spartan ancestor

Of course, Artemis did not come to the Temple of Apollo to make himself unhappy.

According to the communication with Delphi, the envoys will arrive in Sparta today to take away the great nobles who have connections with the temple priests, manipulate the battle situation by distorting the oracle, and blaspheme the gods.

As a priest who also served Apollo, the high priest will also meet the envoy this time, and seeing how much the other party admires the "white marble", it is difficult for Artemis not to be worried whether the other party will strongly recommend the envoy Badel. The Philippine Temple was also demolished and rebuilt.

It's not that she loves her brother so much and wants to protect her brother's temple, but mainly because... her lips are dead and her teeth are cold!

think about it!The Temple of Delphi is the center of Greece and the navel of the world.If even the Temple of Delphi was demolished and replaced with marble, wouldn't the priests of other temples be shaken?Don't you want to demolish their temple and rebuild it?

Look at the Temple of Artemis in Sparta, the priests inside have been brainwashed!

Artemis's smirk was almost unstoppable, but fortunately the high priest talked a lot, the two of them walked all the way to the main gate of the Acropolis, the high priest kept talking all by himself, and he didn't stand in the cold.

The envoy came a little later than expected. Jacintos had finished his official duties for the day and was standing at the gate of the city, but there was no sign of the envoy's team.

He didn't care about waiting, and casually talked to Artemis: "How is the situation with the agricultural officer?"

The breeding of livestock was a great success, and Hyacinthus was not content with that.

He thought very simple and straightforward, people can’t live only by eating meat, there are many fruits, vegetables, and seasoning spices, which are very popular, but they can only be imported from foreign countries.

Especially staple foods like barley.

Now Sparta has to take care of several times more people, unlike before, as long as the pure-blooded Spartans can eat enough, other people care about their lives.

A larger population to feed also means an increased demand for arable land and labor.

However, in order to prevent over-exploitation, resulting in shrinking forests, hunters have no food to eat, and cannot occupy large areas of forests as fields, so after watching Artemis cultivate livestock, Hyacinthus came up with a new idea: if the big wheat also It would be nice to be able to breed varieties that bear more and fuller fruits like domestic animals.

But he didn't know much about this area, and even the fruit planting that he had tossed about when Apollo was still there hadn't produced any results yet.For this reason, he specially appointed some experienced agricultural officials to study these matters.

Artemis reported a series of numbers with a dull expression, about how much silver coins an agricultural officer spent, how many seeds he bought, how many species survived, how long they lived, whether any of them bear fruit, and how many fruits did they produce? How much, what is the quality, why did it fail again...

Of course, the reports sent by the agricultural officials will not be as concise and clear as Artemis said.

First, they really have too much to say to His Majesty the King. Second, planting is a long-term process, and they can only submit phased reports, piled up like a hill, and finally placed in In front of Si, Jacintos called it "simple, boring, and repetitive little things", after reading it, summed it up and summarized it to Jacintos.

Anyway, Artemis didn't feel that this job "makes people stronger". At most, it made her suffer, let her pluck her hair, and gradually become numb in pain day by day... like this.

To tell the truth, she is already thinking that if one day Zeus can really be overthrown, she must find a scapegoat to sit on the throne of God King, such as Sister Keng's dead brother, Sister Keng's dead brother, or Sister Keng's dead brother.

Artemis gritted her molars.

Apollo, that little bastard, made it clear that he didn't want to come to Sparta to get her a hand.

Before, she had hoped that Apollo would not be so heartless, but because she was caught up in Daphne's affairs, she did not come to save her from the fire and water, but some time ago, Apollo sent a letter and told Ya Sintos, he stalked and finally borrowed Gaia's bottle of life, and has rescued Daphne, but what about his own sister?That little bastard didn't ask a single word!

No question at all!

Hearing Artemis' voice, Hyacinths gritted his teeth more and raised his eyebrows at her: "You seem to have a lot of resentment in your heart."

"What?" Artemis was startled, recovered from the fantasy of beating his younger brother, and hurriedly squeezed out an earnest smile, "No, nothing. Ah, your majesty, are you thirsty? Are you hungry? I Bring you a chair!"

free!Seeing that there is only one step away from freedom!

Artemis felt the divinity in his chest, and the smile on his face became more flattering: "Don't you want a chair, Your Majesty? Then what else do you need, Your Majesty? Give me a chance to support you, Your Majesty!"

