Hild was very clear about what Sitalses and Damianos were thinking. This was the current situation. The terrain of Upper Thrace was quite complex, and it could be roughly judged in this way. The new capital was the core of the northern hilly area, and there were many hills here, resulting in fewer roads to walk on. The roads in these hills were like a spider web scattered everywhere, and finally all converged on the small plain where the new capital was located.
These roads continued to extend and finally reached the border areas. At this time, building fortresses and other military facilities in these border areas and important intersections could effectively control the province and have a clear understanding of the situation in the border areas. Although the cost would be quite high, because building these fortresses, including repairing the roads left by the Geters, would require a lot of manpower and material resources.
But it's worth it.
For future plans.
There is no other way except to invest more.
The first section of the fourth chapter: Hilde's sugar-coated bullet
But whatever the plan.
There is only one thing to do next.
That is, build the city first.
Fortunately, the plain area along the river has a very flat terrain, which meets many of the conditions required by Hilde. There is clean water, flat and fertile land, and a lot of wood around, so trees can be cut down at will. At the same time, where there is a river, there are also clay mines nearby. With wood, charcoal can be made, and then bricks can be made. With wood and bricks, a very warm house can be built.
In fact, the reason why human civilization was difficult to penetrate into the north in ancient Greece was that the climate in the north was relatively cold. Humans in the north could only use animal skins to keep warm, and animal skins were a relatively rare material, which limited the development of civilization. To truly develop the north, there were only two options. One was mature construction technology, and the other was warm clothes. For the former, warm brick houses could effectively keep warm.
As for clothes, only cotton will do.
But cotton had not yet been introduced to ancient Greece.
The origin of cotton is India.
If Hilde wanted to find cotton, she would have to cross all of Persia, which would probably be exhausting.
Therefore, what Hilde and others can do now is to quickly develop this area.
The soldiers brought by Hilde began to cut down trees, and then used these trees to build temporary residences. Now, the city plan has been determined. After all, there are only 6,000 people living in it, so the scale of the city is small. The first thing to be built is the brick kiln factory, which was chosen near the lower reaches of the river. There is good quality clay here. In addition, there is a large amount of wood that can be used to make charcoal, which can be used to burn paper bricks.
Men are mainly responsible for doing the heavy work.
And those Adelisian women who were brought here.
Responsible for collecting and cooking food.
This time, the food they brought here could probably sustain them for about three months. Since this place was underdeveloped, the wild fruits, vegetables, and animals around could be eaten. After new food was delivered here, it would still be enough. Hilde had been watching them busy building a new city these days. She had been here for seven or eight days until the brick kiln factory in the new city was completed and put into production. Then, the wooden frames of many buildings had been built.
The next step is to pile up bricks to build a sturdy and warm house.
Hilde was very satisfied with the result.
And now, it's time to go back.
On the day of leaving, Hilde called Sitalces and Damianos.
Now that the city has been built, Hilde will probably come here again in a year or two, so there are many things that Hilde must explain to them before leaving. So Hilde gathered them around him, and when there was no one around, he said to them, "Now the city has taken shape. I will return tomorrow, and everything else will be left to you. But before I leave, I have something to tell you."
"Please give me your Majesty's instructions."
Both Sitalces and Damianos bowed their heads.
"After you build the city, just like our previous policy, you must actively absorb the Geters or Scythians to settle in our city. The policy remains the same. Of course, I don't think many people will be able to leave here... In addition, I want you to do one thing. Build a road to the Kingdom of Scythia. Then, the purpose of building this road is to trade with the Scythians."
"With, with the Scythians?"
Damianos couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes, any comments?"
"But they are not..."
"They are indeed our enemies, but not now. I don't plan to fight them now, so we have to consider whether we can make more money from them, understand? You don't need to make this public for now, because the city has not been built yet, and building roads is a waste of time. Later, when you start building roads and outposts, you have to expand your roads to the Kingdom of Scythia. Remember, they have animal skins, cattle, sheep and horses, and we have gold, silver and food. This trade can always be carried out... and Damianos."
"exist!"
Damianos stood up straight.
"Your Majesty, please give me your orders!"
"You are the governor of Upper Thrace. You are almost entirely responsible for the affairs here. So, remember, when you come into contact with the Scythians, you must speak as a representative of the country. You must make the Scythians, preferably the King of the Kingdom of Scythia, Itantirsus, believe that our Kingdom of Byzantium will not go to war with them and is willing to make money with them. You must let them naively believe that we are friendly. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand!"
