Chapter 414 Private Army
In return, Luca took off his helmet and gave it to Octavio as a gift.
The return journey only took two days, as Luca entered Palermo in the north of Sicily, the capital city of the Sicily region, and soon they landed at the Palermo pier.
Merchant ships from Rome, Naples, Genoa and other places gathered here. Since the Vandals left, this place has returned to normal.
The business at the docks here is dominated by the local noble family, the Minivius family, who claim to have inherited the family from the Republican era. They are extremely wealthy, not only because of the taxes on the merchants at the docks, but also because of the grapes from their vast estates outside the city and the storage space under their mansions, which is enough to last for hundreds of years. So many merchants would say: Greater Sicily belongs to Rome, but Palermo belongs to Minivius.
It was here that Luca landed. He came here not to fight the local tyrants and divide their land, but to find the Minivius family.
No one knew who had brought the news of Luga's arrival to the Minivius family in advance. At the dock, the Minivius family had actually cleared out a docking spot, and a large group of people were waiting for Luga's arrival.
On the boat, Luca could already clearly see their large number of personnel, and there were even special personnel waving flags to indicate to Luca and his team that this was a docking place specially prepared for them.
"As expected of the Minivius family, they always think of many things that we cannot think of." Belia stayed beside Luga and couldn't help sighing as he looked at the current situation.
"It's better to say that they prepared early, or that they are well-informed." Luga shrugged and slowly walked off the warship, followed by Andrew and Belia.
As expected of a noble family, the welcoming ceremony was extremely grand. So many people lined up on the stone-paved road below the dock, waiting. Their armor was different from that of the regular Roman soldiers. But their equipment was even better than that of regular soldiers. They wore chain mail or primitive shoulder guards. The patterns on their skirts were very particular, especially the shields were all in the same pattern. The only difference was that they all wore sheepskin helmets on their heads, which might be the difference between them and the regular army.
There were two phalanxes with a total of more than 200 people. They stood on both sides of the road. This welcoming ceremony was more like a demonstration. At least that was how Luca felt.
"This is their welcome ceremony." Luca said, curling his lips, shrugging his shoulders, and said in an almost helpless tone: "It gives people a very refreshing feeling, but it makes me a little creepy. I really don't know why."
After getting off the boat, the first person to greet me was a complete stranger. He was of Latin descent, with black hair, black eyes, and curly hair. Compared to the Germans, he was much smaller, even shorter than Luca. He wore a laurel wreath on his head, and his clothes, including his toga, were all red. I don't know when this trend started, but it was necessary to prevent the sea breeze. He also wore slightly tight long johns, so to speak.
"Welcome, distinguished guest!"
After all, he was a nobleman and had received a very systematic education. His every move and even the polite smile he showed to distinguished guests were so strange, at least Luga could not imitate them.
"Uh." Luca stood there, and he immediately stepped forward to shake hands with Luca. Before Luca could speak, he introduced himself: "I am Minivius Mateolius, the son of Minivius Milo. My father is the patriarch of our family, and this family has been passed down from generation to generation for five or six hundred years."
"Mateolius, what a nice name." Luca nodded to Mateolius and then praised him, "Your family is also a very famous and ancient family."
There were only a few polite words, and Luca couldn't think of anything else to say. Following behind Mateolius, Luca was naturally confused. After all, he didn't inform the Minivius family in advance that he would come here.
"Sir Luca is a hero of Palermo. The battle outside the city of Palermo is still fresh in our memory. According to my father's request, we have to visit the ruins of the battlefield almost every year. After all, the warriors buried there are all heroes who saved us." Mateolius said in a heavy tone, and it seemed that he took such matters to heart.
"Yes, the battle was indeed brutal. I was injured and almost lost my life." As Luca spoke, he recalled the past and couldn't help but think of the old bastard Thermitius.
"If he hadn't stopped me, I might have chopped off Gaiseric's head. How could there be any Vandal Kingdom now? The entire three southern provinces would surely be in the hands of Rome!" Luca gritted his teeth as he thought about it.
The group got on the carriage and after a few minutes of driving, they finally stopped in front of a huge mansion. It was built like a miniature palace, with marble columns of the finest quality. There was also a huge pool in front of the house, with an artificial fountain in the pool, and pretty maids were drawing water from it. Slaves in white linen shirts were planting landscape plants all around.
This seems normal, because every noble would do this, but what is unusual is the gatekeepers and the soldiers patrolling back and forth. Their equipment is too good, all in scale armor, the only difference between them and the palace guards is the purple cloak.
They saw Mateolius quickly stand up and salute him, just like a regular soldier.
"The guards in your family look really strong." Lu Jia couldn't help but admire, "It would be a pity if you didn't join the army and fight for your country."
"Ha, thank you for the compliment." Mateolius, who was leading the way in front, smiled slightly, as if to acknowledge Luca's words, but he didn't seem to understand the implied meaning of Luca's words.
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"They are all soldiers, at least they used to be." Mateolius continued, "They used to be the garrison of Greater Sicily, or they came from the province of Africa. They originally followed Boniface, but their master died, so the rest were scattered like a pile of sand. My father recruited them because we need to be on guard. Look at the pirates on the sea, the robbers hiding in the forest, and even the Vandals who attacked last time. We must remain vigilant. This is different from the past. At least we have to protect the family foundation."
"So how many people do you have?" Luga asked, looking around, and then said, "Such a large territory requires a lot of manpower to defend, and it is not uncommon for nobles to organize their own armies."
"About 5,000 people!" Mateorius said directly without thinking too much. "This is far from enough! You know, as early as the time of my grandfather Mateorius, he lived in the era of Theodosius I and Honorius. He witnessed the great collapse with his own eyes, so he realized that he wanted to form an army to protect himself. No one can be trusted these days, especially the Roman army. Sorry, I'm sorry for offending you."
"Foresight! Mateolius." Luca nodded repeatedly.
(End of this chapter)