The Great Arcanist Who Traveled Through the World of American Variety Shows.

Chapter 601: The Governor of Gaul, the Thigh of the Empire
Richard's arrival attracted the attention of both sides, but he had no intention of fighting a battle with Attila. After sending envoys to communicate, Richard learned that Rome had begun to sign a peace treaty, and immediately led his troops to retreat ten miles and set up camp.

The Romans were ready to surrender, so he would not step out at this time.

When they saw Richard leading the army, the people of the Roman Empire secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With Richard's army by their side, they at least had more confidence when facing the Hun army.

Seeing the Roman army coming, Attila also ordered people to investigate. At the same time, the messenger took the opportunity to deliver the message to observe Richard's army closely.

After seeing that Richard's army was in high spirits, well-equipped, and the soldiers were physically strong, the messenger told Attila everything he had seen.

After learning that Richard's thousands of troops were all elite soldiers, Attila remained calm on the surface, but secretly ordered the army to be more vigilant.

At the same time, some progress was made towards Rome’s peace treaty, which also brought some relief to Pope Leo and the Roman nobles.

In the end, the Roman Empire ceded several northern cities to the Hun Empire and paid a large amount of imperial gold coins to the Hun Empire in exchange for Attila's withdrawal.

Richard was not sure about the amount of this imperial gold coin, but he guessed that the amount would definitely not be less than the annual pension provided by the Eastern Roman Empire.

The annual pension that the Eastern Roman Empire once offered was equivalent to about one ton of gold, and the amount that the Roman Empire pays now will not be less than this figure.

After both parties signed the agreement, the nobles of Rome came to the other side of the Po River in carriages loaded with gold coins.

The Roman nobles looked at each other in silence as they watched boxes of gold coins being delivered to the Huns' camp. Until now, they still didn't understand that if the money was not used for military expenses, it would be used for compensation.

If these Roman nobles had used the gold coins received as compensation as military expenses, they would not have been attacked at their doorsteps and had to beg for peace in a servile manner.

Of course, these Roman nobles would not regret it. They would rather pay compensation than give the money to the army.

Because they also know that even if the money is handed over to the army, it will only fall into the hands of another group of people, not the soldiers.

More importantly, even if the money fell into the hands of the soldiers, these soldiers would not obey their orders.
The Roman Empire has become what it is today, and it is beyond redemption.

After obtaining a large amount of gold, Attila led his army and left Italy triumphantly. At the same time, the emperor who fled Rome also returned to his loyal Rome.

In order to enhance his own reputation, Valentinian III also asked Richard to lead a large army to escort him back to Rome.

Regarding this request, Richard thought that he was worried that he would be overthrown by the nobles and Roman citizens, so he wanted Richard to escort him.

Valentinian III returned to Rome. He was depressed by the blow of the Hun invasion and hated Aetius for not obeying his orders and leading his army to resist.

In his opinion, it was Aetius who caused his current situation. At this time, he did not remember that it was he who ordered Aetius to be dismissed from all his posts and expelled from Rome.

In addition to these problems, there was also the problem that the Roman Empire was financially bankrupt.
This time, the compensation for Attila was paid by the nobles and the church. Neither the nobles nor the church would hand over the money for nothing, so this sum of money could only be borne by the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire's fiscal revenue was already stretched to its limits, and now such a huge hole had appeared, which completely crushed the Roman Empire. Under such circumstances, the Roman Empire's already insufficient financial resources were further devastated.

The Roman emperor had no ability to solve the financial problems and could only levy more taxes to supplement the imperial finances.

The citizens of the old Roman eagle flag who had been fantasizing about the empire's resurgence were also severely awakened by this slap in the face.

After realizing that the empire was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, these old Roman citizens who bore the eagle flag were terrified, fearing that the Hun Empire would strike again.

At this time, Valentinian III returned to Rome with a grand entry ceremony to save his face. The Roman citizens completely saw through this emperor and privately called him the Runaway Emperor.

But after seeing the troops escorting the Roman emperor back to Rome, these Roman citizens were surprised to find that the Roman Empire actually had such a powerful army.

For a while, many people were asking where this army came from.

Soon, the details of this army became known. After learning that this was the Rhine Legion under the Governor of Gaul, many Romans became interested.

In the past few years, many people have heard about the province of Gaul. After learning that the governor of Gaul appointed by the empire defeated the Germans, successfully blocked the invasion of the Germans, and then defeated the rebellious Franks and maintained the stability of the province of Gaul, many Romans planned to go to Gaul to take a look.

Many Romans who were sensitive to war had already realized that the capital of the empire could not be defended at all. The indemnity after this disastrous defeat completely pushed the empire's finances into the abyss, and the empire would have even less money to maintain its army in the future.

And what's the point of maintaining the army? When the Huns came, those troops ran away immediately. Now they think Gaul is safer.

This time, Richard led the army to escort the emperor back to Rome, also with the intention of recruiting some Roman craftsmen and scholars.

Although he has recovered the province of Gaul, Gaul now lacks a large number of craftsmen and scholars. At this time, only Rome can meet his needs.

Therefore, Richard secretly fanned the flames in the city and used various methods to lure those craftsmen and scholars to Rome.

Those who were full of a sense of crisis about Rome easily believed the rumors about Gaul. After learning that Gaul had regained stability and was developing well, many people began to prepare to go to Gaul.

At the same time, Richard was rewarded by Valentinian III after escorting him back to Rome.

Valentinian III was now almost a joke, and his power had almost fallen to the bottom. In this situation, in order to maintain his rule, Valentinian III desperately wanted to cling to Richard.

That’s right, it was the Emperor of the Empire who clung to Richard, the Governor of Gaul.

Especially after seeing how elite the army under Richard was, Richard now became the backer of Valentinian III.

ps: I have a cold and headache again, please take care of yourself. This is only one update today.

(End of this chapter)