At that time, all institutions in Chalcedon will be abolished and directly managed by Byzantium. Therefore, after Byzantium is almost developed, Hilde will start the development of Chalcedon. At that time, the east side of Chalcedon will also be built into a wall similar to that of Byzantium, and the two areas will communicate with each other by ships.
By the time.
The main city area of Byzantium, located in the west, is mainly for commerce and government agencies of various kingdoms. The eastern city area of Chalcedon is the handicraft production base of Byzantium. A large number of workshops will be built in Chalcedon to produce goods needed by the entire Byzantine Kingdom. The two city areas have clear division of labor. Even if a war breaks out, the two city areas are the same city. No matter which direction the enemy troops will come from, the same specifications of the city walls can block the enemy from the land, and the powerful coastal defense facilities will make it almost impossible for the enemy's warships to get close.
Of course, all of this will probably happen several years later.
In Hilde's plan blueprint.
Such a Byzantine city had a population of at least 200,000.
The main urban area of Byzantium in the west can accommodate a population of 120,000, which is the Byzantium that Hilde has now completed planning. Chalcedon in the east will have a population of more than 80,000 after the city wall is widened. Whether people live in Chalcedon or in the main urban area of Byzantium, they will all be the highest class people in the entire Byzantine Kingdom and citizens of Byzantium.
Therefore, Hilde fully supported Alcibiades and Amyntas' plan to build an iron smelting workshop and a weapons workshop in Chalcedon. If these workshops were completed within a year, the development of Chalcedon would also be on the right track. By then, it would not be too late for Hilde to propose a large-scale development plan for Chalcedon.
For Hilde.
These are long-term plans.
Now, that's the real issue Hield needs to worry about.
How to successfully resolve the Scythian Kingdom.
The wineries in Byzantium have now begun to produce high-quality wines and distilled spirits in a steady stream. These wines are barreled here and then transported north by merchants to the New Byzantium in the Upper Thrace province. There, they will once again be transported directly to the Kingdom of Scythia by merchants, and then some of the things the Byzantine Kingdom needs will be purchased from the Scythians.
So there is no rush to deal with the matter of the Scythians.
But Hilde also has to consider it.
And just when Hilde began to think about this problem.
Pericles, who was far away in Athens, now knew about Hilde's recent actions in Ionia. When Pericles first heard the news, he was a little skeptical, but then he thought about it and realized that it was Hilde who did this. It was entirely possible that Hilde could do anything. It was not until this time that Pericles understood why Hilde wanted to join the Delian League.
It turns out that it was all aimed at Ionia!
This made Pericles very angry.
“This is really unreasonable!!”
Pericles threw the cup in his hand to the ground, and the officer who conveyed the information couldn't help but lower his head when he saw this scene, and he looked a little nervous. Pericles was really furious now, he didn't expect that Hilde would do this.
"What's the New Ionian Alliance? Isn't it just an attempt to take Ionia into its own hands? That sounds good! Now, the whole of Ionia has come under Hilde's name, and those city-states that resisted Hilde have also been completely annexed by Hilde with excuses. Don't the Ionians know Hilde's purpose?"
"Lord Pericles, this matter... is related to the Persians. It is said that when Hilde returned to Miletus, the Persian army was besieging Ephesus. Hilde led the army to support them, but as soon as they arrived in Ephesus, the Ephesians opened the city and surrendered. So in the end... all the city-states realized the threat of the Persians, and under Hilde's initiative, they gathered together and planned to re-establish the New Ionian Alliance."
"What is there to be afraid of the Persians?!"
Pericles waved his hand.
"It hasn't been many years since the previous contract was signed, and the Persians have already forgotten the pain!"
"Isn't it because a very powerful oracle appeared in the Persian Empire? This oracle is the current emperor of the Persian Empire, Xerxes II. According to the information we have now, this oracle is extremely powerful and is the fire god of the Persians. Moreover, this queen is also very good at ruling the entire empire. She has brought the Persian Empire, which was almost in disarray, together again. I'm afraid that the current Persian Empire is no longer the Persian Empire that we defeated before."
The officer also tried his best to narrate the incident in a calmer tone.
Pericles was no fool.
Of course he knew that the current Persian Empire was not that stupid, nor that weak. The Persian Empire dared to do these things simply because they possessed the strength to do so.
But now Athens is no longer the Athens of the past. Outside the city of Athens, the Spartan army has made a comeback, and it is the oracle Brasidas again. He is clamoring at the city gate, demanding Rhodes to come out and fight him one-on-one. He also said that if Rhodes is a real man, he should pick up weapons and duel with him.
Chapter 6, Section 4: The Alliance in Crisis
But unfortunately.
Rod is a pussy.
Even if she doesn't leave the city to duel, she's still a woman anyway.
Brasidas led his army and cursed at the gate of Athens for three days and three nights, and finally had to continue to besiege Athens. After all, Brasidas did not dare to lead his army to attack, because he now knew that there was an oracle in Athens. If he was not careful, it would be very likely that his attack plan would be completely ruined. Brasidas could not bear such responsibility.
