They were tied up, stripped of their weapons, and held trembling outside the city.
Hilde, on the other hand, changed to a group of chestnut horses, after all, the previous horse had been killed by Golgopas.
Golgopas also recovered from his coma. He looked around helplessly. It seemed that Golgopas had no idea about the current situation. Hilde saw that Golgopas looked indifferent, so he said, "You don't seem to care about what might happen next in Abydos."
"I have done my best."
Golgopas was riding his horse beside Hilde, holding a wine jug.
"They provided me with drinks, and I helped them fight. I lost the fight, so there was nothing I could do."
"Too……"
Golgopas is not one to take advantage of troubled waters.
His counterattack almost cost Hilde's life.
Golgopas was also taking a huge risk. He knew he couldn't beat Hilde, so he had to take this approach to win by surprise. Who would have thought that Hilde would hold back, and in the end he failed to kill Hilde by counter-killing her, but there was nothing he could do. Since this trick didn't work, Golgopas had no chance to kill Hilde and stop the Byzantine Kingdom's attack. Now the only option he had was this.
Golgopas' current state can be considered as surrender. After he woke up, he put on an attitude that he could be killed or cut into pieces at will. Hilde naturally would not kill him, but provided him with good wine and food, and during the few days of the march, he tried to understand Golgopas' true thoughts.
Let’s finally draw a conclusion.
This guy is more like a mercenary.
Get money to do things.
But Golgopas doesn't need money, just wine.
His life before Abydos was very painful. Abydos itself was a relatively conservative city-state. It was naturally very repulsive to a strong person who only liked to drink and make trouble. Golgopas was almost expelled from the city-state many times by Abydos, which left Golgopas with many bad memories. Later, Golgopas gained divine power and was favored by Lord Dionysus, and the attitude of the people of Abydos changed.
It can be said that the people of Abydos did not owe Golgopas any "favor".
The so-called transformation was that after Golgopas became useful, he treated him with a friendly attitude, like giving alms.
Even when Abydos had no enemies, Golgopas was merely worshipped as a vase.
It was not until the Byzantine army was approaching that Abydos remembered the existence of such a figure as Golgopas. Therefore, Golgopas naturally had no special feelings towards Abydos. He just "happened" to be born in this place. Helping Abydos was just to repay the favor he had received during this period. Now he has tried his best and failed. What happens next has nothing to do with Golgopas.
Golgopas's thoughts were so forthright.
Hilde wasn’t nasty.
Such a straightforward person doesn't have to worry too much about conspiracies or anything like that.
Now that Golgopas had surrendered, he was basically considered a member of Hilde's entourage. Although Hilde had not yet figured out how to deal with him or how to arrange for him, at least a vigorous oracle now belonged to the Byzantine Kingdom. Counting Sophia, a half-baked one, the Byzantine Kingdom now had three oracles, on par with Sparta. Therefore, if Golgopas could be of great use in the future, Hilde would naturally give him a chance.
Hilde soon arrived at the noble council of Abydos.
Here, the nobles of Abydos gathered.
Instead of running away, they planned to confront Hilde.
When Hilde came in with Golgopas, the nobles were all indignant. They could not imagine that Golgopas, a native of Abydos, not only did not stop Hilde, but stood with her. At this time, Golgopas saw this scene and explained to them with a wry smile: "I'm sorry! I lost and failed to defeat her. I am willing to accept the loss. Since I have lost, I will not intervene in this matter anymore."
"Golgopas! You are from Abydos!"
An elder couldn't help but open his mouth to refute.
"How can you stand with the enemy?"
"I have already surrendered."
Golgopas, on the other hand, seemed to be upright.
Hilde couldn't help laughing when she heard this.
"You all misunderstood. Golgopas and I had a life-and-death duel. All the soldiers and officers from Abydos and the Byzantine Empire who participated in the battle can testify to this. Unfortunately, Golgopas was outmatched and lost. He also asked me to spare the soldiers of Abydos in exchange for his own surrender."
The second tune, the third section, an unexpected plea
Hilde glanced around and continued:
"Aren't you satisfied with having such an oracle?"
Hilde's words left the elders speechless.
In Hilde's words, Golgopas seemed to be a rare and loyal guy, a man who sacrificed a lot for Abydos, which made Golgopas feel a little embarrassed. But in fact, the elders and nobles of the Abydos Council did not agree with such words. They only saw Golgopas standing next to the enemy Hilde, one in front and one behind, like a subordinate. This situation alone made them unacceptable.
