Chapter 375
Lysias gazed at a fleet of more than a dozen warships cruising in front of him. Behind the fleet, two huge white breakwaters could be vaguely seen, like a pair of arms stretching out from both sides of the coast, as though they were trying to hold back the Krati River flowing into the sea.
"The current Turií is completely different from the Turií …" he murmured.
The passenger ships of Athens finally docked at the port.
Based on the information he received about the Danube Alliance, Aesocrates speculated that the port of Turií was not located near the famous trade routes of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea, and it did not have a good natural port, so the sea trade should not be too good. But the scene he saw overturned his thoughts.
Although it was not as prosperous as the port of Piraeus, it was beyond his imagination, especially the huge wooden hangers erected on each pier that attracted his attention. Under the operation of a few labourers, they could easily hoist the large cargo that previously required more than a dozen strong men to lift in the air, and then transfer it to the pier.
Aesocrates, who came from the prosperous sea trade of Athens, immediately realized that if this device could be applied to the port of Piraeus, the port's unloading capacity for merchant ships would be greatly improved!
So he moved closer to take a closer look at the detailed structure of the device, but he was rudely warned by the operator of the hanger: Do not approach, or the patrol will detain you.
Aesocrates returned resentfully.
At this time, a few strong men came in front of Lysias, and the leader said with a fawning smile, "Hi, how do you do! I'm Sperian, the port's porter, this is my serial number, do you have anything you need us to carry? "As he spoke, he showed a small round iron plate pinned to his chest to Lysias.
Lysias, who had not been back to Turií for decades, was really curious and moved closer to take a closer look. The black iron plate had the pattern of a scale on it, and below it was a string of strange symbols.
"What's the use of this thing?" He pointed at the metal piece and asked curiously.
Sperian said proudly, "This can prove that I am officially registered with the port management office as a porter. If there are any accidents such as loss of goods during the transportation, you can go to the port management office to complain about me. You just have to report this number. After the management office verifies the situation, they will punish me and compensate you for your losses. So you can rest assured."
"These are numbers?" Lysias pointed at the row of strange symbols in surprise.
"Of course not Greek numerals." Sperian was happy to show off his superiority in front of the old man who looked like a scholar. "This is a number invented by our Archon Devers. It is easy to remember and easy to use. Party members use it everywhere. The number engraved on it is 2410, remember?"
Lysias nodded, but his heart was in turmoil. It was not because of the strange number. He was not a mathematician, so he was not too sensitive to it. What surprised him was the management of the port in Turií. Just the porter, the most common and lowly labor in the port, could be so meticulously managed. The management ability of the people of Diónia was obvious. Even Athens did not have such measures to regulate the labor market in the Piraeus port. And from this number, the sophisticated Lysias could feel that the bustle of the port in Turií might be even greater than what he saw.
It was not a fluke that Diónia could rise in such a short period of time! Lysias was alert in his heart, and then calmly reminded them, "I hire you to transport the goods, but there are a lot of pottery in the goods, please be careful!"
"Don't worry, I can't remember how many times I have transported goods like pots and such." Sperian guaranteed while negotiating with the entourage of the envoy from Athens.
At this time, Aesocrates also hurried back.
Sperian and a few people carried the goods in a cart with wooden wheels, and led the envoy from Athens out of the crowded dock to the port avenue.
Aesocrates was surprised that the avenue was wider and smoother than the avenue from the Piraeus port to Athens. Looking at the gutters, sidewalks and other facilities on both sides of the avenue, it showed that the people of Diónia were strict and meticulous in the construction of the road.
This made Aesocrates a little depressed: because this seemed to be something that the people of Athens could not compare, their thoughts were more focused on participating in politics, courts and other city-state affairs.
Aesocrates could not help but squat down, stretched out his hand, and touched the grayish-white material that tightly pieced the stones together. He knocked it, and it was still very hard.
"Aesocrates, are you going to change your profession to be an architect?" Lysias understood the reason why he did this, and could not help but make a joke.
"This is your first time coming to Diónia, right?" Sperian was not surprised to see his behavior, but said proudly, "In the territory of Diónia, avenues like this can be seen everywhere, but this avenue is wider. Because there are more and more merchant ships coming to Turín every year, this road has been rebuilt many times, and even the surrounding warehouses and bungalows have been torn down. Now it seems a little narrow. "
This is still considered narrow?! Lysias was a little speechless.
