Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 151: Strike the Rich Places First

Southampton.

Of course, Duncan hopes to lead the army to fight in all directions, but he now understands why it was difficult for ancient emperors to lead the army in person.

Because he has too much to deal with.

Once the emperor was far away from the center of power, he would be unable to coordinate the overall situation or keep an eye on the changes in the situation. As the saying goes, a general is not always able to obey the orders of his king. When the emperor led the army in person, many things could not be handled. In this era, it was impossible to send intelligence to the front line.

Right now, something more important than war is happening.

Emperor Valentinian III had completely broken with the Protector Aetius, and even under the instigation of his close ministers, he had the idea of murdering Aetius.

The most troublesome among them is the Imperial Senate.

Valentinian III now made a wrong judgment. He thought that with the support of the Imperial Senate, he could control the overall situation after getting rid of Aetius, but he forgot that the Senate could no longer influence the army.

Duncan didn't remember many historical details, but he knew how Aetius died in the original history.

Aetius was stabbed to death, a death somewhat like that of Julius Caesar, with hundreds of sword wounds, and nearly everyone present received a stab wound, demonstrating their political stance. It's easy to imagine how many people Aetius, as a powerful official, had offended over the years.

Duncan listened to Anya's report while reading the urgent secret letter sent by Quintus. His expression was quite serious as he said, "I'm afraid they are really determined to kill Aetius."

Duncan was not familiar with Maximus, but Anya was very familiar with him.

Anya introduced him, "Maximus is a prominent family in the empire. The power behind him is complex and intertwined. Having served as consul twice, he almost controls half of the Senate."

Even though the empire was declining and could only control the areas around Italy, the old nobles still had great power.

The decline of the empire did not mean that they were weak; in fact, they were extremely rich.

The demise of an empire is bound to come at the final moment, when all power and wealth are highly concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people. Others have no choice but to rely on violence and force to overthrow it all.

One can imagine how wealthy these wealthy nobles in the Senate have become over the past few hundred years.

Duncan stopped and asked curiously, "Who is richer, you or Maximus?"

Anya is a real rich woman.

Duncan's success was basically entirely due to her financial support. It can be said that without Anya's financial support, Duncan would have had to rob the rich and help the poor in the early days.

After hearing Duncan's words, Anya pondered for a moment and said, "Even if there were ten of me combined, it wouldn't be half of their family's wealth."

hiss!
So rich?

Anya continued, "Valentinian III's luxurious lifestyle was partly funded by them. Before the empire fell, their family served as local governors and consuls. As far as I know, they once controlled several gold and silver mines."

Damn it, this is no less than the aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty.

Anya continued, "If Maximus really intended to murder Aetius, he would definitely have a chance of succeeding."

"Back then, the Imperial Senate was able to murder Caesar."

"Now they've murdered a Protector of the Realm and convinced the Emperor to support them. Furthermore, Aetius has a high opinion of himself and believes he's loyal to the Empire, so he's likely not on guard."

The cycle of history is repeating itself.

Caesar was murdered, Octavian started the imperial principal system, and now the Protector Aetius is also on the Senate's murder list. History seems to have come full circle and returned to its original place.

The two of them rushed towards the residence of Duchess Igrain.

Anya pondered for a moment and said cautiously, "How should we deal with this?"

She actually wanted to ask Duncan what he was going to do.

Should they remind Aetius or wait and see? For the British province, waiting and seeing is the best option.

If this assassination succeeded, the empire would be truly finished.

Duncan turned his head and glanced at Anya, then said slowly, "You want to ask me whether I should save Aetius, right?"

He pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head.

Duncan wanted to destroy everything and rebuild the empire. Whether it was the Protector Aetius, Emperor Valentinian III, or the restless Senate, they all had to be swept into the dustbin of history.

When dogs bite dogs, he will definitely watch the show and find a chance to clean up the mess.

Seeing his expression, Anya immediately relaxed a lot and whispered, "If it succeeds, Valentinian III will definitely suffer backlash."

“That’s our chance.”

The emperor murdered the pillar of the empire, and the people of Rome were going crazy.

The Roman people accomplished many great historical things.

At this time.

They saw Merlin and others outside the door. Merlin's expression was quite nervous. Not long after, a baby's crying sounded.

But silence soon fell inside. After about ten minutes, a woman came out and said cautiously, "It's born. It's a girl."

Merlin froze in place for a moment.

He made predictions for most of his life, but in the end, he even got the gender wrong. It seemed like God was playing a huge joke on him.

Anya was also stunned. She turned her head and looked at Merlin with the same look as if she was looking at a shameless charlatan.

You made such a fuss about the prophesied King Arthur?

And you told me it was a girl?

You are such a charlatan that it's laughable. You should just be the dean of the wizarding academy.

Duncan couldn't help but be stunned.

He slowly walked into the room, glanced at the extremely lost Duchess Igraine, then reached out to take the washed baby girl, leaned over and kissed her forehead, then held her high and signaled to the others present.

Whether it was a boy or a girl, his Oath Keeper's promise remained the same.

Duncan left quickly.

All of this was just a trivial matter; Merlin and Igraine could handle the rest; he had more important matters to attend to. However, some gossip still spread. Because Duncan still had no children, the outcry grew louder, putting immense pressure on Anya.

Before leaving, Anya glanced at Igrain with a meaningful expression. With four daughters, it seemed that her bloodline was not as strong as rumored. Merlin had undoubtedly made a mistake.

After all the trouble today, some things must be put on the agenda.

