So it makes sense for Hilde to say that he came here to give them face.
In addition to some wealthy people and ordinary civilians, there were also some clergymen in the Citizens' Assembly. These clergymen who were devoted to believing in the Greek gods looked at Hilde with very complicated feelings. They had some doubts, but they were very nervous inside. After all, the previous plan to expel Hilde and regard Hilde as a disaster for Athens was all done by their clergymen. Although it was Pericles' idea to expel Hilde in the end, Pericles could also completely put the blame on these clergymen.
The clergy who worshipped the gods of Athens in the temple.
To expel the oracle of Athena.
This kind of thing happens wherever.
They are all doomed to die.
Because of this, the most nervous people here are the clergy. They know that if Hilde is really the oracle of Athena and Hilde wants to investigate this matter, then almost none of the clergy can escape. And if Hilde tells the people in Athens about her expulsion and her exclusion by the clergy, I am afraid that the people of Athens will be very angry and rush to the various temples in Athens to arrest these priests or beat them to death.
This matter was like a sword hanging over the hearts of these clergymen. They had no idea how to resolve the current dilemma. Whether to submit to Hilde or find an opportunity to prevent Hilde from doing so, it seemed that neither of them would be of much use. However, what made them feel a little relieved was that Hilde seemed to have no interest in this matter.
But is it really that I have no interest?
They are not clear about this.
As Hilde slowly walked into the citizens' assembly.
The members of the Citizens Assembly also sat in their seats. The environment of the Citizens Assembly was similar to that of a theater, with a flat ground in the center and an arched stepped seating area around it, which could accommodate 400 people. And, because of this arrangement, no matter who stood in the middle, the 400 people looked down at the person in the middle. This was why Hilde said that if you go to the Citizens Assembly, you must be prepared to be judged by these people. It was precisely because of this condescending attitude that the person standing in the middle and speaking would feel like they were being judged.
But Hilde has his own solution.
She walked straight into the citizens' assembly.
then……
Her soldiers brought something into the citizens' assembly.
In the eyes of these Athenian citizens, they watched the soldiers move a very exquisitely crafted throne to the center of the Citizens' Assembly.
Chapter 6, Section 10: Absolutely the Strongest Ally
This throne was specially made by craftsmen in Byzantium, with the purpose of bringing it to Athens. Hilde was a monarch, the king of the Byzantine Kingdom, and the husband of the Queen of Persia. Although the last one might be a little wrong, Hilde never thought of herself as a person of low status. She knew she was very noble.
Although Hilde never showed off her superiority in front of her people, she would only treat the Byzantines who respected and trusted her with the most equal attitude. However, for these Athenians with ill intentions, Hilde naturally had to show off her noble status. So Hilde could not accept standing and being questioned by so many people. So Hilde made a throne and sat down directly in the citizens' assembly.
The attitude is very arrogant.
"You all go down first."
"Yes……"
After Hilde's soldiers walked out.
Hilde, sitting on the throne, looked at the people in front of her with a smile.
Now there were indeed hundreds of people looking down at him, but Hilde felt like he was sitting on the throne, and this feeling of looking down on him suddenly changed. And these Athenian citizens all showed incredible expressions, and Hilde knew that many of them would be a little indignant, because Hilde was definitely the first person to do this in the citizens' assembly.
"Why are you all looking at me?"
Hilde said with a smile.
"Have you never seen it before?"
"Cough cough..."
In order to ease the embarrassment, Pericles coughed twice.
"Your Majesty, now that we have come to the Citizens' Assembly, this is the most sacred place in our Athenian politics. I think you should be very clear about this. After all, you have lived in Athens for most of your life." Pericles seemed to be trying to suppress his inner emotions, and then said to Hilde very calmly, "So, you have come all the way to Athens, and you can say whatever you want to say now. All of us in the Citizens' Assembly will give the most rational and fair judgment to everything you ask for or give."
"Oh, that's it..."
Hilde held her chin with her right leg gently placed on her left leg. Her slender feet were exposed from the bottom of her robe, immediately attracting many people's attention.
