However, on the way, Sitalces remained silent, as if he was thinking about something and didn't speak. Hilde had already seen that Sitalces had something to say, but she didn't ask anything.
Sophia asked with some concern:
"Sitarces, are you feeling unwell?"
"No, no..."
Seeing that Her Royal Highness was concerned about him, Sitalces immediately said:
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"I see you've been feeling depressed."
"Ha, hasn't Sitalses always been like this?" Xerxes at the side couldn't help but said with a smile, "Anyway, I rarely see Sitalses smile."
"Okay, stop making fun of other people."
Under Sophia's warning.
Xerxes also restrained himself a little.
However, it might be that such laughter made Sitalses feel less stressed.
He finally summoned up the courage to say to Hilde:
"His Majesty……"
"Ok?"
"I think... it's not appropriate for Alcibiades to be the vanguard general."
Hilde glanced at the honest Sitalses standing beside him.
He couldn't help but smile.
"You're becoming more and more fluent in Greek."
"Thank you, Your Majesty..."
"Then tell me the reason. No, you also think Alcibiades is an Athenian, so?"
"No... I, Sitalses, am a Thracian, but after I swore allegiance to Your Majesty, I was loyal to Your Majesty and led the army to resist the King of Thracian, even if it meant dying for the king. But I feel that Alcibiades gives me a very different feeling. He is like two different people."
"Two people?"
It’s great to hear such philosophical words from Sitalses.
It is indeed quite rare.
"Tell me more specifically?"
"Alcibiades, on the surface, he is one person, but in his heart, he feels like another person. I feel that he is very ambitious. I know that words are not enough, but I am a little worried that in the future, Alcibiades will do something that will endanger the Byzantine Empire and endanger Your Majesty. So, Your Majesty, you can take precautions in advance."
"Ah, very good."
After listening to this, Hilde nodded with satisfaction.
"Sitalces, I know your loyalty and bravery very well. You are the benefactor of Byzantium. If you hadn't risked your life to delay the King of Thrace, Byzantium would have been gone. So, I don't think you have any second thoughts about what you said. I will consider Alcibiades' matter, but don't tell anyone else what you said today. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
Sitalces also lowered his head.
Obviously, Hilde's compliment.
It also made Sitalses very happy.
Hilde just now felt like coaxing a child. But there was nothing he could do. Sitalces was not unintelligent, but he was not good at dealing with people. He was a little clumsy in what he said and did, but he could follow your orders 100%. He was a rare and honest person. Hilde's words just now were actually a compliment to him, while also agreeing with Sitalces' evaluation of Alcibiades.
However, Hilde was mentally prepared for what Sitalces said. After all, Alcibiades was a man who had created many miracles in history, and he was also a somewhat capricious person. He was the main commander in the late Peloponnesian War. At first, he was the commander of the Athenians, and he was a partner with Nicias and others, leading the Athenians to defeat the siege of the Spartans. But later, he switched to the Spartan camp, led the Spartans to defeat Athens, and then turned around and returned to Athens to defeat the besieging Spartans.
It’s a pity that this time, there’s nothing we can do to save the situation.
Athens was ultimately defeated.
Hilde learned about this history.
We know that Alcibiades in reality is a rather capricious person.
The historical narrative is neutral, and no one knows why Alcibiades, an Athenian, ran to Sparta. However, it is normal that the Greeks did not have such a strong sense of belonging to the city-state. Not to mention the Greek city-states, the same was true during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period, Wei Yang of Wei State was able to run to Qin State to become the Shang Lord, which shows that in this political environment, the city-state or birth was not that important.
Will Alcibiades leave the Byzantine Empire?
To help the enemies of the Byzantine Empire.
No one can say for sure.
Anyway, Hilde felt that this was not an impossible thing to happen.
But at least, it's impossible now.
So, Hilde himself has an idea in mind and knows what he should do next.
Chapter 8, Section 4: The army has surrounded Athens
"But how exactly will Zeus prepare to deal with us?"
