Chapter 441: Rebuke

Lu Jia came back, and although his life was saved, he fell asleep immediately due to exhaustion.

When he woke up again, he was already in his room in the Governor's Palace in the city of New Carthage.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but when he got up again, the pain in his thighs had not subsided at all. He touched his thighs with both hands and rubbed them little by little to the door.

After opening the door, Luga suddenly bumped into the maid standing at the door. This scared Luga so much that he took several steps back. His thighs hurt so much that he cried.

"Oh, my lord, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The maid was terrified. She hurried forward to support Luca and apologized repeatedly. Her face was pale and she moved carefully, fearing that she had done something wrong.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Luka finally recovered from the pain. He waved at the maid, put his hand on her shoulder and asked the maid, "How long have I slept here?"

"It's been a whole day, my lord," the maid said tremblingly.

"It's been so long." Lu Jia sighed and then asked, "So, is there any news that I missed? After all, these are troubled times. After being delayed for so many days, there must be a lot of troubles that will give me a headache."

"Indeed, that's true." The maid continued, "The envoy sent by Augustus has been waiting here for several days. When you were carried back, the envoy wanted to rush over to wake you up to discuss matters. Fortunately, the guards stopped him from succeeding."

"Special envoy?" Luga was a little curious. He thought that while he had just had a good rest and was full of energy, he might as well meet this angry guy.

In front of the hall of the Governor's Mansion, a middle-aged man in bright clothes and wearing a laurel wreath sat in the middle of the empty hall, among the bureaucrats. This was the position he had specifically requested. He had indeed waited for quite some time, so much so that the leaves on the laurel branches above his head had begun to dry up. He must have waited for quite some time.

The hall was packed with people, including nobles, officials accompanying the special envoys, and many generals under Luga.

"Good day, Mr. Special Envoy, what brings you here?" Luca limped into the hall with the help of his maid. He smiled bitterly and looked at the Special Envoy of Augustus, whose face looked a little gloomy.

"How many days has he been here?" Luca turned his head and asked the maid beside him.

"Three days, my Lord."

"Oh, that's a really long wait, a long one!" Luca smiled at Augustus's envoy, stepped forward and stretched out his hand, asking, "I don't know your name yet?"

"Marcus Pinius Fitanius." Augustus's envoy bowed slightly and introduced himself slowly. From the way he held his head high, it could be seen that he had the common problem of arrogance among court officials.

"Oh, Mr. Fetanius." Luca nodded repeatedly, looking up and down at Fetanius's clothes, and said to Fetanius politely: "It seems that your Excellency has been very unhappy waiting here for three days. I am sorry for this."

"I am extremely angry about this, Captain Soldier!" Augustus' envoy Fitanius rudely interrupted Luca, raised his hands high and began his performance.

"Look, our soldier captain, it's only been a short time since the appointment, and the funds available to the Purple Chamber are already stretched to the limit!" He used the same prestige he usually used to scold those disobedient guys, completely ignoring the fact that the person being scolded in front of him was a soldier captain whom he knew very well. "I, on behalf of Augustus, the only orthodox Western Roman, ask Lord Luca why you refuse to allow the region you lead to continue paying taxes to Ravenna?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fitanius." Luca said with a serious face, and patted the maid who was supporting him, motioning her to leave. Then, facing the angry Fitanius, he said in an extremely gentle tone: "I'm sorry, Mr. Fitanius, I really have my reasons for doing this. After all, we need to maintain a large number of troops to recover more land for Rome."

"A large number of troops?" Hearing this, Fitanius sneered and continued, "Soldier Captain, do you think that you have too few soldiers now? But what I see is that they have filled the garrison camp of New Carthage and the tents outside are endless. This is simply building a new Carthage composed of soldiers! Our nobles have complained about the supply of so many people, and you dare to privately occupy the taxes that belong to Ravenna on this land?"

"No, the real situation is not like this." Luca went on to explain: "You are a politician and don't understand military affairs, but I am a soldier. I don't get involved in politics, and I hope you won't get involved in my affairs."

"No interference?" Fitanius questioned Luca, "Don't you think about Augustus's life or death? What he eats now is almost the same as that of ordinary people. Does Augustus eat that kind of food? Also, His Majesty Augustus hasn't bought new clothes for a week. How can he be loved by his people?"

Fitanius' words were extremely emotional, and he looked very emotional. It was not difficult for Luca to see that it was not just Augustus. After he refused to pay taxes, it not only affected Augustus, but also the court officials under him. How could they, who were used to squandering, get used to a tight life again? Protests were inevitable, so Luca had already expected such a thing, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Luca wanted to appease the impulsive Augustus envoy, but he only said: "I did this just to make Augustus eat better and live better in the future."

"What's better?" Fetanius interrupted Luca again. He glared at Luca and said loudly, "Have you forgotten that you have a sister? She is our Augusta. You must remember that she is about to give birth. Can you bear to live like a beggar after seeing the purple room you have given birth to?"

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"I don't"

"So what are you planning?" Fitanius went berserk. This impulsive guy growled like a mad dog. He pointed at Luca and scolded him loudly, "Predecessor Augustus spared no effort to nominate you as the captain of soldiers, hoping that you would protect Augustus and the Purple Chamber. Now, not only do you fail to fulfill your promise as the captain of soldiers, but you also make Augustus' life so difficult. I am here on behalf of His Majesty Augustus to question you. Do you, Flavius ​​Luca, want to betray Augustus and Rome?"

As soon as the word "betrayal" was mentioned, the whole hall became unusually quiet. Everyone held their breath and turned their eyes to Luca who was now opposite Fitanius. Regardless of whether this was a fact or slander, once such casual words were spoken, no matter how loyal a person was, he would probably be furious at this time.

Fetanius looked at Luca's gloomy face and must have realized that what he had just said was indeed too harsh, but once words were spoken, they could not be taken back. At this time, he still pursed his lips and straightened his chest, showing a righteous look, but he didn't know that beads of sweat had already seeped out of his shiny forehead.

(End of this chapter)