"Golgopas! The people of Abydos will remember you!"
"Ha, that's really unbearable."
Golgopas looked at Hilde with a wry smile.
"In fact, I had already guessed this situation."
"Normal. If it were me, I would doubt you too."
Hilde sighed, and then hundreds of heavily armed heavy infantry rushed in and directly controlled everyone in the council. These elders were proud but powerless to resist. They glared at Hilde and said all kinds of ugly dirty words, trying to anger Hilde. However, if Hilde was angered by such words, she would not be Hilde anymore.
"What are you going to do with these people?"
Golgopas watched them being dragged away.
Somewhat curiously, he asked, "Killed? Like Gysion?"
"Yeah, why not keep it as a mascot?"
"But……"
Seeing Golgopas hesitate to speak, Hilde turned around and said with a wry smile: "If you have anything to say, just say it directly."
"...Well, it's like this. Abydos is different from Gysion. The people here are more martial, closed, and introverted. The core of them are several noble families in Abydos. If you kill these nobles directly, then the people of Abydos will naturally start many rebellions afterwards. I think you definitely don't want to send an army to stay in Abydos permanently to watch over the people of Abydos, right? If you can gain the understanding of the nobles and reach an agreement with them, I think it will be better."
"You are from Abydos, you know this place well, so let me ask you a question. From what you said, Abydos is a place that is difficult to control, and there are many uncertainties. Therefore, if you want to better control this place, it is necessary to win the understanding and support of the ruling class of Abydos. But... just now you also saw that these narrow-minded nobles did not flinch even when the knife was put to their necks. Do you think the people of Abydos will surrender?"
"will not."
Golgopas put it bluntly.
"They may be trying to please you by pretending to be supportive."
"What's the use then?"
"This... is indeed useless."
"Since you said so, I naturally have a way to deal with them. The area I rule is so vast, and there are people like this who don't cooperate. The same is true of the Adrichians among the Thracians. My way of dealing with them is to break them up into small groups. They are a nuisance when they gather together, so I will completely disintegrate them and disperse them into small groups of hundreds of people, and spread them out to various parts of the country. In this way, no matter where they go, they will be a minority."
Hilde's method is actually tried and tested over and over again.
But this is also a big project.
She had no intention of using this against the fellow Greeks of Abydos just yet.
Golgopas was stunned for a moment, then he sighed and said, "Since you already have a good idea, I won't make a fool of myself."
"It's okay. Your suggestion is very good. I will go negotiate with the nobles in the council first."
"Do you need me to accompany you?"
Golgopas looked a little concerned.
Hilde hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed: "Of course, no problem!"
"Okay, thank you Your Majesty."
Hilde readily agreed.
So, when the elders of Abydos were tied up in the port, Hilde brought Golgopas to the port. At this time, the sky was getting darker, and the port could see the sea dyed red by the clouds of fire and the afterglow of the setting sun. Under this beautiful scenery, Hilde was in a good mood. Her good mood also indicated that these guys who would have died miserably might survive.
These elders and nobles were tied to crosses, with torches illuminating their bodies, as if they would be set on fire at any time. Hilde never liked such a terrible thing as burning at the stake, but... it must be said that the deterrent effect of burning at the stake was indeed strong. These nobles had to be burned at the stake to know their current situation.
Are the nobles afraid?
Of course I'm scared.
Few people are not afraid of death.
Now, his life is completely controlled by this terrible woman.
They appear proud on the surface, but in fact they are terribly scared.
“Hilde——!”
At this time, someone stiffened his neck and shouted:
"We are not afraid of you! You are just a cruel dictator! Although you have won now, you can't enslave the people of Abydos for the rest of your life! The people of Abydos are not afraid of you! When you leave, the people of Abydos will definitely take up arms and end your tyranny!!! If you have the guts, kill us now!"
He said this.
The people around him couldn't help but look at him.
Many people looked shocked, as if they were idiots.
His words are pushing everyone into the fire pit.
"Oh? You're quite courageous."
Hilde snapped his fingers, and suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the noisy man, leaving him burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
Seeing the man who had just looked ready to die now turned into a human charcoal, emitting a faint aroma of barbecue, the nobles around were almost scared to death. Especially the loud noise just now, which completely collapsed the psychological defenses of many people. The fear of death has occupied the reservedness they need to maintain.
