My XX deal with Sister Nero

"Yes, Your Highness. Since the Parthian Empire was defeated on the western battlefield, they not only chose to move their capital to Isfahan, but also expanded their navy and planned to attack my Sassanid Empire in order to divert domestic conflicts." Sapur answered with his head down as he stood in front of Tony.

"So... your country has no ability to protect itself, and you want to seek help from the Roman Empire, hoping that the Roman Empire can lend a hand, right?" Tony raised the corner of his mouth slightly, looked at the prime minister in front of him with some joking, and said: "It's not impossible for us to protect your country, but you should understand that there is no free lunch in the world. Your country is too far away from my Roman Empire. If we want to protect you, we definitely can't send troops directly, right? After all, if we really send troops, how many troops can be sent to protect your country... It's hard for us to judge, right?"

"Your Highness is right. Our country will not ask the Empire to send troops to assist us. We just want the Empire to reach an agreement with our country. If the Parthian Empire attacks our country, the Roman Empire can provide support." Sapur tried to make his tone as relaxed as possible and made an expression as if this was a very simple agreement.

Indeed, if one looks at it superficially, this is indeed a very simple agreement and one that requires almost no effort from the Roman Empire.

How much effort would it take just to show support when the Sassanid Empire was attacked?

PS: I wanted to post a picture, but it's over 600K, and the upper limit of illustrations here is 500K, so I can't post it, it's too real

Chapter 372: Are you a fool?

If Tony was really just an ordinary child, or a person of this era without any political experience, he might really believe what the prime minister said, but...

Tony is no fool.

That’s right, the Sassanian Empire’s request sounds very simple. It is nothing more than asking the Roman Empire to support the Sassanian Kingdom when it is attacked, but what is the reality?

Whether it was forming an alliance with the Sassanid Empire or taking it as a vassal state, the Roman Empire could not sit idly by once a war really broke out. Once the empire really just expressed support and did not send any troops to rescue the Sassanid Empire, the consequence would be that the international prestige of the Roman Empire would suffer a huge blow, and even the vassal states of the Roman Empire would have to consider carefully: if you can watch the Sassanid Empire die today, will you also watch us die tomorrow?

Therefore, as long as the Roman Empire reached an alliance with the Sassanid Empire or took it as its vassal, the empire would be obliged to send troops to assist it when it was attacked.

But is it worth going to war with the Parthian Empire for a small country?

After several civil unrests and wars, what the Roman Empire needs now is recuperation rather than war. A few small-scale local conflicts are fine, but another national war... that would be very devastating!

So, the Roman Empire would not have taken the risk if there were not enough benefits.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister..." After a brief pause, Tony said calmly, "I am more direct. Please state your price."

"Price? This..." Sapur looked around in embarrassment, gritted his teeth and said, "My Sassan Kingdom produces gemstones. When the time comes... I will ask someone to send a few fine gemstones to your Highness's residence."

A few fine gemstones?

Upon hearing this, Tony's face darkened, he snorted coldly, then stood up and said, "In that case, I will wait for your gem in the palace!"

Hearing the unfriendly tone of His Royal Highness, Sapur stood up and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness! What do we have to discuss?"

"Discuss?" Tony turned his head to stop Sappor and sneered, "What do you want to discuss with me? Do you think that I am the governor of the British province and come from the most remote part of the Roman Empire, so I have never seen the world? A few gems? You want to get rid of me? What a joke! I have seen more gems than you have eaten pork!"

Although the Sassanid Empire belonged to Persian culture, the Persians of that era had not yet been influenced by green culture, so they still had to eat pork. As the prime minister, Sapur must have eaten a lot of pork.

"Your Highness, please calm down." Sapur lowered his head and said to Tony, "Your Highness, to be honest, these gems are just a benefit to Your Highness. If your country is willing to form an alliance with our country, then... our country is also willing to conduct certain trade exchanges with your country."

Open trade? That's it? You're still treating me like a beggar, aren't you?

"Sir Sappor." Tony turned around and looked at the gray-haired old man in front of him meaningfully, and said in a cold voice: "Sir, do you think that I am a beggar who is easy to deal with, or that the Roman Empire is a beggar?"

"Your Highness..." Sapur opened his mouth but didn't dare to speak.

