The most urgent task is to solve the problem of the Olympian gods.
If it cannot be solved, Persia’s problems cannot be dealt with.
At this time, Amyntas looked at the hourglass beside him, and then at the sun in the sky, and basically determined the time. So, Amyntas said to Rhodes, "Lord Rhodes, it's time now."
"Weigh anchor and set sail!"
"set sail--!!!"
When the order turned into a trumpet call and spread throughout the fleet.
This largest fleet in Greek history began its journey.
There were a total of 350 warships and 150 transport ships, carrying two legions of soldiers, and they set off towards Athens. After all the warships set sail, Rhodes pointed the trident in his hand at the sea, and the powerful divine power immediately enveloped the entire fleet. Everyone on the warships could feel a sudden thrust, causing the warships to accelerate. Under the astonished eyes of the Byzantines, this mixed fleet of more than 400 warships began to set off towards Athens at an incredible speed.
"Lord Poseidon..."
Rhodes frowned tightly.
She is now attacking Athens.
The more important task is to get in touch with Poseidon.
In order to deal with the various problems that may occur next, the support of Poseidon is very important. Although it is unlikely that Poseidon will directly support Hilde, Hilde believes that as long as she shows the courage to defeat the gods, Poseidon will be able to trust her and stop Zeus's conspiracy. Therefore, what Rhodes has to do is to use his own power in this naval battle! Let Poseidon feel the power of the sea god from Rhodes!
And after the fleet set off.
The main gate of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the West Gate.
This city gate, which once stood the test of the Thracian attack, is now completely open.
Hilde, dressed in military uniform, held the Hilde Spear high in her hand, and the Medusa Shield in her left hand, on which the head of Medusa was lifelike, walked in the front, and walked out of the city with high spirits. The surrounding Byzantines cast worshipful eyes at Hilde, and they knelt on the ground like the people of the Eastern countries, showing their worship and admiration without reservation.
"Hail, Her Majesty!!!"
"Long live--!!!"
Listen to the cries of the people.
Hilde suddenly had the illusion that he had traveled back to China.
Is it the same with the Greeks?
Of course, Hilde knew very well that now, in the eyes of the Byzantines, she was equivalent to Athena. She was Lady Athena, her incarnation on earth, and no longer just an oracle. When the Shield of Medusa appeared in Hilde's hand, everyone believed that this was Athena incarnated! Hilde was not an oracle, but Athena herself!
This led to the Byzantine Empire, which was originally a country ruled by individuals, becoming a country ruled by gods. Hilde did not like this change because it would bury many hidden dangers, but... this was not a misunderstanding. To some extent, Hilde was the incarnation of Athena. After all, this body was given to Hilde by Athena.
"You are so welcome."
Artemis, carrying a silver bow, rode a horse behind Hilde.
Hear Artemis say this.
Hilde shook her head awkwardly.
“Well, I don’t want this either.”
"Being loved by the people shows that you are a good monarch."
"Unfortunately, in the eyes of many Greeks, I am a female tyrant."
"The truth cannot be concealed. They were simply deceived by the rumors spread by people with ulterior motives. When they truly see your greatness, they will know what kind of monarch you are."
"I hope so."
Hilde didn't know that after she returned to Athens.
How would the Athenians see themselves?
Hilde was still very curious about this.
Hilde will personally lead three legions, departing from Byzantium, reaching the Kingdom of Macedonia by land, and entering the heart of Greece. This speed may be much slower than the navy, and it is estimated that it will take more than a month, but Hilde is still more cautious in this regard. Her personal leadership can reduce the possibility of the army being attacked by the enemy. At the same time, it can also allow the city-states along the way to see the powerful military force of the Byzantine Kingdom and submit to her. This is very important - the so-called "conquering the enemy without fighting" is the truth.
Chapter 4: The Large Army
This is especially true for the Kingdom of Macedonia.
Although the Kingdom of Macedonia agreed to Hilde's request and granted the Byzantine army the necessary military passage during this military operation, and Hilde would also pay money to purchase food and supplies along the way from the Kingdom of Macedonia.
But Hilde knew very well that the Kingdom of Macedonia was a powerful country in a non-traditional Greek region. Although the Persians conquered the Macedonians, it did not extinguish their will to resist. Therefore, Hilde did not think that the Macedonians, a nation that would establish a huge empire in the future, would easily succumb to the Byzantine Empire.
Therefore, this army's entry into the Kingdom of Macedonia was essentially a demonstration. When Hilde's powerful army passed through some important cities in the Kingdom of Macedonia, it was bound to leave a deep impression on the local Macedonians.
