Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 157 The List of Purges
Ravenna, the royal palace.

Valentinian III appeared wearily outside the palace, surrounded by well-equipped guards. Although his power had not yet extended to the imperial border troops, he had gradually gained control of the palace guards after Aetius's death.

The current Imperial Commander, Hercules, is also by his side. This guy knows that he lacks prestige and is temporarily staying in Ravenna to accumulate strength.

Inside a lavish palace, several beautiful maids helped Valentinian III lie down, and servants had already served him fine wine. This emperor had probably only been diligent in his duties for about half a month before feeling exhausted, his whole body aching, and he no longer wanted to go to the Imperial Guard camp every now and then.

"Have someone prepare a dinner."

Valentinian III waved his hand lazily, summoned his attendant, and asked, "Has Quintus not returned yet?"

The attendant replied cautiously, "Not yet, Your Majesty."

"I've heard that the Burgundians have rebelled again."

"Lord Quintus has not sent any news back yet."

This waste.

It seems quite useful most of the time, but when it comes to crucial moments, there's not a single message coming back for ten days or half a month.

Burgundians?

Didn't Aetius massacre 50,000 people during his last suppression of a rebellion? How come he's rebelling again?

Could it be that they didn't kill them all?

Valentine III was getting a little annoyed. The lack of support from the Governor of Britain, Duncan, made him feel a sense of crisis. Fortunately, the army hadn't rebelled because of Aetius's death; he had managed to win over some lower-ranking officers through rewards.

After all, he had been emperor for decades. Given enough time, he could gradually consolidate some military power.

Not long after, a graceful and beautiful figure appeared. Empress Lysinia Eudoxia looked slightly haggard and seemed somewhat uneasy. She was the daughter of Theodosius II, the Eastern Roman Emperor. Normally, her children with Valentinian III would possess the legal legitimacy of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires.

Unfortunately, she had two daughters in her early years, and later Valentinian III seemed to be infertile, gradually becoming extravagant and licentious, which made it even less likely that they would have sex.

Queen Lysinia didn't even glance at the young, beautiful maid lying in Valentine III's arms. She simply waved the disheveled maid away, then poured the emperor a glass of water and said softly, "Is there any news of Governor Duncan of Britain?"

It's been almost half a month, and there hasn't been a single word from Gaul.

Quintus seems to have vanished into thin air. We need to find him, alive or dead. If he died at the hands of the barbarians, at least send a message back.

Valentinian III said with some impatience, "Not yet."

He didn't even take the water offered by the empress; instead, he picked up the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Lately, nothing tastes good to him.

His marriage to the Empress was originally intended to strengthen relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, but unexpectedly, relations didn't improve much, and the Eastern Roman Empire was completely unreliable. Empress Lysinia possessed legitimacy, but was not valued; otherwise, historically, when she was forced into marriage by Maximus Jonah, she wouldn't have had to seek help from the Vandals, but could have directly appealed to the Eastern Roman Empire.

Queen Lysinia seemed to sense the Emperor's impatience. She sighed softly and turned to leave.

Ever since learning of Aetius's murder by the emperor, she had been living in constant fear, placing all her hopes on a marriage alliance with Duncan, the governor of Britain. In such chaotic times, a son-in-law with military power could offer her a little peace of mind.

Killing Aetius will inevitably have a backlash, but it's unknown when it will erupt.

Seeing that she could not persuade the emperor, Queen Lysinia summoned her attendant upon returning, handed him a bag of gold, and said in a deep voice, "Immediately send someone to find out about Quintus's whereabouts."

"Whether they are dead or alive, we must know where they are!"

At this critical juncture, all the envoys sent out disappeared without a trace. Not only was Burgundy in chaos, but Gaul, both inside and outside the mountains, was also in turmoil, as if someone was deliberately intercepting and killing the emperor's envoys.

Queen Lysinia, being the daughter of Theodosius II, possessed a more acute political sense than her husband and had already noticed something amiss.

Inside the palace.

Valentinian III was a diligent emperor for only half a month before indulging in lavish and decadent court banquets again the very next day, and now no one could control him.

at the same time.

In a manor over a hundred kilometers from Ravenna, Quintus, who had been hiding for more than a week, finally received a secret letter from Paris. Along with the letter came a troop of cavalry, led by a burly and fierce man with an indigo tattoo on his chest.

Kulin stared coldly at Quintus before him and said slowly, "This was given to you by the Governor."

"This is a secret letter from Lady Anya to you."

Quintus did not actually meet Duncan, because the Visigothic Kingdom's movements were unclear, Duncan had amassed a large force on the border between the two countries, and Quintus himself was afraid of death, so he only sent a trusted confidant to deliver intelligence.

He first opened Duncan's letter, which contained a simple instruction to keep a close eye on the palace's movements.

In addition, the Governor of Britain assigned him an elite force so that he could be prepared in advance should anything happen and find a way to rescue Valentine III's wife and daughters.

