Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 119

[Chapter 18 Marigi’s Business Planning (1)]

He reminded Epithenes: “If these newcomers come, after all, they are different from the free soldiers of the third brigade. I am afraid you need to submit a proposal to the Senate meeting for other elders to discuss and review, I can be sure Tell you, I will do my best to get this proposal passed. Just want to become citizens, the conditions they have to meet may be more difficult, you have to be mentally prepared. In addition, when you go to the Eastern Mediterranean region, it is best to do it quietly, and don’t provoke trouble. Badas!”

“Understood!” said Epithenes excitedly.

Then came the presentation of the flag of the company captain, on top of which was the iron statue of Tisifon, the goddess of nemesis, who held a torch in one hand and a viper whip in the other.

The flag under the statue is also embroidered with a gold star and company number…

and the top of the flag is an iron statue of the three-headed dog Cerpalos, the three-headed dog of hell…

The whole ceremony lasted for nearly two hours, from beginning to end. In the end, the morale of the soldiers in the square was high, and there were continuous cheers from the outside.

In the end, Davos held high the military flag again, and all the phalanxes under the stage held high the brigade flag, company flag, detachment flag, gold, silver and iron statues, red and yellow flags, red, purple and white caps, adding a few more elements to this piece of copper wall and iron wall. The points are bright, but the more important thing is that with these, the morale of the soldiers will be higher, the command of the team officers will be more efficient, and the actions will be faster,…

Davos is very happy to see a real army is taking shape.

He waved the big flag and shouted: “The flag is in the team! The flag is dead and the team is dead! What the flag points to! It is invincible!”

“The flag is in the team!!! The flag is dead and the team is dead!!! The flag points!!! !……”

……

Most Lucarians could not understand what the soldiers in the square were shouting, but the overwhelming pressure caused by the tsunami-like shouts of the mountain torrent made the Anyone with hostility in their hearts is horrified.

Vespa and his son Bagul understood, so they were silent longer.

Finally, Weisba let out a long sigh, as if to spit out the uneasiness in his heart: “Child, do you remember the wolves that we often see in the mountains? After the powerful wolf king defeated other lone wolves, some lone wolves became Will you choose to join the wolf pack, do you think those wolves are cowardly?”

“No, father, I think they are the smartest, because they know that only under the leadership of the powerful wolf king will there be sufficient food, They will not be attacked by ferocious enemies, and their blood will continue to multiply! … And those arrogant wolves or lonely old dead mountains, or become food for other beasts! … ” Bagul understood what his father was thinking. , so I took the opportunity to comfort him.

Vespa nodded, and

he gradually made a decision in his heart: “When I was young, I used to lead my people to make a living, and I saw many Greek city-state troops, Napoli, Turii, Tarantum… A Greek army like them touched me so much! You must know that Amendolara is just a small city, and with such an army, what this consul wants is probably not easy. Since he can’t beat them, he can If we become their captives, then… we can only make choices that are more conducive to the survival of our clan, and I hope the Greeks will not break their promises!”

……………………

When the whole city was still immersed in the square yesterday In the enthusiasm of the spectacular scene, the commercial officer Marigi was at Davos’s house and told him about his business plan: “Sir Consul, we in Amendolara have few thalassic poor, not many rich citizens, and no There are special outputs, and there is no port. If we want to follow the usual method, it is difficult to attract foreign merchants to trade with us…”

Davos nodded, but this is the truth, why did Amendolara build a city of two hundred For many years, it has always maintained a population of 4,000 citizens. Because this small town cannot support more people, the extra people have to emigrate to other places to find a livelihood, so Amendolara has always been a small town.

Davers believed that Marigi dared to tell the truth, so he must have come up with something good.

“But—” Marigi said, raising his voice, “the port of our neighbor Turii is very prosperous, and hundreds of merchant ships are traded every day from other city-states to Turii. Another neighbor of ours, Heraklia , although the city was not built for a long time, there are twenty or thirty merchant ships coming to trade every day. And the port of Metapontum, which is farther away from us, is also prosperous… But according to my observations in the past few days, their port and There are some problems in the market. Because there are too many merchant ships and too many goods, the storage is not enough, and the rented warehouses have to queue up, so the goods are stacked in the open space, but they are easily spoiled and lost due to the sun exposure for a long time. At the same time, because foreign sailors There are not enough hotels in the city, not only the cost of living, but also the price of food, which makes them complain very much. Also, there are many people in the port, and disputes are prone to occur. time, and often favors the people of his own city-state…” Mariji said a lot of the drawbacks of the neighboring city-state ports in one breath, obviously he did a full investigation, and even combined some of his own experience as a businessman.

