And…Hannibal always felt something was odd.
"Sophia is not a Carthaginian name either," Hannibal said with a smile. "However, I never expected that a citizen of our country would become such a distinguished figure in the Greek Empire. This is also an honor for the Carthaginians. May I ask, which Carthaginian family did Miss Sophia originally belong to? To be able to become the distinguished Barcelissa, she must have been born into a noble family?"
"..."
Sophia held Hilde's hand tightly.
She wanted to escape.
But Hilde smiled and said, "Her real name is..."
"Alyssa Margo."
Hearing this name, all the Carthaginians, including Hannibal, froze in place.
The King's Astonishment
Margo.
Needless to say, what this surname represents.
Among the most distinguished surnames in Carthage, the one that comes out on top is naturally Mago. Mago represents the royal family and is a symbol of power. Even the powerful Barca family cannot be compared with the Mago family at this time. Therefore, in Carthage, being able to have the surname Mago means that the other party is at least a member of the royal family. And a member of the royal family has now become the princess of another country and changed her name to a Greek name, which shocked the nobles of Carthage.
Of course, the most important thing is——
For King Hannibal, the name Elisa.
He had heard it before and it was very familiar to him.
It was a name that had disappeared from the Mago family, along with her parents.
This is a name that should not be mentioned.
But now it's happening again.
However, since he was the king after all, Hannibal quickly recovered from his shock. With a slightly embarrassed smile on his face, he said to Hilde in front of him, "I never thought that your wife was actually a member of our Carthaginian royal family, but unfortunately, I have never heard of this name before."
"Your Majesty is busy with so many things every day, it is normal that he can't remember one or two names. Besides, she came to Athens a long time ago, probably when she was a child."
“That was a long time ago indeed.”
This is an embarrassing situation right now.
Hannibal and Hilde resolved the conflict with laughter.
Sophia, who was standing aside, lowered her head helplessly. She had just carefully observed Hannibal's reaction and could feel that Hannibal knew her, but in order to ease the embarrassment, Hannibal still said such words.
And what he said just now seemed like he was accusing Sophia of lying.
I showed my impoliteness right from the beginning.
And Hilde was not to be outdone.
In fact, this was true for the Carthaginians. How could a famous royal family member go to another country and become the wife of a local leader? The Carthaginians would not consider this an honor. Moreover, when Sophia left Carthage, she was still a very young child. Many people did not even know that there was such a person as Sophia. Naturally, they would think that Sophia was lying and gave herself a nice title to win Hilde's favor.
Therefore, Sophia couldn't help but worry whether Hilde would doubt her.
But she soon dispelled this concern.
Hilde kept holding her hands tightly.
Not willing to let go at all.
It was as if she was encouraging Sophia, telling her that no matter what happened, she would stand by her side. Hilde never doubted her real name and her true identity, and she firmly believed that what Sophia said was the truth.
Because of Hannibal's reaction, Hilde had seen it very clearly.
When I mentioned that name.
Hannibal was not surprised by the last name he said, but was reacting to the first name he said. The astonishment, surprise and panic on his face were very clear. If it was just a royal member he didn't know who appeared, Hannibal would not have shown such an expression at all.
This guy……
It turns out that he knows some inside information.
Hilde couldn't help but smile.
"Let's not talk about family matters here now."
"In that case, would you please move to the palace?"
"With great pleasure."
Faced with Hannibal's invitation, Hilde decisively agreed.
While Hilde and Hannibal were discussing again, Hannibal's subordinates were not idle either. After all, this was a visit from an important diplomatic figure, so the elite troops stationed in Carthage took action in a timely manner. The main road from the port to the Carthaginian palace was protected by soldiers, and Hilde was invited to sit on an African war elephant.
This African war elephant is adorned with gorgeous decorations, which are obviously used to welcome distinguished guests.
This huge war elephant was something that had never been seen in Greece.
Some of the Greek soldiers brought by Hilde couldn't help but show expressions of horror when they saw the war elephants.
The cavalry was already a big enough deterrent to the infantry, and now these elephant soldiers were even more so. As the largest land creature on land, the fully armed war elephant was the most terrifying heavy chariot of this era. It was also the first time for Hilde to ride on a war elephant. He sat in the pavilion installed on the war elephant, standing on it and looking down, his vision suddenly became much wider.
And the overall picture of the city of Carthage.
Hilde also saw it carefully.
Carthage, the pearl of North Africa.
As the most successful of the Phoenician colonial armies, Carthage was undoubtedly the leading city in the entire Mediterranean region. Syracuse was the largest city in Greece, and Carthage, on the other hand, was even larger in population and urban scale than Syracuse.
The most central inner city was inhabited by the majority of Carthage's residents, with a population of more than 100,000. Outside the inner city, there was a circle of city walls, and the population composition here was more complex. There were Nubians from the south, and some Semitic people who had lived in North Africa a long time ago. They gathered under this golden city, and cultivated or engaged in commercial trade on this fertile land.
And the Carthaginian army stood around.
It was also the first time that Hilde saw it so clearly.
