"What else can those people in the Citizens' Assembly say? The one who decides the future of Corinth can only be me. Right now, preserving Corinth's strength is the most important thing. If we are dragged into the war between Hilde and Sparta, the only thing that will be lost in the end is our city defense and manpower. Therefore, it is better to pretend that Hilde is scared out of his wits, trembling, and the soldiers have lost their fighting power, and let Hilde fight the Spartan army directly outside the city."
"This……"
The man was so shocked that he was speechless.
What a bold plan.
"We are weak in front of the Greek Empire."
"Indeed..."
"But the future is full of changes, isn't it? Who can understand the will of the gods? If the gods really feel that Hilde is a threat and personally come down to earth to deal with Hilde, then what will be the result? Have you ever thought about this question?" Aristocles seemed to be trembling with excitement. "As long as the strength of our Corinth is guaranteed, when Sparta's hegemony is destroyed by Hilde, and then the gods come down to earth to destroy Hilde, won't it be our Corinth that has the ability to revive Greece!"
"..."
The man couldn't refute it anymore.
Aristocles' plan was dangerous, but powerful.
This concerns the future of the Corinthians.
As his staff, all the man could do was support Aristocles.
"As for the Citizens' Assembly, they can't say anything."
"Yes, my lord."
"Okay, let's meet Hilde's messenger tomorrow."
----------
Aristocles' predictions were very accurate.
The next day, Hilde sent messengers to the new port of Corinth.
The meeting place was arranged in the New Port instead of the main city to prevent the people of the Citizens' Assembly from interfering. At the same time, the New Port represented the future economic strength of Corinth. Nearly 270 warships of the Corinthian Navy were docked here. As long as you arrived at the Governor's Palace in the New Port, you could see the endless stream of merchant ships and the aggressive fleet at the harbor.
And Aristocles himself.
They arrived outside the city to welcome the envoy.
Standing on the road outside the city gate.
Aristocles looked into the distance expectantly.
The officials standing behind him were whispering to each other, seemingly despising the consul's flattery. However, having said that, the consul was also an oracle after all, so everyone could only swallow their dissatisfaction and anger.
Collins didn't even resist.
Is Aristocles planning to surrender?
When thinking like this.
The team in the distance has come into sight.
"Ah! Here we come!"
Aristocles ran forward happily.
The Greek Empire's envoys were unprecedentedly luxurious. Even the previous envoys to the Kingdom of Macedonia had not been so luxurious.
The envoy appointed by Hilde this time was Tomyris, one of Hilde's confidants. As the oracle of Hades, Tomyris rode a jet-black horse, holding a double-forked fork, and marched at the front of the team. Following her was the deputy envoy this time, Rhodes. The golden trident in Rhodes' hand showed his unique identity.
On one side is Hades, on the other side is Poseidon.
Hilde's delegation this time was also full of sincerity.
But the main reason was that Hilde was afraid of being attacked by the gods again.
In this way, Tomyris and Rhodes could take care of each other, and even if they encountered Ares, they could ensure they could escape safely.
Seeing two little girls who looked less than fifteen years old coming towards them, the people in Corinth were a little surprised, but no matter how surprised they were, they could recognize the weapons in their hands. The black double-pronged fork and the golden trident, what do they represent? In the Greek Empire, the only ones who could use these two weapons were Tomyris and Rhodes, who were genuine oracles.
I’m afraid it wasn’t these two people who took action.
They can all take down Collins.
Aristocles, thinking so, walked quickly towards him.
"and many more……"
Tomyris pulled the reins and signaled the troops to stop for the time being.
Tomyris knew very well that the man in front of her was the oracle, so she had to be careful.
"Who are you?"
"I am Aristocles, the Archon of Corinth, and I have come here specially to welcome the two envoys."
"It's the Archon."
Chapter 5, Section 10: The Beginning of the Negotiations
Names can be forged.
But the oracle's aura cannot be faked.
There was only one oracle in Corinth, Aristocles, who was undoubtedly the man before him.
So Tomyris smiled.
"Thank you so much for going out of town to greet me."
"How can this be considered a trouble? Only in this way can we be worthy of His Majesty Hilde and the distinguished imperial envoy who has come from afar. Ah, it doesn't seem appropriate to chat here. Everyone, let's go to the New Port of Corinth, eat delicious food, drink fine wine, and discuss the future of our two countries." Aristocles smiled slightly, then turned around and led the two to the New Port of Corinth.
Tomyris and Rhodes looked at each other.
Some of them don't quite understand the current situation.
Aristocles was an oracle and the archon of Corinth. Of course, in a sense, he was almost a tyrant. But such a grand reception for the two made Tomyris wary. However, after all, Tomyris and Rhodes were both oracles, and they had already entered the demigod stage, so even if the other party had an ambush, the two could easily escape.
"Let's go."
Tomyris held the reins and continued to move forward.