Hearing this, Davos could vaguely guess what business he was going to start in Amendolara.

In the past few days, when he was chatting with his wife Christoya, he found that compared with the modern people in the previous life, the economic concepts of the Mediterranean businessmen in this era were not bad, and even the insurance business (mainly maritime affairs) appeared in the Athens banking industry. Insurance), what is even more frightening is that the Athenians have learned to use currency to promote and consolidate the commercial hegemony of Athens.

Before the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians used the silver produced by the Laurion silver mine to cast extremely high-purity “owl” silver coins (the Athenian silver coin is engraved with the head of the patron god Athena on one side, and the other side is Athena’s token owl. ), Athens did not reduce the purity of the silver coin even in its most difficult times, making this silver coin so popular among the Greek city-states.

Then Athens forced the unification of currency in the Delian League, which made Athens firmly control the trade of the Delian League and consolidated its hegemony.

It took more than two thousand years for Uncle Sam to pick up the work of the Athenians.

Therefore, Davos did not dare to underestimate the wisdom of these ancient people. He did not express his opinion rashly, but listened carefully to what Marigi said.

“Turii is only fifty miles away from us, Heraclea is about the same, and Metapontum is a little further away, but only over ninety miles away. It can be reached in more than an hour by fast horses, and half a day by caravans. So— Marigi glanced at Davos with a smug smile on his face: “We can build a lot of cargo warehouses between the Burano and Cisno rivers in Amendolara, and charge a lower rent. We will also build a large number of simple hotels, charge lower room rates and provide abundant and sufficient food. I believe that it will definitely attract foreign merchants and sailors, as well as free people to enter. When more people are stationed, we will be able to store in these warehouses. And next to the hotel, build a bigger and better market according to the market built before in Turui, and use our good service to protect the interests of these merchants and sailors, then the trade of Amendolara will surely prosper. !”

After Marigi said confidently, Davos couldn’t help applauding: Isn’t this the commodity distribution center in the previous life!

“Very good, Marigi! It seems that you are well-deserved as a commercial officer!” Davers made no secret of his admiration for Marigi: “In the beginning, little Cyrus only asked you to be the trade director of Media. What has buried your talents!”

Speaking of Cyrus the Younger, Marigi looked slightly gloomy and said, “Because His Royal Highness Cyrus the Younger prefers soldiers and peasants to businessmen. He has said many times, ‘He is the best I like two kinds of people, one is the one who is best at buying farm implements and livestock for the land and cultivating the land very well; the other is the one who is best at defending the land, farm implements and livestock.'”

Davers thought about it carefully , sighed: “Yes, after all, Persia has a vast land, and farmers and herdsmen account for the vast majority of the country, so ensuring the stability of Persia is the most important issue. And there are so many affiliated countries, city-states and races that pay the Persian royal family every year. Taxes, Persia is not lacking in wealth, so little Cyrus is right. If he is still alive, he may become a very good Persian king. Unfortunately, when many people’s hopes are pinned on him, UU reading wwwwww .sonicmtl.com His life doesn’t belong to him, but he doesn’t understand this. Instead, he took such a big risk and personally led the troops into the battle… It’s a pity!”

Mariji also sighed.

“I agree with all your plans! In addition, I will add a few more points.” After Davos finished speaking, Marigi immediately pricked up his ears. He knew that Davos had extraordinary talent in business. The market is so lively, mainly because of the consul’s handwriting.

“One is the road. Right now, there is only one dirt road connecting us with Turii and Heraclea. It is too difficult to walk, and it is not good for the merchants to transport goods. To build strong bridges over those rivers, I will start preparations soon. The other is that warehouses and hotels must not only reduce rental costs, but also ensure cleanliness and safety, and no theft and robbery are allowed. , this requires you to discuss with Hiros and come up with a solution. By the way, what are the tariffs of the city-states of Turii, Heraklia, and Metapontum?”

“It depends on what the merchants sell. What kind of goods. Commonly used and urgently needed goods in the city-state have low tariffs, generally only 2%. Foreign goods that are not commonly used by the city-state, or even threaten the survival of citizens who produce similar goods in the city-state, the tariff is as high as 2%. Ten to 30 percent…” Marighi spoke earnestly of what he had learned.