The military trumpets sounded in unison, and the drums sounded in unison. Flowers are flying all over the sky, and streamers cover the sky.

On February 15, 270 AD, Aurelian, the commander-in-chief of the Roman Imperial cavalry, held a grand entrance ceremony for Li Mi and his entourage in Byzantium.

Countless citizens took to the streets, vying to see the messenger from a foreign land thirty thousand miles away. When Li Mi and the others approached the city gate under the guidance of Flavi, Rulin's arms waved in unison, expressing great enthusiasm and welcome to Li Mi and the others.

Amidst countless cheers, Long Yu rode on the newly changed tall horse and looked forward to himself, while Li Mi frowned.

"What's wrong? Uncle Ling, such a guard of honor, hey, even in my Han Dynasty, I haven't seen it much! You see, there are so many beautiful women on the roadside, many of them are blonde and blue-eyed, hey, compared to Persian women, it is a different flavor. I can't say, at night, hahahaha~~~"

"Hey~~~" looked at Long Yu, who was excited, and then looked around him, almost all the mission personnel were in an extremely high mood. Li Mi shook his head imperceptibly.

"Shuhe, you mean that you are presiding over this ceremony today. Not their emperor, not the prime minister, not the governor of this province of Bithynia, but the commander-in-chief of the cavalry of their empire? ”

"Yes, yes. Lingbo, is there something wrong? It is important to know that the capital of the Roman Empire was in the city of Rome, which is said to be thousands of miles away from this Byzantium. Their emperors, prime ministers, and so on, are unlikely to come here. ”

"Hehe, I'm overthinking." - What am I worried about, isn't it that the emperor has no real power or can't effectively control the soldiers below? Our family is not the same, haven't we been happy with this situation for a long time? Why is it so shocking now?

Speaking of which, Li Mi and their arrival in Byzantium at this time can be described as unfortunate and extremely coincidental.

Unfortunately, it is because in 260 AD, the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia fought in Edessa. Rome was defeated, and Emperor Valerian was captured by Shapur I. The entire Roman Empire was thrown into chaos and fragmentation. This situation lasted for ten years. In Roman history, this period of history is known as the Decade Crisis.

During this decade, Rome lost Britannia in the northwest, and the Gallic region (France) became independent. In the southwest, generals in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) proclaimed themselves emperors and engaged in civil wars against the emperors in the Roman city. In the north, the Goths took the opportunity to invade, and Rome lost control of the Danube Valley, not to mention that the Goths had reached the peak of the Goths not far north of the city of Rome. In the east, the province of Amernaene was lost to Persia, and the province of Syria became independent of Palmyra. The Arab provinces with the Sinai Peninsula as the core and the Egyptian province of the empire's barn were repeatedly invaded and sacked by the Kingdom of Palmyra. In the time of Trajan the Great, the empire that enveloped the Mediterranean Sea as an inland lake was left with only the Apennine Peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula and part of Asia Minor.

Moreover, the current emperor, Claudius II, defended the city of Rome in 268 with a decisive defeat over the invading Goths. But the emperor was in poor health and has now fallen ill. The generals with heavy troops in all parts of the empire have their minds in mind. The Roman dictates were no longer effectively enforceable outside the city of Rome...... The entire empire is now on the verge of falling apart.

It is said to be extremely coincidental, and that is because according to the development of history. Now in control of the Byzantine peninsula of Asia Minor, this warlord: Rucius Domitius Aurelian. He will be the final victor of the Roman Warlord Armageddon that follows. A month or two later, after the death of Claudius II, with the support of the soldiers, he would overturn the decision of the Senate and veto the reality of Claudius II's younger brother Quentilus becoming emperor and proclaim himself emperor of the Roman Empire. Then, this emperor will use iron-fisted means to reunite the disintegrating Roman Empire into one! Eventually, he was awarded the title of "Rebuilder of the World" by the Senate.

"Citizens of Rome! I, Lucius Domitius Aurelian, proudly introduce to you, from a mighty land thirty thousand miles away, the origin of silk and porcelain, the Great Han, a messenger sent to the Empire! Li Mi! Zhao Diao! Long Yu! ”

The horn sounded again, Rulin's arm was raised again, and flowers sprayed down from the top of his head again. Tens of thousands of people shouted and cheered hoarsely. Li Mi and the others walked up the steps with smiles. Under the Byzantine triumphal column, bow your hands to Aurelian and tens of thousands of cheering people.