And so, under the watchful eyes of the Corinthians.
Their archon, Aristocles.
He actually led the "enemy troops" into the city himself.
Many Corinthians had only heard of Byzantium, or the new Greek Empire, but had never seen it. Now, when the real Byzantine army arrived in Corinth, these curious Corinthians gathered on both sides of the street, looking at the envoys sent by Hilde and the knights who accompanied them. Among them, Tomyris and Rhodes attracted the most attention. The two beauties with completely different styles would become the focus of everyone wherever they went.
Of course, the most important thing is.
This is an envoy from the Greek Empire.
Before they arrived, some people had already heard the news of the visit of envoys from the Greek Empire.
But I didn't expect that the messenger would be such a beautiful girl.
Tomyris and Rhodes were already used to the crowds of onlookers around them. They were also like this when they were in Athens before. However, they both knew that if Hilde came here in person, the sensation would probably be even more intense.
After arriving at the mansion in Xingang.
The guards of Tomyris and others were stationed inside the mansion.
Although this is not in line with the rules of diplomacy.
But Tomyris had no intention of talking to Collins on an equal footing.
"Welcome to my home!"
"Is this your private residence?"
"correct."
Aristocles laughed and clapped his hands.
"It's not that I don't care about you all, but if we were in Corinth, our conversation would definitely be affected by some people with bad intentions. I hope you two can understand."
"so……"
Tomyris and Rhodes looked at each other.
And Aristocles had already greeted them warmly.
"Come on, come on, please sit down."
"Ok."
"Well, let's taste the fine wine in Corinth first. Of course, it's not as good as the wine in Byzantium, but it's not bad either..."
Aristocles was not in a hurry to talk, but went back and forth for a long time. The slaves served wine and food, and placed all kinds of delicacies in front of Rhodes and Tomyris. However, the two had eaten good food before. The goat cheese, grilled fish, beef, pork sausage and other things in front of them were all things that ordinary nobles could eat in Byzantine City. They were not special dishes at all. But the other party was so sincere that Tomyris softened his attitude.
"I heard that you have already met with the Spartan envoy?"
"Ah, you are so well-informed."
Aristocles did not seem surprised.
It's as if I knew it a long time ago.
"That's true."
"So, the discussion with the Spartans didn't go well?"
"You know, the Spartan army has been badly damaged, and they have been trying to control us Corinth, which makes us Corinthians feel a lot of pressure. Even now, they are still unruly, but they don't think about the fact that they are almost in a desperate situation. It is really puzzling that they still show such an attitude now."
"Are Spartans so fierce?"
Rhodes asked curiously:
"But I heard from Lord Poseidon that he seemed to have a good opinion of the Spartans."
"The Spartans are brave and good at fighting. They must be a very excellent nation for Lord Poseidon."
Aristocles smiled and raised his glass.
"However, today is not the time to discuss the Spartans. Come, let's have a toast."
"Well, cheers."
"To His Majesty Hilde!"
Aristocles, as the host, drank the wine in one gulp.
Rhode took a sip first, and after making sure there were no other impurities in the wine, he nodded to Tomyris. As the oracle of the sea god, Rhode could keenly sense whether there were any inappropriate substances in the water. So, the two of them drank all the wine without worry, and then pushed the cup aside.
Tomyris went straight to the point.
"In fact, I came here for only one purpose."
"I know, let's join the Greek Empire, huh."
"Well, the messenger must have told you everything."
"I understand. Indeed... joining the Greek Empire and becoming a city of the Empire, but guaranteeing the personal safety of the citizens in the city will not be threatened, is indeed quite attractive. Moreover, it seems that we have no choice. If we stand on the opposite side of the Greek Empire, with our weak strength, it will undoubtedly be a dead end."
"So……"
Tomyris smiled and said:
"What are your options?"
"I personally agree, but I'm not the king of the city-state, so I can't decide."
"But your attitude is enough."
"I need some bargaining chips? Do you understand? I need to discuss with those annoying guys at the noble assembly and ask them to agree. But if they don't agree, I can't just kill them all and seize the military power." Aristocles shrugged and said helplessly, "So, I need a bargaining chip that can convince them. I think you two should have the power to decide this."
The Sixth Tune, Section 1, Flourishing Ambition
A city-state with a democratic system is just so troublesome.
The consuls have no actual decision-making power.
For example, the same is true in Sparta. Although the king has a noble status, it is actually the elders and inspectors who decide the affairs of Sparta. The king can make a series of decisions at ordinary times, but when it comes to the most critical moment, even if the king’s ideas are extremely correct, he has to explain their motives and purposes to the elders in the end. Otherwise, the inspectors and elders who are not clear about the specific situation are likely to miss important things.
This is why Hilde doesn't like city-state democracy.
After hearing what Aristocles said.
Tomyris and Rhodes looked at each other.
