ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1092: What I saw at the Krati River
Standing on the side of the ship, Haka could see the long, encircling white breakwater at the mouth of the Kraty River from a distance, with countless ships passing through it, as if it were a busy beehive.

When the boat approached, it was discovered that there were multiple water gates on the breakwater.

"All cargo ships must pass through the water gate on this side and obtain the wooden sign of the dock before they can enter; and the water gate on that side of the breakwater is responsible for inspecting the cargo ships leaving and handing over the wooden sign of the dock. If there is no wooden sign, they will You will be fined. But large ships like ours do not need to pass through the breakwater gate, but go through the wide water channel in the middle and accept inspection by patrol boats..." the captain explained to Haka in detail.

"Why do you make the entire cargo ship inspection process so cumbersome? This delays the delivery time of the cargo ships that come to trade!" A subordinate of Haka pointed to the long queue of cargo ships outside the water gate in front of him, and proposed himself objection.

"It is much better to let them delay for a little time outside the water gate than to swarm in, causing congestion to the entire Kraty River estuary and wasting more time. You can see that there are many boats outside the water gate. In fact, there are even more boats in the estuary. If there is no effective management, it will be a disaster!" the ship owner said seriously.

"You are right." Haka nodded in agreement.

"The owner directed the large passenger ship to bypass the long queue of boats in front of the breakwater and enter the middle river channel.

There is a large wooden platform floating in the center of the river, with a wooden house built on it. In front of the wooden house, the flag of the Kingdom of Dionia is flying high.

The passenger ship took the initiative to dock in front of the platform. An official came out of the wooden house. He asked the ship owner a few questions and checked the documents submitted by the ship owner. Then, with a surprised look on his face, he immediately jumped on the passenger ship and strode to Haka. Respectfully saluted: "Salute to you, Lord Haka!"

Haka nodded politely in return.

"We have received news that the passenger ship you are on may not arrive until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so His Majesty and the Senate may not be ready today. I have to send a fast boat to finish the notification at the inner city pier, so I have to ask you... …Wait here a little longer, I hope you can forgive me!” the official said apologetically.

"That's no problem," Haka agreed.

"We didn't want to come at first, but your king agreed to come after several letters of invitation! Now we have come all the way from Iberia, but you don't let us in. Is this the principle of hospitality? Since we don't Let us in, then we won't go in, go back! Go back to Iberia!..." Standing at the entrance of the cabin was a swaying Hasdrubal, who shouted and looked very angry.

When the port official heard this, he was a little panicked and was about to continue explaining.

"You don't need to worry about him, he's drunk too much, let's follow the procedure and do what we have to do!" Haka comforted him while winking at his subordinates.

Soon, his men and several strong soldiers forced Hasdrubal into the cabin.

The passenger ship docked behind the wooden platform, and the port official stayed with Haka and chatted with him to pass the waiting time.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Haka watched the ships pass by incessantly from the front, rear, left, and right sides, and suddenly discovered that the position of the Hekou Ship Command Office was very ingenious: right in front was the estuary, left , The front obliquely to the right is the breakwater and the water gate, the north side of the river is the entrance of the main port of Turui, and the rear leads to the city of Turui, where all the ships converge here, so there are 10 fast boats in this estuary ship management office. , with eye-catching signs on the sails, is responsible for commanding and dredging the river.

Although Haka felt a little uncomfortable due to the frequent traffic of ships and the hustle and bustle of the river, he did not hide in the cabin again, but asked with interest: "How many cargo ships enter the mouth of the Kraty River every day?"

"On average... there are about 5000 ships." The official thought for a while and said: At most, it can reach tens of thousands of ships, but that is usually during the Hades celebration. "

Although Haka had an estimate, he was still shocked by the number: "So many ships?!"

"Of course, this is only the number of cargo ships entering the Kraty River estuary, and does not include ships in other ports on the Subali coast. For example, there is a large fishing port not far north of the river mouth, where thousands of fishing boats enter and leave every day. It provides fresh seafood to the people throughout the Turiyi region; there is a port just north of the fishing port dedicated to transporting livestock; south of the river mouth, the original 1st Fleet naval base has now been transformed into a port dedicated to public transportation. In the port, many residences in the former naval base have been transformed into hotels, which are overcrowded every day, and there are more than a thousand passenger ships entering and leaving every day...

