Chapter 274: The Dream of Imperial Unification

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

In the empty hall, only a burst of scattered footsteps could be heard and a figure was seen rushing in and stopping in the middle of the hall.

Then there was silence. The huge room seemed empty. The man stood there like a statue. He was wearing a white toga, like a court official. In front of him was a man in a purple robe.

As if he had made up his mind, he took out a scroll from his long run like a magic trick. He spread it out and reached out to search for it word by word in the scroll. Finally, his eyes lit up, as if he had found it: "When... the Huns transported a large number of siege equipment to the foot of the city wall... facing the dark clouds of arrows, the defenders on the battlements gave up resistance and evacuated the battlements. Siege cones also appeared on the battlefield. This is a giant device with a ram suspended horizontally with a chain on an inclined wooden frame. The front end of the ram is equipped with a metal tip and a partition... to ensure the safety of the operator. A short rope is installed at the tail end of the hammer. The operator pulls the ram up in the opposite direction of the target and then releases it... The defenders rolled down huge stones the size of carriages from the city wall... Some siege hammers were smashed and the Huns operating them were also killed. But the defenders were unable to resist so many siege equipment. Then, the enemy set up ladders... The barbarians attacked through the gaps and ladders created by the siege hammers... The city fell..."

“That’s enough!”

Just as the man was about to continue reading, a dull sound interrupted him. He was frightened and stood still.

"Quote from classics." The voice in the darkness said slowly, "It is so similar to the Battle of Plataea in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. I just read that section."

"I'm sorry, my Caesar!"

The man seemed very nervous. He defended himself by saying, "I just wanted to quote the ancients to describe the fierceness of this battle. It was indeed shocking."

"But it failed in the end!" The man sneered. He was called Caesar by this minister. The white sunlight from the window shone on his pale face. He was smiling, but it was just a bitter smile. Yes, he was Augustus of the Eastern Empire: Theodosius II. There may be doubts, why Augustus, who was the ruler of the Purple Room, did not light the lights in this hall under such a wealthy premise, I don't know, I am afraid only he himself knows.

He looked very old. After parting with Luca, he seemed to have aged a lot. After hearing the report from the minister in front of him, he looked even more haggard. He might be unable to accept such a cruel fact! "Uh, the Huns are in the city..."

After a moment's silence, the minister decided to continue his duties. He opened the scroll and continued reading.

"That's enough, Priscus!"

Just as the minister had just finished speaking, Theodosius II interrupted him. "I want to hear the results of the battle, not the details recorded in your book!"

"Oh, yes, yes, my Caesar!" The minister Priscus' hands trembled. He was afraid of angering Theodosius II. You know, he was reporting a very bad situation. If he accidentally angered Augustus in front of him, he couldn't even imagine what his fate would be.

"The Huns captured Fermilacum, and the bishops of Malgus surrendered to the Huns and gave up the city!" Priscus said nervously. He didn't know how much Augustus could bear.

"The bishop of Malgus." Theodosius II muttered, "Are they the thieves that the Huns said had desecrated some ancestral temple?" Augustus Theodosius II stood up, straightened his purple robe, and continued, "I don't know if that's true or not. Let's not talk about what's so good about these barbarians. These priests even offered up the city to prove themselves. Damn beasts, don't they know whose empire this is?"

Priscus dared not speak up, he could not say: Caesar, that piece of land was given to them by you. This would embarrass Augustus and he would not live long.

"The Bishop of Malgus is a traitor to the empire and should be killed." Priscus kept responding to this in front of Theodosius II.

"So what do Attila and his brother Burrus mean?" asked Theodosius II.

"Land, and money..." Priscus said, "Dear Caesar, they want us to submit to them. Yes, Caesar, that is what they are trying to do now."

“Hehe…”

Theodosius held the wooden armrest, which was made of precious wood, until it creaked. When had the empire ever been so humiliated by those barbarians? But now Theodosius II had no trump card to make himself strong enough. In short, he had no capital to pull Attila to the negotiating table.

Theodosius II took a deep breath. He still told himself that he had to be restrained because he had no money to get angry. He had to be restrained because this was what the Huns didn't want to see. "How much do they want? We have already increased the tribute to 700 pounds of gold, which is double the price. Isn't this enough to satisfy Attila?"

"Well, well, I'm afraid, I'm afraid that's the case, my Caesar."

Priscus stammered, "What the Huns mean is that 700 pounds of gold is just the previous amount. Now, now..." Priscus hesitated and began to consider whether he should state the new amount required.

"Hurry up and tell me!"

Theodosius II became impatient and urged Priscus in front of him.

"1,400 pounds, Attila's condition is 1,400 pounds of gold!" Priscus almost shouted.

“Haha!”

Theodosius II broke the precious wood handle violently, but it was an unconscious act, or he might have been so angry that he broke it violently. He did not feel any pain at all, because compared with the 1,400 pounds of gold, this piece of wood was simply not worth mentioning.

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"Also, there is more..."

Priscus hesitated for a moment, then continued: "Attila and his brother Burrus also know that such a condition is very harsh for Caesar, so they said that if Caesar does not agree to this condition, they will attack Constantinople."

"Oh, what a generous and kind condition!" Theodosius II was helpless against such a condition that was tantamount to intimidation, and could even be said to be in tears and laughter. He really couldn't afford such a huge amount of money, and there was no way to bargain with Attila, because all his main forces were in Greater Sicily, or following Luca to attack the Vandals. Far water cannot quench near thirst, and now he must first deal with the Huns and delay time as much as possible, and then issue an edict to order the army attacking Carthage to return.

"But, Caesar, Luca has led the allied legions to Carthage and not only severely damaged the Vandals but also surrounded them."

"What about Constantinople?" Theodosius II stroked his forehead. He was really facing a difficult problem now. He murmured to himself, "Why would Attila be like this? If the army was in the country, he would naturally not dare to act rashly. However, as soon as my army left, his aggressiveness followed closely. How did he know that my army would go out at a time when the country was empty?" It was impossible for him to figure out this question. Similarly, no one knew what was going on. I'm afraid only Attila himself knew.

"That's it." Theodosius waved his hand and said, "Just tell them that we can't come up with so much money right away, so we'll owe it to them first, and then wait for the allied army to come back. Then we'll order the dukes (garrison commanders) in various cities in the Balkans to speed up the expansion and training of the army. We can't tolerate that short barbarian's misbehavior over and over again!"

"Caesar, what about Carthage?" asked Priscus.

"Let the Western Empire handle it." Theodosius felt exhausted. He lay down and called Priscus, "Go out. I want to rest!"

(End of this chapter)