Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Standing on the side of the ship, Hakkar saw the long, embracing white breakwater at the mouth of the Krati River, and countless boats shuttled through it, as if it were like a busy beehive.

When the ship approached, I realized that there were many water gates on the breakwater.

"All cargo ships have to pass through the water gate on this side to obtain the wooden sign at the dock before they can enter; and the water gate on the breakwater on that side is responsible for inspecting the outgoing cargo ship and handing over the wooden sign on the pier. You will be fined. But a large ship like ours does not need to pass through the breakwater gate, but walks in the middle of the wide channel to be inspected by the patrol ship..." The captain explained to Haka in detail.

"Why make the entire cargo ship inspection process so cumbersome? This is too much time for the cargo ship coming to trade to enter the port for delivery!" A subordinate of Haka pointed at the long line of cargo ships outside the water gate in front of him and proposed himself Dissent.

"Let them spend a little time outside the water gate, which is always better than swarming them, causing congestion to the entire Krati estuary and wasting much more time. You see there are many boats outside the water gate, in fact, there are more boats in the estuary. Many, if there is no effective management, it will be a disaster!" The shipowner said seriously.

"You are right." Haka nodded in agreement.

"The shipowner directed this large passenger ship to bypass the long lines of ships in front of the breakwater and enter the middle channel.

A large wooden platform floated in the middle of the river channel, and a wooden house was built on top of it. The flag of the Kingdom of Dionysia was flying high in front of the wooden house.

When the passenger ship actively docked in front of the platform, an official came out of the cabin. He asked the owner for a few words and checked the documents submitted by the owner. Then he was surprised and immediately jumped on the passenger ship and strode to Haka. Respectful salute: "Salute to you, Master Haka!"

Haka also nodded politely.

"The news we have received is that the passenger boat you are taking may arrive tomorrow, so your Majesty and the Senate may not be prepared today. I have to send a clipper to catch the notice of the inner city terminal, so I have to ask you... …Wait a little longer here and hope you can forgive!” the official said apologetically.

"This is no problem." Haka agreed.

"We were reluctant to come. It was your king who had written and invited several times before agreeing to come! Now that we have come from Iberia for thousands of miles, you are not letting us in. Is this the reason for hospitality? Since not Let's go in, then we won't go in, go back! Go back to Iberia!..." There was a swaying Hasdrubba at the entrance to the cabin, he yelled, looking very angry.

Upon hearing this, the port official was a little flustered and wanted to continue explaining.

"You don't have to worry about him, he has drunk too much, let's follow the procedure and do what we should!" Haka gave him a wink while comforting him.

Soon, his men took several strong soldiers to force Hasdrubal into the cabin.

The passenger ship docked at the rear of the wooden platform, and the port official also accompanied him to chat with him to spend the waiting time.

Haka stood on the bow of the ship, watching a boat traverse from the front, rear, left, and right side, and suddenly found that the position of the command post called the estuary ship is very clever: the front is the estuary, left , The right oblique front is the breakwater and water gate, the north side of the river bank is the entrance of the main port of Turi, and the back leads to the city of Turi, all the ships are staggered here, so this estuary ship management institute has 10 express boats There are striking signs on the sails, responsible for directing and clearing the river.

Despite the frequent vessel traffic and the noisy river, Haka felt a little uncomfortable, but instead of hiding in the cabin, he asked with interest: "How many cargo ships enter the mouth of the Krati River every day?"

"On average... there are about 5,000 ships." The official thought for a while and said: At most, it can reach tens of thousands of ships, but that is usually during the Hades celebration."

Although Haka estimated this, he was taken aback by this number: "So many ships?!"

"Of course, this is just the number of cargo ships entering the mouth of the Krati River. It does not count the ships in other ports on the coast of Xubari. For example, there is a large fishing port not far north of the estuary. Thousands of fishing boats enter and leave there every day. Provide fresh seafood to the people of the entire Turri region; there is also a port just north of the fishing port for the transportation of livestock; the naval base of the original 1st Fleet south of the estuary is now converted into a dedicated transportation for the public Many of the original naval base residences have been transformed into hotels in the ports, and there are overcrowded people every day. There are more than 1,000 passenger ships entering and leaving every day...