Hilde looked at the defenseless army.
She knew it clearly in her heart.
If I were the commander and set up an ambush here, I'm afraid it would cause a great blow to the Byzantine army. Although the cavalry of Alcibiades and Tomyris had already conducted reconnaissance and sweeps here, Hilde still felt that the troops could be transferred, and after waiting for the cavalry to pass, they could return to this main road and launch a fierce attack while the main force was advancing without any defense. Although it could not guarantee victory 100%, it could also inflict heavy damage on the enemy.
But the Athenians didn't do that at all.
This is not the fault of the Athenians.
After all, Athens is still surrounded by the Byzantine navy led by Rhodes.
The Athenian army only had 20,000 or 30,000 people, how could they possibly ambush Hilde?
Sophia on the side asked worriedly: "What should we do if Zeus shows up in person?"
"It's unlikely that he will show up, but it's more likely that other gods will show up, such as Ares." Hilde frowned and said solemnly, "I can guess that Ares will definitely want to join the battle. In other words, Ares must be very interested in the Medusa Shield in my hand and this magic weapon made by the God of Fire himself. At that time, I have to be extra careful, the God of War Ares will come down to earth and fight me at close range..."
"I'll help you then."
Xerxes seemed indifferent.
"Even if it's Zeus, I will burn him until there is no hair on his body."
"Don't underestimate the enemy."
"Don't be too cautious."
See Xerxes and Hilde reminding each other.
Sophia couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Really, you two..."
"I think what I said is right. Sissi is like this sometimes. Too much pressure is not good. After all, you have to be more open-minded. When you went to Byzantium alone, why weren't you nervous or afraid at all? Now that there are so many people helping you, you are worried instead."
Hear this.
Hilde smiled bitterly and said:
"Because I have too many things to lose."
"Sissi, it's okay."
Sophia also comforted him: "There must be a reasonable solution to this matter."
"Ok, I know."
“Don’t be so nervous.”
In fact, Hilde was not that nervous a long time ago. Now, the army has reached the border area of Attica, so close to Athens, it is useless to be nervous now. In addition, the two pieces of equipment on Hilde also gave Hilde great confidence. With these two pieces of equipment, even if she met Ares, Hilde would not be his opponent. On the contrary, Ares should be careful about the power of Medusa's Shield. After all, a god who has become a mortal body cannot resist Medusa's petrifying power.
After a day or two of marching, Hilde's main force finally entered the plains of Attica. At this time, the cavalry of Alcibiades and Tomyris had already controlled many strongholds, fortresses and military camps in Attica.
In order to strengthen the city defense, the Athenians abandoned many fortresses in Attica, which was unexpected by the Byzantines. After these fortresses were abandoned, although the supplies inside were also emptied, they provided a temporary place for the Byzantine army to rest. At the same time, after the fall of the fortresses outside Athens, it meant that the outer defense force of the entire city of Athens had been reduced to zero.
"Athens is really..."
After Hilde learned the news.
I couldn't help but sigh.
"This is like being a turtle."
"Yes." Tomyris placed the map in front of Hilde. "Now, our army has occupied all the fortresses and strongholds in the west and north of Athens, and opened up the transportation routes. Now, the advance troops led by Alcibiades have set out for Silver Mountain. If we can open up the road from Silver Mountain to Soenke, we will be able to completely encircle the city of Athens."
"The sea is blockaded, and the land is blockaded as well. This is a fight to the death."
Hilde looked at the diagram on the map.
The terrain around the city of Athens is simple.
To the west of the city is the main agricultural area of Athens, which is a plain area with major villages and fortresses. To the north is a mountainous hilly area, but after the development of the Athenians and Atticans, it has become a place where many people live. To the east of Athens is the Silver Mountain, which has a relatively steep terrain. As the name suggests, the Silver Mountain is the location of the silver mines in Athens. There are many silver mines here, and the mined silver has become one of the important economic sources of Athens. To the south of the Silver Mountain, along the coast, is Cape Soenke.
