He was thinking about what to say next. Perhaps what he was going to say was too exaggerated and complicated, and Akira needed time to compose his words. And Perdiccas also gave Akira enough time. He sat here, patiently waiting for his son to tell him what he really thought.
"But what if one day?"
"what?"
"But if Hilde suddenly died one day, then the Greek Empire without Hilde would most likely collapse and fall apart. At that time, whoever preserves the most power will be able to inherit the legacy of the Greek Empire. If we choose to resist, regardless of whether we can succeed, we Macedonians will most likely suffer too much loss, and in the end, we will have no chance to rise up in such a chaotic world. The country will be destroyed and the race will be exterminated... At least, we can avoid extinction."
"..."
Perdiccas' eyes widened slightly.
"Do you think it could happen?"
"No guarantee, but what if?"
"Isn't this kind of thinking just gambling?"
"Hilde has offended the gods, and it's hard to say when the punishment will come. Once Hilde dies, the empire will be leaderless. Will the areas conquered by Hilde accept the rule of the imperial government? By then, the empire will fall into chaos, and we Macedonians can take the opportunity to take over the areas that have lost control. This is still a huge opportunity for us. After all, in terms of population and military strength, we are one of the best in Greece. The premise is that we have to preserve enough manpower."
"I see."
Akira's words cleared up Perdiccas's confusion.
He laughed and slapped his thigh.
"You are absolutely right. It seems that this is the only choice."
"Yes, father, and... rather than just sit there and wait for death, we should take the initiative to act." Akira smiled faintly, "If we can take the initiative to submit to Hilde, our Macedonian nobles can not only be protected, but may also be able to seek an official position in the Greek Empire, just like the general of Athens has now transformed himself into a general of the Greek Empire."
"Yes, I admire that about Hilde."
Perdiccas nodded.
"She never looked at people's background when hiring them. Even if they were from a conquered place, as long as they had talent, she would hire them."
“Yes, this is a huge opportunity for us.”
Akira opened his arms and became visibly excited.
“Perhaps, we are not the only ones who have this idea. Other Greeks may also think so!”
"Since the reasons are sufficient, I'll leave this matter to you."
The fourth tune, the sixth section, comes from the father's explanation
Perdiccas stood up and patted Akira on the shoulder.
"The future of the Kingdom of Macedonia is in your hands."
"Yes, Father."
"Well, I will go and rest first. I will leave it to you to calm the nobles down."
After that, Perdiccas turned and walked towards the palace, and the Macedonian guards on both sides followed closely, guarding the king. Under the surprised eyes of the nobles, they just looked at the king without saying a word and left the banquet directly. The nobles had nowhere to vent their nervous, fearful and angry emotions, and the king did not give an explanation for Hilde's army's intrusion into the country, so the nobles were naturally confused.
But Prince Akira is still here.
Their eyes were all directed towards Akira.
Akira, who was being stared at by everyone, walked back to the crowd calmly.
"Everyone has been waiting for a long time."
Akira smiled and explained to the nobles:
"Just now, I had a detailed discussion with my father about our next plans."
"Your Highness, what does His Majesty mean?"
"Don't worry, everyone." The nobles looked as if they wanted to strip Akira of all his clothes, which made Akira a little overwhelmed, but he quickly calmed down. "My father wants you to calm down. Although Hilde's army has trespassed, this is most likely the personal behavior of the other army's generals. What's more, the other side has not engaged in any armed conflict. If we overreact, it will inevitably give the other side a handle or excuse. I think you don't want to see this scene."
"But the other party has violated the covenant!"
"Yeah, if we don't react, the other party will just ride on our faces!"
"We need them to give an explanation!"
The nobles had different opinions.
However, most of what was said was useless. Akira could understand that everyone was so angry that they had lost their minds. When had the pride of Macedonia ever been trampled on like this? But Akira felt that he could not respond so aggressively at this time and had to handle it carefully. Moreover, he also noticed one thing -
Among the nobles, there were also some who remained silent.
They looked thoughtful.
Explain what they should have noticed.
So, Aqila changed his tone and said with a smile: "I know it's hard for you to accept, but besides accepting it, do we have any other choice? There are 40,000 troops entering our border area. Even if we mobilize all the troops in Macedonia, we can't compete with this well-trained and well-equipped 40,000-man army. Even if we stop the enemy's army, once Hilde's main force arrives, I'm afraid we will be destroyed like Thebes."
"yes……"
"How can we defeat this..."
Everyone is actually clear about the comparison of Akira.
By comparing the forces like this, he could inspire fear in everyone, and then fear would overcome courage. Although this was quite helpless, in order to appease the Macedonian nobles, Akira could only explain: "If a battle breaks out, the Macedonians will suffer heavy casualties. I don't want our brave soldiers to die in a battle that is bound to be lost. I also don't want the Macedonians to disappear from the world. Therefore, I will try to avoid wars that can be avoided, unless it is absolutely necessary... Please give me some time, Akira."
Akira said, glancing at the nobles.
The words just now have softened the attitudes of many nobles.
In this case, that should be about right.
So, Akira picked up the wine glass beside him and drank the red wine in it. "So, let's decide this for now. You can continue the banquet. I will go to accompany my father first. Goodbye."
"To the great Majesty Perdiccas!"
----------
"Is the matter resolved?"
"Yes, Father."
Perdiccas was lying on the bed, his face now looking a little pale.
In sharp contrast to his lively appearance just now, after learning about the crisis facing Macedonia, the king suddenly looked old, even sitting on the bed and speaking weakly. Perhaps the huge gap between reality and reality made Perdiccas suddenly realize that as a king, he was too incompetent to protect his country.
