Chapter 55 Balance

Damascus, a famous city of weapons, is now a little depressed. Because of the many invasions of the Sassanids, the city has suffered a lot of damage. With the city of Hanfu on Kiti and the passenger ships, the merchants who originally passed from here have chosen to take a boat to the city of Hanfu to pause, and then take a boat directly to Rome and Athens. From there, rush to the north. In addition, after the interruption of the source of Uzi iron, those famous craftsmen had no livelihood. Some turned to Hanfu City, some went to Yue, and Damascus was deserted a lot. A month ago, after the Sassanians in Damascus heard that Aldahir's army was defeated by the allied forces of Vietnam and Rome, they had to return to the country in a hurry. Before leaving, they robbed and then set fire to turn the once prosperous Damascus into a dead city.

However, now Damascus is bustling again.

Roman general Goldian Jr. and Yue general Lu Xun rushed to Damascus with a large army. After receiving Damascus without bloodshed, they immediately began to clean all the streets of the city and repair the buildings of the houses destroyed by the Sassanids, so as to make sure that Sun Shao, the king of Yue, and the Roman civil servant Gordian, entered the city. More importantly, the Roman emperor Quintus and a group of Roman nobles will also come here to make an alliance with the King of Yue. Little Goldian did not dare to neglect it and tried everything he could to restore the popularity of Damascus.

Half a month later, Quintus was stationed in Damascus with a large army. As soon as he entered the city, he sent messengers to invite Sun Shao, the king of Yue, who was still on the road, to join the city. In fact, Sun Shao should have arrived a long time ago. Goldian, who had been with him, originally wanted to invite him to enter the city as a civil servant, but he was pushed back by Sun Shao in one sentence: "If I enter Damascus, Damascus will no longer be the territory of Rome. The land I have stepped on will become the land of Yue. You Can you be the master of this?"

As soon as Goldian heard this, he immediately took back the original words. He did not dare to be the master, nor did he want to be the master. If this spread to Rome, he would become a traitor. The reason why Alexander was opposed by many nobles was that he gave Axum to Sun Shao. Although it was originally a vassal state, it greatly stimulated the dignity of the Romans. He would rather give this villain to Quintus than ruin his reputation at this time, so as not to affect the future power struggle.

After receiving the invitation of Quintus, Sun Shao looked at Goldian's smiling eyes and disappeared. He also asked the question. The messenger smiled and said calmly, "His Majesty the great Roman emperor said that Damascus is the land of the Romans and is the blood of countless soldiers. It can't be given away casually. Please forgive me, Your Highness the King of Yue. Interpretation. However, His Royal Highness the King of Yue is a friend of the Romans, and he can't reject His Royal Highness the King of Yue from the city. Therefore, after discussing with the respected members of the Senate, he decided to give the most beautiful manor in Damascus to His Royal Highness the King of Yue. As long as His Highness stepped into the manor, the manor will belong to His Royal Highness the King of Yue from now on, and only belongs to Wei. His Royal Highness the King of Yue. His Royal Highness the King of Yue worked hard from afar, so our emperor also sent a step carried by 32 of the bravest Roman soldiers, who carried His Royal Highness the King of Yue to your manor without even touching any dust.

Sun Shao was stunned at first, and then laughed loudly. Then he turned his head to the complicated Gordian and said, "Your Majesty is really difficult to be affectionate. It seems that I can't go there."

Goldian nodded with a wry smile, but he was a little disappointed. Originally, he thought it was a difficult problem to see how Quintus solved it, but he didn't expect Quintus to come up with such a solution. In this way, Quintus showed enough sincerity, and sending a manor to Sun Shao would not stimulate the honor of the nobles. The State of Yue has helped Rome so much that it is acceptable to give him a manor. Most of the legislators who came to Damascus with Quintus this time are supporters of Momia, and they will also follow the State of Yue. Of course, we will not oppose Quintus's method to benefit from the alliance. With the support of these legislators, Quintus's move also obtained a legal surname in the procedure. Whoever wants to attack him is to attack the Senate.

