Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 121 Preparing for a Bloody Negotiation

After meeting with Gepid King, Sarus returned to the Rome where he was quick to report his news to Marcellus. The two men were gathered in the war room of the Imperator’s personal villa while the rest of the Western Roman leadership sat back and waited for the report. Sarus failed to salute Marcellus properly, but the man did not mind. After all, his relationship with the gothic chieftain was one built upon fear moreso than respect.

“I have met with the Gepid King. He has agreed to attack Yazdegerd and his forces once the meeting between you two is over. Once he has completed the task, we can move our forces in and eliminate him as a threat once and for all!”

Marcellus was slightly astonished by how far Sarus had planned this through, and immediately suspected that he was being used to settling a grudge. However, he did not mind too much. After all, the Gepids were one of the many barbarian tribes who were constantly invaded the borders of Rome. If he could eliminate Yazdegerd and a barbarian tribe at the same time, he would consider it a massive win. Thus, he smiled before nodding his head in approval of Sarus’ scheme.

“I’m impressed. You have given me the ability to eliminate two enemies with one attack. I agree, it is most prudent that we deal with the Gepids when they are weakened from fighting the Eastern Romans. After we eliminate these two threats to the Empire, we will place a puppet as regent of the East, who will convince the young boy Theodosius to be more cordial with the west until a time when he can annex their half of the Empire. You have done well, Sarus, and if this plot of yours works as intended, then you will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts.”

Sarus could not help but smile upon hearing that he would be getting something out of his efforts. He did not thank Marcellus, but his expression was at the very least respectful. With this matter out of the way, Marcellus was quick to dispatch his orders to the rest of his officers.

“I will dispatch a message to Yazdegerd informing him of the time and meeting place. From there I will march my one thousand members of my Palatini into the region, where we will survey the area. Once it is certain that everything is in place, I will meet with Yazdegerd and negotiate with him until we can find a reasonable compromise for this border dispute.

Meanwhile, Sarus will march his gothic foederati, dressed as a war band of Barbarians, and lie in wait for the negotiations to conclude. He will also be on the lookout for possible assassination attempts from the eastern Romans. Once the conflict between the eastern romans and gepids begins, we will wait until a victor is revealed. If the gepids emerge victorious, we will eliminate them with our combined forces.

If the eastern romans emerge victorious, for whatever reason, we will pretend like we were otherwise engaged with Sarus’ forces. If all goes as planned, both Yazdegerd and the Gepids will be eliminated as threats to our Empire!”

The soldiers beneath Marcellus’ command all threw up their salutes and responded to Marcellus’ plan with a battle cry.

“For the glory of Rome!”

—

While Marcellus was preparing his forces for the negotiation with Yazdegerd, the Sassanid King himself was preparing to eliminate his western rival. This was the second time a representative of the eastern roman army had met with the Huns. However, this time, the young magister militum Drusus Valerius Durio was the man selected to win over their support.

In the region known as Dacia, the Hunnic King sat around a campfire. By his sides were his most elite warriors, who acted as his protectors. Across from him was Durio, who was clad in the gilded trappings of an eastern roman general. The two men looked as if they came from two different worlds, one a man of great wealth and power, and the other a barbarian king.

Despite this, Durio was the one to lower his head in respect as he bargained for the services of the Huns.

“I know you have rejected our call to arms once before, but now Constantinople is in need of your expertise once more. The false emperor who sits on the western throne has seized power and has begun stabilizing his Empire. He seeks not only to reunite the Empire into a single state, but to expand its borders and annihilate the various tribes and kingdoms who pose a threat to Rome.

The Huns are one of many groups he intends to eliminate, and if he is allowed to grow and prosper any further one day soon, he will be a threat to you. Our proposition is simple. We have an upcoming meeting with him in neutral territory.

We would like you to attack him and his host after the negotiations are over. Make it seem like a third party intervened and killed the western roman emperor of their own volition, and you will be rewarded exceptionally well.

He has agreed to bringing only a thousand men, as we have, thus we can not attack him ourselves. However, your horde is vast, and powerful enough to eliminate the western Roman general and his forces! If you do this for us, not only will we pay you a king’s bounty of gold, silver, and silk. However, we will also allow you to do as you please with the Western Roman lands.

What do you say? Will you support us in the removal of our common enemy? Or will you sit by and wait until Marcellus is knocking on your front door?”

The Hunnic King sat in silence for several moments, seemingly disinterested as he munched on a roasted duck leg. Just what species of waterfowl it originated from, Durio did not know, nor did he really care. Instead, he waited patiently for a response.

As if intending to insult the Roman General, the King of the Huns sat back and munched on his roasted duck leg until all of the meat had been stripped from the bone. Only after finishing his meal to he speak about his opinion regarding this plot.

“Very well… If you are so insistent, I will gladly take care of this petty emperor for you. Mark my words, this Marcellus will not live to see the harvest. I will make sure of that! Make sure your payment is ready to be handed over, because I don’t intend to return from this venture empty handed!”

A wicked grin formed on Durio’s lips as he bowed his head and thanked the barbarian King for his support.

“The emperor Theodosius thanks you for your assistance on the matter and expects your discretion. I assure you, once Marcellus is dead, and his army is butchered, we will be more than happy to hand over the agreed payment.”

With this negotiation, Marcellus and Yazdegerd had remarkably conceived of the same plot to eliminate one another. Who would survive the ordeal and emerge victorious had yet to be seen. However, one thing was certain, this minor border skirmish was about to escalate into a bloody battle between two powerful Empires and their barbarian proxies.