The various preferential conditions that Hilde had given the Kingdom of Macedonia before were like candy. When the army entered the Kingdom of Macedonia and showed its strength and muscle, it was like a whip. A piece of candy plus a whip would make the Kingdom of Macedonia more afraid of the Byzantine Kingdom, so that when Hilde attacked Greece, it would not make trouble behind her.
This time, Hilde's army consisted of three reorganized legions, including a royal guard legion and a cavalry legion, with a total number of about 40,000 people.
The three legions were led by Alcibiades, Sitalces and Golgopas, while the cavalry was led by Tomyris. Compared with the navy, the army was obviously more luxurious, after all, it was the longest-developed branch of the Byzantine Empire.
Behind Hilde and Artemis was the famous Guards. This old elite troop that followed Hilde to fight all over the world wore the most sophisticated metal armor in the entire Byzantine Kingdom. Since the enemy this time was mainly Greek, the soldiers of the Guards all wore chain mail suitable for resisting arrows. This represented the Byzantine Kingdom's most powerful metal smelting ability and highly skilled craftsmen to be able to produce such complex chain mail.
After several years of development, the weapons and equipment of the Byzantine Empire have made great progress compared to before. Steel weapons have been basically popularized in all places and armies, completely replacing bronze and iron weapons. The same is true for armor. Bronze armor has basically withdrawn from the stage of history. Crossbowmen will be equipped with lighter leather armor, while heavy infantry will be equipped with steel breastplates and helmets.
Crossbow weapons such as chariot crossbows and arm crossbows were also widely used in the army of the Byzantine Empire and became the most important battlefield weapons. Especially the heavy chariot crossbows and scorpion crossbows, which required 2 to 4 batches of war horses to pull them in order to maintain a good speed on the battlefield. Of course, the Byzantine Empire had natural horse-producing land because it conquered the Scythian region.
So the Byzantine Empire was not short of horses.
And there are a lot of high-quality horses.
Coupled with the Scythians' superb horsemanship.
The powerful cavalry corps of the Byzantine Empire came into being.
Hilde and Artemis led the Guards and slowly left the gate of the Byzantine Kingdom. The next to come out was the Cavalry Corps led by Tomyris. This Cavalry Corps was composed entirely of Scythians. It could be said that it was the elite force of the Scythian Kingdom’s army at that time. However, all of them were equipped with the best quality weapons from the Byzantine Kingdom and wore the most exquisite cavalry armor.
The pair of brown wolf ears on Tomyris's head really attracted the eye. Riding on the horse, he also had a big furry tail behind him, swaying around with the rhythm of the horse.
For Tomylis.
This battle is very important.
Since he led the Kingdom of Scythia to submit to the Byzantine Kingdom and trained such a whole cavalry corps for Hilde, this cavalry corps needed a war to test its strength to everyone. Therefore, when attacking Athens, if there was a field battle on the way, whether the cavalry corps could seize the opportunity, severely damage the enemy, and win a decisive victory became an important factor in whether this army could become the elite of the Byzantine Kingdom.
So Tomyris still takes it very seriously.
only.
Tomyris was somewhat concerned.
After all, Tomyris was Artemis's oracle, but now, Artemis was chatting happily with Hilde in the distance. Although Tomyris knew that Hilde was really the incarnation of Athena, and Athena had a very good relationship with Artemis, so it was completely natural that the two of them could chat well, but seeing this scene, he still felt a little jealous, but he had no choice but to ignore his cavalry and run to the front to chat with Hilde and the others.
After the cavalry corps left, the three infantry corps followed. The commander-in-chief of these three corps was Socrates' favorite student, the young Alcibiades. This legendary commander who had left a great reputation in history was now about to lead his army to prove whether he was really as powerful as history said.
"Finally... we can fight."
Although there was no expression on Sitarseth's face.
But now, there was no way to conceal the excitement in his words.
Sitalses' most glorious war was protecting the entire Byzantine city from the hands of the Thracian king. It was precisely because of this battle that Hilde was able to safely hand over the entire northern border of the kingdom to Sitalses.
But since then.
Sitalces had little chance of fighting.
On the contrary, the new players like Alcibiades have more opportunities to play.
Golgopas was more innocent. He was riding on a horse with a bag on his back, which was filled with priceless wine from the Byzantine Empire. He picked up the wine and started drinking it while riding. As the only oracle among the three, Golgopas was the one who looked the least like a soldier.
"Drink less!"
Alcibiades said with a smile.
"If you drink my share, I'll be very angry!"
"There's no place for you!"
Golgopas glared at the other man.
Sitalses was very helpless about this situation. He could not accept such a serious situation as going out for a war, but just when he felt helpless, Golgopas threw a cowhide water bag to him.
Chapter 4, Section 10: Worship of God
"what is this?"
Sitalses didn't quite understand.
