The third quarter of the third period: Hield's strategy to deal with the enemy "But don't worry, everyone. On the one hand, Miletus will not stop providing us with aid in the short term. On the other hand, the Thracians are not as terrible as we think. It is estimated that there are less than a thousand Thracians outside the city. They are barbarians. The main purpose of the battle is to plunder. Isn't a city like Amphipolis richer than Byzantium? Why do they gather a large force to plunder our Byzantine city?" Hilde's words were like a placebo, calming everyone down a little. "We now have nearly a thousand elite soldiers, and their weapons and equipment are far superior to those of the Thracians. If we eliminate all the Thracians entrenched around Byzantium, you can leave the city and return to your farmland. As long as you can farm, even if Miletus abandons this place, you can still stand here." "Lord Oracle!" At this time, a female noble knelt on the ground sincerely. "Please save us." "Save us! Lord Oracle!" These nobles knelt on the ground one by one, begging Hilde to bring God's will to them. Hilde took a deep breath. Everything was going steadily according to her idea. This was what Hilde was looking forward to the most. So Hilde walked forward and pulled up an old woman: "Everyone, please rest assured, Byzantium City is in my hands. I will make this city survive from danger." Facing Hilde's charming smile.
At this time, everyone finally felt relieved. "Let's clean up here first." "Yes, miss." Amyntas, along with several of his men, began to clean up the three bodies on the ground. After getting rid of Patrofilus and Themis, the control of the city basically fell into Hilde's hands. After that, Hilde basically had his own base. Although the Byzantine city had a population of only more than 10,000, it could only be regarded as a small state among the city-states. However, Hilde was confident that he could rely on this small state to continuously expand his sphere of influence and eventually become a powerful lord. The current problem needs to be solved urgently. That was the case with the Thracians. So, when Hilde was elected as the Archon of Byzantium, the first thing she did was to ask Amyntas to take the light infantry out of the city and explore the surrounding areas. In the end, the results also verified Hilde's conjecture. About 20 kilometers north of Byzantium, there were about 400 Thracian soldiers resting here. This was less than Hilde imagined. If there were only 400 people, she could still find a way to deal with it. After that, Hilde also planned to start with weapons. The Thracians were a semi-nomadic people, almost barbarians. Their metal smelting technology was very poor, and their soldiers basically did not wear armor. At most, they used leather armor to protect key parts. However, most of the time, the elite Thracian warriors still went into battle lightly, wielding Thracian swords or axes and rushing towards the enemy. Fearlessness of life and death was a typical feature of them. And because they did not like armor, and their shields were not very strong, if there were weapons designed to kill efficiently, they could be restrained. Therefore, things like crossbows came into Hilde's sight. In ancient Greece, crossbows actually already existed. However, the crossbow of ancient Greece was a kind of thing called a belly crossbow. Although it was powerful, the manufacturing process was very complicated and there were many problems. As a result, this advanced weapon was eventually replaced by the bows of nomadic peoples, and the crossbow of ancient Greece was basically lost. Therefore, the Eastern crossbow with better quality, simpler design, greater power and efficiency became the target that Hilde intended to attack. This crossbow was much easier to use than the belly crossbow of ancient Greece and was also easier to manufacture. So Hilde took the time and spent several days. Finally, the drawings of the Oriental Crossbow were drawn. Hilde was also glad that as a military geek, he could still remember the knowledge he had learned when he was bored. With the blueprint in hand, Hilde left her room and went to find Amyntas. "Amyntas." "Yes, Your Excellency the Archon."
