Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7324 The Way and Interests

Chapter 7324 The Way and Interests

In fact, from a certain perspective, the biggest internal conflict in the Roman Empire was the huge disagreement over how to protect Rome when something really happened to it.

As a nation that has stood on this land for over a hundred years and has grown from a tiny country to its current size, it has long since developed a tremendous centripetal force. When this nation began to decline, the number of virtuous and righteous people within it who were willing to protect it was countless.

However, this is where the problem lies. Everyone has their own way of protecting Rome, and these ways are often incompatible. This is the biggest problem that the Roman Empire faced when it began to collapse. For example, Luciano's way of protecting Rome, frankly, you can't say he's wrong, because he does solve the problem.

But if you're going to say that this kind of operation is correct, then there's a big problem.

“The Roman Empire!” Severus sat on his throne in the Palace of Concord, deep in thought. He had his own understanding of Rome, which was different from the Rome of today, but he could tolerate and accept these differences and work towards reforming it. More importantly, he was not radical.

On the other side, Luciano strode away from the Concord Palace, looking at the Senate not far away. The raging fire in his heart burned fiercely in his will. At this moment, he fully understood why so many predecessors in the previous era, during the time of Commodus, were willing to risk their lives to embark on the path of reforming the Empire.

“Luciano.” Virgilio emerged from behind a giant tree and stopped Luciano. “I think there’s still room for redemption. There’s no need to take it this far.”

"And what do you know?" Luciano looked at Virgilio frankly. "As a representative of the knights, even if you are protecting Rome, whose Rome are you protecting?"

“You can’t do it,” Virgilio said calmly. “I just want to reason with you, but you know, when I’m willing to reason with someone, you’d better listen. If you don’t want to listen and still want to argue, don’t blame me for trying to persuade you in other ways.”

Luciano's face darkened considerably upon hearing this, but he showed no sign of backing down. Had things come to this point, was there any room for retreat? What a joke!

The Way is right there; how can you stop me!

"I don't quite understand what you're trying to do, but it doesn't matter." After saying that, Virgilio strode towards Luciano. Plans, principles, whatever he wanted to do were irrelevant, and evidence was even less important. The Tenth Knights acted without needing to explain to anyone. In Italy, I am the law!

Luciano was taken down immediately. His ideas of martyrdom, burning his blood for Rome, protecting his Rome, and restoring Rome's glory were all forcibly corrected in the face of Virgilio's iron fist.

The power of miracles lies in will and self, in the power beyond the world, in the existence that can truly corrupt the world. Under Virgilio's iron fist, Luciano's path was forcibly broken, completing a new kind of merger.

"Done, sorted out. Vincentio, drag him away." Virgilio wiped the blood from his cheek, dragged Luciano, who was beaten like a dead dog, head down to the side of the road, and after taking a few steps, he saw Vincentio appear. Virgilio, who had been pretending to be a tough guy, suddenly became weak and grabbed Luciano by the leg, throwing him to Vincentio.

"Damn, weren't you a little too fast?" Vincenzo looked at Luciano, who had been thrown over, with a hint of surprise. He had only just figured out what was going on and had intended to rush over to report to Severus and prepare to take down Luciano, but he found that Virgilio had already crippled him.

“No evidence is needed, just suspicion is enough,” Virgilio said wearily. He wasn’t much stronger than Luciano, but in a clash of wills, Luciano’s martyrdom was no match for Virgilio’s will to conquer even the very path.

"Does he really want to purge the Senate?" Vincenzo asked one of the Seven Hills, who was surrounded by no guards, with a hint of caution.

"Maybe, anyway, it's just a random thought." Virgilio took a few deep breaths, regained some of his composure, stood up and looked at Luciano, who was still unconscious. "Anyway, just get rid of him. Honestly, the death of the treasurer is already troublesome enough, and he's making things worse."

"Who does he think he is?" Vincenzo said with a dark face. He had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, so he rushed over. Now, according to Virgilio, Luciano had actually made a plan in such a short time. That was insane.

"To be fair, compared to other people's plans, Luciano's plan might be the most feasible, and it really is the fastest and most effective." Virgilio sighed. "Others hold back for too long, thinking that things will work out eventually, but if they drag it out, most of the information will be leaked. I'm most afraid of guys who just jump into action as soon as they get excited. Luckily, I reacted quickly."

"What's next?" Vincenzo asked, carrying Luciano.

"Have someone protect Luciano first. After the Senate meeting, it doesn't matter what Luciano does," Virgilio said calmly. This is the only chance he has to succeed. After this, Luciano wants to purge the middle-aged and elderly senators? What a joke! He can't even gather enough people!

No one would think that assassination could wipe out the entire Roman Senate, would they? That's a joke! To kill off senators on a large scale, you could only do it during a Senate meeting; you wouldn't find that many senators at other times.

