I'm afraid it seems very complicated.
You know, Hilde was Pericles' daughter, and then she went to the northeastern city of Byzantium. As a result, the Byzantine Kingdom was established there, and the country developed to such a large state, but Athens experienced the biggest crisis in history, and the city was almost conquered by the Spartans. At that time, everyone in the city thought that Lady Athena must have abandoned the entire city.
Because the situation was really desperate.
But now it seems.
Lady Athena may have really abandoned Athens.
The reason for abandonment was not because of anything else, but because Hilde, the oracle of Lady Athena, left Athens, so Athena would naturally no longer protect Athens, but would protect the Byzantine Kingdom established by Hilde. This idea is very logical, and only this way of thinking can explain some of the difficulties Athens has faced recently, and why the Byzantine Kingdom has been able to rise rapidly to its current level in just two years.
and so……
Was Pericles wrong?
Was it because of Pericles that this city was abandoned by Lady Athena?
If Hilde had not left Athens, would it mean that Lady Athena would not abandon Athens, and Athens would not have experienced the previous ordeal? If this is really the case, then Pericles would have to bear a great responsibility, and such a responsibility would even be enough for the priests who hold the divine power to mobilize the people to drive Pericles out. This is not a small matter, it is a big matter that can affect the entire Athenian politics, and no one dares to joke about this matter casually.
"I would like to ask a question."
The Athenian man suddenly warmed up.
"Please tell me."
"You said that your king is the oracle of Lady Athena. Is this true? Was your king the oracle before he arrived in Byzantium, or did he become the oracle after he arrived in Byzantium?"
This question is important.
If he becomes an oracle only after arriving.
Then this matter has nothing to do with Pericles.
But if Hilde had become Athena's oracle, and was sent to Byzantium by Pericles at this time.
The Purpose of the Visit to Athens
In this case, Pericles would have to be held responsible for the deaths of the soldiers and the huge loss of wealth in Athens. So, this was definitely not a simple matter, but a problem that involved the core of Athens' politics, so the man felt that he had to ask clearly.
But the Kingdom's envoy was not a fool. He could tell that this guy had some other purpose in asking this question. As an envoy, it was a rule for him not to get involved in the political events of other city-states. He could not get involved in these things casually. So the Kingdom's envoy could only smile and say, "I don't know the specific situation because I was not in Byzantium at that time."
"I see……"
The man nodded.
It seems that this matter still needs further consideration.
The man was careful and kept this incident in mind.
Led by the Athenian man, the envoy of the kingdom soon arrived at the Athenian Citizens Assembly. Before the envoy of the kingdom came, Hilde told him the rules of Athens. It was normal to stand in front of the Citizens Assembly and discuss things in front of 400 members of the Citizens Assembly. This felt like a trial, but this was the rule of Athens. If you didn't follow it, no diplomatic negotiations would be successful.
The kingdom's envoys could only come to the center of the citizens' assembly.
"My dear Athenians."
The kingdom's envoy raised his head and looked around.
"I am an envoy from the northeastern Kingdom of Byzantium. I come here with the most sincere greetings from His Majesty the King to Athens, and I come here to bring you good news." The envoy of the kingdom looked around and said with a smile, "In half a month, His Majesty the King will come to Athens in person. We come here with the intention of friendship and cooperation, and hope that the people of Athens can give us equal respect, so that we can work together for mutual benefit."
"You mean... this guy Hilde?"
An Athenian asked in surprise.
And this time.
The envoy's expression suddenly changed. He said with a straight face, "Please be a little respectful. The guy you are addressing is His Majesty the King of the Byzantine Kingdom, who rules over 760,000 people and has a land area equivalent to dozens of Athens. Or is this how Athens treats its guests?"
The envoy of the kingdom was neither humble nor arrogant, and his attitude was very good, but he was never ambiguous when it came to such a key issue, and he would never give the other party a chance to insult his king. In fact, the Athenian who spoke just now had no ill intentions, and everyone knew who Hilde was. Because he was a little surprised, he stood up and said Hilde's name.
Being criticized by the kingdom's envoy.
The man's face turned red and white.
Sit down quickly.
"I understand what you mean. Your king will come to Athens in person. I believe you come here with the intention of friendship and cooperation." Pericles stood up at this time. In this situation, he must come forward to solve it well. "On behalf of Athens, I welcome your arrival. As long as you come here with the intention of cooperation, you are our friend of Athens."
"Thank you."
The kingdom's envoy nodded respectfully.
"I believe that your Majesty's visit to Athens will be a very fond memory."
