Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1236: The More Prosperous Port of Thurii

Every helmsman and lookout on the cargo ships maintained intense focus, their nerves on edge. Ever since the establishment of the New Greek League, the shipping route from the Saronic Gulf to Thurii had grown far busier than before. With the ships moving at such high speeds, they had to remain exceedingly careful to avoid collisions—accidents of that nature happened on this route every year.

As Hesklaus and his companions enjoyed the sea breeze and the ocean view, a sudden sound echoed across the deck. "Quack! Quack! Quack!"

"Was that a duck?" someone asked, looking around in confusion.

Hesklaus suddenly realized what it was and shouted, "Lyrias, did you bring your duck onto the ship?!"

A moment later, Lyrias squeezed out of the cabin. Holding a white duck tightly in his arms, he spoke timidly. "Father, I wanted Quack to go with me to Thurii..."

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand—" Hesklaus snapped.

"Alright, alright," a friend next to him coaxed. "It's just a duck. The boy likes it, so let him bring it. Who knows? If we run out of food, it might even jump into the sea and catch fish for us."

Laughter rang out. Lyrias escaped a scolding, and the little white duck ended up becoming a welcome distraction for the crew during the voyage.

Even after night fell, the ships continued sailing. They carried enough food and water and felt no rush to drop anchor for resupply. Moreover, ever since Daionia took control of the Greek Mainland, the kingdom had spent the last few years implementing policies to strengthen trade between Greece and Daionia. The most critical measure was securing and facilitating maritime trade routes.

As a result, the safety of nighttime navigation had greatly improved. Even novice mariners no longer felt too anxious, as they would occasionally receive a hail from a passing patrol ship or spot a lighthouse glowing on the distant coast. By consulting the Daonian-Greek Nautical Chart in their hands (a precise map produced by the Daonian Ministry of Commerce under Davos's instructions, utilizing seasoned sailors of the eastern and western Mediterranean alongside cartography experts dispatched by the Ministry of Military Affairs, refined through countless surveys and sold to overwhelming demand from merchants and sailors), crews could estimate their approximate location and check for nearby reefs. Even if a ship suddenly suffered damage or ran low on rations, they could use the lighthouses and maps to reach the nearest supply point or port...

Therefore, Hesklaus's fleet sailed day and night, rounding the entire Peloponnese Peninsula without dropping anchor to rest. It took them only two days to reach Corcyra Island.

Following the Greek War, Daionia withdrew its occupation forces from several islands, including Zakynthos, Cephalonia, Kythira, and Aegina. However, they did not give up one single island: Corcyra. This small island had been repeatedly contested by Athens and Sparta during the Theban War, leaving its people utterly terrified of conflict. Urged on by motivated factions, they voluntarily petitioned to join Daionia—a request Davos naturally welcomed.

Today, Corcyra Island not only boasted multiple fully equipped ports but also a Military Port belonging to the First Fleet. Hundreds of Warships lay at anchor there year-round, garrisoned by two thousand fleet infantrymen.

Corcyra had become the Kingdom of Daunia's first bridgehead for controlling the Greek Mainland. Meanwhile, for Greek merchants, it served as the final resting stop before reaching the Daunian mainland. Consequently, the residents of Corcyra Island benefited immensely.

The crews took a brief rest on Corcyra Island before continuing their voyage westward. They sailed across the Adriatic Sea and entered the Bay of Thurii (a few years prior, someone in the Senate had proposed, "How can this bay in southern Italy be named after an autonomous city subordinate to the kingdom? It often confuses foreigners visiting the kingdom for the first time. This bay must be named after the kingdom's capital, Thurii, to project its importance and the majesty of the kingdom..." The proposal passed swiftly, and the Gulf of Taranto was thus renamed).

By the dawn of their fourth day after departing Port Piraeus, Hesklaus's fleet had reached the coastal waters of Thurii.

Having lived in Athens for several years, Lyrias had always believed the bustling Port Piraeus was the largest port in the world. But as he gazed at the coast of Thurii from the ship, he was stunned. He couldn't see the shoreline at all; from north to south, his entire field of vision was filled with ships. The densely packed, towering masts transformed the coast of Thurii into a dense forest.