The cargo ships going in and out of the Krati estuary are mainly for supplying the commodities needed by the people in daily life, such as wine, olive oil, cloth, wheat..." The official said in detail. Seeing Haka's expression seemed to be a bit confusing, and explained specifically. : "My lord, the ports of Turui are so busy because it would be impossible to feed Turiri."

"Why?" Although Haka guessed, he still asked thoroughly.

"Because the population of Turi is too large, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Household Registration at the end of last year, there are about 300,000 people in and around Turi City alone, and the total population of Turi is more than 400,000. Which city can be as large as the city of Turui!” The official was proud of his face, and then said: “But so many people consume a lot of materials every day, food, olive oil, wine, meat, fish... …Wait, almost all the goods transported by cargo ships use'tons' as the basic recording unit. The food, olive oil and other materials produced by the Xubari Plain and the surrounding area are not enough. It requires the entire kingdom and even The entire Western Mediterranean came to supply.

Moreover, there are many affluent citizens in Turi City. They not only need to eat and wear well, but also have a higher demand for life. Therefore, there are many precious commodities shipped from other parts of the Mediterranean, such as spices from Persia, Gorgeous fabrics and fine gold and silver jewelry, perfumes and cosmetics from Egypt, ivory from Africa, marble from the native Greece... So, there are so many merchant ships coming to Turri every day, leading to our original master The port is no longer able to accommodate it, and it is only possible to build piers on both sides of the river channel.

Listening to the official's story, I looked at a corner of the main port on the north bank of the Krati River on the left, where the masts were like forests and lugs, and there was no trace of the color of the sea.

Hakkar's mind could not help but the scene of the port of Sigathaki. In his impression, even when Carthage's sea trade was at its most prosperous, it was far from the size of the port of Turiri today. Not only the result of satisfying the needs of a huge city with a population of more than 400,000 people, but also the display of the comprehensive strength of a powerful kingdom, which makes Haka firmly determined that the decision he made was correct.

The two were talking, and the noise around them suddenly became louder.

The river official glanced backwards, and immediately appeared happy, saying, "Master Haka, the boat that welcomes you is here!"

Haka turned his head to look back, and saw a large ship heading upstream, whose hull seemed to be composed of two warships, and a wooden building stood in the center above...

Double-headed dragon!Such a term flashed immediately in Haka’s mind, but apparently this ship was different from the previous Carthage Navy flagship: it was a black hull, the wooden building was red, and the two bows did not collide, but instead Two wooden statues were lifted up, like dog heads; standing on the boat rail aisle around the wooden building were court guards in fleece and purple robes, and the Kingdom of Dioria fluttered on the towering mast banner.

After the Western Mediterranean War, the Ministry of Military Affairs considered making a special ship for King Davers to facilitate his travel when he was on a cruise or the leader’s expedition. Otherwise, he would take a passenger ship or a warship every time as before, which was too shabby. Not in line with his distinguished kingship.

After receiving the task, the boatmen finally decided to build the king’s ship based on the double-headed dragon warship of Carthage after considering the task. Considering that this ship will often enter and leave the Krati River, the entire warship will also be Has been reduced in size.

It is ultimately the image that appears in the vision of Haka. Although it has not had many opportunities to sail since its completion, most of the time it docked at the pier in the inner city, but it has long been a household name among the Turiyi people. Therefore, the boats in the river channel try to lean on both sides, and the entire central channel quickly becomes wide and smooth.

The ship quickly stopped next to the passenger boat on which Haka was riding, and then a wooden ladder was set up. On the passenger boat was a middle-aged man wearing white Bolton embroidered with black stripes. , Elegant temperament.

At this moment, the river official greeted him immediately, and said respectfully, "Salute to you, Master Henripolis!"

The middle-aged man smiled back: "It's hard!"

He is Henripolis... Of course, Haka had heard of this Dionysian veteran who had always been with King Daphes.

Just as he looked at the king’s heart, Henipolis came to him with a smile on his face: "Sir Haka, welcome you back to Turrii! I am Henripolis, the clerk of King Davers. , On behalf of His Majesty the King and the Senate, come and greet you!"

"I've seen the "Southern Italian Wars" written by Lord Henripolis several times. It's very exciting! I've long wanted to meet adults and have a good chat. See you today, it really is the same as I imagined—" Ha Ka paused intentionally, then added a tone and said: "Wen Wen Ru Ya, worthy of being a historian!"