Chapter 37 Procuring Arms for the Limitanei

Galla Placidia stood in the middle of Rome’s local manufactorum with a forced smile on her face. Not everybody had the ability to enter this region unannounced. For here, all the arms and armor of the Roman Empire were manufactured, largely by the use of slave labor. However, Placidia was the Emperor’s sister, and it was not easy to deny entry to her.

The young girl gazed in awe at the thousands of slaves who worked together to form the armor that the Roman Legions were equipped with. Others hammered away at low carbon steel imported from Noricum to make the blades of the spatha, and the spearheads that the infantry used in warfare.

The man standing in front of Placidia was the foreman of the manufactorum, and it was his job to ensure that everything was running properly. Even in these dark times, the factories of the Roman Empire did their best to supply the needs of its soldiers. The man had a frown on his face as he read the letter of commission from the disgraced general.

“Three thousand sets of lorica squamata, three thousand subarmalis, three thousand helms, three thousand greaves, two thousand five hundred oval scutum, three thousand spatha, and twelve thousand five hundred plumbatae? Just what kind of order is this?”

Placidia felt embarrassed, as she had to explain the other demands that Marcellus had asked her to give to the foreman. Despite her embarrassment, she presented a calm facade as she gazed into the foreman’s eyes and reminded him of the rest of Marcellus’ order with an authoritative tone.

“Don’t forget the five hundred lances, the five hundred cavalry scutum, five hundred manica, as well as the five hundred sets of scale barding!”

The foreman was slightly perturbed with the little girl’s tone of voice, but upon remembering that she was the emperor’s sister, he sighed heavily before questioning her which bastard was making such tall demands of him.

“Pray tell, is it your brother who has requested these items? What is he trying to do, create a legion on par with the Principate?”

Placidia struggled to explain where the orders originated from, however, she ultimately decided to tell the truth. If she had lied to the man, it would eventually be found out by her brother, and she would be in big trouble.

“No, the Dux of Castra Regina. Titus Claudius Marcellus has requested these items so that his soldiers are properly equipped to defend the region from the Gothic Horde under Alaric. You know they have seized Noricum, right? I’m guessing you’re probably stressing about the lack of Noric Steel? Well, imagine what happens when they take Raetia.

The Dux is doing everything he can to prevent those Barbarian scum from invading the heartland of our Empire. However, his soldiers are under-equipped, and thus he has decided to spend his family’s fortune in procuring the tools needed to defend the Empire.

The foreman gazed at the girl with astonishment in his eyes. He could hardly believe a General was willing to spend such a massive sum in equipping his army himself. Normally there were procedures to go through to equip your army, hell these days many soldiers were relying on their own personal finances to equip themselves.

Still, in these trying times, it was admirable that a man would go to such lengths to defend the borders of Rome’s enemies. He scratched the back of his head as he thought about what would happen to the city of the Goths were allowed to break through the border. With an awkward smile, he nodded his head and informed the girl that he would be accepting the request.

“Alright… If there is such a man who is willing to put his life on the line, as well as that of his soldiers, to secure our borders, then the least I can do is fulfill his order. Though I want you to know this won’t be cheap, it is going to cost a fortune to equip so many men with such high quality gear…”

Placidia nodded her head with a determined expression as she informed the foreman of what Marcellus had written to her.

“Marcellus has informed me that you don’t need to worry about the cost, and instead focus on the quality of the gear. He was left quite a fortune by his late father and has gained immense riches in previous campaigns. He has assured me that he can afford the expense.”

Upon hearing this, the foreman sighed and nodded his head before giving the girl a response.

“Alright, I’ll have my slaves work overtime to ensure the order is completed as soon as possible. I know little about what is going on at the border, but I know enough. If he can really halt the advance of the Goths into Raetia, then it is my duty to help him accomplish this feat.”

The emperor’s sister wore a pretty smile as she heard the man was willing to help and quickly nodded her head thrice while thanking the man.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The man felt awkward seeing the young girl thank him so bashfully and decided to wave her off. After all, he now had a lot of work to fulfill.

“I will begin the order right away. You can tell Marcellus to expect the delivery within the next five months. I will be expect payment from him upon transfer of the goods.”

After hearing this Placidia thanked the man once more before running back to her villa where she intended to write to the man in question.

“Thank you!”

Upon arriving in her villa, Placidia was shocked to see Aeliana sitting in her foyer, drinking wine. The mother of Marcellus was incredibly drunk as she complained about the absence of her child.

“Damn that Honorius, who does he think he is sending my baby to the frontier?”

When Placidia saw this, she frowned before snatching the bottle of wine away from the mature beauty.

“Aeliana, get a hold of yourself. If Marcellus were to see you like this, he would surely worry!”

Aeliana desperately tried to snatch her wine bottle back, but she was too drunk to do so. It was all too easy for Placidia to hold the woman at length. Eventually the woman fell to her knees and began to cry, a sight which troubled the emperor’s sister.

“My son ran off with that damn woman! I just know they are doing indecent things at the border!”

There was only one woman that would cause Aeliana to fret like this, and the thought of Marcellus and Sigefrida being intimate with one another caused Placidia to flush with embarrassment. She could vividly imagine Marcellus groping the Suebi beauty’s chest with a dumb smile on his face, which caused the girl to look down at her own meagre mounds with dissatisfaction. Her thoughts on the matter escaped her pretty pink lips.

“Stupid Marcellus…”

When Aeliana heard this, she also began to curse her son.

“Stupid boy…”

This caused the two women to giggle. Eventually Placidia helped up the mature beauty and walked her into the kitchen, where she began to prepare some food for the two of them.

“Here, mother-in-law, let me fix you something to eat.”

The woman glared at her fiercely as she heard the words she had spoken before questioning the girl.

“Mother-in-law? I don’t remember giving my son away to you! You know Placidia, you’re not much better than that harlot Sigefrida!”

Placidia merely rolled her eyes when she heard this, as she continued to cook some food for the woman. She ultimately responded with a quick quip of her own.

“Please, Aeliana, your son is a man now, and we both know he can’t marry a slave. Have you ever thought about who you want your daughter-in-law to be? You can’t keep monopolizing Marcellus’ affection like this, sooner or later he needs to marry and have an heir!”

Despite the truth in Placidia’s words, Aeliana merely scoffed before replying to the girl.

“Oh what? You think you are worthy of being my son’s bride? You are still just a little girl!”

In response to this, Placida stuck out her tongue, further proving the woman’s point. However, despite her childish actions, she responded with another logical statement.

“By Roman Law I am already old enough to wed. Who would you rather your son be with, me, or some strumpet who seeks to take advantage of his wealth and position?”

Aeliana fiercely glared at the young girl in front of her. The girl had a point, even if she didn’t want to recognize it. Still, she refused to admit that Marcellus needed a wife, and began to pout like a child in response to Placidia’s words.

“Neither. Marcellus only needs his mommy!”

Placidia could only sigh in response to this. The woman had always been this way since as long as she had known her. Her obsession with her son was unhealthy, to say the least. However, given enough time, and the girl was convinced that she could coerce the woman into approving of their union. Thus, she plotted and schemed her way into making her dreams come true.