The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 243. The Future of Rome 3 >

Caesar was writing on a large wax tablet with a stylus, and opened his mouth.

“I have given you a lot of time so far. I postponed the passage of this bill for so long because I thought that the more important the issue, the more time we need to gather diverse opinions.

But it seems that there is nothing more to say except for futile arguments. Therefore, I intend to end the debate today and pass this bill. If anyone opposes, please speak up now with a valid argument.”

“I will say one thing!”

As soon as Caesar finished speaking, Cato jumped up from his seat.

He had no idea that the assassins were going to carry out their plan today.

He believed that they would have erased such absurd thoughts from their minds after he scolded them harshly.

Even when Cassius contacted him yesterday, he did not mention anything about the assassination.

He just said that he wanted to expose Caesar’s intentions and isolate him politically, and asked for his help.

Cato had no objection to this, so he readily agreed.

Anyway, if this bill passes, it will be impossible to preserve the purity of the Senate that the aristocrats wanted.

He had to stop the expansion of the Senate’s quorum at any cost.

“I oppose this bill because Caesar, your intentions are very suspicious. The Senate has been performing its role without any problem so far. I can understand if you want to admit those who have made great contributions to Rome, such as Vercingetorix or Surenas, into the Senate. But why do you need to increase the number of senators by hundreds?”

“I don’t know how many times you want me to repeat myself, but I have already explained enough. Rome is no longer a country that is tied to the Mediterranean.

From north to south, from Britain to Cush and Axum, from east to west, from the former Parthian territory to Bosporus. All these vast lands are Rome’s territory. There has never been an empire in history that boasted such a vast territory. It is incomparable even to the territory conquered by Alexander the Great.”

The faces of the senators were filled with pride at the enormous achievements of their ancestors and themselves.

Caesar looked around their faces once and calmly continued his speech.

“The Senate has done its best to perform its role so far. I admit that. But now our territory is too vast and the cultures and systems are complexly intertwined for us to manage with only Roman aristocrats. We need to bring in diverse voices from the localities into the Senate in order not to let our glory crumble like a sandcastle.”

“That is something that the provincial governors can do well enough.”

“No! That’s not enough. This is also a kind of assimilation policy. The Senate is a core institution that symbolizes Rome’s politics. Everyone knows that. If we put local elites in here, we can show Rome’s tolerance and inclusiveness widely.”

“But if a large number of provincials come in, the tradition of the Senate that we have maintained so far may be shaken. Imagine hearing barbaric languages in the Senate hall. How many aristocrats would be offended by that? Caesar, have you thought of any measures for these people?”

“That’s a fair point. Of course, the Senate seats will go to those who can speak Latin perfectly and are well versed in Roman culture. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I will make this clear here.”

Caesar’s clear answer made Cato unable to argue further and he turned his eyes to Cicero.

It was a signal to say something instead of staying still.

Cicero cleared his throat and stood up from his seat and requested a speech.

“Caesar, your words sound reasonable. I have no doubt that your policies so far have been in line with Rome’s interests. But you always brought yourself a lot of benefits while bringing benefits to Rome. You were very clever about it.”

“That’s just a biased opinion based on hindsight.”

“No, it’s not. Just look at this bill alone. It’s obvious that you are the one who gets the most benefit from it. What do they know about those appointed from Gaul and Britain, Hispania, and Germany?

The senators appointed from the south or east dynasties are at least from countries that have already been civilized. They have clear opinions and can objectively assess their interests, but those who come from the north are different. They will probably agree with what Caesar agrees with and disagree with what he disagrees with.”

“Right! They will be nothing but puppets who do whatever Caesar tells them to do.”

The aristocratic senators agreed with Cicero’s opinion and raised their voices.

As if they had promised, loud noises erupted everywhere and Caesar banged the tablet with a stylus and shouted.

“Silence! Be quiet! It’s a ridiculous insult, but I’ll still answer you sincerely. Your opinion now is soaked in a serious sense of superiority and ignores other nations.

In the case of Gaul, the south has already been Romanized for a long time and there are many people who understand what civilization is.

Especially, many of the children of the local tribal chiefs have been educated in Rome. And this trend will expand to Britain and Germany in the future. Do you think they will follow someone else’s opinion without thinking for themselves? This is a blatant insult to Rome’s education.”

“It’s not an insult to Rome’s education, but an objective evaluation of your skills. Frankly, it’s not a big deal for you to cook young children of tribal chiefs, is it?”

“Huh… So you’re going to oppose it with your imagination about something that hasn’t even happened yet. Why would I do that in the first place?”

Cato, who thought he had seized the opportunity, jumped up from his seat again and shouted in a sharp voice.

“Because you want to be king! Caesar Rex! That’s what you want.”

“Again, that tiresome slander, Cato. I have always discouraged those who flatter me with such ridiculous words. Rome does not need a king. That would be a denial of the glorious deeds of our proud ancestors who abolished the monarchy and established the republic.”

As the hall buzzed, Trebonius stood next to Cato and shouted.

“That’s a lie! There are plenty of evidence that Caesar has ambitions for the throne. Let me give you some examples right here.”

He pretended to catch his breath and looked around.

As planned, there were no lictors in the Senate hall.

