Chapter 318: 1,500 Iron Spear Soldiers

Thebes region.

This area centered on the city of Thebes is only one of the five regions in Central Greece.

In addition to the Thebes region, Central Greece also includes Eubia, Phocis, Ephria, and Otis, with a total area of ​​15,000 square kilometers.

Now the Thebes, Eubia, and Phocis regions in Central Greece are all ruled by Queen Harmonia of Thebes.

When the Ephria and Otis regions are incorporated into the territory of the Kingdom of Athens, perhaps Harmonia will become the queen of the five regions, with a similar territory to Pandora, who ruled the five city-states.

In order to fight the Dorians and Thracians, Roy left Andromeda in Athens and came to Thebes alone.

Thebes.

When Roy rode to this city on horseback, he saw that Thebes had undergone tremendous changes again.

The most obvious change is that the population of Thebes has exceeded 30,000.

The palace of Harmonia.

Because the guards at the palace gate all recognized Roy, Roy entered the palace unimpeded.

When Roy came to the luxurious hall built with cement, he saw Harmonia sitting on her throne, and in the center of the hall was a group of people kneeling on the ground, crying to Harmonia.

Seeing Roy's figure, Harmonia, who had originally had a sad face, immediately brightened up, stood up excitedly and said.

"Dear - is it really you? I am not dreaming!"

Harmonia ran over and threw herself into Roy's arms. After confirming that Roy was not an illusion, she immediately hugged Roy's neck with both hands, and the whole person hung on Roy like a sloth.

Roy hugged Harmonia tightly with both hands in response, and then looked at the people kneeling in the center of the hall with some concern and said.

"Harmonia, you should deal with the business first!"

"Then you can deal with it with me."

Feeling Harmonia's hands hugging his neck more tightly, Roy hugged Harmonia back to the steps where the throne was, and then Roy sat on the throne himself and let Harmonia sit on him.

After rubbing Roy's cheek with her cheek, Harmonia looked at the people kneeling in the center of the hall and said.

"Dear, they are the leaders of the Pelasgian tribe living in the Evria and Otis regions. Now they come to my palace together because the Dorian Atamas and Aeolus tribes are invading the Evria and Otis regions, killing and expelling them."

Roy frowned and said.

"Now is the barley harvest season. The Atamas and Aeolus tribes invaded at this time, obviously to seize their food."

"Not only for food! The barbaric Dorians also want to rob their women and children and turn them into slaves."

Harmonia said with embarrassment.

"Although we live in different regions, we are all Pelasgians. Now they come to me for help, I certainly can't ignore them, but I can't think of a good way to deal with the Dorians."

"Then I have to tell you a good news."

Seeing Harmonia's eyes widened with curiosity, Roy smiled and said.

"I came to you now to wage war against the Dorians and Thracians."

"Ah--"

Harmonia shouted in surprise, and then said to the people kneeling in the center of the hall.

"You are so lucky. Now my husband, the great King Roy of Athens, is going to wage war against the barbaric Dorians. He will help you to avenge the Dorians. In return, shouldn't you be loyal to the King of Athens and make the Ephria and Otis regions part of the Kingdom of Athens?"

A tribal leader kneeling in the center of the hall said immediately.

"Queen Harmonia! As long as we can be protected from the barbaric Dorians, we are willing to accept it, whether we are loyal to you or to your husband. Please save us for the sake of our fellow tribes. If our land is occupied by the Dorians, the Dorians will definitely invade your land next."

"Now that you are being invaded by the Dorians, you are naturally willing to agree to our demands. But I must tell you that the Ephria and Otis regions will become part of the Kingdom of Athens. I will implement the policies of the Kingdom of Athens and make you lose the power of the tribal leader. When the Dorians are eliminated by me, you will have no chance to regret it."

"Even if we lose the power of the tribal leader, it is better than us and our tribe becoming slaves [helots] of the Dorians."

In the history of another world, historical facts have proved that the Dorians would use the helot system to enslave other ethnic groups as slaves.

The Dorians conquered the Spartans and Pylos in the Peloponnese Peninsula, not only turning them into slave helots, but also always fearing their rebellion.

The Dorians conquered the Peloponnese, which covers an area of ​​30,000 square kilometers, but could not defeat Athens, which covers an area of ​​only 3,000 square kilometers. One of the reasons was that the Dorians had to use a large part of their strength to suppress the slaves, the helots.

Seeing that these tribal leaders would not regret losing their status and power in order to avoid becoming slaves of the Dorians [helots], Roy smiled with satisfaction.

"Harmonia, they are so enthusiastic about joining the Kingdom of Athens, I certainly can't let my people down. Now you can gather a thousand soldiers for me and let them go with me!"

"A thousand soldiers?"

Harmonia said with a worried expression.

"My dear, isn't a thousand soldiers too few? Just give me some time, even if I gather five thousand soldiers, it will be no problem."

Roy shook his head and said.

"The quality of soldiers is more important than the quantity! It's not difficult to gather five thousand soldiers. Can you let all five thousand soldiers use bronze weapons?"

"No..."

"Soldiers without weapons are like a burden!"

Seeing the disappointment on Harmonia's little face, Roy continued.

"After I go out with a thousand soldiers, you can gather five thousand or even more soldiers to follow behind and actually occupy the land I conquered. I only have a thousand soldiers, let alone occupy the conquered land, I can't even manage the prisoners."

"My dear, we just met, are we going to separate again tomorrow?"

Looking at Roy's enthusiasm for the upcoming war, Harmonia complained.

"When can you stay with me forever?"

Faced with Harmonia's questioning, Roy could only change the subject.

"I asked those Phoenicians to forge iron tools on Eubia Island. How many iron weapons have they sent to Thebes now?"

Harmonia turned her back to Roy and said.

"There are 1,500 soldiers equipped with iron spears in Thebes now. Take them all away tomorrow!"

The production process of the spear is simple and the forging is relatively fast. The most ordinary blacksmith apprentice can make a spear head in a day.

Because Roy also arranged the task of making iron plows and other agricultural tools for Taurus and others, it is normal for them to make 1,500 spear heads in more than a month.