I am the son of the traveler

Chapter 164 Trade and War

With a longing for gunpowder weapons, Antigonus returned to the Vigina Palace. Not long after returning to the palace, he saw Helen, whose hair accessories were changed to the standard of married women, walking in the garden with several maids. Her face Her face still has the youthfulness and innocence of a girl, but if you observe carefully, you can still see the difference between her and those innocent girls.

If Helen was left in later generations, she would still be in high school, worrying about her academic performance every day, or being distracted by her sweetheart. However, in this era, most 17-year-old girls of her age have already become children's children. Mom, stay in the backyard of the house every day and do some handicrafts to subsidize the family. In ancient Greece, women's social status was not high, and they were not allowed to show their faces on weekdays. They could only leave the shackles of the family during certain festivals. Participate in the carnival in the streets and alleys.

As if aware of something, Helen who was still walking in the garden suddenly looked in Antigon's direction, and saw Antigon in an instant. He ran towards Antigon at a trot, and upon seeing her, Antigon went up to him and hugged her into his arms.

"What's the matter? So happy." Antigonus asked, pinching Helen's face.

"Someone brought a cat from outside just now. I thought it was so cute, so I asked someone to keep it." Helen said excitedly, with joy that couldn't be concealed on her face.

"Oh? What about the cat?"

"It's in the garden." Helen said, while looking towards the garden, looking for the figure of the cat, but at this moment, a faint meow sounded from not far away, the two followed the sound and saw A black and white kitten was hiding among the flowers, looking at them curiously.

Seeing the kitten appearing on its own initiative, Helen hurriedly stepped forward to call it. Although the cat was a little shy, it followed Helen's call and walked over slowly, meowing softly.Antigonus didn't understand cats, so he couldn't tell what the cat's breed was, but he was sure that it was really cute.

"Who sent this?" While watching Helen interacting with the kitten, Antigonus casually asked the maid who was following Helen.

"It's a businessman who came back from the southern city-state, Your Majesty." The young maid replied honestly.

Hearing this, Antigonus nodded. He turned to look at the captain of the guard, Agnes, who had been following behind him, and said in a low voice, "Send someone to check and see which merchant it is."

"As you order, Your Majesty." Agnes followed the order.

After Antico turned his head, Helen had already walked towards him with the kitten in her arms, she was teasing the kitten as she walked, and when she came to Antico, she stopped and said, "Let's give her a name. "

"Her?" Antigonus asked suspiciously.

There is a difference between he and she in Greek, which is why Antigonus asked the question.

"Yeah, she's a good girl," Helen stroked the kitten's chin lightly, and the kitten closed its eyes and made a comfortable cooing sound when being touched.

"Since it's a female cat, let's call her Catherine."

"Catherine?" Now Helen was confused. She looked at the cat in her arms, and then at Antigonus, but she didn't understand the connection between the two.

Antico laughed dryly. The name Catherine just popped up in his mind. If there is any connection, it might be that there was a cat named this in a TV series or movie that Antico had watched in his previous life. Bar.

Fortunately, Helen was not going to pursue his name, and continued to tease the kitten for a while, before raising her head to look at Antigonus, and said, "Then call her Catherine, I can't think of other names."

After finishing speaking, she tried to call the kitten's new name in a low voice, and the kitten rubbed its face against Helen's hand as a response.Seeing her like this, Helen's eyes lit up, and she became more interested in teasing the kitten.

Seeing that Helen's attention was all on the kitten, Antico couldn't laugh or cry. He felt as if his position had been taken away by a pet, but he didn't want to compete with a kitten, so he told Helen a few more words before leaving out of here.

This reaction of Helen was like the reaction that a little girl of this age should have, and Antigonus was very happy to see this scene.

After returning to the study, Agnes had already found the Macedonian businessman who dedicated the kitten to Helen. He was a slightly bald, middle-aged man with a fat body and a black mole beside his left eye. There are still a few hairs that are neither long nor short.

Seeing Antigon walk in, the two quickly saluted and said hello. Antigon briefly glanced at the businessman, and nodded to him as a response.

