"You are a bunch of heartless nobles!"
At this time, a woman fell to the ground and cried.
"My husband, give me back! Give my husband back to me!"
"Yes, they only give us 15 days. If we don't give an answer after 15 days, all the prisoners will be killed. Can you bear the responsibility by then?"
The attitude of the common people became more and more intense, and the nobles in the council could no longer suppress the situation. At this time, an old man slowly walked out and said, "Everyone, be quiet... Don't panic. This matter is not as complicated as you think. I also think this is Hilde's deception, but I can tell you one thing. Before the war started, we had already used our powerful navy to send a force to attack the Byzantine city. With Hilde's entire army dispatched, there must be no defenders in the city, so even if Hilde got the upper hand in the first battle, she must go back."
"Really……"
This news made some civilians feel relieved.
"of course it's true."
The old man nodded.
"That's Dolops' plan."
Standing next to the old man, the other nobles in the council did not expect that he could appease the civilians in the city with Dolops' plan. However, they did not know whether Dolops' plan was really successful, after all, there was no response to the 1000 soldiers sent out.
Wait until after the meeting.
This group of nobles quickly returned to the council meeting.
"How long can we keep this secret?"
"It must be kept secret."
The old man just now said with a sad look.
"If we surrender, it will all be over. Whenever Hilde arrives in a city, he will immediately demote the nobles in that city to civilians. We still have a very powerful navy. It is absolutely impossible for Hilde to build a navy that can attack our Samos within 20 years. As for the prisoners of war... there is nothing we can do about it."
"But you've seen the attitude of the civilians just now. If they really start to doubt and fabricate the truth, not to mention Hilde, they will probably rise up in rebellion. I think we must think of a more secure way to deal with this matter."
"..."
But who knows which method is safe?
Samos was indeed lost.
They don't even know how they lost.
They were also surprised. How could they lose?
More than 2 people fought against people, and in the end, not only did they not cause serious damage to the enemy, but they also lost several thousand people, while the enemy did not lose many soldiers at all. On the other hand, Samos not only suffered heavy casualties, but all of its main force of more than people were captured, and even the commander Dolops fell into Hilde's hands.
Moreover, Perinthos, an important colony in Thrace, was now in Hild's possession. It could be said that it was a complete nightmare for them. Samos suffered heavy losses. As an important city-state in the North Aegean Sea, Samos was afraid that it could no longer produce what it needed to compete with other city-states.
"Calm the civilians first."
At this time, the old man continued.
"Let our council take charge of the negotiations with Hilde. At least we have to be protected."
"Will Hilde agree to this?"
"Then we'll have to leave it to fate."
The old man closed his eyes in despair.
"The gods have abandoned us."
These nobles returned to the council with sighs. They decided to use their official status to contact the Byzantine Kingdom first, and then to seek a better future for their group during the negotiations, to prevent Hilde from turning his knife on them immediately after he captured the city of Samos.
Just as they were thinking about this.
These nobles walked into the council hall.
But at this time, a strange woman was sitting on the highest seat in the council.
This was a woman with long silver hair, fair skin and beautiful appearance. She had an elegant smile on her face, so noble that people dared not look directly at her. She was as dazzling as a god. She was wearing exquisite close-fitting armor that outlined her body. The silver spear in her hand was flashing with cold light. Her pair of purple eyes were scanning them with interest at this moment, as if she was sizing up some prey.
"Who are you!!!"
They all felt threatened.
Then several nobles drew out the daggers they were carrying.
"Who am I? Don't you know?"
"Are you Hilde?"
When the old man said this, the other nobles couldn't help but gasp.
The Queen of Byzantium was the one who defeated Samos and was also the only Greek hero in this area. Unexpectedly, she was now in this place. No one could have imagined that she had crossed the entire strait and came to the island of Samos, and sat on the highest seat of the Samos Council in a dignified manner.
What a terrible woman.
At this time, those Samos nobles who didn't know Hilde very well now understood why Hilde was so terrifying.
"Your Majesty has come from afar, and we are really rude for not being prepared to welcome you."
"I came here uninvited."
At this time, Hilde held his chin and looked at them with a smile.
"Before coming here, I took a look around Samos. It is indeed the most powerful city-state in the North Aegean. The city is built on a grand scale and the citizens in the city live very well. If it weren't for the war, I'm afraid that the prosperity of Samos would have taken decades for Byzantium to catch up."
The first quarter of the third tune, Hilde's unique persuasion
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. Samos is just an ordinary city-state, nothing special."
"Compared to a big city-state like Athens, it may not be a big deal, but for the Byzantine Empire and the Greeks along the entire Thracian coast, Samos is very important. You may not realize it, but Samos's population of more than 100,000 and its navy are very important foundations for us to resist the Thracian king."
Hilde stood up.
She walked slowly and gracefully in front of the nobles of the council.
These nobles took several steps back in fear, fearing that Hilde would come over and chop them to death.
"You don't have to be afraid."
With a faint smile on his face.
Hilde was doing her best to be friendly.
"As long as you are willing to listen to me, then I will not use violence."
"His Majesty……"
At this time, a noble stood up and said.
"What do you want?"
"It's not that I want something... Actually, I am a person who has no desires. I don't have any excessive desires. My idea is very simple, that is, to make the people I rule live in a safe and happy environment. I want to be a king who can be loved by others, that's all."
"If that's what you think, then why start a war?"
"Because if I don't start a war, my people will never be happy. The Thracians have tens of thousands of troops ready to fight. Their army is larger than my people. If they attack southward, what can I do to protect myself? Can I fight against tens of thousands of troops alone?"
"That's true..."
"You Samians have a strong navy, so you don't have to worry about the Thracians, because you know very well that the Thracians are barbarians and they won't cross the sea. So, should we who live along the coast be killed by them? This is not fair, right?"
