The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 29  Face to Face 2

──────────────── 

“I have something to improve? Not just Crassus, but me too?”

“Yes.”

Marcus answered without hesitation. Pompey asked again.

“What is it? I honestly have no clue.”

“Of course. You have everything, Pompey. A prestigious family, a self-made reputation, and unmatched skills in Rome. But because of that, you are overlooking one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Legitimacy.”

“Is that so? I thought you were going to say something different, but you sound just like the old men in the Senate.”

Pompey showed signs of boredom.

He had heard this speech dozens of times, so he was tired of it.

So Marcus gave him a concrete example instead of a general argument.

“You have received too many exceptions based on your abilities and achievements, Pompey. You were granted imperium in your twenties, and you became a consul without having any of the honorable offices. Right now, your popularity is at its peak, so it won’t be a problem. But you can’t deny that you are giving them an excuse.”

“An excuse? What excuse? Do you think they can drag me down with something like that?”

“They can’t drag you down. The Senate doesn’t have that power right now. But they can trip you up a bit. And what if they see you as a serious threat to the Republic? Then they won’t hesitate to use any means necessary. You don’t need to give them any unnecessary excuses.”

“A threat to the Republic? Do you really think they are that stupid?”

Pompey didn’t have any ambition to become a dictator like Sulla or Marius.

Strictly speaking, his motive was not power.

Most senators, and even Crassus, didn’t know this.

Pompey’s goal was not power, but glory.

Many famous heroes in history wanted power more than glory, but he was the opposite.

In fact, Pompey didn’t have a firm political conviction as a consul who led Rome.

He just wanted to reach the top position of the Roman office.

The youngest proconsul, the youngest consul.

He wanted that kind of glory that would last forever in Roman history.

But the Senate didn’t know this, of course. 

Even if Pompey told them himself, they wouldn’t believe him.

No, they wouldn’t accept it even if they believed him.

Because for them, it was unacceptable to ignore the order of Rome for the sake of personal vanity.

They were watching him because he was a member of the Optimates under Sulla.

If he had been a member of the Populares, there might have been bloodshed already.

But if this situation continued, the Senate would decide that they had to break Pompey once and for all.

Marcus pointed out this issue.

“If you are satisfied with where you are and don’t want to achieve more, then there is no problem. But if you do something much bigger than what you have done so far, the Senate will have no choice but to see you as a threat. History proves that.”

“Are you talking about Africanus…?”

“Yes. It doesn’t matter whether you have any intention to threaten the Republic or not. Your existence itself can be a threat to the oligarchy.”

It was a well-known fact that the Senate had constantly restrained Scipio, who had defeated Hannibal.

They didn’t do it out of jealousy.

Scipio became a consul twice more after the Punic War, and even earned the title of princeps (the first man).

The Senate was afraid that Scipio’s enormous presence would have a negative impact on the Republic.

Eventually, led by Cato, some senators accused Scipio.

Scipio, who was already in poor health, exploded with anger.

He was legally innocent, but he was excluded from politics. 

He went down to the countryside and never returned to Rome until he died.

According to some accounts, he left a will that said:

“Ungrateful fatherland, you will not have my bones.”

It was a part that showed how much betrayal and despair Scipio felt.

Scipio’s case gave Pompey something to think about.

No matter how confident Pompey was, he didn’t think he had surpassed Scipio.

If Scipio had fallen to the Senate’s restraint, there was no guarantee that Pompey wouldn’t.

“That makes sense. But there is a big difference in ability between the Senate now and the Senate then. The Senate then could maintain the hegemony of the Mediterranean without Africanus. There was no more threat like Hannibal. But what about now? If I’m not here, they can’t even handle people like Lepidus or Sertorius. How dare they think of excluding me?”

“I’ll say it again, that’s true for now. But if you do more than you do now, then naturally there will be fewer enemies of Rome. A good example is Lepidus and Sertorius. They are already history.”

“So, you’re saying I need to keep quiet for a while?”

“That’s one way, but considering your temperament, it’s impossible. It doesn’t make sense for Pompey Magnus to be cautious and restrained by the old foxes in the Senate. That shouldn’t happen.”

Pompey leaned forward slightly, drawn into Marcus’s words.

“Right. I can’t and shouldn’t care about the old foxes in the Senate. Then what do you think I should do?”

“It’s simple. You have to reduce the excuses they can use to attack you. Your weakness is that you received too many privileges without having the legal qualifications. Then you have to change that.”

“Change the law? How?”

“You have to lower the eligibility requirements. It’s too much to get rid of them altogether, so just lower the age limit by about five years. Then you didn’t become a consul by breaking the age limit. You already have the qualification to run for office from the Senate, who gave you the title of former consul.”

In modern times, revised laws do not apply to previous cases as a principle.

But in ancient times, this retroactive application was almost customary.

Pompey found Marcus’s suggestion very reasonable.

He just had some practical concerns.

“Sulla just tightened the eligibility for the Senate not long ago. I doubt such an amendment would pass. The Senate would oppose it with fire in their eyes.”

“Of course it would be rejected in the Senate. And if you propose such a law yourself, the Senate won’t sit still either. So you have to take a detour. You have to use the assembly.”

Pompey was not a dull person even if he lacked political sense. 

He understood what Marcus was saying right away.

There were countless cases in Rome where laws that opposed the Senate were passed through the assembly.

This was possible because the Roman law guaranteed the legislative power of the assembly.

The famous Hortensian Law was a bill that contained this content.

The basic principle of the Hortensian Law was that even if a bill was rejected in the Senate, it would be passed if the assembly approved it.

The commoners had used this Hortensian Law as a powerful weapon when they confronted the Senate.

