God help me too!
Cleon was clearly still worried about the current situation yesterday, but he didn't expect that the Spartans had already retreated! Cleon could hardly believe that this thing would actually happen to him! Cleon felt that his luck was too good these days, as he became an oracle and "solved" the Spartan issue. Therefore, Cleon naturally could not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He immediately summoned the people of Athens and began his passionate and generous speech.
"Citizens of Athens!"
"I want to tell you a piece of good news that will dispel the gloom that is now hanging over Athens!"
Creon said this suddenly.
Many Athenians were also whetted by the news.
"The Spartans! I have driven them away! They were afraid of the majesty of Lord Apollo and the supreme power that I, Cleon, possessed! So they abandoned their camp and fled! If you don't believe me, you can go to the city wall and take a look at the ruins left by the Spartans! The Spartans are really gone!"
One wave stirs up a thousand ripples.
This is what Creon said.
This immediately boosted the spirits of the Athenians.
Athens needed good news. After the siege and the plague, the Athenians were almost at the end of their rope. The leader Pericles was already seriously ill. The Athenians were leaderless and it was indeed the most difficult time. Now, Cleon actually claimed that he had driven away the Spartans. This was undoubtedly very exciting news.
The news of the Spartan retreat quickly spread like wildfire and reached the streets of Athens. Whether it was the sick or the worried ordinary people, everyone cheered and was delighted about this.
And in Pericles's palace.
This joyful news did not dilute the sadness here.
Pericles held Rhodes' hand tightly.
"child……"
"Lord Pericles, you are finally awake!"
"Child... hurry up and go..."
Pericles's complexion now looked no different from that of a dead person, as lifeless as chalk.
His breathing became rapid, as if he was grasping at the last straw, trying to keep himself alive through his own breathing. This was the body's instinct to save itself. In order to continue breathing smoothly, Pericles kept trying hard, because he had something else to say:
"Kryon...will definitely...do something bad to you..."
"Lord Pericles, I'm fine. I can't leave Athens."
Rhode couldn't stop crying, but he still forced a smile and said:
"I will protect Athens..."
"Child... listen to me... help me... give a letter... to Hilde personally..." At this point, Pericles' cloudy eyes suddenly shed two lines of clear tears, "I'm sorry... her... prophecy... was wrong... Hilde is a good... child, it's me... who failed her. Tell her... yes, I'm sorry."
"Yes! Okay! I'll tell Sister Sissi!"
"The letter... is in my desk... take it away... and give it to you... and, and... those who have opposed... Cleon will take revenge... and take them away."
"Yes! I understand..."
"child……"
Pericles turned his head slightly.
He looked at Rhodes, and as if using the last bit of his strength, he spoke:
"I...I have always...regarded you as my daughter..."
"Lord Pericles, I know..."
"To save Athens... we can only rely on Hilde... Cleon... will definitely destroy Athens..."
"Don't worry, I will complete your request!"
"That's good……"
When Pericles said this, he closed his eyes slightly and his breathing stopped.
Rhodes was stunned for a moment, then gently shook Pericles' body.
"Lord Pericles?"
Chapter 4 of the eighth chapter: The departure of Pericles
The first citizen of Athens.
Pericles left this world just like that.
He closed his eyes forever with regret, unwillingness and worry. The future of Athens, the problem that had troubled him for nearly his entire life, will now accompany him into the underworld forever, entangle his soul and make him restless forever.
He dedicated his life to Athens, which regarded him as the protector of Athens. No matter what happened, he would try his best to solve it and prevent Athens from encountering any accidents. However, in the last period of his life, Athens was surrounded by Spartans, and the plague also plundered the lives of Athenians in Athens.
Under the situation of internal and external troubles, this once beloved Athenian archon was accused and insulted by the Athenian people. Those who originally supported him now wanted him to step down. Cleon, his political opponent who was originally not worth mentioning, took the opportunity to rise to power and truly stood on the opposite side of Pericles. The thing that Pericles was most worried about still happened...