In the face of such a huge disadvantage.
Even if Perdiccas has supernatural powers.
There's nothing we can do to save the situation.
Akira stood beside the bed, his head bowed deeply, and repeated what had just happened to his father.
"The nobles have been calmed down, but they don't know my plan. I just promised them that I would try my best to avoid unnecessary wars and find out Hilde's purpose. However, I found that some of the nobles should have noticed it. Moreover, many of them are nobles who often travel between Macedonia and the Greek Empire to engage in business and trade. They may have different ideas about this incident. Father, what is your opinion on these people?"
“Don’t think too deeply about it.”
Perdiccas shook his head.
A look of helplessness.
"You know, we actually knew that people like this had second thoughts a long time ago, but we couldn't stop them."
"Father, I'm afraid..."
"They don't have the guts to communicate with foreign countries."
Seeing Perdiccas speak so decisively, Akira understood that his father must know everything and had enough information to say so. So Akira nodded heavily: "Yes, father, I understand."
"Don't worry, I can still control the situation in the country."
Perdiccas coughed twice, then leaned back on the bed and gently closed his eyes.
"And you, just focus on dealing with the ones outside."
"Father..."
"I'm a little tired, I'm going to rest first."
"Yes, father, I won't bother you for now."
After saying that, Akira glanced at Perdiccas, who was lying quietly on the bed with his eyes closed, then turned and walked out the door.
He walked to the door and told the maid at the door: "Take good care of father."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The maids bowed and then hurried into the bedroom.
Archila walked alone in the corridor, his head down, thinking about every word his father had just said. Archila had always been a prince, and he did not have the power to directly decide the affairs of the Kingdom of Macedonia. Although Perdiccas had always let Archila participate in politics, the final decision was made by the King of Macedonia, Perdiccas.
Chapter 4, Section 7: The Army Enters the City of Aigai
But it's different now.
The future of the Macedonian Kingdom will be decided by Akila.
But does this country still have a future?
Under the pressure of the Byzantine Empire, there is no possibility.
In fact, Aguila already had the answer in his heart. When he mustered up the courage to talk to his father about this matter, he had already made a decision. Perhaps, the reason why Perdiccas gave the opportunity to make the decision to Aguila was because Perdiccas had already noticed his son's idea, but he did not agree with it, but he could not find a reason to refute it, or a better way to help the Macedonian Kingdom solve the current embarrassing situation, so in the end...
Akira had no good choice.
"Is this the only way?"
This is bound to be a gamble.
Akira muttered to himself, because he didn't particularly believe in himself.
But let's just take it one step at a time and see what the final outcome will be.
----------
After a few days.
Tomyris' army, after crossing the territory of Macedonia.
Arrived at Aegae, the capital of Macedonia.
This was not the first time that the Byzantine army arrived in Aegae. The Macedonians living in Aegae had even gotten used to these people. However, the army of the Byzantine Kingdom was no longer the same. They had transformed into the army of the Greek Empire. Although the weapons and equipment, soldiers and officers were still the same, the name was different, and the connotation had also changed dramatically.
The Macedonians have always claimed to be part of the Greeks, although they have always been regarded as semi-barbarians on the fringe of Greek civilization. Although the Macedonians have always wanted to integrate into the Greek cultural circle, participate in the Olympic Games, and even took active actions during the Peloponnesian War, for most Greeks, the Macedonians are just a "semi-civilized nation" that is slightly more advanced than the Thracians.
Actively want to integrate into Greece.
But was rejected by Greece.
Macedonians have always lived in such a contradictory environment.
Now, a new country, the Greek Empire, which claims to be a gathering of all Greeks, has been established. All places where Greeks are located are the territory of the Greek Empire, and all Greeks are citizens of the Greek Empire. Such a slogan sounds crazy, but it sounds a bit harsh to many Macedonians. After all, wherever the Greek Empire goes, everyone is convinced, except the Kingdom of Macedonia, which still exists safely and maintains a friendly "alliance" relationship with the Greek Empire.
This doesn't mean.
The fact that Macedonians were not Greek.
Was it acknowledged by Hildre of Basileus, who claimed to be the Greek of all?
Therefore, many Macedonians are still somewhat indignant about this.
How come we Macedonians are not Greeks?
While this idea was brewing, Tomyris's army arrived at Aegae. The Macedonians here had different ideas. Facing such a large-scale army, they knew that the Macedonian Kingdom could not resist even with the whole country's strength, not to mention that the leader was Tomyris, the oracle of Artemis. Some of them thought that it would be great if they were conquered, and if they were conquered, they would be real Greeks, while others thought that they did not want to be conquered and become the same level as the Thracians and Scythians.
But Tomyris didn't think so much.
It was like she was showing off her strength.
The 40,000-strong army marched in unison. They first entered the outer city of Aegae, which was mainly home to Macedonian civilians and handicraft production. A wide road ran through the north and south of Aegae. When Hilde led his army into Aegae, he entered through the north gate, crossed the outer city of Aegae, and then went out from the south gate, heading south to attack the Greek peninsula. In the center of the outer city was the core of the Macedonian Kingdom, an area known as the inner city. The royal palace and the areas where the nobles lived were all located in the inner city.
Before this, Hilde had bypassed the inner city.
After all, the inner city is a symbol of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Macedonia.
Hilde still has to be respected.
But Tomyris didn't seem to mean that.
She did not follow Prince Aguila's request, but led the army directly along the road. At the end of the road was the inner city of Aegae, the royal palace of the Kingdom of Macedonia.
When they arrived at the gate of Aegene City.