"Okay then, now that you're all here, I'll tell you my thoughts in detail, and you all have to listen carefully."
such a situation.
This was the first time the Athenians had seen this.
Hilde's casual state.
It is indeed something that cannot be found in the history of Athens.
"I came to Athens this time. I believe that the envoys I sent earlier have explained the reasons to you appropriately. I came here in the hope of establishing a cooperative relationship with Athens and becoming good friends with the Athenians. In other words, we hope to establish a mutually cooperative relationship between our two countries."
"So what exactly does this partnership mean?"
Pericles asked calmly.
"This cooperation is much deeper and more extensive than you can imagine. First and foremost, I hope that our Kingdom of Byzantium can join the Delian League. Together with Athens, we will fight against the tyranny of the Spartans."
As soon as Hilde said this.
These people in the Citizens' Assembly could no longer sit still.
Join the Delian League?
All Athenians knew very well what this meant.
The war between the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta and the Delian League led by Athens is now mainly due to the disadvantages of the Delian League. The Delian League is now in a delicate state, and the Athenians are very clear about it. Therefore, if a country like the Kingdom of Byzantium can join the Delian League, it means that the strength of the Delian League will be greatly enhanced.
This is a big pie falling from the sky, and it is definitely not a small matter. If it is true, the Byzantine Kingdom can stand firmly on the side of Athens, and there is no need for the Byzantine Kingdom to send troops to directly support the Greek mainland. Just in Asia Minor, the Byzantine Kingdom's military strength is enough to overwhelm the power of the Peloponnesian League in that place, providing Athens with a very stable rear.
A commercial city-state like Athens.
Their agriculture is relatively poor.
Especially recently, Attica had been at war, and the Spartans had ravaged the land, causing a sharp drop in agricultural production in Attica, which forced the Athenians to rely on the food provided by the agricultural colonies they had established in Asia Minor. In order to cut off Athens' last food supply, the Spartans also established colonies in the uninhabited areas of Asia Minor and won over some Ionian and Ionian city-states, which dealt a heavy blow to Athens' food security in the East.
If the Byzantine Empire could help Athens.
Then the food security of the East will be greatly guaranteed.
It is for this reason.
The Athenians, who originally had no expectations, now became nervous.
"We believe that joining the Delian League will bring great benefits to you and the alliance. First of all, our Kingdom of Byzantium has a population of more than 35,000 people. We rule the Thrace and Byzantine regions and have an extremely vast territory. We have developed agriculture and produce more food than we can eat. Our military is strong. We currently have three main legions with 12,000 soldiers, and we are preparing a legion with 300 soldiers. We also have more than 38,000 warships of various types, and a total of naval forces, including slaves."
Hilde spoke out the military strength of the Byzantine Kingdom as if she knew everything. Hilde did not lie much, and she had not yet counted the number of the remaining troops that were not included in the field army. Just saying such a number surprised the Athenians. Athens' current military strength is only 25,000 at most, which is almost all the military strength Athens can use. The only thing that surpasses the Byzantine Kingdom is the naval strength of Athens. In terms of the navy, Athens is indeed stronger than the Byzantine Kingdom.
However, such an exaggerated number.
It still aroused suspicion among some Athenians.
At this time, someone stood up and asked, "I'm afraid your medical records are fake. How long has it been since the establishment of the Byzantine Empire? You already have so many troops? We are not fools. We can hear such low-level lies."
The first section of the seventh tune: The little mouth is like smeared with honey
(Since there are a lot of typos in the last three books, starting from today, each chapter will be checked before updating. The previous typos are too troublesome to modify and require contacting the editor to modify, so I have to give up. Please forgive me! Thank you!)
This naked suspicion was undoubtedly a slap in Hilde's face. Even if she really had doubts about the number, she shouldn't have directly refuted it at the citizens' meeting. Moreover, this rebuttal had no evidence and was just based on her own wild imagination. When Hilde heard this, she just smiled slightly and looked at the man who stood up.
