socalfunplaces Page 237
Page 237
Gudako bluntly voiced everyone's doubts.
It's not that there was no reaction, but rather that only a portion of the people reacted, and the reaction wasn't very enthusiastic; at least no one took the initiative to come forward and offer their condolences.
"Hmm, that's mainly because the customs are different in Rome."
Nero stepped forward and explained, "It is a Roman custom for victorious troops to distribute some of their spoils to the people after a battle. Perhaps they were a little disappointed because we were so lightly armed."
In order to save time on the journey, Ma En had packed away all the extra things.
When the people saw that they were dressed lightly, they naturally felt that there was nothing to gain by coming over.
"Is it really that realistic?" Dazi exclaimed in surprise.
Nero broke out in a cold sweat and quickly defended himself, saying, "We can't blame them. After all, that's how the customs are, and they have their own lives to live."
Yes, they are just ordinary people who also need to make a living and work. They have no vested interests, their emotions are not in line, and there are such customs. It's already quite good if they can give a smiley face.
You can tell from the calm expressions on the soldiers' faces that they had no objections.
“What you said is all true, but the main reason is that they have already gotten used to it, or they don’t care.”
Red Nero, however, stood up and refuted Nero.
At the same time, her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
But he slowly revealed the real reason for this situation.
The main reason was that since the beginning of the upheaval, there had been wars all over Rome, not a single day without fighting. Over time, the people gradually became numb to it.
Another point is that the United Empire was also ruled by Romans.
Moreover, after capturing a city, they neither looted nor killed; they simply took control of the city and put it under their jurisdiction. The lives of the local people remained unchanged; it was just a matter of having a new administrator.
Even in cities that had already been occupied, commercial transactions could still occur.
This eased the public's anxiety, because no matter how much fighting there was, it wouldn't affect them, so they began to care less about the war.
After hearing this explanation, everyone fell silent for a moment.
No one expected that Nero Red would be in such a dire situation.
Yes.
It's just awful.
A king is fighting on the front lines for the country, but most of the people don't care at all. This is a loss of popular support.
If this continues, even Red Nero may lose the support of the people.
When a king loses the support of his subjects, he ceases to be a king.
"In that case."
Marne also thought of this and felt it was necessary to salvage the situation for Red Nero.
So he raised his hand and hauled dozens of cartloads of meat and some fruits and vegetables, totaling at least a hundred tons.
"Ma Enqing! This..."
Seeing this, Red Nero understood perfectly what Marne was trying to do, and couldn't help but feel moved.
Of course, the main reason is that this investment is too large and too substantial.
Meat.
In Rome during that era, it wasn't that everyone could afford to eat it, but it wasn't available at every meal either.
Maren laughed and said, "Distribute them! How can the king's triumphant return be so meager? Let the whole city celebrate for you today!"
"This...is not good."
Red Nero, however, was not happy at all; instead, he was somewhat worried.
She hadn't yet given the reward she promised to Mar and the others, and now she was being asked to take so much grain from them; she felt really bad about it.
But looking at all this food...
She was tempted, because there was enough food to feed the whole city for several days.
Ma En guessed what she was thinking and laughed, "Don't worry about it, I made these out of thin air, they don't cost any money."
"In fact, if I weren't afraid of the economic impact, I could conjure up a bunch of gold coins."
"And if it's not distributed, this food won't last long."
Nero laughed and said, "That's right, don't overthink it. The musician isn't someone who's easily taken advantage of. Besides, helping you is helping us all."
"If you're not coming, then I'll do it for you."
As she said this, she called over a squad of soldiers.
Upon seeing this other emperor, the soldiers naturally dared not disobey and obediently followed orders, pushing carts and distributing food along the way.
Soon, people gathered around the East-West faction, and many more came after hearing the news.
Soon after, a grand procession to welcome their triumphant return began.
That is, Red Nero, who would silently hide behind Nero when he approached, so as not to be discovered.
The expressions on the faces of the people as they shouted "Long live the Emperor!" to Nero were truly fascinating.
Nima!
I've become a stand-in?!
It's understandable that people would mistake them, since the two really do look exactly alike, just with slightly different outfits.
