Tomyris and Rhodes set out again and met Aristocles in the city of Corinth.
This time, with Hilde's promise, Aristocles was obviously much happier. Moreover, the fact that he received the envoys from the Greek Empire in Corinth instead of in the new port also showed Aristocles' attitude. Aristocles promised that within five days, the people of Corinth would be convinced to open the city and surrender to welcome the Greek Empire's army.
Five days is really not a long or short period of time.
"Please rest assured, both of you."
Aristocles put his hand upon his heart.
"I will definitely convince them."
"Then please."
"Well, let us work together for the Greek Empire from now on."
"……it is good."
Working for the Greek Empire... together...
These words always sounded a little strange to Tomyris.
After all, Tomyris felt a little uncomfortable when she thought that this man who made her feel a little uncomfortable would become her colleague in the future. However, this was not unacceptable. Tomyris smiled and nodded, and then continued: "Don't worry, as long as you are loyal to His Majesty and show your strength, His Majesty will never treat you unfairly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"In that case, it depends on your performance."
"it is good!"
After seeing Tomyris off.
For Aristocles, now it was time to show his loyalty.
Not long after the envoy left, more than a dozen people surrounded Aristocles' door. They shouted angrily outside the door, asking Aristocles to give an explanation. Aristocles was not surprised by this situation. He had long expected that his behavior of receiving the Greek Empire envoy in the city and bypassing the aristocratic council would inevitably arouse the fear and anger of the nobles.
"come out!"
"You are colluding with the enemy!"
It's as if Aristocles wasn't an oracle at all.
Nor is it the same as the Archons.
They threw the stones in their hands into Aristocles' palace to express their anger and protest.
Aristocles looked coldly at the courtyard. He knew that these people would not live long. According to their stupidity and arrogance, it would not be long before they would be punished by Hilde. So, thinking this way, Aristocles felt much better. With a bright smile on his face, he walked out and stood in front of these people.
"Ah, everyone, you welcome me so warmly."
"Aristocles!"
Among them, an old noble pointed at him and cursed:
"You, a coward! A villain!"
"coward?"
Aristocles walked up to him, smiling.
"If I were a coward, I would just run away from Corinth crying and screaming, the farther the better!"
"Hilde and her lackeys! They are blasphemous sinners! How could you be so close to them! Also, when you met the envoys this time, you did not bring them to the House of Nobles to let the more distinguished adults see through their conspiracy. Instead, you brought them to your own mansion. What is your intention!"
"Ah, this."
Faced with the man angrily charged.
Aristocles just smiled bitterly and explained:
“They asked for it.”
"You...you do what they ask you to do!?"
"Come on, they have already put knives to our necks. You don't really think that we in Corinth can be their opponents? And don't think I don't know that you have a very loud voice here, but you have already started selling your property and preparing to leave Corinth."
Aristocles hit the nail on the head and pointed out the nobleman's pain point.
Those who came with him also looked at him in surprise.
"You, you actually..."
"Nonsense!"
The man immediately retorted.
"When have I ever done that before!"
The sixth tune, the fifth verse, everyone is greedy
"I don't want to argue with you, but if you want to quibble, I have evidence here. The asset you sold happened to be sold to one of my people. When I found out, I did a special investigation and it turned out that you were selling it secretly. You are so indignant in front of me, but in private you are more outrageous than anyone else. So, you have no right to block my door and shout like that."
Aristocles said so.
The man's face turned blue and white.
I don’t even know what to say.
The people on both sides were also very angry. They didn't expect that the noble who brought them here to cause trouble was such a person.
"Okay, don't waste time. I discussed this privately with the envoy just to prevent people like you, understand? Now, I have learned the other party's attitude and the general result. I would like to trouble you to gather all the noble representatives. I want to discuss this matter with everyone. Do you have any objections?"
"..."
Hear Aristocles say this.
The crowd that was somewhat unhappy just now could only disperse now.
After they left, Aristocles sighed helplessly.
Stupid...
It's really stupid.
A group of people, on the surface, looked like they were doing it for Corinth, but in fact, under the pressure of the Greek Empire, at least one-fifth of the nobles had begun to consider moving to Syracuse. Moreover, many nobles had their industries in Syracuse, so in fact, many people had already made plans to flee from the beginning. But this was also a long-term sentiment of human beings. If they were done in an open and aboveboard manner, Aristocles felt that it was nothing and could not be blamed.
But this group of people appear to be serving the country and the people.
But he did it secretly.
It made Aristocles feel nauseous and sick.
But now is not the time to continue wasting time.
He rushed to the council chamber without stopping, where he quietly waited for the nobles to arrive.