"The citizens of Rome, as they all know, produced fine silk and porcelain. But because the hateful Persians blocked the trade routes, we haven't seen a lot of silk and porcelain for more than a hundred years. Today, the emissaries of the Han Dynasty have overcome all odds and dangers to meet the heroic Sixth Legion of our Rome. Our enemies are finally unable to stop the meeting of the East and the West, the two greatest nations! Today, the emissary of the greatest country of the East has finally set foot on the land of the greatest country of the West for the first time in history! They came to Byzantium, to me, to Rucius Domitius Aurelian. This is my personal honor! It is also the honor of everyone here! Glory belongs to Byzantium, glory belongs to the Han, glory belongs to Rome~~! ”

"Glory belongs to Rome~~!"

"Long live Rome!"

"Aurelian Caesar!"

"Aurelian Augustus!"

As Han Chinese, what the words Caesar and Augustus mean, Li Mi didn't understand at first. But that didn't prevent them from hearing a different taste: when Aurelian had just been put on them, they were very small—and there weren't many of them. But because of these people taking the lead, the blind and excited people actually began to gradually follow and shout. After a while, the words Caesar and Augustus were already sonic for nine days.

"Hehehe, Shuhe, it seems that this general has thoughts about the throne."

"Hey, hey, Lingbo, all dynasties, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, it seems that such things are the same routine."

The two of them whispered there, and Aurelian stepped up to the front with great enjoyment, receiving the cheers of the crowd: the Roman Empire had long been eager for official contact with the Han Dynasty, and it was only today that it had been fulfilled at the behest of Aurelian. In the future, what title should those old fellows of the Roman Senate give him for today's matter? Pioneers of the East? Silk protectors?

(Rome had a habit of having fixed titles for meritorious emperors and generals.) And it's not just one title, it's a superposition of countless titles - of course, you have to have the ability to earn it. When the Aurelian Emperor hung up, there were quite a few titles after his name. ）

"Honorable envoy of the Han Empire, please introduce the Great Han to our citizens, right?"

"I am here-inspired."

Arching his hand at Aurelian, Li Mi patted Dayi on the shoulder: "Old Dai, please." ”

"Please rest assured."

Clearing his throat, Li Mi stood in the middle of the steps and bowed deeply towards the tens of thousands of citizens.

After a brief but intense cheer, the square quickly fell silent.

"Citizens of Rome! I, Li Mi, the Honglu Temple of the Han Empire, was entrusted by His Majesty the Emperor of our country and Guan Da Sima to envoy to your country. Perhaps the two nations are too great, and the gods don't want two such great nations to meet too soon. Therefore, we have set up many obstacles along the way. But the constant call of the great Rome pushes us to move forward bravely. It took us ten months and 30,000 miles to get here. This is our supreme honor! ”

"Glory belongs to the Great Han!"

"Glory belongs to Li Mi!"

"Li Mi! Trailblazer of the Western world! ”

"Thank you, thank you. Today, we have finally set foot on the land of the Roman Empire and entered the great city of Byzantium. What we saw and heard along the way shocked and admired us incomparably! Magnificent buildings, neat streets, brave warriors, intelligent and enthusiastic citizens. It's such a great country! I can't wait to actively explore and learn about this country and this city in the future! ”

"Hahahaha~~~ Dear Li, welcome to my house!"

"Lee! My husband is not home today! ”

"Thank you, thank you very much! Ladies and gentlemen, we come from a distant Han dynasty. Our motherland, in its heyday, had a territory of tens of thousands of miles and a population of no more than 10 million. From the first generation of emperors to the reign of the twenty-eighth generation of emperors, it has been a full 472 years since the founding of the country! In these four hundred years, he has been strong, divided, and briefly defeated by rebellion. But he survived again and again, and until now, he still stands tenaciously and gloriously in the east of the world! ”

"Glory belongs to the Great Han!"

"Citizens of Rome, we have come from far and wide this time. Entrusted by my country's great Sima, I brought silk, porcelain, soap, and the history books of my country to everyone! We also brought equipment that can improve the combat power of cavalry! We sincerely hope that the Han Dynasty and Rome, these two countries stand at the pinnacle of the civilized world. From then on, we always came and went, and worked together. Let's make the world a better place! ”