Since following Marne, Nero has gradually become more aware of her role as a wife, and her clothing and appearance have become increasingly conservative. Now, she has basically lost all sense of shame.
Meanwhile, Nero in red was still wearing her classic rose-themed dance costume.
Even among the Chaldeans, aside from Marne and Nero who spent so much time together that they could tell them apart at a glance, they also distinguished the two by the difference in their clothing.
The soldiers were the same.
But the public doesn't know about this.
They were unaware that their emperor had an extra one.
Although it's strange that His Majesty has changed his clothes today, who cares? The emperor has many clothes and changes them every day, so it's none of their business. The free food in front of us is more important.
And so, amidst the public outcry and under the complex gaze of Red Nero,
Having rediscovered the feeling of being emperor, Nero even delivered an inspiring speech, winning over the hearts of the people.
Whether the public listened or not is unknown, but the cheers and atmosphere at the scene were quite high.
That makes sense, though. If you get something for nothing, you'd probably chime in with a couple of comments, since people are still pretty simple-minded these days.
Meanwhile, the returning soldiers received the attention of the people and were quite satisfied.
They went to the front lines to fight, all for this glorious moment.
After this series of events, the people benefited, the soldiers gained glory, and Nero won the hearts of the people—a win-win-win situation!
There's something strange about Red Nero; I'm not used to it.
But in the end, she didn't say anything, nor did she stop it.
Silently hiding in the ranks, Red Nero accompanied the troops on a tour of the city, distributing meat and lingering for an hour or so before sending the troops back to their camp. He then led Marne and his party back to the palace.
Afterwards, he spent some more time dealing with government affairs and getting rid of the members of parliament before meeting with Marx and Engels alone.
Chapter 332 We're all Nero, so why don't you have a headache?!
"Sorry, I didn't expect those guys to actually receive the news and even lay an ambush on me. I've kept you all waiting." Nero sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
She was just harassed by those congressmen who asked her a bunch of questions, which gave her a terrible headache.
It was fortunate that it was just a headache, otherwise those congressmen wouldn't have been so easily gotten rid of.
In fact, it was precisely because Red Nero had a headache that the councilors hurriedly withdrew when they saw the situation was not good.
Because of the headache, Red Nero is very likely to go mad.
There was a precedent for this; a member of parliament asked Red Nero, who was suffering from a terrible headache, a question and was beaten half to death.
The reason he was half-dead was because Red Nero still had some sense at the time, but that doesn't mean he won't die next time.
To save their own lives, these councilors never dared to bother Red Nero, who was suffering from a headache, again, and even avoided him whenever they saw him.
Of course, this was only when a headache struck; after all, he had to help with government affairs, and contact with His Majesty the Emperor was inevitable.
Upon hearing the news of Red Nero's triumphant return and the fact that he was even distributing meat throughout the city, they rushed over immediately.
The main problem is that this move was too big.
They had defeated the opposing Allied Empire before, but this was the first time they had reaped so many 'spoils of war'; in the past, they had only gotten some weapons and equipment at most.
Although there was grain available, it was mostly dried food and dried meat. The thought of such fresh meat now seems very suspicious.
As members of parliament, that is, members of the management team, they naturally came to find out what was going on.
So before Red Nero returned to the palace, they came ahead to wait for him.
"It's alright. His Majesty is very busy with state affairs, so it's only right that we wait."
Marx and Eng waved their hands, indicating that they didn't mind.
Then, seeing Red Nero rubbing his forehead and frowning, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Has Your Majesty's illness flared up again?"
He instantly understood what was going on with Red Nero.
Unlike his Nero, this Red Nero is a living, breathing person, the complete embodiment of Nero's existence.
Therefore, while Nero in his household did not suffer from the severe headaches, Red Nero did.
“I’m fine. I’m used to this kind of thing.” Nero waved his hand, then lowered it and sat up straight.
However, the next second, she stopped abruptly, clutching her head in pain and gasping for breath.
Nero rushed forward instantly, came to her side, and steadied the swaying Red Nero.
"If you can't do it, don't force yourself."
"How could I not be capable?"