This made her very angry. She gathered her belongings and once again headed back to her ship. At this time, a man was standing at the dock, seemingly waiting for something. After seeing Aspasia coming over, he immediately walked over quickly. "Aspasia, may I go with you?" "you are?" Aspasia was confused. The man raised his head and smiled faintly. "My name is Herodotus." Chapter 1, Section 3: The Mother Who Visits the City-State The cold winter has a great impact on Thrace.
It is located in northern Greece, and the climate conditions here are not as good as those in Athens, Sparta and other places. The conditions in Byzantium were not bad. Although it was winter, Hilde did not need to wear heavy clothes. Ordinary woolen clothes were enough to keep out the cold. Of course, not everyone here could afford wool. Most people still wore thick linen clothes made of multiple layers of linen to keep out the cold. Therefore, if there was no work to do, most people would still stay in their houses and warm themselves by the fire to keep out the cold. And Hilde, the king of Byzantium. Now, strolling through the city streets. She has been in power for more than a month and now has complete power in her own hands. She set up many departments and assigned officials to take charge of them. She was also very smart to let the citizens' assembly determine the officials of these specific departments, so that Hilde did not need to work hard to select talents. With an efficient administrative agency, the current Byzantine city is no longer the same as it was in the past. "His Majesty!" When the workers who were carrying goods on the street saw Hilde, they stopped and saluted. "Your Majesty is still as beautiful today." "Thank you." In response to everyone's praise, Hilde just responded with a faint smile. The port has been reopened, and merchants have begun to trade with surrounding city-states. In Byzantium, the previously abandoned iron and silver mines have begun to resume production. The captives from Thrace, on a voluntary basis, became "foreigners" in Byzantium and gained the right to live in Byzantium. In return, they had to work and find a job in Byzantium to make a living. These laborers push carts and walk on the streets. Most of the people were Thracians. The Thracian men were strong and healthy, and were especially grateful for the opportunity Hilde had given them. At least they don't have to go hungry anymore. Now, the wheat fields outside the city are growing particularly well, and it looks like this will also be a year of bumper harvest. The citizens of the city were very happy about the future, but Hilde knew better than anyone that the future would never be peaceful. At least, the threat from the Thracian king would always exist. No matter what, Hilde had to prepare to fight him before he turned south. Therefore, Hilde was also looking for opportunities. She had to seize every opportunity to promote the development of the city-state so that Byzantium could have strong material resources. Of course, these are not problems that can be solved right now.
Hield needs to take his time. At this moment, a three-oared ship with Miletus sails docked at the port of Byzantium. Miletus had actually cut off its aid to Byzantium. When Hilde killed the tyrant, the aid had already stopped. The sudden appearance of Miletus' ships surprised Hilde. So, as the king of Byzantium, Hilde sent someone to bring the visitor. She herself went to the meeting hall of the Citizens' Assembly and waited for the arrival of the guest. only. What Hilde didn't expect was. The visitor turned out to be his own mother. "Hilde, Hilde has become the king here?" "Yes, Lady Aspasia." Amyntas led Aspasia and Herodotus and walked quickly towards the meeting hall. "Your Majesty led us to get rid of the rule of the tyrant and resolved the crisis in Byzantium. At the same time, she also led the army of Byzantium to defeat the Thracians. She was supported by the citizens of the city and the soldiers, and was finally crowned as the king of Byzantium. Now, Byzantium has become the Kingdom of Byzantium." "Gods be damned, this is unbelievable." Aspasia was terrified. She didn't expect that her daughter would do such a thing. Miletus was an aristocratic republic, while Athens was a democratic city-state. Both city-states had abolished the monarchy hundreds of years ago and had long regarded the monarchy as a symbol of backwardness. However, Hilde revived the monarchy and firmly controlled a city-state of 10,000 people in her own hands, which was really unimaginable. Aspasia asked with some concern: "Hilde, she's not hurt, is she?" "Please rest assured, Your Majesty is an oracle, how could he be injured?" "Oracle... How is this possible?" "Your Majesty, we saw with our own eyes that Your Majesty directly chopped off the head of the Thracian chieftain." Hearing this, Aspasia was quite shocked and said: "Gods! Me! Is this still my daughter?" At this moment, an idea suddenly flashed through Aspasia's mind. The Spartans were so powerful on the land battlefield, and it was said that they were led by a "hero". It was surprising that Athens had no oracle for a long time. But if Hilde was the hero, then everything would make sense. Chapter 1, Section 4: A Visit from Herodotus So, it was Pericles who abandoned the hero who should have belonged to Athens? Aspasia felt a little scared when she thought of this. "Herodotus." "I'm here." "Do you...believe that my daughter...Hilde, will be a hero?" "In just two months, they have accomplished all these things. If they are not heroes, I am afraid it is difficult to explain what is happening. The Thracians are brave and good at fighting. Most of the residents of Byzantium are Milesians. How could they be able to defeat the Thracians? Moreover, look at this city. The citizens are in good spirits, and the laborers and slaves are working hard. This lively city does not look like the Byzantine city that has been cut off from aid by Miletus." Herodotus smiled and said:
"At least, I feel that everyone has hope in their hearts, and this hope obviously cannot be brought to them by the gods in the sky. It must be a wise leader who can achieve this. Therefore, if Lord Hilde is the hero of Byzantine City and the king of the Byzantine Kingdom, then everything can be explained." "That's right..." Aspasia nodded. "Why didn't you tell me, Sissi?" With such questions in mind, Aspasia and Herodotus came to the council hall of Byzantium. When Aspasia walked into the meeting hall and saw the familiar long silver hair and graceful figure, she couldn't help but shed tears. This was not someone else, not the king of the Byzantine Empire, nor the hero believed in by Amyntas, but her own daughter, Hilde. "Sissi..." "Ok?" Hilde turned around and froze in place. "Mother... mother!" "Sissi!" Aspasia quickly ran to Hilde and hugged her in her arms. "My child... It's great that you are okay, you are still alive..." "Mother...how did you get here?" "I... I returned to Athens and heard that your father had abandoned you in Byzantium, so I came directly to find you. I was afraid that something might happen to you on the way, so I..." At this point, Aspasia wiped her tears, then took two steps back and said with a smile, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I should call you by your honorific title now. After all, you are the king of Byzantium. I'm sorry." "Mother, you don't have to do this." Hilde walked quickly to Aspasia's side. "I don't care who I am, I am your daughter." "That's good, kid... I'm glad you're okay." "Mother, let's not talk here. I thought it was an envoy sent by Miletus, so we were preparing here. Since it's you, then come home with me. Let's go back and drink wine while talking about what happened during this period of time." Hilde gently took Aspasia's hand. When she was about to take her mother back, Aspasia quickly grabbed Hilde and said: "By the way, child, there is a gentleman who wants to see you." "Who?" "Herodotus." Hearing the name, Hilde's mind suddenly became much clearer. Herodotus… This man is a famous historian, known as the “Father of History”. His History is the origin of the word “history” in the West. Anyone who knows some ancient Greek history knows this master very well, because if you want to understand the history books of that time, you must read Histories written by Herodotus. But Hilde didn't know that. Why would such a capable person come to me to look for me? What is the purpose?
So Hilde asked, "Why did he come to see me?" "I don't know about that, but he is a friend of your father and a friend of Phocles. I know him, so I brought him here with me. How about you talk to Herodotus first?" "Yeah... that's okay." Hilde nodded, and then said to Amyntas: "Amyntas, please send my mother to the mansion." "Yes, Your Majesty." Amyntas nodded heavily, then left with Aspasia. At this time, Herodotus, who had been standing outside the door, came over with a faint smile. Hilde naturally did not dare to neglect this master. She walked quickly to Herodotus and said with a smile: "I wonder what the famous Herodotus wants to talk to me about?" "His Majesty." Herodotus bowed slightly. "No need to be so reserved." "Yes, Your Majesty." Herodotus raised his head, looked at Hilde carefully, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to have grown so big." "Have you seen me before?" "Of course, ten years ago, I was still in Athens. At that time, Phocles and I went to Pericles' mansion to attend a dinner party. At that time, you were naughty and pushed the flower bed on the second floor down and hit Pericles on the head, knocking him unconscious. At that time, I saw your appearance and remembered it in my heart." Chapter 1, Section 5, The Age of Heroes Returning Why do I have to remember such a strange thing? Hilde felt helpless. "Well, let's get back to the question just now." "Yes, I came to Byzantium this time because I wanted to learn about the Ionian colonies and how they are dealing with the situation in Thrace. After all, Athens also knew about the news about the Thracian king." Herodotus smiled mysteriously. "Then, when I was at the port, I learned that Pericles exiled you to Byzantium. Although he said that he wanted you to grow in a different environment, I knew that this was exile." "and then?" Hilde also smiled and asked: "Surely there's more than just this reason?" "Yes, it really can't escape your eyes." At this time, Herodotus turned around and looked outside at the city of Byzantium. "Byzantium was originally a colony built by us Ionians. I came here once, twenty years ago. At that time, I asked the citizens of Byzantium and learned that it was a thriving city. The pioneers at that time were eager to take root here and make the coastal areas of Thrace become Ionian land. But later... the Persians came, and Miletus and other Ionian city-states were all occupied. After that, the Persians lost, and all the city-states were rebuilt. Then the connection between Byzantium and its mother city Miletus became weaker and weaker." "So what do you think, now?"
"Now? You've only ruled here for more than two months. You can't see anything yet." Herodotus did not mean to laugh at Hilde. He sighed and continued: "When you were a child, you must have heard the stories in the epics from your servants, right?"