The gold and silver treasures that had lost their owners were naturally used as the treasury of the Byzantine Empire. Three or five days after the tragedy in the city of Eraeus, the people of Eraeus who had escaped by boat began to return one after another. There were only more than a thousand of them who survived. They had witnessed the tragedy of Eraeus with their own eyes. After seeing the Byzantine army, they were very scared at first.
But after discovering that the skeleton soldiers were no longer in the city.
These people only found out after asking.
The Spartans had been destroyed.
The oracle who summoned those skeleton soldiers was also defeated by the Queen of the Byzantine Empire.
Hild's current residence is in the original Citizen Assembly of Araeus. Now Araeus has no citizens, and the Citizen Assembly has become a mere decoration. When Hild heard that the residents were starting to return, he immediately ordered them to come to see him and provided them with food to temporarily guarantee their lives.
After hearing about Hilde's deeds, the people of Erasius were deeply saddened by the destruction of their city-state, but were also very grateful to Hilde for her revenge. Hilde briefly talked to them, and after a final count, there were only 1,400 people of Erasius left alive, including slaves.
These people were there during the siege.
Take your own fishing boat or merchant ship.
He escaped to another place urgently and managed to survive.
In this case, Hilde didn't need to be too polite to them. No matter what, these more than a thousand survivors could at least serve as the spark for restarting Araeus. With more than a thousand of them, Hilde could be less anxious for the time being and then consider whether to migrate the population to Araeus. After all, Araeus was important, and the strategic position of the port was very important. Hilde couldn't just leave the city alone.
So in the end Hilde made a decision.
The combined population of Cestus and Cardea is less than 3.
Select 1 people from their two city-states.
Then he came to live in Eraeus.
Cardia and Cestus were mostly agricultural city-states, so it didn't matter if they had fewer residents, after all, Hildess had no shortage of food. So Hildess was reducing the importance of Cestus and Cardia, and asked them to support Eraeus for the time being.
Similarly, Hilde would provide certain subsidies, such as money and food, to those who were willing to move to Eraeus, so that they could settle down smoothly. Later, Hilde would consider whether to continue to move people from the inland according to the situation. If only more than 10,000 people could restore Eraeus to its normal state, then Hilde felt that there was no need for him to move people.
After Hilde simply completed all these tasks, he handed them over to other people.
After all, Hilde can't waste all his time on this.
However, Hilde took his troops to settle in Eraeus, because Eraeus was a very important seaport city. If he planned to go to Ionia, Eraeus would be a very good transit point.
So Hilde ordered the navy of Byzantium to gather towards Eraeus. This time, the warships stationed in Byzantium went directly from the Hellespont to Eraeus. There were a total of 150 warships, which was already a very large fleet.
And Hilde these days.
I have been keeping an eye on the relocation issue.
A steady stream of Cestians and Cardians left their ancestors' homes and came to Eraeus. Many of them knew the city of Eraeus, but this was their first time there, and they had mixed feelings about becoming new Eraeus citizens. Hilde also knew that it was not easy to accept.
However, for ordinary people during the war, being able to survive was already a great thing, not to mention that for people like Hilde, there would be various preferential policies for the newly conquered territories.
The Eighth Key, Section 1: Ionian Thoughts
Since the city-states on the Gallipoli Peninsula were all founded by the Greeks, ruling them did not require much effort, unlike dealing with the Thracians. They were all from the same clan and had the same living habits. Therefore, the rule of the three city-states on the Gallipoli Peninsula was very smooth.
Those who migrated to Eraeus.
They are indeed reluctant.
But Hilde generously distributed the fields of Eraeus to them, and gave them money and enough food to live on. These things were things they dared not enjoy in their original city-states. With these good things, these people would be full of hope for the future and continue to live happily in Eraeus.
This is what Hilde really wants to see.
Arrangements for the Gallipoli Peninsula.
That's what Hilde thought.
The Gallipoli Peninsula is located in the southwest of the Great Byzantine Province and borders the Great Byzantine Province. It is precisely because of this that it is obviously unnecessary to turn the Gallipoli Peninsula into a province again. So Hilde directly assigned the Gallipoli Peninsula to the Great Byzantine Province, which would make it easier to manage.
At the same time, Hilde also ordered to build an official road starting from Eraeus, passing through Cestus and Cardea, like other areas. After all, due to the outstanding geographical conditions of the peninsula, if the Byzantine Kingdom wants to give full play to its powerful navy, it is necessary to connect Eraeus with the Byzantine city. In this way, it is possible to ensure that personnel and materials can move at the fastest speed.
After all these are arranged.
"There are gradually more and more people."
Xerxes and Hilde walked on the city wall.
The two watched as Eraeus regained his vitality.
"I thought you would just ignore such a city and use it as a military base at most, but you restored it to its former state, although there are still some differences... I just don't understand why you did this? Araeus, the prosperity of the past is gone, what can Araeus do now?"
"Because it will be my bridgehead for advancing into Ionia."
Hilde pointed to the port in the distance.
