Southampton.

Duncan naturally hoped to lead an army and conquer the lands, but now he somewhat understood why ancient emperors found it difficult to lead expeditions personally.

Because he had too many matters to handle.

Once the emperor or king is far from the center of power, it becomes impossible to manage the entire situation, nor can they keep track of changing circumstances. As the saying goes, when generals are outside, they may not follow orders; after the emperor leads an expedition, many issues cannot be dealt with, and intelligence cannot be sent to the front line in this era.

At the moment, something more important than war has occurred.

The Emperor Valentinian III of the empire had completely fallen out with the Protector of the Realm, Aetius, and even under the instigation of close courtiers, he had developed the idea of assassinating Aetius.

The most provocative in this was the Imperial Senate.

Valentinian III has now made a mistaken judgment, thinking that with the Senate's support, he could control the situation after getting rid of Aetius, but he forgot that the Senate could no longer influence the army.

Duncan didn't remember many historical details, but he knew how Aetius died in the original history.

Aetius was stabbed to death chaotically, his death was somewhat like Caesar's, with over a hundred stab wounds, nearly everyone present added a stab to show their political stance. It can be imagined how many people Aetius had offended over the years as a powerful minister.

Duncan, while listening to Anya's report and looking at the urgent secret letter Quintus sent, said with a serious expression, "I'm afraid they are indeed determined to kill Aetius."

Duncan was not familiar with this fellow Maximus, but Anya was.

Seeing this, Anya introduced, "Maximus is from a noble family in the empire, with deeply intertwined forces behind him. He has served twice as consul, and has almost controlled half of the Senate."

Despite the empire being in decline, only controlling areas around Italy, the old nobles still wielded great power.

The empire's weakness did not mean their weakness; in fact, they were extremely wealthy.

The fall of an empire always ends with all power and wealth concentrating in the hands of a very few, leaving others no choice but to rely on violence to overturn it all.

These aristocratic nobles of the Senate, over hundreds of years, have accumulated unimaginable wealth.

Duncan paused, curiously asking, "Between you and Maximus, who has more wealth?"

Anya was truly wealthy.

Duncan's rise basically depended entirely on her support; without Anya's support, he would have had to resort to robbing the rich to aid the poor in the early stages.

Upon hearing Duncan's words, Anya pondered for a moment before saying, "Even ten of me combined wouldn't amount to half of their family's wealth."

Hiss!

Are they really that wealthy?

Anya continued, "Valentinian III's luxurious lifestyle is partly due to their sponsorship, and before the fall of the empire, their family also held positions as local governors and consuls. As far as I know, they once controlled several gold and silver mines."

These are not unlike the gate-keeping families of the Tang Dynasty.

Anya continued, "If Maximus truly intends to assassinate Aetius, he absolutely has a chance to succeed."

"The Imperial Senate could murder Caesar."

"Now they plot to murder a Protector of the Realm, persuaded the Emperor to support them, plus Aetius, who likely considers himself loyal to the empire, probably wouldn't take precautions."

The cycle of history is repeating.

Caesar's assassination led to Octavian establishing the imperial system, and now Aetius is on the Senate's assassination list; it seems history has come full circle.

The two hurried towards the residence of Duchess Igraine.

Anya, after pondering for a moment, cautiously asked, "How should we respond?"

She was actually asking Duncan what he planned to do.

Should they warn Aetius or watch and wait? For the British Province, watching and waiting was the best choice.

If the assassination succeeds, the empire will truly be doomed.

Duncan turned to look at Anya, slowly saying, "You are asking me whether we should save Aetius, right?"

He pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head.

Duncan intended to shatter everything and rebuild the empire; whether it be Protector of the Realm Aetius, Emperor Valentinian III, or the restless Senate, they all had to be swept into the dustbin of history.

It's a dog-eat-dog scenario, and he would surely sit back and watch, waiting to clean up the mess.

Anya, seeing his expression, relaxed quite a bit and softly said, "If successful, Valentinian III will definitely face backlash."

"At that time, it will be our opportunity."

The Emperor assassinating the pillar of the empire would drive the Roman populace mad.

The Roman people had accomplished significant historical events.

At this moment.

They saw Merlin and others outside the door, Merlin looking quite tense; shortly after, the cry of a newborn rang out.

However, inside it soon fell silent, and after about ten minutes, a woman cautiously came out, saying, "The child is born. It's a girl."

Merlin was instantly stunned.

He had foretold all his life, and in the end, even got the gender wrong, as if heaven had played a huge joke on him.

Anya's expression also paused, turning to look at Merlin with a look akin to seeing a shameless shaman.

Did you make such a big fuss over the prophesied King Arthur?

And now you tell me it's a girl?

Your role as a shaman is laughable; you should just be the headmaster of the wizard academy.

Duncan was also taken aback.

He slowly entered the room, glanced at Duchess Igraine, who looked incredibly defeated, then reached out to take the washed baby girl, gently kissed her forehead, and then lifted her high to show the others present.

Whether boy or girl, his oathkeeper's promise remained unchanged.

Duncan soon left.

All of this is merely trivial matters, leave the rest for Merlin and Igraine to worry about, he has more important things to deal with.

However, some rumors have spread because Duncan has no heirs, the voices below are growing louder, putting immense pressure on Anya.