It turned out that after Daionia conquered Greece, even though the Greek territory was small and its population modest, the vast majority of these various city-states relied on maritime trade for their livelihoods. As a result, the maritime trade of the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia suddenly multiplied several times over.

This was especially true for the capital, Thurii. Its original port capacity was already stretched tight, and now it was completely insufficient. After securing King Davos's approval, the Ministry of Commerce seized every moment to construct new ports anywhere feasible along the entire coastline of the Thurii Region, from Amendolara to Castron.

The Ministry of Commerce then numbered all the ports in the Thurii Region and categorized all imported and exported goods. Each major category of goods was assigned to a specific numbered port. This drastically improved management efficiency and prevented chaos. At the same time, the Ministry of Construction quickly mobilized a large number of laborers and craftsmen to build two additional stone bridges across the Crati River to ensure smooth north-south traffic.

Because Hesklaus and the other Thessalian merchants were selling different types of goods, they waved their goodbyes here. Each then led their fully loaded merchant ships toward their designated ports.

Port No. 5, designated for loading and unloading pottery, was located not far north of the Crati River Mouth. The Ministry of Commerce had arranged this because pottery was an indispensable daily commodity with enormous demand, yet easily breakable; therefore, they assigned it a port closer to the city center to facilitate transportation.

The cargo ship entered the port and docked at the pier, leaving the dockworkers to unload the goods. Before transporting them to the warehouse, the labor foreman escorted Hesklaus to the office inside... This process was very similar to Port Piraeus, but what followed was different.

"Daionian Citizen or foreigner?" the clerk asked.

"Daionian Citizen, a Peleusian from Thessaly," Hesklaus replied as he displayed the iron Daionian Citizen plaque he carried with him.

The clerk inspected it carefully before asking, "Have you registered with the Ministry of Commerce and hold the right to conduct business?"

"Yes, here is my merchant token." Hesklaus practicedly produced another iron plaque he carried with him.

The clerk inspected it carefully once again and asked, "Is this your first time conducting business in Thurii?"

"No, I've been here many times. I have a shop in the pottery market."

"In that case, I won't explain the precautions for conducting business in Thurii," the clerk said with a solemn expression. "But if you are later found to be lying, as a Daionian Citizen, you will not only face severe penalties but could also be stripped of your citizenship. Do you understand?!"

"Understood!"

"Please verify whether the contents of the cargo manifest are correct." The clerk handed him a paper booklet. The open page clearly listed the types and quantities of goods Hesklaus carried, with the clerk's signature at the end (after receiving inspiration from Davos, craftsmen underwent countless experiments until they finally manufactured writable paper, which was now mass-produced and sold by the Christoya Chamber of Commerce, ensuring the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia would no longer headache over a shortage of Papyrus).

After confirming it was correct, Hesklaus signed his own name. He then turned to the second page and signed his name beneath the identical contents.

The clerk stamped the document, tore out one of the pages, and handed it to Hesklaus. The entire port entry inspection was complete. It wasn't like Port Piraeus, where they repeatedly calculated the total value of the imported goods, made the merchant pay a 10% tax, and even measured the purity of their silver coins... a very tedious process.

The dockworkers transported his goods to the port exit. After Hesklaus handed his manifest to the checkpoint for inspection, he was cleared to leave the port. Since the pottery market was not far outside the port, he didn't have the dockworkers haul it any further, instead paying their wages on the spot. He then sent someone to notify his shop employees to come carry the pottery.

Athenian Pottery Shop: this was the name of Hesklaus's store. It was simple and direct, yet customers understood it at a glance. Because he was the first pottery merchant from Athens to establish a storefront in Thurii (prior to the Greek War, due to the trade boycott against Daionia by Athens and its Maritime Alliance, no Athenians conducted business in Daionia, and Daionian merchants found it virtually impossible to directly purchase Athenian Pottery), Athenian merchants who later established pottery shops in Thurii could no longer choose similar names. Daunian Law stipulated that duplicate shop names were not allowed for the same category of goods.

It was said that some Athenian merchants deeply despised Hesklaus, believing the great name of "Athenian Pottery" was being profaned by a Thessalian. However, no one dared to openly harm him because he was a Daionian Citizen, and he was protected by important figures in Daionia.

Hesklaus stepped into the shop. Seeing the shelves more than half empty, a smile immediately spread across his face. "It seems business has been quite good lately!"