Episode 118. planning (1)
The wedding of Deiphobos was over, and the citizens of Troy, who had been quietly observing whether there was a fourth festival after the third, went back to work in disappointment, only realizing that there was no more luck.
During the three weddings that lasted for several months, Troia, who was in a frenzy of excitement, returned to her daily routine.
And, it was the same for us.
Me, Priam, Deiphobus, and even Hippocon, who had come from Thrace to celebrate the wedding, and sat down when I accepted the offer.
Just like that, four people stood around a map depicting the Aegean and Black Seas.
I asked, pointing to the peninsula facing Troy across the Strait of the Hellespont, or today’s Dardanelles.
“Hippocon, does this land have a name?”
“Hmm… I guess.”
“There is, what do you mean?”
“The Achaeans call it the Thracian Peninsula, and we just call it the Peninsula. But . . . there is not the only peninsula in Thrace.”
That is, there is no specific word for it.
“The reason you asked about this place is of course…”
Hippocon asked me back as if he was asking the question, and his words were blurry. I nodded at him, confirming that he was right.
“That’s right. It is well situated to cross directly from Troia to Thrace.
After Deiphobos builds a base here, wouldn’t it be appropriate if we use the base as a bridgehead to fully support the King of Lessus?”
At my words, Hippocon nodded, but also shook his head in embarrassment.
“But it is a very dangerous place.”
“Why?”
“There are about 10 tribes in the area.”
Saying so, the experienced Thracian carefully pointed out one place on the map.
“As you can see, since it is the most important route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, everyone is taking a big part in piracy or business.
What would you think if you had built such a unique wealth and position?”
Hippocon sighed and said.
“That’s why more than half of them rebel against the King of Lessos. If Troia takes control of that place and tries to expand, everyone’s burden will increase.”
I raised an eyebrow at his answer. But Hippocon, befitting a trusted servant of the King of Lessus, gently ignored my gesture and turned his head away.
Seeing that figure, I hardened my heart and exchanged glances with Priam.
“Hmm… Hippocon of Thrace, will you step aside for a moment? I think I have something to discuss with my sons.”
“Of course, Priam-nim.”
When Priam, moderately aware, politely bit Hippocon, Hippocon nodded as if he knew why we reacted this way, and moved on.
After confirming that the door was closed, I turned to Deiphobos.
“Did you notice?”
“···What?”
I knew it.
The inexperienced prince seems far from entering politics yet.
Priam immediately smiles at Deiphobos and says,
“Son, isn’t it strange? There is a hostile force right in front of us, but it doesn’t make sense to go over without liquidating it because it’s ‘dangerous’.
You don’t know when your rear will be threatened, and you don’t even know if they will cross over to Troy and stage an armed demonstration?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
It’s such a common sense fact that any male leader can’t be unaware of it in this era where all male leaders are active as warriors.
Especially if the author is a staff member who will later fight in the Trojan War with the King of Lessus.
“A person who should have known that fact better than anyone else responded to us in such a natural way. If that’s the case… it must mean that there’s something else behind it.”
Fortunately, Priam proceeded with the cumbersome explanation instead, so I was able to get right to the point.
“And you can tell just by looking at the map what the other plot is.
Deiphobos? Take a look at the Peninsula and Troia I asked Hippocon for the names of.”
“Yes, I am watching.”
“What do you see?”
“A peninsula?”
“Where is the peninsula?”
“It is across Troy.”
“Across what?”
“Uh… that’s…
ah.”
‘ah.’ I laughed at the sound of realization and tapped the map.
Hellespont Strait.
The waterway of the narrow and thin sea between the ‘peninsula’ and the kingdom of Troia.
“okay. You know very well what will happen if we take over this place.”
Our kingdom will completely hold the breath that connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Especially for those who live on plunder and trade on the Black Sea coast, it sounds like we will have the right to live and die.
“This is… not something a single envoy can decide. This is a matter for the fate of all the countries along the Aegean and Black Seas. Thrace is, of course, included in it.”
“Paris, I believe you are well aware of the importance of that fact.”
This time Priam looks at me with a questioning look.