Golgopas patted his horse's belly and said with a smile, "Of course it's good wine! We are going to the battle today, so it's okay to drink a little more. Your Majesty, the wise Hilde, will forgive us! Long live Your Majesty! Thank you for inventing such a wonderful drink!"
"What a drunkard..."
Sitalses reluctantly unscrewed the cowhide bag.
Then taste the brandy inside.
There were three generals and two of them were drinking while walking. If this happened in other city-states, they would probably be criticized by the people. However, for the Byzantine Empire, Golgopas was the oracle of Dionysus, the god of wine, and there was nothing wrong with him liking to drink. The wine handed to you by the oracle of Dionysus was also a gift from the oracle. Therefore, there was no problem at all for Sitalses to take a couple of sips.
The infantry of the Byzantine Kingdom finally left the city and came outside. Outside the city was a rural area with a dense and well-developed road network. Villages built with red bricks were scattered on the plain outside the city like the starry sky. The farmers outside the city also spontaneously came to both sides of the main road and watched the neatly-mannered Byzantine Kingdom army marching towards the west.
Of course, the most important thing is not the army.
But it's the queen, Hilde.
Walking on the road, Hilde looked at the farmers and farmland around her.
He couldn't help but smile and said, "Although I have always lived in the city, I have always been concerned about the construction of the village. Now it seems that the situation in the village is not worse than that in the city."
"Of course."
Sophia, who was riding a horse, smiled and said:
"Farmers have their own fields and live in small buildings that are safe from wind and rain. With better farm tools, they can farm more efficiently. So, compared to the citizens in the city, the farmers probably love you just as much."
"Hahaha."
Hearing Sophia say this, Hilde couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Artemis on the side was watching this scene.
It is early summer now, and the wheat harvest time is coming soon. Now, the surrounding farmlands are almost all golden wheat fields and neat vegetable fields. Narrow dirt roads that are wide enough for wheelbarrows to move forward are scattered everywhere. The neatly built road goes from the west gate of the Byzantine Empire all the way west, and there is a fork a few kilometers away.
This fork represents two roads of the Byzantine Kingdom. If you continue westward, you will reach the border with the Kingdom of Macedonia. The road to the north connects to the Thrace region and can directly reach the Scythian region. These roads will pass through many important cities in the Byzantine Kingdom. They can be said to be the "national roads" of the Byzantine Kingdom. The scale and type are more magnificent and more exquisitely built than the main road of the Persian Empire that runs from Persia to the surrounding areas of Ionia.
Of course, that was what surprised Artemis the most.
This is the complexion of the farmers here.
Because the productivity of the Byzantine Empire was very high.
Slavery was not actually a good system in the Byzantine Kingdom, and Hilde did not want the country's politics to be controlled by the landlord class, or the agricultural aristocracy. Therefore, Hilde began to relax the system of slaves at the beginning of the establishment of the Byzantine Kingdom. Moreover, the suppression of agricultural aristocrats was also very severe, so that the land in the villages around the city of Byzantium was basically in a state of "whoever tilled the land owned it", and they were all self-cultivating farmers, not manor owners and slaves.
This production method greatly increased the output of agricultural products. The high output made the slaves who could not afford food before become self-employed farmers with their own land. All of a sudden, these slaves became masters and could produce their own food. In addition, there were agricultural tools provided by the state, and there were also agricultural protection officials to guide farmers in agricultural production. Therefore, it not only provided a large amount of food for the Byzantine Kingdom, but also made the peasant group the backbone of the Byzantine Kingdom.
This was something Artemis had not expected.
And, in Artemis' eyes.
She said she saw it.
When everyone looks at Hilde, they will look at her with admiration.
This kind of worship is different from the worship of gods in other parts of Greece. They really believe that Hilde is a god, their monarch, and can truly change their current embarrassing living conditions. They were originally slaves, but now they can have their own property. It was Hilde who redeemed them and made them free citizens.
People worship gods in the hope that they can do something for them, so that they will not be too sad and their lives will become better. When they are sick, they pray to Apollo, and when they are farming, they pray to Demeter. Each god has his own duties, so people will also worship or beg these gods according to their own utilitarian needs, hoping that they can be blessed by God.
But the gods may not be able to do it.
Most of the time, they cannot hear people's prayers at all.
But not Hilde.
She is the ruler of this country and has the ability to completely change this country. With her efforts, Hilde has done everything that gods can do and things that gods cannot do. With such great achievements, how could the people of the Byzantine Kingdom not worship this lovely, respectable Hilde who made everyone live a good life?
Artemis was in a trance.
She was a little confused. What was the meaning of the existence of these gods?
Although Hilde is the body of God.
But she is not God.
However, Hilde had accomplished something that most gods could not do... and that was completely enough.
So Artemis couldn't help but ask, "What do you think our gods are?"