Just now, when he saw Tony standing up, he had already realized that this young prince was not someone who knew nothing and was easy to fool. If possible, he would also like to offer a price that would make this prince excited, but... but he couldn't do it.

Because the King of the Sassanid Empire, Shanuya, only gave him this price!

After all, in the eyes of this king, the Sassanid Empire was an existence that was capable of rivaling the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire and other countries. The reason why it could not defeat the Parthian Empire was that the other party was a continental country with a large base of land forces, while he was just an island country and there was no need to develop an army, so he suffered a little disadvantage.

In other words, he always believed that the alliance with the Roman Empire was really just a simple alliance.

It's not about being someone else's dog.

But the problem is that the king doesn't have Hercules in his heart, but Sapur does! After staying in the Roman Empire for a few days, he already has a very intuitive concept of the power of the Roman Empire.

Look at this majestic city of Rome, look at these well-disciplined Imperial Guards, it is obvious that the Sassanid Empire cannot compare to them!

If possible, the prime minister really wants to do his best to win over the Roman Empire without violating sovereignty.

However... he didn't have the capital, or rather, Shanuya didn't give him such power.

"So... why do you think we would help you? Are you, or should I say your Majesty, really stupid, or do you think that everyone in the Roman Empire is stupid?"

Tony shook his head, looked at Sapur with a very pitying look, and said, "Either you come up with a price that will make the Roman Empire excited, or you go back."

Tony could also guess that since the old man in front of him could sit in the position of prime minister, it meant that he was not a reckless person. Moreover, according to the stories in One Thousand and One Nights, this prime minister could only be considered mediocre at best, and could not be called stupid.

Therefore, this kind of stupid decision must have been thought of by His Majesty the King.

"Then... then what does Your Majesty and your country want!" Looking at Tony's back as he turned and left, the prime minister shouted loudly with sweat all over his forehead.

"What do you need?" Tony stopped when he heard the prime minister's voice and turned to look at the prime minister: "Fifty percent of fiscal revenue, and ceding five ports to the Roman Empire."

"That's impossible!" The chancellor shook his head. Fifty percent of the fiscal revenue and five ports ceded to the Roman Empire, wouldn't that be like losing a battle? If it was something else, he might be able to fight for it a little, but if it was this request... Impossible, His Majesty the King would not agree.

Of course Tony knew that the other party disagreed.

Honestly speaking, no matter how much the other party offered, the Roman Empire might not agree to help. After all, even if this country gave the Roman Empire everything it could give, the Roman Empire might not appreciate it. So Tony's idea at the beginning was to lead the British Legion to the border to help out, and to help as much as possible without starting a national war. But... the other party treated him like a fool, which was too much.

So Tony simply asked for a huge sum, more than half of the annual taxes and five ports.

Chapter 373 Katniss and Scathach

Taxes were for the Roman Empire, while ports were for themselves.

Although he couldn't use the money to start the East India Company, Tony could establish a colonial outpost and build a series of stopovers for his trade fleet. If possible, Tony planned to build a Maritime Silk Road and introduce some things from the Eastern Han Dynasty, such as certain vegetables. Then... he could secretly and better recreate the delicacies of two thousand years later.

To be honest, although the dishes of the Roman Empire were quite rich and the taste was not bad, they were pitifully few compared to two thousand years later. More than a year or almost two years had passed, and Tony was almost tired of the dishes of the Roman Empire. Of course, let alone those weird dishes like peacock brains and bird tongues.

Going too far again.

In fact, Tony could have asked for those ports in the form of leasing, but he didn't do so. The reason is very simple. He is also a human being. He would get angry when he is treated like a fool by others. You want to ask me for something. Let's not talk about whether you can offer a price that will make the Roman Empire excited. The very least point is, is this your attitude when you ask for help?

"I know you can't make the decision." Tony interrupted Sappor's words somewhat rudely and said indifferently: "Your country should have familiars or magic to convey emergency messages, right? Tell your king what I said. If he agrees, we will continue to talk. If he agrees, I'm sorry, I can't help you."

"Your Highness!" Seeing Tony turn around and leave again, Sapur's heart sank. It's over, all over!

"Oh, with this attitude, you still want to ask for help?" As soon as he walked out of the gate of the yard, Tony shook his head with a look of helplessness. This is not the attitude of asking for help, this is clearly the attitude of being a father, okay?