"The port is huge and can accommodate many warships. Its port is even bigger than that of Byzantium. And most importantly, if we want to imagine this city becoming the front line of our homeland defense and the bridgehead for our attack on Ionia, people are necessary. If there are no people... many things in the city will not be able to operate normally, including the normal operation and training of the army."
"You are really efficient."
In response to Xerxes' praise.
Hilde just nodded.
"But speaking of which, have you thought things through in Ionia?"
"My initial thoughts are this: the Ionian region is basically a solid block. If I attack directly, I will inevitably encounter resistance from the entire Ionian region. Not only will I have to invest a lot of time and energy, but the success rate will also be relatively low, which is equivalent to directly tearing the face with the Delian League. Therefore, I plan to divide and conquer them first, and defeat them one by one. This is our only choice."
"Hmm...so how are you going to divide Ionia?"
"The reason why Ionia has become so united is because of the Persian Empire. In order to jointly deal with the threat of the Persian Empire, the Ionians have once again stood together. Your direct attack on Miletus last time actually tore up the Treaty of Callias signed 20 years ago. The Athenians didn't actually do anything, so it can be seen that Athens is now unable to take care of itself, so Athens will no longer care about the life and death of Ionia, which is also part of the Delian League."
The Callias Contract.
This contract was signed by Xerxes' father.
The content of the treaty was actually to end the war between the Delian League, centered on Athens, and the Persian Empire. At the same time, the Persian Empire also recognized the freedom of the Delian League to the Ionians along the coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula in the treaty, and was not allowed to attack Asia Minor again. So because of this, the Persians did not actually launch any wars in the next 20 years. However, after the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War and the current Xerxes ascended the throne of the Persian Empire, things changed.
Xerxes attacked Miletus, including the siege in the early stage, the siege in the middle and late stages, and the final capture of Miletus. Athens actually did not make any statement. In fact, the most critical reason was that in order to cope with the disadvantages of the war, Athens received money from the Persian Empire behind the scenes to ease the pressure brought by the war. Some time ago, Xerxes told Hilde all the bad things that Pericles did, just like chatting. Hilde also really knew that in order to preserve Athens, Pericles did so many things, and even acquiesced to the military operations of the Persian Empire in Ionia, because doing so was tantamount to betraying the Delian League.
As the first to betray the Delian League.
In fact, it was Athens itself.
Miletus was sold by Athens.
Therefore, the Ionian League established by the Ionian city-states became the most effective alliance against the Persian Empire. The Ionians could not give up the position of the Delian League because they needed the Delian League, which once gathered together to resist the Persians, to gain the attention of the Greeks in other Greek regions, but at the same time they had to establish an alliance of their own to resist the Persian invasion.
So for Hilde.
Heard was going to play a role.
Then she continued to speak to Xerxes:
"Since the Athenians will no longer care about the Persian Empire's aggression against Ionia, then please continue to lead your army to invade Ionia. You don't need to completely occupy Ionia. Otherwise, what do you want me to do? You just need to act as a trigger and lead your army to besiege a city-state again, and I will play the role of a reinforcement to save Ionia and save the city-state from your hands. At this time, I can announce that I have successfully liberated Miletus. In this way, the Ionians will definitely regard me as the second Athenian, and I will take advantage of this time to enter Ionia, first disintegrate their alliance, use some means to divide them, and then defeat them one by one."
"Oh? Now that you mention it, it's quite interesting."
Pericles in astonishment
Xerxes also became interested.
In Hilde's plan, he played the role of a bad guy, but it didn't matter. The Persian Empire was a bad guy in the eyes of the Ionians. Since it was already a bad guy, there was no problem at all for him to continue to be a bad guy. So, Xerxes smiled and nodded, and said to Hilde: "I agree with everything you said. Just do it according to your wishes. I support you very much."
"Okay then. After I draft a detailed plan and I'm ready, I'll present everything to you. At that time, please cooperate with me. This is a big show, and we both have to act well."
"completely fine!"
Xerxes agreed readily.
This really confuses the entire Ionia.
I'm afraid the Ionians would never have dreamed that such a thing would happen, that the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Empire, with Ionia in the middle, would actually join hands and play Ionia together. However, Hilde knew that the Ionians were the main ethnic group of the Byzantine Empire. Whether it was the Milesians, the former Byzantines, or even the Athenians, they were actually very close in terms of language and blood relationship. They all spoke the Ionian dialect, and in terms of blood relationship, everyone was almost the same.
Therefore, as a Byzantine Empire dominated by Ionians, it should not be a big problem to annex the entire Ionian region. In addition, it is estimated that all Ionians have thought about a question in their minds, that is, what would happen if they were ruled by the Persians again. As long as you think about this question, you will feel that being ruled by the Byzantine Empire is a good thing.
All Hilde has to do is act anyway.
Let these guys believe it.
Hilde came to rescue them.
He was the hero who would save them from the shadow of the Persian Empire.