After taking his seat, Antico asked the businessman casually: "So, sir, what is your name?"

The merchant quickly replied, "My name is Diodorus, Your Majesty."

"Mr. Diodorus, I heard that you are from the southern city-state?"

"Yes, I set off from Limila, a city-state in the south, where a small cat called Pisis cat abounds. I saw that there are very few cats in Macedonia, so I brought a few back from there." Diodore Ross said honestly.

"Hmm..." Antico nodded, slightly bent his index finger, tapped the table lightly, and said after a while: "The cat is very cute, and my wife likes her very much."

"It is my honor, Your Majesty."

"Well... how about it, Diodorus, why don't we discuss a cooperation that is beneficial to both of you and me." Antigonus retracted his finger tapping on the table, straightened his sitting posture, and said.

"Please tell me, Your Majesty." Diodorus said, although he said that he didn't seem to have much emotional fluctuations, but if you look carefully, his slightly twitching facial skin revealed that he was not in a calm mood at this time.

"I will ask my wife to hold a party to invite the female nobles of the entire city of Pella. At the party, she will bring cats to the party and encourage those female nobles to buy Pisis cats from you."

"Of course, the final income will be divided between you and me..."

Hearing Antigonus's proposal, Diodorus was really moved. He gently stroked the hair on the mole next to his left eye, as if he was thinking about the feasibility of this matter, and Antigonus was not in a hurry to urge him. He picked up the military newspaper from the front line on the table to check.

Well, the progress on the front line is still the same. The army of the Principality of Harlan continued to shrink the line of defense, and the unclaimed land was in anarchic chaos until the Macedonian army occupied it. In order to stabilize the occupied area, "One-Eyed" Antigonus , decided to re-support the rule of the surrendering forces of the Western Federation here, but he really couldn’t decide on this matter arbitrarily, so he wrote it in the battle report and handed it over to Antico for his opinion—Antico knew that he was worried What, if this is to support the new forces behind his back, although the intention may be good, but if someone with a heart manipulates it and says that he has the opposite intention to support his own forces, it will be cold.

Antigonus thought for a while, and took a pen to approve the suggestion of "One-Eyed" Antigonus. In the eyes of those Gilis, there is not much difference between being ruled by the Haruns or the Macedonians. Anyway, they are all conquered by foreigners. However, if the Gillis' own rule is restored, even if the regime is a puppet regime, they will bravely take up arms and participate in the battle under the call of the ruler.

After replying, Antigonus raised his eyes and glanced at Diodorus, and found that Diodorus had already thought about it and was waiting for him to finish his work. Seeing this, he naturally put down the things in his hands, folded the reply letter, and Asked: "Mr. Diodorus, have you considered it?"

"Yes, I have considered Your Majesty." The businessman replied, "However, in the final distribution of income, I hope that your Majesty can get the big part of it. I will only take the small part."

Hearing this, Antigonus smiled. He only thought that the businessman was very sensible, so he replied, "Diodorus, you have to think about it. There will be no chance of changing in the future."

"I've thought it over, Your Majesty." The businessman still insisted on his opinion, and he knew very well in his heart that a step back in the first cooperation could lead to more cooperation opportunities and greater benefits in the future.

"That's fine." Seeing that Diodorus was not going to change, Antigonus asked Agnes to take the businessman away and go to the clerk Eucrates to sign a cooperation agreement.

……

The transaction between Antigonus and Diodorus was the earliest pet trade in the world, and Pisis cats also won the favor of many noble women at the noble party held by Helen later by virtue of their cute appearance and docile personality. So much so that the pet cat Diodorus bought from Limila was once sold out of stock. Although he only took four-tenths of the profit, he still made a lot of money and became a small fortune in Pella City. Famous wealthy businessman.

Other merchants were jealous of his wealth, and they also ran to Limia to buy Pisis cats, trying to get a piece of the delicious pie in Pella City, but how could Antigonus let these following merchants take away his share? For profit, directly order that only those who have the status of royal merchants can sell Pisis cats in the city of Pella, and the rest will confiscate all goods and impose fines-this policy of Antigonus is tantamount to giving those merchants a head-on blow. Because many people didn't know about this policy, they bought a lot of cats and returned to Pella City and were immediately detained by the port customs and fined them. Antigon took this opportunity to make another small profit.

