Chapter 79
"I really admire the leader of the Devers. Not only is he good at commanding battles, but he is also very good at business! He made a lot of valuable suggestions. For example, at the entrance of the market, I originally planned to use two fully armed soldiers to guard it, but the leader said, 'That won't do, it will scare the customers who come to buy and sell. We have to consider the customers' feelings. 'So, it turned out like what you see. Now, it seems that the customers have responded very well … Haha … Oh yes, these weighing devices were also his suggestions. There are many other suggestions like this. The reason why this market can become so lively in just twenty days is mainly because of him! I think that even if he doesn't become a mercenary, with his talent, he will definitely become a big businessman! "Marigi's words were from the bottom of his heart.
"Yes, it's really unexpected," Burkos said perfunctorily, thinking about something in his heart.
He turned and walked into the market, and Marigi hurriedly followed to act as a guide.
Following the crowd, the first stall was, of course, the mercenary's own, so it was very large. There were many strange objects and exquisite gold and silver ware placed in different categories … There were many people stopping to look and ask for prices.
"Mersis!" Marigi shouted.
The fat man who was behind the stall directing the slaves to move the goods turned around and immediately said arrogantly, "Marigi, are you here to congratulate me?! I sold a lot of goods today! "
Before Marigi could answer, he saw Burkos and immediately smiled. "Burkos, you are here to buy something too? Just nice, I have something good here. Guess what it is? " As he said this, he raised the thing in his hand. It was shining and dazzling. It was a thin silver rope, decorated with small pieces of gold as thin as cicada wings, forming an inverted triangle. At the top, there was another silver rope …
Marigi's eyes narrowed, and he heard Mersis shout, "Marigi, don't speak!"
"What is this?" Moras asked curiously.
Seeing that everyone had gathered around curiously, Mersis put on a wretched smile and said mysteriously, "This is a gift from Little Cyrus to his most beautiful wife. It was specially made for Little Cyrus by the best goldsmith in Persia. It can provide pleasure in that aspect! Where do you think the beloved wife of Cyrus the Younger will wear it? "
"Could it be … down there …" someone shouted with uncertainty.
"That's right. It seems like you're very experienced!" After Mersis said that, there was a burst of suggestive laughter.
"It is said that Little Cyrus's beloved concubine wore it every night with him … Well … When Little Cyrus died in battle, his beloved concubine was captured by the King of Persia. This thing was left in the barracks and was found by our soldiers." Mercies raised the golden chain and waved it in front of everyone. "Smell it … There might be the fragrance of Little Cyrus's beloved concubine on it! I wanted to stay by myself, but I don't have a wife yet. Think about it, if you buy it and bring it home, you can enjoy the life of the royal family of Persia with your wife or lover! "
After hearing this, Burkos was actually a little tempted.
Someone at the side was already shouting, "How much? I'll buy it! "
Burkos took a look and found that he actually knew him. He was a merchant from the city of Xiliting.
"It's not expensive at all. Look at how intricately made this thing is! Also, it's made of pure gold, and it's not light either! " Mersis flipped the golden chain with his hand, making a low clattering sound. "The lowest price is … Well … 50 Daric gold coins."
"I'll pay 55 gold coins, this thing is mine!" the Xiliting merchant shouted.
"I'll pay 60 gold coins!" someone shouted.
"Hey, I bought it first!"
"But my price is higher than yours!"
"Sixty-five Daric gold coins!"
…
Marigi didn't expect that Mersis would be able to make such a huge profit by fabricating a rarely seen item of the Persia nobility into something used by the royal family. However, he didn't want to remind Mersis. If Cristoya heard about this, she might not have a good impression of him.
Seeing that Burkos had squeezed out of the crowd, he quickly followed.
"I see that there are merchants from other cities who come here to do business," Burkos said.
"There are quite a few. Tarantum, Xiliting, Corunya, Crotone, and other cities. "
Hearing Crotone, Burkos' eyelids twitched.
At this time, Moras pointed to a dozen strong men in front of him and said, "These people are soldiers from your camp, right?"
Marigi sized them up and replied, "Probably warriors from the mercenary camp next door."
"It seems to me that there are many soldiers buying things in this market. It seems that your soldiers are all very rich," Burkos joked.
Marigi smiled perfunctorily. "They're mercenaries. After today, they don't even know if there's a tomorrow. Of course, they have to enjoy themselves when they have money."
Hearing this, Burkos' expression darkened slightly. He sighed and said, "Yes, it's not easy for anyone to live in this chaotic world."
Marigi didn't say anything. In fact, the soldiers in the Devers's camp were not in such a state of mind at all. The Devers inherited and carried forward Menon's practice, and he strengthened the role of the supply camp. During the war, soldiers would deposit most of their belongings with the supply camp. They even had to clearly write on the registration form of the supply camp who would inherit their belongings in the event of misfortune. So that after they died in battle, their belongings could be handed over to the heir … and so on. And when a soldier was in urgent need of money and did not have enough money, he could borrow money from the leader of the mercenaries, the Devers. As long as the request was reasonable, Mercies would deduct the amount of money borrowed from his monthly salary, and there was no interest … These practices of the camp not only allowed the soldiers to reduce their worries and fight with all their might, but also reduced the bad habits of the army such as gambling, usury, extravagant spending, and so on.
Marigi was sure that most of the soldiers who squandered money in the market were not from the Devers's camp. Moreover, there was a limit to the number of soldiers who could leave the camp every day. There were only two places in a small team, and they had to return to the camp when the time was up, or they would be punished according to military law.
Marigi had witnessed with his own eyes the efforts that the Devers had put into changing this army. They had faced many censure and even almost had the army disbanded, but they did not give in and managed to survive in the end. Now, these soldiers could act according to military rules. Most of the time, they were either in the training ground, building camp facilities, or going to the supply camp to check how much their money had increased. From their passionate but calm eyes, Marigi could tell that they were no ordinary mercenaries.
Marigi had seen the Sparta army led by Cleethorpes. They were a group of disciplined killing machines, but they lacked passion for life other than fighting. He had also seen the Persia army. Although they were large in number, they lacked discipline and faith, especially the servant army. The Devers's army not only had the bravery and discipline of the Sparta people, but they also had the faith to fight to the death for a better life. Moreover, they had a magical commander. What if Dyvers didn't have two thousand men under him, but twenty thousand or thirty thousand? This beautiful imagination was one of the reasons why Marigi stayed …
"I found that you have everything in this market!" Burcos's voice interrupted Marigi's thoughts.
"There's actually a blacksmith shop!"
"It's just a small shop that accepts orders. The Turís don't let us enter the city, but we still need to repair and buy our weapons," Marigi argued.
"What about this one that buys clay pots?"
"We can't use our hands to drink water and boil soup, right?"
"A cloth shop?"
"The soldiers haven't changed their clothes for half a year. We can't let them wear armor when they're not fighting, right?"
"What about this stone shop?"
"We can't just use trees for our camp. The key positions should be secured with stones."
"What about this boat shop?! Don't tell me that you mercenaries want to build a fleet! "Burcos's face was filled with anger as he shouted," You're robbing us! You're robbing the Turís market and stealing the wealth of the Turís! "
Marigi lowered his head and explained in a low voice, "The amount of goods we buy and sell is not much —"
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