This move was indeed somewhat insidious and cunning, but it was very effective. The enemy this time was no longer a brainless person like the King of Thrace, but the city-state at the core of Athenian civilization. Hilde's war this time was no longer to conquer the barbarians, but to conquer her compatriots with the same level of civilization as herself.
Conquering Ionia, no matter how much it cost or how much it gained, would be a very important experience for Hilde, because it would help Hilde to have a deeper understanding of how to deal with these city-states. In this way, when he deals with Athens and other city-states in the future, Hilde will be more experienced.
Hilde's plan.
After the army has completed its assembly.
It's time to get ready.
A few days later, Xerxes, who knew Hilde's plan, took the task Hilde gave him and returned to the Persian Empire first. Hilde continued to work hard on the development of Araeus, as if to build Araeus into a new large city of the Byzantine Empire in a short time.
The envoy sent by Hilde sailed on the sea for nearly a month and finally arrived at the port of Piraeus in Athens. Facing the envoy suddenly sent by the Byzantine Kingdom, Pericles did not dare to neglect him and quickly invited the envoy to his residence instead of sending him directly to the Citizens' Assembly. Pericles did not want some unexpected situations to affect the entire Citizens' Assembly of Athens.
"Lord Pericles."
The visiting envoy came straight to the point.
"I am here to inform you of something. Fifty days ago, the Spartans secretly sent an oracle to the Gallipoli Peninsula to command the Spartan army on the peninsula to attack Araeus. However, when the attack was launched, with the help of the oracle, the Spartans easily invaded Araeus and launched an inhumane massacre. When Her Majesty the Queen of our country arrived with her army, no one in Araeus survived."
“…Is this really the case?”
Pericles took a breath.
But in front of the messenger, he couldn't show too much surprise.
"Indeed, after a fierce battle, our queen personally beheaded the enemy oracle and successfully recaptured Araeus. Her majesty also asked me to personally hand over the heads of the oracle and the commander of the Spartan army who participated in the massacre to you as one of the evidences of revenge."
"Where's the head?"
"It's not convenient to bring that thing in. It's still in our ship. I learned that Athens is currently short of food. The food from Eraeus is the most important food supply for Athens. So Her Majesty the Queen also ordered me to collect all the food in the granary of Eraeus and return it to Athens. This food is enough for all the residents of Athens to eat for a year."
This series of words made Pericles a little overwhelmed. He originally thought that Hilde came to ask him for something, or to blackmail him. But he didn't expect that it was big news when he came! !
Where is Eraeus?
That was the most important colony of Athens.
Because a colony was established in Eraeus and operated for such a long time, Athens' overseas food supply has always been guaranteed. Although Eraeus is located in the narrow Gallipoli Peninsula, the land there is fertile and relatively flat, which is very convenient for agricultural cultivation. It is also a natural port city, and the harvested grain can be transported to Athens in large quantities through the port. This is the most important thing.
The Spartans also knew that in order to completely defeat Athens, they had to take Eraeus. Only by taking Eraeus could they ensure that Athens' food supply would be threatened. After all, without food, Athens's combat effectiveness would be nothing. Therefore, during the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans had always planned to attack Eraeus, but the balance of power between the two countries on the Gallipoli Peninsula was too poor, so the Spartans had no way to take Eraeus simply by using the army on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
So they actually sent out the Oracle?
Pericles was quite surprised.
He only knew that Brasidas, the commander of the Spartan army, was an oracle.
Did Brasidas go to Gallipoli?
"Do you know any news about this oracle?"
"Of course, what do you want to know?" the messenger was also very polite.
Chapter 8, Section 3: Letter from Hilde
"Of course, the specific information of this oracle. Is this person called Brasidas?"
"This person's name is not Brasidas, but Cleopatra. She is a Helot from Sparta. As a result, she was chosen by Lord Hades and became Lord Hades' oracle. Then she joined the Spartan army and served the Spartans. This time, Triopatra followed the order of Archidamus, the king of Sparta, and came to the Gallipoli Peninsula. But her ability is very terrible. This time, no one in Eraeus survived. It was this oracle named Cleopatra who did it. But she is dead now."
Sparta actually has an oracle! ?
Pericles gasped.
Now he was really panicking.
If that were the case... If Sparta had sent these two oracles at the same time when attacking Athens, Rhode would have been in real danger. He couldn't even guarantee that he could defeat Brasidas, the commander of the Spartan army and the oracle of Ares, let alone worship Cleopatra, who could easily massacre everyone in a city.
Pericles was not sure what the messenger said was true, and he was also half-believing and half-doubting, but the messenger's attitude was also very frank, and he had everything. At this time, the messenger seemed to notice that Pericles was a little unconvinced, so he smiled and said: "Her Majesty the Queen said that when you hear this news, you will definitely not believe it easily, so I wrote you a personal letter."
"This thing... show it to me."
"Okay sir."
The messenger took out a wooden barrel from his arms.
Inside the wooden barrel was a handwritten book written on parchment.
Pericles hurriedly took it and opened the barrel.
"Then I'll wait outside the door."