"Okay, the troublemaker has shut up."
Hilde walked up to them.
Then he smiled and said:
"In fact, you were not qualified to talk to me directly because I knew you would definitely oppose me. But Golgopas pleaded with me and told me that Abydos couldn't do without nobles and elders like you. I thought about it and felt that what he said made sense. It might not be a bad idea to give you a chance."
Second tune, fourth quarter, last chance
Golgopas, who was standing aside, lowered his head helplessly when he heard this. He knew that Hilde was deliberately helping him. Although Golgopas himself didn't care, Hilde felt that his reputation among the people of Abydos was still somewhat important. Her words made it seem that it was Golgopas's efforts that gave them this chance to save everyone's lives.
Since Hilde had already said so, the elders currently had no right to refuse. They could only lower their heads obediently and look at Hilde somewhat at a loss.
"Since you are silent, I will assume that you accept my request. Anyway, don't be too nervous. I am actually quite tolerant of you. As long as you are willing to cooperate, it is not impossible to give you a chance."
Hilde glanced around.
It seems that the sudden lightning strike just now was enough to shock them. The sudden death order that happened right next to them had worn away all their previous courage. This was a very direct and effective behavior. Hilde was very satisfied with this. Sometimes this kind of direct violent behavior does have a very prominent effect, especially for these guys.
"It's not that I didn't give you a chance. When the Ionian League was rebuilt, you were the first to stand up and oppose it. We are all Greeks, so there are huge conflicts and differences in political systems and some concepts, but at least on these issues regarding the Persians, we should stand on the same side. You made the wrong choice, and now you have failed. I think you should face this problem squarely instead of continuing to stick to your previous unrealistic ideas."
These nobles look at each other.
In fact, quite a few people expressed regret or blame.
It is normal for there to be many different voices in any multi-member ruling group. When it comes to the matter of the Byzantine Kingdom, the nobles and elders in the Aristocratic Council of Abydos have different opinions, but those who oppose the Byzantine Kingdom are in the majority, while others may be willing to obey the ideas of the Byzantine Kingdom and do not want to conflict with it. However, under such circumstances, they have no way to influence the decision of the council.
Now that things have come to this, those original opponents will naturally blame the elders. If they had known this would happen, they would not have done it in the first place.
Hield has noticed the change, too.
She smiled slightly and continued.
"So I can give you one last chance. Abydos must enter the Byzantine Empire and become a part of it. And I know that the people of Abydos are a people who particularly worship the use of force and do not submit to being ruled. When the Persians attacked Abydos, the people of Abydos launched several rebellions until the Delian League liberated Abydos. So I am also worried that you will cause trouble after I leave. Therefore, I have a better way than the Persians, which is to completely relocate you people of Abydos, disperse you all, live in various places in the Byzantine Empire, and never be able to gather together."
"How is this possible?!"
One elder couldn't help but say:
"You are going to completely destroy Abydos!"
"So what if I destroy it? You should be aware of what you have done. Since you have the courage to resist me, you must be prepared. Not to mention relocating all of you to different places, even if I reduce you all to slaves and sell you to all parts of the world, you have to endure it. This is what you deserve. But it would be too cruel, and we are all Greeks, and I don't want to be so ruthless. So as Golgopas said, I can give you a chance. You are the political core of Abydos and the people with the highest status in Abydos. Therefore, if this city can still maintain stability and peace under the rule of the Byzantine Kingdom and will not cause any trouble for me, I will not do anything excessive to Abydos."
"……what do you mean?"
All the elders actually knew it in their hearts.
This is a naked threat.
Hilde was threatening them.
"People of Abydos listen to you. If you take the initiative to surrender and are willing to manage this city for the Byzantine Kingdom, I will not do what I said, and I will also give Abydos many preferential conditions so that you can live a better life. Remember, as long as you are obedient, as part of the Byzantine Kingdom, I will naturally treat you as my citizens and take care of you. Not only will you not face pressure from the Persians, but you will also have more trade opportunities, better urban construction, and a more prosperous economy. But if you don't agree with me and choose to go against me in the end, then I will make Abydos disappear completely from this world and turn it into a city that does not belong to the people of Abydos. You need to think about all this carefully."
Hilde's words.
The meaning has been made very clear.
If you cooperate, Abydos will be safe.
If you don't cooperate, the table will be overturned.
