Chapter 8, Section 9: Incited Public Opinion
In response to Hilde's words, the surrounding Ephesians were looking at each other and whispering. It was obvious that Hilde had planted the seeds of doubt in their hearts, and they did begin to doubt the motives of the Citizens' Assembly and Archon Pyrrhus.
Pyrrhus and his men also felt what Hilde said, which caused many civilians to start to have different ideas. The surrender was indeed a decision made by the Citizens' Assembly, but it was obvious that the Citizens' Assembly was a minority group in the whole of Ephesus, with only a few hundred people. It was indeed a bit excessive to think that these few hundred people made the decision to decide the future of all citizens in the entire city-state.
And Hilde's words made everyone start to doubt.
After the surrender of Ephesus.
So what will be their fate?
If the fate of the vast majority of ordinary people in Ephesus is really as Hilde said, then their fate will become very tragic. However, those consuls and people in the Citizens' Assembly will at least be able to obtain better living conditions because they voluntarily surrender to the Persian Empire. From this perspective, aren't those people in the Citizens' Assembly equivalent to selling out Ephesus!
"Your Majesty, we are only considering the future of Ephesus. We really don't have the strength to fight against the Persian Empire. We are very grateful to Your Majesty for saving our Ephesus, but this is not a reason for Your Majesty to discredit our Citizens' Assembly."
Pyrrhus also refused to give in.
"The Citizens' Assembly of Ephesus is randomly selected from all citizens. There is no dictatorship or hegemony. As long as you are an adult male citizen of Ephesus, you can naturally join the Citizens' Assembly and decide the future of the city-state. I believe that I am the current consul, and I and the Citizens' Assembly have made such a decision. If the consul is someone else, they will definitely make such a decision. This is a conclusion drawn from rational thinking based on the current situation, and it is not because we want to surrender to the Persian Empire!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, this kind of thing will never happen in our democratic city-state. It may happen in the Byzantine Empire, but it will never happen in Ephesus under our system."
Another member of the Citizens' Assembly was more brazen.
The words that come out of his mouth are full of superiority.
He completely looked down upon the Byzantine Empire, a country with a monarchy system.
"How dare you say such things? More than 100 years ago, you were ruled by the Lydian Kingdom. After the Lydian Kingdom was destroyed, you were ruled by the Persian Empire. Later, the Greco-Persian War liberated you from the rule of the Persian Empire. You finally regained your freedom and independence, but now you begin to look down on the monarchy that has ruled you time and time again? Where does your sense of superiority come from? Are you going to surrender to the Persian Empire in 10 days? This is the advantage of your democratic system? You are spineless! You really embarrassed the Greeks! Athens was besieged for almost two years and it didn't open the city and surrender like you did! You had 10 days!"
Ten days to surrender.
This speed is indeed too fast.
In fact, Hilde had not expected that Ephesus would surrender so quickly. Of course, Hilde would seize on this point because it was something worth talking about. No matter where it was, it took only ten days to surrender, and the Persian siege was just a siege without attacking. It was really unreasonable for Ephesus to choose to surrender under such circumstances.
"Look at the citizens' assembly you trust, look at the consuls you respect. When they made such a decision, they did not show any remorse. Instead, they felt that their behavior of betraying the city-state was justified. They are dragging you down with them, thinking that you can do the same. Are all the people in Ephesus so spineless? They besieged the city for 10 days without attacking it. There was enough food in the city and more than soldiers. Under such circumstances, they surrendered. Do you think you will make such a choice? If this is really the case, then there is no need for Ionia to exist, because you will definitely surrender."
"We are not like that!"
"We oppose surrender, but the Archon has made his decision!"
The Ephesians around them began to speak.
"It's the Archon's own decision!"
"It's a matter of the Citizens' Assembly! It has nothing to do with us!"
What Hilde said before actually took advantage of the weakness of human nature. Just as the man at the Citizens' Assembly said, even if someone else sat in his position, he would make the same decision. But in fact, not everyone would sit in this position, and people would not rationally realize what kind of judgment they would make when they are in a certain position.