Pericles sacrificed everything for Athens. Because of the priest's prophecy, he wanted to kill his daughter. Because of this epidemic, almost all of Pericles' relatives, including his own sister, died in this epidemic, but he had no time to pay attention. It was not until he himself was infected with the disease that Pericles realized that his efforts were meaningless.
In the last moment of his life.
The tears he shed were tears of regret.
He had lived his whole life for Athens, but had he ever considered the thoughts of those around him? Never... Even a little bit would not have led to Hilde suffering from such a thing.
Pericles' merits and faults will naturally be judged by future generations, but only Pericles knows the emotions contained therein.
When the good news of the Spartans' withdrawal spread throughout the city of Athens, people in Athens sang and danced, as if they had forgotten the shadow brought by the plague. However, in Pericles' mansion, it was still silent and dark. The owner of this mansion had left this world forever, and Rhodes was holding his hand tightly.
"farewell……"
Rhodes wanted to burst into tears.
But she was very clear at this moment that she had her own things to do and her own responsibilities, not to cry here.
Rhodes might not have understood Pericles' last words in the past, but now she knew very well that Pericles, who had made so many contributions to Athens, was still attacked and insulted by the Athenians in the last period of his life, as if this plague was brought by Pericles, and as if the war with the Spartans was also brought by Pericles.
Because of this, Rhodes knew very well that such a fate would eventually befall him. Now that Pericles was gone, Cleon would definitely take the opportunity to seize power and take the power of the entire Athens into his own hands. In that case, as the first oracle of Athens and the oracle of Poseidon, Rhodes would inevitably attract Cleon's attention.
There is a very simple thought in Kryon's mind.
Rhodes obeyed Pericles very faithfully.
Then after Pericles' death, Rhodes should have been very loyal to Cleon.
Therefore, Cleon would definitely use various methods to force Rhode to make a choice. He would never regard Rhode as a partner, but as a competitor. Therefore, he would definitely try every means to make Rhode obey his orders and become his subordinate.
This was something Rhodes could never accept.
So, Rhodes also made his own decision.
"Lord Rhodes!"
After receiving the notice, Alcibiades quickly came to Pericles' mansion. When he followed Demosthenes in, he saw Pericles lying lifeless on the bed, and Rhodes standing beside the bed, silently watching Pericles.
"Lord Pericles, he..."
"In fact, you and I have already thought of such an outcome. Lord Pericles is gone, and now it is time for us to take some action. The siege of Athens has been lifted, and Cleon's personal prestige has been raised to the highest level. Under such circumstances, if he knew that Lord Pericles was gone, he would definitely use a coercive attitude to try to make me submit. So before he acts, we must take action first."
"Ok."
Alcibiades nodded.
"You give your orders."
"First, we must take away Lord Pericles' friends. They will definitely be liquidated by Cleon. In addition to these, there are also those who have made outstanding contributions to Athens. According to the list given by His Majesty Hilde, if they are willing to go, take them away immediately."
"understood."
"Then I'll go with you."
Rhode walked to Pericles' desk, opened the drawer, and took out a letter written on papyrus. It seemed that Pericles had prepared this letter long ago, and even put it on a scroll. Rhode picked up the scroll and said to Alcibiades, "This is a handwritten letter from Lord Pericles that he wants to give to Sister Sissi... I must take it over."
"But...if you leave Athens, what will happen to Athens?"
"It depends on how far Cleon can go."
Rhodes gave a helpless bitter smile?
"Besides, I am not an Athenian. This magnificent city has nothing to do with me. And, you may not know... It's not just Lord Pericles who dislikes Cleon, I also dislike Cleon. During the previous demonstration, Cleon led people to try to harass my parents, and finally forced my parents to move back to the fishing village of Suenke. I don't know if they are still alive during this epidemic."
"Then let's go to Suenke and pick them up on the way back."
Alcibiades could only express sympathy for this.
"We don't have much time, so let's act now."
"Ok."
Rhodes and Alcibiades immediately began to arrange personnel. Cleon was still immersed in the joy of the Spartans' withdrawal and did not notice what was happening. Rhodes had already taken his men to various places in Athens to arrange for those who would be persecuted by Cleon to leave Athens.
