Troy Square was a space that could accommodate tens of thousands of people. There was a round fountain in the center of the square, and a statue of Zeus stood in the center of the fountain.
There was a statue of a god every few meters in the square, including Apollo, Hera, Hermes, Athena, and other gods.
At this moment, the square near the palace was full of citizens who came to participate in the Citizen Assembly. They were whispering to each other and discussing.
After a while, the king came out of the palace and walked to the high platform in the square step by step. He looked around and the crowd became silent. Everyone looked at King Priam with hope, waiting for him to speak.
The king spoke slowly, his voice sonorous.
"Dear citizens, I am King Priam. This time, I gather you mainly to decide who will be sent to Greece."
"You all know that I sent Antenavos as an envoy of peace to Greece, with the olive branch of peace, to ask the Greeks to make amends for the robbery of my sister Hesione, and to return her to their country; but the Greeks laughed at him, and Antenavos was humiliated in Greece, and was driven back by them."
When the king said this, his face was full of grief and indignation. The citizens also showed the same expression. An envoy was driven out. This was a provocation to Troy!
The new generation of citizens had long been used to the power of their city. How could they tolerate this?
The King glanced at the people and was very pleased. In fact, when Troy was destroyed, the young Priam had single-handedly rebuilt it to its present size, and his prestige was very high. He then continued, "Since the Greeks could not make amends by peaceful means, and my sister Hesione could not return to her kingdom sooner, then I would like to send a strong army, and by force of arms achieve what could not be achieved by courtesy."
At this moment, Antenavos stood up excitedly and was the first to support the king's suggestion. He recalled, "Dear citizens, I, Antenavos, have been tormented day and night by the humiliation I suffered as a diplomat in Greece. Whenever I recall the past, I am in great pain and blame myself for not being able to recover the lost dignity for the Kingdom of Troy."
Antenavos became emotional and waved his hands. "The Greeks are all peace maniacs and cowards. Last time, I went there with peace, but I was slighted and insulted by these maniacs. This time, we should use powerful force to make those cowards understand that the dignity of the Kingdom of Troy cannot be violated and trampled on."
The speech of Antenavos aroused the indignation of the people against the Greeks, and they roared and demanded war to teach the arrogant Greeks a lesson.
Then an elderly Trojan, Pentos, rose from the crowd. He raised his hands slightly and pressed them down, somewhat calming the anger of the citizens.
"Citizens, when I was a child, I heard from my father, Otis, that the gods had passed down an oracle. If one of the princes of the Laomedon family were to bring back a wife from Greece, the Trojans would face a calamity."
"Therefore, we cannot be blinded by battle glory. Let us, my friends, live in peace and tranquillity, and do not gamble our lives in a war, in which, perhaps, we lose our most elementary freedom. "
There were murmurs and sighs from the crowd.
"Pentos is an alarmist. Why haven't I heard of an oracle?" an old man about the same age as him said.
"Pentos deserves our respect, but he is old. We can understand that he seeks a stable and comfortable life, but we must regain our dignity as long as we do not wash away the humiliation we have suffered."
"Without dignity, it is impossible for us to obtain a stable and comfortable environment." This was what a middle-aged citizen said, and it received many people's praise.
"Yes, we can only use powerful force to make the cowardly Greeks understand that Troy is not the Troy it used to be."
Every day, dozens of merchant ships from various Greek cities passed through the Dardanelles Strait. At this time, they all had to pay taxes. This was one of the reasons why Troy had been rich for many years, but the Greeks often had conflicts with them. This was because Troy had been defeated and destroyed by the Greeks.
Therefore, this young citizen's words were strongly agreed by the citizens around him. Without dignity, how could they collect taxes from the merchant ships of other states?
This was a matter of everyone's welfare.
Pentos' proposal was strongly resented, and King Priam was urged to disregard the threats of a very old man, and to act boldly on what was in his heart.
And everyone agreed that the most suitable envoy to go to Greece this time was Prince Paris.
"Prince Aeschylus and Prince Hellenos are prophets, and usually suitable envoys, but now, we need a prince of military force."
