Chapter 796 Flavi Amphitheater

Seeing the intimate conversation between Zhang Heng and Lucilla, other gladiators showed envy on their faces.

This is the most distinguished woman in the entire empire. What's more important is that although she is already in her early thirties, Lucilla has a well-maintained figure and face. Although some gladiators are slightly resistant to betraying their looks, if the target is Probably no one can refuse Lucila’s words.

However, Zhang Heng himself was wary of this unexpected blessing. The reason is difficult to find simple, because according to the trajectory of history, Lucilla would be involved in the assassination of his biological brother Commodus more than a year later.

Later generations could not understand this assassination. As a woman, Lucilla was the daughter of the previous emperor, the sister of the current emperor, and the only close blood relative of Commodus. She basically had everything she should have, and it would not be too difficult to become an emperor further. Perhaps, the assassination she led would not bring her much benefit.

And in terms of planning, there were also many failures. For example, she actually hid it from her husband. You must know that the latter is a powerful figure in the military. If he can be brought into the group, they will have a certain way out regardless of success or failure. However, her husband Pompeia But Nus was kept in the dark from beginning to end, and Lucilla finally chose her cousin Ormidius Cuvatratus as her partner.

The latter is a senator of the Senate. His status in the Senate is second only to Dio, and he also affects more than a hundred seats. He is a political help. However, he and Lucilla are both good at planning political assassinations. not so good.

The two finally found Pompeianus's nephew Quintianus as the killer, which was also the biggest failure of the whole plan. This man was in the advanced stage of severe secondary disease. Before taking action, he greeted Commodus first and shouted at the same time, " The Senate brought you this..."

As a result, he alerted the nearby guards and was captured by mistake. He failed to withstand the interrogation, so Ormidius and Lucilla were exposed one after another, and one was executed directly. Another was exiled to the island of Capri and executed shortly thereafter.

This is also the real reason why Zhang Heng doesn't want to get close to Lucilla.

This woman is not only a madman, but also a brainless madman. If you get too close to her, you will probably be dragged into the water. However, during the contact between the two tonight, Zhang Heng discovered that Lucilla did not seem to be like the one in history. So stupid as described.

On the contrary, this woman is very smart and somewhat unpredictable, but this is more in line with her identity.

The daughter of the former emperor was married twice to the emperor and to a powerful figure in the military. She has been at the top of power all her life. How could such a woman be stupid?

Zhang Heng couldn't figure out why she planned the extremely stupid assassination more than a year later, but it was precisely because of this that Zhang Heng didn't want to have anything to do with this woman.

The dinner lasted until late at night. In addition to the gladiator display, there were songs, dances and bard recitations. However, what happened later had nothing to do with the gladiators. Considering that the gladiatorial performance was about to start tomorrow, all the gladiators returned after the visit. When they arrived at their respective residences, they recharged their batteries and prepared for tomorrow's battle.

…………

Early the next morning, before dawn, Zhang Heng, Bach and others were woken up on time and took a donkey cart to the Flavi Amphitheater, the venue for the gladiatorial performance.

All that future generations can see are the remains of the Flavi Amphitheater. Only half of the external ring structure remains, and only some brick arch ribs and grass on the ground remain inside. Therefore, tourists who come here can only I racked my brains to recall the past glory of this place, but at this moment, Zhang Heng was indeed standing under it, looking up at the complete Flavi Amphitheater.

Spectacular! This is the first impression everyone gets when seeing it.

The early morning sun shone on Nero's gilded bronze statue, which stood in the center of a square filled with colorful flags, and behind it stood the mountain-like Flavius ​​Amphitheatre.

The Flavian Amphitheater consists of four floors, with a height of forty or fifty meters. The bottom three floors have 80 huge arcades. There are statues with different looks in the arcades, each of which is more beautiful than Dior. The one in the Senate's antechamber is much larger. In addition, there are shields and countless ribbons hanging on the arch, as if welcoming the hero's triumph.

Of course, the most attractive thing is the top of the amphitheater. There is a circle of hard poles inserted there. In terms of number, there are hundreds of them. Long cables are tied to the hard poles, supporting a circle that is a hundred meters above the ground. A large ring of several meters, on which a tarpaulin made of thin linen is laid, creating a huge canopy to shade the audience from the sun.

Considering its size, the weight of this roof alone is at least twenty or thirty tons. In order to control the lifting and lowering of this roof, the empire had to mobilize a thousand well-trained sailors.

The stones used to build the arena were transported from the Albraye quarry on the outskirts of Rome. Each piece was incredibly heavy. The Romans at that time took the arch structure to the extreme. Unlike the pyramids, the Flavian domes were The structure of the theater is hollow, and its skeleton is like a bridge, built piece by piece. Miraculously, it can still stand still after more than two thousand years.

You must know that the Bernabeu Stadium can only accommodate 80,000 people, while the Flavi Amphitheater two thousand years ago can already accommodate 90,000 people to watch the game together.

"No wonder they all say this is the temple of gladiators," Bach murmured. "You have to admit that these Romans are quite good at construction." Although the Germans were a little reluctant, they still had to He gave praise to his enemies.

It's still early in the morning, and there are no spectators entering the venue, but you can already imagine what a grand scene it will be when the arena is full. Fighting under the gaze of 90,000 people, the timid person may have just entered the arena. Your calves are shaking, but as long as you can win, you can enjoy the cheers and applause of the mountains and tsunamis, making tens of thousands of people go crazy for you alone.

Just thinking about this sight makes people's blood boil.

In fact, not only the two newcomers Zhang Heng and Bach, but also the veteran gladiators such as Habitus had a strange look in their eyes when they saw the Flavi Amphitheater, and they obviously felt something. Except for an outlier like Zhang Heng, no gladiator can resist the temptation of fame and fortune. It has been more than a year since Cisnates retired. During this period, although the Gladiator School has introduced many powerful newcomers, none, including Sartonilos, have been able to replicate the performance of Cisnates. legend, becoming the well-deserved number one gladiator, and now, this opportunity to reach the top is finally before all gladiators.