Although it is not certain what Hilde's specific purpose is.
However, Damianos agreed.
Hilde thought about it for a long time before deciding to start trading with the Scythians.
She thought that since they would attack the Scythians in the future, not now, they should not be so anxious to show hostility. Since that Itantirsus was able to secretly reach an agreement with the King of Thrace and wanted to benefit from the conflict between the two, he was an unprincipled person. Then, since he was so unprincipled, Hilde could probably imagine what this person would do when faced with the olive branch thrown by Hilde.
I'm sure he agreed to it happily.
This guy is so understanding.
A person who only thinks about short-term benefits.
So, Hilde just didn't make any gestures, nor did she say that she wanted revenge.
It's just an attitude, that is, I don't want to mess with you, I just want to make some money from you.
Therefore, Idantirsus probably really thought that Hilde didn't care about this matter, and just accepted the sugar-coated bullet from Hilde. If this is the case, it's really great... However, he has a very smart daughter, Tomyris. Hilde thinks that Tomyris is a very smart girl. Maybe Tomyris can see this kind of sugar-coated bullet very clearly, but I don't know if Idantirsus will listen to Tomyris.
I'm afraid you won't listen.
If I had listened, what happened before wouldn't have happened.
The fourth chapter, the second chapter, a bright future
Therefore, Hilde fully believed that his plan would be perfectly successful.
However, there is still an important question.
That was the name of the new city.
It has not been determined yet.
After much deliberation, Hilde finally decided to name this place New Byzantine City.
The reason for choosing this name is not simply because they could not think of a name. This city is very important because it is an outpost city for defending the Kingdom of Scythia and the Getes. It will be a pearl in this wilderness for many years to come. Its military significance is very important, just like the city of Byzantium. Similarly, the complex terrain gives this city the characteristics of being easy to defend and difficult to attack. In the future, the entire northern part of the Upper Thrace province will inevitably be centered here and become a fortress.
So, Hilde has high hopes for this.
I also want the name of the city.
It can inspire the people who live here.
They were the Neo-Byzantines, the second Byzantium.
After knowing the name of the city, Sitalces and Damianos had no objection, and they liked the name very much. Hilde was relieved, but it would be difficult for these two guys from now on. One is Sitalces, and the other is Damianos. These two people probably won't be able to return to Byzantium for a long time in the future. It's even possible that they will live here for the rest of their lives.
Of course if they want to.
It's good to stay here.
Hilde felt relieved knowing they were guarding the border.
After handing over all the matters here to Sitalses and Damianos, Hilde led his men and set out on the journey back. However, Hilde did not return directly from the Upper Thrace Province to Byzantium City, but continued to go east from the Upper Thrace Province to the last destination, the Black Sea Province.
The Black Sea Province, as the name implies, is located along the Black Sea region, with its capital in Odysseus. The Black Sea Province is almost entirely coastal plains with a humid climate, making it a very suitable place to live. The general location of the Black Sea Province is from Apollonia to the north, all the way to the junction with the Kingdom of Scythia. The south is a forested plain, while the north is a humid and fertile grassland with a temperate marine climate. Compared with the mountainous Upper Thrace Province, the geographical conditions here are unique.
And the Black Sea Province.
It is currently the most important expansion direction in Hilde's mind.
Odysseus is located on the coast of the Black Sea province, and is also a coastal city.
Therefore, this is the second and only coastal capital among so many provinces of Byzantium.
Starting from the port of Byzantium, crossing the strait into the Black Sea, it takes about fifteen to twenty days to reach the port of Odysseus. Therefore, in the past few months, the Byzantine Kingdom has drawn thousands of immigrants from densely populated areas to Odysseus. Now, including the local Thracians, the population of Odysseus, including the surrounding villages, has reached nearly 20,000 people, which is also a medium-sized city.
Hilde and others spent a full fifteen days.
Only then did we arrive at the Black Sea province from the Upper Thrace province.
Such a long journey made Hilde and others a little tired.
However, when we were about to arrive at Odysseus, the surrounding scenery changed.
"Are we back?" Diony looked around curiously and asked, "There are many farmlands and beautiful red villages here. Are we back in Byzantium?"
"Not."
