To protect free Greece.
This Spartan king, with the blood of Leonidas flowing in his veins, will surely bring fear to his enemies.
Archidamus walked quickly into the palace, and at this time there were already many officers waiting for the arrival of His Majesty the King. At the same time, another king, Pausanias, was also waiting inside. When he saw Archidamus coming, Pausanias smiled and patted Archidamus' shoulder enthusiastically.
"We've finally waited for you to come back."
"I'm so sorry, everyone."
Archidamus and Pausanias walked to the throne together, and each of them sat on their own throne, looking at the officers standing below. At this time, two men and one woman knelt in front of Archidamus and Pausanias. The three of them were wearing Spartan clothing, and the bronze armor with clear muscle carvings on their bodies and their cloaks proved that they were very high-ranking officers.
Archidamus looked at the three people in front of him. There was no smile on his face. His expression was very serious. All the Spartans present did not dare to speak, because everyone knew that something must have happened. At this time, Pausanias smiled faintly and said, "I called everyone here today to tell you about the previous events."
"Yes!"
Everyone bowed their heads.
"In our previous siege of Athens, we had already pushed the Athenians into a desperate situation. Athens was about to collapse, but then... everyone saw what happened. Athens also welcomed its oracle, Poseidon's oracle Rhodes. She used the power of the sea to defeat our army, and our allies were killed or injured. The morale dropped significantly. In a short period of time, we had no way to gather a new force to attack Athens again."
"I didn't expect that Athens also had an oracle..."
The people below also started talking.
After all, the Spartans lagged behind Athens in overall military strength. It was precisely because of this that the Spartans, who possessed the oracle, could form a huge advantage over Athens. This was also a point that Athens relied on very much in subsequent wars. But this point is obvious. It has now been completely overturned. Athens has an oracle, and a very powerful oracle who can control nature.
The Spartans couldn't understand why Lord Poseidon would choose to help Athens. Did Athena disappear? There was also a temple dedicated to Athena in the city-state of Sparta... Everyone naturally believed that Athena would unconditionally help the Athenians in this war, so when the war broke out, the number of Spartans who went to worship Athena decreased a lot.
But now it is Lord Poseidon!
Such things are still surprising enough.
At this time, Archidamus, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Actually... there are two oracles in Athens."
"Both of you?"
Someone couldn't help but exclaim.
"Yes...Athens actually had an oracle a long time ago. This person was the daughter of Pericles, the archon of Athens, and her name was Hilde. According to reliable information, Hilde was the oracle of Lady Athena. In fact, Lady Athena had chosen to help Athens a long time ago, but something happened that caused Pericles to exile his daughter to Byzantium. You should have heard of this oracle. He established the Byzantine Kingdom in Byzantium through his own efforts."
"So it's the Byzantine Empire..."
"Doesn't this mean that Hilde has severed all ties with Athene?"
Pausanias couldn't help but ask.
Archidamus nodded.
"Indeed, we can be sure that Hilde, the oracle of Athena, will not help his father in this war. Therefore, the only enemy we are facing now is Rhodes, the oracle of Poseidon. So we still have a great advantage and don't need to worry too much for now."
The Oracle of Sparta
With Archidamus' words, everyone was relieved for the time being. At least it seemed that there would not be too many problems in the future, because the most critical issue was that Sparta had an absolute advantage in oracles. Athens now had only one oracle, while the Spartans already had three oracles.
The three men kneeling before Archidamus and Pausanias were the three oracles of Sparta.
"Brasidas."
"exist!"
At this time, the man on the far left stood up and said very respectfully: "Your Majesty, please give your orders!"
"Poseidon's Oracle, Rhodes, do you have the confidence to defeat her?"
"Your Majesty, I cannot guarantee that I can completely defeat an Oracle, because I do not know enough about her abilities. Now I only know that she has the ability to control the ocean, and other than that, the information we have is pitifully small. But if Your Majesty needs me, I will spare no effort in the future confrontation with her, even if it means sacrificing my life, to kill her."
Brasidas' words made Archidamus very satisfied.
"Then, the army in Attica will continue to be in your charge. Remember, since the Athenians already have the oracle, we must be cautious in all our actions. If we accidentally let the Athenians seize the opportunity to inflict heavy damage on our army, it is very likely that our actions will be hindered, which is not in line with our next goal. We must remember this."
"As ordered!"
Brasidas nodded heavily.
This general named Brasidas was a very young Spartan general. He became the commander of the Spartan army because he was an oracle. Before the Peloponnesian War, he was chosen by the god of war Ares to become the oracle of Ares. With the power of Ares, he was like the god of war, almost invincible on the battlefield.
Therefore, the Spartans were very satisfied to hand this matter over to Brasidas, because everyone knew that a gloomy person like Rhodes would definitely not be a match for Brasidas. Brasidas would completely defeat Rhodes and completely destroy the confidence of the Athenians.
"Cleopatra!"
"exist!"
The woman standing in the middle also quickly stood up.
Unlike Brasidas, who is obviously a soldier, Cleopatra looks like a romantic woman, which is completely different from the overall feeling of Sparta. It is true that Cleopatra is not a Spartan. Her real identity is a spartan.