The high priest couldn't help looking at Artemis with strange eyes: "You—"

As soon as he raised his head, the soldiers on the city wall blew their horns to welcome the distinguished guests.

Hyacinthus lowered his encircling arms and stood up straight.

A team came up the distant road, and the scale was unexpectedly large.

Hyacinthus squinted his eyes to try to see more clearly. The leader was riding on a high horse, followed by a uniform two-horse chariot with all kinds of things piled up on it. With Hyacinthus' vision, he could only see Clear the cloth pulled by the previous cars.

The high priest was stunned for a moment, and muttered: "You're not mistaken, this should be a caravan?"

When the convoy got closer, the high priest's suspicion was denied—the leader was dressed in purple and dressed as a priest, and every horse and car in the procession was decorated with ornaments that symbolized the Temple of Delphi.

But this made the high priest even more confused: "? What is this, a gift received by the envoy along the way? Hey! Those city-states really know how to flatter."

He muttered, still puzzled, when something that shocked him even more happened——the leader of the envoy got his horse's belly and came to the city gate first, and was still far away from Hyacinthus, so he rolled over on his own initiative Ma, walked to Jacintos: "Your Majesty the King."

"..." The high priest opened his mouth, but was unable to utter a word.

Everyone knows the arrogance of the priests of Delphi. They have always claimed to be the messengers of the gods. There are many people who enter the city-state and never dismount when they meet the king. Who has seen the messengers of the gods so respectful?

Hyacinthus laughed, "Pal!"

The face of the old acquaintance was flushed with excitement. After exchanging greetings with Hyacinthus, Paar looked at the brand new city wall and couldn't help but marvel: "Is this also a miracle? The last time I came to Sparta, the city wall was only built. It’s only a small section, but in just a few months, the city wall has already been completed?”

Jacintos shrugged: "This is the result of the concerted efforts of Sparta, all relying on manpower."

——But if we really want to say it, Apollo and Artemis are not without effort. After all, part of the cost of building the city wall is obtained by looting their temples.

The high priest also took a step forward: "May Apollo bless you, Your Excellency the Envoy."

"!" Artemis was vigilant for a second, staring at the high priest with piercing eyes.

Here comes the conversation that could lead to all the temples being poor to nothing but marble! !

Pal didn't realize anything, he just responded to the high priest's salute, then motioned to the convoy behind him, rubbed his hands, and smiled at Jacintos: "After the last farewell, the oracle conveyed Apollo's oracle. My father was lucky enough to be rewarded by the gods and became the high priest of the temple. According to Apollo's instructions, the temple carefully selected some small gifts and gave them to you."

High Priest: "..."

What?

It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was stunned. The high priest had muttered angrily before whether this was a gift received by the envoy along the way. Those city-states really knew how to flatter him, but it turned out that this was a gift from the envoy?To kiss their Spartans?

No, to be more precise, he was flattering His Majesty Jacintos.

But is there much difference?No!Isn't the flattering of His Highness Hyacinthus the flattering of the whole Sparta?

The high priest was almost overjoyed, and couldn't help but walked a few steps towards Paar excitedly: "Your Excellency, the outer city wall is just one of the many changes in Sparta, you are interested to see our newly repaired Apo Luo Temple?"

Artemis was excited all over: Here we come!

She hastily interjected: "It's not too good to show Your Excellency the Envoy, right? After all, the temple was only repaired this morning, and there are still many aspects that need to be carefully checked..."

"...?" The high priest gave Artemis another strange look, "If I remember correctly, just now you, Your Majesty's newly-promoted recent officer, just finished inspecting the repair results, and you said 'very Well, His Majesty will be quite satisfied'."

Artemis forcefully said: "This...is a scene...! Think about it carefully, how can I represent Your Majesty, and say that I have checked it, and I am satisfied with it? Right, Your Majesty?"

Artemis stared wildly: Speak a word, didn't you say that you would have nothing to do in the future and wanted to enjoy and play the Temple of Delphi?

"——I think it's okay." Yacintos innocently opened his eyes wide, as if he really had no opinion.

During this period of time, probably due to being busy, Aka appeared less and less in front of him, leaving Hyacinthos with nowhere to cast his full belly of bad water.

On a rare occasion, Hyacinths even crossed his arms leisurely, leaning against the city gate, watching Artemis dying with interest, with a wicked smile on his face.

