"How much money can you make by meeting the cardinal?" the Roman soldier persuaded him.
"Alright, alright," Donald said reluctantly, taking out ten gold coins and handing them to the Roman soldier.
The Roman soldier quickly took them, carefully checked the quality of the coins, and, satisfied, put them in his pocket, saying, "Alright, you can queue up here."
"Sir," Donald pointed to the other side, "how much does it cost to take the shorter line over there?"
"One hundred gold coins," the Roman soldier replied.
"That's so expensive!" Donald exclaimed in surprise, "How can I ever make that back?"
"You don't understand," the Roman soldier explained, "for the rich, a hundred gold coins is nothing. For example, if you have some timber at home that's about to be requisitioned, but if you get on good terms with the cardinal and donate that timber to the church, it won't be taken."
"But the timber is still gone, so what's the difference?" Donald asked in confusion.
"You don't get it," the Roman soldier explained patiently, "if it's requisitioned, it's really gone. But if you donate it to the church, you get to decide how much, when, and what kind of timber to donate."
"I see... but unfortunately, we don't have any timber at home," Donald sighed.
"Other supplies work the same way," the Roman soldier added, "and after the war, we'll definitely capture slaves and seize a lot of supplies. If you can get in touch with the cardinal, you can make a lot of money doing business in the future."
Hearing the Roman soldier's words, Donald looked confused: "There aren't many followers of Dionysus, only a few thousand, and they're not rich. What profit can we make from capturing them as slaves? These people will definitely be divided among the relatives of the big shots."
The Roman soldier sneered and retorted, "A few thousand? We're mobilizing sixty thousand troops this time. Do you think capturing just a few thousand prisoners is enough? Everyone works hard for months, and you think they'd go home with so little money? How is that possible?"
Donald looked a bit helpless and asked, "So what should we do then?"
The soldier answered without hesitation, "Of course, capture the followers of Dionysus as slaves. What else? Do you know why we chose to rest on Andros Island this time instead of going to Crete?"
Donald shook his head, "No, I don't."
The soldier explained, "Because if we went to Crete, we wouldn't be able to resist capturing the followers of Dionysus and selling them as slaves. Crete is so large, it would take at least a month. The cardinal chose Andros Island to avoid wasting time capturing Dionysus. Once we capture Dionysus, we can still make a lot of money. If you don't have connections, you'll all be captured."
Donald was shocked by this news, "All of them?"
The soldier continued, "What did you think? If you have one hundred gold coins, hurry and queue over there. If not, you can only wait here. The cardinal might go to rest soon. One hundred gold coins will definitely get you to see him, ten gold coins might not."
Hearing this, Donald became anxious and his hand involuntarily reached into his pocket. However, he was worried that Linley had told him to queue here, and changing the queue might be a problem, so he instinctively looked at Linley.
The soldier immediately noticed Donald's hesitation and became suspicious: "Donald is clearly tempted, why is he looking at his servant? Is there something wrong with this servant?"
Linley stepped forward and suggested, "Master, we could try to buy a spot from the poor folks ahead. It might not even cost that many gold coins."
This suggestion immediately displeased the Roman soldier, who snorted through his nose. People like Linley were common; though they were slaves, they were smart and educated, often working as stewards or teachers, mainly to give advice. If they were free men, they would be called advisors, but slaves could not enjoy such a title.
"Don't even think about it. If you dare to do that, your legs will be broken," the Roman soldier warned. "Either obediently pay one hundred gold coins, or queue up over there."
Linley protested, "Wasn't it ninety gold coins? We've already paid ten."
"One hundred is one hundred, not a coin less," the Roman soldier insisted.
Donald said helplessly, "So those ten gold coins were for nothing?"
The Roman soldier snarled, "I tell you, you will pay these one hundred gold coins, whether you want to or not, or else you are a follower of Dionysus!"
The argument attracted the attention of the people around, and soon someone recognized Donald and said, "This guy really is a follower of Dionysus. He not only brews wine but also serves as a wine taster!"
"Yes, he is a follower of Dionysus. Last time the god of wine came, Donald was fine. He must have colluded with Dionysus."
"Rob him! He's rich!"
Donald was so frightened that he quickly handed all his money to the Roman soldier, hurriedly explaining, "I converted a long time ago! I switched faiths before Dionysus came. When he came to the island, I hid!"
Linley quickly echoed, "Dionysus should die!"
Donald followed, shouting, "Yes, yes, Dionysus should die! If I'm a follower of Dionysus, may my family be ruined, my heart pierced by arrows, and my body torn to pieces!"
Seeing that Donald had indeed handed over all his money, totaling more than one hundred and thirty gold coins, far exceeding his expectations, the Roman soldier was very satisfied. "It doesn't matter if you were a follower of Dionysus before. Our centurion used to be a follower of Dionysus. He donated eight hundred gold coins to the church and completely cleansed his sins. He plans to become a priest in the church after retirement. As long as you hand over the money, you'll be a good lamb of Holiness."
He led Donald to the queue for those who had paid one hundred gold coins. "Stay here, it will be your turn soon."
Then the Roman soldier returned to the queue for those who had paid ten gold coins and said to them, "You all saw it. With a hundred gold coins, you can join the shorter line and see the bishop sooner. Whoever sees the bishop is a good lamb. Whoever doesn't see the bishop is a black sheep. Not only will their property be confiscated, but they will be sold as slaves, and after death, they will go to hell and be burned by the eternal fire of hell!"
But one hundred gold coins were indeed a lot. In the queue for ten gold coins, it was hard to find even one willing to pay.
The Roman soldier, a bit annoyed, ran to the queue for those who had paid one gold coin and said, "You have paid too little. The bishop will soon rest, and you won't be able to see the bishop..."
"Sir, we have no money. All our money was taken by the god of wine!" the believers who had paid one gold coin cried out.
The Roman soldier impatiently said, "Then you are not good lambs! If you get caught and sold in a few days, don't blame me for not warning you."
The believers who had paid one gold coin were panic-stricken and started crying out.
At this moment, an old priest came out of the church and shouted loudly, "What's going on! Keep quiet!"