So if Luciano has any chance, it's only this one. After this, any more radical ideas Luciano might have won't work. Even if he's exposed, hehe, is that a problem?

First there was Perennis who protected Rome in this way, then Pompiñus who used the pretext of a Senate meeting to massacre a group of senators. Now, it's just a middle-aged man having such an idea. Even if it were implemented, let alone not yet, it wouldn't be outrageous!

“Alright, I’ll have Luciano apprehended.” Vincenzo nodded and said, “So, who do we arrest next? Ulpian?”

"Catch Ulpian my ass." Virgilio said, somewhat speechless. He had noticed long ago that Vincenzo didn't seem to use his brain much.

“Isn’t he a multifaceted, complex evil god? At this point in time, I’m afraid there will be problems if he directly interferes with national policy,” Vincenzo said, looking puzzled.

“What’s there to be afraid of? Besides, nothing stays hidden forever. After Theo told the five of us, I also kept an eye on Ulpian for a few days and even visited His Majesty Severus. I suspect His Majesty Severus knows,” Virgilio said with a serious expression.

"?" At this moment, countless schemes flashed through Vincenzo's mind, and finally, under Virgilio's look of utter disbelief, he gave a dry laugh.

“His Majesty Severus could not possibly have any means of detection, so the answer can only be given to His Majesty Severus by Ulpian,” Virgilio said, shaking his index finger.

"Why couldn't it have been His Majesty Severus who did it?" Vincenzo asked, puzzled.

“Because that’s Ulpian. With his intelligence, if he hadn’t volunteered, it wouldn’t have taken so much effort to find out,” Virgilio said irritably. “Ulpians may be weak, but their intelligence is no joke.”

If we were to rank the five great Roman jurists, Ulpian or Papinian would be number one. However, this ranking is based on a comprehensive consideration. If we only consider their contributions to jurisprudence and the development of law, Ulpian is undoubtedly the best, and should even be considered the undisputed number one. His contributions to legal regulations alone are more than five times that of Papinian.

In other words, this person's intelligence is beyond doubt; it's just that he's physically weak, which leads him to generally live a secluded life. But even if he lives a secluded life, everyone knows what characteristics a law student has. It would be too absurd if such a person couldn't sense the malice of others.

In other words, if Severus had succeeded in scheming against Ulpian, the contingency plan Ulpian left behind before his death would have been enough to expose the fact that Ulpian was a high-level composite evil god. The discovery of Ulpian's status as a high-level composite evil god was not made through the detection methods of the Roman Empire, but rather through Theo's subconscious sensing that something was wrong, which was then revealed through big data screening.

In other words, so far, the inner circle that Theo has established has not had any direct evidence to prove that Ulpian is an evil god. However, big data is a kind of dimensional reduction attack, and this kind of attack is unsolvable in this era. Ulpian himself may not even realize it, but through big data screening, Theo still determined that Ulpian is fundamentally different from before.

Regardless, this at least proves one thing: Severus definitely didn't do this to Ulpian. Since that's not the reason, it can only be through communication.

Of course, we had to inform him! The moment Ulpian completed the possession, he immediately came to inform Severus to avoid any misunderstandings.

The reason for only notifying Severus was partly due to trust in him, and partly because they didn't want the information to spread widely. They just didn't expect Theo to come up with a big data screening tool. After all, mental talent is mental talent, and how to use it is a matter of personal development. Theo may not be good at fighting, but his use of support skills is really outrageous.

However, almost ten people already know about this, and it's inevitable that it will become widely known. After all, once a secret is known to a third person, it's only a matter of time before it's spread everywhere.

"Oh, I see. So what do we do now?" Vincenzo finally understood the logic behind Ulpian's situation after Virgilio's explanation.

“Go to Duke Nigel’s place and tell him to shut up,” Virgilio said wearily. He couldn’t understand why he had to do all these things himself.

"Ah, can the two of us go?" Vincenzo asked with some doubt.

He was aware of his own limitations. Among the elders, he and Virgilio were indeed among the top, but if they were to confront the Duke head-on, they would be no match unless the Duke offended the interests of the entire knightly class.

Although the Duke didn't have a good way to deal with them, he could still manage to discipline them later, so this was not an easy task.

“And Benito,” Virgilio said after a moment of silence.

“Oh, that’s alright,” Vincenzo said, indicating that he understood.

To reiterate, Benito may seem insignificant, but when it comes to the legitimate succession to the First Citizen, his chances are very high. Does he even know what it means to be the head of the Claudius family's main branch? Does he understand the significance of becoming the commander of the Eagle Emblem Legion in his twenties, maintaining control of fourteen Eagle Emblems, and achieving the status of a Grand Legion Commander before the age of forty? This guy may be called a veteran, but his background is incredibly powerful.

