This time, a few nobles destroyed farmland. This kind of thing that is absolutely impossible to do happened in Athens. These nobles, whose brains are filled with money, did this for their own narrow selfishness. Hundreds of acres of farmland are not much for the whole of Attica, but for farmers, it may mean that dozens of farmers have lost their arable land. Land damaged by salt or lime may take several years to recover to the point where it can be cultivated, and during this period, farmers will lose all opportunities to cultivate.
Thinking of this, Hilde felt murderous intent in his heart.
It began to surge.
Because of the loss of Sophia being captured.
Hilde was furious.
Now these idiots have walked into trouble.
That's what Hilde wanted.
Sophia was also very clear that Hilde was definitely not going out of the city for a walk. When she went there this time, someone would definitely be killed on the spot, but Sophia did not object. For those who were extremely evil, killing them would be a bargain for them.
After a little preparation.
Hilde and Sophia rode out of Athens on horseback with hundreds of royal guards.
After leaving Athens through the west gate, which was the worst damaged gate, Hilde traveled non-stop all the way to the disaster site reported by Alcibiades.
After walking for about an hour, Hilde saw the destination. It was a newly built village, one of the new villages in Attica planned by Hilde and Alcibiades. There would be about 200 people settled here, about 100 families, with a total of more than 1,000 acres of good land, more than 900 acres of land that can be used to grow food, and the rest of the land was of average quality, but it could be used to grow flax or grapes, and also to raise goats. If all goes well, the farmers here should be able to live a pretty good life.
Alcibiades is investigating here.
When he heard that Hilde was coming, he hurried over to greet her.
"His Majesty!"
Alcibiades was not surprised by Hilde's arrival.
Hilde rode on his horse and glanced around.
“What is the victimization like here?”
"In this village, about 50 acres of farmland were destroyed."
"What about the rest?"
"It's all around this village. This situation has not been found in other places."
"It seems that a certain noble did this, and it also affected some of the surrounding nobles, so the scope of the victims is so concentrated. It seems that there are not many idiots, which is a bit comforting." Although Hilde said this, there was a sense of loss between his brows. "Anyway, I'll go in and see the situation of the farmers first."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Also, don't let the soldiers follow me."
With Hilde's strength, he doesn't need soldiers' protection to go and see the farmers.
Alcibiades, who received the order, quickly ordered the soldiers who were maintaining order to retreat.
Hilde jumped off the horse, and then walked slowly into the village with Sophia.
This village is expected to have more than 100 brick and tile houses within three to six months. In Athens, brick and tile factories have begun construction and will soon be completed and put into production. These bricks will be provided to the village area first, and the restoration and expansion of Athens will use bricks imported from Byzantium. Originally, this place should be thriving, but now, when Hilde walked in, the farmers who built temporary homes here were frowning.
“That’s too much.”
Sophia looked at the field next to her.
The traces of burns caused by lime can still be seen at a glance.
"If you can't get it, then destroy it..."
Hilde frowned slightly.
She suddenly remembered something.
"Alcibiades!"
"In the!"
"Have you counted the slaves who have died recently?"
"what?"
Alcibiades was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted.
"I, I see. I'll check it out right away."
"Um……"
Sophia was also a little puzzled. She looked at Hilde's frowning brows and couldn't help asking, "Sissi, what does this mean?"
"If they can't get it, they will destroy it... Since they are capable of doing stupid things like destroying farmland, they are also capable of killing slaves. We only allow them to keep a single-digit number of slaves, so it is very likely that the nobles are unwilling to let go of the other slaves, so they may kill them before handing them over to us. For example, some nobles' sex slaves or abused slaves, the nobles are naturally afraid that the slaves who regain their freedom will seek revenge on them, so it is estimated that many slaves are dead now."
"what?"
Sophia couldn't help but shudder.
As a former slave, she understood this all too well.
The feeling of having your life and death controlled by someone else is extremely terrifying.
"I hadn't considered that."
"Sissi..."
"damn it."
Sophia's departure did affect Hilde's judgment.
She originally thought that although her condition was very bad during that period, she should not have missed anything important. But now it seems that she has missed the most important thing... Hilde did not consider the matter of these slaves at the time. It is estimated that someone will lose his life because of his negligence. Thinking of this, Hilde clenched her fists.
But then she felt relieved.
"Let's go."
"Yeah, Sissi."
The two walked side by side on the village path.
The farmers around stared blankly at the two beauties in front of them. They didn't know Hilde yet, after all, they had never seen her in person.
However, Hilde's long silver hair and purple eyes attracted everyone's attention. Everyone was amazed that there was such an incomparable beauty in this world.
Tune 4, Section 2: The Folly of the Nobles
To them, Hilde's existence was a completely indescribable and stunning beauty.
It is no exaggeration to call it a work of art.
Even Hilde's beauty made many people afraid to look at her directly.
Although Sophia beside Hilde was also a rare beauty, she was a notch lower than Hilde. The appearance of two beauties in this village that was in need of reconstruction was itself a very incredible thing. But facing such beauties, these farmers were unable to react for a while.