When it comes to the cognition of this matter, people are always emotional. They will only think naively that when they sit in this position, they will never sell out the interests of the city-state in exchange for their own peace. What's more, when the Citizens' Assembly said this, it seemed that all the citizens of Ephesus were the kind of people who were greedy for life and afraid of death, so naturally everyone was unwilling to accept such words.
Seeing the Ephesians around him, they began to angrily criticize the Citizens' Assembly and the Archon. Hilde knew that his goal had been achieved, so he raised the spear in his hand high and said, "With my Byzantine Kingdom, I guarantee that you Ephesians will never be occupied by Persia. If you trust me, during this special period, I will personally manage Ephesus to prevent Ephesus from becoming the next target of conquest by the Persian Empire. So, I hope that the people of Ephesus can lend me their strength! In the name of a Greek king, I assure you that Ephesus will always belong to the Greeks and will never belong to the Persians!!!"
"you……"
Only then did Pyrrhus understand Hilde's intention.
"Don't believe it!"
"We in Ephesus are a democratic city-state. How can we accept the rule of a monarch? She must want to establish a tyrant here and destroy our democratic achievements!!!"
The consuls and the citizens' assembly began to panic. They began to explain to the people around them, but their explanations were obviously pale and powerless. You know, Hilde, wearing silver armor, holding a spear, and with silver hair fluttering, is indeed the image of a goddess in many people's hearts. No matter men or women, no one would refuse the rule of such a king. This is a matter of pure personal charm.
What's more, what Hilde said made suspicion and anger penetrate into everyone's hearts.
Chapter 8, Verse 10: The Submitted Ephesus
Regardless of whether it was true or not, the Ephesians began to believe that it was indeed their archons and the Citizens' Assembly that betrayed them. For their own benefit, they sold out the interests of the city-state and secretly reached some kind of agreement with the Persian Empire. Human imagination is infinite. In this imagination, Archon Pyrrhus and all the members of the Citizens' Assembly behind him were imagined by the Ephesians as a kind of conspirator. Once this imagination was established, trust would collapse.
What's more, seeing Hilde and the army behind her, anyone would believe that with such a powerful army, the Persians would certainly not dare to invade at will. After all, as soon as Hilde's army arrived, they liberated Miletus and directly drove away the Persian army that was besieging Ephesus. These were real things done by Hilde and her Byzantine Kingdom's army, not just boasting.
Under this situation.
There is nothing more to say.
The Byzantine Empire was invincible!
The citizens of Ephesus began to gather around Hilde, shouting Hilde's name loudly. The power of the citizens grew stronger and stronger. Their fanatical ideas gradually suppressed the rationality in their hearts. They didn't care about democracy or monarchy. The citizens' assembly and archon Pyrrhus who betrayed Ephesus needed to be tried, and Hilde's arrival would bring hope and light to the Greeks in this area!
Pyrrhus saw this.
He also became scared.
But thinking carefully, Pyrrhus felt that what Hilde said made sense. Although Ephesus had a more superior political system than the Byzantine Empire, so what? The democratic Ephesus was frightened by the Persians and opened the city gates to surrender after less than 10 days of siege. The Byzantine Empire, with its monarchical system, led the seemingly powerful Greek army and drove the Persians away directly.
This strong contrast can make everyone realize the difference between the two systems. People are essentially pragmatists. When one system is extremely disappointing, or when this system puts the city-state into a dangerous situation, then as long as another system demonstrates its strong superiority, it will naturally make people actively believe in the other system.
Than being enslaved by the Persians.
It seemed easier to accept being ruled by a Byzantine queen who was also Greek?
Besides, who wouldn’t love such a beautiful queen, such an elegant queen?
The Ephesians' ideas were similar to those of the Byzantines. The Byzantines treated Hilde like an idol. They were Hilde's most loyal fans. As long as Hilde appeared in front of them, they would be happy all day. Now the Ephesians began to become like the Byzantines. Hilde, who led the army to drive away the Persians and liberate Ephesus and Miletus, was the savior in their minds. This was something that no one else could do.
