ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 371 Visit from Athens
Lysias' eyes were fixed on a fleet of more than a dozen warships cruising in front of him. Behind the fleet, two huge white breakers could be vaguely seen, like a pair of arms stretching out from both sides of the coast. , as if to retain the Krati River flowing into the sea.

"Today's Thurii is a completely different Thurii..." he murmured.

The Athens passenger ship finally entered the port dock and docked.

Isocrates speculated based on the information he obtained about the Danya League. He believed that the port of Thurii was not located near the famous trade routes in the eastern and western Mediterranean, and it did not have a natural excellent port. Maritime trade should It wouldn't be good, but what he saw changed his mind.

Although this place is not as prosperous as the Piraeus port, it has exceeded his imagination. In particular, the huge wooden hangers erected on each pier attracted his attention: on several With laborious operation, it can easily lift large cargo in the air that previously required a dozen strong men to lift on a cargo ship, and then transfer it to the dock.

Isocrates from Athens, where maritime trade is prosperous, immediately realized that if this device could be applied to the port of Piraeus, the wharf's ability to unload merchant ships could be greatly improved!
So he leaned over to take a closer look at the detailed structure of the device, but was rudely warned by the operator of the hanger: Do not get closer, otherwise the patrol will detain him.

Isocrates returned angrily.

At this time, several strong men came in front of Lysias. The first one said with a flattering smile: "Hi, hello! I am Sperian, the porter at the port. This is my number. You Is there anything we need to carry?" As he spoke, he showed Lysias a small round piece of iron pinned to his chest.

Lysias, who had not been back to Turiyi for decades, was really curious and walked over and took a closer look: the dark iron plate had a scale pattern on it and a series of strange symbols below it.

"What's the use of this thing?" He pointed at the iron piece and asked curiously.

Sperian said with some pride: "This can prove that I am a porter officially registered with the port management office. If there is any unexpected situation such as loss of cargo during the transportation, you can complain to me at the port management office. Just report it." Just this number will do. After the management office personnel verify the situation, they will punish me and compensate you for your losses, so you can rest assured."

"These are numbers?" Lysias pointed to the line of strange symbols in surprise.

"Of course they are not Greek numbers." Sperian was happy to show his superiority in front of this old man who looked like a scholar: "These are numbers invented by our Archon Davos, which are both easy to remember and easy to use. , Dionia is used everywhere, and the number engraved on it is 2410, remember?"

Lysias nodded, but his heart was churning.It was not because of this strange number. He was not a mathematician and was not very sensitive to this. He was surprised that Tuliyi was able to manage the port only from porters, the most common and humble labor force in the port. With such meticulous management, the Dionians' ability to manage their city is evident. Even Athens has no such measures to regulate the labor market in the mixed-race Piraeus port.And from this number, the sophisticated Lysias could feel that the port of Thurii was busier than what he saw in his eyes.

Dionia's rise in a short period of time is definitely not a fluke!Lysias was alert in his heart, and then reminded him calmly: "I hired you to carry the goods, but there are a lot of pottery in the goods, please be careful!"

"Don't worry, I can't even remember how many times I have moved goods such as clay pots." Sperian assured while negotiating the price with the entourage of the Athenian mission.

At this time, Isocrates also rushed back.

Sperian took a few people to load the goods on a wooden cart with wooden wheels, and led the Athenian envoy out of the crowded dock and onto the port road.

Isocrates was surprised that this avenue was wider and smoother than the avenue from Piraeus to Athens. Looking at the ditches, sidewalks and other facilities on both sides of the avenue, it shows that Dionia People pay strict attention to road construction.

This made Isocrates a little frustrated: because this seemed to be beyond the reach of the Athenians, who focused more on participating in political affairs, courts and other city-state affairs.

Isocrates couldn't help but squat down, stretched out his hand, touched the gray-white substance that tightly joined the stones, and knocked it. The texture was still very hard.

"Isocrates, are you going to change your career to become an architect?" Lysias understood the reason for doing this and couldn't help but joke.

"Is this your first time coming to Dionia?" Sperian did not feel strange when he saw his behavior, but said proudly: "In the territory of Dionia, avenues like this can be seen everywhere, but This avenue is just wider. Because more and more merchant ships come to Turiyi every year, this road has been rebuilt many times, and many of the surrounding warehouses and bungalows have been demolished. Now it seems that it is still a bit narrow."