"Let's go back." Tony rubbed his forehead after sitting on the carriage. He originally thought that it would take some time to get some benefits from the Sassanid Empire. Now it seems that he should find a way to send a few spies to India - the Parthian Kingdom, to see if he can support an agent and use the port there as a springboard to open up a route to India.

"What a hassle." Tony muttered in annoyance and scratched his head violently.

Originally, according to the plan, if the conditions offered by the other party were favorable, I would only lease a few ports. But now that you are doing this, who would be willing to play with you?

It's just that I have rejected the Sassanid Empire. Unless the other party comes to their senses, otherwise... I am also completely clueless about the situation in the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. By the time I go to investigate, understand and analyze the situation and then support the agent to win the war and seize the port, I'm afraid it will be too late.

If it really doesn't work...why not just organize an expedition fleet to conquer the Sassanid Empire!

【~

Just when Tony was feeling a little annoyed, suddenly, he felt his carriage stop abruptly.

"Huh? What happened?" Tony asked Mary puzzledly, sticking his head out of the window.

"Your Highness." After talking to a young man who looked like a sheriff, Mary rode her horse to Tony and said, "Your Highness, there was a fight in the central square in front of the palace. His Majesty has already mobilized the Royal Guards to suppress the incident."

Fight? Your Majesty? Guards?

Tony didn't understand what Mary said for a moment after hearing these three words.

Wait a minute, I am very familiar with each of these three words, but why do they become so weird when put together?

It’s not like there haven’t been fights in Rome.

Generally speaking, if a fight broke out in the city of Rome, the first people to be dispatched would be the sheriffs and their men who were responsible for maintaining public order in the city. If the fight was not large in scale, then one or several sheriffs would be dispatched with their men. If the fight was indeed large in scale, then the national army would be dispatched to carry out a certain degree of armed suppression.

Tony has lived here for so long, but he has never heard of a fight being suppressed by His Majesty's personal order to dispatch the Royal Guards!

Not to mention that the Guards were the most elite troops in the Roman Empire, at the very least, if a fight could reach the ears of the aldermen, it would be a very big deal, right? Not to mention that His Majesty personally commanded the Guards to suppress it.

Seeing Tony's bewildered expression, Mary lowered her voice and said, "Your Highness, there are two fighters. One is Katniss, and the other's identity is currently unknown. We only know that she is a female wearing a strange purple tights and using a red spear as her weapon."

"??? Scathach, Queen of the Kingdom of Shadows?" Tony slapped his forehead when he heard this description. Damn it, he forgot about this!

As mentioned before, because of the problem with Poseidon, Katniss hates gods very much, and Scathach happens to be a god.

Although she is not from the same pantheon as Poseidon, she is still a god after all.

Before, Cainise joined Cefalu in order to kill gods, but now Cefalu has changed and become the heroic spirit Attila. She is no longer the king of destruction who is obsessed with destruction. Under Gilgamesh's persuasion, Attila began to observe the world and confirm whether this world is worth her destruction.

After waiting for a long time, Katniss still didn't see any new moves from Cefalu. In desperation, Katniss decided to act alone and start with Scathach!

And what about Scathach?

From the moment she accepted the call of the Restraining Force and stepped out of the Shadow Kingdom, Scathach learned another thing, that is, her apprentice who had died not long ago was resurrected again, and accepted the call of the Restraining Force and stepped onto the battlefield, and then, damn... bah, the person is gone.

Therefore, Scathach has always wanted to find out the location of the battlefield. She wants to... pay tribute to this apprentice.

However, in order to prevent the Battle of Kyria from causing some unnecessary impact, Tony has been blocking the news. Scathach, who has been investigating in Rome for a long time without getting any useful information, finally met her opponent, Katniss.

"God? You're nothing but this!" In the central square, Katniss held the gun in both hands, constantly stabbing at Scathach while mocking her.

"Hmph." Scathach snorted coldly, and while retreating, she waved the spear in her hand to block the opponent's attack.

"Hey, hey, hey, is this all you have?!" Seeing that he was constantly suppressing Scathach, Katniss had a bloodthirsty smile on his face. Then he stepped on the ground, lowered his body, and stabbed Scathach's abdomen with the silver spear in his hand!

PS: God knows what I went through, my stomach hurts a little

Chapter 374: After all, not everyone is a black and white fighting cock

God is slightly different from humans.

