Trojan Palace
The late autumn rain continued, sometimes heavy rain, sometimes light mist, splashing onto the steps. King Priam was sitting on the marble throne, with princes and elders standing on both sides, and Pei Ziyun and Helen were among them.
At this moment, the hall was full of people and everyone was talking. Some supported handing Helen over, some opposed it, and some were neutral and neither supported nor opposed it.
Each of these people expressed their own opinions and expressed their views, which all sounded reasonable.
"Helen must be handed over, otherwise God will destroy us." The elder Antenor, who was known for his wisdom, said loudly, no longer caring about Paris's presence.
When Prince Deiphobus saw what Elder Antenor said, he immediately stood up with excitement on his face. He had not been happy for a day since Paris became the prince. This time he finally had the opportunity to overthrow Paris. How could he miss it
So, he quickly said: "Father, you have seen now that Paris has put our Troy into danger so easily. He does not have the qualities that a prince should have at all. He grew up on Mount Ida and is really uneducated. How can such a person do it?" Can you be a prince?"
As he said this, Deiphobus glanced at Helen and was immediately attracted by her. He originally wanted to say, "Hand over Helen," but when he said it, he said, "Father, whether Helen is handed over or not, Paris will." Troy has brought disaster and should be punished by depriving him of his princely title and handing him over to the Greeks."
"Leave it to the Greeks?"
The first few words were reasonable, but these words were too much. Everyone looked at Deiphobus with a strange look - handing Paris over to the Greeks was betraying his brother.
Everyone looked down upon those who betrayed their brothers, and Deiphobus' words were tantamount to digging his own grave.
Facing everyone's gaze, especially his father's gaze, Deiphobus turned pale and realized that he had said the wrong thing.
Deiphobus was also concerned and confused, and wanted to bring down Paris as soon as possible. Everything related to Paris was very impulsive. In the eyes of outsiders, his brain was not working well when it came to Prince Paris.
In fact, Prince Deiphobus was recognized as the second prince before Paris returned to Troy, and his IQ was still sufficient, but now no one seems to think so.
When Helen heard what Deiphobus said, her face turned pale and her body trembled, fearing that everyone would listen to Prince Deiphobus and hand her over.
Seeing Helen's expression, Pei Ziyun quickly patted the back of her hand and whispered: "Don't be afraid, just keep watching. It's okay."
King Priam could not give up on himself, and he still had many preparations.
Sure enough, Troilus jumped out and said loudly: "Deiphobus, I didn't expect you to say such a thing. This is betraying your brother. Are you still our brother?"
Troilus spoke without mercy at all, and spoke directly to Deiphobus, who was speechless. Only then did he realize that if his reputation spread and the people who were still attached to him would all fall apart, who would believe him? The guy who betrayed his brother
"Moreover, what Brother Paris did was just what Hercules did back then, and he inflicted it on the Greeks. This is reasonable revenge."
"Hercules, Peleus, Telamon, and Oleus can destroy our Troy and steal our princess Hesione. We can also steal their queen Helen, and even destroy Sparta and Mycona. .”
The more Troilus talked, the more excited he became, as if the destruction of Sparta was just around the corner, and he was the hero who represented Troy to retaliate against the Greeks and destroy the Greek city-states.
"This is God's arrangement." A Trojan elder stood up tremblingly and said.
"Yes, and Prince Paris mentioned this possibility before leaving. We agreed at the time. This responsibility does not lie with Prince Paris. If he really brings back a woman from Greece, then we will bear this responsibility together." One of the radical elders shouted: "If the Greeks want to fight, then fight. The Trojans have never been afraid of war. This time we will let the arrogant Greeks taste the taste of failure."
"Well, I think our Troy is not yet a rival to the Greek coalition and is not suitable for a head-on confrontation." said a mature and solemn elder.
"What do you mean we are not opponents of the Greeks? We haven't even fought. Who knows if we are opponents?" the elder immediately retorted.
Suddenly, there was another fierce quarrel in the palace.
"That's enough." King Priam shouted, stopping the quarrel in time. If everyone continued to quarrel like this, not only would the discussion not produce good results, but it would also cause internal conflict.
King Priam turned to Hector, who stood silently: "Hector, what do you think?"
