianus, who coincidentally also owns one of the largest stone quarries in Dacia, correct?"
"Zalmoxis gives, and Zalmoxis takes.. but do not think my interest is economical. No, faithful folks there work and quarry all day, and even some.. sinful folks who seek moral enlightenment."
"Yes, in death. That is beyond the topic at hand. Our project is roads. Paved roads. Which require stones. Many stones. I, and probably the entire Dacian population would enjoy that. However, to pave this many roads, many stones will be required. It would be best if export of stones to be stopped until this project is over"
"Labour is in shortage, however, my King. We need manpower for that.."
"Labour shall be found, both for the quarries, and for the road construction. Look to the west, to what most people call empty and barren wastelands. Which, due to policies of local nobility is true, but there's a lot of Slavs living there. If we send some troops there, and convince them to work, and then employ the poorer Dacians living in the slums, I am sure that not only the roads will be built, it shall be done in record time."
"There remains one more problem, my Lord. With all due respect, we don't have skilled enough engineers..."
"This is where these friendly gentlemen behind you come to play. Meet Cornellius, Constantine, Eugen and Florin. They used to be engineers in the Confederation down south, until their employer said something about the local tyrant's palace and him, and everyone working for him exiled. They were so nice to offer their services to us."
"Yes. We feel honoured by your Grace that they have decided to choose our services, and I'm sure we would have been happy to oblige even without this.. unfortunate accident."
"This is the plan for the renewed road system of Dacia."
"It will take at least 15 years, but we guarantee these roads will last for more than 150 years! You shall be remembered as a great builder who brought prosperity to Dacia!"
"Now, members of the Council. Please vote on this new project, which will bring Dacia and the Dacians a bright new future.."
It was accepted with an absolute majority. The Road Project of Dacia shall began, bringing both bad and good.
