xymnovel Chapter 7317 Who knows?
Chapter 7317 Who knows?
Chapter 7317 Who knows?
Spain was a good place in the Roman Empire, but the Ninth Spanish Legion came into being before the region existed. In other words, the region existed because of the Ninth Spanish Legion.
This leads to a bug: Tachito knew he was in a deadly situation but couldn't escape. After all this time, how could Tachito not know he was stuck in a quagmire and couldn't get out? What a joke! Does he really think everyone who plays with Ma Chao is a fool?!
Moreover, even if they are fools, these people have an incredibly strong instinct for animals.
Tacitus knew he was sitting on a volcano from the moment he saw the chalcedony and chicken-blood stone, but at that time he could barely hold on. After all, the Spanish legions were a single-digit Roman legion that had been passed down from before Christ to this era, and they had their own tax-farming zones, making them a legitimacy.
Furthermore, Tachito, realizing he couldn't keep up with the demand, immediately allocated half of the profits to the state, thus avoiding being targeted at that time. But when the benefits came, they were irresistible, and chalcedony and bloodstone were just the beginning.
Sugarcane plantations and silkworm farming, which are very particular about climate, environment, and soil, could be planted and raised in the Spanish Legion's tax farms. Even saffron, which is theoretically something that can only be grown in Persia, could be grown in Spain!
If you add in warhorses, shallow iron ore, and other things, the Spanish region, which once belonged to the Ninth Legion of the Eagles, could be completely monopolized. It seems that it could account for half of the Roman Empire's revenue, which is terrifying. Is this something that a legion can possess?
Absolutely not!
However, Tachito, sitting in the position of legion commander, could not make concessions indefinitely, because every time he made a concession, his subordinates would launch an attack against him. In the Senate, Tachito might just be a senior senator, but in Spain, that was his tax-farming territory, and he was the king of that region. All he lacked was a title.
As the commander of the Ninth Eagle Emblem Legion, he was entitled to absolute authority in Spain and to execute all rebels; this was his right.
However, given how things have developed, Tacito dares not return to Spain because he has ceded too much benefit to the country. Even though the citizens of the Spanish region have also benefited more, they inevitably harbor resentment towards Tacito once they know how the benefits were distributed.
Even though many citizens knew that Tacitus couldn't make the decision, how many would understand? From their perspective, since you are the commander of the Ninth Spanish Legion, you should protect the interests of their Spanish province. Since it's a resource produced by Spain, the citizens of their Spanish province should naturally get more. But what happened? The Italians took the lion's share!
What can Tacitus offer in his defense?
He couldn't defend himself, because he knew the reality best. Even though he had distributed the profits as much as possible, people in the Senate would still occasionally stand up and propose to divide Spain, to split the current Spanish provinces into three or five, and so on.
It goes without saying who this is aimed at.
Tacitus was furious about this, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he was aware of the situation in the province of Spain and had some understanding of Rome's financial situation. So he fully understood what it meant for an ant like him to still hold onto the province of Spain when the Claudius family had chosen to sacrifice their family for the country!
But is it something he can just back out of whenever he wants?
No!
At this point, none of the qualified candidates for the Spanish Legion dared to take over, because whoever did would be put on the spot. Since no one took over, Tacitus had to remain in office, and as long as he remained in office, the Senate would put pressure on him, and the citizens of Spain would also put pressure on him. He was caught in a dilemma. If Pompiñus hadn't had any conscience, Tacitus would have exploded long ago.
Now that Pompiannis is dead, many things must be settled.
Whether Tacitus admits it or not, he has always been under the protection of Pompiannis. Now that the umbrella of protection has disappeared, he has no chance of withstanding this storm on his own. To put it bluntly, if he went to Rome now, the senators there would be willing to give him a respectable treatment.
and so……
"General!" Upon hearing Tacito's words, the camp commander of the Ninth Eagle Emblem Legion, Frode, quickly reached out and grabbed Tacito. "How could this have come to this!"
“With the treasurer gone, I’ll only be dead if I go to Rome. You lot are less of a target. If you’re willing to follow me, we’ll go to the eastern provinces together. If not, take your money and go your separate ways.” Tachito spoke with a world-weary air, his tone carrying the quiet detachment of someone who had just made a self-destructive statement.
"Huh?" Frode was dumbfounded. Although he knew that Tachito's situation was not good, this level of exaggeration was really a bit too much.
“I only have two choices now: death or escape,” Tachito sighed. “Frod, the dismantling of the Spanish provinces is imminent. If I go back now, I will not have a good end. If you do not wish to come with me, then take the condolence money to Rome to offer your condolences on my behalf.”
Frode was silent for a moment, then dismounted and bowed deeply to Tacito. “General, the Ninth Spanish Legion has reached its historical peak, all thanks to you. Why do you leave at this time?”