"..."
Now, whatever Hilde says is what it is.
These nobles certainly wouldn't dare to refute.
"To fight against the Thracians, we must unite all the Greeks along the Thracian coast. However, Aeneas of Perintus has already done this, and you have seen the specific results. It is absolutely impossible to rely on a loose alliance to fight against the Thracians who are good at fighting. Therefore, there must be a strong leader who can play his role. At present, only my Byzantine Kingdom can bear this responsibility. Therefore, I need to start a war, conquer those unwilling city-states at the lowest cost, incorporate them into the banner of my Byzantine Kingdom, and gather all available forces."
"But...what does that have to do with us in Samos?"
Someone knocked on the door and said.
"Not to mention that your Samos colony Perintus is in the same predicament. If you don't help, Perintus will definitely not be able to resist the Thracian attack. If the Thracian coast is really occupied, your Samos will definitely be in danger. You must know that Thrace is now ruled by a very powerful strongman. With such a vast population and land, it is completely within the scope of expectation that a naval fleet that can defeat Samos will be built."
"What's more, if the Greek city-states along the Thracian coast cannot hold out against the Thracian offensive, you will lose a large rear base. Not only will you be short of food, but your commercial trade and your situation will also be greatly threatened."
Hilde explained.
However, these are just high-sounding words.
After all, the island of Samos is still some distance away from the coast of Thrace.
"Then, we understand what Your Majesty means. You want us to submit to you and become part of the Byzantine Kingdom. Is that right?"
"Indeed."
Hilde smiled and nodded.
"I don't want too many people to be there. If you are willing to become Buddhas, there will be no war. At the same time, I will gather all available forces to resist the Thracian attack. If we can break up the Thracian offensive, it will be a good thing for Samos. At the same time, the kingdom will not interfere too much with your current status. You can still do what you want as long as it does not harm the kingdom and the interests of your Samos city-state itself."
Hilde has been very considerate.
If it were in the past, Hilde would never give these nobles a chance to live.
The reason why many Greek city-states did not achieve brilliant achievements was largely due to the restraining effect of the aristocracy headed by the land nobles on the Greek city-states. These aristocratic slave owners were unwilling to give up their power, so they used their power to make the city-state a tool for their own interests.
It is precisely because of this that Hilde hates the existence of the nobility and feels that the nobility is unnecessary in today's society. After Hilde conquers a new city-state, the existing nobility in the city-state becomes the target of Hilde's purge.
But that is not the case with Samos.
This place is still a bit far away from the territory currently controlled by Hilder. There is a strait in the middle, which makes it very difficult for Hilder's army to attack this city.
Therefore, Hilde had to give up some of the positions he had always insisted on and give the nobles of this city-state some room for bargaining. In this way, these nobles would be willing to cooperate with Hilde, finally give up resistance, and obediently integrate into the Byzantine Empire.
After Hilde's opinion was expressed, the nobles began to think about what they should do. If they followed Hilde's advice, they would hand over the city-state of Byzantium to the Byzantine Kingdom. But if they did not surrender, the life and death of more than 10,000 captives would be the first issue, and they would also have to face the persistent blockade from the Byzantine Kingdom.
These are fatal results.
After thinking about it, these nobles also understood what he meant.
If we don't choose to retreat now, the consequences will likely be very tragic.
The city-state of Samos itself does not have a particularly long history, and cannot be compared with city-states such as Athens and Sparta. In the entire Greek society, its ability and reputation are just ordinary. It has no dignity that must be upheld, not to mention that the dignity of this city-state is far less important than the interests of these nobles.
After careful consideration.
Some nobles proposed to agree to Hilde's request.
And such a proposal.
Soon there was a positive response from others.
So the nobles finally decided on a plan.
"Your Majesty Hilde." It was the same old man as before. He took the initiative to step forward and said to Hilde very respectfully, "I understand what you mean. We are willing to agree to your request. All members of our Samos city-state are willing to join the Byzantine Kingdom and become part of the Five Kingdoms of the Byzantine Kingdom. But before that, I hope Your Majesty Hilde can agree to some of our conditions."
"Go ahead."
Hilde listened with interest.
"First of all, our city-state must maintain a certain degree of independence. I hope that our city-state will not be directly restricted by the kingdom, because freedom is more important to us. If Your Majesty can agree to such conditions, it will not only be a promise to us, but also a promise to the civilians in Samos, who are more accustomed to a freer life."
"no problem."
Hilde nodded.
"I will maintain a special independence for your city-state. We will not interfere with the commercial trade in Samos. If you want to make money, that is your business. But in terms of military, we must unite. The army of Samos must accept the command and training of the Byzantine Kingdom. I think you should understand this very well."
"of course."
The old man nodded.
If you occupy a city-state but are not willing to give the other party the military power, it would be too much. The nobles of Samos understood this very well. They still remembered what Hilde had just said. The reason why he launched various wars to conquer more new territories was to gather more forces to gain the strength to confront the Thracians head-on.
From this perspective.
They can understand what Hilde did.
"If you are willing to surrender, your prisoners will be sent back within a few days. In this way, the unrest in your city should also end. But in order to prevent you from breaking your promise and taking advantage of others' misfortune, before we exchange prisoners, the naval fleet of Samos must be handed over to us. Can you agree to this?"
"Yes."
The old man hesitated.
Although handing over the naval fleet is tantamount to handing over the lifeline of Samos.
But there is no other choice now.
They knew very well that Hilde was not a philanthropist, and he could not do such a good thing as defeating the Samos army and then completely returning Samos' independence. So in order to prevent Samos from being completely ruled by the Byzantine Empire, what they needed to do now was to allow Samos to maintain a certain degree of autonomy.
So the suggestion that Hilde just made is very important.
