Chapter 543 Florence Officials

After entering March, farmers everywhere begin farming for the new year. They all hope to have a good harvest this year so that their lives will be easier.

Vittorio stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the busy scene of Constantinople, and couldn't help but wonder: If Florence had withstood the Roman attack during the war, would it have been so prosperous?

But the facts cannot be changed, and thinking about it will only increase troubles. The more prosperous Constantinople is, the more powerful the empire is. All he can do now is try his best to fight for Florence's rights.

The Tuscany region has recovered a lot, and John is also the one who recommended Vittorio to be the head of the Western Mediterranean in the Commerce and Trade Department of the Senate. This candidate has a clean family background, has served as captain of many ships, and knows the situation in the Western Mediterranean well. Moreover, the family also has a lot of influence in the political arena, so his appointment was approved by the Senate.

The entourage around Vittorio looked at these ships and went to inquire about them. After returning, he reported: "Sir, I have inquired clearly. The fleet that is unloading now is a fleet from the East. They have come with 20 ships. I heard that there are many ships. Some of the ships were loaded with bronze vessels, blankets, cloths, gold and silver products, olive oil, wine and other items. I heard several crew members boasting at the dock that their alliance even made a gold crown for the emperor, with numerous inlays on it. Few gems…”

Vittorio was not surprised after hearing this. Roma has returned to his peak and will continue to rise. Just as I was thinking about it, the ship had arrived at the dock.

Vittorio got off the boat and quickly found Osborne. He stepped forward and hugged him, finally meeting a person from his hometown in this city.

"Long time no see, Florence, how are you?"

“Everything is fine”

All is well indeed, Florence's economy and trade are recovering. Goods are also continuously exported to other countries, and there is no shadow of autocracy at all.

"The changes in the past two years have been too great. Think about those people in the Parliament. Which of their families has existed in Florence for hundreds of years, and now that the empire has come, they are all gone."

"Now it's up to you. Although the family's identity is still there, your own talent is still the main consideration in the selection of officials."

Vittorio said his own opinion. This kind of direct destruction of the parliament as a building block is rare in the world. But Rome is so unique, and it suddenly changes everything here.

Vittorio carefully observed the whole process of unloading the cargo ship: the cargo ship slowly docked at the riverside in front of the stone platform, and laborers from the shore came over to tie the cables at both ends of the cargo ship to the stone holes at both ends of the stone platform. This will keep the cargo ship close to the dock. The person operating the crane lowers the wooden arm, relaxes the rope, and lowers the hook. The crew hung baskets of goods on the iron hooks, and then the workers in the wooden wheels of the crane laboriously stepped on the wooden wheels. The wooden wheels rotated rapidly, tightened the ropes, and the iron hooks lifted the goods high and separated from the cargo ship. At this time, the people on both sides of the crane pulled the ropes, controlled the wooden arms, and slowly parked the goods on the flat ground in front of the stone platform... The whole process was fast, labor-saving, and efficient, and a ship full of goods was unloaded in no time. Even after half of the fall, both the crew and the workers on the shore seemed very relaxed.

Such a crane opened his eyes. It looked more advanced than the one in Florence. He wanted to see if he could take it back with him.

He also noticed that there were semi-open warehouses not far behind these stone platforms. The goods unloaded from the ships were transported to these warehouses by laborers for parking.

Behind this simple warehouse, there are huge rectangular, closed warehouses with an area of ​​no less than two houses. And through the small window at the top, you can see that the walls of the warehouse are quite thick. Only such high-quality warehouses can reassure cargo owners about the safety of their goods, store more goods, and facilitate the shipment of goods...

He still understands the process of cargo ships entering the port: after workers at the dock unload the goods, they park them in a temporary warehouse. The ship owner will immediately go to the port to spend money to rent a storage room in the warehouse, and then pay the workers to move his goods Transfer it to the warehouse for storage, and then go to the market in the city to contact the buyer... This process usually takes two or three days. Of course, if the buyer is contacted in advance, the situation will be much better.

But like Constantinople, the unloading docks, temporary warehouses, and warehouses are close together, which is undoubtedly much more convenient.

He couldn't help but let out a sigh, but was greeted by Osborne's curiosity: "What are your thoughts on coming to Constantinople?"

"This is bigger and more prosperous than Florence."

"This is natural," Osborne explained to the other party. "According to statistics from the Constantinople City Government, Constantinople alone has a population of about 150,000, while the population of the entire Thurii region exceeds 250,000. No other city in the Mediterranean is so large."

“But such a large population consumes a lot of materials every day, such as grain, olive oil, wine, meat, fish, etc. Therefore, the food produced in Wallachia and other places must feed the city.

Moreover, there are many nobles and wealthy citizens here. They not only need to be well fed and clothed, but also have higher demands on life. Therefore, many precious commodities are shipped here from other parts of the Mediterranean, such as spices from the East, Gorgeous silks and exquisite gold and silver jewelry, as well as perfumes, cosmetics, ivory from Africa, marble from mainland Greece... so hundreds of ships dock here every day. "

When Vittorio heard about hundreds of ships, his mouth almost couldn't close. How big a port would it take to accommodate the remaining ships? Anyway, there is no port in Florence that can do this.

"Well, it's getting late, I'll take you to your residence."

The two got on the carriage, and along the way, Vittorio stared at the scenery outside. At this time, he wished he could grow two pairs of eyes, there were too many.

Just like when Osborne first came here, the Senate provided a good residence for the new official. Vittorio also enjoyed the local bathhouse and bathing, which was really relaxing.

"Now that I am a member of parliament and you have entered the Senate, I suggest that after you settle down in Constantinople, it is best to buy a piece of land in the north and build a villa. Go there several times a month. The air there is fresh and quiet, which is good for your health."

"I still need to see how I need to do this position, otherwise it will be difficult to gain a foothold."

"Don't worry, you will succeed."