Now, the army of the Byzantine Empire.
Hilde's main force has just arrived in the western plains of Attica, and the large infantry group can only be stationed in the plains.
The cavalry of Tomyris and Alcibiades had conquered the hilly area in the north and eliminated the resistance there.
Next, Alcibiades' cavalry will cross the hills and march along the Silver Mountain to Suenke, south of the eastern coastline. Thanks to Athens' development of Attica, the Silver Mountain has very developed road construction, which is convenient for transporting silver mines and other things. Alcibiades' cavalry will definitely be able to make good use of the roads here and quickly dispatch the army to Cape Suenke.
And here at Suenke Cape.
A regiment from the Byzantine navy.
Cape Suenke has now been occupied.
Once the fusion was completed, the Byzantine army formed a complete encirclement, tightly encircling the city of Athens. Now, in the city of Athens, I am afraid that not even a bird can fly out.
such a situation.
There is no doubt that it was extremely desperate for the Athenians.
Unless the gods really come to help Athens.
After confirming this situation, Hilde breathed a sigh of relief. So far, everything was going as planned.
It depends on what happens next.
When the Byzantine army had already begun to deploy in Attica, news of the enemy's arrival also entered the city of Athens. The young soldiers who had escaped from various places returned to the city and said that the Byzantine army was about to arrive at the city and that all the Thebans had been annihilated. Suddenly, everyone in Athens felt insecure.
Nicias heard the news.
Naturally, his eyes widened in shock.
The Difficult Choice of Athens
In fact, Nicias had already predicted this outcome. Without the help of the gods, the people of Thebes would not have been able to hold out for too long under the siege of the Byzantine Empire. But every day they could hold out was a rare good thing for Athens.
However, judging from the intelligence obtained so far, the Thebans' ability to hold out is much lower than Nicias had estimated before. After all, the Byzantine army has already reached the Attica region outside Athens, which is very close to Athens. It won't take long for the Byzantine army to surround Athens.
In other words.
The Byzantine Empire did not give Nicias any time to react. Now that the young soldiers had fled back to Athens, it meant that the Byzantine Empire had basically controlled the fortresses and strongholds in the border area of Attica. Controlling these fortresses and strongholds was equivalent to cutting off Athens' last lifeline. Athens had basically no choice but to hold on to the city.
But who could have predicted the outcome of holding on? Now there was no news from the gods. Such a long time had passed. The fleet of the Byzantine Empire had been hanging around the port of Athens for a very long time, but the gods had not responded at all. This made Nicias very panicked.
"Mr. Archon..."
The Athenian officials looked at Nicias very nervously.
Everyone hopes that this calm governor can provide some direction.
"Lord Nicias, according to the intelligence we have collected, the people of Thebes chose to hold on to the city despite the Byzantine army's persuasion to surrender, but in the end, it only took one day for Thebes to be captured by the Byzantine army. The entire city of Thebes has now been destroyed... These guys turned everyone in Thebes into slaves and transported them back to the north."
“What a bunch of barbarians!!!”
Listening to the officials' indignant insults.
Nicias shook his head helplessly.
"There's nothing much to say about this. Athens has done this before, taking down an entire city and then turning its civilians into slaves and selling them. Now it doesn't matter whether the Byzantines are barbarians or not. The only barrier in front of us has disappeared. Now, we face the same choice as the Thebans, either open the city and surrender, or fight to the death. But the Thebans chose to fight to the death, and you saw the outcome... If this information is true, it means that the Byzantines are very harsh and cruel to enemies who don't surrender."
"But Athens is different from Thebes. We have stored so many supplies, the city walls are tall, the city defense facilities are complete, and the residents are united. Facing the siege of the Byzantines, we will definitely be able to hold out for a long time. Moreover, the Byzantine Kingdom is very far away from here. If they fail to capture the city after a long siege, they will inevitably have to retreat due to supply problems, just like the Persians did back then."
The Athenian general standing by couldn't help but make such analysis.