"This is His Majesty's heart for the king. If the king can accept it, it is also the pride of us Romans." Goldian said with an insincere fake smile. Sun Shao laughed, said nothing more, and immediately arranged for the army to leave.

After receiving Sun Shao's reply, Quintus breathed a sigh of relief and immediately arranged a welcome ceremony.

On the day Sun Shao entered the city, the city of Damascus was cleaned up. Ten thousand Roman Guards and ten thousand elites of the State of Yue led by Lu Xun lined up along the wide streets, forming two long human walls to block the support crowd on both sides, extending from the gate to the gate of the manor. Hearing that His Royal Highness the King of Yue was about to enter the city to meet with the Roman emperor, the merchants of the Han Dynasty within a hundred miles came. Many people still came from Kite Island to watch the ceremony. They were all dressed in beautiful Han dresses, some of them were holding flowers, standing on the street and waiting excitedly for the arrival of the King of Yue. Han merchants are now the richest group of people in Damascus City. The better house on the main street was either bought by them or rented by them. Many of the accompanying women were inconvenient to show their faces. They sat upstairs and watched the lively scene outside through the window screen. The long street was decorated with these fresh clothes and smiling faces. I can't see any trace of being ** by the Sassanids at all.

In the expectation of everyone, Sun Shao sat on the chariot carried by 32 young Roman noble soldiers and majestically walked into the city of Damascus. The famous Roman general Goldian and the heroic descendants of Yue served him one by one by one. The Roman soldiers and the soldiers of the State of Yue were side by side. OK, cross the long street.

"Long live--" As soon as they saw Sun Shao's step, the crowd on both sides suddenly boiled. People waved their sleeves, shook the flowers in their hands, and gave thunderous cheers to Sun Shao on the step. Sun Shao smiled and raised his arm to the cheering crowd frequently. He was originally very dignified in the minds of the merchants, but now he is so close to the people that the merchants are even more excited. They shouted one by one and shook their hands desperately, as if Sun Shao could see each of them.

"The king is powerful--" There was a tide of applause in the crowd.

"Long live the king--"

"Long live the big man--" Sun Shao waved his hand on the step and shouted, "Long live Rome--"

"Long live the big man - long live Rome -"

People are even more excited, hissing and shouting. Not only did they shout in unison, but also the soldiers shouted in unison. Both the soldiers of Yue and Roman soldiers showed a proud smile and cast friendly eyes to the people on both sides from time to time. Only Tu Hu, Ao Lei and others, who followed Sun Shao, did not dare to neglect, for fear that an assassin would come out at this time to destroy the good situation in front of them. They looked at everyone within the range of their eyes vigilantly, and they could not be too out of line, which could be said to be extremely nervous. Ao Lei's hand did not dare to stay on the short stick on his waist, and his palm sweated out, while Tu Hu kept a step away from Sun Shao to ensure that he could stand in front of Sun Shao at the first time when something happened.

Through the long human wall, Sun Shao's step finally stopped at the door of the manor. Little Goldian and Lu Xun stood at the door with a smile to greet them. As soon as the step arrived, they immediately rushed up and knelt down in front of the step.

"I would like to welcome His Royal Highness the King of Yue on behalf of His Majesty the Roman Emperor."

"I see the king."

Sun Shao stood up from the step with a smile, tidied up his clothes, waved to the crowd stopped ten steps away by the soldiers, and then walked down with the outstretched arms of little Goldian and Lu Xun, and slowly walked into the open door of the manor, which had been decorated in the style of the Han Dynasty. Inside the gate, two rows of servants in beautiful new clothes knelt down on both sides and said in unison.

Sun Shao looked at the manor with the perfect unity of the Han Dynasty architectural style and the Roman architectural style, and nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, it's really amazing to be able to do this in such a short time. I don't know which master's handwriting?"

