Amyntas didn't quite understand. "Of course it is." "...Sir, since you have decided my fate, please let me walk this road with you, no matter where it leads." At this time, Amyntas slowly bent down and knelt on one knee. "I will offer my strength. Gods, I will help you achieve your great cause in the name of Amyntas." "Okay, get up." Hilde patted Amyntas on the head. "You are the general here now." "General? Yes, I forgot about this." Amyntas stood up, feeling a little excited at this moment. "But, my previous job in Athens was just a centurion. Coming here to become a general, I really don't know what I should do... Should I train the troops?" "Yes, your first task is to improve the combat effectiveness of the army!!!" Hilde suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, frightening Amyntas so much that he took a step back. "Yes!"
"If something goes wrong when we go out of the city to attack the Thracians in three days, I will hold you accountable." "I promise to make this army the most powerful one here!" "Okay... since you said so, I'll leave it to you. By the way, a lot of crossbows have been made, and they have been training for a while, and they will be used soon." Hilde seemed to remember something when he said this, and asked Amyntas, "Let me ask you, when the Thracians launch an attack, how do they usually start the attack?" "The sword and shield soldiers will charge ahead, and the other troops will follow behind." "Okay, I'll give you another task. There are more than a thousand slaves in Byzantium. Go find me strong slaves. The more the better! I have important uses for these people!" "Yes!" "you can go now." Amyntas nodded and left quickly. The main reason why Hild wanted slaves was that his own side was not strong enough. Slave soldiers could alleviate the situation of insufficient combat power to a large extent. Moreover, the most important thing was that the Thracian troops often used sword and shield soldiers holding wooden shields to block arrows in front. This was a change they made to defend against Greek archers. At the same time, these sword and shield soldiers would block the spears of the heavy infantry, and then rush into the infantry formation to cut and kill everywhere. So, let the slave soldiers rush in front, equip them with axes, and throw them out to knock down the enemy's shield soldiers. In this way, the enemy will be completely exposed to spears and crossbows. The first section of the fourth tune: Open the city gate and leave the city "Open the city gates!" With a heavy sound, the gate of Byzantine City was slowly lowered. A huge drawbridge was built over the moat. The citizens of Byzantium standing at the city gate had not seen the scenery outside the city gate for a long time. Under Hilde's call, Byzantium once again opened the city gate. Now, the days of hiding in the city are over. The next thing to do is to restore to the past. At this time, Hilde stood at the front of the crowd. She looked at the wasteland outside the city and felt a little emotional. The scale of Byzantium is naturally not comparable to that of Constantinople in later times. The current size of the city is only a small area at the cape. But even so, in order to prevent the attack of the Thracians, the moat at the gate is three meters wide. Without any effective means of siege, the Thracians would never be able to take down Byzantium. But it is precisely this solid wall and wide moat that made the citizens of Byzantium think of hiding in the city to protect themselves. "Outside the city...there's nothing." Those frightened Byzantines calmed down a little after seeing the wasteland outside. Hilde took a deep breath and took a step forward. In this way, under the gaze of everyone, Hilde walked alone across the suspension bridge over the moat and came to the land outside. Looking around, the entire plain area was uninhabited, with only abandoned farmland and villages. Even the bodies that died outside had disappeared, probably eaten by vultures long ago. So Hilde turned around and said to the people behind him: "The Thracian camp is ten hours away from here. Don't be afraid."