"Pyrrhus, I declare that from today on, Ephesus will be incorporated into the Byzantine Empire and will become a part of the Byzantine Empire. Ephesus and all its citizens will continue to live on this land, and I will give you enough security and let you live a more prosperous life, which is something that the archons and citizen assemblies you elected cannot give you."
"Yes... Your Majesty."
What reason did Pyrrhus have to refuse?
The army brought by Hilde was more powerful than that of the Persians.
Moreover, Hilde was an Athenian, a Greek, of the same blood as the Ephesians, and was deeply loved by the Ephesians. Those Ephesians who were attracted by Hilde voluntarily gave up the democratic system they admired and were ruled by the Byzantine Empire. What else could Pyrrhus say? At this point, Pyrrhus could only accept it.
Pyrrhus knelt on one knee and said with his head lowered.
“May your rule bring prosperity and stability to Ephesus.”
"That's for sure. But I also have plans for you."
Hilde dismounted and walked to Pyrrhus. "Ephesus is just the beginning. I want to save the whole of Ionia from the shadow of the Persians. Now your only choice is to cooperate with me. Otherwise, surrendering to the Persians will become a stain that will never be erased in your life, and you will be liquidated because of this matter. So I hope you can think it over carefully. What should you choose?"
"..."
Pyrrhus raised his head and looked at Hilde with some confusion.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
"My meaning is very simple. I only brought the army, but did not bring my civil officials to Ephesus. I still need someone to help me manage and rule. Pyrrhus, since you are deeply trusted by the Ephesians and become the archon of Ephesus, it shows that you must have certain talents. Let's not talk about surrendering to the Persian Empire. I will give you a chance to reform. You will become an official of the Byzantine Kingdom and be responsible for governing the city of Ephesus. Of course, you will lose many of your current powers. You are just an official who helps me manage Ephesus, and you are not qualified to decide some military and economic matters in Ephesus. But as long as Ephesus achieves prosperity that it did not have before during your governance, the people of Ephesus will naturally forgive you for what you have done. Are you willing?"
"..."
Hearing Hilde say this.
Pyrrhus knew he had no reason to refuse.
He could only agree to Hilde.
So Pyrrhus sighed helplessly and continued, "Yes, Your Majesty, if you are willing to trust me, I am willing to contribute my strength to you and Ephesus."
"very good."
Hilde nodded with great satisfaction.
"Then let us live in harmony from now on."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hilde didn't care what Pyrrhus was thinking, but this was the only way Pyrrhus could choose. It was a very difficult decision, but it didn't matter. Hilde knew that Pyrrhus knew everything about Ephesus and had a certain network of contacts in Ephesus. It was indeed risky to hand over the city-state to him, but Hilde had seen from Pyrrhus's performance that he was not the kind of person who would use his abilities to cause trouble.
This kind of person is the easiest to control.
Hield is confident.
So Hilde was willing to give him a chance to help Hilde manage Ephesus.
Magnificent Ionian
Locals manage locals.
This is the only option Hilde has at the moment.
The reason is that doing so can really save time and energy.
There are more than a dozen large city-states in Ionia, and countless small city-states. After all, the population here is even larger than that of mainland Greece. Therefore, if Hildreth directly sends officials here, he will not be able to rule here well. Therefore, it is obviously a better choice to choose local people to become officials loyal to the Byzantine Kingdom. And Pyrrhus will naturally become Hildreth's helper, of course, this helper will definitely not last long.
After all, he is the candidate for the transition period.
Thus the matter concerning Ephesus was decided.
It took Hilde only one day to take control of Ephesus.
However, Hilde still had his troops stationed outside the city of Ephesus, resting there and waiting for the next plan, while Hilde stayed in his own tent, enjoying Sophia's massage comfortably. Xerxes, who was wearing a black robe and covered himself tightly, sat in front of Hilde and couldn't help saying, "I didn't expect that the Ephesians would be so easy to deal with. I was really surprised when they sent people to surrender to me."
"Fortunately, they didn't just open the city and surrender, otherwise..."