The impact of the wave of pet cats led by Antico is not only that, many cats came from afar from the southern city-state not only made Antico and others a fortune, but also solved the problem of small rats that had not been solved in the city. Because there are very few cats living on the Oglell Peninsula, the mice here do not have many natural enemies, which once brought a lot of trouble to the residents of Pella City, but because it did not affect Antigonus, he did not Started to deal with it, but the introduction of Pisis cat this time solved those unbridled mice inadvertently.

……

While Antigonus was making money in his hometown, his eponymous "one-eyed" Antigonus was still coordinating the overall situation, preparing to assist the Gillis in recovering the capital of the Western Federation, Motenki, which had been captured by the Army of the Principality of Harun.This city used to be a large city with a permanent population of 2, but under the continuous war, until the Macedonian army was about to launch an attack on the city, there were only less than 4 residents left. The news No one knows the whereabouts of the more than [-] residents. They may have died in the flames of war, or they may have been plundered by the Harun army and brought back to the mainland.

Natan Village, more than 300 miles east of Matianji, used to be a wealthy village where travelers would rest, but after the Duke of Harun came over, the villagers here moved and fled with their families, and those who did not leave were all in Harun The army was slaughtered after occupying the place, and the village was abandoned and became a ghost village.

But now, this ghost village has become the temporary garrison of the Macedonian First Army. The army of more than 1 people has built a series of camps around Natan Village. All were Macedonian military flags fluttering in the wind, white tents, and heavily armed soldiers mixed in.

In the village chief's residence whose outer wall was covered with vines, "One-Eyed" Antigonus and a group of officers gathered around a dilapidated wooden table. On this wooden table was a military map spread out. The garrisons of our army and the garrisons and numbers of known enemy troops are clearly marked. Although this map seems to have the common fault (abstract) of maps of this era, these experienced officers can still clearly see the meaning to be expressed.

"According to the information brought back by our scouts, the main force of the Harlan people is not stationed in the city of Motenji, but in Yasrito, south of Motenji, far away from our Mateus allies. Confrontation—”

"I'm sorry, but I don't think the Haruns will give up our choice to guard against those Gillians who believe in Matthaeus." An officer interrupted the officer who had just spoken, and his words were echoed by several others. Approve and agree.

Dmitri, who got the opportunity to participate in the military meeting because of his ability, nodded and said: "I think the main force of the Harlan army stationed in Yasrito is just an empty shell, and their army is likely to be in Motian. Kei waited for us to take the initiative to fight, or rather, they abandoned the area and did not engage us as cowardly as they have always shown."

"Well, what Dmitry said makes sense." The commander nodded and agreed with his son. The experienced veteran looked at the map with his only remaining eye and continued: "Anyway, We had to capture Matenji, because it was rumored that there was a huge amount of food supplies stored there, and we just had a little logistical problem."

"Small problem?" Aristode, who had proved himself by his military exploits and was promoted to the commander of the first battalion of Bronze Shield Pikemen, asked doubtfully. Several other generals also looked at the general in doubt.

"Well, yes, in fact. The continuous year of war has made the kingdom's food reserves a little too much. If we don't resolve this war as soon as possible, or seize food and grass from the Harlan people, then our army will soon be in trouble. The plight of lack of food." Old Antiochlos said with some concern.

Antigonus, who maintained an expeditionary army of more than 2 a year ago, was warned by Hephaestion, the chief clerk, and then disbanded almost all the troops except the First Army after capturing the city of Liscomb. Coupled with the captured part of the grain and grass and the subsequent peaceful development, the war can be delayed until now. Now that the war lasts for a long time, the problem of insufficient grain and grass stored has once again plagued the Macedonian army.

In order to solve this problem, Antigonus can only buy food from the Merchant Republic of Feron or other countries. This is just drinking poison to quench his thirst, and he will not be able to persist for a long time.

(End of this chapter)