"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! ”

In the empty hall, only a few shuffled footsteps were heard, and only a figure was seen hurrying towards him, and stopped in the middle of the hall.

Then there was silence, and the great room seemed to be empty, and the man stood still, like a statue. He wore a white toga robe, like a court bureaucrat. And in front of him was a man in a purple robe

As if he had made up his mind, he took out a scroll from his long-distance run as if by magic, he spread it out, reached out and searched for it word by word in the scroll, and finally, his eyes lit up, as if he had found it: "When ...... The Huns brought a large amount of siege equipment under the city walls...... Faced with a cloudy stream of arrows, the defenders on the battlements gave up resistance and withdrew from the battlements. Siege cones are also seen on the battlefield. It is a giant device in which a ramshell is hung horizontally from a sloping wooden frame with a metal tip and partition at the front end of the ramshell, with chains hanging horizontally...... to ensure the safety of the operator. The tail end of the mallet is equipped with a short rope, and the operator pulls the mallet up with force in the opposite direction of the target, and then releases it...... The defenders rolled down boulders the size of horse-drawn carriages from the walls...... Some battering rams were smashed, and the Huns who operated were also stoned to death. But the defenders were unable to withstand such a large number of siege equipment. Subsequently, the enemy set up a ladder...... The barbarians entered through the gaps and ladders that the battering rams had knocked out...... The city has fallen......"

"Enough!"

Just as the man was about to read on, a dull sound interrupted him, and he was so frightened that he froze in place.

"Quoting scriptures." I only heard the voice in the darkness say slowly: "It is so similar to the Battle of Plataea in Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War, I have just read that section. ”

"I'm sorry, my Caesar!"

The man looked very nervous, and he defended himself: "I just, just want to quote the words of the ancients to describe the intensity of this battle, indeed, indeed shocking. ”

"But in the end, it was a failure!" The man sneered, he was called Caesar by this courtier. The white sunlight shining through the window on his pale face, he was smiling, but only wryly. That's right, he was Augustus of the Eastern Empire: Theodosius II. There may be questions as to why Augustus, who is the Purple Room, didn't light the lamp in this hall when he was so wealthy, I don't know, I'm afraid only he knows.

He looked very vicissitudes, and after being separated from Luga, he seemed to have aged a lot now. Hearing the report of the courtier in front of him, he looked even more haggard, maybe he couldn't accept such a cruel truth!

"Uh, the Huns are ...... in the city"

There was silence for a moment, but the courtier was still intending to continue his duties, and he spread out the scroll and continued to read.

"Enough, Priscus!"

Just as the courtier had just said a few words, Theodosius II interrupted. "I want to hear the results of the battle, not the details of what you recorded in your book!"

"Oh yes, yes my Caesar!" The courtier Priscus's hands trembled, he was afraid of angering Theodosius II, knowing that he was reporting a very bad situation, if he accidentally angered Augustus in front of him, I am afraid he could not imagine what kind of fate he would have.

"The Huns captured Femilacon, and the bishops of Malgus surrendered to the Huns and ceded the city!" Priscus said nervously, he didn't know how much Augustus could bear.

"Bishop of Marchus." Theodosius II muttered, "Those thieves who were said by the Huns to have desecrated the ancestral sacrificial hall?" Augustus Theodosius II got up, straightened the purple robes he was wearing, and continued: "I don't know if it's true or not, let's not talk about what good they are with these barbarians, these priests actually sacrificed the city in order to prove themselves, damn animals, do they not know whose empire this is?" ”

Priscus did not dare to speak, he could not say: Caesar, that land was given to them by you. In this way, Augustus could not get off the stage, and he would not live long.

"Bishop Marcus is a traitor to the Empire, and naturally he should be killed." Priscus could not resist this in the presence of Theodosius II.

"So what do Attila and his brother Bulas mean?" Theodosius II asked.

"Land, and money,......" said Prescus, "Dear Caesar, they want us to bow down to them." Yes, Caesar, that's what they are trying to do now. ”

"Giggle......

Theodosius rattled the wooden handrails carved from precious wood at the head of the bed. For those barbarians, when did the empire be so humiliated? But now Theodosius II simply doesn't have the cards to make himself strong enough, in short, he has no capital to pull Attila to the negotiating table.

Theodosius II took a deep breath, and he still told himself that he had to exercise restraint, because he had no capital to be angry at the moment. He had to keep himself restrained, which was the last thing the Huns wanted to see: "How much do they want!" We have already doubled the price of the tribute to 700 pounds of gold, but can we not satisfy Attila? ”

"Uh, uh, I'm afraid, I'm afraid so, my Caesar."

"What the Huns mean is that 700 pounds of gold is just the amount it used to be, and now, now it'......," Priscus hesitated, and he began to consider whether he should say the amount of this new request.

"Speak quickly!"

Theodosius II was impatient, and he urged Priscus in front of him.

"1,400 pounds, Attila's condition is 1,400 pounds of gold!" Priscus almost shouted.

"Huh!"

Theodosius II slammed the handle of the precious wood, but it was unconscious, or perhaps out of anger. He didn't feel the slightest bit distressed, for the piece of wood was nothing compared to the fourteen hundred pounds of gold.

"Also, there's ......"

Priscus hesitated for a moment, then said, "Attila and his brother Bulus also know that such conditions are very harsh on you, Caesar, so they say that if Caesar does not agree to this condition, they will attack Constantinople. ”

"Oh, what a generous and merciful condition!" For such conditions, which are tantamount to intimidation, Theodosius II is helpless, and can even be said to cry and laugh. He really couldn't come up with such a huge amount, and he couldn't bargain with Attila, because all his main army was in Great Sicily, or rather, he was following Luga in his attack on the Vandals. Far from being able to quench the thirst of the near, the Huns must be dealt with first and delayed as long as possible, and then an edict must be issued ordering the return of the army that attacked Carthage.

"But, Caesar, Luga and the Combined Legion have reached Carthage, not only inflicting heavy losses on the Vandals, but also besieging them."

"And what about Constantinople?" Theodosius II stroked his forehead, now that he was really in trouble, he muttered to himself: "How could Attila be like this, if the army is in the country, then he Attila naturally does not dare to make a mistake, but my army is on the front foot, and his aggressiveness is close behind, how does he know that my army is out when the country is empty?" "It's impossible for him to figure it out, and no one knows what it's all about, I'm afraid only Attila himself knows.

"So be it." Theodosius waved his hand and said: "Just tell them that we can't come up with so much money for a while, first owe it, and then wait for the United Army to come back, and then order the dukes (garrison chiefs) in various cities in the Balkans to speed up the expansion and training of the army, we can't tolerate that little barbarian again and again!" ”

"Caesar, what about Carthage?" Priscus asked.

"Leave it to the Western Empire to deal with." Theodosius felt that he was already emaciated, and when he had finished speaking, he lay down and beckoned to Priscus, "Go out, I will rest!" ”