All of this was within Quintus's expectations.

But when he opened the secret letter Anya had written to him, Quintus couldn't help but tremble slightly.

The content is very straightforward.

Anya instructed him that if he discovered the Senate or Maximus's plot to assassinate the Emperor, he should secretly send people to assist him. He didn't need to do it himself, but he needed to provide opportunities and conveniences. In short, he was to help hand over the knife!
There were some things Duncan couldn't do, and couldn't possibly do, but Anya was willing to do them anyway. Her reputation was already bad enough, so she didn't care if it got even worse.

Quintus's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty after reading Anya's secret letter. He quickly burned the letter with a candle.

We can't not burn it.

Kulin stood by, watching with eyes like a tiger or wolf. Who knew what would happen if he dared to leave behind evidence? Anya was shrewd; she must have given Kulin some instructions before they left. Some of the dirty and hard work had to be done by someone.

Quintus remained silent for a long time, looked at Cullin in front of him, and slowly said, "I understand."

sorry.

His Majesty the Emperor.

I was forced into this situation by Anya. Given the current circumstances, a nobody like him had no choice. Following Valentinian III would also mean certain death, so he might as well take a gamble. If this succeeds, he might be able to climb even higher in the future.

Quintus was far too bold to assassinate the emperor, but he was quite daring to secretly provide assistance to anyone who wanted to assassinate the emperor.

Anya's letter made it very clear that if an opportunity arose, it would be provided; otherwise, they should remain in hiding.

"I will return to Ravenna tomorrow."

Quintus looked at the man in front of him and said slowly, "From today onwards, you will be my personal attendant."

This means entrusting your own safety to the people in front of you.

If the Italian peninsula becomes unstable, his small number of men will not be enough; only battle-hardened veterans who have fought countless battles can protect the group's safety.

Kulin replied indifferently, "No problem."

"We need a batch of crossbows, prepare them for us."

Quintus immediately replied, "I will arrange for people to prepare immediately; there are weapons and armor in the manor."

"do you need?"

Kulin shook his head and said, "The armor is too conspicuous. Just prepare leather armor with chainmail lining for us."

Arranged marriage is acceptable.

But the order is important.

If Duncan had married Valentinian III first and then ascended to the throne, he would have inherited Valentinian III's legitimacy, which would have been quite troublesome and wouldn't have been considered a complete re-creation of the Western Roman Empire.

However, if something were to happen to Valentinian III, the empire would collapse directly. If Duncan had first led the army to quell the rebellion, executed the false emperor, destroyed the Senate, and purged many corrupt nobles before marrying the princess to stabilize the situation, the outcome would have been completely different.

This order is quite important; Duncan can marry the princess, but it must be the last step.

Some corrupt elements had to be swept away. By directly inheriting the legitimacy of Valentinian III, Duncan would have no suitable reason to abolish the Senate and wield the butcher's knife against those decadent old Roman nobles. He also didn't want to waste time with those guys, so naturally he needed a plausible excuse.

To put it even more bluntly.

Duncan wanted to use Valentinian III's head to drag the entire Senate and the old nobles of the Western Roman Empire down with him!
The emperor never dies.

How did he deal with the confiscation of property and extermination of the families of those senators and nobles?

Maximus was an Italian tycoon, and the old noble families were all incredibly wealthy. Duncan's continuous campaigns had already strained his finances. Although he had taken over the Frankish territory, it would take time to fully integrate it. At this critical juncture, where else in Europe could he find a large sum of money?
This money.

If the Hunnic Empire were to be swallowed up, it would be able to extend its lifespan for a while. If he were to be swallowed up, his national treasury would be overflowing.

Paris, the Doge's residence.

In the flickering firelight, Anya was compiling a long list of names, mostly from old noble families of the Italian peninsula, many of whom were members of the Imperial Senate. They all shared a striking characteristic: extreme wealth, with most being families that had been operating within the empire for centuries. These families were deeply entrenched in the corrupt empire; without purging them, it would be impossible to truly expand one's power.

Suddenly, Queen Raven-Triss entered. She glanced at the shockingly long list and said softly, "Are these the candidates?"

This is a list of the dead.

Anya's expression was cold as she said indifferently, "That's right."

“These old bastards have been sucking the blood out of the empire for so many years, it’s time to make them spit it all out.”

Queen Ravens Triss looked at the list of those to be purged, remained silent for a moment, and then said softly, "I have already secretly sent people to Ravenna."

"If all goes as expected, news will come back soon."

At this critical juncture, Queen Raven-Triss also prepared to secretly lend a hand, believing that a dead emperor was a good emperor, and that the Senate could be dragged down with him.

Only a bloody purge can rebuild a corrupt empire.

But some things can never be brought up in the open, or even mentioned. Only a very few people know what Anya did.

………………

(End of this chapter)