Chapter 356: The Roman Crisis Approaches
Kate was furious at first. She slammed her palm on the table and said with gritted teeth, "Damn it! This man is too arrogant. Does he think that no one in Rome can defeat him? Don't really think we dare not take action. Even if he is as strong as your father, what can he do? He still pales in comparison to me!"

Thinking of this, he became furious, and turned his indignation into letters, ordering his subordinates to pass them out quickly, requiring every duke in the empire to send out their best soldiers to fight against the Duke of Rose!
However, after a few days, although the reply letter arrived as promised, without exception, the dukes all declined his call. They believed that it was not wise to provoke the Qin Dynasty because of the short-sightedness of the royal family and the foolish behavior of the Dark Night Duke. They only needed to wait until the grain harvest was good before discussing countermeasures.

Most of the powerful dukes suffered minimal losses, at least their food supplies were still maintained and they did not need to obey Kate. The most important thing was that King Kate himself was not strong enough to fight against the heroes alone.

In the past, it was the prestige of the Imperial Master that made them submit to the Roman Empire. Now that the Imperial Master has disappeared, they naturally ignore the authority of the imperial center, which is human nature.

After reading the dukes' replies in the palace, King Kate tore the letters to pieces in anger. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to him. At this moment, he was like a mad tiger, and the maids and eunuchs around him were all afraid and hid in the corners.

However, King Kate was not a fool. After a moment of anger, he regained his composure, took a heavy breath, and collapsed in a chair. Letter after letter made him realize the reality that his power was not strong, and was even a little weak.

There was no point in continuing to be angry, so he decided to try to calm the unrest in the country first. The flow of food was blocked, the market price soared, and there were already hungry people in Rome who were starving! If the situation got out of control, it would be a real disaster for King Kate.

After careful consideration, he decided to buy back the grain at the market price. After all, if the grain was not in the hands of the Romans, an emergency might lead to a rebellion, which would be disastrous for the Roman Empire.

Therefore, King Kate immediately sent an envoy to the Daqin camp to meet Ying Heng...

Half a day later, in the castle of Rose Tools, a man holding the supreme scepter of the Roman Empire knelt at the feet of Ying Heng. In the past, Roman envoys would never crawl on the ground. They might even be on an equal footing with the emperor and enjoy the same dignity. However, at this moment, Kate, due to the repeated attacks of the Qin Dynasty, had already developed a fear of the Qin Dynasty in his heart, so he chose to show weakness and exchange for food first.

After all, as long as the food is back in his hands, he will have plenty of time to deal with Ying Heng!
Ying Heng did not blame him too much, and signaled the attendant beside him to bring a chair for the envoy. After the envoy sat down, he slowly said: "Hello, Captain of the Great Qin Caravan, we came here to discuss grain trading with you. Your Highness is very sincere, and we hope to buy back some grain, which will be beneficial to both countries."

"Of course, what we rely on is not military force, but wealth. As long as you are willing to sell, we are willing to buy it back." There was a hint of threat in the messenger's words, which was not pleasant to Ying Heng. Moreover, as the head of the intelligence department, he was well aware of the locust plague in the northern part of the Roman Empire.

In his opinion, this was a good opportunity to make a profit from Rome. How could he easily sell the grain? So he laughed and said, "No way, you sold it to us before, and now you want to buy it back." "At that time, it was out of pity for our members of the Qin caravan. This is the etiquette of the Romans."

"Hahaha, the etiquette is indeed unique." After Ying Heng laughed, he continued, "You can buy it back, but you have to let me calculate how many people in our caravan need food."

"So, we may have to harvest the crops in the fields first."

"Also, the price must be raised appropriately, at least three or four times the market price. After all, these grains were exchanged for glass cups."

The messenger was furious when he heard this. As a representative sent by Rome, he already knew most of the situation. If he remained completely ignorant, it would only bring shame to Rome. "Captain, I advise you not to go too far. You are now on our Roman soil! If a fight really breaks out, it will not benefit either side. Besides, we all know that your glass cups are of little value in your country!"

Hearing this, Ying Heng smiled lightly, his eyes piercingly cold, and continued: "I can tell you clearly that the value of our Great Qin's glass cups in your Rome is this much. Don't think that it is worth the same in your country as it is in ours. I can tell you responsibly that Rome is not worthy!"

The seventeen-year-old envoy, bearing the dignity of Rome, was now bearing the sharp pain of Ying Heng's words. He intended to stand up and refute, but Ying Heng's sharp eyes stopped him instantly. Then, the envoy collapsed on the back of the chair weakly. The powerful pressure emanating from Ying Heng made his legs tremble, and he slid weakly into the depths of the chair.

Seeing that the envoy could not fight back, Ying Heng smiled with contempt. This envoy was not only incompetent, but also weak, and he was still arrogant at such a critical moment. Ying Heng had no intention of continuing the conversation with them. "Leave, you are not worthy of discussing this with me. If you really need food, you can only wait."

Finally, the messenger was carried away by the Rose Duke's men in a panic and returned to the palace in a dejected manner. He exaggerated his experience in front of Crown Prince Kate, and although Crown Prince Kate was dissatisfied, he could do nothing about it. He knew that Ying Heng was at least in the middle stage of the Heavenly Man Realm. It was too risky to fight with such a person. Moreover, he was in the open while the other party was in the dark. He could only choose to be patient and wait and see.

At first, the Romans thought the locust plague had nothing to do with them. However, as the disaster worsened, the small-scale locusts that were originally limited to the north of Rome suddenly increased to a huge swarm in just half a month! The locust plague in Rome was no longer a simple trouble, but had evolved into a real disaster. The locusts attacked everywhere, ravaging large tracts of farmland. At this rate, in a month, Rome's food would be devoured!
When this news reached Prince Kate, he was filled with despair - Rome might be ripped off by the Qin! He had never expected that after the turmoil over grain purchases, there would be another locust plague. Without this disaster, the loss of grain would be tolerable, accounting for only 1% of Rome's production. But now, this 1% has become a matter of life and death. Without these grains, Rome will have difficulty mobilizing soldiers because they must stay in the fields to protect the crops.

At this time, the greatest crisis in Rome was approaching, and Crown Prince Kate and His Majesty the Emperor discussed countermeasures. They understood that the only way to survive the crisis was to seize food from the Qin Dynasty! Even though they were full of anger, they still sent envoys in the hope of turning the situation around.
(End of this chapter)