"Let's go out first." Amyntas held his spear tightly and walked outside. Then, the Byzantine soldiers filed out and arrived at the land outside the city. The space inside the city was too narrow, but outside the city, the thousand soldiers could line up in an orderly manner. With the soldiers protecting them, the civilians in the city finally mustered up the courage to leave the city with all the tools they needed for agricultural work. Seeing this, Hilde came to Amyntas and ordered, "According to the plan, you will immediately take the soldiers to build outposts and towers. The area within ten kilometers outside the city must be strictly protected by the troops." "Yes, I obey." Amyntas waved his hand and led the soldiers outside. As a general, his responsibility is to protect everyone's safety. And Hilde, the governor, will be responsible for people's livelihood. There are seven villages ten kilometers away from Byzantium. Although they have been destroyed, the main buildings of the villages are still preserved. There are more than 4,000 people coming from Byzantium to plant crops. It is impossible to arrange for these 4,000 people in a short time. Therefore, according to the scale of 400 people in each village, Hilde divided the ownerless fields equally to everyone and took out wheat seeds from the warehouse of the city-state for these farmers. With his own land and the protection of soldiers. These farmers have also become more active. Farmers used wooden rakes to loosen the soil and then sowed seeds. There was a river outside the city, and farmers dug new canals to divert river water into the farmland. The houses that had fallen into disrepair were quickly renovated and reinforced with wood and clay. The same was true for Amyntas, who set up a guard post on the edge of the village and arranged soldiers to conduct reconnaissance. At the same time, a new temporary military camp was built on a high ground outside the city to prevent the invasion of Thracians. When all these tasks were completed, the outside of the city became lively. Now, all the work is proceeding in an orderly manner. Agriculture began to resume production, the army was constantly training, and with the efforts of the carpenters, the crossbows customized by Hilde were continuously delivered to the barracks to equip more soldiers. And then, there was another thing that Hilde had to deal with, which was the arrangement of slaves. The land in Byzantium was already very tight for the free people to plant crops, so these slaves could only do some odd jobs in the city. These wasted labors were very much needed by Hilde. Therefore, Amyntas selected about a hundred strong and healthy slaves according to Hilde's request and brought them to Hilde. Hilde was also very curious about these people, after all, they were an important source of soldiers for the future army. However, things are a little different. "..." Hilde looked at the slave in front of him and covered his face helplessly. "Sir, these are the best slaves in Byzantium." "I know...but, why aren't you wearing clothes?" The fourth tune, the second section, carefully selected slaves Hilde was completely speechless. In ancient Greece, it was quite normal for slaves to be naked. In Athens, people lived a wealthy life, and the slaves that Hilde saw on a daily basis were servants who served their masters, or teachers. However, many slaves who did heavy labor were basically naked. Now, the headhunter in charge of managing slaves pulled a group of strong men in front of him. "My lord, they are slaves. There is no need for them to wear clothes." "That……" Hilde wanted to say something, but had to swallow the words back. Fortunately, I was a man in my previous life and I was used to seeing that thing. Otherwise, I would be just a 15-year-old unmarried girl in this world. Seeing a hundred naked men standing in a row in front of me, I would be so ashamed that I would kill myself with a sword. So Hilde said to the headhunter, "Get out now and call Amyntas in."
"Yes, my lord." The headhunter didn't know why he offended Hilde. Generally speaking, in order to confirm the quality of slaves, slave owners must see the ** slaves. This is what the slave owner has to do regardless of whether they are men or women. The headhunter was confused and could only explain it by saying that the Athenians were more hypocritical. After the headhunter left, Amyntas walked in quickly. He turned around and saw a hundred large birds lined up in front of him. Hilde was lying on the table at this moment, looking helpless. Amyntas understood immediately. He looked at the slaves and said to them, "All of you turn your backs to the master!" "Yes……" The slaves were all a little dull. They turned around and pointed their butts towards Hilde. Wow, now, a hundred butts appeared neatly in front of Hilde. "My lord, I am extremely sorry. These are slaves who do hard labor. On weekdays... they are basically not given clothes to wear." "I know, I know." Hilde stood up and sighed helplessly, "Forget about not wearing clothes. I'm used to it anyway." "Get used to it?" Amyntas was a little surprised. "Where did you think you were?" "No, I didn't think of anything." "Would you please report to me first on the status of these efforts?" "Yes... among these slaves, there are forty-five Thracians, twelve Egyptians, eight Carthaginians, and thirty-five Medes. The youngest is sixteen years old and the oldest is twenty-eight years old. They are all in their prime. Many of them are defeated soldiers who were sold here." Amyntas muttered this and then walked behind these slaves very seriously. He stared at the bodies of these slaves, and sometimes he squatted down and stared at the slaves' buttocks with a thoughtful look. Hilde frowned. Could it be that Amyntas has that kind of hobby? "Amyntas." "My lord, I am here." "If you...if there's one you like, why don't you take it back first? We can talk about the slave soldiers tomorrow." "Ah? I... I was just looking at the muscles of these people. After all, they are going to go to the battlefield. If their bodies are not strong enough, it will not work." Amyntas also found that he was misunderstood. He scratched his head a little embarrassedly. He looked around carefully and nodded with satisfaction. "Sir, the headhunter did not deceive you. These people are indeed healthy. If they fight, there should be no problem." "Is it." Hilde walked over to Amyntas and also looked at the slave carefully. "Can you tell whether a slave is good or bad by looking at his butt?" "It can tell if the slave has diarrhea, and the condition of his gluteal and leg muscles." "???" Hilde frowned and looked at Amyntas. "What's the matter, sir?"
