"Since Divo Braille is unwilling to help you, why do you think I will help you?" Andrea asked coldly.
"Because you must know that after I regained my freedom from the arena, I stayed in the patrol team in the southeast city for some time. I have dealt with many cases. According to my accumulated experience, if something like this happens once, it is likely to happen again," Zhang Heng said meaningfully. "And the next time it happens, I'm afraid it will take more than a day or two to fix."
The mayor's heart sank when he heard Zhang Heng's words. He knew that Zhang Heng was threatening him.
Just like how he would never admit that he had anything to do with the Binota Mine incident, Zhang Heng obviously would not admit that he had something to do with the destruction of the sewer pipe. So, he just reminded the mayor indirectly.
However, the mayor understood the hidden meaning behind Zhang Heng's words. If he couldn't solve the Binota Mine's problem, he wouldn't be able to work as a mayor anymore. And this was the critical time for him to be promoted to financial officer. Even if he had political allies to help him, he would lose the support of the people if his political achievements weren't good enough.
Once he lost the support of the people, no matter how powerful his political allies were, they would not be able to push him to the position of financial officer.
Andrea knew that he was being held in a tight spot.
At this time, he had two options. One was to fight to the end. Although he could make Zhang Heng fail to complete his task, the price he had to pay was likely to be his political career. Now, it was not just one or two people who opposed Commodus. Instead, it was an entire political group. Although everyone was secretly fighting against the emperor, everyone had different purposes.
Some wanted to take over the young emperor and gain more power. Some just wanted to show off their power to Commodus. In the end, they decided to take a step back and use both the carrot and the stick. As long as they could keep their current power, they would be satisfied. Other than that, there were also those who wanted to take advantage of the situation …
As for Andrea, he had chosen this faction in order to get close to some of the core members of this faction and obtain more benefits. However, at the same time, he would weigh the risks and costs involved. Based on the current situation, it was clear that his personal benefits would be greatly affected if he continued to persist. If that was the case, there was no point in persisting.
Therefore, Andrea could only choose another path. After a period of silence, he said, "You don't have to worry about the mine. I heard that the collapse is not serious. In another one or two days … No, today, we can resume work."
"Very good." Zhang Heng nodded. "I know some people in the patrol team. I will ask them to keep an eye on the sewer pipe. If anyone dares to cause damage, we will definitely help you catch them."
"Thank you for your hard work." Andrea gritted his teeth as he expressed his gratitude.
"I'm glad that we have finally reached a consensus, and this matter can be resolved satisfactorily. I won't bother you anymore. After that, I have to tell Decius the good news that we can resume work tonight and ask him to gather the craftsmen in advance."
After Zhang Heng finished speaking, he got up from his seat. "After all, we have wasted a lot of time. We have to hand over the work on time."
Andrea hesitated for a moment. Finally, she reached out her hand before Zhang Heng left. "I've seen your heroic performance in the arena, but I didn't expect you to be so good at politics. If anyone underestimates you in the future, I believe they will regret it."
Zhang Heng changed his aggressive attitude and shook hands with Andrea. "I'm amazed by how much you value public services. I believe you will become the financial officer in the future."
…
It only took Zhang Heng three days to restart the construction of the bronze statues that had been suspended for a long time. And he finally completed all the work before the deadline.
Fifty-two freshly made bronze statues of Commodus stood in the open space on the outskirts of Rome, gilded by the rising sun. The young emperor, accompanied by his wife, inspected the delivered bronze statues and made sure that these majestic statues looked just like him.
This way, when these bronze statues were transported to the various provinces, especially the remote ones, the citizens of the empire living there would also be able to see the majesty of His Majesty the Emperor.
"You did a good job. Once again, you have perfectly completed the task I gave you. You will never let me down, will you?" After that, Commodus patted Zhang Heng on the shoulder and looked at his wife. "What kind of reward do you think I should give him?"
"I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do, Your Majesty," Zhang Heng bowed slightly.
"And it is also my duty as an emperor to reward those who do things well," Commodus responded humorously.
Queen Christina thought for a while and said, "I heard from Lucilla that you are still performing in the Victor Arena. You should not be short of money because you are a gladiator, and your family does not use slaves. But I don't think you have a wife yet …"
Commodus's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard that. Matchmaking was a traditional skill of all emperors.
Zhang Heng was also taken aback. Before Commodus could speak, he quickly said, "… I actually have a lover."
"Oh, really? Whose girl is it?" Queen Christina's curiosity was piqued.
"She is a female audience member of mine, a civilian. We have been dating in private for some time." In order to prevent Commodus and his wife from matchmaking him, Zhang Heng had to make up a story about their relationship.
Christina wanted to ask more questions, but she noticed the impatient look on her husband's face. She finally suppressed her desire to gossip and returned to the elegant posture of a queen.
Commodus continued, "I heard that you are now living by the Tiber River. The scenery there is good, but it is too far from the palace. Sometimes I need my consultant to appear by my side as soon as possible. And you are renting a house. If you want to truly integrate into this city, you still need to have your own house. In that case, I will give you a domus."
"This is too expensive, Your Majesty," Zhang Heng said.
"No, this is what you deserve. You handled the matter in the southeast city well. Being a consultant is your job, but it is not a reward. Strictly speaking, a house is not a reward either. I am just giving you a place to stay. I will pick a fief for you later," Commodus said excitedly. "But the land near the city of Rome has been distributed. There is still a lot of land in the local province, but it is too remote. You have to find someone to take care of it for you. I will pick one for you later."
Zhang Heng had to admit that although later historians were used to portraying Commodus as a good-for-nothing, muddle-headed ruler, deserted by his own people, full of bad habits, and an extremely shameful way of dying, the young emperor standing in front of him at least treated his own people well.
She was already thinking about finding him a fiefdom. With a fiefdom, it meant that he was no longer a commoner and would become a noble. Considering that he had only been a slave for a little more than four months, it was like he was riding a rocket.
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