“Frod, you don’t understand. Those people in Italy, if necessary, they really will shed their human skin. Although there are saints in the Senate, no one knows whether they are saints or demons under that human skin.” Tachito was extremely calm. He had considered the follow-up matters a long, long time ago. Pompiñus’s death only accelerated all of this.
"We are willing to follow the general." Several centurions dismounted and bowed to Tachito. These men had followed Tachito for many years and knew his character, so they didn't say much and simply left.
More importantly, they also understood that if they left, the Roman Empire wouldn't make things difficult for their families, because it would be pointless. On the contrary, if they stayed and continued to follow Taccito in Rome, they might actually suffer.
“Farewell,” Tacitus said to Frode. “You don’t need to keep me here. Just take those who want to go back with you.”
After speaking, Tachito hesitated for a long time before ordering the eagle emblem carried by the 100th squad to come to him. He then picked up the emblem with one hand, stroked it for a while, and then planted it in the ground.
Tacito then sighed and took the golden-winged lion Ryton, which he had stolen from the Parthian Empire, representing the identity of the seven noble families of the Mihran, and which he had cherished ever since he acquired it, out of his saddlebag and handed it to Frode, saying, "This is for the treasurer."
After saying this, Tacitus led more than two thousand men who were willing to follow him and charged eastward. Frode tried to pursue and stop them several times, but in the end, he gave up the pursuit because of their friendship of more than ten years.
However, Frod did not pursue them, which did not mean that there was no reaction from Italy. Just as Tacchio said, the Senate, as the highest political group in Rome, was full of people in human skin. There were not many truly human beings, and even fewer saints. But there were quite a few devils within it who would exploit and devour everything.
"General Tacitus, Elder Plautianus invites you to Italy for a meeting." Not long after Tacitus left, a cavalry legion came to greet him.
“Castinus, General Tacitus has already left. You’re too late.” Although Frode really hoped Tacitus would stay and was willing to go to Italy with him to explain everything, he couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by the current situation.
"What?" Castinus was stunned when he saw that it was Frode who appeared. He was shocked and immediately tried to chase after him to the east, but Frode grabbed his wrist.
"You!" Castinus felt the immense force on his wrist, and his expression turned extremely ugly, but seeing the elite Ninth Spanish Legion surrounding him, he ultimately said nothing.
After all, this is the Ninth Spanish Legion. Although they have been mocked by the Iron Cavalry, the Tenth Knights, and the First Support, to be honest, those who are mocked by these guys are at least considered as opponents. Most of them are not even considered opponents in the eyes of these guys.
“General Tacitus has his own plans, so please do not disturb him,” Frode said in a deep voice. He then led the remaining soldiers of the Ninth Spanish Army to protect Castinus’s main force to prevent any accidents from happening.
Before Frode could figure out what to do next, another legion appeared on the horizon. And compared to the light cavalry led by Castinus, the aura of this legion made Frode's heart sink—undoubtedly, it was a single-digit number of eagle emblems.
At this moment, Frod felt not the thought of stopping, but rather anger, an anger that fully understood his own legion commander. "Well, the treasurer's body is barely cold, and you're already thinking about how to deal with the Ninth Spain, huh? Very well, I'll see how capable you really are!"
With almost no need for Frod's command, the Ninth Spanish Legion naturally dispersed into a wedge formation. The training over the years had not been in vain. The elite troops under Tacchio's command were, at least in terms of combat skills, absolutely top-notch. While their basic qualities were still slightly different from those of veteran elites, their experience was by no means inferior.
However, just as Frod was about to make his move, a woman, Ania Oreleria Faustina, leaped out from the opposing battle formation.
“The eagle emblem is still there, so it seems things haven’t gotten to the worst.” Ania looked at the Ninth Spanish Legion in front of him. Unlike Castinus, Ania had a fairly good command and troop-management ability, so he quickly assessed the true situation of the Ninth Eagle Emblem Legion and thus quickly judged where the situation had gone.
Having confirmed this, Ania rode over directly, and after confirming the other party's identity, Frode also put aside his hostile attitude and went forward to greet him personally.
"Greetings, Your Highness Ania." Frod bowed to Ania.
Although Ania's current status is that of the legion commander of the Eighth Eagle, those who are truly familiar with Ania know that only the Roman Empire had a citizen system and no princesses. If it were truly constructed according to the concept of an empire, Ania would be a real princess.
Even after numerous political compromises, it was only with her status and abilities that Ania was able to be appointed as the commander of the Eighth Eagle Legion. Without any one of these elements, the matter could not have been accomplished!
After all, this is one of the few eagle emblems of the Roman Empire, representing the face of the empire. It can't possibly be diluted!