Pal looked at the High Priest and Artemis who were staring at each other in confusion, and considering that he didn't want to cause conflicts and trouble Hyacinthus when he came to Sparta, he smoothed things over and said: "Don't worry so much, I have lost a lot of time in transporting these goods all the way to Sparta, and mentioning those blasphemous sinners, I should leave."

During this period of time working for his father, Parr has cultivated the ability to be slick and slick. After appeasing Artemis, he followed the high priest's hair: "But I did hear that your Temple of Apollo is undergoing a makeover. Major repairs? Is it because of the previous oracle that 'the gods prefer holy white marble'?"

The high priest cheered up immediately: "That's right. I really hope you can see the effect. When the sun shines into the temple, I really understand what is holy. Maybe Delphi—"

Artemis coughed violently: "Cough!!! Cough!!!"

The high priest insisted and finished speaking: "—Can the temple also try to be repaired in this way?"

Artemis struggled: "However, this is also an internal matter of Delphi, we are not good at talking about it?"

"We both serve Apollo, so how can we divide them?" The high priest puffed out his chest and said loudly, "There is nothing more important than fulfilling the oracle! The great Apollo has already stated his own preferences."

"..." The great Apollo is about to be served by you to death of anger and poverty.

Artemis almost suffered from internal injuries, like a dehydrated fish, opened his mouth in vain, and spat out a few bubbles with difficulty, "Gods may also have various preferences."

The high priest was furious: "Are you saying that my God is fickle?!"

Artemis: "..."

You are not serving the gods, you are forcing the gods to a dead end!

"Cough," Hyacinthus finally had enough of watching the play, Shi Shiran said, "There is no need to force it deliberately. Delphi is not only a place of faith, but also a place where artists from all over Greece get inspiration and display their art. I believe that Apollo, as the god of art, would not mind, in fact, isn't this just one of the blessings he bestows?"

"..." The high priest showed a thoughtful expression, and Paar nodded in agreement.

Artemis only felt that his limbs were weak, and he exhaled weakly and slowly, finally letting go of his heart.

Very good.My temple is saved.She showed a humble and bitter smile.

Inside the city, soldiers escorted the nobles who had been imprisoned for several months: "Your Majesty!"

Hyacinthus responded: "Leave it to—"

"Speech!" The spit of the great nobles interrupted Jacintos' words.

After squatting in prison for several months, they are no longer as red-faced, arrogant and reserved as they were before, and they are all unkempt, just like the Heluoshi they once despised.

The gap in the situation is unacceptable, and they can't think of any way to make a comeback. They can only vent their inner emotions with angry curses:

"You know in your heart whether the oracle that was hated by the gods was true or not! What are you trying to show off when you stand here proudly? Can you show that the evil god behind you is stronger than the sun god Apollo?! It’s upside down and turned into white, bah! You still pack yourself so cleanly.”

"You will regret it, you will regret it! Hyacinthus is a filthy person despised by the sun god! He worshiped the evil god! It is the power of the evil god that now occupies the Temple of Delphi. You indulge the sinner Hyacinthus Go ahead and all Greece will be ruined by him!"

"Ha! Stare at me? Why are you staring at me, soldier? You are all deceived! Only we know best! Polish your eyes and see what is outside this city gate? Are we giving gifts to the priests of the temple? Can it be compared to one tenth of these generous gifts in front of you? The truth is right in front of your eyes! It was Hyacinthus who colluded with the temple priests! He seized control of the Delphi Temple!"

"...?" Yacintos couldn't help raising his eyebrows. These elders really thought, where did the evil god come from?

"What nonsense!" Pal's face turned blue, he knew best whether the oracle was true or not, and the entire Phocis people had witnessed it with their own eyes.

Immediately, a small group of soldiers that Phocis lent to the temple jumped off the horses behind them, and suppressed the group of great nobles who shouted, "Everyone is drunk but I am sober".

Some people wanted to struggle, stretching their necks and trying to "wake up" the Spartan soldiers guarding the city gate: "This may be your last chance to save Sparta and Greece! Wake up and think about it." , Aren’t these the gifts that Jacinthus gave to the temple to thank the priests who hooked up with him?”

The guards guarding the city couldn't bear it anymore, and said, "Didn't you see the decoration on that car?"

The shining symbolic decorations of the Delphi Temple are on the car. These nobles have been squatting in prison for a long time, so they are too old to see?

The one who was ridiculed also said angrily: "That shows that the two have a deep collusion. The temple actually prepared a car in advance to receive gifts. How blatant it is!"