Anya is now betting on both sides. As long as Duncan's favor for her remains unabated, she will be the most anxious person because she already has the notoriety of seducing the king.

She couldn't understand why, since they were all lovers, no one dared to put any pressure on the Raven Queen, Triss.

The day passed quickly.

Duncan and Anya hurried to London and met Triss, the Raven Queen, who was preparing a sacrificial ceremony. The countdown to the restoration of the ancient Greek pantheon has begun. With the outbreak of war in the Calais region, the restoration of the polytheistic ancient Greek camp will soon be revealed to the world.

However, at this time someone brought urgent military information from eastern Italy. Duncan stayed for a moment and then rushed to the conference hall.

The real troubled times have arrived!

The war between the British Kingdom and the Franks was just the appetizer for the war in Europe, because the huge Hunnic Empire finally collapsed.

The Ostrogoths rebelled, killed several Hun leaders, and restored their country.

That's not all.

The vast territory once conquered by the Hunnic Empire was suddenly in chaos. The Ostrogoths rebelled first, then another conquered Frankish tribe revolted, followed by the fall of most of the Pannonia province, and then in the surrounding areas of Greater Germania, one Germanic tribe after another revolted.

They killed the local Hun officials, slaughtered and expelled the Hun nomads, and in the blink of an eye, this nomadic empire spanning Europe and Asia was torn apart.

Even in the distant Eurasian steppes, the conquered Alans showed signs of rebellion.

“No matter how large the territory you conquer is, if you don’t manage it well, it will collapse very quickly.”

Duncan remained silent as he looked at the map of Europe he had drawn himself. The Germanic barbarians had begun a full-scale counterattack. After the death of Attila, the Scourge of God, the Hun Empire had one last chance, but they did not seize this opportunity and failed to capture and plunder the Italian Peninsula to forcibly prolong their lives.

"Thrace has fallen."

Severus stood nearby and pointed at the map, saying, "Uprisings have broken out in Pannonia, Dacia, Sarmatia, and other places."

“The nomads in the Caspian region are also unstable.”

"Around Greater Germania, the Germanic barbarian armies not only counterattacked the Huns but also invaded the border areas of the empire."

The Hungarian region in later generations was already a war zone.

The fighting there was even more chaotic than in the Frankish region. After all, there was a three-way confrontation: the British Kingdom, the Frankish tribes, and the Visigothic Kingdom, all of which were powerful and well-off. Currently, the Visigothic Kingdom hadn't made any moves, but according to Duncan's speculation, if the Franks were defeated, they would most likely come to their aid.

This is the most powerful military force in Europe today.

"Either don't fight, or fight to the end!"

Duncan's expression was solemn. His fingers slid across the territory of France in the future, then went all the way down, across Spain and other places, and landed in a port city across the sea from Africa.

If we want to fight, we have to fight across North Africa!

He could directly occupy Portugal, Spain and other places, and then cross the sea to attack Carthage at any time. However, the Vandals there were also very powerful, but Carthage was the grain-producing area of the empire, so Duncan would not have to worry about food problems after taking it.

Severus said solemnly: "We may need to fight on two fronts."

"Neither Upper nor Lower Germania can defend themselves against the invading barbarian tribes. We must reclaim the defenses of the Rhine and Danube."

"Otherwise, the barbarians heading south will take advantage of our westward advance and directly invade our rear."

Speaking of which.

The Raven Queen, Triss, suddenly spoke up, "We have to be wary of the Anglo-Saxons, too."

"Meroving has a good relationship with the Saxon leader."

"What if we attack Europe and they take the opportunity to instigate the Saxons to raid and invade the British provinces again?"

That means fighting on three fronts.

The British Kingdom also needs to defend its homeland. Their advance into Europe has stimulated various forces. They were able to unite to fight against Attila, the Scourge of God. Now it is not ruled out that they will concentrate their forces to deal with the British Kingdom moving south under tremendous pressure.

"The Franks are not a concern. I'm worried about the Visigothic Kingdom."

Duncan's expression was solemn as he looked at the defenses of Upper and Lower Germania and said slowly, "If we station troops directly to defend Upper and Lower Germania, we won't have enough troops to advance westward."

Greater Germania is just a bunch of rotten land.

The benefits of the Northern Expedition are the smallest.

In the whole of Europe, the best place is around Italy, followed by the Balkan Peninsula of Greek city-states, and then the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, but no matter where, it is much better than the homeland of the Germanic barbarians.

"Or just march all the way into Italy!"

Anya suddenly spoke up, "First, conquer the Franks, then force the Visigothic Kingdom to sign a peace treaty, and then directly advance into the Italian Peninsula."

When she said this, her expression became slightly excited, because this was already the posture of her ascending the throne as the emperor of the empire.

Some messages have not been shared with others at this time.

After all, it is a secret of the imperial court, and currently only Duncan and the Raven Queen - Triss know about it.

“But we have to wait for the right time.”

Raven Queen Triss pondered for a moment and said, "The timing is wrong. Not only will we not be the heroes who save the empire, but we will become the rebels in the imperial civil war!"

At this time, we must wait for the right time.

Triss, the Raven Queen, was right. To hastily attack the periphery of Italy without a proper reason would be tantamount to declaring war directly on the dying empire.

Moreover, advancing deep into the enemy's territory alone is a very risky act.

By then, the Visigothic Kingdom and the Germanic barbarians would attack from both sides and cut off the army's retreat, and the army would be like a beast trapped and dying around Italy.

………………

(End of this chapter)