Amyntas had changed his title, after all, Hilde was now the Archon of Byzantium. Hilde handed the blueprint to Amyntas and ordered: "Call all the carpenters in the city and make this for me according to the blueprint. Winter is coming soon, and the Thracians who are short of food will definitely go south to plunder. We need weapons that can kill the enemy." "Is... isn't this a crossbow? It feels different from anything I've seen before." "Yes, this is the crossbow I redesigned." Seeing the crossbow drawn on the papyrus, Amyntas looked at Hilde with some surprise. He originally thought that Hilde might be a strong man and a natural politician, but he didn't expect that Hilde could also do the weapon design work that should be the responsibility of mathematicians and philosophers. So Amyntas sorted out the papyrus and said to Hilde, "Yes, I will contact all the carpenters in the city now. How many do you need to build in total?" “We’ll build as many as we can.” Hilde estimated that a skilled carpenter should be able to make one in a day. So, how could we find more than a dozen carpenters in the city of Byzantium? In a month, it is estimated that at least 300 crossbows can be made. Chapter 3, Section 4: The Archons of Byzantium In the vicinity of Byzantium, besides farmland, there are forests surrounding the Black Sea, which have wood that is very suitable for making crossbows. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the wood problem. Therefore, now it is time to let the craftsmen start to rush to prepare for the battle. After receiving the order, Amyntas took the crossbow design drawings, summoned the carpenters of the entire Byzantine city, and arranged the manufacture of crossbows to everyone. So, after receiving the task, the carpenters started working first. Soon, the first crossbow was completed. Amyntas also took the lead in testing the effectiveness of the crossbow. The power of the oriental crossbow is not as good as the ancient Greek belly crossbow, but it is still more powerful than the ordinary wooden bows and arrows equipped by the current troops. One crossbow arrow directly pierced the bronze helmet at a distance of 100 steps. Faced with such power, Hilde was already very satisfied. So Hilde was relieved. The appearance of these crossbows would make Hilde's troops have a great killing efficiency when facing the Thracians. "Mr. Archon, you are so awesome!" Amyntas held the crossbow and said happily: "With this thing, we will have the upper hand even against the Spartans." "That's not it." Hilde smiled and shook her head. "The key to victory in war lies in people, not weapons. Even though we have crossbows, if our morale is low, we may still lose to those warmongers. However, at least for now, it should be enough for the Thracians." Hilde took the oriental crossbow from Amyntas and examined it carefully. "I didn't expect that the carpenters in Byzantium were so skilled in their craftsmanship. So far, this crossbow is well made." "Of course." Amyntas patted his chest confidently. “I told them that they had to do it well!” "Really... By the way, I have another task for you." "Sir, please give me your orders!" "Go tell all the carpenters that the names of all the craftsmen must be engraved on the crossbows and all the crossbow arrows. Whoever made them should have their names engraved on them. In addition to the crossbows, the same applies to other weapons, including coppersmiths. The weapons and arrows they forge must all have their names engraved on them." Hilde looked at the crossbow arrows in his hand, but the smile on his face was a little elusive. Amyntas didn't quite understand the significance of doing this, but now he was loyal to Hilde. As long as Hilde said it, it must be correct! "I'll give the order right away!" Amyntas left again with Hilde's orders. Of course, Amyntas didn't know Hilde's true purpose.
As for Hilde, she was willing to give those craftsmen a chance. If they could make everything well, then there would be no problem. However, if any problems occurred during use, such as damage to the crossbow or a broken spearhead, it would be obvious that they cut corners or did not take the manufacture of weapons seriously. Then Hilde would punish the manufacturer accordingly. Hilde has also thought about the method of punishment. Of course, they have to prove it to the world with their blood. If we don't take this matter seriously, the consequences will be disastrous. Time passed quickly and many days passed. Hilde spent the day in his room writing something, and in the afternoon he inspected the troops' training. Now, forty or fifty crossbows have been distributed to the soldiers. These archers have given high praise to this crossbow, especially knowing that this crossbow was invented by Hilde, everyone respected Hilde even more. However, Hilde, who suddenly appeared, did not completely gain the trust of the Byzantine city. In the military camp, some officers and soldiers would discuss whether Hilde was really an oracle. Some people believed that Hilde had exposed the tyrant's lies, saved the city of Byzantium, and invented this powerful crossbow. But others believed that since Hilde had solved the tyrant, he should restore the city of Byzantium to its former democratic system. As a result, Hilde himself has now become the new tyrant. Hilde knew both sides' views. But that's okay. Because although some people have doubts, if they want to survive, they must have Hilde's strength. Hilde