"This is not Paris's responsibility. Everyone already knew the oracle before. Paris would bring back a woman from his mission to Greece, and this woman would bring war to Troy. But everyone still agreed to let Paris go as an ambassador. Now that he has come back successfully, it is inappropriate to put the responsibility on him." It was rare for Hector to say so many words, and his point of view was very clear. Paris was not responsible for this matter.
"Since the Greeks want war, we will help them, but before that, we have to deal with the Greek envoys and try to solve the problem peacefully and buy time for our war."
"You are right, let's do it this way. Next, we should be fully prepared for war while striving for a peaceful solution." King Priam said.
When Helen heard King Priam's words, she felt very complicated, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she no longer worried that everyone would hand her over.
"Next, Paris, it's up to you to receive the Greek envoys and try to strive for a peaceful solution. If that doesn't work, you have to hold them back and buy us time to prepare." King Priam gave the first order.
"Yes, father." Pei Ziyun accepted the order.
"Hettor, you will train the Trojan warriors. All weapons and armor must be prepared. I hope the Greeks will see a powerful Trojan army instead of mercenaries." King Priam Si issued the second order.
"Yes, father," Hector answered.
"Deiphobus."
"Yes." Deiphobus was very happy when he heard the king calling his name. He was still valued by his father. Without Paris, everything would be perfect.
"You are responsible for the management of food, grass and treatment. Are there any problems?" King Priam asked. He was now more and more doubtful about Deiphobus' ability. If it weren't for the previous impression that Priam had retained, this time Priam Moss would not ask Deiphobus to maintain and manage these.
"Troilus, you help your brother Deiphobus to complete this work." King Priam finally felt that Deiphobus was unreliable, so he called Troilus over to act as a supervisor. If it's good, that's it. If it's not good, he'll be ready to replace him.
"Yes, father, I will do my best to complete it." Troilus' face was full of joy, but he really didn't expect that his father would give him an important task.
When Deiphobus heard that Troilus was coming to "assist" him, his face was gloomy and he felt as if he had eaten a fly. However, this was the arrangement of King Priam and he had to abide by it.
In this way, King Priam assigned tasks one by one. Some princes were assigned to maintain law and order in the city, some were assigned to go to the fields to check the harvest, and some were assigned to collect financial statistics. foot.
Priam looked at Prince Helenus who stood silently and asked: "Helenus, what is the result of your divination for this war with the Greeks?"
"Father, the prophecy shows that this war between us and Greece will last for many years, but in the end we will lose this war, and Troy will be destroyed again, and the Greeks will kill Paris, Hector, and even All Trojans, including you.”
Helenus seemed to be talking about something insignificant and had nothing to do with everyone.
However, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically. Helenos' predictions had always been accurate. This was tested the last time Paris went on a mission to Greece.
"Helenos, is there any better way to avoid the fulfillment of this prophecy or change the outcome of the prophecy?" an elder asked, asking the doubts in the hearts of everyone present.
"Dear Elder Carneos, this is a result that has been predetermined by the gods. How can the will of the gods be easily changed?" Helenos said calmly.
"That's what you say again. Doesn't it mean that we are watching the arrogant Greeks destroy our homeland again? I don't believe the prophecy. The final victory still depends on our soldiers." The elder with an extremely hot temper said loudly, but he did not Not many responses.
In this world controlled by the gods, politics, military affairs, and machinations all have to give way.
"Actually, there is still room for change in this prophecy, right?" Priam looked at the prophet's son calmly, with disgust in his heart, and regarded him as a crow.
Rather than hating this son, it is better to hate the prophecy and the gods behind it.
Princess Cassandra, who was given the gift of prophecy by God, was better than Helenus and made no mistakes every time, but no one among the Trojans believed her and ridiculed and ridiculed her.
The profound reason is that every time God prophesies, it is not good for Troy, which makes Troy deeply dissatisfied.
"Father, the outcome was already determined from the beginning. Paris was just an introduction. The gods had already decided the fate, including the fate of our Troy." Helenos said sadly a fact that no one accepted.
Priam's face was gloomy, and the whole palace was silent.
"The prophecies can be changed, but we must find such heroes. Only heroes can change the fate of our Troy."
A voice suddenly sounded in the palace. Everyone turned around and found that it was a prophet in the city. Everyone looked over, full of hope.
And the prophet really lived up to his hope, loudly saying: "Prince Hector and Prince Paris are heroes, and only they can change the fate of our Troy."
(End of chapter)