Augustus Road

"Personal emotions aside, how should I use the power of the tribunes to help Caesar successfully win the election!" Claudius was impatient.

"Simple, start a war with the Senate led by Cato the Younger! We must believe in the power of the people." Lepidus said coldly, then gently flicked an oyster shell on the dining table, "While I was in the military career, I also I have devoted myself to studying Roman law. Four hundred years ago, in order to establish the law, the city-state continuously established committees of ten to formulate detailed laws on bronze tables. However, at first, only ten bronze plates were engraved with the law. Later, after the struggle and struggle between the tribunes and the people, After hard work, the other two were added, and clauses were constantly added in later generations, because the Bronze Table Law itself said that once there is a conflict between the previous laws, the later laws will automatically replace the previous laws. If I remember correctly. If so, the earliest Bronze Table Law also stipulated that civilians were prohibited from marrying nobles, but now my marriage with Yulia is also recognized and protected by the law! And you also need to use the tribune's plan as a breakthrough! , don’t waste yourself at this carnival full of drunken vomit, Claudius, do you know there is a Julius law?”

Just kidding, Claudius was born into a noble family, so he still knew a lot about the law, but he didn't have many skills to overwhelm him. The Julius Law is a law concerning the acquisition of citizenship rights for Italian residents outside Rome. According to this law, the consul has the power to grant citizenship and rights to newly established Latin communes within Italy with the approval of the Senate. The right to vote. But Claudius understood Julius's law, but he really didn't understand what it had to do with Caesar himself.

"Yes, I know you will definitely feel strange. This has to do with the grudge between Marius and Sulla many years ago. Twenty years ago, when Sulla led the legions into the city of Rome and massacred the civilians, how did Sulla obtain a lifelong ** power?”

After hearing what Lepidus said, Claudius understood something. Of course he had some understanding. The two consuls elected by Roman law that year, Capo and Marius' son (Marius the Younger), both died in mutinies and civil wars. , under the control of Sulla, the Senate announced the decision to "vacate the throne", that is, because there is no consul in the country at the moment, the chief senator of the Senate will automatically become the "vacant king" within five days. Have the power to propose any motion to the Citizens' Assembly. Of course, the "virtual king" at that time was Sulla's crony Flaccus. This man used swords and shields to force the citizens' assembly and the tribunes to pass a bill that appointed Sulla as an indefinite king. As a magistrate, he could promulgate any laws at will in the country "in order to reestablish order throughout Italy". Flaccus then became Sulla's deputy, "prefect of cavalry", and proclaimed the name "iones" A total of 4,700 people were listed on the list of public enemies, including 80 senators and 1,600 knights. These people can enjoy the treatment of "execution" and "deprivation" without any trial. Any relationship with these people, including borrowing money, relatives and friends, or even staying overnight, may lead to death. Of course, Sulla and others never did it themselves, because Roman law stipulated that "a citizen cannot kill another citizen." So, like Marius before him, he thought of using slaves as tools to do dirty work. Then he announced that all the slaves of the public enemies would be released, a total of ten thousand people, and all of them would be given the name of "Cornelius" by Sulla, and they would be armed. These "Cornelius Rangers" would hold torches and let the people of Rome The streets were filled with blood and terror became widespread. Not only did they openly execute citizens in the street, dig out the remains of Marius and throw them into the river, smash the pillars commemorating Marius' war against the Teutons and Cimbri, they also went to Etrunia, Samona and other places, which had sided with Marius and Cinna during the civil war, arrested and executed local "Romanized alien citizens" and massacred them before Sulla's veterans were successfully resettled. Going in, I didn't expect that during Catiline's conspiracy, these veterans who had rebelled again were also purged. Five thousand people were killed in the city of Fesule alone (mentioned in the previous chapter). It was really retribution.

And why did Latin city-states such as Etrunia and Samnai support Marius and Cinna? The reason is naturally very simple, it is because when Cinna was an official, according to the Julius Law, a large number of local powerful people were granted the status of "Roman citizens" and successfully won the hearts of the people. Sulla also broke the Julius Law after taking office as indefinite emperor, so he had a nominal excuse to cleanse the place.

"Adoptive father, do you want me to announce the restoration of Julius Law's effectiveness in these areas and win support?"

"Of course you are right. After Catiline's death, especially the Etrunia region, it can be regarded as my territory of influence. Our Knights and Free Folk Chamber of Commerce are very close to the local powerful people. Many of them were responsible for the massacre that year. The descendants of the victims are still bitter about this unfair treatment. Now it is up to you to solve all this. As long as you succeed, my rough calculation will be that the local offering will not be less than a hundred talents. Special, of course, this is only about money, you will become a senator here, and this place is guaranteed to be your iron-clad vote bank." Hearing Lepida's seductive assurance, Claudia next to her screamed again, but this time. This time it was completely out of joy.

"But I still don't understand how this has anything to do with Caesar running for the consulship."

"Don't forget, Marius is Caesar's uncle, and Cinna is Caesar's father-in-law. When he was young, Julius openly declared that he would restore the glory of the Popular Party in his lifetime. At that time, Sulla hoped to execute only As a teenager, he was later removed from the list of iones at the begging of the chief virgin of the Temple of Vesta. However, Sulla also said that despite the fact that the teenage Caesar was young, he had a lot of blood in his body. But there are several Marius, so helping the populists is helping Caesar; also, you must immediately not only use Julius's law to help the victimized areas to rehabilitate, but also use it to restore - the Roman war hero Marius Reputation, re-erect his merit pillar in the Temple of War Square on Capitol Hill!" Lepidus ate another piece of oyster meat at this time and added, "For the first round of the battle, we will be behind the scenes for the time being! Remote control, after there is some bloody conflict between the people and the Senate, you, the tribune, will be able to make a brilliant appearance in the second round of battle. This is called building momentum. What you do is to take advantage of the momentum and gain both fame and fortune. "

Hearing this, Claudius couldn't sit still anymore. Of course he knew that doing so would mean an all-out war with the nobles of the Senate. He couldn't help but feel that the foreign naturalized citizen named Lepidus in front of him was completely daring. What should I do if I can't surpass myself? The blood eager to fight in my body has completely boiled! This is much more meaningful than playing a love triangle with Curio and Anthony! (To be continued.)