The Mad Tycoon of Rome

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The new carriage that Marcus was so proud of did not look different from the old one in terms of structure.

Septimus and Seline, who were called to hear his opinion, and Danae, who joined them in the middle, could not find what had changed at first glance.

After looking at it for a while, Danae opened her mouth with an uncertain tone.

“Um… It looks a bit heavier than the carriage you used before?”

“That’s right. If the carriage is light, it might increase the speed, but it also reduces the stability. On paved roads, the heavier the weight, the better the ride and the stability. Of course, if it’s too heavy, it becomes slow, so you have to find the right balance.”

This new carriage was produced with high-end models for wealthy nobles as a priority.

Thanks to the increased weight, he was able to make the carriage door more sturdy and pay more attention to the seats.

Seline and Danae, who actually sat in the carriage, praised that it felt good and looked more luxurious.

But Septimus, who was looking around the carriage, did not stop his suspicious gaze.

“It’s obvious that it becomes more stable when you increase the weight. But doesn’t that put too much burden on the horses? Maybe there’s a reason why other craftsmen couldn’t increase the weight until now?”

“That’s a good point. Of course, you can’t just increase the weight without thinking. You have to make sure that the horses can exert enough power to handle the weight of the carriage. In fact, this is what I would call a real innovation.”

Marcus signaled and Vitruvius connected the horses to the new carriage. Septimus, who was watching him closely, soon realized what had changed.

“Did you change the tool that connects the carriage and the horses?”

“Yes. To be precise, I replaced the harness completely. I’m planning to register this as a patent as well.”

“The rope that hung on their necks moved to their chest.”

“You noticed well. I made it so that the towing point is not on their necks but above their shoulders. This way, no matter how heavy the load they pull, there is no pressure on their necks. Naturally, they can pull more powerfully. This harness can bring tremendous innovation not only for pulling carriages but also for transporting goods.”

The harness used in ancient times was a crude structure that hung a rope on the horse’s neck.

It was a form that caused serious discomfort to modern people who used ropes on their backs rather than their necks when walking dogs.

The Romans knew this well, so they tried to reduce the pressure on the horses by attaching yokes to their collars, but it was not very effective.

As soon as Marcus saw the harness that strangled the horses’ necks, he thought he had to improve it along with the carriage.

In fact, it was not difficult at all if he only knew the concept.

Actually, in the West, harnesses with structures similar to those made by Marcus were widely used from medieval times.

The improvement of this harness did not mean just that the horses could pull better.

As their labor power increased considerably, they could now be used actively not only for transporting goods but also for agriculture.

This had huge implications.

It would take some time for the new carriage to spread throughout Rome, but this harness would replace all existing ones in a few years.

Of course, he did not think that the impact of the carriage was lacking either.

In fact, Septimus, Danae and Seline who rode in a carriage pulled by horses were shocked by the improved ride quality.

“Oh my, my butt doesn’t hurt!”

“With this, I wouldn’t mind going to another city by carriage. Now I can just close my eyes when I’m tired.”

“I see why you were so confident, Young Master. This is definitely something that nobles and knights would drool over. You can make a huge profit from this.”

Even if it was an early stage of suspension, there was a clear difference between having it and not having it.

And since he increased the weight of the car body more than before, the stability was also improved, so there was no need to say more.

He would use coil springs if the technology advanced a little more, but for now, it was enough to call it an innovation.

Marcus added one more trick to promote sales.

It was the large eagle-shaped shield logo that he stamped on the carriage.

The others thought it was just part of the decoration, so they noticed this part the latest.

Seline, who got off the carriage, tilted her head as she looked at the elaborately engraved logo.

“Young Master, what does this decoration mean?”

“It’s a brand mark… no, a nota mark. It’s a symbol that proves that it’s a high-quality carriage made by our family.”

Danae asked with wide eyes.

“Then does that mark not go into other carriages?”

“Of course, I’ll put a sentence that says it was made by our family in the standard carriages as well. To show that the quality is different from other places. But I won’t put that eagle-shaped shield mark unless it’s a really expensive premium product. Then the symbolism of being a carriage that not everyone can easily ride would be damaged.”

Innocent Seline still looked puzzled, but Septimus and Danae nodded in admiration.

There were logos that symbolized something at this time as well.

The Roman army took the eagle as their emblem.

Later, this eagle emblem became a symbol of the emperor’s authority and could not be used elsewhere.

Many emperors in history used this emblem as their symbol, claiming to inherit the Roman Empire.

Even in civilizations that had nothing to do with Rome, they used the eagle emblem to assert their authority.

As such, symbols that symbolized something were widely used, but logos that proved the producer of an item were not yet used.

In modern times, brand marks are so familiar that they are easily overlooked, but their effects are enormous.

If a brand firmly establishes itself among consumers, its perception is not easily shaken.

Especially if a brand reaches the level of symbolizing a specific product, it is possible to monopolize the market in fact.

Marcus planned to imprint on the Romans that his brand would come to mind when they wanted to buy a carriage or a wagon.

Especially for carriages that he sold to the wealthy, he used a unique brand mark to stimulate their vanity.

This was inspired by the way modern car companies operate separate premium brands.

He chose one of the famous car brands he wanted to ride in his previous life for the mark design.

At first he thought of using a triangular star shape, but he decided to refer to the emblem of a company in Italy since it was Rome after all.

It was a horse engraved on a shield. 

Marcus changed it slightly.

He changed the horse to an eagle and engraved MLC, which was Marcus’s initials, at the bottom of the brand mark.

‘It’s plagiarism without fail, but… there’s no such company right now.’

The rich were always alike in wanting to show off their wealth.

