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Tensions reached boiling point and the barbarians mobilised. With the Western Empire weakened by dynastic infighting, the Goths, under their King, Alaric, made a bold move. Rome was no longer the Imperial capital, but it was the symbol of Empire. Bewitched by its faded glories, Alaric wanted to share in its majesty. But what he really wanted, like every barbarian, was to be a Roman. Alaric besieged Rome and tried to cut a deal. He wanted land for the Goths to settle. Rome' s elite, inheritors of an illustrious past, refused to meet the demands of impertinent barbarians. Alaric' s response was chilling. " The thicker the grass," he said, " the easier to scythe it down." His dagger was at the throat of the Western Empire, but still no compromise could be found. Starvation set in. The Romans couldn' t bury their dead inside the city walls so putrefying bodies littered the streets. |
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jú shì jǐn zhāng dào yī chù jí fā, yú shì zhè qún mán yí biàn dòng yuán qǐ jūn duì lái le. wáng cháo àn dòu xuē ruò le xī luó mǎ dì guó, gē tè rén zài tā men de guó wáng ā lā lǐ kè de dài lǐng xià, mài chū le dà dǎn de yī bù. luó mǎ chéng bù zài shì xī luó mǎ dì guó de shǒu dū, dàn tā réng jiù shì xī luó mǎ dì guó de xiàng zhēng. mí liàn yú luó mǎ chéng nà shì qù de guāng huī, ā lā lǐ kè yě xiǎng cóng xióng wěi zhuāng yán de luó mǎ chéng fēn yī bēi gēng. dàn shì tā zhēn zhèng xiǎng yào de dào de, hé měi yí gè mán yí yí yàng, què shì chéng wéi yī míng luó mǎ rén. ā lā lǐ kè bāo wéi le luó mǎ chéng, shì tú dá chéng xié yì. tā xū yào tǔ dì yǐ shǐ gē tè rén dé yǐ dìng jū. luó mǎ chéng de jīng yīng men luó mǎ chéng huī huáng lì shǐ de jì chéng zhě men, jù jué mǎn zú zhè qún wú lǐ mán yí de yāo qiú. ā lā lǐ kè de fǎn yìng ràng rén wén zhī dǎn hán." cǎo yuè shēn," tā shuō," yuè hǎo gē." tā zhè yī dāo xià qù duì xī luó mǎ dì guó yóu rú gē hóu yì bān, bìng qiě shì méi yǒu rèn hé de huí xuán yú dì. yóu yú gē tè rén duì luó mǎ chéng de bāo wéi, jī huāng lái xí. luó mǎ rén shèn zhì zài chéng qiáng nèi zhǎo bu dào mái zàng sǐ rén de dì fāng, fǔ làn de shī shǒu duī dé biàn yě dōu shì. |