Moreover, Cleopatra, who was also an oracle, was already dead, which was equivalent to a warning to Brasidas. Originally, oracles often arrogantly thought that they had more power than mortals, so death was far away from them. However, Cleopatra was killed not long after arriving at her destination.
Although Brasidas knew.
Among the Spartans, Cleopatra was the weakest oracle.
But he also had to be careful.
Brasidas didn't know exactly how Cleopatra was killed, because there was too little information about it, but her death was indeed a warning. For this reason, Brasidas didn't dare to take risks when dealing with Athens, and the task given to him by King Archidamus of Sparta was to continue to destroy Athens' agricultural production.
The Peloponnesian War is actually very interesting. The Spartans lived in a relatively narrow environment, and they only had agricultural production in their minds. Therefore, in the Peloponnesian War, they were always keen on destroying Athens' farmland and making Athens lose its ability to produce agriculture. Apart from that, they did nothing else.
But for Athens.
Athens had a stronger navy and overseas colonies to ensure the supply of food, and many city-states that were allied with them would also provide money and food to Athens. So as long as Athens closed the city gates tightly, the people in the city would not starve to death, and could even live a good life. The Spartans outside the city could only stare at the walls of Athens and could do nothing.
So it is estimated that this war.
This situation will continue.
Therefore, for the Spartans surrounded outside the city.
The Athenians, who had finally been liberated, had to be locked up in Athens again, relying on relief every day. The city gates that were always on guard made people's emotions become manic. After all, no one wanted to be trapped in the city for several years. Moreover, Athens had defeated the Spartan army before. This time, when the Spartans made a comeback, Pericles chose to stay put!
Now, Pericles' competitor and opponent, Cleon jumped out again. Cleon used this point to spread rumors everywhere, jumping around in the crowd, and inciting people's emotions to make them believe that Pericles was a coward who dared not lead his army out of the city to fight. Rhodes had been controlled by Pericles, and would he become Pericles' tool to control the whole of Athens?
Such rumors are apparently effective.
But Pericles was too lazy to worry about this matter.
Because of Hilde's incident, Pericles really had a headache.
After joining the Delian League, the Byzantine Kingdom did not provide any supplies or funds to Athens. For such a long time, the Byzantine Kingdom had been refusing to provide Athens with the reason of war. Pericles really believed this. After all, the Byzantine Kingdom avenged Athens, killed Cleopatra, the Spartan who massacred Eraeus, and uprooted the Spartans in the Gallipoli Peninsula, which basically disintegrated the Spartan forces in the North Aegean Sea.
This was a great thing the Byzantine Empire did.
Nothing good happened after that.
Eraeus, one of Athens' colonies, has now been taken over by the Byzantine Empire. Pericles had previously sent representatives hoping that the Byzantine Kingdom would return Eraeus to Athens, but the Byzantine Kingdom rejected Athens' request on the grounds that there were no native residents in Eraeus. Pericles thought that even if Eraeus was taken back now, it would not be of much use, because the city had been massacred, and many of the people living here were Byzantines, and the current population of Athens was not enough to be transported to Eraeus to populate the city.
Eraeus was an important grain producing area for Athens. Losing Eraeus was a serious blow to Athens' food security. Hilde took the initiative to assume the food supply for Athens and promised to provide no less than the original grain output of Eraeus every year. In this case, Pericles and the Citizens' Assembly had no choice but to agree to the Byzantine Kingdom.
At least the Byzantine Empire is one of us.
And it was definitely not Hilder who did it.
Hilde also helped Athens to avenge himself.
So much so that during that period, in the city of Athens, many Athenians sang praises to Hilde's greatness, and there were even playwrights who wrote plays specifically to praise Hilde's killing of Acleopatra. For a time, Hilde's popularity in Athens became even higher.
Originally Pericles thought that this was fine, but not long after, Hilde extended her claws to Ionia. When he learned that the whole of Ionia was controlled by Hilde, Pericles almost fainted. He did not expect that Hilde would go so far as to directly intervene in Ionia, which was also an ally of Delian.
Pericles originally wanted to find a way to counter it.
But when he was about to write to Hilde.
The matter in Ionia is over.
The army led by Hilde defeated the coalition forces against Hilde in the suburbs of Gysion. The northern Ionian coalition led by Abydos was beaten and fled. Of course, this result was completely expected by Pericles. In the end, the Ionian city-states that opposed Hilde were annexed by Hilde, while those that did not oppose and were willing to cooperate rebuilt an Ionian alliance headed by the Byzantine Kingdom together with the Byzantine Kingdom.
This was equivalent to letting the Ionian League break away from the Delian League and become an independent entity. After that, the Ionian city-states would obviously no longer listen to Athens, because for them, the threat from the Persians was more real, and the Athenians had no way to help the Ionians resist the Persians.
Chapter 6, Section 7: Rod being attacked
So, the current situation in Greece.