Upon receiving the news that the treasurer was finished, Nigel rushed to Italy immediately. Of course, when he arrived, he stayed in a very low-key place, just an ordinary second-floor hotel. From the outside, it did not look luxurious at all. Although it was magnificent inside, it was not worthy of Duke Nigel's status!

"Duke, Benito has come to visit with the commander and camp commander of the Tenth Knights Legion." Annaus said to Nigel with a hint of helplessness. There was nothing to say; even if you shut yourself off from visitors, you still have to let some people in.

"What an unwelcome guest!" Nigel said, feeling quite aggrieved. He really wanted to bring a large army to Italy, have a fight like this, and settle the score once someone dies. As for which side died, that's none of your business.

"Duke." Benito, Virgilio, and Vincenzo all bowed to Nigel upon seeing him. They had to give him face, even if he was the one who owed them money. They couldn't completely ignore him, since they would see each other again and would be eating from the same pot in the future.

"The three of you have come here?" Nigel looked frustrated. He was helpless; he was so poor he couldn't even afford to eat. After all, the Atlantic Expansion Project had failed, leaving him with a huge debt that he couldn't repay. To make matters worse, the loan sharks were not easy to deal with. His title of duke was not very useful.

“Duke, for the sake of the Roman Empire, we need your cooperation in speaking in the Senate next session.” Benito took out the IOU, tore it up in front of Nigel, and then spoke.

This behavior can be interpreted as maintaining good relations even if the deal falls through, or as me doing it and you asking if I'll do it or not, or even as moral blackmail. But Benito acted very casually, and given that Nigel was indeed being pressured by debt recently, he didn't misunderstand the situation at all and went straight into a state of asking for an exorbitant price while trying to negotiate a lower one.

“I need to know what kind of cooperation is needed,” Nigel said readily. After all, the Claudius family’s money was hard to repay, and it was best to settle the debt now.

"Next, we need a complete ceasefire and a stable situation in Greater Spain." Benito didn't say anything like "we know about your actions in Spain" or "we understand your thoughts," but directly stated his demands.

“It’s difficult.” Nigel thought for a while and then said. The turmoil in the Spanish region did have its own reasons. After all, “you can’t get rich without killing the poor.” He was broke and had to find a way to make money. The fastest way to make money was through exploitation, and ruthless exploitation.

This is also the reason for the great chaos in the Spanish region. There are factors such as locust plagues, local citizens, and the Duke's will. Even now, even if Nigel stops causing trouble, Spain will not easily stop the war.

“It’s difficult, but it’s achievable,” Benito said directly.

“It can be done.” Nigel nodded.

"To resolve the internal strife in Spain, you took the lead in dismantling the Spanish regions. The Moroccan province and the plantations in central Spain were outsourced to you, and Annaus, as a veteran, took over the agricultural area." Benito, as if dividing his own cake, simply made a few cuts and dismantled Spain, slicing the profits into pieces, distributing what should be distributed and taking back what should be taken back.

“That’s too little,” Nigel said after a moment of silence.

“Spain’s main interests right now need to be nationalized,” Benito said bluntly. He wasn’t entirely a supporter of Pompiñus, but he thought Pompiñus’s ideas were correct. Besides, the threat that Tacitus could pose with those things was not even in the same league as the threat that the Duke could pose with those things.

Tacitus's antics are one thing, but if the Duke of Nigel takes Tacitus's things, then whether Italy is still the center of Rome will be in question!

Could Rome really be allowed to split apart?

"For this little thing, I'd step in?" Nigel shook his head and refused.

“But isn’t this what you’ve been staying in Spain for?” Benito said with a light laugh. “In exchange, you can nominate Pomponi as the next treasurer, and I will push for it.”

Nigel paused for a moment upon hearing this, then lowered his head in thought. If Pomponi could become the treasurer, then Nigel would still be able to accept the sacrifices he had made before. After all, Pomponi was not only the son of Pompianus, but also the chief logistics officer of Nigel's fleet. It could be said that Pomponi had been promoted by Nigel all the way up.

Rome didn't care much about protégés or former officials, but Pomponi was practically Nigel's son. He had pulled Pomponi out of a brothel and made him the financial manager of the Atlantic Expeditionary Fleet. Moreover, Nigel knew Pomponi's character very well. If Pomponi had been a treasurer, it would have been much easier for Nigel to embezzle Roman state assets.

At least at the highest level, no one will be constantly watching him anymore, and they will be covering for him.

“If Pomponi can serve as treasurer, I can agree to your request.” Nigel pondered for a moment before giving a clear answer: the interests of Spain were nothing compared to the interests of the entire Roman Empire!

Regular updates will resume tomorrow. (I'm going to take a break.)