“I don’t know why you made such an offer. There is no way the King of Lessos would accept such an unreasonable request.”
“Father, no. If your wise father thinks carefully, you will see that this is not an unreasonable request. I will explain in detail from now on.
First of all, let the envoy from the King of Lessos be brought back into the room. It would be better if we explain together.”
I gestured to the attendant to open the door and bowed to my father.
“I will show you what kind of constructive future both Thrace and Troia can create through this project… no, the conquest.”
“Father, if Brother Paris says that, isn’t there something wrong?”
Priam, who still looked at me with doubtful eyes, and Hippocon, with a dubious look on his face, as if he had secretly heard the last sentence I said.
I held them in front of them and gave a long three-hour presentation.
Soon, the three of them left the conference room with satisfied faces.
It was like the faces of high-ranking people who realized how disgraceful it is that there is still no proper dome stadium in the Korean professional baseball league that has passed 40 years of age.
In other words, it means that I succeeded in persuasion.
…However, there is still one more person left.
The person I need to ‘convince’.
“Deiphobos, can I see your wife for a moment?”
“Why are you like that?”
Suddenly, Deiphobos’s face stiffened with alertness.
Why are you doing that? How the hell is your image of me distorted?
“It is an important matter. I must go see Iphigenia with you.”
“uh···”
“I’m here to help you, so don’t worry.”
“Oh, what can I do to sleep in peace? Haven’t you been guiding me with all your might so that I can achieve my dream?”
Deiphobos’ face, which had been full of anxiety until just now, was wide open, so I decided to pretend I didn’t know.
We immediately headed to the newlyweds’ house, no, to the newlyweds’ room.
Deiphobos hadn’t been married yet, so the mansion wasn’t finished before he could start a new life like me and Hector.
for a moment.
Then, when I asked to build a mansion, Priam already guessed that I would get married, so he gave me permission…
– Knocked up.
“Iphigenia, a guest has arrived.”
“ah! Mr. Paris?”
…Anyway, I stepped cautiously into the honeymoon room of Iphigenia and Deiphobus. Of course, it’s called a room, but it’s wider than most penthouses in Seoul.
However, because it was spacious, it did not have a blank atmosphere, rather it was uncomfortable to walk around because it was full of things.
The incense burner, the brazier, the couch, the table, the funeral chair, the armchair, the mirror, the vanity table, etc., were arranged irregularly here and there.
If the mansion for the two people to be built in the future needs to have that much, it is a gift sent.
the Agamemnon.
“…Iphigenia, congratulations once again on your marriage to my sister.
You and Deiphobos are a really good match, and the people who live in the city where you two will rule will be happy to meet good lords.”
Iphigenia’s face, looking at me, no longer showed any dirty lingering feelings. Fortunately.
Instead, judging from the fact that some kind of sticky gaze moves back and forth between Iphigenia and Deiphobos… they seem to be a really good pair.
“I heard the story. Are you sure you want to gift Deiphobos a beautiful coast? Are you here for that?”
“Oh, that’s right. You are smart too.”
As I said, Iphigenia, who has a lively personality, speaks with a proud smile, even though she is not familiar with politics.
“It’s really cool. I always wondered what kind of prince I would marry, but already my husband and I are kings of a city!”
“Yes. That’s cool.”
I smiled and pulled the gilded bronze chair next to me and sat down.
…So, the chair is entirely made of bronze.
Either Agamemnon really cares about his daughter, or he must be putting as much effort into the marriage with Troy.
I see the latter. After all, how much would a human being who sacrificed his daughter save his children?
In any case, if he was paying any formal attention to this marriage alliance, the story would be fast.
“Iphigenia-nim, as you said, this is not just our Troia problem. It is for the descendants of Atreus and the descendants of Tross to build a city together.”
I grabbed the weight and opened my mouth to Iphigenia, who smiled brightly.
“Therefore, I believe that the son of Atreus, the King of Kings of Achaia .
This is a test and a trap I throw at Agamemnon.
how to get out of here
From nob le mt l. co m
Let me check how cunning you are.
***
Agamemnon read the letter in his hand quickly, line by line.
