When the slave girl opened the door, she did not see the person who gave her the money. Instead, she saw four heavily armed guards, which made her a little nervous.
"You … Who are you looking for?"
"Oh, does Zhang Heng, the champion of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, live here?" A young man, who did not look much older than Zhang Heng, squeezed out from behind the four guards.
"Yes, that's right." Zhang Heng's voice came from behind the slave girl. After that, he walked over.
The slave girl saw that Zhang Heng did not look like he was looking for trouble, so she quickly stepped aside from the door and retreated to the corner.
Zhang Heng shook hands with the young man and let him into the house.
The young man showed a smile on his face, "Hello, I watched your gladiatorial performance before. It was very exciting, especially the battle between you and the giant. It is beyond words. It is definitely the greatest battle I have ever seen. Maybe I can tell my grandson about it thirty years later … Oh, I don't think I have introduced myself yet. I am Clint, the advisor of His Majesty the Emperor."
Zhang Heng's eyes moved slightly when he heard this. He knew about Clint. According to the information given by Dadatis, Clint and his target, Altrus, were Commodus' most trusted advisors. They could even be considered Commodus's right-hand men. One of them was in the open, and the other was in the dark. They helped Commodus govern the country and deal with threats from all sides.
Zhang Heng guessed that Commodus could not wait to recruit him, but he did not expect Clint to come forward.
With Clint's current status, he must have a lot of things to do. He could have sent one of his men to look for Zhang Heng, but Clint insisted on coming to Zhang Heng himself. This was obviously a sign of goodwill.
Zhang Heng invited Clint to take a seat at the table. This was the only place in the house where he could entertain guests. After that, he asked the slave girl to pour two glasses of water for him.
"I think you already know why I am here. Yes, our emperor appreciates you very much. I hope you can consider working for us." Clint did not beat around the bush. As soon as he sat down, he told Zhang Heng about his intention.
However, Zhang Heng did not agree immediately. Instead, he said, "Of course, I also hope to share the emperor's worries. But as you can see, I am just a gladiator who has just regained his freedom, and I come from a faraway foreign country. I don't know much about politics. I'm worried …"
"I can understand your concern, but don't worry, my friend. This isn't a rotten place like the Senate, where greedy old men are everywhere. I'm just a commoner myself, and I've been living in the streets. Fortunately, we have an open-minded ruler who isn't restricted by his birth. He's willing to put people like you and me in important positions, giving us opportunities to grow." Clint patted Zhang Heng on the shoulder, "So you don't have to worry at all. As long as you are capable, there will always be a place for you here."
"Where should I start?" Zhang Heng asked.
"Very good. It seems that you're ready for your new job. Next, I'll tell you what you're going to do." Clint was still polite and enthusiastic. He spent a full quarter of an hour explaining to Zhang Heng in detail what he was going to do. And he answered all of Zhang Heng's questions very patiently.
Considering that it was Zhang Heng's first time doing something, his job was not complicated. At the same time, it was not completely out of touch with his previous gladiator identity.
In the second century AD, cameras and other high-tech criminal investigation equipment had yet to appear. How to maintain law and order in the city had become a headache for every ruler, especially since the population of Rome had exceeded a million. Most of them were from the bottom class, thieves, liars, and killers. They were active in every street, and crimes were happening almost all the time.
The job of the patrol team was to stop crimes in time and catch fugitives as soon as possible after they happened. And the first job that Zhang Heng received from Commodus was to assist the patrol team in maintaining law and order.
"Of course, you can't take care of such a big city alone. So, you just need to pick an area," Clint said as he took out a map of Rome and unfolded it on the table.
But at this moment, a man dressed as a servant walked in from the outside and whispered something in Clint's ear. Clint's expression changed slightly, and when he looked at Zhang Heng again, there was a look of embarrassment on his face.
Zhang Heng took the initiative to say, "I have almost explained everything. If you have any urgent matters, you can go ahead and do them first."
Clint seemed a little apologetic when he heard Zhang Heng's words. "His Majesty is very concerned about your matter. So, I specifically canceled the morning's arrangement. I wanted to take you to the place where you work in person, but there was an emergency just now that I have to deal with it. Well," Clint seemed to think for a while and beckoned a guard outside the door to come in. "This is Pannonax of the imperial guards. He has dealt with the patrol team a lot before. You can ask him to help you pick an area.
Don't worry. "Clint lowered his voice a little," … it doesn't matter if you don't make too many mistakes. As long as you don't make any big mistakes, I will speak up for you with His Majesty. "
"I can't thank you enough," Zhang Heng replied.
"Welcome to join us. It's always exciting to see a team grow." The corners of Clint's mouth raised again. This sunny and cheerful young man seemed to like to smile. "Let's work together and teach those old fogies in the Senate a lesson."
After that, he left in a hurry with his servant. Three of the four guards he brought with him earlier continued to follow behind him. A man with a knife wound between his eyebrows stayed behind. He should be Pannonax from the Praetorian Guard that Clint mentioned.
Before Zhang Heng could greet him, Pannonax's face darkened. He walked directly to the table, pointed to a place on it, and said rudely, "The area you are in charge of is here. Report there before dark."
"Wait, but the lord just said that we can choose our own area." Before Zhang Heng could speak, the slave girl in the corner spoke up for him.
A sneer appeared on Pannonax's face, and he looked at Zhang Heng like a vulture staring at its prey. "Are you here to work or to hire? Why don't you be in charge of guarding the palace? "
Zhang Heng waved his hand to stop the slave girl from talking again. He then nodded and said, "I see. Let's do it here."
Pannonax was a little surprised when he heard Zhang Heng's words. He thought that Zhang Heng should be furious at this moment, and he might even attack him. After all, Zhang Heng was the champion of the Amphitheatrum Flavium. Although Pannonax did not see the performance, he thought that Zhang Heng should be very powerful.
People like Zhang Heng would not be able to restrain their desire to attack the moment they encountered trouble. This was because it was the easiest way for them to solve the problem. However, Zhang Heng did not seem to have such a plan.
Pannonax could not even tell that Zhang Heng was forcing himself to endure it. The latter looked very calm as if he knew that such a thing would happen. This made Pannonax a little uncomfortable, but it didn't matter. This was not the only pit he had dug for Zhang Heng. Even if Zhang Heng could avoid it this time, he would not be able to avoid it the next time.
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