"Look at this level of exquisiteness. It should be the work of Master Vitruvius." Gordy comforted his beard, looked at the beautiful houses with joy, and said in surprise, "But the contemporary Master Vitruvius went to study in Vietnam three years ago. Has he come back?"

"My father said so." Little Goldian smiled and said, "This is the handwriting of Master Vitruvius. He just returned from Yue six months ago. This is his first work after his return. However, this is not his own work. It is Li Ze, the most famous architect of Yue, who cooperated with him. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you can't think of what they have done, can you?"

Sun Shao pondered for a moment and said uncertainly, "Are these Roman-style houses the works of Li Ze, while the Chinese-style houses are the works of Master Vitruvi?"

"The king is wise." Little Goldian said with admiration, "I asked a lot of people, and they couldn't believe it. The king still knows people with his eyes. No wonder there are so many talents like General Lu around him."

"Ha ha ha..." Sun Shao glanced at the reserved Lu Xun and said with a smile, "The general is wrong. Talents like General Lu and the general are like a pearl. Even if they are placed in the dark room, they will shine as they should shine. As long as they have normal eyes, they can see it."

Goldian laughed and shook his head while laughing: "How can my son compare with General Lu? In front of General Lu, he has really lived in vain for decades."

Lu Xun quickly said modestly, "The general is joking. With the general these days, he also gains a lot."

"Just communicate with each other and learn from each other's strengths, just like me and Rome, we should communicate more." As Sun Shao said, he slowly walked into the yard. Along the way, everyone commented on the buildings they saw, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Just now, Sun Shao specially praised little Goldian. He made it clear that he wanted to attract Goldian and his son. Goldian is old and refined. How can he not understand the truth? At this time, of course, he intended to get closer to each other.

After sitting in the hall for a while, the car of the Roman emperor Quintus came to the door. Sun Shao ordered his grandson to rush to the door to meet him. Quintus was stunned when he saw Sun Feng. He met Sun Feng when he was in the State of Yue, but Sun Feng was just a childish teenager at that time, but now standing in front of him was a heroic young man. Although his face had not changed much, his temperament was very different. He was a little curious and didn't hear that Sun Shao brought the prince here.

"Your Highness?" Quintus asked tentatively.

"Your Majesty, it's easy to remember your last name." Sun Feng smiled and saluted respectfully: "Father ordered me to welcome your majesty in."

"Thank you, Your Highness King Yue." Quintus took Sun Feng's hand and spoke as he walked. After entering the main hall, Sun Shao, who was standing outside the door, laughed loudly, walked down the steps quickly, and stretched out his hands from afar: "Your Majesty is so generous. I'm really ashamed to give me such a beautiful manor."

Quintus laughed and said, "Your Highness has a noble status. It is an honor for this manor to have a master like Your Highness. Your Highness is my good friend and has helped us so much. If Your Highness comes here but doesn't come to the land of Rome, I feel sorry. He paused and said, "If Your Highness really likes this manor, then give more opportunities to cooperate."

"Hehehe..." Sun Shao pointed to Quintus and smiled, "You, you have also become a marketer now. You talk to me about the benefits as soon as you meet, which makes me very disappointed."

Quintus also laughed and said, "Your Highness, this is not my idea alone. The senators of the Senate are looking forward to more opportunities for cooperation between Rome and Vietnam to push our friendship to a new height."

"If you have a heart, do I have no intention?" Sun Shao took Kuntu's arm and went to the hall. The two were seated by the guests. Two Aryan female officials took a team of Syrian servants to deliver tea and snacks. In a short time, a small but very exquisite tea banquet was set up. Sun Shao and Quintus sat side by side and talked about the situation after the separation.

Although there are not many people sitting at the table, they include the most important candidates for both sides. Sun Shao and Quintus are prepared. They have successfully determined the strategy of further cooperation between the two sides, including the siege of Taixi and future economic cooperation. As for the details, there are specific candidates to be responsible. Sun Shao pointed to Sun Feng and said, "You have also seen it. This is my useless prince. This time I came here to see the world. He will be responsible for the negotiation, and ask your old friends for more advice at that time.