That’s why Sulla abolished the Hortensian Law, claiming that he wanted to strengthen the authority of the Senate.

Naturally, the commoners who had their rights taken away were furious.

“So you want to revive the Hortensian Law…?”

“Yes. You have absolute support from the people right now. If you revive this law, the Senate won’t be able to touch you for a while.”

“But don’t you need the consent of the Senate to revive the Hortensian Law? The only legislative body right now is the Senate. If they oppose this, there’s no answer.”

“They can’t oppose it. Strictly speaking, the republican system is not exclusive to the Senate. The two wheels of citizens and nobles have to work together for Rome to grow without shaking. But right now, the assembly has become a useless institution and the anger of the citizens is accumulating. What do you think their reaction will be if you declare that you will revive the Hortensian Law?”

Pompey nodded as if he understood.

If the suppressed desire of the citizens exploded, it would be hard for the Senate to even cast a dissenting vote.

Unless they used force like Sulla to crush the opposition, but they couldn’t do that now.

And even in the Senate, some moderate and decent ones didn’t like oppressing the people too much.

It seemed like a feasible plan if he could just incite the people properly.

“Let’s revive the Hortensian Law and lower the age limit for public officials through the assembly. That’s a tempting proposal. But why are you telling me this?”

I have edited the text for grammar, clarity and style. Here is the revised version:

“Because I want to see Rome in a more developed state. I think it’s not good for the future of the Republic to have such a rigid and monopolistic system by the Senate. And to be honest, for my father’s sake, you have to stay healthy too.”

Pompey’s eyes shone sharply. 

He chuckled and took another sip of wine.

“Right. If I disappear, the Senate will restrain Crassus next. He may seem to be on good terms with the Senate now, but who knows what will happen if I’m gone. I appreciate your honesty. The more I see you, the more I like you.”

“I’m honored to be able to help someone I respect.”

“You gave me some good advice, so I’ll grant you one wish within reason. Do you want anything from me?”

After a brief silence, Marcus answered with a confident voice.

“I’d like to serve in your army someday.”

“That’s easy enough, but why?”

“Because it’s a place where glory is promised.”

It meant that victory was certain if Pompey led the army.

Pompey laughed heartily and patted Marcus’s shoulder.

“You’re really likable. Fine. I don’t know when it will be, but if I get another chance to lead an army, I’ll take you as my aide. I promise you here.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing that the mood was good, Marcus presented Pompey with a gift he had prepared in advance.

It was a statue that beautifully depicted the scene of Pompey defeating Sertorius.

Pompey, who was already in a good mood, was delighted once again.

He ordered his slave to display the statue in his house right away.

After that, they chatted about trivial things. 

Soon Pompey left Marcus with a farewell and returned to the banquet hall.

Watching his receding figure, Marcus smiled and emptied his glass, knowing that everything went according to plan.

He didn’t give Pompey this advice just to please him.

The Hortensian Law would be revived by Pompey anyway, according to history.

But the situation was different now, so there was a risk that things would go differently from history.

So Marcus actively encouraged Pompey to revive the Hortensian Law.

The same was true for the law that lowered the age limit for public officials.

This would give Pompey a procedural legitimacy, but at the same time, it would help Marcus to enter public office faster.

Under the current legal system, he couldn’t enter the Senate before he was 30 by normal means.

But 30 was too far away for Marcus. So he devised a way to lower the age limit for office by about five years using Pompey.

It was a clever trick that helped both Pompey and himself.

Anyway, Pompey and Crassus were in a hostile symbiotic relationship, to say the least.

At this stage, if one side collapsed, the other side wouldn’t benefit much either.

Marcus planned to work in a direction that would help both Pompey and himself for a while.

In the luxurious garden of Pompey’s spacious mansion.

Marcus spent some time alone, enjoying the aroma of the fragrant wine.

It was the moment when his ideas began to take shape in reality.

※※※※

Three days after the banquet, Marcus took Septimus and Danae down to Subura.

The streets of Subura were as noisy as ever with a crowd of people.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes. He said he lives around here. We should go this way.”

Septimus skillfully navigated the complex streets and found the way.

Following him, they came across a building that looked decent with various tools scattered around.

They looked like things used for construction, but he couldn’t guess their exact purpose.

Marcus pointed to a young man sitting in front of the building.

“Is that him?”

“Yes.”

The young man, who looked like he was in his early twenties, was busy tinkering with a tool. 

Next to him, there were wooden boards that looked like blueprints.

“Are you Vitruvius Pollio?”

At Marcus’s question, which sounded obviously high-class, the young man quickly got up and nodded.

“Yes. I am Vitruvius Pollio. Who are you?”

“Ah, I’m Marcus Licinius Crassus II. Nice to meet you, Vitruvius.”

“Crassus? Do you mean the Crassus family? The one who was elected as a consul…?”

Marcus nodded and Vitruvius hastily adjusted his clothes.

Then he bowed politely and said yes.

“I wonder what brought you here…”

“I heard rumors that you have outstanding skills.”

Vitruvius was the most famous architect and engineer in ancient Rome.

Caesar recognized his talent and took him as a military engineer during the Gallic campaign, and Augustus also supported him financially.

His treatise on architecture would have a tremendous influence on the Renaissance, Baroque and beyond.

The Vitruvian Man drawn by Leonardo da Vinci was also inspired by this treatise.

But even the genius who was called the master of Roman architecture was nothing but a young and unknown architect at this point.

Marcus wouldn’t miss such a promising young genius.

He smiled kindly and jingled a pouch of silver coins with a considerable amount.

“You, work with me on something.”