After learning that Aristocles had secretly met with the envoy of the Greek Empire and reached a conclusion, the nobles immediately flocked to the council. A group of people came in and cursed, as if Aristocles had done something wrong to Corinth and was a wicked person. Even the noble who was just scolded by Aristocles now looked righteous.
But Aristocles ignored them.
He was just wondering what his new life would be like.
When he arrived in the Greek Empire, he became Hilde's subordinate.
Will my future be better?
It's all a puzzle.
After everyone was present, the Speaker of the Council came before Aristocles.
"Mr. Archon, everyone is here."
"okay."
In the past, Aristocles would politely say "Sir Speaker".
But now, he doesn't want to waste time anymore.
Aristocles stood up and looked around. The three hundred people who represented the highest authority in Corinth were now staring at him, as if they were judging him. Facing such a gaze, Aristocles laughed instead of getting angry. He laughed loudly, and under the suspicious and confused eyes of everyone, he went straight to the point: "Today, what I want to talk about is the matter between us and the Greek Empire."
"What do you want to say?"
"Of course, peacefully incorporated into the Greek Empire."
"How can this be!"
This statement immediately aroused resistance from the crowd.
"Even if we die, we will never merge into that person's country!"
"We will be cursed by the gods!"
The nobles' reaction was exactly what Aristocles expected.
As expected, as expected, we are all such creatures.
They transferred assets in secret, but said such things on the surface, simply because they were afraid that after Corinth was conquered by Hilde, they would suffer the same fate as the Athenian nobles. However, they could not save their own face, as well as the honor or dignity mentioned earlier, and acted as hypocrites here. Aristocles only felt ironic, but he still suppressed his displeasure and said to everyone: "Everyone, do you really think that we can defeat the Greek Empire with several oracles and the blessing of Athena?"
"But they are blasphemous people!"
"The gods demand that we resist them!"
"Don't be stubborn anymore," Aristocles said helplessly. "What has become of Thebes, which persisted in accordance with the gods' requirements? The Thebans no longer exist. Do you want Corinth to cease to exist as well?"
"We could form an alliance with Sparta."
"Sparta can't even protect itself!"
Aristocles waved his hand.
The momentum has overwhelmed the nobles.
"Besides, now is an opportunity for Corinth! The Greek Empire does not want to continue to be involved in the war, so it is looking for an opportunity to negotiate with us! And I have also fought for a lot of related interests for Corinth. Before criticizing me, you might as well listen to the price offered by the Greek Empire, and then consider whether to continue to resist so firmly. What do you think?"
"You say it."
The Speaker said this directly.
"Okay, then everyone listen up."
"We in Corinth are different from Athens. Athens defended the city and was finally conquered. If we choose to join the Greek Empire, we will not suffer from war. The Greek Empire promises to give us the title of 'Free City', retain the council and the citizens' assembly, and let us Corinthians choose our own archons. As long as we are loyal to the Greek Empire and Basileus, we can keep everything we have now. Of course, this is not the most important thing——"
"More importantly, we will have the opportunity to rise to prominence!"
"Chance?"
The view of the family.
"Yes, Athens has been devastated and has become part of the empire. It will take one to two years for Athens to recover from the war. Corinth will not be affected at all, and the empire has promised to make Corinth an important trade node. All trade in the southern Aegean Sea and the Egyptian Sea will be handed over to us. Many of you are businessmen, so you should know what this means, right?"
"really……"
"Sounds good."
The nobles were somewhat shaken.
For many aristocrats who came from merchant families, money is still the most important thing.
When competing with Athens before, Athens took away a lot of trade in the Egyptian Sea, not to mention the Aegean Sea.
Tune 6, Section 6: A Smooth Surrender Ceremony
This caused Corinth's eastern trade to be very unsuccessful, which was also the reason for the feud between Corinth and Athens. If the trade in the South Aegean Sea and the Egyptian Sea could really be handed over to the Corinthians, the conservatively estimated benefits would be at least three to five times higher than the current level.
This is an endless source of business opportunities.
Moreover, the status of a free city can better ensure that this interest is protected.
"But will Hilde fulfill his promise?"
"Of course!"
Aristocles said with certainty.
"Hilde won't break his promise."
"How can you guarantee that?"
"Because Hilde must make a guarantee to other city-states. If they don't keep their promise, no city-state will join the Greek Empire in the future. The Greeks will also realize that Hilde is a person who doesn't keep her promises. At that time, all parts of Greece will rise up. Hilde is a very smart monarch. She will know that this situation will lead to losing the big for the small. Corinth is just a small place for the empire. The population of 200,000 is not even a fraction of the empire, so there is no need for it to play this trick with us."
"..."
This explanation is a little untenable.
But Aristocles continued:
