Chapter 748
Since the two most important Turií merchants had chosen to be courteous, Sostatus no longer refused. When he stood up, the other merchants stopped whispering and listened attentively to him with respect. This respect was not only because of his background, but also because of his own ability, even though he was the youngest among the merchants.
"Everyone, I'll make it short so that I don't waste your time making money." As soon as Sostatus spoke, laughter erupted around him.
"After the food that we spent a lot of money on arrived at the port, His Majesty summoned me to express his gratitude for our generous donation. At the same time, he also said that because of this food, he had the opportunity to personally lead an army to conquer Rome in central Italy. He hoped that we, the Turií merchants who donated food, would follow his army to the expedition —"
"What?! We've already donated so much food, and he wants us to continue providing for the army?! "Calmades, the wine merchant, shouted in dissatisfaction before Sostatus could finish.
"Shut up, Calmades!" Sostatus glared at him and warned, "Whether it's out of stupidity or other reasons, don't insult the great King of Devers again, or get out of here!"
"That's right, the great King of Devers is not to be insulted!" Dios emphasized loudly, and the crowd echoed him.
Most of the merchants in the Kingdom of Diónia respected the King of Devers, not only because the bank established by his wife, Cristoya, had a huge impact on the kingdom's commerce, but also because of the new business management model and the meticulous division of labor process that he invented, which was an unprecedented innovation in Diónia's commerce. Therefore, some merchants even believed that the Devers were not only the descendants of Hades, but also favored by Hermes.
"Calmades is absolutely not disrespectful to the King of Devers. He's just worried that he'll have to make endless donations for the army's expedition," the shipbuilder, Micris, defended his friend.
Micris was the cousin of Enanilus, and Calmades was the son of Orifis. Both of them were prominent families of the original Turií. They were related by marriage and had close contacts. Back then, because of the Polyxis case, both Enanilus and Orifis were implicated and imprisoned, but their families and businesses were not affected too much. It was only their political status that plummeted, so it was inevitable that they would feel uncomfortable. In truth, both Enanilus and Orifis had been released a few years ago due to the completion of their sentences, but because of the scandal, for the sake of their families, it was no longer appropriate for them to appear in public again.
"Looks like you two are really stupid!" Sebonus, the slave trader, stood up. He was the one who had urged Sostatus to speak.
The merchant was tall and rough, and his words were harsh, but people were still willing to be close to him because he could always provide satisfactory slaves. The great demand for slaves in the Kingdom of Diónia made Sebanus, who had a rich source of slaves, a lot of money.
At this moment, he laughed loudly, "Don't you understand? This is the reward for the food that His Majesty the Devers has given us! Since the establishment of Diónia, when has the army needed us merchants to accompany them?! Never before, but now we do! This means that we can get the captives captured by the powerful King's regiment at the most favorable price in time! We can also get the spoils of war obtained by the army at the most favorable price! We can get the shops in the towns occupied by the army at the most favorable price and have the priority to occupy the market! … "
Sebonus's impassioned words made everyone's eyes shine. Some even shouted excitedly, "Victory to His Majesty the Devers!"
Calmades could not help but whisper, "Don't be happy too early. This expedition may not necessarily be victorious."
However, it happened to be heard by the wool textile merchant, Frasias, who was next to him.
Frasias was originally a cloth merchant from the island of Uiberia. After coming to Turií to do business, he found that the wool of Diónia was not only of high quality, but also cheap and abundant (because of the two excellent pastures in Lucania and Bruti). Therefore, he chose to settle down and become a citizen of Diónia. He began to change to wool textiles. By taking a loan from the Cristoia Bank, abandoning the traditional model of a family workshop, and carrying out the meticulous management of large factories, his clothing factory quickly expanded rapidly. The wool blankets, luxurious wool gowns, and wool tunics were very popular with the people of Diónia and were exported to other inland city-states. Thus, he became a big merchant.