Hilde smiled and explained:
"This is the Black Sea Province, Odysseus."
"Wow...is this Odyssey?"
Dione seemed very interested in this place.
Indeed, the situation here is very similar to that of Byzantium. This is the most convenient place to reach from Byzantium. The Thracians living here are "civilized" plain Thracians, not very aggressive, and are typical "peasants". Thousands of immigrants from the Byzantine province arrived here, and soon completed Hilde's request, built brick kilns, and started large-scale production.
Less than half a year.
Odyssey has already seen its first signs of prosperity.
There were farmlands everywhere, and villages built with red bricks were scattered everywhere. Several roads passed through these villages and finally converged into a city with 10,000 people, Odysseus. And Hilde's troops advanced along these newly built roads and finally arrived at Odysseus.
Hilde was very satisfied with the construction of Odysseus. At least, she saw everything she wanted to see. In Hilde's new territory, the Black Sea Province was the best. She also learned about the overall situation of the Black Sea Province.
The Black Sea Province now has a population of about 120,000, making it the second most populous province after the Great Byzantine Province. Most of the population is concentrated in the south, near Apollonia, which has become a good place for colonists near Apollonia to explore. There are no large cities in the Black Sea Province north of Apollonia, but there are villages and towns scattered all over the newly reclaimed land.
As the Black Sea Province moved northwards and entered the steppe region, the population began to decrease. Currently, the population of the northern steppe region is around 35,000 to 40,000, of which 20,000 are around Odysseus, and the Thracians and new immigrants in other places are around 20,000. Therefore, with population, there is the possibility of development. The population of the Black Sea Province is enough to support this area to become a good place, and the good natural environment is enough to support the Byzantine Kingdom to carry out various developments in this place.
And now.
These developments are already going very well.
Agriculture has developed and villages and towns are developing healthily.
Most of the people living here already live in warm brick houses.
They were so grateful to the Byzantine Empire and Hilde. The Thracians here believed that it was Hilde who brought them a good life, so they could enjoy these things here. Therefore, on the way to Odysseus, there were enthusiastic Thracians who came to entertain Hilde's troops with food and drinks. Of course, the army discipline was here, and facing their enthusiasm, the soldiers could only refuse.
And such a grand welcome.
By the time of Odyssey, it had only increased, not decreased.
Odysseus had prepared a grand welcoming ceremony, and the welcoming team had already arrived ten kilometers outside the city. Not only the governor of the Black Sea Province, but also many local people, spontaneously joined the welcoming team.
The third section of the fourth tune finally returns to Byzantium
Hild had traveled so long and visited so many provinces, but this was the first time she had received such a welcome. As expected, the more developed the economy, the higher the recognition of her rule. Developing the economy was really a hard truth... Hild thought so as she arrived at the city of Odysseus.
Odyssey has a developed economy.
So support Hilde's rule.
Similarly, it is precisely because this place has developed.
So there is actually no need for Hilde to be busy.
Everything here is in good order, and everything is on track. Even if Hilde wants to find some places to give some advice, it seems meaningless. The governors here strictly follow Hilde's original instructions and build here. The construction speed is very fast because the local Thracians are very cooperative. They support the construction of their hometown more than anyone else, and they are now very happy after being liberated from the brutal rule of the Thracian king.
Roads, villages, cities, workshops.
These all appeared quickly on this land.
Become a thriving existence.
As soon as Hilde saw this scene, she knew that she could live well here without him. As long as Odysseus and the Black Sea Province were given enough time, this place would become a place no less than the Greater Byzantine Province. Therefore, Hilde did not stay in Odysseus for long, but went to the port of Odysseus and took a ship to return to Byzantium.
After Hilde and others got on board.
It means that this journey is almost coming to an end.
Hilde looked at the sea she had not seen for a long time.
I feel cheerful inside.
After the death of the Thracian king, everything seemed to have been opened up and everything was different. At first, the Byzantine Kingdom lived on a narrow land and had to worry about the Thracians in the north all the time, but now, the situation has changed dramatically. Everything in the Thracian Kingdom has been inherited by the Byzantine Kingdom. Now the Byzantine Kingdom has vast undeveloped lands, treasures everywhere, and money that can be mined everywhere.
A strong, vigorous, and prosperous Byzantine Empire.
It has already been revealed.
Although now, the Byzantine Empire has not been noticed by the powerful powers in the Greek world.
