The next day, in the early morning, Theodore quietly left the temple without alarming anyone except the High Priest of Flavi.

Although the old man was the high priest of Rome, his prestige among the Romans alone could not be said to be below Theodore, nor could he be said to be without power. But he rarely seems willing to step out of the temple and spend his days in front of the statues of the gods as if he were an ascetic, praying for Rome. Only when there is a need for auspicious signs, and when festivals are made, will he appear in front of the people, so that the people in other places basically know about this old man.

He didn't even ask the gods what the gods had given him, he just smiled goodbye to him and sent him out of the temple as if the oracle had never happened.

In retrospect, it seems that the whole thing was very secretive—Valens was his personal bodyguard, and Flavi was the high priest in charge of the sacrifice to Jupiter, all of whom were very close-knit and tight-mouthed. Count yourself. The whole thing was only known to four people.

This gave Theodore the feeling that Jupiter, or the gods of Rome, did not want to let his interference in reality be known, and only made small gestures on the sly.

Another way of thinking -- if this shijie still has his own god, the probability of this kind of behavior being detected is still very high, and from the fact that Jupiter took so much effort to let himself see him, it can be seen that the god must have some medium to communicate with mortals, and it must be in a specific place, and the procedure is complicated to a certain level. Even the most powerful gods could easily spot this.

And now the situation is that the gods are gone.,There's only a shijie will like the central processing unit.,Do things more rigidly.,Just follow the program to do things.,So if you want to bypass it.,To do a little action, there's a chance to implement it---Of course,It's not too obvious.,Although I don't know.,But it's never too good.。

However, the words of the "old man" Zuihou were very puzzling to Theodore -- what did he most desire, what was the money and power that he most longed for?

Because of these things, after returning to the castle, Theodore still kept his head bowed and remained silent, and the clerks and servants on the side also walked on tiptoe, fearing that they might affect the young Caesar's thinking, and the morning of the castle was silent.

............................................................

"That's all the taxes collected this year, Caesar. Antonio, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, wiped his sweat and kept flipping through the large ledger in his hand, and kept babbling for a moment: "Not only the taxes paid in all the regions of Rome, but also the taxes paid in all the dependent territories." The first infrastructure of Haringos and Talboa has been completed, so all the grain handed in has been sealed in warehouses as a reserve for the second half of the year. As for those from dependent territories...... I can only say that talk is better than nothing!"

"All right, my Chancellor of the Exchequer, you just have to tell me all the costs of our expedition!" Theodore waved his hand impatiently, "The rest can be mentioned at the next meeting." ”

"Zuihou a sincere proposal...... Caesar, the cost of this expedition will be very huge!" Antonio put the ledger on Theodor's table as if he had been robbed of money, his face was black, and he said: "Just two months' food for the entire legion, as well as the cost of subsequent requisition and transportation, the blood and sweat of the Roman people will be squeezed to the bottom this year! Caesarea, Talboa, and Haringos have used more than a quarter of the grain reserves, and before the end of the first half of the year next year, Rome will no longer have any extra gold for public construction!"

"I'll get enough gold and food from the enemy to fill the hole, Antonio. Theodore smiled and said, "Take it easy, don't act like an old man!"

"Hehe......" Antonio smiled reluctantly, and then bent down and retreated: "I have sorted out the specific amount on the accounts, please take a look!"

"Am I pushing too hard?" Theodore looked at the back of the Chancellor of the Exchequer as he left, pinched his chin and said, "It feels like he is twenty years old in an instant!"

"You didn't give our Chancellor of the Exchequer much leeway. Virgil smiled and replied, "You just let him settle the scores, and keep settling the scores." I could only watch as those alluring golden discs slipped out of my palms like flowing water. Shields, swords, horses, and food, and the buildings that Rome was proud of, in short, got into other people's pockets. ”

"Every treasurer is a shrewd mathematician, a business expert who relies on the lord as an assistant, and a tiresome miser. Theodore smiled and waved his hand: "Now it seems that there is a trend towards a change in the nagging old witch. ”

"You should give Antonio more authority, at least more say. He's been on the verge of becoming Rome's No. 1 accountant lately. Virgil shrugged helplessly: "Some complaints are also reluctant." ”

"It's okay to talk about this kind of thing later. And it's this kind of troublesome thing with a long tradition, and it is more difficult to convince those wicked old men to divide their power than to defeat ten thousand orcs!" Theodore muttered casually, causing the elegant foreign minister to laugh dumbly.

"That's true. Virgil shrugged in agreement and said with a smile: "What you said is not false at all!"

"Alright, this is the end of the chat," Theodore decided to stop there, and beckoned to his young foreign minister: "Go and call Mehemus, I will discuss with him the next dispatch of troops, and by the way, whether my loyal vassals are obedient and have sent a sufficient number of knights, and I hope they will be obedient!"

"Ask someone to write a letter to Salald of Salion, and say...... The Knights of Dawn will join us on their way to the Forest of Silence to support the Noldor Elves, and he'll understand. Young Caesar said softly, "As for ...... Aaron ......"

"Should Aaron be informed of this............? I should go and discuss with Terenus, after all, Brenus is also what we want to fight for, that boss is too difficult to deal with, so let's write it to Aaron!"

"Do it to your will, my Caesar!" said Virgil, gracefully saluting Theodore, and like a gust of wind, he left the hall of the castle and walked towards the door.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

"Hail to you, Caesar!"

Mesimus, with a solemn face, stood in front of Theodore and said in a deep voice.

"How long will it take for the army to get ready? I mean...... Are our legionnaires ready to face the war in the best possible condition?" asked Theodore with a smile.

"As long as you need, you can do it at any time!" replied with the same smile, "everything is ready, and all that remains is to take the oath and set off on a haode day." ”

"I've always had a lot of faith in my army, and I still do. Theodore waved his hand: "What about the knights who have been recruited, and I hope not to disappoint me too much, how many?"

"There was no problem with the numbers, all of them added up to more than five hundred, and they all arrived at the required time. McHemus suddenly said with some disappointment: "It's just............ The combat power is worrying!"

"Not only are they all kinds of armor, but they can also have chain mail and burqas, and some even have relatively thin leather armor, and the style cannot be confirmed at all. Of course, this wartime against the orcs, so there is no need to worry. The Minister of War said in a deep voice: "Their weapons are even more ............ Swords, spears, maces, axes, and even javelins............ It is simply impossible to categorize it thoroughly!"

"The most unacceptable thing is............ Only about one-fifth of the knights actually came on relatively good horses, and most of the rest were ordinary pack horses, mules, or simply on foot. It is believed that these people have been fighting as infantry for far longer than fighting on horseback, and they simply cannot form them in accordance with the requirements of the 'cavalry'. ”

"Then deal with it separately, and those who can fight like a normal knight will be formed into a cavalry formation, and the rest will be formed according to the infantry phalanx, so that they can protect the crossbowmen on the flanks. Theodore said, "At least make them obey the discipline of the Roman army, and this can be done, right?"

"Of course it's no problem, it's just about the captain's name, so far there is controversy. "There have been two groups of people fighting -- because of some trivial matter. ”

"This is completely up to them to settle this matter on their own!" Theodore waved his hand: "Aren't they knights? Then do it according to the knight's method! Duel, whoever wins is the captain! Anyway, as long as I can make them obey the command, I don't plan to let these be the main force of the army." ”

"Caesar!"

"Ah...... Maximus. Theodore came back to his senses and found that the other party was looking at him: "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, the knights want to see you, after all, you are their nominal master. "And it also helps them to follow some rules!"

(There is a category strong push next week, so happy~ Although there is no growth and happiness to eat~)