For example, everyone has seen rich people and poor people. In this era, the poor exude an air of being lax about life. They have no money and can only make ends meet, so they show a kind of numbness when facing life.

But rich people are different.

They are rich, they know how to dress themselves up, they are very glamorous, they can already solve their own food and clothing problems, in this era, rich people have a common characteristic, that is curiosity, they are full of curiosity about unknown things, so when they walk on the street, their expressions are completely different from the numb expressions of the poor.

One looks like a dead person, and the other looks like a living person.

But God is different from humans.

Strictly speaking, Scathach is not a god, but Scathach entered the realm of gods as a human, so she possesses some of the characteristics of gods. Ordinary people cannot distinguish between humans and gods because they don’t know what the difference is between the person in front of them and themselves. They will only instinctively feel that the person in front of them is different from themselves.

But Katniss is different.

First, she was pressed on the ashes of the grass and fucked by Poseidon, and then she was fucked by the centaurs commanded by Zeus. Katniss hated the gods to the core, so correspondingly, she was very sensitive to the characteristics of the gods.

The moment Scathach stepped into the city of Rome, she sensed Scathach's presence.

Originally, Katniss thought that Cefalu would attack Scathach, but what he didn't expect was that this legendary destroyer of the world would just stroll down the street with a man every day.

what is this? !

After waiting for a month, Katniss finally couldn't bear it anymore and decided to go and cause trouble for Scathach herself.

Then, Katniss blocked Scathach in the city's central square.

Katniss doesn't know Scathach, but she knows that the guy in front of her is a god. Scathach doesn't know Katniss either, but she sees that Katniss has bad intentions, and of course she understands that Katniss is here to pick a fight with her.

So, without any warning, the two sides started fighting in the central square.

……

Seeing Katniss lower his body and stab his abdomen with the spear in his hand, Scathach's expression remained unchanged. She took a half step back and slightly sideways to avoid the stab, then the spear in her right hand swept towards Katniss's head.

"Tsk." Seeing that his shot missed and the opponent counterattacked at the same time, Katniss spat lightly, and while his strength was exhausted, he leaned back slightly, dodged the sweeping shot and leaped forward, creating a distance between himself and Scathach.

"Not bad." Katniss glanced at Scathach, his lips curled up and he suddenly laughed.

"Hmph." Scathach said nothing.

If she were to use her full power, Scathach could definitely kill Katniss with her Noble Phantasm, but...

Scathach glanced at the crowd fleeing in the square and the guards slowly surrounding her, and she knew that she might not be able to use her treasure at the moment.

"Listen, people in front, put down your weapons immediately. This is Rome, not a place for you to fight!" Outside the central square, a young man wearing the armor of a senior general of the Guards shouted to the two women holding spears in the square.

"Oh? Royal Guards?" Having stayed in Rome for a month, Katniss and Scathach roughly understood what the Royal Guards were. Scathach didn't care. Although she would be happy to see someone kill her, she was not some black-and-white-faced fighting cock after all, not the kind of fighting maniac who took pleasure in other people's failures. Seeing the Royal Guards surrounding her with unsheathed swords and arrows on strings, Scathach tactfully took a half step back, pointing the tip of her gun at the ground, indicating that she would not resist.

On the other hand, Katniss is different.

Although he is far inferior to the Greek gods, Caenis has no good feelings towards the Praetorian Guards, or the Roman Empire.

The reason was very simple. On the island of Crete, he fought with Atalanta several times and was seriously injured. Unexpectedly, he was captured and locked up by the troops led by that prince and Atalanta, which led to him being humiliated by the gods again. If it were not for the sudden appearance of Cephalus, which temporarily diverted the attention of the Greek gods, he would probably still be imprisoned on Mount Olympus.

It’s all that damn kid’s fault!

Therefore, in the mind of the entire Roman Empire, Kenis has already labeled himself as a "lackey of the Greek gods".

"I say, you'd better get out of the way." With his head raised slightly, Katniss looked at the young man who looked like a general with cold eyes and said, "If I fight her again later, you will be killed!"

Katniss was not originally a god, and neither was Scathach, but Katniss gained divinity because of Poseidon, and Scathach entered the realm of gods as a human. If these two really went to war with each other, it would be no less than two gods fighting in the street.