Because most of the traffic on this avenue was carriages, pedestrians walked on both sides of the road, so Sperian had to remind them, "You guys step back to the side of the road and wait for a moment, I will bring the carriage over. But I have to make it clear in advance, the price I negotiated with you before is only for the delivery of goods. The city of Turín is more than ten miles away from the port, if you choose to walk there, we will deliver the goods first and wait for you at the city gate. If you choose to go with us and take my carriage, then you will have to pay a little more. "
Sperian was smart, but Lysias was not stupid. Although he was a scholar, he had been writing defense statements for people in Athens for a living. His life was relatively poor, and he was familiar with things like daily necessities, "Are there no carriages here for people to travel?"
"Of course there are, and there are many." Sperian said truthfully, "Once you leave the port, there are carriages specially for passengers. It is more comfortable to sit in than my cart, but the price is more expensive. And I will give you a ride, and I will only charge a small fee for your hard work. "
For the rich people of Athens, money was not a problem, but Aesocrates was obviously a little tired and afraid of trouble, but he still reminded them, "There are five of us, can your carriage fit?"
"You can rest assured." Sperian did not lie, and soon he brought two carriages over.
When Sperian and the others carefully moved the goods onto the carriages, Lysias could not help but ask, "Is this the carriage you rented?"
"No, it is my carriage." Sperian emphasized the word "I", and said proudly, "As a preparatory citizen, I can apply for a loan from the Cristoya Bank. Now the loan and interest of one carriage have been paid off, and the other one is about to be paid off. "
Soon, the two carriages started moving.
Sperian accompanied Isocrates and Lysias in the first carriage. This kind of caravan did not have a cloth cover, so it had a panoramic view of the port road and its surroundings, which was exactly what Isocrates wanted. He noticed that although there were many carriages and carts on the road, they followed a kind of rule, so it was not chaotic. Even when there was a problem that caused a traffic jam, there would be patrols quickly coming to clear it...
On the other hand, Lysias's attention was more on the carts and carts, because they were all pulled by horses. In Lysias's memory, Turín was not a city rich in horses, and he was surprised to see such a large number of horses at the port, so he asked, "What is the price of horses here?"
"30 drachmas for a mare, 22 drachmas for a stallion."
"How can it be so cheap?!" Lysias was shocked.
"Originally, the price of horses in Turín was more than double the current price, but ever since the Bruti merged into Diónia, the Bruti people have provided a large number of pack horses to the Turín market, so the price of horses has naturally fallen." As Sperian spoke, he patted the butt of the pack horse, and the horse let out a gentle neigh. He said proudly, "Bruti horses are good horses, strong, good endurance, and good temperament. Now even the Lijim people have begun to buy horses from us, so the price will probably rise again in the future..."
As Sperian spoke, the carriage had already reached the exit of the port, waiting for the checkpoint sentries to check before they could pass.
Originally, when Aesocrates' ship entered the mouth of the Krati River, as long as he directly showed his identity as the envoy of Athens to the patrol ship, they did not need to enter the port at all. Instead, they would be led by the patrol ship to the port of Turín, and directly into the Senate of Diónia. However, Aesocrates had other considerations and did not do this.
At this moment, he looked up at the towering city wall that stood in front of the carriage, firmly surrounding the huge port, and could not help but sigh. In the past, when Athens was strong, they also used the same city wall to protect the port of Piraeus, which brought endless wealth to Athens, all the way to Athens. Unfortunately, after the defeat of the Peloponnesus War, the Sparta people forced the people of Athens to dismantle the city wall, so this time Athens and the Thebes joined forces to fight against Sparta. The people were always uneasy, afraid that the Sparta people would rush through the isthmus, and then the completely unguarded port of Piraeus would be a piece of fat meat in the mouth of a hungry wolf. The Citizens' Assembly had proposed to rebuild the city wall several times, but this was a huge project, and in the current situation where the people of Athens were fully engaged in the war, there was no doubt that there were many difficulties, and in the end, it was shelved due to endless disputes.
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