Chapter 484 Money

"Don't be shocked. That's just Basilus's own business." Luca stretched out his hand to signal the nobles to be quiet, but the relaxation did not last long. Luca continued, "But think about it, if Basilus can't pay back the six thousand pounds of gold, then would Attila stop his attack for the six thousand pounds of gold?"

The nobles present were silent. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say, but they seemed to be waiting for Luca to see what he wanted to say.

"So I need your help to rebuild a strong army, otherwise I can't guarantee that Attila will come to the city at any time."

Instead of receiving their approval, Luca's words about wanting to help the nobles present at the scene made them smile at each other, with more disdain and disbelief in their expressions.

"Sir Luca, then, what do you want us to do?" One of the nobles stood up and said hesitantly.

"I hope you can help. After all, the army needs supplies, the soldiers need wages, and we need a lot more. You are all Romans here, I think you should understand what I mean."

"We all understand what you mean." The leading noble nodded to Luca, but the puzzled look on his face made Luca see that he had something else to say. He continued, "But as you know, the province of Africa was borrowed by the Vandals, which had a significant impact on Athens' commerce. Especially this time, the invasion of Attila the Hun left our merchant ships with nowhere to go. They could only wait for the goods to rot in the port. There are too many robbers in Asia and pirates are rampant. We really don't have extra money to support you."

While this guy was begging, the others could clearly see that Luca's face had darkened. They knew that Basilus's adopted son was already unhappy. If he continued to beg like this, it would inevitably cause more negative effects. So they simply nodded and admitted defeat. Since the officer had proposed it, they might as well nod and admit it.

"Okay, okay!" Another noble stood up, he looked very serious, "Since Lord Luca has already spoken, it can be seen that he is determined to fight against the Huns, so as Romans, we should also show our patriotism. So, let's make some contributions, for the sake of the merciful God."

In this way, very reluctantly, in the end, it was all Lujia's fault. The pitiful appearance of one or two people had already made Lujia very angry. Now that they paid, it was difficult to lose his temper. Lujia secretly comforted himself in his heart, saying that although it was indeed hateful for these bastards to cry poor to me, they really wanted to pay, so he should be patient and see what they could pay.

The nobles nodded in agreement, and then they all contributed some money, including the solidus, denarius, and even copper coins they carried with them.

After collecting money from hundreds of families, a small pile of money, including solidus, denarius and fuli copper coins, was placed in front of Luga.

"I'm sorry, Master Luca, we, we only brought this much, we, can only take out this much."

Luca looked at the pile of coins in front of him, and then at the mountain of gifts not far away. I'm sure anyone else would be able to deeply understand his current mood.

Luca tightly grasped the corner of the table and lowered his head. None of the nobles present could see his expression at this moment. Only Arletto saw Luca's clenched teeth and understood that this matter was troublesome.

"Lord Luca, Lord Luca!" Arletto realized that something was wrong. He hurriedly called Luca, then reached out and grabbed Luca's left arm and whispered, "Lord Luca, you must stay calm. You must not let the devil lose your mind. You must, must not let the devil control you!"

"Enough, there are no demons in this world!" Luca couldn't hold it back and finally exploded. He shook off Arletto's arm, stared with red eyes, and pointed his finger at each noble in front of him. "Look, aren't the demons right in front of us? Look at each of them, aren't they all terrifying demons? They are like parasites clinging to the huge body of the empire, and then open their ugly mouths to suck the empire's selfless blood. When the exhausted empire needs their help, they actually call their bloated bodies thin, call wealth poor, and call the sun the moon. What could be more terrifying than them!"

The nobles present were at a loss for what to do after being scolded and insulted by Luga. They lowered their heads and remained silent as if they had made a mistake, but in their hearts they all hoped that it would end quickly so that they could vent their anger and leave.

“Come on!”

Luca roared towards the outside of the door, and hundreds of fully armed soldiers rushed in in an instant. They held their swords tightly in their hands, and the gleaming blades made people tremble with fear. They quickly surrounded all the nobles in front of them, and the nobles were panicked. "Sir Luca, Sir Luca, what does this mean?" Seeing that Luca was serious, the nobles could not sit still. They quickly stood up and stood behind their seats, staring at Luca with wide eyes in horror. Isn't this panic? Seeing that they have already taken up arms, who knows, they may kill people behind closed doors! "We are all Romans, loyal to Rome and Basileus. You can't use weapons meant for barbarians against loyal Roman citizens without distinguishing right from wrong."

“Wow!”

Luga grabbed a handful of coins from the pile of money in front of him and held them tightly in his hand. The "cracking" sound made by the coins being squeezed and rubbed against each other was particularly harsh, setting off Luga's red eyes.

"The gift given to me is piled up like a wall. It's said to be for the army, but there are only this many coins that can be counted. The barbarians are invading, the country is declining, and there are still such blood-sucking insects who are content with the status quo and live shamelessly!" Luga said, and threw the coins in his hand towards the nobles in front of him, hitting them like frightened poultry, screaming and retreating.

"Sir Luca! Sir Luca!" Seeing that the situation was serious, Arletto called out Luca's name.

"You have nothing to do here, Duke of Athens!" Luca yelled at Arleto, then turned around and stretched out his hand to order his soldiers: "Come on, capture them all and ask them for money!"

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"We really don't have any money! We really don't have any money!" The nobles cried and knelt on the ground, praying to Luca as if they were praying to God. But even so, Luca didn't appreciate it!

"Poor creature!" Luga closed his eyes and listened quietly to the screams of the nobles. He said calmly, "Let me be the bad guy. As long as I can stop Attila, no matter what I do, it will be tolerated!"

"Beat them! If you don't spit out the money, beat them to death! We want Souledes, Souledes!" The screams of the nobles resounded throughout the Governor's Palace and reached the dark sky. If God could hear them, he would probably be unable to sleep tonight.

(End of this chapter)