"Lord Dionysus, why not let me handle the task of gathering supplies?" Empton Bach asked.
Of course, it was because Linley didn't trust him. He was the head of the Chamber of Commerce, a position of great importance, and also a follower of Hermes. However, after Holiness took control, Empton Bach was still able to move freely, which was clearly unusual. The other priests were all imprisoned, and while Empton Bach might not be a priest, the importance of the head of the Chamber of Commerce was no less than that of ordinary priests.
Perhaps Empton Bach was innocent, perhaps he was good at socializing, perhaps the Romans simply hadn't gotten around to it, but Linley didn't have time to assess Empton Bach's true nature.
"I have a more important task for you," Linley said, not wanting to tell the truth. "Go and collect valuable things, anything will do. I'm going to transport them back to Dionysus Island, they will be very useful in the future."
"This…" Empton Bach wondered, 'If I can collect valuable things, wouldn't it be better to keep them for myself? Why give them to you?'
As a businessman, hedging his bets was an instinct. No matter who was in power, Empton Bach had to deal with them. Linley, as the new Dionysus, also possessed a certain amount of martial power, so investing in him was natural.
However, Dionysus didn't seem very strong. Compared to the Roman Empire and the new order, Linley's strength was simply not enough. His capture of Andros Island seemed to be simply taking advantage of the Roman fleet's absence. Investing heavily in Linley could easily lead to financial ruin.
He suddenly had an idea and said, "If you need valuable things, why not go to the church?"
"The church?" Linley asked.
"The Holiness Church," Empton Bach said.
The Holiness Church was originally the temple of Zeus, the largest religious building on Andros Island. The followers of the new order had removed the colossal statue of Zeus and replaced it with a cross. They painted the outside and transformed it into the Holiness Church.
The paint hadn't dried yet, and scaffolding covered the exterior of the building. The doors were closed, and there were hundreds of people outside trying to break in, but they couldn't do anything about the heavy wooden shutters.
The people outside picked up stones from the ground and threw them at the church from afar, shattering the windows. There was no glass yet, the window frames were made of wood, very sturdy.
Seeing Linley's entourage arrive, the attackers ran over excitedly and said something to Linley, but there were too many of them, their voices were too loud, and their accents were too heavy. It was impossible to hear what they were saying.
Greek also had accents, and the more remote the place, the heavier the accent. Andros Island was in the sea, not only was its pronunciation different from mainland Greece, but there were also many words unique to the island, which were already very different from common Greek.
Linley had only recently learned Greek, and he hadn't even figured out common Greek, let alone this island Greek.
Linley pointed to someone, "One at a time, you go first."
"Lord Dionysus!" The man was tall and bearded, his appearance quite similar to Zeus, a type favored by sculptors. "I am a follower of Zeus, my name is Julian, I'm quite famous on the island, and I always donate the most to the temple of Zeus."
Linley nodded in understanding. There were, naturally, levels among believers, not only in the depth of their faith, but also in the amount of their donations. These generous donors, regardless of their beliefs, as long as they donated enough, could enjoy many privileges.
"Yes, Julian is a follower of Zeus." Other priests testified for the top donor, "He not only donates money to Zeus, but sometimes also to other temples, he is a good person with a kind heart."
Julian continued, "The other day, the Christian followers came, the Romans forced me to donate to their church. I said that I was short of money recently, and they wouldn't let me go, they took away my gold and silver, even destroyed the statue of Zeus, stripped the gems and ivory, and even chopped off the head of the statue. They also took away all my slaves! After you landed, the Christians hid in the church. I didn't know what happened at first, but when I heard the bell ringing, I knew you had taken the Governor's Palace, so I gathered my men to attack the church."
However, they dared not go near, only throwing stones from outside. The church was originally the temple of Zeus, they should be familiar with the structure inside.
Linley asked, "How many people are inside?"
Julian answered, "A bishop, ten priests, all from Rome. There is also an assistant bishop, a secret follower of Christianity, actually not so secret, many people know, he is from our Andros."
"Only twelve people?" Linley wondered.
The temple is vast, it can accommodate thousands of people, if there are only twelve people, how could they defend it? Just find a place to pry open the door and you can get in. Moreover, the movement inside does not seem like there are only twelve people.
Julian added, "There are also three hundred bondmen."
"Three hundred bondmen?" Linley asked again.
"It should be three hundred, maybe more," Julian said, "Fifty of them are mine, one hundred are servants from the original temple, and some are from others. The Holiness promised freedom to the servants, and the servants willingly followed them, and even converted to Christianity! It's really shameful, the living conditions in my house are so good, and they just ran away with them!"
This is understandable. No matter how good the living conditions are in Julian's house, servants are still servants.
Servants have no property rights, nor personal safety, the master can arbitrarily deprive servants of everything, including life. This is stipulated in the law of the Roman Empire.
Earlier laws stipulated that if a master caused the death of a servant with a whip or other punishment instruments, he would not be punished. In fact, even if a servant was killed directly with a sword, axe or other weapon, no one would ask. Later, the law simply changed to allow the master to kill the servant at will without any punishment.
Servants are considered two-legged livestock. Unless they are psychologically abnormal, no one would deliberately kill their livestock, which would be a loss of property. But even livestock will run away if they have the chance, let alone servants.