ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 191 Amendolara Handicraft Development Zone
"No! I didn't say that!" Seeing the sudden change in the judge's face, the businessman hurriedly retorted.Suddenly there was a roar of curses behind him: "How dare you discriminate against us Lucarians? Don't you want to live anymore!"

"Izam is a warrior of our alliance, but you dare to insult his wife! Your honor, please punish this pervert severely!"

……

The merchant secretly complained. He originally thought that this woman was a pretty Lucania slave girl, but he refused to buy it even after asking for the price. It took too long, and he was dizzy for a moment, so he said those words, but he didn't. I thought that the person I was provoking was the wife of a citizen of the Dionia Alliance.In fact, it was because he had just arrived here a few days ago and didn't understand the customs here. Because most of the wives of other city-state citizens stayed at home and could go to the market to buy and sell things. If they were foreign women, they must be female slaves, and they had some language skills. It was cheap, even a few strokes, no one cared about it.But Dionia is different. Many of its citizens are married to Lucanian women, while many Greek women in Dionia are married to Lucanian reserve citizens. These foreigners are not as numerous as the Greeks. The cumbersome etiquette and boldness and openness in doing things naturally gradually affected and changed the conservative atmosphere of the original Greek citizens of Dionia.In addition, Lord Davos, the consul whom the people respected, also allowed his wife to appear in public, and even went to the market to open banks and restaurants, which naturally further promoted the change of Dionia customs, so now Dionysus is seen in the market The presence of wives of Nian citizens is a common sight.

"Defendant, is the plaintiff telling the truth?" Proxilaus asked. Seeing that the businessman was about to open his mouth to speak, he reminded loudly: "If you just discriminate against foreigners, the most you can do is pay a fine and corporal punishment. But after taking an oath before God, If you still lie, you have committed blasphemy and will be punished by ruthlessly pulling out your tongue! So you have to think clearly before you speak!"

The businessman was shocked when he heard this. He was silent for a long time, with cold sweat on his forehead. Finally, he whispered: "What she said... is mostly true... but... I didn't know that it is illegal to discriminate against foreigners!"

"Really?" Proxilaus looked serious: "When you rented a stall, weren't you familiar with the "Regulations that Must Be Observed in Doing Business in Dionia" written by the market management office?"

"No..." The businessman wanted to deny it, but suddenly remembered the regulations of the Dionia Market Management Office: If you are not familiar with the regulations, you cannot rent a shop.Therefore, he could only nod: "Understood."

"In this case, you know the law and violate the law! First of all, you violate the law of 'Dionia cannot discriminate against foreigners'. You have to pay a fine of ten drachmas and two corporal punishments, so that you can deepen your memory and don't do it again in the future! As for you Using words to blaspheme the accuser, but not putting it into action, this...does our alliance have a bill in this regard?" Protesilaus asked Fraucleon.

Fraukeleon thought about it carefully and shook his head.

"It seems that I have something to do at the next Senate meeting." Proxilaus murmured to himself. He thought about it and then said: "As for the punishment for your blasphemy against the accuser, I Give this right to the plaintiff and let her make the decision."

The businessman trembled and looked at the accuser with pleading eyes. The young Lucanian woman did not refuse and simply said: "Then let him be punished as the guide of the market management office and do voluntary labor for five days."

"Okay, that's it!" Proxelaus applauded the plaintiff's suggestion: "Defendant, you can choose not to accept the 'five days of voluntary labor' offered by the plaintiff, but you will be expelled from the alliance. , you are never allowed to do business here!" Proxelaus said in a serious tone: "Have you considered carefully, are you willing to accept this punishment?"

As a businessman, dignity is not important, what is important is whether he can make money, and his pottery business in Turiyi Market has been very prosperous these days. Of course, he did not want to be expelled from the alliance because of this trivial matter, and of course he finally accepted the punishment.

The next dispute was, on the contrary, a conflict between a registered freeman vendor and a foreign merchant.This free man insulted and beat the businessman. The facts are clear and the evidence is conclusive. There is no dispute at all. He can be punished directly according to the market management regulations that "no discrimination against foreign businessmen" and "fighting and causing trouble". However, this free man was in court during the trial. Zhong never admitted to the beating, and kept hinting to Proxilaus that he was a confidant of the senator Polyxes and had been working for him, hoping that the judge would put the matter to rest.

The young and vigorous Proxilaus couldn't stand the fact that Polyxes, who usually showed off his noble birth in the Senate and occasionally despised them, non-Thurii senators, seized the opportunity now and would not let it go. He shouted angrily: "You bold defendant, how dare you destroy the reputation of Master Polyxes! Not only did you bully the accuser, hurt people, and behaved badly! You have also refused to admit the facts and violated the oath you swore before. I sentence you to blasphemy. Implement it now!”

The freedmen were shocked and quickly begged for mercy, while the onlookers loudly cheered for Proxilaus.