Guards: "..."

Guard: "But the gift is not given to the temple by His Majesty, it is given to His Majesty by the Temple."

"Ha!" The great nobleman sneered contemptuously, "I see. No wonder you still turn a blind eye to the truth when it is right in front of you. So you already knew that you are also an accomplice of Hyacinthus, right! Now, you Still trying to lie to me that this gift was given to Hyacinthus by the Temple of Delphi? How stupid do you think I am? Ha! Laugh off my big teeth! Delphi has always been in and out. Stuff? You’re putting too much gold on Hyacinthus’s face! I dare to bet you that the goods on these carts are all the property of our family that he, Hyacinthus, confiscated!”

"--bet, bet!" Paar grabbed the back of the nobleman's neck, gritted his teeth angrily, dragged him to one of the cars, held the other person's head, and yelled at the goods on the car , "Your property? Huh? Your property?"

Pal grabbed the special papyrus and pointed it in front of the nobleman: "You have this in your house? You have the papyrus specially provided by the Delphi Temple in your house? Huh? Who put gold on your face? Put it on your face." Gold! Your family property... laugh off my big teeth!"

"..." The nobleman, who had always been eloquent and eloquent, became dumb for a moment, staring at the paper in front of him with wide eyes.

To be honest, papyrus is not uncommon in Greece, but everything can be divided into expensive and cheap, and as a great nobleman, he knows this best.

Ordinary papyrus is rough and not very waterproof, and it is prone to mold in a humid environment, causing damage to documents or letters. Therefore, the finer and stronger the papyrus, the more expensive it is, because it is expensive.

But the papyrus in front of him is not only fine in texture, but also has a different luster than what he knows. It is probably because some special substance was used to impregnate the paper to improve the water resistance of the paper, and the corners were also specially made. engraved to declare the ownership of the paper.

This is the papyrus that was transported from the far east through mountains and rivers, especially for the temple of Delphi, and has nothing to do with his family property.

The great nobleman stared at himself, still wanting to find other points to criticize, but his mind couldn't help but recall the conversation when a group of them talked about papyrus in front of the secret altar.

At the beginning, he was quite jealous of the exclusive privileges of the Delphi Temple and never leaking the papyrus used. He asked why, but he was thinking about it in his heart. He wanted to ask the Delphi priest he knew for it when he went back. a little.

Not many, just one or two, enough for him to feel proud among his companions.

But the other party rejected him sternly, and asked him if he wanted to challenge the majesty of the temple.

But now.

The eyes of the great nobleman who stared for a long time began to sting, he stared at the papyrus in front of him, his eyes were tearing apart——

One car, one full car!

He suddenly felt that he was a joke when he begged for one or two pieces of papyrus before, but now everything he saw was like a loud slap in the face.

He struggled to raise his head under the oppression of Pal and the soldiers, and saw the huge and long convoy on the left and right sides. There were not only papers in the car, but also various cloths, statues, perfumes, jewelry...

There are so many beautiful things in eyes and colorful colors that it makes his eyes dazzle and his head feel a little dizzy.

Pal didn't care what the prisoner's mentality was. After he proved his innocence, he signaled the Phokis soldiers to push the group of prisoners who were dazed and staring at the cargo into the car, bid farewell to Hyacinthus politely, and asked : "Look at these gifts, is there anything else you want?"

Hyacinthos is not like those great nobles who fancy whether the papyrus is rough or not, and whether it is waterproof or not, the materials in the city-state are enough for him to use.

It’s just that Pal sent these things all the way here, and it’s too much trouble for him to ask the other party to bring these things back. Besides, he is not the kind of person who claims to be a noble person. He often does things out of selfishness , For example, insisting on promoting the proposal to train female soldiers is to commemorate my mother.

Hyacinthus calmly said to Pal: "There is nothing I need, they are all external things. In comparison, I actually hope to get that kind of talent—that's the kind that can help me research how crops can be more productive , How can foreign fruits grow on the land of Sparta and other talents. Even if they are not human, it is fine, haha!"

Hyacinthus' last tone seemed to be a joke, and Pal laughed with understanding: "You are really a good king who cares about the country and the people!"

Only Artemis, who was glanced at by Jacintos inadvertently, instantly understood what Jacintos said, and stood aside silently: "..."

This person...!Are you implying that she is a traitor...?

The author has something to say: Jacintos raises eyebrows: Hint?