handed over all the matters in the military camp to Amyntas. Although Amyntas had seen Hilde's true face, he admired Hilde even more after seeing that scene. Hilde could also see his loyalty, so now in addition to Sophia, Amyntas has also become Hilde's right-hand man. Every day, Amyntas trained the soldiers in the barracks. His strictness made her a demon in the hearts of the Byzantines. The third tune, the fifth section, the most special Sophia "Cheer up, everyone!" As always, today Amyntas' roar still echoed in the military camp. These Byzantine soldiers repeatedly practiced the most basic formations. Amyntas mixed his troops with the Byzantine troops, with one hundred heavy infantrymen as the main force. Most of these soldiers wore bronze armor or linen armor, holding spears and round shields, and some of the richer ones were equipped with short swords and daggers. When the war broke out, these one hundred heavy infantrymen were the core of the resistance against the enemy, indestructible and unstoppable. In addition, about 300 light infantrymen were deployed on the left and right wings of the heavy infantry. Their role was to use javelins to throw when the enemy attacked, disrupting the enemy's formation. When the enemy's heavy infantry appeared, the light infantrymen could attack the weak points of the heavy infantry array on both wings. The other 400 archers were deployed in front of the team. They fired arrows when the enemy attacked, and when the enemy rushed up, they immediately retreated to the protection range of the infantry. This is a very basic tactic in ancient Greece. However, these Byzantines didn't seem to understand. "Listen up to me! The Thracians are all barbarians. The only way for civilization to defeat barbarism is to use the power of civilization! They don't know how to deploy troops in battle formations. When fighting, they just rush forward. So, when the battle breaks out, you must stabilize your formation. Only in this way can you completely defeat the Thracians!" Seeing that the soldiers looked a little aggrieved, Amyntas scolded them loudly. At this time, Hilde came to the barracks and saw this scene. "Amyntas is serious." Hilde couldn't help but sigh a little. Sophia, who was standing next to Hilde, looked at the scene with a smile: "This Amyntas is a kind man, and he was well-known in Athens. I just don't know why he would accept the task of murdering you. I think such an upright person would not agree to it." "Even if you don't agree, you have to agree." Hilde looked at Amyntas with a wry smile.
"He knows about this matter. If he doesn't agree, the end will be death." "That's right... I guess when Lord Pericles told him about this, he already knew that if he didn't obey, the final outcome would be death." Sophia sighed helplessly, "But now, my master, you are out of danger, and Byzantium is under your control. We can be said to have a foothold." "Yes, Sophia." Hilde suddenly remembered something. "What's the matter, Master?" "From now on, you can call me by my name, my nickname." "How can this be possible? You are the master and I am just a slave..." "Although you are my slave, there is no need for those red tapes between you and me. It was fine in Athens, but now Byzantium is my place. You call me sir and master every day. What's the difference between you and these soldiers? I want you to be special, so from today on, you can call me by my nickname. When others hear it, they will know that you, Sophia, are an extremely important person to me, Hilde, and naturally they will not have any thoughts about you." Sophia was stunned when she heard Hilde say this. "Do you really mean that?" "Yeah, and wouldn't it be more friendly to call her by her name?" "Well, that's fine... Then I'll give it a try, Sissi?" "Well... okay, let's do this from now on." Hilde was just in a whim, but when Sophia called out the word Sissi, Hilde still felt a little emotional. This nickname is actually a shortened version of the name Hilde, and only Hilde's mother, Aspasia, would call out this name. In the whole of Athens, the only people who can love Hilde from the bottom of their hearts are Sophia and Aspasia. But now, Hilde is afraid that she will not see her mother in this world for a long, long time. "Sissi, are you missing your wife?" At this time, Sophia gently hugged Hilde from behind. "NO, I have not." "But you felt a little disappointed just now?" "Oh? So what?" Hilde rolled his eyes. "Well, I have to go talk to Amyntas about something. Come with me." "Yes, Lord...Sissi." Sophia didn't know what happened to Hilde, but she was still very happy now. After all, she could call out Hilde's nickname in person, which was an honor not everyone could have. So, Sophia jumped and followed Hilde, and she had lost the appearance of the cold and serious maid. "Amyntas." Hilde walked towards Amyntas with a faint smile on his face. When Amyntas looked back, he immediately knelt on one knee: "Respected sir, Amyntas is here, may I help you?" "Get up." Hilde looked at the soldiers behind Amyntas and said with a smile, "I saw the scene of you training the troops just now." Section 3: Land as a Reward
(Seeing some readers complaining, let me explain here that Xixi and Xixi have the same pronunciation. When the word "茜" is used as a female name in foreign languages, it is pronounced as xi, not qian. And I think the word "茜" is cuter, so I wrote it like this~) "My lord, do you have any advice for me?" Amyntas also became nervous.