Therefore, after hearing Calmades's words, he immediately retorted loudly, "Under the leadership of His Majesty the Devers, when has our army ever been defeated! It is not the attitude of a citizen of Diónia to look forward to the defeat of the King Team! "
Facing the dissatisfied gazes of the others, Calmades hurriedly explained, "I … I hope that the army will not be too careless, because I heard … I heard that Rome is a very powerful city-state …"
"I heard that this expedition to Rome consists of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Legio VI, as well as the First and Second Cavalry Legions!" Sostatus interrupted him and said loudly, "This is an army of nearly 60,000 soldiers! Everyone, I remember that even the Battle of Crotone and the Battle of Brindisi (that is, during the conquest of Apulia by the Devers, there was never such a large number of soldiers sent out! No matter how powerful Rome is, how can it resist such a powerful army of Diónia! "
"Sostatus is right. This will be another great victory! No wonder you are so excited. It turns out that you already knew about this news. This time, you will get a lot of cheap Latin slaves and make a fortune! What are the rest of you still hesitating for?! " With Dicboris adding fuel to the fire, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became lively.
The merchants all expressed that they would personally follow the army of the King of Devers to Latin to open a new trading base for their own industries in Central Italy.
Amidst the noisy chatter, Forsias's question made everyone turn their attention to Sostatus again. "Guild leader, is it true that only the merchants from Tuliyi will follow the army to Radym?"
"Of course not." Sostatus looked a little helpless. "And the merchants of Lijim … because they have also donated a large amount of food to the kingdom for free."
"Sigh …" Everyone sighed in frustration.
At this time, Dios spoke, "You do not have to worry. Latin has a vast territory and many city-states. Even with the addition of the merchants of Lijim, there is still enough profit for us to earn. Moreover, the merchants of Lijim are very different from us. Most of their merchants are engaged in transshipment trade, warehousing, and hotel services (this is due to the fact that Lijim's land is barren and narrow, and its special geographical location near the most important trade route in the Mediterranean Sea). On the other hand, we rely on real goods to earn profits. There is not much conflict of interest between both parties. On the contrary, we can strengthen our cooperation … "
"What Dios said makes sense. I heard that the city-states by the sea in the Latin region are backward in economy and have poor trade. Their ports are small and poor, and they can be handed over to the Lijim people who are the best at operating ports to expand and manage. My men and slaves can also stay in their hotels. With them in charge of transportation, it will save a lot of trouble … "Sebanus' words made the gloomy expressions on the merchants' faces dissipate.
In fact, the participation of the merchants of Lijim did not affect most of the merchants of Turií much, but there was still competition for a small number of people. For example, the transportation and transshipment trade of the fleet was in direct competition with Sostatus' main business.
However, Sostatus was very broad-minded and confident. In fact, he had long set his eyes on the transshipment trade of the merchants of Lijim. He wanted to strengthen and upgrade his own fleet through poaching and purchasing people, and expand the channels of external marketing. However, Lijim was a free city in the past, and the merchants of Lijim were monolithic. It was not easy to get close to them. Now that the city had been completely annexed to the kingdom, and with the opportunity of this expedition, it was convenient for him to get close to the merchants of Lijim. He believed that he would gain a lot.
However, for the shipbuilder Mikris, the participation of the merchants of Lijim would be a great pressure because he was facing competition from the in-laws of the King of Devers, Alcibidus.
When Mikris' cousin, Enanilus, was the commander of the Navy of Diónia, Alcibidus' shipyard was invited to enter Turií by the King of Devers. Due to Enanilus' poor management, the quality of the warships and ordinary ships manufactured by the family shipyard had declined, so Alcibidus' shipyard had snatched a lot of the market share. Coupled with his fall, the shipbuilders and laborers of the family shipyard were even more panicked. As a result, many of them were poached by their competitors.
When Mikris took over, the efficiency of his shipyard was not as good as before. Fortunately, he made up his mind and carried out strict management of the shipyard. He also actively improved the technology, greatly improving the quality of the ships and regaining some of the share of shipbuilding. However, it was far from being able to compete with Alcibidus' shipyard. At this time, the Ministry of Military Affairs also began to give orders to Mikris to build warships, and bluntly told him that it was the king's decree. As a result, others thought that Enanilus' family had been forgiven by the King of Devers, and they began to take the initiative to contact Mikris, causing the sales of the ships manufactured by him to soar. The family, which had decades of shipbuilding history in Turií, was revitalized.
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