"You know a lot about this?" "Not really... but I helped a friend who trades slaves before, and learned from him how to identify good slaves. For example, this Egyptian, although he is short, he actually has well-developed muscles." Amyntas reached out and pinched the Egyptian's buttocks hard. "The gluteal muscles are very strong. If he were not a slave, he would become a very graceful warrior if he carefully trained and sculpted his muscles." "Alas……" Hilde couldn't help but reveal a look of disgust. "You said you don't have this hobby..." "I really didn't!" "Well, it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. I'm a very open-minded person. Whether you like men or women, I support you." Hilde shrugged, then looked at the slave's buttocks, and then at Amyntas's burly figure. She thought for a moment and then said, "But... you have to take safety measures." Chapter 4 Section 3 Preferential Policies for Slaves "Sir, you really misunderstood..." "It's okay, it's not important. Since you said that these people are in good health, I'm relieved." Hilde nodded, then glanced around and asked, "Can these people speak Greek?" "Will do." "Okay, since you can all understand me, then I have something to say. Also, don't turn around, just turn your back to me." Hilde didn't want to see a hundred big birds appear in front of him. "Soon, we will take up arms and fight the Thracians, but our fighting power is not enough. We need enough soldiers to protect the safety of the city-state. If the city-state falls, not only the civilians and nobles here, but also you slaves will not be able to survive. And you are strong and healthy, which means that your master treats you well on weekdays. Therefore, I believe in your loyalty and I am willing to give you a chance." Hearing what Hilde said, the slaves looked at each other, at a loss. Hilde walked behind them, saying: "Now, I will let you put on clothes, take up weapons, and go with the army to resist the Thracians. If you kill one enemy in the battle, I will give you a year's harvest. If you kill two enemies, it will be two years' harvest. If you kill three enemies... I will give you a piece of land and redeem you to become free people." When Hilde said this, the slaves were all shocked. Become a free citizen! ? What this means is self-evident. After they became slaves, they never thought that there would be such a day. In ancient Greece, once you become a slave, you are basically a slave for life. It is almost impossible to redeem a slave and make him a free man. Some slaves are highly skilled in martial arts and are deeply trusted by their masters, but even so, they are just slaves until their death. However, Hilde is not only willing to make them free men, but also gives them land to cultivate. Although killing three enemies sounds a bit difficult, they never doubt that they can do it. "Sir, are you telling the truth?!" At this time, a slave turned around and looked at Hilde in surprise. "Didn't I tell you not to turn around?" "Ah! Sir, please forgive me, I, I am too excited!" "Never mind. Anyway, what I said must be true, but the premise is that you really killed three enemies. You can't cheat or attack people around you to grab the credit. If you are discovered, you will not be allowed to live, let alone become a slave. During this period of time, you will be under the charge of General Amyntas. You must receive formal military training. Once you find the enemy, you must go to the battlefield immediately! Changing your destiny starts from now." "Yes--!"
At this time, Amyntas said helplessly: "Lord Hilde, the citizens will not be happy about this." "Why wouldn't they be happy? All these slaves belong to the nobles. If we liberate them, the nobles will be the first to disagree. The common people will definitely not say anything. Didn't you see how happy the common people were after the land was distributed?" Hilde pinched her waist and said helplessly, "I won't indulge these nobles. Once their interests are damaged, they will keep complaining. Don't you think that if Byzantium is taken over, they will all die." "Indeed."