Chapter 495: Settlement

Under the sunlight, the royal palace of Constantinople was dyed with glazed windows, making the entire royal hall dazzling. The palace was decorated with various colors, revealing the magnificence everywhere. Theodosius II sat in it, holding a scepter in his right hand and a golden cross inlaid with a dozen broken gems in his left hand. He wore a purple robe with various strange patterns sewn with gold threads and a golden laurel crown on his head. It was a gorgeous outfit that would only be worn on major festivals, but today was not a special festival.

He sat on his throne, looking calm, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised. He was listening to the courtier standing below holding a huge parchment and reading carefully:

"The army of the demon Attila stopped at Thermopylae. They suffered heavy losses. The pile of corpses blocked the entrance to Thermopylae and even created a new land on the sea surface. Basil, Attila led his remnants to escape!"

"Who stopped Attila at Thermopylae?" Theodosius asked. "This guy must be a brave warrior, otherwise he would not have been able to remain calm in the face of such a large number of Huns."

"It's your adopted son, Flavius ​​Luca!" the courtier said slowly.

A hint of surprise flashed across Theodosius's expression, but he soon regained his composure, with a smile on his face, looking very proud. If he had not had to maintain his dignity as Basil in front of the courtiers, he would probably have jumped up and cheered loudly in the next second, regardless of the hindrance of his purple robe. Fortunately, he restrained himself and did not embarrass himself or the courtiers.

"I thought so too. Oh my god, he really, really surprised me. I thought he would leave here far away after Thessalonica and let me bear this pain alone, but he didn't abandon me after all! Haha, he is worthy of being the adopted son chosen by Theodosius, the pillar of Rome, and the armor of the Purple Chamber!"

While Theodosius was praising Luca, the courtiers in the audience did not seem to be so happy. In response, he smiled awkwardly along with Theodosius. When Theodosius's laughter gradually died down, he took out a new box and added: "Respected Basileus, I now understand that you are indeed happy, but there are some issues here that you have to deal with personally!"

"Do you need me to handle it personally?" Theodosius II pointed at his own puzzled face. After a while, he smiled and said, "It seems that this matter must be of great significance, but I hope this is also a good thing."

"I'm afraid that I can't do what you want, Basil." The courtier came to Theodosius II respectfully holding the box. Theodosius took the box and muttered, "What on earth is this?" Then he opened it. Inside were more than a dozen neatly wrapped parchment letters. Theodosius opened the letters and read them carefully, but the contents froze his smile instantly.

"'A full 20,000 pounds of gold! And 60,000 troops!'" Theodosius II lost his smile and his expression became solemn. This was a letter of protest from the nobles. Every word in it condemning Luca was heartbreaking, and there was also a detailed list. The next dozen letters were all lists of the nobles of Athens and how much money had been robbed.

"He is really a robber!" Seeing the receipts one by one, Theodosius couldn't help but gasp. He didn't dare to imagine what his proud son, Flavius ​​Luca, had done in Athens. He didn't even dare to think about it now.

"Where is he now?" Theodosius asked.

"What? Who?"

"Flavius ​​Luca, my son."

"He has led his army to retake the province of Macedonia and pushed the defenses back to Thrace. I heard recently that he plans to launch an offensive in the spring to retake Dacia in one fell swoop."

"What about the Huns? What did Attila do?"

"Attila has been retreating and has no intention of engaging us again."

"I mean the gold tribute!" Theodosius raised the golden scepter in his right hand and slammed it heavily on the ground, making a clanging sound. "What does Attila think? Does he want to continue to ask for more or has he made a new proposal?"

"No, there isn't." The courtier seemed to have no preparation in this regard. He pretended to rummage through the few pieces of parchment in his hand, trying to show his Basileus that he was very busy.

"Enough, enough! I know you didn't." Theodosius waved his hand at the courtier. This was not difficult for him. After all, as the Purple Chamber and the orthodox Roman, there was naturally a strict system of division of labor. Each courtier and bureaucrat performed his duties, and the entire system was in order. This was a rule established two or three hundred years ago, and it was also the most efficient administrative method at the time. Even Augustus himself did not have the power and ability to tamper with it.

"That's enough. Call the diplomats. Also, go to the Thracian defense line to find Luca and tell him that I want to see him as soon as possible."

"Yes, your Excellency Basilus."

"Luca, my son!" Theodosius II kept polishing the cross in his hand and fell into deep thought. This was a huge basket, a full 20,000 pounds of gold. Even as Augustus, Theodosius II could not take it out.

"He stole 20,000 pounds of gold, Luca, what were you thinking?" Theodosius asked himself. He thought hard and tried every possible way but couldn't figure out how Luca stole so much.

Now is not the time to think about these useless questions. The most important thing is to think carefully about what to do after calling Luca. He has so much at once, there must be some left. Take all the rest back and save face. After all, the first priority is to deal with these angry nobles.

"I must talk to this little bastard!" Theodosius II was firm in his opinion. He nodded heavily, then raised his head and leaned lazily on his seat to admire his purple robe and the golden scepter in his hand. Yes, there was a little greed on his face. At least now, he had secured his throne.

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Three days later, north of the Utus River, a huge army from the Peloponnese was camping here. Luca's wish was to ask them to build a defense line here and monitor the actions of the Huns entrenched in Dacia.

"Luca, this is a letter from Theodosius. Oh my God, so much time has passed, and this father who loves you finally remembers that there is still a son outside the city wall who is cleaning up his mess!" Andrew brought a messenger with him. The messenger came to Luca with the beautifully framed letter and handed it to him. Andrew watched the whole process, and there was obvious sarcasm in his words.

"Oh, Andrew, don't say that. If Augustus knows about it, you will commit a serious crime."

"Ha, if he could come forward when Attila was here, I'm afraid he wouldn't need us." Andrew was still upset, but fortunately Luga raised his head and gave him a look that made Andrew understand immediately. He looked at the messenger beside him unconvinced, shrugged, and turned away.

"It seems that Basilus can't wait to ask me for an explanation." Luca shook his head helplessly after reading the contents of the letter and then said to the messenger: "Go back and tell my father that I will arrive as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)