You should know that Carthage is a country that likes to use mercenaries very much. Because the Carthaginians are very rich, they are not very willing to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy. But even so, the Carthaginians still formed a standing army of about 1 people in their own city, which was composed entirely of Carthaginians.
This army was undoubtedly the elite of the Carthaginians.
From the perspective of equipment and morale, they are worthy of the word elite.
Long before coming here.
Hilde learned a lot about Carthage.
In general, the population size and military level of Carthage cannot be compared with the Greek Empire. Once the Greek Empire completes its rule over Greater Greece, the population, wealth, army and territory of the Greek Empire will completely crush Carthage. After all, the core of the Carthaginians' fighting is mercenaries, and what Hilde lacks the least is money.
If you really want to play mercenary, no one can beat Hilde.
The Curiosity of the Carthaginians
Militarily, Carthage would indeed not be a big enemy to the Greek Empire.
But it's just trouble.
Therefore, this visit seems very necessary.
So Hilde couldn't help but ask:
"Sophia, have you ever sat on an elephant like this before?"
"Yes, I have sat there before."
Sophia was a little nervous.
“But that was when I was very young.”
"Hahaha, now I also want to train an army of elephant soldiers."
“Are there elephants in Greece?”
“No, we can only import.”
Greece is not a suitable place for elephants to live.
Of course, Hield was just joking.
She could feel that Sophia was under a lot of pressure, so she needed to say some witty words to ease Sophia's state a little, so that she wouldn't collapse because of too much pressure. And Sophia could understand Hilde's good intentions. She gently hugged Hilde's waist and looked at the city landscape of Carthage. Although she hadn't been here for a long time, everything here was still the same as in her memory, and it still made her feel familiar.
Carthage...
My hometown.
Sophia never thought that she would be able to come back here one day.
However, after meeting the king just now, Hannibal's attitude still made Sophia quite nervous, which meant that Hannibal did not welcome her coming. And Sophia knew Hilde's temper very well. Hilde might quarrel with the other party for her sake, so this did not meet Hilde's purpose of coming here. If the negotiation with Carthage was unsuccessful, it would create another enemy for Hilde.
To offend Carthage for a woman.
This is obviously not a good deal.
Sophia didn't want that to happen for her own reasons.
This caused Hilde to miss the opportunity.
The elephants carrying Hilde and Sophia, with the adaptation of the Carthaginian army, finally crossed half of the city of Carthage.
The Carthaginians were very curious about the sudden arrival of Basileus from the Greek Empire. Even though there were soldiers to maintain order, the roads were crowded with people. The Carthaginians were not unfamiliar with Greeks. Many Greeks would come to Carthage for trade, but this was the first time they had seen this man who claimed to be the ruler of all Greece. But when people came here with curiosity, they were all bewitched by the silver phantom.
Hilde sitting on an elephant.
She is like a goddess descending to earth.
She is noble, elegant and full of mystery.
With long silver hair, he looks like a completely different creature from humans.
That kind of beauty is so breathtaking.
The curious and admiring eyes of the Carthaginians around her made Hilde smile and wave to the surroundings, showing her image as a kind Basilius. At the same time, the Greek merchants who also came here and lived in Carthage immediately shouted Hilde's name. These merchants came from all over Greece, and most of them were people under Hilde's rule. After seeing Her Majesty the Queen come to Carthage in person, they excitedly shouted "Long live Basilius".
"Lots of Greeks..."
"Of course."
Hilde smiled and explained:
"After all, it is a prosperous trading city. There are many Greeks, Egyptians, and Persians here..."
“It feels like there are more of them than when I was a kid.”
"Really? When you were a kid, that must have been at least fifteen years ago."
"Um……"
Sophia sighed helplessly.
"However, I seldom went out at that time and didn't come into contact with many outsiders. In fact, I didn't know much more about what Carthage was like than the merchants here."
"Yes, Sophia."
"Sissi?"
"We all saw Hannibal's attitude just now. You don't remember clearly what caused you and your family to be sold into slavery, but Hannibal must know about this matter, and he doesn't welcome your return. So, I think Hannibal will definitely make trouble for me over this matter, and it is also possible that it will involve some dark sides of Carthage's politics... But don't worry, no one in Carthage can hurt you."
Hilde's words were like a warm current.
Sophia's uneasy heart calmed down.
"Sissi..."
"If all else fails, let Rhodes flood Carthage."
"That won't work! Many people will die!"
"Ha ha ha ha."
After Hilde said these horrible words, she laughed like this, which made Sophia a little panicked.
This doesn't sound like a joke.
"No matter what, I am a Carthaginian. I would never want to see my hometown flooded..."
"Don't worry, it won't flood."
"But I feel like you're serious."
"Indeed, if anyone hurts my Sophia, drowning them would be the least of my worries... But having said that, if I asked Rhode to do this, he would definitely be the first to stand up and say no. That kid is even kinder than you, and Rhode doesn't want his hands to be stained with the lives of innocent people." Hilde turned around and glanced at the elephant behind her. Rhode was sitting behind her now. As a high-ranking official with a distinguished status, she naturally enjoyed unique treatment. For Hilde, the most important thing was -
Carthage had no oracle.