And Hilde just glanced.
"Everyone."
Hilde turned around and looked at the bewildered farmers on both sides of the road.
"I am Basileus of the Greek Empire, Hilde. I came from the city after learning that your farmland was destroyed by lowly nobles."
"Yes, His Majesty Hilde?"
"It's His Majesty Basilius!"
"His Majesty Basilius has come to help us!"
As soon as they heard Hilde introduce herself, these people immediately reacted, swarmed in front of Hilde, and knelt on the ground. Faced with their sudden enthusiasm, Hilde did not feel anything was unexpected. She just smiled slightly, just like a goddess in the sky, looking kindly at the people on the ground. At this time, Sophia also smiled and greeted: "Everyone, I am the imperial concubine Sophia. If you have any grievances or if you have any needs, you can directly talk to His Majesty or me."
"Yes, is it Her Highness Sophia?"
"The Sophia that people call the loving mother?"
I heard the farmers talking.
Sophia sighed.
"Those soldiers gave me weird nicknames again."
"Isn't this a sign of my love for you?"
Hilde smiled and nudged Sophia with her elbow.
Sophia has always been in charge of the logistics of the army, and she is also responsible for caring for the soldiers. This has led to many soldiers being very fond of Sophia. Who wouldn't like a royal concubine who has a very high status, treats the soldiers like her own family, and is committed to keeping the soldiers well fed and clothed? As a result, over time, these soldiers began to call Sophia by some very respectful, but somewhat strange-sounding names.
For example, the so-called "loving mother".
It is to praise Sophia as being like a mother.
However, Sophia was only in her twenties, but she was called like this.
It's really speechless.
Hilde looked at the hood on Sophia's head, thought about it, then reached out and took off Sophia's hood directly.
"what!"
The horns on Sophia's head were exposed in broad daylight.
In fact, Sophia had a pair of long black horns on her head. This had long been an open secret in the army. The soldiers knew it well and did not think it was a problem. Instead, it further confirmed Sophia's identity as a goddess. When the peasants saw the long horns, they were not too surprised. They just looked at each other and then began to chatter about what had happened recently.
The seriousness of the matter is greater than what Alcibiades reflected.
more serious.
Not only the farmland was damaged, but also some buildings. When many nobles left here, they destroyed all the buildings in their own industries, including warehouses, manors, etc. These buildings could obviously be used as temporary residences for farmers or as warehouses for storing food in the future. As a result, when they came, the warehouses and manors had been razed to the ground, and even the cellars used to store wine had collapsed. In other words, these nobles basically left them nothing.
This is nothing.
What's more outrageous is that Hilde's previous guess came true.
In this village.
Half of the people were previously slaves.
One of them told Sophia that his wife and daughter suddenly disappeared, and he came here alone. He did not dare to tell the officer in charge of this situation. After knowing the true identities of Hilde and Sophia, he dared to speak out his request, hoping that Hilde could help him find his wife and daughter.
At this point, Hilde and Sophia could only look at each other.
They both knew it clearly.
What kind of fate probably befell the man's wife and daughter?
After getting a general understanding of the situation, Hilde and Sophia came to the temporary military camp outside the village.
Along the way, Sophia saw that Hilde had a stern face, and she knew that Hilde must be in a very bad mood. So, she remained silent and followed behind Hilde quietly without saying much. It was not until they arrived at the military camp that Hilde expressed her feelings. She picked up the spear next to her and stuck it directly into the ground. The hard spear pierced the rock several dozen centimeters deep, frightening the surrounding soldiers so much that they trembled all over.
"That's unreasonable!"
Hilde said angrily:
"You bastards! Are you trying to play this on me?"
"Sissi, don't get angry with yourself."
"...I, I know, but I haven't been this angry for a long time. Athens, oh Athens, you nobles who once made me travel across the ocean, really didn't let me down." Hilde was so angry that he laughed. The soldiers around witnessed this scene and stood still, not daring to leave. Although Hilde never vented his anger on others, in this situation, it was really worrying that his own emperor was so angry.
"I'm so worried now."
Sophia put her hands on her chest and said worriedly:
"This situation is not unique in Attica."
“It’s definitely not an isolated case.”
Hilde pointed in the direction of the village.
"I can understand that these nobles would do bad things for their own benefit. But what does this mean now? Harming others and not benefiting themselves? They left here, destroyed the farmland, demolished the houses, buried the cellars, and killed the slaves. What good did they gain from doing these things? In the end, what use is there other than disgusting me!"
"Sissi."
Sophia walked over and hugged Hilde gently.
"calm down."
"I, I'm calm."
Hilde's shoulders were shaking slightly.
Sophia knew that Hilde was in a bad mood.
Hilde has always been good at controlling her emotions, but when she encounters these things, especially things that simply disgust Hilde and have no meaning, she tends to get excited. She can allow herself to be in danger, but she absolutely cannot stand watching such meaningless things that are purely harming the people.
