"Sister Sissi, I know that's what you really think, so I think it's right."
"Rod, you have been the Oracle for such a long time, and you should know the situation in Athens. I am different from Pericles. I will not put some unrealistic things on you like he did. So, now you can treat this place as your home, but at the same time, you have no obligation to protect the Byzantine Kingdom. You can freely decide what you want to do."
Hilde had a gentle smile on her face.
It's really like a sister.
Rhodes hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "I...I can stay here, right?"
"I told you, this is your home."
"Then I won't leave... There is Cleon in Athens. If I go back, Cleon will definitely try to make me his subordinate and let him do whatever he wants."
Rhodes was still very open-minded about this matter.
Rhodes knew very well who Cleon was.
Hearing this, Hilde could only smile and nod: "Okay, I understand. If you want to, you can stay in the Byzantine Kingdom first. If you need anything, just tell me."
"Sister Sissi."
Rhodes looked at Hilde with some concern.
"what happened?"
"I know I'm an oracle. Isn't an oracle very important to any city-state or country? So, Sister Sissi, if you need my strength, I... I can do it!"
"unnecessary."
Hilde rejected Rod directly.
Rhodes was also stunned.
"Why, why?"
"The Oracle is indeed very important to the Byzantine Kingdom, but you are a newcomer here, just a traveler who has just arrived. You know nothing about the Byzantine Kingdom, and you don't even know what the Byzantines are like. Is such a place really worth your power to protect? As for me, you are my friend, and I will not use my friends to achieve my own goals."
"But I want to help Sister Sissi!"
Rhodes looked a little anxious.
It was obvious that she wanted to do something for Hilde.
However, Hilde just gently held Rhodes' face and said earnestly:
"Rod, I hope you can understand that you are a free man. You can freely choose what to do instead of being kidnapped by so-called good intentions. Think about it, the Athenians you have been protecting, are they really good to you? When the Spartans came again, they only considered why you didn't go to fight Brasidas head-on, and didn't consider whether you would die at the hands of Brasidas. Are such people really worthy of your protection? So, you have to decide for yourself what you want to do."
"…But, I don't know."
Rhodes looked at the golden trident placed in the room.
Her eyes were somewhat wandering, as if she was at a loss.
"I have never known what I should do... Lord Poseidon has given me such a powerful divine power, but I... I really don't know what I can do with such divine power."
"Didn't you think about this problem when you first gained divine power?"
Hilde was also quite curious.
As a result, Rhodes suddenly said something.
"I just got the power... I thought that if I could control the sea, I could catch lots of fish, so I used the power to catch fish for several days. I was very happy during those days."
"puff--"
Hilde couldn't help it.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
"Sister Sissi, why are you laughing too?"
“Anyone who hears this will laugh!”
This idea really fits Rhodes' image.
After Hilde calmed down, he coughed twice to calm himself down: "But this is right. What you really want to do is what you need to do. You can't always be led by others."
First tune, second section, let go and do things
Hilde said so.
Rhodes also nodded.
Although she now seems to understand but not quite.
Rhodes has always lived in a very small world. The magnificent Temple of Poseidon in Sunke seems to have nothing to do with the fishermen active on the sea. The fishermen go out to sea to fish, earn a meager money, and sell the fresh sea fish to the wealthy residents of Athens. Then, the fishermen live their own lives in remote corners.
They not only had to guard against bandits who might appear at any time, but also had to be careful of the dangers of the sea when fishing. Sharks swimming in the sea were also a huge threat. The life of fishermen was in such a state. They were Atticans, but not Athenians. Everything in Athens had nothing to do with them.
Under such circumstances.
How did Rhodes know this?
She only listens to her elders.
Because those who are disobedient will die when going out to sea to fish.
This has been Rhodes' habit for many years.
Now, Hilde asked her to think independently, which was a little too difficult for Rhodes.
However, she still holds on to her previous views.
She liked Hilde, so what Hilde said must be right.
Since Hilde asked her to do this, she felt that she should do it.
After Hilde finished talking to her, she let Rhode go and have a good rest. Hilde returned to her room and recalled what happened today. She felt a little entangled.
Rhodes is too naive.
Even after staying in Athens for a year or two.
Rhodes was still like a blank sheet of paper.
Perhaps because Pericles protected him too well, Rhodes knew almost nothing.
However, Hilde felt that this was not acceptable. Rhode would indeed listen to her and help her by lending her his strength, but Hilde did not want this to happen. She hoped that Rhode could truly realize what he was going to do, otherwise, there would be some hidden dangers in the future.
Of course the most important thing.
Hilde had a good impression of Rod and really regarded him as a friend.
So, Hilde doesn't want to control Rhodes.
I hope Rhodes can think independently through his own ideas.
This is why Hilde talked so much to Rod today.
Rhodes' arrival and the sudden change in Athens were also an opportunity for Hilde. Before, Hilde had to estimate the Delian League and control her actions. Now that Pericles was dead, the radical Cleon would surely not bring any benefits to the Byzantine Kingdom. Therefore, Hilde simply took this opportunity to start her next plan.
Hilde first ordered the suspension of trade and transportation with Athens, and also refused Athenian merchant ships from entering any port of the Byzantine Kingdom, the reason being naturally to prevent the spread of the plague to the Byzantine Kingdom. After that, since the Delian League could no longer control the Byzantine Kingdom, Ionia and other places naturally became Hilde's possession.
One month after Pericles' death.
