Chapter 261: Division of Troops
A month later, the 10,000 new soldiers under Aetius had been trained in good order under the leadership of the barbarian generals, probably because Aetius was present at the scene in person.
Aetius did not dare to relax for a moment in the training of soldiers and the cultivation of combat effectiveness. The pressure brought to Aetius by Luca and the Eastern Empire United Legion behind him was extremely huge. At the meeting, Aetius felt that the people sitting opposite him were not six people talking and laughing, but a giant as tall as the Alps, and he was at its feet. If he wanted to look at this giant on an equal footing, he must have the strength to compete with it.
However, that is a full 100,000 people. Even if the navy that does not land in combat is excluded, that is a full 60,000 people, three times the number of troops. Isn't such a great pressure forcing me to start an arms race with the Eastern Empire? "I thought that if I defeated Boniface, I would have no rivals in the empire, but I was wrong. When Boniface falls, a stronger opponent will stand up."
Aetius had to admit with a headache that Luca was much harder to deal with now than Boniface was back then, so when facing Luca, he could no longer confront him as he did with Boniface, because he didn't know what Luca wanted. Today's training was as dull as ever, and Aetius didn't have the leisure to watch the fake fighting scene. He had long lost interest, and every time that day approached, his heart became more and more tormented, as if he saw the shadow of Boniface in that person.
"Does God not want this guy to die like this, or does that guy not want to die like this and resurrected?" All these speculations could not get an answer that could satisfy Aetius. He yawned deeply and told himself secretly in his heart that he needed to rest.
He stood up and followed the guards back to his room in his camp. What was different from the past was that there seemed to be two more guards at the door. Without thinking much, he opened the door and found another person inside. The person was sitting on a chair and looked up at Aetius. Aetius was so sleepy that he couldn't see the person clearly.
"Did I go the wrong way?" With such doubts, Aetius opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, and couldn't help saying: "Thermitius, what brings you here?" Aetius dozed off, took off his cloak with a bored look, and hung it on the rack beside him. Then he sat on the bed, stretched, and said in a lazy tone: "Tell me, you don't stay in Rome and hang out with your fellow senators, but run to me. In my camp, besides my guards, I see you every day, and you are the most familiar to me. Tell me, what did you bring me today?"
"Ha, Your Excellency Aetius!" Thermitius smiled and shook his head, saying slowly, "I'm afraid that after hearing the news I brought to you, you won't have time to sleep like this anymore!"
"Oh?" Aetius closed his eyes slightly, as if Thermitius' words had aroused his interest, but it didn't seem to be the case. "Tell me, is it that your Senate was dissolved because of disagreements, or that they kicked you out because they hated you, an old man who kept talking! Oh, I'm afraid there is nothing more joyful than this, am I right?"
"I'm afraid that after hearing what I said, you won't be able to sleep!" Themitius looked confident. He looked at Aetius lying on the bed with a smile. Maybe this would attract Aetius' attention, just maybe.
"Speak!" Aetius didn't even open his eyes. He was still lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
"Sir, do you remember a good friend of yours when you were a hostage in the hands of the Hun leader Uldin?" asked Themitius.
"Attila?" Aetius slowly opened his eyes and murmured.
"Recently, I'm afraid that your Hun friend has not been so peaceful these days!" Thermitius said, taking out a parchment from his pocket and putting it on the table and pushing it towards Aetius, saying: "If you want to know more, then read what is written here. It will be good for you. After all, this is the latest news."
“Wow!”
Aetius jumped up from the bed like a somersault, and without saying anything about whether he was tired or not, he walked straight to the table, sat down on a stool, and then picked up the parchment and read it carefully, trying not to miss a single letter.
"Attila's army attacked the villages on our border. We cannot rule out the possibility that they can move south at any time." Thermitius said calmly, "As long as they bypass the Alps and move south from the east, which army can stop Attila? If so, the Purple Chamber will be in danger, and you and I will be in danger!"
"No way!" Aetius said to himself, "Based on what I know about Attila, he won't break off relations with us so easily."
"Oh, my God! Your Excellency Aetius!" Themitius laughed so hard that he coughed repeatedly. After calming himself down a little, he slowly said, "You have been dealing with the barbarian Attila for many years, and you know that he is greedy by nature and demands insatiable. Wine, gold, beauties, land, there is nothing he does not desire. Now those barbarians can no longer satisfy his greed, so why should he not covet the rich land of the empire? Your Excellency, don't forget that the empire is a place full of wine and gold in their mouths."
"So Attila may go south and threaten the empire at any time." Aetius looked at the parchment, folded it in half and put it down, thinking about something.
"You are probably thinking about how to explain this to Flavius Luca!"
Aetius shook his head and continued, "I am not worried about how to explain to Luca, but I am wondering why Attila would personally lead his army to plunder a small village. Could it be that he would take such a small village seriously? Is there something in it that attracted his attention?"
As he asked, Aetius looked at Thermitius, but he never expected that Thermitius was just as confused as he was, and could not get any answers. All of this became a mystery, and no one could explain it.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
"Sir Aetius!" Thermitius stared at Aetius and said, "I am not asking you to do this. It is His Majesty Augustus Valentinian who is calling you to go back and protect the empire!"
(End of this chapter)