In other words, before she became an oracle and the commander of Sparta, she was actually a slave ruled by Sparta, with a very low status. Unexpectedly, Lord Hades took a fancy to such a woman and gave her his divine power, giving her the ability to move freely in the dark. The Spartans were not so stubborn about this matter, but made an exception and promoted this Helot to a commander of Sparta.
Cleopatra, who had escaped from her status as a slave, was very grateful for the support of the Spartans. Therefore, although her ethnic group had been oppressed by the Spartans, she remained loyal and would unconditionally dedicate everything she had to the Spartans.
It was because of an oracle like this that Archidamus could say to her with confidence: "I also have a mission for you now. Listen carefully. There is a place called Gallipoli Peninsula in the far east. We have our own colonies on Gallipoli Peninsula, and the Athenians also have colonies there. Gallipoli Peninsula is an important base for Athens' food supply. Our naval forces cannot completely defeat the Athenians' maritime lifeline, so all we can do is to exert our military strength on Gallipoli Peninsula and completely destroy the Athenians' power there. You will go there alone and disintegrate the rule of the local Athenians."
"Yes, I understand."
Cleopatra smiled faintly.
"I will let the Athenians know the horror of the Spartans."
When Cleopatra said this.
The other two oracles showed disdainful expressions.
They all thought that Cleopatra was a Helot, but she always boasted that she was a Spartan. She was really good at flattering herself. Moreover, the other two oracles were the kind of oracles who could fight the enemy openly on the battlefield, unlike Cleopatra, who could only fight in the dark corners. Therefore, including Brasidas, they all looked down on the oracle of Lord Hades.
"Your Majesty, are there any plans for me?"
At this time, another man stood up and asked anxiously.
Archidamus smiled and shook his head: "Laisander, I know you are eager to prove your strength for Sparta. I understand your loyalty, but unfortunately, the current situation does not require you to take any action for the time being. You will continue to stay in Sparta. Of course, your mission is also very important, which is to do your best to protect this place to prevent the enemy from attacking us."
"……Yes!"
This man named Lysander.
He was originally a poor Spartan.
But he was lucky enough to be favored by Hermes and became the Oracle of Hermes. Of course, even though he had the power of Hermes, he could not be compared with the other two oracles. After all, although Hermes was one of the twelve gods of Olympus, his essence was a messenger, and he was also the patron saint of merchants and travelers. The ability that Lysander inherited was the power of wind from Hermes, which allowed him to control the power of wind, so that Lysander still had the ability to fight against the other oracles.
The luckiest thing about Sparta was that it got the support of three oracles in a short period of time. This was unimaginable. After all, in many other city-states, such as Corinth, which was even much larger than Sparta, there were no oracles. Now people increasingly believed that the appearance of oracles was directly related to the will of the gods, and the gods were now trying to manipulate the Peloponnesian War.
Sending out the Oracle was their beginning.
Ares, Hades, and Hermes all chose their own oracles in Sparta.
The third chapter, the second section, a new mission has arrived
Does that mean that the three gods have the same stance, and they all hope that Sparta will win in the end? If you think in this way, it is reasonable for Lord Poseidon to choose Athens, because Pericles personally drove away Lord Athena's oracle, and Poseidon was originally competing with Athena for Athens' faith, so it is completely understandable that Poseidon took advantage of this opportunity.
Whether other gods will choose their own oracles is now a big question. No one knows how many oracles will appear in the coming years and where these oracles will appear. The Spartans certainly hope that more and more oracles will appear in their city-state, but... this depends entirely on the will of the gods. It is only possible if the gods are willing.
And this is what comes next.
Archidamus was essentially issuing a mission to all three of his oracles.
With the changes in the current situation in Greece, the Spartans must react. Now the Spartans do have the advantage, but no one knows what will happen in the future. After all, Athens has a Poseidon oracle named Rhodes, who instantly wiped out the advantage that Sparta had worked so hard to build. So, now Arcidamos knows that his future actions must be handled with caution and must not be too ostentatious. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, it may be a big problem.
Of course, Archidamos didn't know that Hilde, the oracle of Athena, and the Byzantine Kingdom she founded had now joined Athens and joined the Delian League. If Archidamos knew about this, he would definitely change his plan again. Of course, the Spartans were not a nation good at business, and they had very few contacts with the East. They could only get some information about the outside world through hearsay. Therefore, they knew very little about the Byzantine Kingdom, and almost nothing about it.
It is precisely because of this.
Cleopatra, the oracle of Lord Hades.
There will definitely be a meeting with Hilde.
Of course, they don’t know what might happen next.
When the Spartans began to take action, Hilde also began to take specific actions against the Scythians in the north. In Hilde's plan, the war against Ionia would probably last for more than one to one and a half years to ensure the complete conquest of this place, so now is not the time to rush. Even if you give the Scythians a few years, its military strength will not be able to grow rapidly.
So how to use trade to make the Scythians relax their vigilance and then degenerate became Hildes most concerned. So, after thinking about it, Hildes decided to hand this matter over to Alcibiades, who had been cleaning the toilet for a long time.
