Andrew left with an uneasy heart, leaving Tenaia and his son staring at each other.

Tenaia's face was full of exhaustion, she probably never imagined that after all these years, everything around her had changed drastically.

She didn't know why Andrew wanted Adernus in such a hurry, especially because he wanted Tenaia to complete Adnus' wedding to his daughter, who was at an age for a wedding in a few years, and before the girls who were worried about their children were thinking about their children.

Of course, Tenaya could tell from Andrew's words that he would not tell Luga about it, at least not in the near future.

After nearly three months of preparation, at the beginning of spring, Kessel finally felt that the time was ripe. He held a papyrus letter from Carthage as he straightened out his clothes.

Stepping out of the room specially prepared for him, he slowly descended the stairs by the handrail, and if it had not been for the recognition of his attendants, he would have been driven out of this splendid inn by the thought of a lowly barbarian.

This time he did not seem to show the Romans his civilized side, but put on a coarse cloth robe again, and wore an ordinary robe.

At this time, the entire court and senate of Constantinople were operating in order, and taxes from all over the country were gradually filling the huge warehouses of Constantinople.

The streets were filled with merchants from all over Rome in the east, selling everything they wanted.

Kessel wandered through the streets, looking at the citizens who came and went around him, and they all glanced at him with their eyes full of doubt and curiosity.

The Vandals from the south, the citizens of Constantinople who came and went were very puzzled why this guy in barbarian attire did not wear chains, after all, the Romans were accustomed to the concept of barbarians as slaves.

They were watching Kessel, and Kessel was watching them. The city, which had just experienced the war, recovered from the war at an astonishing rate and came back to life under Flavis' rule as if nothing had happened.

"The ruler plays an amazing role in this!" Kessel sighed inwardly as he walked forward.

Until the gate of the Omiya, he handed over the proof of passage, which was a roll of parchment depicting the emblem of the double-headed eagle.

He was already familiar with such a huge palace, and gradually, the mysterious palace when he first arrived was slowly unveiled in front of him.

Augustus' chamber was still as crowded as usual, and this time Kessel learned to stand in line, consciously standing at the back of the waiting pedestrians, and the discerning Roman nobles did not look at him with the same disgust as before.

Under the watchful eye, Kessel couldn't help but straighten his chest, this time, compared to the previous him, he looked confident.

At last he came to the door of the council chamber, and the guards looked at him, then turned back to the courtiers inside, and said, "Messenger of Vandal." ”

The courtiers understood, turned back and shouted inside, "Vandal's messenger asks for a meeting." ”

"Yes!"

A majestic voice came from inside, and the guard understood, and turned to Kessel and nodded.

Kessel took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, realizing that it was finally his turn, and with an inscrutable smile on his face, he stepped slowly into the chamber.

He went all the way until he finally came to Luga, who sat upright on the throne with a languid look on his face, and his face was full of exhaustion.

"I've waited a long time, Lord Kessel, messenger of the Vandals."

Lugar was tired from having received too many courtiers in front of him, but he smiled at Kessel with a friendly smile and said to him, "Let me see what you have brought, messenger of the Vandals." ”

"Caesar!" Kessel saluted solemnly at Luga, and then said to Luga: "My king Gaisarik has a question, that is, the tribute we paid originally belonged to Valentinian, but now Caesar you ask us to give you the tribute that belongs to Valentinian, and there is only one tribute, and if you give it to Valentinian, we will not be able to meet Caesar's request, but if we give you, we cannot give Valentinian an explanation, so are we subject to Valentinian in the west, or Caesar in the east?" ”

When Kessel asked, all the courtiers present were talking in private, and they were discussing what Kessel meant by his words.

Such a question really gave Luga and the Roman courtiers a big problem, and it is no wonder that they are discussing, after all, it is a question of who they are subservient to.

Looking at Luga's face on the stage, a little embarrassed, Kessel couldn't help but show a sinister smile, "Say it, Flavis. Luga, tell me who we are subjected to. ”

This is equivalent to voting for Luga, the most powerful man in Eastern Rome, whose words and deeds represent the attitude of Eastern Rome.

A discerning person can see at a glance that this is a set, because if it is said to Valentinian, then the Vandals may still be as perfunctory as before, and if Luga says it to himself, then it is tantamount to reaffirming the remarks that things have long been incompatible, then the Vandals are likely to incite such remarks, and then provoke the anger of Rome in the west, especially the attitude of the Senate in the city of Rome.

After all, there are quite a few "illustrious" Vandals among them. If they are openly against Luga, then either Valentinian or Aetius will inevitably respond, after all, what Valentinian needs most is supporters, and Aetius is not.

According to the original statement, whether Valentinian or Luga paid tribute to anyone was the same, it was tantamount to shooting himself in the foot, after all, there was only one choice between Luga and Valentinian.

What a cunning Vandal envoy, the courtiers present all frowned at this question, and for a moment could not think of anything that could answer his question.

"It doesn't seem to be a problem." After a moment's silence, Luga regained his languid appearance, leaning on his throne, a complete confidence between his eyebrows. "As I said at the beginning, we collect the tribute of the Vandals, and we do not monopolize it, and I can guarantee this with my honor."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?" Luga repeated, snorted coldly, and then said: "We are not disappointed with the degree of protection of your country's tribute, you know, as far as I know, there are only a handful of tributes that can be sent to Rome in the past few years, far less than the amount in the original contract, I don't know that the army of the entire fleet of Western Rome deployed in the sea off the coast of Greater Sicily is helpless against the so-called pirates, so I think that we will do our part, and send these tributes to Rome in person to fulfill the contract for your country, so as not to fall into a discredited talk about it." After all, your life is not worth mentioning compared to Gaisarik's reputation. ”

"But..."

Kessel's face turned blue and purple with anger, and he wanted to argue about something, but he didn't know where to start.

"Oh, I forgot!" Luga emphatically said: "In order to maintain the honor of your king Gaisaric and to ensure that the peace treaty between Rome and the Vandal is reliable and not cracked, please go back and tell Gaisaric to make up all the tribute that has not been delivered in the past ten years, and in return, the powerful Roman navy will be stationed in the sea of Great Sicily to help your country solve the troubles of pirates!" ”

"It's not in accordance with the rules!" Kessel shook his head in disagreement.

"No, no, no, it's very regular." Luga said, a meaningful smile on his lips, and now Kessel was at a loss for words.

"How can we then know that the tribute was indeed delivered to Rome?"

"Vandals." Luga's face grew gloomy, "So, you've agreed to this matter on behalf of Gaisarik. ”

"I didn't!" Kessel argued: "Impossible, this is impossible!" ”

Kessel's emotions were a little out of control, and Luga knew how to shut him up, only to see Luga wave to the ceremonial officer beside him, who then took out a piece of papyrus and read it aloud.

"The combined fleet of the Black Sea and the Eastern Straits has been assembled in Athens, and the newly formed Macedonian Army and the Alexandrian Field Army have also made peace in Crete..."

This voice is clearly preparing for war! Leaving aside the authenticity, these debriefings did calm Kessel.

"Robber, robber!"

Although Kessel was furious, he was helpless in the face of Luga in front of him, and he finally bowed his head in submission.