Hilde couldn't help laughing.
"In that case, we will need to attack the city directly."
"That's right."
"The Ephesians were too fond of religion and art, so their national blood was completely worn out."
"This is very similar to the Lydians." Xerxes couldn't help but say, "After my ancestors conquered the Lydian Kingdom, they used various means to try to eliminate the Lydians' martial spirit. As a result, after so much time has passed, the Lydians have indeed become a nation that only knows how to farm and play the lyre. They are no longer a threat. Ephesus used to be an important city in the Lydian Kingdom, so... this is indeed inherited from the Lydians."
"Don't just talk about the Ephesians. This is actually the case in Ionia as well."
Hilde couldn't help but sigh.
In this era, commercial prosperity will inevitably mean the weakening of military power.
Almost all Ionian city-states were mainly commercial. Because they were located in the coastal area, with many mountains and hills in the central and southern parts, it was difficult to grow food. Therefore, the agricultural aristocracy in Ionia was weak in itself, and commercial tycoons and ordinary industrialists and businessmen constituted the main body of the city-states. Under such circumstances, the Ionian city-states lacked farmers who were willing to fight to the death for land and food, but were basically businessmen who considered maximizing profits.
Although Hilde doesn't like to fire map cannons.
But businessmen are really afraid of death.
This is determined by the profit-seeking nature of businessmen.
Therefore, Ionia was a land of merchants, so naturally the fighting power was not high, including Athens. The fighting power of the Athenian army almost depended on their weapons and equipment. The Athenians were rich, and even an Athenian light infantryman could afford to wear linen armor and helmets. On the battlefield, the armor rate was very important. Of course, the generals of Athens were self-righteous and believed that it was their command ability that led the Athenian army to victory, but of course that was wishful thinking.
"So, will this drama continue?"
"Of course not."
Hilde smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"If you keep doing this, it will definitely arouse suspicion."
"Well, after that..."
"The Ionian Alliance is not a monolithic entity. I know this clearly. These city-states all have ulterior motives. So, I am naturally capable of dealing with them. There is no need to rush for now." Hilde took a deep breath, then looked at the map in front of him and continued, "After we take Ephesus and Miletus, we will have a base. And our identity as the liberators of Ionia has also been confirmed in this way... So, next, we should promote our identity and let more people know that we are the liberators of Ionia. Only in this way will those people listen to us obediently."
"Liberators of Ionia, I guess they never thought that you are the real invader."
Xerxes' words made Hilde feel helpless.
You think I want to fight Ionia?
Attacking Macedonia is more justifiable than attacking Ionia.
"Next... I plan to connect Miletus and Ephesus, which are relatively large city-states. There are also Radel, Prienni and Notim. I won't hesitate to take the army directly to these three city-states." Hilde closed the map and closed his eyes helplessly. "After that, should I go south or north? If I go south, it will be Halicarnassus, which has few city-states and is not very valuable. If I go north, there are dozens of city-states, big and small. I will be exhausted if I take them one by one. Sigh, I'd better have a good rest today."
"We have achieved such a result today. Shouldn't we take a break? Shouldn't we do something interesting now?" Xerxes said this and quietly came to Hilde's side. She also placed her hand directly on Hilde's chest. "You are the Oracle. Are you tired already?"
“…I’m not physically tired, I’m mentally tired.”
Hilde looked at Xerxes helplessly.
"Let me take my time."
"Eh, okay."
Xerxes was obedient.
Hilde has been really busy these days making plans.
Ionia is not a big place, and its overall area is not much different from that of a province of Hildes, but the problem is that this place is too complicated, with a large number of city-states and a large population. Moreover, the population of Ionia was previously estimated by the Persians to be more than 700,000, but when Hildes came here, he realized that the population here could not be only 700,000. Not to mention Miletus’s 120,000 people, Ephesus also has a population of 100,000. City-states like Mytilene, Abydos, Lampcusas or New Troy have populations of tens of thousands, not to mention dozens of small city-states with populations of thousands.
Hilde estimated.
This place has a population of over a million.
