Chapter 541 The sharpest spear, the strongest shield

"Keep a constant speed, retract the oars, retract the oars!"

The wind started to blow, and I could only see the sail on the mast behind me bulging. The Roman-woven Arabic flag on the sail was fluttering in the wind, as if God was caressing the sail.

The officer ordered the slaves to put away the oars and let the wind push the warship forward. The slaves, who had been tired all day, finally got a rest. They lazily lay on the oars and fell asleep.

Looking at Sergius who was walking towards him, he came to Luca's side and leaned on the railing, staring at Luca with wide eyes and curiosity.

"Ha, it seems I'm still not good at hiding." Luga smiled and shook his head. He knew that Sergius was eager to know what Luga was worried about, but curiosity killed the cat. This matter might be known only to Liginia and him.

"Alas, everything is happening too fast, and it always catches us off guard." Luca said, sighing deeply, with a helpless look on his face, "Aetius went to Rome from Ludinan last year. I'm afraid he is already outside Rome at this time."

“Did Theodosius also realize this problem?”

"No, hi, what are you talking about?" Luca looked at Sergius with a frown on his face and said unhappily, "Sir Sergius, I know you are very curious now, but knowing too much is not good for you."

The implication was that he hoped Sergius would not ask too many questions, which Sergius understood. A trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes. Luca could not explain why he wanted to know some news so much. Could it be that he had other plans in mind while being loyal to Augustus? Luca soon had a new excuse for his dissatisfaction with Sergius, that is, in this era, it is really difficult to determine who can be loyal to Rome, even if it is just to realize his own ambitions.

No, Luca's view on this point is very clear. How can there still be people who devote everything to the country in this era? At least this country has repeatedly disappointed its citizens.

Luca, who rejected Sergius, turned his gaze back to the sea in front of him. This ocean, the wind, "You must know something, Sir Sergius."

"No, Master Luca." Sergius said slowly, "Now Aetius and the elders who oppose you all regard you as their greatest enemy, more than the barbarians who harm their interests. You should understand that if you return to Rome this time, what choice will you face? Will you fight with Aetius like Caesar and Pompey, or do you have other plans?"

Luca didn't seem to care about Sergius's kind reminder. He smiled and explained, "Although they are nobles, their horizons are limited to the walls of their own manors and the walls of their cities. Such people only care about the safety of their own cities. How can they care about the safety of the entire Roman Empire?"

"Then your choice is..."

"War is no joke, Sergius. As a soldier, you should have a deeper understanding of war than those who have never been on the battlefield."

"So, Your Excellency did not intend to choose war. He brought an army of nearly 20,000 people and chose to negotiate peacefully with Aetius."

"Peace is built on fear, Sergius. Only when both sides are evenly matched and have absolute power that makes the other side fearful can the so-called peace be maintained."

"Of course, war is the ultimate solution to the problem after all diplomatic means have failed, because the victor has the right to make any demands on the loser." Luca stretched out his hand and pointed at the sea around him. "Originally, Rome was like a stormy ocean. Aetius and I spent more than ten years calming the storm, making the whole of Rome like the sea in front of us. Although it fluctuates, it is generally balanced and there will be no raging waves that can capsize the warships."

"Yes, this is a more tragic situation than the Kingdom of Gaul and Bagauda at that time." Sergius could empathize. After all, he had led the fleet around the western coastline of Rome and had a deeper understanding of Rome. He watched as the cities that once belonged to Rome were patrolled and garrisoned by barbarians, and the people of Rome handed over the taxes that belonged to Rome to the barbarians.

This was an intolerable humiliation for the usually proud Romans, but now the Senate and the Purple Chamber actually called this matter the supreme honor and believed it was a wise decision to safeguard Rome.

“You are the only one who is sober, Lord Luca.” Unconsciously, he had been thinking for so long. Coming back to his senses, Sergius sighed and nodded at Luca.

After the fleet passed Sardinia, Rome was getting closer and closer. The remaining journey would only take about half a month.

Three days later, Rome was surrounded by the combined forces of Aetius and Litorius. The two armies faced each other across the Roman moat. Obviously, knowing that he was much stronger than the Roman defenders, he waited leisurely, testing the patience of the defenders bit by bit.

More than ten days passed, during which Aetius either sat on the high ground to bask in the sun or traveled around Rome with senior officers. Even though the siege weapons were complete and the soldiers were ready, Aetius's reluctance to send out the army to attack finally surprised his subordinates.

This doubt finally came to an end one day when Tereus, the only officer who was able to speak in front of Aetius, was puzzled by what Aetius had done, and could not stand the repeated questioning of the officers below.

This time, I sat with Aetius on the shady grass under a woods outside the city of Rome. Aetius was so comfortable that it seemed that he had never been so relaxed since he became the captain of the soldiers.

Lying on the specially prepared bed, Aetius drank a glass of fine wine and ate two slices of crispy bread. After a full meal and a full stomach, the wine was strong and the soft bed made him drowsy. Not long after lying there, Aetius fell into a deep sleep like an old man enjoying his old age.

Tereus stood aside like a filial son. Aetius did not take the attack seriously at all, even the besieged city was not a concern at all, just to relax himself.

Tereus was very anxious. How could he not be anxious? His father Thermitius was being held under house arrest somewhere in Rome.

Finally, after nearly three hours, when the sun had been shining from noon to the hottest afternoon, Aetius stretched and woke up late.

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"grown ups!"

Seeing that Aetius had finally woken up, Tereus hurried to greet him.

"Oh, what a wonderful dream, Tereus. Come, let me tell you what I dreamed about. Oh, it's amazing. How could God give people such a good ability to dream!" Aetius sat up and said to Tereus while smiling.

"My Lord..."

Tereus's expression was awkward, and it was obvious that he was not interested in the interesting dream that Aetius told him about. He seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he had something to hide.

"What's wrong? Tereus." Seeing Tereus like this, Aetius couldn't help but feel puzzled and frowned.

"My lord, you know!" Tereus thought for a long time and finally asked, "The soldiers are waiting for your order to attack the city, but... you are not moved."

(End of this chapter)