Suddenly there was a qualitative change.
In general, the entire Greek world was divided into four parts. Athens' Delian League almost lost the entire Ionia region and its strength was greatly damaged. On the Greek peninsula, the power of the Peloponnesian League, from the vast Peloponnese plain to the foot of Mount Olympus, divided the entire Greek world into two, forming an unignorable dark cloud hanging over Attica.
In the east of the Greek world, the newly rising Byzantine Kingdom eliminated all local enemies and then entered Ionia. With its absolute national strength and the "threat" of the Persians, it became the overlord of the eastern Greek world. In this situation, although the Byzantine Kingdom was also part of the Delian League, it was bound to be in a parting relationship with the Delian League. At any time, Athens and the Byzantine Kingdom might stand on opposite sides.
In addition, there are the Greek colonies in the Greater Greece region in the west. Their attitude in this battle is very unclear, and it is unknown what they want to do. However, for Pericles, their attitude is not important. The most important thing is the attitude of Hilde from the Byzantine Kingdom.
When does it begin……
Do I actually need Hilde's help?
Pericles was furious.
But you can only choose to endure.
At this time, Rhodes came out with some concern.
"Lord Pericles."
"What's wrong? Rod?"
After hearing Rhodes' voice, Pericles immediately turned around.
Rhodes looked at Pericles with some concern, then asked with a wry smile: "Are you okay now? I think you seem to be a little..."
"It's okay. There have been a lot of things going on recently, so I'm a bit upset. Actually, there's nothing wrong." Pericles forced a smile and then let out a long breath. "By the way, speaking of which, are those recent rumors in Athens troubling you? If you're not feeling well, don't go out. The whole of Athens is in a mess right now..."
"It's alright, Lord Pericles."
Rhodes smiled bitterly and said:
"I can understand everyone's distress."
"But……"
"Now the Spartan army is once again at the gates of the city. The entire Athens is surrounded and no one can get out. The city is also very crowded. Moreover, that man named Brasidas is clamoring outside the city every day, asking me to go out and duel with him. If I don't come out, I'm not a man... I know that everyone in Athens believes that as the oracle of Athens, I must go out to fight. As long as Brasidas is defeated, the current predicament of Athens can be solved. However, I don't go out and act like a coward. So, I can totally accept everyone calling me a coward!"
Hearing Rod say this.
Pericles was also somewhat moved.
He lowered his head and sighed.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Lord Pericles, there is absolutely no need for you to apologize."
"Yes...but I am really sorry for you. I was afraid of the Spartans and Brasidas, so I didn't let you show up. I was afraid that you would be hurt by that guy. If something happened to you, Athens would really have no hope. So now, it's completely fine to be patient. Showing off your courage for a while will only sow the seeds of disaster."
"Yes, I understand Lord Pericles's painstaking efforts."
Rhodes turned around and looked at the trident in his hand.
Her smile seemed very innocent.
She really did not resent the Athenians who insulted her.
"But if Lord Pericles needs me, I will definitely help you and Athens, even if it means sacrificing my life. I am an oracle, the oracle of Lord Poseidon. He is also an oracle. Why should I definitely fall at his hands? If I win, does it mean that the Spartans will be completely defeated?" There seemed to be a glimmer of hope in Rhodes' eyes. Perhaps, Rhodes was really considering whether to do that.
But Pericles shook his head.
"No, you can't act rashly."
"……Yes."
"I know you are also proud, but there are differences between oracles. You are a simple fisherman's daughter, while Brasidas has been a brave warrior since childhood, proficient in killing skills, and at the same time has won the favor of Lord Ares, becoming the oracle he is today. So, if you have any conflict with him, it may not be good news for you. I don't want you to be too confident and hurt yourself."
"...Yes, I understand."
"Well, you'll understand."
Rhodes could understand that for Pericles, that would be no problem.
At this time, Rhodes seemed to have thought of something.
"Speaking of which, can this matter be gotten rid of by Sister Sissi?"
"Hilde? Are you kidding me? Hilde is now the monarch of the Byzantine Empire. She is already under great pressure from the Persians and has no time to care about our affairs. What's more, Hilde has killed Cleopatra and is responsible for our food supply, which has helped us a lot." Although Pericles had many opinions about Hilde, he was very direct on this matter.
Hilde did help Athens.
That's why Pericles said this.
Rhodes also nodded, and then said helplessly:
"So, we are now... isolated and helpless?"
"...It is very likely, unless a miracle befell Athens and a new oracle was obtained."
"That……"
Rhodes also knew that it was too difficult for such a thing to happen.
The appearance of any oracle is a miracle.
The appearance of Rhodes was already a miracle, saving Athens from the water and fire. But then, could such a miracle happen again? Obviously, this was impossible... Therefore, Pericles knew very well that people should not be too greedy. He just said so, but never pinned his hopes on this. Unlike Cleon, the idiot, who went to the temple every day to pray for the gods to appear.