"Hector can't go. Prince Paris, who can kill the sirens, is our preferred candidate!"
Faced with the enthusiasm of the citizens, Pei Zi Yun had no choice but to go on stage. He walked up to the high platform. "Dear citizens, just now, someone criticized me. Paris, you are the most suitable candidate, why don't you go?"
"But dear citizens, I have just returned from Mount Ida, and I do not know much about diplomatic etiquette. How can I go to Greece? And I have just married Onone, and I want to stay in the city for a while. If I go to Greece, it will take at least a year. That is too long. "
The citizens below the platform roared with laughter. Because of Paris's straightforward words, they liked him a lot.
Immediately, someone said, "Antenavos is good at diplomatic etiquette, but he was humiliated and chased back. Now, we need a prince of military force to go to Greece."
Another noble in the city said, "As for Onone's embrace, it is very good, but we will compensate you. We can give Paris ten virgin slaves as maids."
At this point, there was another burst of laughter.
Pei Zi Yun replied, "But my brother Hellenos and the respectable Pentos both said that there is an oracle, saying that it is not good for me to go to Greece, and that it will bring disaster to Troy."
The citizens below the platform replied, "If the gods make a mistake, then we will bear the consequences together."
Pei Zi Yun looked at King Priam, and saw that he nodded slightly. Knowing that the time was right, he said, "If that is the case, I will not decline."
As soon as he said this, a Plum Blossom appeared in front of him and quickly enlarged, turning into a translucent information interface. It floated in front of him with a faint sense of light, and data appeared in front of him.
"Mission: The will of the people — The will of the gods cannot be disobeyed, but you (Paris) cannot bear the responsibility of starting a war (completed)."
Pei Zi Yun had just tapped on it when his vision went black, and a strange phenomenon occurred.
He saw that above his head, there was thick black gas, forming black clouds. What was more terrifying was that there were many snake heads sticking out of the clouds, as if they were going to swallow everything around them.
At this time, the snakes kept swimming towards the citizens in the clouds. As they swam past, the sun went out, and the ghosts of the underworld howled in the square. The citizens laughed foolishly, but their eyes were filled with tears.
However, this phenomenon only lasted for a moment. In the blink of an eye, another Fate Point was added, and a new mission was issued.
"Mission: Find a new ally (Amazon Kingdom)."
"My black gas decreased by 70%, but it did not disappear into thin air. It was only transferred to the citizens. However, in history, the citizens all bled for Troy. After Troy fell, almost all the citizens were slaughtered. Whether I transferred it or not, the result was the same."
"Only Paris himself has a little chance of survival."
"Find a new ally?"
"That's right. In history, the Amazon Kingdom did not send any troops. It was just the Queen who acted on her own." Pei Zi Yun thought to himself.
"I hope that Prince Paris will return victorious from his diplomatic mission to Greece." The citizens did not know of the changes, and an elder was still speaking.
"Victory!"
"Revenge!"
"Victory!"
The people in the square shouted in unison, their voices piercing through the clouds. It was clear that the Trojans were humiliated by their defeat decades ago, and their thirst for victory.
"Since all the citizens in the General Assembly have decided to appoint Paris as the ambassador to Greece, Paris must not let everyone down. You must show your fiercest side, and let the arrogant Greeks know the strength of Troy." King Priam said.
"At the same time, in order to strengthen the prestige of Paris's diplomatic mission and increase the strength of the diplomatic mission, I have decided to build a factory on Mount Ida to re-build large warships." The king issued another order to build a factory on Mount Ida.
"Gather all the citizens in the city and train them. Those who do not have enough weapons can be sold at a fair price by the national treasury."
The General Assembly decided all the important matters of the city. Every citizen had the right to vote in the General Assembly, and every citizen could be elected as a councilor. Every citizen had to take turns to participate in the Jury Court, but they also had obligations, and the most important of these obligations was to fight.
Every citizen had to prepare their own armor and weapons to join the army. Every soldier's armor, weapons, and horses had to be purchased with their own money, and not supplied by the country. The country only paid for the various logistical expenses during battles.
However, there would always be relatively poor citizens. At this time, the national treasury would sell weapons at a fair price, so that every citizen could be armed.