"Elder Tacito has already left?" Ania's clear voice reached the ears of those around her, showing no intention of investigating further; Tacito was still an elder.
“Yes, Your Highness Ania, the general instructed me to take this to the treasurer.” Frode produced the Golden Winged Lion to prove that Tacito had not changed at all, but was simply forced to do so.
“The eagle emblem is here too.” Ania looked at the eagle emblem of the Ninth Eagle Emblem Legion, and after confirming that it was genuine, she didn’t ask any further questions. “Come with me to Italy.”
Frode felt much more at ease after hearing this. As he said before, those who were willing to stay in Rome still had some longing for Rome. Even though they had reached a level where they recognized that Rome did have dark sides, they still hoped for a better future. And now, Ania's timely appearance had indeed maintained that hope.
However, as three groups of people who came to "welcome" Tacitus were stopped by Ania, Frode's expression could no longer maintain its previous calm.
"Ganis, you've come all this way?" Ania's expression turned cold when she saw Ganis on the opposite ship as she was preparing to board a ship to Italy at the port.
Unlike the previous local garrison legions and regular troops under a governor, Ganis is the camp commander of the Eleven Loyal Claudie Legion, a truly important figure. Generally speaking, matters that Luciano cannot handle are dealt with by Ganis. More importantly, this legion currently holds special significance.
If the Tenth Legion of Knights represented the will of Caesar, then the Eleventh Legion of Loyal Claudius represented the will of the current Roman emperor.
This will is a powerful force that even Anya cannot resist. To put it bluntly, if Tachito really rebelled, the eleven loyal Claudie legions could forcibly suppress him!
It's hard to say who ranks first among the Roman Empire's Eagle Legions, since the First Auxiliary and the Tenth Knights would have to fight each other to determine a winner. But who ranks third is pretty much a no-brainer: Claudius the Eleven Loyal is generally considered the third best. His Fivefold Sacrifice is the perfect weapon to quell any dissent!
"Tachito didn't come?" Ganis bowed slightly to Anya. Although he could beat Anya in a fight, he still had to give Anya face, after all, he couldn't afford to be disrespectful to someone of Anya's status.
"Never mind, it's not my problem if you don't come. I'm here to inform you that the First Citizen has issued a decree that, given the current complex situation in Rome, all senators need to be summoned to vote on the future situation and strategic direction. Therefore, at least 280 of the three hundred senators need to be present." Ganis glanced around, not seeing the ever-energetic and assertive Tachito, and his gaze naturally fell on Ania, formally announcing the news.
Severus was a bit eccentric, but his abilities were unquestionable. The death of Pompiannis had a huge impact on the Roman Empire, especially since the nationalization process was essentially over with Pompiannis's death. This meant that Severus now had to find a successor for the subsequent nationalization process.
Of course, a successor alone is not enough. After all, the resistance to the nationalization process had fully erupted after Pompiñus's death, and it was almost a counterattack, if not a revenge.
To completely suppress this counterattack, Severus would have to resort to some tricks. After all, there were quite a few of his own people among them. He couldn't just follow the plan left by Pompiñus before his death and lure them out to kill them.
To be honest, it wasn't that Severus lacked the ability to kill these people, but more directly, these people were actually Claudius's own people. If he were to cut them down like that, what difference would it make from performing major surgery on himself?
Pompiñus's plan was well-written, but that was because Pompiñus had no other choice, plus he was dead, and he was attacking with the idea of a one-shot kill. But Severus still had time. Like Zhang Fei, he was on the path of breaking through three boundaries, and he had the resources to continue to wear down the enemy. Why take such a risk?
Therefore, Severus planned to join forces with Ulpian, Herodian and their group to suppress the dissent within the Claudius family through a Senate vote. This would also make other factions in the Senate realize that the Claudius family was not a monolithic entity, especially on such important matters, and that they were unable to express a unified voice. This was not a problem that could be solved simply by having a direct descendant, thereby eliminating the fear of other factions towards the Claudius family.
As for whether Severus convened this Senate meeting, which required the attendance of over 95% of the senators, to resolve the problems left by the treasurer or to improve the image of the Claudius family among the other Roman senators, who knows!
"A general assembly of senators? Yes, indeed, a general assembly of senators is necessary to put some things on the table and discuss them properly." Upon hearing this, Ania was relieved to know that Ganis was not there to capture Tacitus. She felt more at ease about the overall situation in Rome. If even Severus was thinking of capturing Tacitus and "protecting" him, then the Roman Empire was truly doomed.
"I've already given the notification. Next, I need to head to the Syrian province to inform the eastern provinces to also attend the meeting in Italy." Ganis dispatched a team to deliver the message, then bowed to Ania before directing the ship eastward again. Whether it was to give the notification or to Tachito, who knows!
Take a break and sleep in more over the weekend.