Quentus was very surprised. Sun Feng was 20 years old at most. Sun Shao himself was still in his prime. Isn't it too early to hand over his power to his son so early? However, he still said politely, "The prince is heroic and as shrewd and capable as the king. I'm afraid I have to ask the prince to show mercy. Don't let me lose face in front of old ministers like civil affairs officials."

When Goldian heard this, he quickly smiled and shook his head.

Sun Shao laughed secretly and said, "The prince is young and has too little experience. I'm going to ask General Lu to assist him. After this war, the matter here will also be presided over by the two of them. Feng'er, His Majesty the Emperor is my old friend. The reason why the State of Yue can cooperate so closely with Rome is that His Majesty the Emperor has made great contributions. We have been friends for many years, and we can't be against each other. You can learn more from him in the future.

Sun Feng bowed and saluted Quintus again. Quintus glanced at Goldian proudly and felt refreshed. Lu Xun sat aside and his face remained unchanged, but he was relieved. Sun Shao wants to leave Sun Feng to preside over the big event and let him assist him, which is the greatest trust for him. When Sun Feng succeeds the throne, the future of the Lu family will be bright. It seems that it was the right choice to leave the State of Wu and invest in the State of Yue.

Between words, several major events set the tone, and everyone got the benefits they wanted, and they were naturally in a good mood. Quintus sent an invitation to Sun Shao to hold a banquet for Sun Shao. Sun Shao responded happily and ordered Sun Feng to send Kuntus and others out.

Quintus returned to the palace happily and first conveyed the good news to the waiting legislators. The legislators were also very happy to hear this. They left one by one with satisfaction. They went back to prepare to take a bath and change clothes, so that they could attend this grand banquet. Quintus couldn't control his mood. He excitedly walked to the backyard and told Momia, who was resting.

When Momia heard this, her face changed. She sat up from the soft couch and said, "Prince of Yue? Is he going to leave the prince here to preside over the affairs?

"Yes."

Momia was stunned for a long time, looked at Quintus, who had not recovered, and sighed silently: "I know, this is indeed good news. You go and prepare first. I also want to wash my body.

Quintus got up and left. Momia watched his back disappear outside the door, and then she sighed and said angrily, "Is this cruel man only his prince in his eyes? Isn't Philip his child who refuses to make some concessions for him and insists to keep the prince? The State of Yue is so big that it is not enough for the management of his prince. He rushed all the way to Rome to grab Philip's land? Well, what a conscienceless man."

She was sulking for a while, patted the silk quilt under her angrily, stared at the roof for a while, gritted her teeth again, and said to herself, "No, I'm going to see him. I can't let the prince rob Philip's land."

... In the manor, Sun Shao sat on the main seat, and Lu Xun and Sun Feng sat opposite him. Lu Xun said with a sad face, "Your Majesty, this siege of Taixifeng, the king was exhausted. Regardless of his own safety, he took it as bait to lure Ardahir's expedition. Our Vietnamese army went on an expedition for thousands of miles, and Cui Qian's sailors and soldiers were even more risking. With all the difficulties and dangers, they sailed on the sea for more than half a year before entering the Mediterranean Sea, helping the Romans completely reverse the war. There were thousands of soldiers who died at sea alone. In addition, we also invested heavily to hire the Wei Shu and Tianzhu troops, which laid the foundation for today's war. Now, in a rough calculation, even if Taixifeng is captured, I'm afraid that the trophy will only be enough to pay for the mercenaries. We can say that we get nothing. The army went to the country for two years, and the rewards of the soldiers are inevitable. If we don't get any benefits at all, then this battle..."

Sun Shao quietly sip the tea and glanced at Sun Feng: "Feng'er, what do you think?"

(to be continued)