The meticulous and small but clearly readable handwriting had no difficulty in reading even on clay tablets that were crushed during transportation.
Also, my smart daughter.
“…that’s interesting.”
“What are you doing, brother?”
“This is a message from Troy. Would you like to read it too?”
It was Menelaus who received the clay tablet this time. He carefully scanned the clay tablet his brother had handed him and was startled by its contents.
“So… this.”
Menelaus swallowed and said.
“Really, a huge deal.”
“okay. not huge.”
Agamemnon frowned and tapped the phrase engraved on the clay tablet. One corner of his mouth was curled up like a hook.
“I will make my daughter the queen of the strait, so it is an offer to hand over a corresponding share. Military and money.”
“But isn’t it demanding too many resources? To raise this kind of money, no matter how much I squeezed from inside Mycenae, it wouldn’t be enough.
If you press the elders or merchants beyond the limit, it will be possible, but the political burden on you will be great.”
Menelaus, who put the clay tablet down, looked at Agamemnon and said,
“Of course you would decline, right?”
Rejection, rejection…
Agamemnon glanced lightly at the Thracian Peninsula drawn on the map.
What if we built a city there? And if you build a harbor on that cape.
Where is the point left for our troops to land in front of Troy? Where can I land to be safe?
The difficulty of conquering Troia is much higher than before. Could it be that Prince Paris even considered that?
No way.
But whether they intended or not, this construction project was tantamount to adding an extra eye and an arm to the back of Troia’s head.
Agamemnon concluded.
“no. I will not refuse.”
Is that a logarithm?
Now my daughter becomes the queen of the city right in front of Troia.
It gains the power to hold the only blood vessel connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
What do you mean it doesn’t matter?
When Iphigenia’s marriage partner was changed to Deiphobus, it was not unusual.
The third prince who has lost the great founding monarch who rose from the ground up and gains only a succession right and no rumors about it.
I was resigned to the fact that Iphigenia’s role would also remain as an information book inside Troy or a simple symbol of a marriage alliance.
By the way, to build his territory in such an important location…
A prince named Deiphobos must have been a much-anticipated prince within the royal family.
then.
“···yes?”
“I told you, but I won’t refuse. You’d better accept Troia’s offer with pleasure.”
With such an important prince and such an important region in the hands of his family, why should he fight Troy?
For Hattusha, who is just dying? To repay the favor for their pennies? It’s crazy.
“But the cost…”
“Okay.”
“Did you say it was okay? But, as you know…”
“Brother.”
Agamemnon grabbed his brother by the shoulders and forced him down in front of him.
“You have too many questions.”
“···sorry.”
“There are ways. But you will have to work a little.”
Agamemnon could not hide the joy that appeared on his face as if he had never been so serious.
“Aren’t there any royals left in Sparta who aren’t compliant with us yet?”
“I could say . . . practically everything.”
That’s not unusual either. After Menelaus became the king of Sparta, Sparta became a vassal state, and Mycenae became full by cutting off its own flesh.
If it is the providence of nature that even small insects and even great gods become angry when they lose their share, then they too are just following the providence set by the gods.
But just because it wasn’t weird didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying.
Agamemnon said with a hard face.
“Maybe we can hurry up the purging of them a little. How is your wife?”
“My concentration on mourning my deceased father-in-law is coming to an end. It seems that he will return to state affairs soon.”
“I have to finish the homework I put off before then.”
Agamemnon washed his hands with water in a golden platter in front of him, then picked up a pomegranate kernel and put it in his mouth.
“Kill them and banish them. Mycenaean soldiers will be with you.”
“But… then my small position in Sparta would be reduced even more! The trust I barely earned…”
“Your brother?”
Agamemnon put Menelaus on the shoulder again,
Grab it as if it would tear your muscles apart.
“The family should do well.”
“…”
“Isn’t it?”
“···yes.”
Only then did Agamemnon release the power he had in his hands and smile kindly at Menelaus.
“I believe in your abilities. Your efforts will play a big part in helping our family take a step forward in Thrace.
···yes?”
Menelaus brought out a familiar answer.
“Yes, brother.”
and soon,
Blood flows in the court of Sparta.