However, the means of war must never be abandoned.
The Spartans are currently very determined and unwilling to surrender. In the Battle of Megara, the Spartans lost too many adult males, which caused the Spartan army to waver, but at the same time, it also intensified the hatred of the Spartans. And now, due to the lack of information, the city-states in the Peloponnese still have not replied. But Hilde can't sit here and do nothing, wasting precious time. Now that they have established their foothold in Athens and the gods have not made any new moves, it's time to start the next round of the game.
"Sissi?"
At this time, Sophia walked into the house with a jug of wine.
"Still working?"
"right……"
Hilde looked up and gave Sophia a gentle smile.
"But now that you're here, I can take a break."
"Yeah, drink some wine and think about these things."
"Ah."
Hilde put down the map and went to the dining table next to her.
Sophia filled the glass in front of Hilde with wine, and poured herself a glass. The two sat close together, holding the wine glasses, tasting the excellent wine shipped from Byzantium. At this time, Sophia put down the wine glass and asked with a smile: "Sissi, I want to ask you something."
"Huh? What?"
"Those who were exiled today should all be killed."
Sophia's question caught Hilde off guard.
But she admitted it straight away.
"Yes, except the baby, they were all killed."
"...That's it."
"Do you object?"
"No objection. Sissi must have her reasons for making this decision. If we let them go, their hatred will be used by the gods, which will only bring us bad results, right?" Although Sophia said this, Hilde could still see some uneasiness and reluctance on her face, so Hilde reached out and gently patted Sophia's shoulder.
"As long as you understand."
"Um……"
The fourth section of the fifth tune begins the march to Sparta
Before, Hilde might have thought that Sophia would not be able to accept such a thing.
But now, Hilde doesn't think so.
Sophia had experienced many disasters. As a descendant of the Carthaginian royal family, the cruelty of what she had experienced was probably no less than these. Therefore, she was very clear about the rationality of this matter. Perhaps, she just felt that such a thing happened in front of her eyes, which made her think of her own fate. Hilde thought so, then patted Sophia's head and said with a smile: "Sophia, let me tell you something."
"what happened?"
"My next target is the Peloponnese Peninsula."
"Spartans?"
"Yes, it's time to settle accounts with the Spartans."
Hilde walked to the front of the map and pointed to Σπ?ρτη? (Sparta) marked on the map.
"The Spartans will never be our match."
“Yes, I have such confidence.”
Hilde turned around and said with a smile: "After we have dealt with the Peloponnesian League, all of Greece is under our control. Next, I will split my troops into two groups. The main force will head north along the west coast of Greece to conquer the city-states in Epirus and complete the conquest of the last area of the Greek peninsula. After that, I will lead a team of envoys across the ocean to Carthage."
"Well, I see..."
Although Hilde had said before that he would go to Carthage.
But, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
It would be easy for the Greek Empire to conquer the Peloponnesian League, so Hilde and Sophia could sail to Carthage next spring. However, Sophia was a little worried and scared when she thought about going back to Carthage. She hadn't been back for a long time, and she didn't know if she, a person sold as a slave, would be insulted by the Barca family if she returned to Carthage... It didn't matter to her, but would Hilde be angry about this?
"Sissi."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Will you... conquer Carthage?"
"Why would I conquer it? I am the Greek Empire. I am not interested in non-Greek places."
"But didn't you also conquer the Thracians and Scythians?"
"Well... then, is that what the situation requires?"
Hilde shrugged.
"Moreover, we have no conflict of interest with the Carthaginians, unless we take over Syracuse, the largest city-state in Greece. By then, we may have a conflict of interest with Carthage. However, I do not intend to conquer them. They are too far away from us. The cost of ruling Carthage is far higher than the benefits we can get from it. It is not worth it and there is no need to do so."
Hearing Hilde say this.
Sophia also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she was no longer a Carthaginian, she did not want any war to break out between the Greek Empire and the Kingdom of Carthage.
However, Hilde knew it clearly in his heart.
If he wanted to establish the Greek Empire and become a well-deserved presence in the whole of Greece and the whole Mediterranean region, he had to face the challenge of the Carthaginians. Carthage's strong power in the western Mediterranean must be faced. Therefore, Hilde went to Carthage not entirely for Sophia, but mainly for the future of the Greek Empire. It was Hilde's job to draw a clear line between the interests of the Carthaginians and avoid unnecessary wars.
But Carthage must be dealt with.
We still have to deal with Sparta first.
It's time to reckon with things.
Now, Archidamos, the king of Sparta, was still imprisoned in Athens.
Archidamus, who was captured by Tomyris, has not been rescued by the Spartans yet, and the old king has given up all hope and has to eat and drink in prison. Hilde also treated him very well, serving him good wine and meat every day, and if Archidamus is willing to have a good talk with Hilde, he can be released from the dungeon. But, unfortunately, Archidamus is very stubborn, and even if Hilde threw out an olive branch, he was unwilling to meet with Hilde for a detailed discussion.
Hilde didn't tolerate his bad temper.
He didn't want to come out, and Hilde wouldn't go to see him.
And now the ruler of Sparta.
It was another king, Pausanias.
More than 50 years ago, the legendary Spartan King Leonidas delayed the Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae and led 300 warriors to die in Thermopylae. But in fact, there was another general named Pausanias who played the biggest role and led the Greek coalition to a crucial victory over Persia. However, this legendary general named Pausanias was finally locked in a house by the Spartans because he accepted benefits from the Persians and starved to death.
