Chapter 415: Borrowing Troops (Part 2)

Not only did Milo look a little embarrassed, even Mateorius, who was standing behind him, had a gloomy look on his face.

He said yes out of politeness, but Milo secretly groaned in his heart. After all, it was a huge request. Three thousand people were going at once, which was not a small number.

Milo didn't want to argue with Luca here. Instead, he saw that the armor Luca was wearing was ordinary and not outstanding, so he smiled and said to Luca: "I don't know how interested you are in armor. After all, General, you can't lead an army without a good set of armor."

After saying that, Milo pointed to the armor behind Luca. This armor was a segmented armor made when Rome was at its peak, and was even more gorgeous than the Corbridge B that Luca secretly made in Gaul, Belgium. Rather than a self-defense armor, it was more like a work of art. Milo said to Luca with pride, "This is the armor that my ancestor wore when he followed Aurelius to fight against the Gaul rebels and was rewarded by Aurelius. How about it, Mr. Luca, what do you think?"

This was obviously an attempt to change the subject. Milo even brought all his heirlooms with him, so it seemed he was determined to be shameless.

"Of course!" Luka nodded repeatedly as he looked at the armor, and then said, "But no matter how beautiful the armor is, it can't scare away the enemy. Let's talk about the soldiers."

"Although you verbally agreed, your body is as still as a log." Luca saw that Milo had something to hide and was curious, so he smiled and said to him, "Maybe I asked for too much, which made you feel embarrassed for a while. That's fine. We can bargain a little, but we can't embarrass you."

"It seems that you are too optimistic about some of our family's situations." Milo smiled bitterly, and then slowly said to Luca: "The family business is also glorious on the surface, but I think the suffering in secret is invisible to the eyes of the world except God. This may be the reason why the family has been able to survive for such a long time."

After saying that, he shifted his gaze and looked at the world beyond the railing. This place is located at a high point, with a unique view. The houses on the left are lined up one after another. As far as the eye can see, the undulating highlands and dense forests outside the city wall are as far as the eye can see. On the right is the dock, and the busy sounds can be faintly heard even here. Looking north, the green ocean can extend to the end of the sight, where the water and the sky merge into one, like a curved surface. This scene is really a slap in the face of the flat earth theory.

"A peaceful scene, a comfortable life is not easy to come by." Miró deliberately sighed, he enjoyed this situation. Looking at the picturesque scenery in front of him, thinking about being at a high place overlooking the earth, he couldn't help but feel ambitious.

A breeze blew by, carrying with it a faint smell of the sea. Luka couldn't describe the taste, it was just a little salty and a little fishy. Fortunately, Luka had already gotten used to it.

"Look at this busy dock." Milo pointed there. There were ships coming and going on the sea, and the dock was crowded with people. It was very lively.

Milo's mask was smiling vaguely, but his eyes were full of joy, and his tone showed that he was very proud. He said slowly, "This place has been run by my family for many years, from the time of Augustus to today, and has grown to this size. But with so many people coming and going, you can't be sure which one is a thief, a hateful thief. So we need guards to protect the order here from being disrupted."

Luca interrupted Milo's sentimental speech and asked directly, "So you need a lot of personal guards to stay in this city to maintain order for you? With so many people, it's more than enough no matter how you divide them."

Milo opened his eyes, his features filled with surprise. He guessed that Luca had a vague understanding of their background. After all, it was an indisputable fact that nobles and wealthy individuals privately raised armies, and it was also an unwritten custom in Western Rome.

The Luga in front of him is in a high position of power at a young age. He is full of youthful vigor, does not know how to adapt, cannot analyze the interests, and acts rashly. It is inappropriate for him to ask for a huge amount of money on such a first meeting.

"Your Excellency also understands that we maintain a large number of private soldiers to maintain order and guard against foreign enemies. Look at the pirates on the sea and the robbers in the jungle. They are all problems that I need and am troubled by."

"As far as I know, this should be the duty of the army." Luca shook the glass of wine, then gently put it to his lips, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass. Instead, he questioned Milo, "Such selfish behavior can also be considered that the civil war and foreign wars during this period have caused the treasury to be empty and the loss of troops is serious. Many regions have officials but no soldiers. It is understandable to maintain private soldiers. However, now that the situation has gradually stabilized, the originally chaotic situation is slowly improving. Of course, the most important issue is the order of Rome and the loyalty of the nobles. These are the main factors in maintaining the current stability. Of course, the most important thing is to return the soldiers to the legions and the scepter to the Purple Room."

