In the evening, Cheiristoya came to Davos's large tent and heard about what had happened during the day. With her understanding of Davos, she said, "You want to swallow up those mercenaries?"
"I truly want to help them," Davos said earnestly.
"Really?" Cheiristoya laughed coquettishly, tilting her head back, her red lips glistening.
"Really." Davos lowered his head and suddenly kissed those soft, moist lips.
The kiss ignited passion between them. Davos reached out, scooping up Cheiristoya...
Just then, Martius's voice came from outside the tent: "Chief, Mesis and Mariji want to see you."
Davos muttered a curse, his expression displeased as he started to say, "Not now!"
Cheiristoya laughed and punched him lightly, saying, "For Mesis and Mariji—two people with some friction between them—to come together, there must be something important!"
Davos knew she was right. Reluctantly, he set Cheiristoya down and, unable to resist, kissed her twice on the lips.
Cheiristoya pushed him away.
Mesis and Mariji entered the tent one after the other. Seeing Cheiristoya inside, they paid it no mind—Davos and Cheiristoya's close relationship was already an open secret throughout the army. They then explained their purpose to Davos directly.
It turned out that while the soldiers had begun building the camp, Mesis and his men hadn't been idle either—or rather, the Thurians hadn't been idle. Although Thurii had forbidden mercenaries from entering the city, the Greeks were a famously commercial people. As soon as they heard more mercenaries had arrived, merchants and peddlers had hurried over to Old Sybaris, looking for business opportunities. Besides the food provided by Thurii, the mercenaries naturally needed other daily necessities, so the two sides quickly struck a deal.
At first, trade was one-sided: the Thurians were sellers, the mercenaries buyers. But soon, Mesis noticed these Thurian merchants were showing great interest in certain items from the baggage camp. During their return journey, the mercenaries hadn't just plundered women and slaves—they had also seized large quantities of gold and silver vessels and some artworks: exotic carved spices, delicate golden statues, intricately carved ivory pieces with an exotic flair, and so on. They had originally planned to bring these home as decorations, souvenirs, and proof for boasting. Though many had been lost in continuous battles along the way, some still remained.
To the Thurian merchants, thousands of miles from Persia, these objects from the Persian heartland and unheard-of races were deeply exotic and novel. They immediately realized their value and eagerly approached Mesis to buy them.
Mesis wasn't a fool—he wouldn't sell cheaply. Besides, some items didn't belong to him; they were stored in the baggage camp by soldiers. After much thought, he decided to first find Mariji, reasoning that only Mariji, also a Persian, could explain the origins of these items and their cultural meaning and value.
Mariji, however, gave him a different suggestion: Why not set up a market, managed by the mercenaries, to trade with the people of Magna Graecia? They might even collect taxes.
Collect taxes on foreign soil?! Mesis thought the idea was mad, but he couldn't resist the lure of money. So he came to Davos together with Mariji.
Set up a market? Davos thought it was a good idea. It could not only meet the mercenaries' needs but also serve as a venue to expand their influence, understand the market conditions of Magna Graecia, cultivate a mercenary trading team, gather intelligence, scout talent... and so on. As a mercenary chief aiming to take root in Magna Graecia, Davos naturally thought more comprehensively and deeply than Mesis and the others.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He nodded and said, "We can build a market. Tomorrow, I'll have the soldiers construct one east of the camp, between the camp and the coast. Mariji will be in charge of building it. But we don't have much time—don't make it too complicated; just functional. Once it's finished, you'll also manage and run it..." As Davos spoke, Mariji's face lit up with excitement.
Davos cautioned him: "My requirements are—the market can be simple, but it must be orderly, ensure fair trade, be clean, and expand its reputation as much as possible to attract merchants from other city-states to trade here. As for collecting taxes, forget it—I don't want to anger the Thurians. But you can think of other ways: for example, have slaves help carry goods, provide cheap drinks... and so on. Later, if the market thrives, you can even collect shop fees."
Mariji nodded repeatedly and praised sincerely, "Chief, I didn't expect your wisdom in commerce to be so astonishing!"
Davos smiled faintly—these ideas were common sense in the industrial age. But since he had made a promise to Mariji, that guy was quickly getting into the role. Did he really want to be a commerce officer?
Davos turned to the somewhat dejected Mesis: "As for our trade with the people of Magna Graecia, I'll leave that to you, Mesis."
"Good! Good!" Mesis brightened again.
"Don't meddle with the items soldiers have stored in the baggage camp unless they're willing to sell. You must sign agreements with them. For the proceeds, deduct a small handling fee—well, you'll need to negotiate that with the owners, but it must not exceed one-fiftieth of the sale price. Return the rest to the owners completely, no concealing or embezzlement! Mariji, you oversee this!" Davos instructed Mesis sternly.
"Davos, you're too biased! One-fiftieth is far too little—at least one-twentieth! Selling things isn't easy—we stand in the sun for half a day, waste so many words..." Mesis grumbled aggrievedly.
"One-twentieth is too much. At most one-thirty-fifth, and that's settled!" Davos didn't want to argue further. "Instead of fleecing the soldiers, think of ways to expand your trade items and increase revenue!"
Hearing this, Mesis fell into thought. Soon a smile spread across his chubby face: "The prostitutes in the baggage camp are from various Persian and Armenian tribes, and many have learned massage techniques from the medical camp. For the men of Magna Graecia, that would be a novel experience. We can charge high prices..." Mesis's enthusiastic voice was cut off by Cheiristoya's cough.
Discussing the flesh trade in front of a woman—this fellow... Davos was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "I can give you an idea: the doctors in our medical camp are very skilled. Since there are no serious injuries in the camp right now and they have nothing to do, why not let them set up a clinic in the market? They can charge for treatment. You can discuss the details with Cheiristoya." Originally, the medical camp had eight doctors; two left when they departed Byzantium. The remaining six, led by Helpus, stayed, strongly attracted by Davos's occasional lectures on mysterious medical knowledge supposedly inspired by Hades (actually basic modern medical knowledge from his previous life).
At the mention of Cheiristoya's name, Mesis, who had also been eyeing the idea eagerly, grimaced.
Cheiristoya didn't make things difficult for Mesis. The fat man might seem easy to bully, but Cheiristoya knew how important he was to Davos. So she seriously discussed with him the setup of the clinic and how to distribute the medical fees, but made one request: that Mesis not force the women in the baggage camp to serve as comfort women.
Mesis protested his innocence loudly, saying, "Most of the women in the baggage camp were seized by soldiers during our return to Greece. A small number are slaves belonging to the camp, responsible for tending pack animals and managing goods. Only about a dozen are actual prostitutes, and they're already used to earning money that way."
"I doubt it's just those prostitutes," Mariji interjected.
Note: In ancient Greco-Roman times, percentages didn't exist, but commerce was advanced, and merchants—even ordinary citizens—were adept at using fractions to complete contracts and transactions. However, for reading convenience, from the next chapter onward, percentages will be used as much as possible.
Mersis's Request