Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 121: Marigi's business plan (1)

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He reminded Epithenes: "If these newcomers come, they will be different from the free soldiers of the third brigade. I'm 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!" Epithenes said 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 squad leader's 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 the beginning to the end, the morale of the soldiers in the square was high, and there were continuous cheers 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 more importantly, with these, the morale of the soldiers will be higher, the command of the team officer will be more efficient, the action will be faster, …

Davers was pleased to see a real army taking shape. He waved the flag and shouted: "The flag is in the team! The flag is dead and the team is dead! What the flag points to! Invincible!"

"The flag is in the team!!! The flag is dead and the team is dead!!! The flag points to it!!! Invincible!!!..."

… … … …

Most Lucarians couldn't understand what the soldiers in the square were shouting, but the overwhelming pressure of the tsunami-like shouts of a mountain torrent made anyone with hostility in their hearts shudder.

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 Would you choose to join a pack of wolves, 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 they have enough food, will not be attacked by vicious 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 he 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 clan to make a living, and I saw a lot of Greek city-state armies, Napoli, Turii, Tarantum... never had one. The Greek army touched me so much like they did! You must know that Amendolara is only a small city, and with such an army, what this consul wants is probably not easy. Since he can't beat them, he will become a If we take their captives, then... we can only make choices that are more conducive to the survival of our people, and I hope the Greeks will not break their promises!"

… … … …

When the whole city was still immersed in the enthusiasm of the spectacular scene on the square yesterday, the commercial officer Marigi was at Davos's house and told him about his business plan: "Sir Consul, we are few in Amendolara. The thalassemia is poor, there are not many rich citizens, there is no special output, 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 was the truth. Why did Amendolara maintain a population of 4,000 citizens after more than 200 years of construction, because this small city could not support more people, so the extra people were only Amendolara has always been a small town because of the ability to emigrate elsewhere to find a livelihood. Davers believed that Marigi dared to tell the truth, so he must have come up with something good.

"But—" Marigi raised his voice and said, "Our neighbor Turii has a very prosperous port, and hundreds of merchant ships trade from other city-states to Turei every day. Our other neighbor, Heraklia, Although the city was not built for a long time, twenty or thirty merchant ships come to trade every day. The port of Metapontum, which is farther away from us, is also prosperous... But according to my observations in the past few days, their ports and markets exist. Some problems. Because there are too many merchant ships and too many goods, the storage is not enough, and the rented warehouses have to be queued, so the goods are stacked in the open space, but they are exposed to the sun for a long time, which is easy to spoil and easy to lose. At the same time, because there are many 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, which is prone to disputes. When disputes occur, the city-state is too slow to solve problems, which not only delays the time of the merchants , 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. ), even in the most difficult times of Athens, Athens did not reduce the purity of silver coins, making this kind of silver coins 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 2,000 years for Uncle Sam to pick up the work that the Athenians did. 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.

"Turiyi 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 on a fast horse, and a caravan in half a day. So—" Marigi glanced at Davos with a smug smile on his face: "We can build a lot of warehouses for goods between the Burano and Cisno rivers in Amendolara, and charge low rents. And also To build a large number of simple hotels, charge low room rates and provide abundant and sufficient food, I believe that it will definitely attract foreign merchants and sailors, as well as free people. Next to the hotel, rebuild a bigger and better market according to the market previously built in Turii, and use our good service to protect the interests of these merchants and sailors, then the trade in Amendolara will surely prosper! "

After Marigi said confidently, Davos couldn't help clapping his hands: 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. It's burying your talent!"

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 likes two kinds of people the most, one is the most The one who will buy the implements and livestock for the land, and cultivate it well; the other is the one who will best defend the land, the implements, and the livestock.'"

Davos thought about it carefully and sighed: "Yeah, after all, Persia has a vast land, and farmers and herdsmen account for the vast majority of the people, so ensuring domestic stability in Persia is the most important issue. And there are so many affiliated countries and city-states. And the race pays taxes to the Persian royal family every year. Persia has no shortage of wealth, so the little Cyrus is right. If he is still alive, he may become a very good Persian king. Unfortunately, many people's hopes are pinned on him alone. When he was on his body, his life did not belong to him, but he didn't understand this, and instead took such a big risk and personally led the troops into the battle... It's a pity!"

Marigi 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 kind of goods the merchants sell. The tariffs on goods that are commonly used and urgently needed by the city-state are low, 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 tariffs are as high as 20 to 30 percent..." Mariji said earnestly what he had learned.

After eleven o'clock, there is one more!