"You're using me!" Arecio jerked his head up and glared at Berniface.

"Aren't you using me to try to keep your position and your wealth?" Berniface sneered and asked back, leaving Arecio speechless for a moment, yes, this is Arecio's choice. He didn't speak, he could only acquiesce to what Berniface said, and chose to give in in to this absolute strength.

"Alright, Master Berniface, we can hit the road!"

Remitius came to Berniface and bowed solemnly, and, with the loudest voice he could, reported to Berniface: "His Excellency Arecio, the Imperial Treasurer, has dedicated his modest efforts to celebrate your arrival, for your legion!" ”

With that, the Praetorian Guards made way for Berniface and all the Roman citizens present to see the cartloads of gold coins.

"That's what you mean by taking this money!" Arecius suddenly realized Remitius's intentions, but it was too late for him to recover!

"Your Excellency, I know that the barbarian of Aetius has looked for you, not to mention, there are so many citizens present, of course, Aetius's eyes are indispensable, and I do this to let Aetius know that the treasury of the empire is on the side of our Excellency Berniface!" Remitius smiled, leaned close to Arecio's ear, and spoke to him in a voice that only Arecio could hear.

Such an embarrassing and blatant alliance was reached in the presence of Arecio's reluctance and the thousands of Roman citizens around him. Despite all the arguments among the citizens of Rome, no one questioned the final conclusion of the matter.

"I know, I know, my friend!" Berniface laughed and put his hand on Arecio's shoulder, as if he had received an unexpected surprise. Obviously, for such a large sum of money, Berniface never said anything.

It was getting late, and Berniface pulled Arecio into a specially prepared, richly decorated carriage. Guided by the citizens of Rome, we walked along the main road, through the triumphal arch of Constantine, to the council hall of the Senate.

The senators, dressed in costume, had been waiting in front of the hall for a long time, and they had to be cautious in the face of such a powerful and distinguished guest, and never let Berniface be dissatisfied.

The carriage stopped at the foot of the steps in front of the hall, and Berniface disembarked and came to the senators.

"Welcome, His Excellency Bernifas, the highest military governor of all Italy, and governor of the province of Africa." The patriarch at the head leaned over slightly, he held a bronze cane, and continued to praise Berniface: "You are like Caesar five hundred years ago, the backbone of our true strength, the backbone of the empire......

Such a painless salutation to Berniface had long been tired of listening, "Enough! He interrupted the senator without mercy, waved his hand, and took the golden scepter, which symbolized the field legion that had mastered all of Italy, from the hands of the soldiers behind him, and when the senators saw it, they bowed down once more to show Berniface their obedience to his power.

Isn't that what Berniface wants to see? A scepter that allowed him to instantly possess half of the entire empire's military forces, and with the troops he brought with him from North Africa, he basically controlled two-thirds of the legions of the Western Roman Empire.

"Now I have the Senate, the army, the emperor, the people! What is he, Aetius, fighting me? Berniface was a little fluttering, but he wasn't the only one, everyone in the room knew he had the ability to be conceited.

Looking at the proud Berniface and the senators of the Senate who looked subservient, Arecio didn't know if he could make it to the end. In short, after being put on the hook by Remitius, he is now tightly tied to Berniface, and he has no choice but to advance and retreat with Berniface.

"As you know, I'm here for the reason!" In the midst of the uproar, Bernifas raised the scepter in his hand and shouted to the senator in front of him and the citizens around him: "To protect the land of Rome from being encroached upon by the Gentiles, to defend the glory and wealth of the empire from being stolen by the barbarians, and to protect all the righteous and good Romans present from the calamity of twenty years ago!" (Visigoths sack the city of Rome). ”

"Berniface! Bernifus! Bernifus! The citizens of Rome cheered and shouted wildly, as if they had decided that Berniface was their savior, saving the empire and saving Rome. In fact, what the real intention was, I am afraid that even Berniface himself could not say clearly.

The cheering lasted for half a minute, and finally stopped when Boniface raised his hand, and the whole world seemed to fall silent once again.

"As you agree, Aetius was a barbarian, and at the same time a shrewd deceiver, who deceived our Queen Regent and the young Caesar with his lies, and did so in order to control us all, and to offer untold gold and women to the Huns entrenched in the northeastern province of Pannonia. Let's not forget that he was a barbarian by nature, he never lived with us, and spent most of his time mingling with his barbarian friends. He excludes all the loyalty of the empire, props up one barbarian after another, he is jealous of our civilization and grace, so he is a demon, he spares no effort to try to make us fall and become barbarians! ”

"Kill Aetius! Expelled all barbarians! ”

Berniface's remarks infuriated everyone present, who were furious as if they had understood the truth, and followed Berniface's thoughts to insist that Aetius was a demon, a barbarian demon who wanted them to fall. But what can they do? Except for roaring, they have no weapons and cannot resist. Of course, until everything is conclusive, no one can tell which side is righteous and which side is evil.

At this moment, Berniface jerked up the scepter in his hand, "But the heavens favor us, and we still have the wise queen!" She saw through Aetius's schemes, but this poor woman, she could barely open her mouth to tell us about her misfortune under the threat of Aetius, so she gave this to me! And I assured her that I could fix it all! ”

The citizens of Rome were almost hopeful, deceived by the rhetoric of Berniface, and truly realized that Rome was in danger of life and death.

"Our treasurer, His Excellency Arecio, has prepared for me a great deal of money to feed the army, but I will say no to this, for I know that you present and the citizens of Rome need it all the more. Therefore I intend to give half of the money to you, and I have brought enough bread and wine, which I will distribute free of charge to you, citizens of Rome! ”

As soon as Berniface finished speaking, the citizens of Rome almost jumped, and the cheer almost deafened the ears of everyone present.

"Isn't that what you want? Citizens of Rome! ”