"Besides that... I would like to ask, what is the reason for your king to come to Athens in person? Even if it is for cooperation, there must be a direction for cooperation, right?" At this time, another man at the citizens' assembly could not help but stand up and said, "If it is for business, there is no need to come to us in person, right?"
"His Majesty the King came here in person, not just for business, but for something more important. The first thing is about joining forces to fight against the Spartans."
When the Kingdom's envoy said this, everyone on the field was silent instantly. Everyone knew how much gold was contained in this sentence. Dealing with the Spartans was a major concern for Athens. As a powerful kingdom with a population of more than 70 and tens of thousands of troops, if the Byzantine Kingdom was willing to help Athens deal with the Spartans, then Athens' victory was almost certain.
Everyone realized what a good thing this was.
but……
Is it really that simple?
Suddenly, they were talking about helping Athens to deal with the Spartans. It always felt like there was some unknown conspiracy. The members of the Citizens' Assembly were somewhat skeptical about this matter. They did not particularly believe that the Byzantine Kingdom would really help Athens to deal with the difficult Spartans. However, some people thought that this matter was still very likely. After all, the King of the Byzantine Kingdom, Hilde, was an Athenian. As an Athenian, after becoming powerful, it should be natural for him to turn around and help his hometown.
Such an idea is too outrageous.
But it doesn't stop many people from thinking so.
Although many people did not speak at the citizens' assembly.
But everyone has their own thoughts on this matter. You look at me, I look at you, some of you show disbelief, some are shocked, some are suspicious, and some are secretly happy. In short, everyone has different thoughts and attitudes.
And this is the most important.
This is obviously Pericles' attitude.
After hearing this, Pericles frowned. He actually didn't believe that his daughter would be willing to help him. But if you think about it carefully, there should be no other conspiracy. Athens and Sparta both have some colonies around the Byzantine Kingdom. If the Byzantine Kingdom wants to annex these colonies, there is no need to say hello to the Spartans, because these two countries are currently in a state of hot war, and the distant Byzantine Kingdom can be said to be out of reach. So. If the Byzantine Kingdom only forms an alliance with Athens or Sparta because it needs these territories, it is completely unnecessary.
so.
Pericles himself wasn't quite sure.
What is Hilde's purpose?
Why would he travel thousands of miles to Athens and cooperate with the Athenians?
With such doubts.
Pericles asked:
The fifth section of the third chapter: The attitude of the city of Athens
"Our Athens is so far away from the Byzantine Kingdom, and the exchanges and contacts between the two countries are almost zero. Under such circumstances, your king still wants to establish a cooperative relationship with us. Isn't this a bit strange?" Pericles also directly expressed his doubts, and at the same time, his doubts were also the doubts in the hearts of most people. Most people actually thought the same as Pericles, and they all thought that this matter was very strange from this perspective.
However, the kingdom's envoys had actually already made preparations for such questions.
"In response to your question, I am a lowly person and just a messenger. Naturally, I cannot give you a proper answer. His Majesty the King of our country has already set out on the journey to Athens. Regarding this matter, I believe His Majesty the King will definitely give you and everyone in the Citizens' Assembly a reasonable answer."
The method chosen by the Kingdom's messenger.
It's just a matter of passing the buck. If you put the blame on Hilde, many problems can be easily solved.
This is also what Hilde taught him to do.
Hilde knew that the biggest characteristic of these Athenians was that they were troublesome. Their troubles were innate, and they would tangle with you for a long time on many issues. So Hilde was not particularly reassured to let the kingdom's envoys deal with all the problems of the Athenians. After all, these Athenians often did not play by the rules. Who knows if an inappropriate statement would make them have some other ideas. This kind of thing is quite common.
So just put the blame on Hilde.
Hilde will speak for herself then.
It will solve many problems.
Moreover, when the Athenians saw Hilde, they would definitely not interrogate her like they interrogated the king's teacher, otherwise it would be a big deal. So when the king said this, Pericles had no choice. The other party had directly returned to the king, so what else could they say.
"In that case, we will certainly welcome His Majesty the King of Byzantium with the highest etiquette. Our questions have been resolved. Next, I will arrange for you to stay in Athens for a while and wait for the arrival of His Majesty the King of your country." Pericles had a faint smile on his face. After saying this, he looked at the other people in the Citizens' Assembly and said, "Do you have any other opinions? If so, please speak up now."
Pericles was the archon of Athens.
Therefore he also has the right to make this decision before anyone else does.
However, there must still be a process of soliciting opinions.
After Pericles said this, the other people in the Citizens' Assembly had no objection. After all, this was the safest way to deal with it. So the Kingdom's envoy arranged for Pericles to be sent to an inn in Athens to rest for a while. Pericles returned to his mansion. The fact that Hilde was going to come in person was a bolt from the blue for Pericles.
