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

When the wind was blowing, I saw the sails on the mast behind me bulging, and the Roman flag of Raberan was blowing in the wind on the sails, like the caress of God.

The officer ordered the slaves to put away their oars and let the wind propel the ship forward, and the slaves, who had been tired all day, were finally able to rest, and they slept on the oars one by one.

Looking at Sergius, who had come to his side, he came to Luga's side and leaned against the railing, his eyes wide and he looked at Luga with curiosity.

"Ha, it seems that I'm still not good at hiding it." Luga smiled and shook his head, he knew that Sergius was desperate to know what Luga was worried about, but curiosity killed the cat, and this matter may only be known to Liquinia and him.

"Alas, everything is happening so fast at the moment that it's always a little unprepared." Luga said, with a long sigh, his expression full of helplessness, "Aetius has already gone from Ludinan to Rome last year, I'm afraid he is already on the outskirts of Rome at this time. ”

"Did Theodosius also realize the problem?"

"No, hey, what are you talking about?" Luga looked at Sergius and frowned, and said with a displeased expression: "Your Excellency Sergius, I know that you are very curious now, but it is not good for you to know too much. ”

The implication was that he hoped that Sergius would not ask more, but Sergius could still understand this, and a trace of loss flashed in his eyes. Luga couldn't tell why he wanted to know some news so much, could it be that he had other plans in mind while being loyal to Augustus?

Luga's dissatisfaction with Sergius soon had a new excuse, and that was the age of the age, and it was really difficult to determine who could be loyal to Rome, if only to fulfill his own ambitions.

No, Luga's opinion on this point is very clear, how can there be people who sacrifice everything for the country in this era. At least the country has let its citizens down.

Luga, who had rejected Sergius, turned his gaze back to the sea in front of him, the ocean, the wind, "You must know something, Lord Sergius." ”

"Not really, Lord Luga." Sergius said slowly, "Now Aetius and the elders who oppose you regard you as their greatest enemy more than the barbarians who harm their interests. You should understand what choice you will face if you return to Rome this time. Will it be a decisive battle with Aetius against Caesar and Pompey, or do you have other plans? ”

Luga smiled at Sergius' kind reminder and explained: "Although they are nobles, their vision is limited to the walls of their manor and the walls of the city where they are located, how can such people care about the safety of their own city, and how can they care about the safety of the entire Roman Empire." ”

"Then your choice is ......"

"War is not child's play, Sergius, as a soldier, you should have a deeper understanding of war than those who have never been on the battlefield."

"Therefore, Your Excellency did not intend to choose war, and with an army of nearly 20,000 men, he chose to negotiate peace with Aetius."

"Peace is built on fear, Sergius. The so-called peace can only be maintained if both sides are evenly matched and have absolute power that the other side can fear. ”

"Of course, war is the final solution to the problem after all diplomatic means have failed, because the victor has the right to make any demands on the loser." Luga stretched out his hand and casually pointed to the sea around him, "Originally, Rome was like a storm rolling in the ocean, and it took Aetius and I more than ten years to smooth out the strong winds, so that the whole of Rome is like the sea now, although it is undulating, but it is generally balanced, and there will be no stormy waves that capsize the warship." ”

"Yes, this is a much more tragic situation than the Gallic Kingdom and Bagouda at that time." Sergius could empathize, after all, he was leading the fleet around the western coastline of Rome, and he still had a deeper understanding of Rome, watching the barbarians patrol the cities that once belonged to Rome, and the people of Rome paid the taxes that belonged to Rome into the hands of the barbarians.

This was an intolerable shame for the always arrogant Romans, but now the Senate and the Purple Room called it a supreme glory and considered it a wise decision to defend Rome.

"You are the only one who is awake, Lord Luga." Unconsciously, after thinking about it for so long, Sergius, who came back to his senses, let out a long sigh and nodded at Luga and said.

The fleet passed through Sardinia, seeing that Rome was getting closer and closer, and the rest of the journey would take only half a month.

Three days later, Rome was surrounded by the armies of Aetius and Litollo, who were facing each other across the Roman moat, apparently knowing that they were significantly stronger than the defenders of Rome. He just waited without hurry, polishing the patience of the guards in the city little by little.

More than ten days passed, during which time Aetius was either sitting on the high ground basking in the sun or wandering around Rome with his senior officers. Even if the siege weapons were all ready, the soldiers were ready, and Aetius, who was reluctant to send his army to attack, finally surprised his subordinates.

This doubt finally came one day, and Theres, who was able to speak in front of Aetius, led by the officers, on the one hand, was very puzzled by what Aetius had done, and on the other hand, he could not withstand the repeated inquiries of the officers below.

Sitting with Aetius on the shady meadows under a grove outside Rome, Aetius was so comfortable that he felt like he had never been so easy as a soldier commander.

Lie on a specially prepared bed and drink a glass of fine wine with two slices of baked bread. The wine was full, the wine was strong, and the soft bed made the man drowsy, and it was not long before Aetius lay there and fell into a deep sleep like an old man who had been nursing for a long time.

Therius stood by like a dutiful son, and Aetius was so careless about the attack, even in the face of the besieged city, just to be able to relax.

Thereus was very anxious, but then again, he was not in a hurry, and his father Remitius did not know where he was under house arrest in Rome at this time.

Finally, after nearly three hours, and the sun stretched from noon to the hottest afternoon, Aetius stretched and woke up belatedly.

"Your Excellency!"

Seeing that Aetius had finally woken up, Thereus hurriedly greeted him.

"Oh, what a good dream, Theris, come, let me tell you what I have dreamed of, oh, what an amazing thing, how can God give people such a good ability to dream!" Aetius laughed as he sat up and said to Theris.

"My lordship..."

Therius's mask was unpleasant, apparently not interested in the interesting dreams that Aetius had said, and he stopped talking, as if there was something unspeakable.

"What's wrong? Thyus. When Aetius saw Therius like this, he couldn't help but wonder and frowned.

"You know, my lord!" Thereus thought for a long time and finally asked, "The soldiers are waiting for your order to attack the city, but ...... You, unmoved. ”