The cargo ships coming in and out of the Craty River estuary mainly supply goods needed for people's daily life, such as wine, olive oil, cloth, wheat..." The official spoke in detail, and seeing that Haka's expression seemed a little confused, he explained specifically : “My lord, the reason why these ports in Thurii are so busy is because otherwise Turii would not be able to be fed. "

"Why?" Although Haka had some guesses, he still asked for details.

"Because the population of Turui is too large, according to statistics from the Household Registration Department at the end of last year, there are about 30 people in the city of Turui and its surrounding areas alone, and the population of the entire Turui area exceeds 40. Which city can be as huge as Turui City!" The official's face was full of pride, and he continued: "But with such a large population, a lot of supplies are consumed every day, such as food, olive oil, wine, meat, fish... …and so on, almost all items transported by cargo ships are recorded in “tons”. The grain, olive oil, and other materials produced in the Subari Plain and surrounding areas are far from enough, and the entire kingdom, and even The entire Western Mediterranean is supplied.

Moreover, there are many wealthy citizens in Thurii City. They not only need to be well fed and clothed, but also have higher demands on life. Therefore, many precious commodities are shipped here from other parts of the Mediterranean, such as spices from Persia, Gorgeous cloth and exquisite gold and silver jewelry, perfumes and cosmetics from Egypt, ivory from Africa, marble from Greece... That’s why there are so many merchant ships coming to Turii every day, causing our original master to The port can no longer accommodate it, so docks can only be built on both sides of the river to meet the demand..."

Listening to the officials' narration, I looked at the corner of the main port on the north bank of the Kraty River on the left, where masts were like a forest, ships and oars were like the ground, and there was no trace of the color of the sea water at all.

Haka couldn't help but recall the scene of the Carthage port in the past. In his impression, even when Carthage's maritime trade was at its most prosperous, it was far from the scale of the Thurii port today. It was not only the result of meeting the needs of a huge city with a population of more than 40, but also a display of the comprehensive strength of a powerful kingdom, which made Haka even more convinced that the decision he made at the beginning was correct.

The two were talking when the noise around them suddenly became louder.

The river official glanced back, immediately showed joy, and said: "Master Haka, the boat to greet you has arrived!"

Haka turned to look back and saw a large ship coming upstream. Its hull seemed to be made of two warships spliced ​​together, with a wooden building standing in the center above it...

Two-headed dragon!Such a noun immediately flashed in Haka's mind, but obviously this one is different from the former flagship of the Carthage Navy: it has a black hull, the wooden building is red, and the two bows do not collide with each other. Two wooden statues were tilted up, like the heads of dogs; palace guards in velvet suits and purple robes stood on the railings around the wooden building, and the kingdom of Dioria was flying on the towering masts. banner.

After the Western Mediterranean War, the Ministry of Military Affairs considered building a special ship for King Davos to facilitate him to ride on patrols or lead troops on expeditions. Otherwise, it would be too crude and crude to take a passenger ship or warship every time like before. It is not in line with his noble status as a king.

After the shipwrights received the task, after many discussions, they finally decided to build the king's ship based on Carthage's two-headed dragon warship. Considering that this ship would frequently enter and exit the Craty River, the entire warship would also be built. The size has been reduced a bit.

In the end, it was the image that appeared in Jaca's vision. Although there were not many opportunities to sail since it was built, and most of the time it was docked at the pier in the inner city, it has long been a household name among the people of Turui. Therefore, the ships in the river tried to move to both sides, and the entire central waterway soon became wide and smooth.

The ship soon stopped next to the passenger ship that Haka was riding on, and then a wooden ladder was set up. The person who walked onto the passenger ship was a middle-aged man wearing a white Burton with black patterns embroidered on it. He had a slender figure. , elegant temperament.

At this time, the river officials immediately greeted him, saluted respectfully and said, "I salute you, Lord Henipolis!"

The middle-aged man smiled and returned the greeting: "Thank you for your hard work!"

He is Henipolis... Of course Haka has heard of this Dionysian senator who has been following King Davos all year round.

Just when he was looking at the king's confidants, Henepolis came to him with a smile on his face: "Lord Hakkar, welcome back to Thurii! I am Henepolis, the secretary of King Davos. , on behalf of His Majesty the King and the Senate, come to greet you!"

"I have read "The War in Southern Italy" written by Mr. Henepolis several times. It is very exciting! I have long wanted to meet you and have a good chat. When I met you today, it was exactly as I imagined-" Ha Ka paused intentionally, and then said with emphasis: "Gentle and elegant, he is worthy of being a historian!"

　Thanks to book friend 20190613191210700 for the reward!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)