Is this too narrow? !Lysias was speechless.

Because most of the traffic on this avenue is carriages, and pedestrians often walk on both sides of the road, Sperian had to remind: "You all retreat to the side of the road first, wait a while, and I will bring the carriages. But first I have to Just to clarify, what I was talking to you about before was only responsible for the price of delivering the goods. Turui City is more than ten miles away from the port. If you choose to walk, we will deliver the goods to the gate of the city and wait for you first. If you choose to go with us If you take my carriage together, you will have to pay a little more fare."

Sperian is shrewd, and Lysias is equally not confused. Although he is a scholar, he has been making a living by writing litigation defense statements on behalf of others in Athens. His life is relatively difficult, and he is still relatively familiar with things like food, rice, oil, and salt: "Is it possible here? Isn’t there a carriage specially designed for people to travel?”

"Of course there are, there are many more." Sperian said truthfully: "When we leave the port, there are those carriages specially designed to carry guests. They are more comfortable to ride than my pack car, but they are more expensive. And I took them with me by the way. You will only be charged a small amount of hard work fee for each trip.”

For the wealthy Athenians, money was not a problem, but Isocrates was obviously a little tired and worried about trouble, but he still reminded: "There are five of us, can your carriage fit?"

"Don't worry." Sperian didn't lie, and soon he led two carriages.

When Sperian and the others carefully loaded the goods onto the carriage, Lysias couldn't help but ask: "Is this the carriage you rented?"

"No, it's my carriage." Sperian emphasized the pronunciation of "I" and said proudly: "As a preliminary citizen, I can apply for a loan from Christoya Bank. Now a car The loan and interest on the carriage have been paid off, and the other one is on the way.”

Soon, the two carriages started.

Sperian accompanied Isocrates and Lysias in the first carriage. This kind of cargo-carrying carriage has no cloth and can have a clear view of the port road and the surrounding situation, which is exactly what Isocrates wanted. Mind.He noticed that although there were many horse-drawn carriages and carriages on the road, they were traveling according to a certain rule, so they appeared to be numerous but not chaotic.Even when there is a problem that causes congestion, a patrol team will quickly come to clear it...

Lysias paid more attention to the wagons and pack cars, because they were all pulled by horses.In Lysias' memory, Thurii was not a city-state rich in horses, but he saw such a large number of horses at the port, so he asked: "What is the price of horses here?"

"30 drachmas for a mare and 22 drachmas for a stallion."

"How can it be so cheap?!" Lysias was shocked.

"It turns out that the price of horses in Turiyi is more than double what it is now, but since Bruti merged with Dionia, the Bruti people have provided a large number of pack horses to the Turiyi market in the past few years, and the price of horses has naturally increased. It's down." Sperian said, patting the pack horse's butt. The horse neighed softly and said proudly: "Bruti is a good horse, with great strength, good endurance, and a good temper. Now he can't even Lijim people have also begun to come to us to buy horses, and it is estimated that prices will rise again in the future..."

When Sperian spoke, the carriage had already arrived at the exit of the port and was waiting for inspection by the checkpoint sentry before passing.

Originally, when Isocrates’ boat entered the mouth of the Crati River, as long as they directly identified themselves as the envoys of Athens to the patrol boat, they did not need to enter the port at all, but would be introduced by the patrol boat to the pier in Turui City and directly enter Dionia The Senate, but Isocrates had other considerations and did not do so.

At this moment, he looked up at the tall city wall that stood in front of the carriage and tightly surrounded the huge port. He couldn't help but sigh: When Athens was strong in the past, it also used city walls to protect the Port of Piraeus, which brought endless wealth to Athens. Protected and connected all the way to Athens.Unfortunately, after the failure of the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans forced the Athenians to dismantle the city wall. This time, Athens and Thebes united against Sparta. The people were always uneasy, fearing that the Spartans would rush through. Isthmus, then the completely defenseless port of Piraeus is a piece of fat in the mouth of a hungry wolf.The citizens' assembly proposed rebuilding the city wall several times, but this was a huge project. With Athens currently fully engaged in the war, it was undoubtedly full of difficulties. In the end, it was shelved due to endless disputes.

When the walls of Piraeus are rebuilt, that will be when Athens rises again!Isocrates had his own profound understanding of this.

　Thanks to ﹑﹑︴﹟Tongい for the tip!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)