And now King Pausanias.
He is a direct descendant of Leonidas.
Sparta's dual king system is a unique feature of the Greek political system.
The kings of Sparta are divided into the Agioidea lineage and the Eurypontid lineage. Among them, the famous King Leonidas and the current King Pausanias belong to the Agioidea lineage. Archidamus belongs to the Eurypontid lineage. Now, after Archidamus disappeared, Hilde heard that the Spartans planned to make Archidamus' son, Ages, the new king of Sparta. Once Ages became the king of Sparta, Archidamus would have lost all his role.
But that doesn't make much sense.
After Hilde conquered the Spartans.
The Spartan system, including their dual kingship.
They will all be buried in the dustbin of history.
Naturally, this kind of "dual kingship" is not allowed to exist within the territory of the Greek Empire. Unless the Spartans surrender themselves, Hilde can consider retaining the dual kingship system.
----------
Several days passed.
The turmoil caused by the death penalty has almost disappeared in Athens.
The tragic death of the nobles made those who were still ready to make a move calm down. Then, Hilde issued a new order, and the three legions stationed in Athens set out immediately to garrison in the Megara region. At the same time, the Athenian army was also organized into legions. Although they had not yet received the training and armaments of the Byzantine Kingdom, the Athenians and Atticans, who already had a certain combat effectiveness, could naturally become the main force on the battlefield. Hilde himself also left Athens and led his army to Megara.
The Great Ambitions of a Small City-State
Megara is a place that has many connections with Byzantium.
Many people in Byzantium had ancestors who migrated to Byzantium from Megara.
Similar dialects were also spoken in both places. In the previous trade activities, the trade between Megara and Byzantium was also very prosperous. However, in the end, Megara chose to stand on the opposite side of Hilde when Hilde led her army into Athens. But similarly, when the Greek Empire was established, Megara was the first to express its loyalty and took the initiative to join the Greek Empire. Although Megara, which had basically been conquered, had no right to choose, this initiative provided a series of foreshadowing for subsequent actions.
Obedient children get milk.
This is what Megara is like.
After leading the army to Megara, Hilde set up a temporary military camp outside the city of Megara.
This time, the military camp was prepared for long-term stationing. As Hilde expected, this troop would stay in Megara for at least fifteen to thirty days.
As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first.
Although the army has begun to advance, the city-state of Megara is only a day's journey from Athens. The deployment of the army here is largely to deter Corinth, which is not far away.
The letter of surrender from the Greek Empire has probably spread to all city-states on the Greek peninsula, except for the city-states in the very distant Magna Graecia region, where it will take 1 to 2 months to convey the message.
The Corinthians must have known what Hildes meant.
and so……
Hilde decided that the army must be placed in this place.
The Corinthians were very shrewd businessmen. They had many commercial conflicts with Athens and had always been Athens' competitor. After all, it had a geographical advantage that Athens did not have. It was located right on the Isthmus of Corinth and had two ports, one facing the Aegean Sea in the east and the other facing Magna Graecia in the west.
Precisely because of this unique advantage, Corinth’s commercial power is not inferior to Athens. Moreover, a giant city-state like Syracuse is actually a colony established by Corinth. Even now, Syracuse’s politics is still influenced by Corinth to some extent. This is the power of the mother city.
Syracuse was the only way for Hilde to complete her Greek empire.
It is also the most difficult opponent we will face in the future.
So, how to take down Corinth.
It became a breakthrough in solving this series of problems.
The war to attack the Peloponnese Peninsula will definitely be a very difficult matter. Not to mention whether the gods will continue to obstruct Hilde's goal, just the people of Sparta and the Peloponnesian Alliance led by others will give Hilde some headaches. And if Corinth intends to resist stubbornly, and the Peloponnesian Alliance intends to use Corinth as a bridgehead to defend Hilde, then a vigorous siege will inevitably begin, and Hilde must stockpile enough supplies to support the siege.
And all this takes time.
So Hield was not in a hurry to attack.
She simply placed the troops in this place.
Then nothing was done.
The second day after arriving in Megara.
Hilde stood on the city wall, looking at the military camp that had been built outside. He was still thinking about how to convey the message to Collins and let them consider his demands carefully.
At this time, Alcibiades came over.
"His Majesty!"
He's quick on his feet.
It looked like something good had happened.
"Any good news?"
"Of course!"
Alcibiades stopped in front of Hilde and did not perform any formalities. Instead, he smiled and said, "The envoys from Achaia arrived in Athens today. They said that if they were willing to make their city-state the capital of the local province after joining the Greek Empire, they would be the first to choose to join our empire."
"Nice idea."
Hilde was still a little surprised.
"Which city-state said such a thing?"
"It is Naupactus."
"This seems to be a small city-state, right?"
"Yes, it is a small town with a population of only 2 people, mainly engaged in agriculture. It seems that it has never had much say in politics. It belongs to the Peloponnesian League, but it is also a very small force within the league."
Alcibiades thought that Hilde would be unhappy to hear this news. After all, a city-state with a population only a fraction of Hilde's Greek Empire dared to make conditions with Hilde. But Hilde just smiled and shook her head.
Rather, Hilde was satisfied.
This small city-state is called Naupactus.
Provided Hilde with a new idea.