This can be considered a new test for him.
So on this day.
Alcibiades was reading in the room when Amyntas came and called him out. Amyntas told him that Her Majesty Hilde wanted to see him in person and give him a task. Hearing this, Alcibiades knew that a very important task might fall on him, and Her Majesty Hilde could not help but assign him a new task.
So, under the leadership of Amyntas, Alcibiades quickly rushed to the winery. Alcibiades didn't understand why Hilde wanted to meet him at the winery, but Amyntas replied that Hilde was busy making wine inside, so he gave the orders directly there.
After Alcibiades arrived.
He walked into the winery.
Inside the winery, there were two people standing, one was Hilde and the other was Sophia.
"His Majesty!"
"Oh, you're here."
Hilde was now holding her robe and stepping on a large basin. The huge wooden basin contained fresh grapes, and the most important part of making wine was to crush the grapes with her feet. Hilde was also curious, so she was crushing the grapes in the basin. Alcibiades looked at the pair of delicate and flawless jade feet, which were covered with purple-red grape juice, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.
He was thinking about the grape juice on those jade feet.
This is probably the best thing to drink in the world.
"I'm busy stomping grapes, so I can't go back to the palace to tell you. I have to ask you to come here in person." Hilde said with a smile while stomping grapes. "It's like this, you've been cleaning toilets in the palace for a long time, so I'm going to assign you a new task. If you can do it well, it proves that you have some skills. If you can't do it well, you'll be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks when you come back."
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
Alcibiades knew that this must be a very difficult task.
"Please give me your orders."
"That's right... I think you must have understood the Scythians very well through studying the manuscript Herodotus gave you during this period of time?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Scythians are a people living in northern Thrace. They are essentially a part of Thrace, but they are very different from the Thracians. They are a typical nomadic people with a population of less than 10. The entire country is ruled by a king, and the largest military force is around 35,000."
"Yes, you are right."
Hilde stopped.
The pair of jade feet were naturally soaked in the crushed grapes. Alcibiades felt a little regretful because he could not see the feet.
"And you should know that the Scythians betrayed us in the previous war between the Byzantine Kingdom and the Thracians, which almost put the Byzantine Kingdom into a desperate situation. So they will definitely pay the price for their stupidity, but this price may be delayed for a while. I don't want our Byzantine Kingdom to be involved in the war on the grassland so early. After all, the Persians back then couldn't completely eliminate the Scythians, let alone us who are much weaker than Persia."
"What mission does His Majesty have for me?"
"Do you know how to do business?"
The consequences of random speculation
At this time, Sophia moved a wooden chair from the side and placed it next to the wooden basin, so that Hilde could sit directly on the chair.
"Doing business? I know a thing or two about that."
"That's fine. Since we are not planning to conquer the Scythians now, I will do business with them and make money from them. As long as I can make enough money, it doesn't matter. Moreover, I not only want to make money, but also make them dependent on our goods so that they cannot leave our trade. Do you understand this?"
Facing Hilde's problem.
Alcibeles nodded heavily.
"Don't worry, there will be absolutely no problem leaving this matter to me. I will definitely get it done. If I mess this up, you don't have to throw me into the sea yourself. I can solve it myself."
Alcibiades seemed very confident and dared to say such words. When Hilde heard his statement, she smiled slightly and said:
"Since you've said that, I'm looking forward to your performance. By the way... when you arrive in Upper Thrace, there are two people there, one named Sitalses and the other named Damianos. I trust them very much, so if you have any questions, just ask them. I will write a letter and you can bring it to them in person. They will know what I mean after reading it."
Damianus, as the governor of Upper Thrace, and Sitalces, who was in charge of the defense of Upper Thrace, would certainly be able to help Alcibiades complete this mission.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
"Since you are ready, I will explain to you in detail what you are going to do next, and you should write it down carefully. This time, you are heading north to contact the Scythians. You have two tasks. First of all, we are actually at war with the Scythians. We don't trust them, and they don't trust us. It is precisely because of this reason that we are in a state where we may go to war with each other at any time and anywhere. So your trip to Scythia this time is actually a relatively dangerous thing. If you arrive in the Kingdom of Scythia in person, your mission is to serve as an envoy of the Kingdom of Byzantium to let the Kingdom of Scythia relax its vigilance and let them think that we, the Kingdom of Byzantium, have no intention of fighting and are only willing to do business with them."
"…Does that mean we have to paralyze them?"
"correct."
Alcibiades thought about it and nodded.
"Okay, I see."
"So the first task is to maintain peace, let the other side think that we want to get along with them peacefully, and return to the normal friendly state of the past. After this is done, the most important thing is trade. What you have to do is to make the Scythians interested in our goods, let them be willing to exchange their goods with ours, and it is best not to barter, but to use money to trade. The Scythians don't use currency much, which is not a good thing for us. We have to give them our currency, and when we buy their goods, we give them our silver coins, and then they can use our silver coins to buy our goods. We must use currency as an intermediary in the trade between us, rather than directly exchanging our goods for each other's goods."
"I understand!"