"Lord Pericles."
Seeing how anxious Pericles was, Rhodes became worried as well.
"Are you okay?"
"It's okay. I just encountered some difficult problems. But if you think about it, it's not a big deal. Don't worry... Anyway, Hilde will come to Athens in half a month. You know, she is also an oracle, so you two oracles will definitely meet at that time. I hope you two won't have any conflicts at that time."
“Why is there conflict?”
Rhodes blinked.
"I don't think this kind of thing will cause any conflict between us."
"It's hard to say. There are often natural conflicts between oracles, and both sides will dislike each other. I don't know what kind of person Hilde has become now, but if she is dissatisfied with you, then you should just avoid her and don't confront her head-on."
"Yes, I will keep your instructions in mind."
Pericles trusted Rose very much. He knew that besides being an oracle, Rhodes was just an ordinary good kid from a farming family. There was nothing special about him. Because of this, Pericles was worried that Rhodes would be bullied by Hilde. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that his worry was unnecessary. After all, Hilde was the king of the Byzantine Kingdom and would not have any conflicts with a simple kid like Rhodes.
That's probably it.
This was the only way Pericles could comfort himself.
Hilde's coming.
It can be said that this caused a stir throughout the city of Athens.
Not many people in Athens knew about the Byzantine Empire, but most people knew about Hilde. Almost all Athenians knew that Pericles had a daughter who was as beautiful as a flower and as beautiful as a god. Her name was Hilde. Hilde rarely showed up in Athens, but everyone had heard the legend about Hilde's beauty.
Because of this, Hilde was still very famous among the Athenians, so when Pericles sent Hilde to Byzantium, many Athenians in the city were reluctant to let her go. In the blink of an eye, two years passed, and Hilde became the king of the Byzantine Kingdom, and even returned with an envoy.
There are two emotions involved here.
Some people are very dismissive.
Because Athens was a democratic city-state, the Athenians of the democratic city-state naturally believed that they were superior to the monarchy, and their people lived in a democratic state, while the Byzantine Kingdom was a backward monarchy. They looked down on monarchies. They looked down on monarchies like the Byzantine Kingdom, which had a monopoly on monarchy and was very similar to the Persian monarchy. Because this kind of complete state was actually a betrayal of the Greeks, a tyrant, and a brutal dictator. This was a concept that all Athenians firmly believed in.
The Spartans also had a king.
However, the king system of Sparta was actually an alternative democratic system. There were two kings in Sparta, and there were also governors to supervise. The power of these five governors was probably greater than that of the two kings. Rather than being kings, it is better to say that the two kings were actually a disguised form of consuls, without any dictatorial power at all. Under such circumstances, the city-state of Sparta was a monarchy on the surface, but in fact it was a very extreme democratic country.
But even so, just because the Spartans had a king, the Athenians looked down on the Spartans.
The fifth chapter, the fourth chapter, the situation that things have changed
Because you are a monarchy, and Athens is a democracy, when comparing our two countries, I am superior to you. This is the prejudice in the hearts of many Athenians. And this prejudice will definitely be transferred to the Byzantine Empire.
And another part of people think this.
They are very happy.
Because Hilde, the great beauty of Athens, is back.
Although Hilde is now the king of the Byzantine Kingdom, they always think that Hilde is the daughter of Pericles and the daughter of an Athenian, so when she comes back, she will definitely be able to help Athens. Or she will return to Athens and never go back. Because in their hearts, Athens is much better than the remote area of the Byzantine Kingdom, which is surrounded by all kinds of barbarians.
So even if Hilde gave up her kingdom and returned to the warmth of Athens, it was understandable. The self-conceit and self-will of these Athenians were actually pervasive throughout Athens. Many Athenians thought so when they heard the news. But this group of people did not include wise people like Socrates.
Socrates knew that Hilde was coming back.
He was very happy at first.
But then he began to worry too.
He knew very well that Hilde came back as the king of the Byzantine Kingdom, not as an Athenian. This meant that Hilde came back to discuss important state affairs and only regarded Athens as a country that could be cooperated and used. Socrates knew that Hilde was a very smart person, so it was very likely that the Athenians would suffer a great loss in the negotiations with Hilde.
This is what Socrates is most worried about.
After all, when I was chatting with Hilde before.
Socrates was once confused by Hilde.
That was Socrates' worst memory.
Even if Hilde came to Socrates in person this time, Socrates would definitely not be willing to continue chatting with Hilde, because Socrates was more concerned about what kind of policy Hilde wanted. She wanted to get something from Athens, so she came all the way to Athens, a place that once made her sad. Socrates was actually the most curious about this matter.