The city-states of Ionia could never have imagined it.
Their history will come to an end at this moment.
The Byzantine Empire suddenly issued a decree to dissolve the Ionian League, and all Ionian city-states were incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. All Ionians also suddenly became Byzantines. Hilde's attitude was very tough. The Second Legion and the First Legion came to Ionia again, but at this time, the Ionians no longer had any troops to resist the Byzantine Empire. They did not resist at all, but chose to obey obediently.
The various city-states of Ionia were immediately divided into administrative divisions of the kingdom.
Hilde divided Ionia into three provinces.
The entire Ionia had a population of over one million. The northern Ionia region was called the Ionian Province, with a population of about 400,000. The central and southern coastal areas were called the Ionian Province, with a total population of about 500,000. The new territory located in the inland area was called the Anatolian Province. Although the population of this province was only a few hundred thousand, its purpose was obvious: it was intended to conquer the vast Anatolia.
That was the land of the Persian Empire.
Hilde's move.
It is also equivalent to telling the Ionians that our goal is to conquer Persia.
Transfer internal conflicts to external conflicts.
In this way, the Ionians temporarily accepted the result of being ruled by the Byzantine Empire. After all, although they were conquered, at least the Byzantine Empire was also a Greek country, consistent with their customs and culture, which was better than being ruled by the Persians.
After the Ionians were integrated.
The next goal was put on the agenda.
That is--
The Kingdom of Scythia in the north.
Almost a year had passed since the trade with the Kingdom of Scythia. A large amount of wine had been sold to the Kingdom of Scythia. As Hilde had expected, the nobles of the Kingdom of Scythia had become addicted to the stimulation of wine. They were used to drinking during the trade process, and after getting drunk, they would blindly sign some trade agreements that were unfavorable to them. Therefore, the Byzantine Kingdom gained huge benefits, and a large number of high-quality war horses were sent to the kingdom.
The cavalry of the Byzantine Empire was trained on the vast Black Sea plain. Thanks to the high-quality war horses of the Scythian Kingdom, the combat effectiveness of these cavalry was rapidly improved.
The war horses of Scythia were all pastured horses. They were of excellent breed, but were not well taken care of. After arriving in the Byzantine Empire, these horses ate mixed forage, which was a mixture of grains, beans and hay. This mixed forage could provide these horses with abundant physical strength and also promote their fattening.
Soon, the horses grew larger and stronger, becoming far more threatening than they had been on the grasslands.
The Byzantine cavalry, on the other hand, achieved the unity of man and horse with the help of high-bridge saddles and stirrups. In order to deal with the cavalry tactics of the Scythian Kingdom, the cavalry of the Byzantine Kingdom was specially trained in mounted archery. If they wanted to defeat the nomadic peoples on the grasslands, they had to completely defeat them in the areas where the nomads were best.
That's what Hilde decided.
As a result, the cavalry of the Byzantine Empire made rapid progress in all aspects.
Since each legion had cavalry, in order to concentrate strength, Hilde assembled all the cavalry units and established a cavalry special corps with a total of 13,000 people. Compared with the 30,000 people of the Kingdom of Scythia, the number was greatly disadvantaged.
The Secret of the Underground Temple
However, Hilde always believed that the quality of cavalry was more important than quantity, and the Scythians were nomads. Competing with nomads in terms of the number of cavalry would only drag the Byzantine Empire into an arms race. More than 30,000 cavalry would overwhelm the Byzantine Empire's finances and logistics system. Therefore, Hilde intended to deploy a cavalry special corps in the Scythian direction, and then four corps of infantry would follow, with a total of about 50,000 people.
Attack Scythia.
Hilde has been thinking about this for a long time.
Now, it can finally be implemented.
As for Rhodes' arrangement, Hilde has been considering it.
Fortunately, the attack on the Kingdom of Scythia is basically a land battle. Whether Rhodes will help Hilde or not will not have much impact on Hilde's plan. Therefore, Hilde can start her own plan with confidence.
Just as Hilde began to deploy his troops.
Inside the underground temple of Adlisia.
A man with his upper body naked was walking on the road to the temple.
His skin seemed to be glowing, a soft light that illuminated the entire temple and gave light to everything.
The insects and small creatures living underground fled and hid because of the sunlight, and the scenery that the world had never seen was also completely illuminated.
"I never thought that this place would be discovered."
The man walking here.
It was Apollo, the culprit of the plague in Athens.
With a frivolous smile on his face, he strolled through the deserted underground space.
He moved forward slowly, and soon arrived in front of the temple. When he arrived here, Apollo looked at the underground temple that was originally used to worship him. Now there was no life at all, and he felt a little angry. This was a rare place for Apollo to enjoy himself after he came to the underground. Like Claucia and Cyrene, these lovers of Apollo in the legend had long left Apollo.
Zeus closed the realm of the gods, severing the connection between gods and mortals, as well as those mortal gods.
Naturally, Apollo could not win the hearts of those mortal women.
So, when the divine realm is reopened.
Apollo came to Adria, enjoying the charm and strength of the Thracian women, and recalled the wildness and happiness of the past in this temple. However, he did not expect that this place of happiness, which was very meaningful to Apollo, no longer existed - only a team of soldiers and cold stones.
"Hilde..."
Apollo had a hint of resentment.
Walked into the temple.
"what is this?"
When Apollo entered the temple.
At this time, Apollo noticed that food that he had never known appeared in front of him.