"Yes, yes!" Milo nodded his head like pounding garlic. He didn't expect that this young guy could speak so eloquently. But this was no joke. There was a sharp knife hidden in every word. His intention was very obvious. He had set his eyes on the soldiers under his command and now he came to visit and ask for them in a arrogant manner.

"Your Excellency may not be aware of the situation." Milo laughed and said, "But as Lord Luca has seen, the army we have is barely able to protect ourselves. The number of people is not large, and we can't even gather a field regiment. Of course, most of the soldiers are on guard where I live. After all, there are always some daring thieves who are thinking about it."

Having said that, looking at the indecisive look on Luca's face, Milo couldn't help but laugh in his heart. After all, the troops at hand were not in the city, and the place where Luca went was just the tip of the iceberg of Palermo. How could he get a glimpse of the whole picture?

"But, but!" Luca pretended to be dumb and said to Minivius Milo, "But I heard from your eldest son that you have more than 5,000 soldiers."

"What?"

Milo's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned around and glared at Mateolius who was standing behind him. His eyes were clearly scolding him: Look at what you have done! At this time, Mateolius's face had already lost color, mainly because he thought that Luca must have come to take a look, but he never thought that his intention was obvious.

"I didn't expect to be fooled by this kid. If I had known he had bad intentions, I shouldn't have told him everything." Mateolius must have thought that Luca was still the Luca who had no shortage of soldiers and was full of justice five years ago, so he didn't think much about it. But now he is speechless. Who knew that his casual remark would make both himself and his father embarrassed.

"Oh, Master Luca, for God's sake." Milo turned around and smiled at Luca, picked up the cloth on the table and wiped his forehead very elegantly. He must have realized that even if he tried to cover up, it would not cover up the beads of sweat on his forehead. He then defended himself, "Master, don't believe my son's nonsense. He must be bragging to show off to you. Everything should be seen with your own eyes. Don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously!"

"Oh!" Luca snorted coldly, thinking that this stingy man had lost his composure, so he pressed on step by step, "At that time, when we were near Palermo, the warships cruising on the sea did not belong to the army. They must be under the command of your family. There were several warships, and the ones I saw alone were no less than seven or eight hundred people. Besides, the number of people that Your Excellency Mateolius brought to greet me at the dock was no less than two hundred in two phalanxes. The guards who maintained order along the way were all under your Excellency's banner, which was no less than several hundred people. Then there is your Excellency's residence. As you said, most of them are here, which means that there are more than three hundred people guarding it. This number is nearly two thousand people, not to mention that I only visited less than half of Palermo, and you have to guard against thieves in the forest, so the other half is the same number. As far as I know, the army stationed in Palermo has more than 5,000 people, all of whom are militiamen who can come at any time. With this calculation, Your Excellency has a magnificent 10,000 troops in his hands."

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These words left Milo speechless. He sat in his seat, looking at Luca.

"You should know that I only had 20,000 troops when I went on the expedition to Britannia to fight the Anglo-Saxons. You alone have 10,000 troops at your disposal, so why would it be difficult to send 3,000 troops to support the Purple Chamber? The Vandal crisis has been over for five years, and all we can see is Roman territory. Who are you guarding against, Flavius?"

Milo was shocked by these words. He was terrified. This was no longer a matter of bargaining. He had hidden so many troops in secret. Now that it was exposed, any further excuses would be a betrayal. Of course, he knew that Luca was the captain of the soldiers. He also clearly understood that once the captain of the soldiers appeared, all the troops under the scepter would be under Luca's command. A wealthy family in a city was going to fight against the highest authority of Rome, which was like an egg hitting a stone.

"Of course, we have corresponding conditions, otherwise it would be bad if you think we are all robbers who came here to plunder!" Luca saw that Milo was frightened, and he knew that this matter was possible. He continued, "Your son can lead this army and become a chief under my command. You should know that if Mateolius accumulates great military exploits, he can enter the Senate or the court, and then become the chief of Sicily or Naples. This is a great benefit. I have pointed out a clear way for you. If you want to make your family more powerful and get a good reputation as a protector of the country, or wait for the matter to be exposed and end up as a traitor, you should weigh it in your heart!"

After saying this, Luca stood up and led his guards away without looking back, leaving Milo and his son Mateolius standing on the balcony in a daze.

(End of this chapter)