"I know that it seems unbelievable to you, but since I am here, I will not lie to you. If you don't believe me, you can go to the Byzantine Kingdom with us when we return, and then you can see for yourself whether what I said is true." Hilde knocked on his chair and then changed the subject. "But I hope you can understand one thing. You have the right not to believe it, but you also have to be careful about your words. Without any evidence, you doubt everything I say. Is this the way of hospitality of the Citizens' Assembly?"
Is Hilde angry now?
No one knows this.
Anyway, Hilde's words did shock some people.
After hearing what Hilde said, the other Athenians in the Citizens Assembly looked at each other, not knowing what to do next. At this time, Pericles coughed twice with an awkward expression, and then he reached out and patted the table. Then, in order to stabilize the order of the Citizens Assembly, he said: "I know you can't completely believe this number, but before we have enough evidence, we have no qualifications and no reason to make such a hasty decision. This is irresponsible to the Byzantine Kingdom and to us."
Pericles' words basically defined what the man had just said, and the man sat down awkwardly, lowered his head and stopped talking. Seeing this, Hilde smiled at Pericles and continued, "Whether you believe what I said or not, this is the current situation of our Byzantine Kingdom. If you doubt it, you can go and see for yourself. It only takes a few months to go back and forth. You can also find out about the merchants who have done business in our Byzantine Kingdom. I believe you will be able to get some very important information from them. If you still don't believe it, then I can only think that this is completely your prejudice."
"Of course I don't believe it."
The others quickly explained.
"But we don't understand why a monarch like you would choose to cooperate with Athens?"
"The reason is very simple. Our Byzantine Kingdom has just risen. It is a very young country compared to the whole of Greece. We lack traditions, friends, and a long history. Therefore, making friends widely is the first thing we need to do. At the same time, although I am the king of the Byzantine Kingdom now, I was once an Athenian. I know better than any Greek living in the East what a wonderful city-state Athens is."
After Hilde's flattery, many Athenians in the Citizens' Assembly began to feel elated. After all, these were words spoken by the queen of the Byzantine Empire. However, Pericles knew very well that Hilde could not be a person who would practice what she said. He felt that it was entirely questionable whether what she said was true.
"Then why did you choose our Delian Alliance?"
Pericles asked:
"First of all, among the foreign trade of our Byzantine Kingdom, the trade volume with the Delian League is actually the largest. Many of our merchants have continuously sent goods to Athens to earn money from Athens, or other city-states of the Delian League, such as many city-states located in Ionia, are all our partners. The city-states of the Peloponnesian League are generally relatively closed, and we have very little trade contact with them. We are also very clear that the Spartans are definitely not the best candidates to become our good friends. They are warlike and they like to invade. Wherever they go, order and prosperity will disappear. Although our Byzantine Kingdom is located in the east of the Greek world, we are not peaceful there. The power of the Spartans has already reached our place. In the area outside the Byzantine City, we can actually see the army from Sparta. We feel deeply uneasy about this."
What Hilde was talking about was the Spartan colony in the lower peninsula area from Byzantium.
But that place is still some distance away from the city of Byzantium.
Moreover, the number of Spartans stationed in that place was probably less than a thousand.
However, Hilde took advantage of the Athenians' lack of understanding of the Spartan troop deployment in that area and exaggerated the enemy's troop strength, as if the tens of thousands of troops of the Byzantine Kingdom were facing the threat of Sparta. Athens had just experienced a siege by the Spartans and was almost conquered. So they were very confident of the Spartans' strength, and Hilde's words resonated with them.
"If that's the case... the Byzantine Kingdom has more soldiers and generals, as well as a lot of food. You shouldn't be afraid of the Spartans."
"There is really no need to be afraid, but if you are destroyed by the Spartans, who will our Byzantine Kingdom do business with? If the Spartans conquer all of Greece, where will their next target be? Will it be the Greater Greece region in the west (today's southern Italy) or the east? If they choose the east, doesn't it mean that we will inevitably have a conflict with the Spartans? We are very clear about the Spartans' bravery and bellicosity, as well as their desire for war. They are not like the Athenians, who are a nation that respects culture, prosperity, peace and trade. Therefore, if Athens wins the final victory, I don't need to worry about our Byzantine Kingdom being invaded by Athens. However, we need to worry about the invasion of the Spartans."
