"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Olivia 1 - A Flame in Byzantium" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

change that. No one can ignore it, and for that reason, we must deal with it." He stretched out his legs
and crossed them at the ankles, feeling the leather rub against his skin. Years ago he would have found
blisters when his boots were removed, but now there were calluses on his hands and feet that prevented
this. "Let me say that it would not be wise to close the city tomorrow, no matter how sensible the plan
may appear to you."
"Why not?" demanded the youngest man. "Are you unwilling to spare the men to aid us?" His face
darkened with the accusation.
"No," said Belisarius, although this was not completely true. "No, I am thinking of what would happen
when you opened the gates once more. There would be a riot at the least, for there are those outside the
gates more desperate than you. They are without homes and they are hungry. Most of them would not
hesitate to seize anything they needed from what they can find here, and the longer they are denied, the
more forceful they will be when the chance is afforded them."
"And you think that troops would not deter them?" asked the one with the darkest beard.
"I think that an army would not deter them," said Belisarius. "They have nothing to lose. You have
much at risk. Therefore they will do more than you to get what they need. What is the threat of a lance if
you have not eaten for two days? At most it ends your hunger, at least itтАФ"
"We will close and bar our houses," the youngest assured the General.
"That will give protection of a kind for a while, until someone breaks down the door, and then there
will be worse carnage than there might have been at first," Belisarius said. "I have seen this before, and I
will see it again many times before I die, if God grants me life."
"Does that mean you will do nothing?"
"Lepidius," said Belisarius, grateful that he had one name he could use for this delegation. "Listen to
me. Most of those who are on the road outside the gates have left all they had behind. They are tired,
they are hungry and they are filled with dread for tomorrow. You cannot change that. They will not stop,
they will not go away no matter how much you wish they would, and they will not listen to you should
you plead with them to spare you. No matter how sensible, how reasonable your requests may be, they
will mean nothing to a man who has lost his fortune and his family. Do you understand that?"
"But you are here with armed men. You can bring your army here to supervise the departure of the
Romans. They are rabble, nothing more." The monk had a deep, stern voice and he used it now to good
effect; the others nodded their support.
"Armed men, you say? Not prayers?" Belisarius made no effort to keep the irony out of his voice.
"You are a man of God, your robes proclaim your calling, and yet you come to ask for an army to assist
you."
"God favors those who are willing to act," said the monk. "God demands our faith in Him and our use
of the reason He gave us through our First Parents in Eden."
The one with the darkest beard was the first to endorse the monk.. "Listen to him, man. You think
that you are aiding us, and yet we are facing the ruin of the city. This manтАФa man of God, as you
sayтАФhas told us what must be done if we are to be spared, and he reminds us that
God is not bought with empty prayers, but by firm action, showing the determination of our faith in
Him."
"Of course," Belisarius said. "And those outside the gates are convinced that God will approve the
stealing of food to save the lives of children, or the killing of another man in order to get passage on a
ship to Constantinople." He got slowly to his feet. "I cannot spare the troops to do as you wish.
Tomorrow I ride to Roma myself, to find out how severe the trouble is, how many have fled and what
defenses remain there."
The oldest man crossed his arms and looked outraged. "How can you do this?" he demanded.
"I have more responsibilities than this place alone," said the General with less accommodation than he
had shown before. "The Emperor has entrusted all of Italy to my care, and expects that I will do all that I
can to save all of it from the invasion of Totila. I must answer to Justinian and God, as you answer to
your city and your families. Therefore, much as I would want to spare your city or any city misfortune, I