Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1093: Sights of the Crati River (2)
Previously on Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece...
Henipolis smiled even more brightly. "It is an honor to receive your praise, Lord Haca! We must speak more when the opportunity arises... Ah, His Majesty and the Senators are still waiting at the pier. Please board the ship with me, Lord Haca, so we can hurry to the inner city!"
"Alright!" Haca agreed briskly.
Henipolis glanced behind him and asked, "Where is Lord Hasdrubal?"
Haca said calmly, "He drank too much on the journey and is currently sound asleep in the cabin. I doubt he will wake up even when we reach the inner city."
"Oh..." Henipolis nodded, about to say more.
Just then, a river official leaned close and whispered into his ear. Henipolis immediately looked understanding and said, "Then let Lord Hasdrubal rest. I won't disturb him."
Henipolis led Haca onto the flagship and up to its wooden tower. From that high vantage point, Haca's field of vision immediately broadened. He could see past the riverside piers to the densely packed houses and the bustling crowds behind them.
Just as the surrounding ships drifted closer, their crews curious to see what kind of VIP warranted the king's personal flagship coming out to greet them, the Double-Headed Dragon Flagship had already turned around. With two fast ships clearing the path ahead and hundreds of sailors rowing with all their might, it began to travel upstream. The passenger ship Haca had originally arrived on followed closely behind.
Thurii City was different from the City of Rome. The City of Rome was dozens of li away from the river mouth, with a winding river channel. Ships traveling upstream from the sea had to rely on trackers to pull them to the river port outside the city. Thurii City, however, was only five or six li from the river mouth. The main part of the city was located downstream of where the Crati River and the Coseni River merged. The river was wide and its current gentle, so under normal circumstances, ships did not need to be towed and could easily sail upstream to reach Thurii City.
Standing on the flagship's wooden tower, Haca could see the situation on both banks of the river much more clearly. Indeed, just as the river official had claimed, the Thurians had rebuilt the banks on both sides into piers. Not only were the riverbanks covered with solid stone slabs, but a five-meter-tall trapezoidal stone platform also stood by the shore every ten meters or so. At each end of every platform was a heavy stone ring. Mounted on top of each platform was a wooden contraption that extended a long arm out over the river. Pulleys and ropes hung from this arm, dropping down to an iron hook. The tail end of the arm was clamped between two giant wooden wheels, while the other end of the rope was tied tightly to the ground, making the entire device look like a giant snail...Haca knew that this was the Daionian Crane. It had long been famous throughout the western Mediterranean; it just hadn't become widespread in the port towns of the Southern Iberian Region yet.
Haca carefully observed the entire process of a cargo ship unloading. The ship slowly pulled up to the riverbank in front of a stone platform. Shore laborers went over and tied the mooring ropes from both ends of the ship to the stone rings on either side of the platform, securing the vessel tightly against the pier. The crane operators lowered the wooden arm, loosened the rope, and dropped the hook. The crew hooked baskets of cargo onto the iron hook. Then, slaves inside the crane's wooden wheels pushed hard, making the wheels spin rapidly to tighten the rope and hoist the cargo high into the air. Once clear of the ship, workers on either side of the crane pulled ropes to guide the wooden arm, gently setting the cargo down onto the flat ground in front of the platform. The entire process was fast, effortless, and highly efficient. Before long, a fully loaded ship was half empty, and both the crew and the shore laborers still seemed completely at ease.
Haca also noticed that not far behind these stone platforms were rows of semi-open warehouses. The cargo unloaded from the ships was transported by laborers and stored inside them.
Behind these simple storehouses, however, stood massive, enclosed, rectangular warehouses lined up side by side. Each building featured a roof roughly six meters high and multiple four-meter-tall arched doorways, covering an area no smaller than two arenas. Through the small windows near the roof, he could see that the walls were quite thick. Only high-quality warehouses like these could reassure merchants about the safety of their goods while simultaneously allowing for greater storage capacity and easier dispatching of cargo.
Having overseen the administration of the Southern Iberian Region for many years, Haca was very familiar with the process of cargo ships entering a port. After the pier laborers unloaded the goods and placed them in temporary storage, the ship owner would immediately go to the port authorities, pay to rent a storage room in a warehouse, pay the laborers again to transfer the goods to that warehouse, and then head to the city market to contact buyers. This process usually took two or three days. Of course, if a buyer had been contacted in advance, the situation would be much smoother.
But here in Thurii City, where the unloading piers, temporary storage sheds, and permanent warehouses were built right next to one another, it was undoubtedly much more convenient. Based on this, Haca reasoned that given the Thurians' way of doing things, the Thurii Grand Market—famous throughout the western Mediterranean—was likely not far away. (And this was indeed the case).
He couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration, drawing Henipolis's curiosity. "Lord Haca, what are your thoughts upon arriving in Thurii?"
Haca pointed at the piers along the bank and sighed from the bottom of his heart. "Look at these stone platform piers with their cranes, the temporary storage sheds, and the cargo warehouses lined up as neatly as an army along both sides of the Crati River, stretching forward almost as far as the eye can see. How spectacular! I imagine that any foreigner who sees such a sight cannot help but marvel at the might of the Kingdom of Daunia and lose all thought of opposing it!"
Henipolis looked at him, then turned his gaze back to the shore. "Let me tell you a true and amusing story. There is a famous scholar in the kingdom named Lysias. He was once preparing to write an article describing the docks along the banks of the Crati River. He decided to go down to the riverside docks to inspect them first, but he returned shortly after.
His friend asked him, 'Why are you back so soon?'
"He replied, 'I arrived at the riverside and found people everywhere on the docks, impossibly busy. The noise was extremely loud and grating—the cranes were creaking, oxen and donkeys were braying constantly, and short-tempered laborers were shouting loudly. Moreover, the air was terrible, a mixture of the smell of wine, olive oil, and the sweat of men. I stood there for a while and felt my head throbbing uncomfortably. With the help of my servants, I struggled to push past the people blocking the way and finally managed to get out. And during that whole process, I stepped in donkey dung twice...'"
Hearing this, Haca couldn't help but laugh.
Henipolis, however, let out a sigh. Staring off into the distance, he murmured, "I still miss the Thurii of over ten years ago. Especially this Crati River. It used to be clear and tranquil, inspiring deep thought... Sigh, but now, not only is the river crowded and noisy, but the water has also become murky, and quite a few boats still travel even at night..."
Beside him, Haca said with a sigh, "And yet, there is not a single city-state or nation that wouldn't wish for its city to present such a scene, for it signifies prosperity and power."
Henipolis patted the ship's railing lightly with both hands and smiled again. "That is why I am only a secretary while you are a great governor! Still, I suggest that after you settle down in Thurii, you ought to buy a piece of land in the northern mountains and build a villa. You can stay there a few times a month. The air is fresh and quiet; it will be good for your health."
As the two chatted and laughed, a massive structure in the distance caught Haca's eye. A stone bridge stretching over a hundred meters lay across the wide Crati River, looking like a giant beast gazing down upon the passing ships.
Following the direction Henipolis was pointing, Haca saw a city wall stretching across the layers of buildings.
"There originally used to be an iron chain blocking the river here..." Henipolis pointed at a tower along the riverbank ahead, though his eyes were on Haca beside him. He said with seeming casualness, "It was briefly abandoned over a decade ago, but when the war broke out with... Carthage, it was urgently put back into use. Now, however, it has been completely abandoned, because there will never again be an enemy threatening the kingdom from the sea."
Haca nodded, his face completely calm.
"In recent years, some Senators even proposed to demolish the entire Inner Wall. Fortunately, the majority of the Senators opposed it, so the motion didn't pass. Otherwise, Thurii City would truly be unlivable!"
Haca observed for a moment and understood why Henipolis said that. He could already see that the neighborhoods inside the wall were far less dense than those outside. The residences were neat and spacious, and pedestrians were sparse but appeared relaxed and carefree, as if the inside of the city were a completely different world.
But there was one place that remained quite lively—the inner city pier ahead, toward which the flagship was sailing.
Compared to the long, dragon-like rows of river docks they had seen earlier, the inner city pier seemed almost too small. It had only six jetties, but each berth was extremely spacious, more than enough to dock a large ship dozens of meters long. Furthermore, the jetties were paved with stone slabs wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side, and they were equipped with several stone platforms and cranes.
Behind the pier was a reasonably large waiting area, specially covered with long, colorful awnings meant both to provide shade and to look aesthetically pleasing. Rows of comfortable seats were arranged beneath the awnings, and currently, they were all full of people.
Haca's gaze quickly swept through the crowd on the shore. When he saw a man dressed not much differently from the others, save for a small, dazzling Golden Crown on his head, Haca felt a sudden wave of nervousness alongside his excitement.
In the waiting area, Davos saw the flagship pulling into the pier. He immediately stood up and led the Senators toward the jetty.
After the wooden stairs for disembarking were set up, Haca refused the servants' help this time. He slowly walked down from the flagship, approached Davos, and bowed deeply. "Your Respected Majesty Davos, the former governor of the Southern Iberian Region, and your loyal student, Haca, reports to you!"