Lucius, the consul who was supposed to preside over today’s meeting, must have been held up at the Colosseum by now.

The other praetors were also delayed by the emergency court that was convened.

In other words, the only ones who had weapons in the Senate were the assassins, more than twenty of them.

He finished preparing to send the signal and shouted passionately.

“Look at him! Caesar is wearing boots that are different from the other senators. He has been wearing boots with a hint of purple, which is a color that symbolizes kingship, as you know. Caesar has always indirectly revealed his desire by doing so, since he couldn’t say it directly.”

“That’s the most stupid and absurd thing I’ve ever heard. If wearing boots with a hint of purple means hiding an ambition to be king, then all the highest consuls of Rome must have been ambitious to be king.”

“That’s not all! You have constantly weakened the authority of the Senate and tried to expand your power. Did you do it for the benefit of Rome? Don’t make me laugh. Marcus Mesopotamius, who contributed more to Rome than you, advanced his work while respecting the authority of the Senate. But you didn’t. Why? Because your ultimate goal was to dismantle the Senate!”

The atmosphere in the meeting hall became noticeably restless.

The aristocrats had never openly criticized Caesar like this.

It would be understandable if they had some evidence, but their words were based entirely on speculation.

This reckless political attack could not have any meaningful impact on Caesar.

The annoyed expression on Caesar’s face proved that fact.

“Go home and write a if you want to. If you keep spouting nonsense, I will consider it as interfering with the proceedings and expel you with the authority given to me.”

At this point, it was normal to pretend to lose and sit down, but today’s Trebonius was different.

He had a pale face as if possessed by a ghost and exchanged glances with his colleagues who had finished mocking him.

Decimus and Cassius also moved forward slowly with tense faces that showed their nervousness.

If anyone else had seen them, they would have wondered about their suspicious behavior, but no one was looking at them now.

As planned, the assassins surrounded Caesar in a fan shape.

They all took their positions and Cassius shouted loudly.

“Everyone, look! Since when has someone who is not even a consul been able to kick out a senator during a meeting?

You all have seen how rude and arrogant Caesar is. There is nothing wrong with what we all said.

Caesar always wants to be king! And our Rome! We don’t need any king. So what’s happening now is not an illegal murder, but a rebellion for freedom.”

He pulled out a dagger hidden under his cloak and walked forward quickly.

The other assassins also drew their weapons and surrounded Caesar.

Cicero did not join them, but closed his eyes and sighed deeply as if he wished the ground would swallow him up.

Cato ran to Cicero with an expression like he had seen a ghost and shook his shoulder violently.

“Are you crazy? You brought knives into the Senate hall? Do you intend to insult this sacred place?”

“…”

“And even kill someone with a hidden knife! This is not for the republic! This is the worst crime that defiles the republic!”

Cato’s scolding did not affect the assassins at all.

They did not blink an eye and slowly narrowed the distance to Caesar.

In fact, they did not hear Cato’s words at all.

They knew that this was an act that violated the tradition of Rome and the Senate.

They armed themselves with the idea that they could tolerate small dirtiness for a greater cause, but they could not shake off their guilt completely.

It was such a big deal to kill someone with a knife in the Senate hall.

They suppressed their hearts that were beating like crazy and Cassius aimed his dagger at Caesar.

Cato and Brutus clenched their hands and watched the brutal act unfolding in front of them with horror.

Only Marcus, who was sitting in the back, was watching the situation without any expression on his face.

“What a foolish thing to do.”

Surprisingly, Caesar’s face did not change at all.

The assassins were visibly flustered and looked at each other.

How could he be so calm?

It was too eerie to be a bluff.

“Don’t be fooled! This is our best chance to kill the tyrant!”

Decimus stepped forward and calmed down his colleagues.

Caesar looked at Decimus with a calm sigh.

“Is that so? Decimus Brutus, even you were involved in this stupid plan.”

“Not a stupid plan. This is for the liberation of Rome…”

Trebonius’s desperate cry was cut off.

Before the assassins could take a step, the door was kicked open with a bang and hundreds of soldiers entered.

They were not lictors who accompanied the high magistrates.

They were regular soldiers armed with armor and bows.

The soldiers aimed their bows at the assassins who were frozen in place.

“Drop your weapons! We’ll shoot if you move an inch.”

Considering the skills of the elite soldiers and the distance from the assassins, there was no chance of missing their shots by mistake.

“Did, did this whole plan leak out…”

Cassius trembled and muttered.

He had kept the secret so well, but he only wondered how it happened.

Caesar looked at him with a faint sigh and whispered in a voice that only the assassins could barely hear.

“He said there was nothing to worry about even if something unexpected happened. So this is what he meant.”

“…?”

Cassius and Decimus did not fully understand Caesar’s words and just blinked their eyes.

But there was one thing for sure.

Someone knew about the assassination plan and warned Caesar that something unexpected might happen.

The ones who mocked the assassination were all here without exception.

There was no traitor among them.

Then there was only one candidate.

Cassius widened his eyes and shouted at Brutus who was watching the situation from behind.

“You betrayed us! Brutus!”

Brutus opened his mouth in a bewildered expression as if he did not know what was going on.

“…Betrayal?”

< 243. The Future of Rome 3 > End