"There is still some time before the diplomatic mission to Greece. Hector, I will send you to Pheligia now. You must fight for the support of the Pheligia Kingdom, and form an alliance with them."
"Yes, father, I will not let you down." Hector said solemnly.
"Paris and Ephobus will first go to the neighboring Percinia together, and fight for the support of this kingdom and an alliance." King Priam arranged everything in order.
"Father, we need to fight for more allies. I think Ephobus can go to the neighboring Percinia. I have a better place to go, and that is the Amazon Kingdom, which is further away. I am willing to fight for the support of the Amazons and an alliance for you, father." Pei Zi Yun stood up to express his different opinion, and said the country he was planning to go to.
"I also heard that monsters have appeared in the Amazon. I want to help the Amazon Queen to get rid of the monsters. This way, it will be easier to fight for friendship, and easier to get support and an alliance."
In history, the Amazon Queen Pentecilia still led an army to help Troy, mainly because she saw a sika deer when she was hunting. She threw her spear at it, but unexpectedly, it hit her beloved sister Hippolyte, which led to the Goddess of Vengeance hunting her down. No sacrifice could appease the Goddess of Vengeance.
Pentecilia hoped to use an expedition to get out of her predicament, so she chose twelve female warriors to come to Troy. Although they were all heroines, they were not part of an organized army.
Furthermore, Pentecilia came too late, and died in battle before she could do anything. If she had come earlier, she might have been able to cause more casualties to the Greeks.
King Priam gladly agreed to Pei Zi Yun's suggestion. After all, if they could gain an additional ally, it would only be beneficial to Troy and no harm at all.
The king looked around, "Citizens, this time we are about to face a war, but the number of our troops is far from enough. I hope that the lads present here can show your courage, and contribute your greatest strength to the Kingdom of Troy in defeating the Greeks."
"Meeting adjourned."
At the end of the meeting, the young men of Troy showed enough enthusiasm, and one by one, they signed up to join the army and contribute to the upcoming war.
The Trojans were full of fighting spirit at this moment. They longed for war more than ever, and their courage and determination filled them with confidence for the upcoming war.
Pei Zi Yun also left the meeting, and looked at these people, "Now, everything is based on the collective will of the people. In history, these people have indeed bled dry for Troy."
"Now, I'm afraid that Elder Antenor is already disloyal?" Pei Zi Yun's eyes flashed, and he looked at an old man with a gloomy face.
However, to be fair, it wasn't considered disloyal, it could only be considered as thinking of a way out — Antenor had helped the king rebuild Troy, and had contributed greatly. However, during the battle of Troy, he was against the war from the start, and encouraged the king to return Helen in exchange for the Greeks' retreat.
Furthermore, when the Greek envoys came, he entertained and protected the Greek envoys. Hence, after the city was breached, there were only a few survivors, and the corpses of the Trojans were buried by this family.
However, this was also human nature. Not everyone hoped to establish hegemony, and obtain the glory of a great country.
Some people only hoped to enjoy their current wealth, although this was laughable. Even if Troy wished for peace, the Greeks would still start a war, and would not allow Troy to rise peacefully.
Pei Zi Yun shook his head slowly. When he read this story in his past life, he always felt that it could be changed, and even felt sorry for the destruction of Troy.
Now he understood that not only Greece wanted war, but Troy also wanted war; not only the king wanted war, but the citizens also wanted war; not only humans wanted war, but the gods also wanted war.
Whoever stood in their way would immediately be crushed into pieces. Even Elder Antenor could only oppose in a roundabout way, and could not go against the will of the people.
Even the high and mighty gods did not have a peaceful way to solve the conflict between Greece and Asia Minor, and to solve the conflict between the gods' divine power and order.
As for himself, he could only work hard to strengthen himself in the war, and fight for a chance of survival.
"Is this what they mean by 'small things can be changed, but big things are hard to change'?" Pei Zi Yun thought, and quickened his pace to the carriage, ready to return to his own mansion immediately. He was about to go to Amazon again, and even though they were newlyweds, they were always apart, and not together. He couldn't help but sigh.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
