Chapter 873: Make Rome Great Again
Zhang Heng rushed to the palace before dark. And now he got closer to the guards outside the palace. They knew that he was someone that the emperor valued. So, they no longer stopped him when they saw him entering the palace.
However, it would be better if Zhang Heng was given access to a secret passage that led directly to Commodus’s study room, like Altrus. Unfortunately, he realized it would be something he would never get.
Commodus’s trust in Altrus had reached a level that no one could match, greatly surpassing the relationship between the emperor and an advisor.
From this standpoint, Zhang Heng could understand why the Balance Blade, which had considerable political resources, had to eliminate Altrus. Other than assassinating him, there was no other way for them to separate him from Commodus.
At the same time, Zhang Heng became a little curious about which side the Balance Blade was on. Killing Altrus would surely weaken the emperor’s influence and leave Commodus no one to rely on. Perhaps they did not want Altrus to continue bewitching Commodus.
This matter had nothing to do with Zhang Heng. He was simply thinking about it while traveling in the carriage. After that, he handed his Persian short swords to the maid beside him and followed another maid into the palace.
The hall was already filled to the brim with people. However, Commodus was not there yet. Zhang Heng, too, hadn’t seen anyone that remotely resembled Altrus. On the other hand, Clint had arrived early and was walking through the crowd. Zhang Heng could see that he was quite popular among his peers. Everyone seemed to respect him a lot. When Clint saw Zhang Heng, he gave the young man he was talking to a pat on his back and walked over to Zhang Heng.
“Welcome, I heard about the mine. You handled it very well. The batch of bronze statues was delivered as scheduled,” said Clint before lowering his voice. “Did you find out who the mastermind was?”
Zhang Heng shook his head, “I have no idea as well. I asked Senator Divo Braille, hoping he could provide me with some help. Unfortunately, he refused to help me. Anyway, the matter was resolved afterward.”
“Divo Braille?” Clint raised his eyebrows, “That cunning old fox! It’s not surprising that he refused to help you. That man would always stay neutral because he doesn’t want to offend anyone. However, why did he secretly help you in the end? Could he have done it in good faith?”
Clint seemed a little baffled.
“I heard that you encountered some troubles recently.” After Zhang Heng realized that he had drawn Clint’s attention to Divo Braille, he quickly changed the topic.
“Oh, someone wanted to interfere with the introduction of the new copper coin. I killed some of them. After that, the rest of the people began to fall in line obediently,” Clint said with disapproval. “Some people in the Senate are living so comfortably that they have forgotten who grants them their power. His Majesty’s father was too tolerant of the Senate when he was still on the throne. And some of them are way over their heads now. We need to change the way they work. If I’m right, I believe that will be our next task.”
Clint had inadvertently revealed some of his plans to Zhang Heng. It was his way to gain political allies. The two chatted for a while before Clint stopped talking about politics. He then started to talk about the food, the drinks, and enjoying himself. He recommended several famous restaurants in Rome to Zhang Heng. Writing it down, Zhang Heng planned to take the slave girl to those places. This was his only chance to dine at Roman eateries of the second century. He also wanted to know if he could gain any points from it.
After a while, Commodus finally walked into the hall.
The crowd stopped talking and paid their respects to the young emperor. The latter seemed to be in a good mood tonight. He waved his hands and chirped, “The purpose of our banquet tonight is to welcome a new friend! There are no outsiders here, so you are free to loosen yourselves.”
After speaking, he looked at Zhang Heng.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Heng walked toward Commodus. The young emperor immediately put his hand on his shoulders. He then said with great enthusiasm, “Next, I will introduce my new advisor! I believe you are quite familiar with him. The entire city of Rome knows his name! He makes all the women go crazy for him! He was the champion of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, and he can defeat a bison empty-handed! He is Zhang Heng from another far-eastern empire!”
Commodus deliberately raised volume when he said Zhang Heng’s name, and a festivus round of applause rumbled through the banquet hall.
As the applause died down, Commodus continued, “I’m betting that all of you here combined may not be enough to defeat Zhang Heng. Never for a second should you think that he is simply a man that knows only violence to solve problems. In fact, his wisdom amazes me. All of you here know about the southeastern city. The public security problem there has existed for at least a century or two. Countless emperors have attempted to improve the area, but none have yielded any result. And indeed, most believe that the area no longer has hope. Zhang Heng spent only two months there, and he greatly improved the security situation. Compared to his combat skills, his intelligence is more valuable to me. My father told me constantly that the brain is always better than the sword.”
Everyone nodded when they heard the emperor’s speech.
Commodus took two glasses of wine from the waiter, gave one of them to Zhang Heng, and raised the glass in his hand. “Let’s pay our respects to this mystical oriental man who will never let us down! Let’s welcome him to join us. Let us all make Rome greater together!”
When he heard that, Zhang Heng raised his glass too and said, “His Majesty; under your leadership, Rome will be filled with glory!”
“To our emperor and Zhang Heng, our new friend!” everyone toasted and hollered.
After that, Commodus asked Clint to take Zhang Heng to meet the people that attended the banquet.
Zhang Heng then shook hands with the guests one by one. As Clint continued introducing the guests, his heart gradually sank because he discovered that Altrus was not there.
Almost all of Commodus’s men were there tonight, except for the mysterious Altrus.
This also meant that Zhang Heng’s previous plan was now nullified. He realized that he wouldn’t be approaching Altrus anytime soon.
If Altrus was so cautious that he even refused to attend a banquet his colleagues attended, it meant that no one else could see him except for Commodus. The difficulty of assassinating him would become very high, not to mention that Zhang Heng needed to hand him over to the priestess for some time before he got to kill him.
After that, Zhang Heng did not bother making any new friends. He had a different purpose from everyone here. After all, he was just a passer-by in Rome during the second century AD. It would be pointless for him even if he were promoted to Clint’s position.