In the end, this free man did not want to accept the torture of "pulling out his tongue", but chose to receive the equivalent punishment of 40 blows with a stick. He was beaten until he was weak and carried out of the court. At the same time, the writer recorded what he did, even though he Eventually he recovers, and the household registration office will use this to expel him from Dionia.

What happens in markets and ports are minor disputes and conflicts, and the judgment process is very fast, without the need for cumbersome legal procedures, lawyers and juries...

Theos watched for a while outside the court and saw some mystery: Obviously, this small court uses practical actions to demonstrate the just position of the Dionysian Alliance to citizens, slaves, aliens, and foreigners, and to safeguard all law-abiding people in the country. The legitimate rights in the Dionia territory are very touching, especially for businessmen like them who travel north and south.

Merchants like Theos are considered citizens with status in their own city-states. When doing business in other city-states, local citizens often have jealousy and the mentality that "this foreigner wants to make money from the city-state". There are some hostile actions, and the top officials of the city-state often favor the citizens of the city (because elections require the support of citizens).Among the Greek city-states, Athens has the best attitude towards foreigners who settle and do business in the state, because its super-developed trade and handicrafts require its open attitude to welcome the technology, capital investment and employment brought by foreigners. Etc., it legally gave outsiders considerable power. In addition to being unable to own land and hold public offices, outsiders could even contract Athens' minerals, monopolize shipping, etc.

Athens' generosity was certainly rewarded with goodwill from foreigners.In normal times, they would make some charitable donations, such as repairing temples, holding theatrical celebrations, and letting Athenian citizens watch them for free.When Athens was in danger, they also stepped forward like Athenian citizens, serving as hoplites or purchasing weapons and equipment, even triremes, and donating them to the Athenian government.

And now Dionia has a tendency to follow Athens, and even does more boldly than Athens in some aspects.Theos came here this time because the Senate of the Dionysian Union passed a new bill: that is, the land between the Saraceno River and the Sisno River is allowed to be leased to foreign merchants as handicraft land. The lease period for 20 years.

This news immediately caused a sensation among the Gentile merchants in the market of Thurii, and quickly spread throughout Magna Graecia.Most of the merchants who have been to Turiyi are optimistic about the business prospects of the Dionia Alliance, not to mention that Dionia has allowed Laos to join its alliance, so that any merchants trading in the alliance can enter at preferential prices. Laos, developing trade with Naples, Massilia, Gaul, the Iberian Peninsula, Mauritalia and other regions.Especially in the Thurii-Laos Avenue, construction has begun. With the quality of Dionia's road construction, the completed highway will definitely make the transportation of goods between the two cities more convenient. It is estimated that it will be completed in as soon as two days. You can reach Laos from Turii in [-] days, which is almost the same time as traveling by sea by cargo ship.What's more, taking the sea route is more risky, because as long as you encounter pirates or storms, your efforts may be ruined, and your life will be lost.When crossing the Strait of Messina at the same time, the tariffs charged by the city-states of Messina and Lijim, one to the south and one to the north of the Strait, are not low, which will significantly reduce the profits earned.

The land that Theos passed through when he stayed in Amendolara last time was flat, but due to the hard geology (mostly gravel land), it could not be used as agricultural land, so it was not allocated to the citizens of the Alliance as 'allotments' , except for a small part of the land that was built into the Amendolara Military Camp for citizen soldier training, most of the land has been idle.For Theos, such barren land is also full of value. He wants to auction the next plot and open a weapons workshop.

After making money in the last trade, Theos became interested in this emerging alliance.He found that Dionia is an alliance that advocates force. Otherwise, it would not hold a triumphal ceremony and give such great honor to the victorious generals and soldiers. Therefore, there will never be fewer wars in the future, and the number of Dionia is increasing rapidly. There was a great demand for weapons among the citizens of the Union.According to his understanding, there is a large weapons shop in the port market of Thurii. It is said that it was opened by the alliance to provide pensions to the families of soldiers who died in the war and to take care of disabled soldiers. Most of the weapons and equipment sold are from seizures, and most of them are repairs. , basically unable to produce a complete set of heavy infantry equipment from scratch, nor did they have this ability, which allowed Theos to see an opportunity to make money.

Corinth's most famous commodity now is weapons. The weapons and equipment it produces are famous throughout Greece. Theos has done business in this area before and has rich experience. Moreover, he can hire highly skilled Corinthian blacksmiths to establish the alliance. The weapons workshop not only saves on freight, but also makes it easier to obtain raw materials, and the cost is also lower, because there are copper mines in Tulii and iron mines in Lucalia.And he can tailor high-quality armor and weapons for the citizens of the alliance, and he can also sell them to the alliance in batches, or even to the indigenous people (the Dionian Alliance does not restrict the output of weapons). Buying and selling grain in Nyabi is a more profitable and stable industry, so after making the decision, he couldn't wait.

　Thanks for the reward of Pull Down My Great Qin Dynasty, The Big Book Fan of Wind and Rain, and Puding Zhai!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)