These Athenians knew what would happen to them, so when Rhodes sent people to find them, they did not hesitate, packed up their things and quickly headed for the port.
Chapter 8, Section 5: Rod is about to leave
Some of them were even infected with the disease and were in a sick state, but after weighing the pros and cons, Alcibiades and Rhodes both felt that they should also take these patients with them. So among the list given by Hilde, at least two-thirds of the people were willing to follow Rhodes and Alcibiades on the ship to Byzantium.
"I told you I'm not leaving!"
Socrates said to Alcibiades a little angrily.
"How many times do I have to tell you before you believe me?"
"Teacher, now it's not a question of whether you leave or not. If you continue to stay here, something bad will happen!" Alcibiades did not allow Socrates to say anything more. "If you don't want to leave, then you can only blame the students for forcing you to leave Athens."
"What are you going to do?!"
"I'm sorry, teacher."
Alcibiades clapped his hands, and several soldiers behind him rushed over and lifted Socrates up from the left and right.
"I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving Athens!!!"
"Take it down."
"ALCIBIADES!!!"
Socrates' angry shouts did not shake Alcibiades' decision at all, because Alcibiades knew too well that the current situation in Athens would not allow Socrates to stay here any longer. After the Spartans withdrew, Cleon, as a war advocate, would definitely actively expand his armaments and launch an attack on the Spartans. Socrates himself was a soldier, and he would definitely be incorporated into the army. In that case, the chance of his death would be too great.
Alcibiades did not think there was anything wrong with being a soldier, but Socrates' role as a philosopher was much greater than that as a soldier. If he died on the battlefield, it would be a huge loss for the entire human world. So after thinking for a while, Alcibiades decided to take Socrates away forcefully.
Even so, it might make Socrates angry.
But the matter of anger was left to Hilde to deal with.
Socrates was dragged away like this.
On Rhodes' side, she personally took the sick Athenian general, Thucydides, out of her home, and took Thucydides' family to the port of Pythias. All these actions were kept secret, but both Rhodes and Alcibiades knew that this matter could not be concealed for long, and it would not take long for Cleon to know what happened.
Soon, Creon got the news.
"what!!!"
Creon, who was in a state of joy, was unhappy when he heard the news.
"They took so many people away!?"
"Yes. Master Cleon..."
"This guy Rhodes! He wants to defect!" How could Cleon miss this opportunity? He slammed the table and ordered the officer in front of him, "Immediately dispatch 1000 soldiers to follow me to the port of Piraeus. We must capture them all before they leave! These people are traitors of Athens. When Athens needs them the most, they actually want to leave here!"
"Yes!"
Cleon was also very fast. He immediately broke away from the Spartans' retreating frenzy, and then quickly rushed to the port of Piraeus with his troops.
At this time, the operation of Rhodes and Alcibiades was coming to an end. All the people who were to be taken away according to the plan had been boarded, so the ships of the Byzantine Kingdom were ready to set sail and gradually left the port and came to the sea outside the port of Piraeus. The ship that Rhodes and Alcibiades were on was the last one to set sail from the port.
"not good!"
Alcibiades looked outside.
"Clion is coming with his men to kill us!"
"It's okay, I'm here!"
Rhodes walked to the edge of the deck and saw Cleon and others who were full of murderous intent in the distance. However, Rhodes was not worried at all because he was now in the port with the boundless sea at his feet. Here he could fully exert almost all of his strength. Therefore, Rhodes was not worried about what Cleon could do to them.
Soon Cleon rode to the edge of the harbor. When he looked at Rhodes and others on the deck, he stretched out his hand and loudly rebuked them: "Rhodes!!! You traitor to Athens!!! Athens is in the most critical moment now, and you, as the oracle of Athens, want to escape. Are you worthy of Athens, the city that gave birth to you and raised you?!"
"Athens is not my Athens! I have already seen it! I was originally just a little girl living in Soenke, with a completely different identity from you noble citizens of Athens! When you can use me, you treat me as an Athenian, and when I don't meet your wishes, you treat me like Lord Pericles!"
Rhodes raised the golden trident in his hand.