Before leaving, Anya glanced at Igraine, her expression meaningful. Four daughters, it seems her bloodline is not as strong as rumored, Merlin undoubtedly misjudged.

After today's turmoil, some things must be put on the agenda.

Anya is now betting on both ends, as long as Duncan's favor towards her does not diminish, the most anxious person is her, because she already bears the notorious charm of the ruler.

She just couldn't understand, why, as lovers, no one dares to put any pressure on the Crow Queen - Triss.

The day quickly passed.

Duncan and Anya hurried to London, where they met the Crow Queen - Triss, who was preparing a sacrificial ritual. The revival of the ancient Greek pantheon is counting down, with the outbreak of war in the Calais region, the revival of the polytheistic Greek camp is about to appear before the world.

However, at this time, urgent military information from the east of Italy was delivered, Duncan paused for a moment before heading to the council hall.

The real chaos has arrived!

The Britain Kingdom's war with the Franks is just the appetizer for European chaos, as the massive Hun Empire has finally collapsed.

The East Goths erupted in rebellion, killing several Hun leaders, and restored their country.

It wasn't just that.

The vast territory once conquered by the Hun Empire was engulfed in flames of war, with the East Goths rebelling first, followed by another conquered Frankish tribe uprising, then most of the province of Pannonia fell, and then the surrounding areas of Great Germania, one Germanic tribe after another erupted in rebellion.

They killed the Hun local officials, slaughtered and expelled the Hun herdsmen, in a blink of an eye, this nomadic empire stretching across Europe and Asia was shattered.

Even the distant Eurasian steppe, the conquered Alans also showed signs of uprising.

"No matter how vast the conquered territory is, if not governed properly, it collapses very quickly."

Duncan looked silently at the map of Europe, drawn by himself, Germanic barbarians have begun a full-scale counterattack, God's Whip - Attila's death left the Hun Empire one last chance, but this opportunity was also missed, they failed to sack and forcefully extend life in the Italian Peninsula.

"Thrace has already fallen."

Severus stood beside him, pointing at the map, saying: "There have been uprisings in Pannonia, Dacia, and Sarmatia."

"The nomads in the Caspian Sea region are also unstable."

"Around Great Germania, Germanic barbarian armies not only counterattacked the Huns but also invaded the empire's border areas."

The future Hungarian region is already ablaze with war.

Over there, the fighting is even more chaotic than in the Frankish region, after all, this is a three-way situation, with the Britain Kingdom, Frankish tribes, and the Western Gothic Kingdom, all powerful forces with strong foundations. Currently, the Western Gothic Kingdom has not taken action, but according to Duncan's inference, if the Franks falter, they will most likely step in to assist.

This is the most powerful military force in Europe today.

"Either don't fight, or fight to the end!"

Duncan's expression was grave, his fingers tracing over the territory of modern France, then all the way down, past Spain and other places, landing on a port city opposite North Africa by the sea.

If they fight, they must push to the other side of North Africa!

Directly occupy Portugal and Spain, then at any time cross the sea to threaten Carthage, but the Vandals there are also very formidable. Yet, Carthage is the empire's granary, once Duncan takes it, he won't have to worry about food supply.

Severus said in a deep voice, "We might need to fight on two fronts."

"Upper and lower Germania cannot fend off the invading barbarian tribes, we must regain the Rhine and Danube defense lines."

"Otherwise, the barbarian tribes heading south will invade our rear while we advance west."

Saying this.

The Crow Queen - Triss suddenly said, "The Anglo-Saxons cannot be ignored."

"Molov has a good relationship with the Saxon leaders."

"If we attack Europe, will they take the opportunity to incite the Saxons to raid and invade the British Province again?"

That would be warfare on three fronts.

The British Kingdom itself needs defense, their advance into Europe has provoked various forces, back then they could unite to counter God's Whip - Attila; now it cannot be ruled out they will concentrate their force against the southern advancing British Kingdom under immense pressure.

"The Franks are not a concern, my worry is the Western Gothic Kingdom."

Duncan's expression was heavy as he looked at the upper and lower Germania defense lines, and said slowly: "Directly stationing troops to defend upper and lower Germania would leave us with few forces to advance west."

Great Germania is a mess.

The benefits of a northern campaign are the smallest.

Throughout Europe, the best places are around Italy, followed by the Greek city-states in the Balkans, then the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, but anywhere is far superior to the Germanic barbarians' homeland.

"Or just march straight into Italy!"

Anya suddenly spoke, "First conquer the Franks, then force the Western Gothic Kingdom to sign a peace treaty and directly take the Italian Peninsula."

At this, her expression slightly excited, as this was already aiming to ascend as the empire's emperor.

At this moment, some information has not yet been shared with others.

After all, it's a secret of the imperial court, currently only known to Duncan and the Crow Queen - Triss.

"But they must wait for the right timing."

The Crow Queen - Triss pondered for a moment and said, "If the timing is wrong, we will not be the heroes saving the empire, but rather the rebels of an imperial civil war!"

At this time, they must await the propitious timing.

The Crow Queen - Triss is right, without the appropriate reason, rashly attacking around Italy is tantamount to directly declaring war on the declining empire.

Moreover, penetrating deep into enemy territory is already a risky endeavor.

By then, if the Western Gothic Kingdom and Germanic barbarians flank and cut off the retreat, the army would become a beast trapped to death around Italy.

.........

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