Hilde's praise is just nonsense.
The Athenians were so flattered by the praise.
The seventh tune, the second section, is a difficult decision to make
This made the Athenians feel that they were a peace-loving nation.
When Pericles heard this, he frowned slightly, because, based on his understanding of Hilde, he was sure that Hilde was definitely not as simple as she said, and there must be some conspiracy, but he turned his head to look at the other people in the Citizens Assembly, it seemed that everyone agreed with what Hilde said, and did not think there was anything wrong. Therefore, this made Pericles a little passive, after all, this was the Citizens Assembly, not Pericles' dictatorial palace, as long as Hilde could convince the entire Citizens Assembly, then Pericles' opposition would be useless.
Now Pericles could feel that Hilde was definitely doing it on purpose. She knew the political system of Athens, so she didn't deliberately say things that would please the Citizens' Assembly and let these stupid, randomly selected Athenians cast a crucial vote for her. And what made Pericles most nervous was that he didn't know what Hilde wanted to do.
Precisely because of the unknown.
Pericles became extremely nervous.
No matter from which angle, the Byzantine Kingdom joining the Delian League seemed to be of great benefit to Athens, and basically no disadvantage, because according to Athens' style of leading the Delian League, other members of the Delian League would not be able to get anything from Athens, that is to say, Athens was doing a business that was sure to make money. It was for this reason that the Athenians in the Citizens' Assembly could not help but have wild thoughts.
On the one hand, people covet Hilde's powerful strength.
As Athena's oracle.
If we could stand together with the whole of Athens.
No matter how you think about it, the Spartans need to be nervous.
On the other hand, the powerful national strength of the Byzantine Kingdom also enabled the Delian League to achieve a huge increase in overall strength in a short period of time. This means that the Delian League, which is now at a disadvantage, will immediately have an advantage over the Peloponnesian League after the joining of the Byzantine Kingdom. If this is really the case, then Athens' hope of winning in the end will be even greater.
"So these are my demands. As the queen of the Byzantine Kingdom, I hope that Athens will allow us to join the Delian League. We will stand side by side with Athens and fight side by side against the tyranny of the Spartans." Hilde said this, then smiled and looked around. "Of course you can reject my request. I think there is no problem. However, if your country really does not want to accept us..."
Hilde said this.
She just smiled.
Because her meaning was very clear.
There is no need to say more. The meaning is that if Hilde's request is not met, Hilde can join the Peloponnesian League. Although she did not say it directly, for these people, Hilde is completely likely to do so, so this is equivalent to threatening them.
These Athenians began to look around. It was obvious that the current situation made them a little confused and they didn't know what to do.
And Hilde's words actually made it very clear.
Pericles stood in his position, looking at Hilde with a complicated expression, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to start.
He also had to admit that Hilde's move was indeed quite powerful and completely beyond his imagination.
"So everyone, can you give me a decision?"
"This matter is very important... I don't think the Citizens' Assembly can tell you the specific results today." At this time, Pericles coughed twice, then smiled bitterly and said to Hilde, "I think our Citizens' Assembly needs to discuss this matter carefully with the Areopagus Mountain Council. You can continue to rest in Athens for a few days. When we have a specific result, we will inform you. What do you think?"
"That means you can't give me any results now, right?"
"Indeed."
"That's fine. That's all I have to say, but I hope you can hurry up. My people are waiting for me to return. I personally don't want to stay in Athens for too long."
"As you wish."
Pericles shook his head helplessly.
And when Hilde finished speaking, he stood up.
"Everyone in the Citizens' Assembly, you are all familiar with who I am. After all, I have lived in Athens for 15 years. But I hope that when you consider some issues, you can think about my current identity. I am no longer the daughter of Pericles. After all, I have become a different person."
Although Hilde said this with a smile.