This was not something wrong but rather human nature was originally like that.

Especially among Roman nobles, the more prestigious their families were, the stronger their vanity was.

The nobles of the Republic were not recognized as beings that commoners could never surpass by status alone like in medieval times.

Commoners could also rise to nobility as long as they had enough wealth and achievements, so the structure was like that.

That’s why the wealthy nobles of Rome always wanted to show that they were different from ordinary commoners.

The high-end carriage that Marcus made was aimed at the psychology of these nobles.

He gave this initial product as a gift to someone who would give him the best publicity effect.

It was Pompey.

A prestigious noble family with a vanity that wanted to be distinguished from other nobles.

Pompey was the best advertising model to promote this carriage to the Roman upper class.

“This special carriage is the only one in Rome right now. You are the first noble in Rome to ride this carriage, Pompey.”

“Hahaha, I don’t know if I can just accept this.”

Pompey, who actually rode in the carriage, smiled brightly enough to reach his ears.

The smooth ride quality that he had never experienced in his life made him satisfied first.

And above all, the sense of superiority that he was the only one using this thing made him excited.

The rest of the story went according to Marcus’s plan.

Pompey rode this carriage wherever he went and boasted about the excellent ride quality of the carriage to the nobles he met.

The nobles who actually rode with him rushed to order carriages, feeling that they could not lose.

So the nobles bought Marcus’s carriages one by one and proudly drove around the city.

Naturally, orders surged and supply could not keep up with demand, creating a long waiting list.

Marcus deliberately controlled the supply so that he had to wait for a certain period of time to receive the product.

The nobles who missed the order time were in a situation where they had to wait for their turn while rolling their feet.

“Have you tried the new carriage?”

“No. I ordered it, but there are too many people waiting, so I can’t get it until next month.”

“Hehe, I heard mine is coming next week. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Really? I envy you. I should have ordered it sooner… My wife is moaning so much that she can’t ride the new carriage.”

“Tsk, it’s like looking at my house. My daughter is nagging me too.”

“But people who have tried it say it’s worth it. They say once you try it, you can’t go back to the previous carriages.”

“Huh… Is it really that good? I wish I could get it soon.”

Eventually, the carriage with the shield emblem of an eagle engraved on it firmly established itself as an object of envy among the Romans in a few months.

※※※※

‘If you achieve something, you don’t have to report anything in advance from now on.’

Crassus kept his promise with Marcus.

“I’ve heard that you’re doing well. You really keep surprising me… No, I’m tired of saying this. I’ll just watch what amazing things you do with a happy heart.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best in the future.”

“I’m a bit negative about monopolizing wheat… but I decided not to interfere, so do as you wish.”

“Yes. I’ll repay your trust with results.”

Crassus trusted Marcus’s ability and decided to take his hands off almost everything in practice.

He would be the one who would lead the family’s business in reality regardless of his term as a magistrate.

Anyway, most of the core personnel in the business had been dyed with Marcus’s color for a long time.

Even if Crassus came back, there was a possibility that the people below would feel awkward.

He also vaguely knew this fact, so he decided to hand over his position to his son.

Marcus, who had completely taken over the actual power of the business, continued his previous steps without hesitation.

He decided to increase the scale of the wheat monopoly, which was in full swing.

He had already found the people who could move on his behalf in secret.

A young merchant named Tadius, recommended by Septimus, agreed to buy wheat as Marcus’s proxy.

He was not a very good person, but he was quick-witted and good at calculations. 

He also had the prudence not to be too greedy.

He was a perfect talent for Marcus to use.

Of course, he took care of the contract thoroughly to make sure there was no chance of being stabbed in the back.

He held a weakness that could ruin him if Tadius showed any signs of betrayal.

Tadius willingly agreed to the contract even though he knew all this.

“You have to take risks to make money. Anyway, I won’t lose anything if I don’t do anything stupid, and I can make a lot of money if I just follow your words. What’s that big deal?”

It was a tactic to gain the other’s trust by giving him the leash.

There was no loss for Marcus, so he naturally welcomed it.

Besides this trivial contract, he had more and more things to do.

He had a lot of things going on.

Every day, Marcus took Danae and Septimus with him and visited the workplaces.

Spartacus also had almost no matches lately, so he followed Marcus like a shadow behind him.

That day, too, Marcus was on his way back after visiting the workshop of the technicians and receiving a report.

He nodded off in the carriage, which was much more comfortable now, and opened his eyes at Danae’s curious voice.

“There are a lot of people gathered. Is there an event going on?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Looking out the window, as Danae said, there were a lot of people crowded on one side of the street.

But the atmosphere seemed far from festive.

The tone of the people shouting loudly was quite fierce and sometimes desperate.

Curious, Marcus stopped the carriage and listened to their stories.

The people who were grabbing passers-by and appealing in the center of the street were not Roman citizens.

They seemed to be Sicilians from the thick southern dialect in their speech.

Their earnest voices pierced Marcus’s ears like arrows.

“…Dear Roman citizens! For this reason, we Sicilian residents strongly condemn the former governor of Sicily, Gaius Verres. Sicily can no longer bear it. We sincerely ask you to pay attention to this issue!”

Marcus recalled a major event that he had temporarily forgotten because of his busy schedule.

‘Gaius Verres… Yeah, I almost forgot about it.’

The protagonist of the event that shook Rome most in 70 BC was neither Pompey nor Crassus.

It was an unprecedented case where subjugated people accused their former governor and brought him to trial.

The Verres trial that made Cicero’s fame known throughout Rome was approaching.

A meaningful light settled in Marcus’s eyes as he looked at the Sicilian residents.