Chapter 125: The Governor of the East
Marcus reported the agreement he had made with Pompey to Crassus.
From now on, Crassus had to act as the mediator in Rome in Marcus’s absence.
Fortunately, Crassus had a much better political sense than Pompey, even though he was lacking in military skills.
If it weren’t for Crassus, Marcus wouldn’t have been able to make the decision to leave for the East with peace of mind.
The nobles of the aristocratic faction and the young nobles came to visit his mansion without fail to see him off.
Cato and Cicero asked him to reply to their letters whenever they had important matters to discuss.
Metellus Scipio and Bibulus also came by.
The nobles who belonged to the group of young men who defended the republic also came to greet him.
Unfortunately, the group of young men who defended the republic that Cicero had ambitiously gathered was already much reduced.
It was because Decimus and Curio, who were one of the core members of the group, had joined Caesar’s side.
Cassius and Brutus denounced the traitors and lamented the harsh reality they faced.
They seemed to sincerely believe that Marcus was the only one who could solve this situation.
“Marcus, please establish a firm stature that is not inferior to Caesar. As long as you hold your ground in the East, even Caesar won’t be able to act rashly.”
What could Marcus say?
He could only say that he would do his best.
After finishing all his affairs in Rome, Marcus led his legions to Brundisium.
Cleopatra, who came out to see him off, had a sincere conversation with her sister Arsinoe for the last time.
Marcus didn’t hear what they talked about, but he could see a faint tear in Arsinoe’s eyes when she came back.
He didn’t bother to ask what they had said.
Marcus headed to Antioch, which was called the Queen of the East, with a boat full of excitement.
Strangely enough, it was the same sailing route that he had taken before, but it felt completely different from before.
It couldn’t be helped.
This time, he was going to take office as a true governor, not as an ambiguous acting governor.
He was not wielding someone else’s authority and power.
From now on, the five provinces of the East would move entirely according to Marcus’s will.
He was not just wielding administrative power.
The Senate, feeling threatened by Caesar and Pompey’s movements, granted Marcus almost unlimited authority.
He could even deal with issues related to diplomacy or military without getting the consent of the Senate in advance.
This was practically equivalent to being a king of a country.
Marcus decided to calmly enjoy this right that was granted to him for a while.
When he arrived in Antioch, he told his officials to handle any non-urgent matters and took a proper rest for the first time in a long time.
‘I’ve been running too hard without looking ahead. It won’t hurt to take a break for a while.’
The courtyard of the palace of the Seleucid dynasty, which was now used as the governor’s office, was his family’s favorite place to relax.
He stretched out his legs and lay down on Julia’s lap in a shady spot where it was cool.
A satisfied smile hung on his lips as he looked at his children playing in the courtyard.
‘It’s amazing how fast time flies.’
He felt a lump in his chest when he thought that they had grown up so much from being toddlers who walked around clumsily.
“It would be nice if we could live like this every day. I have no other wish.”
Marcus muttered as he watched Trajanus being fascinated by the heroic epic that Danae told him.
Sophia was playing chess with Arsinoe with a very serious expression.
She was not even ten years old yet, but her chess skills were already better than Arsinoe’s.
Thanks to that, she looked quite fierce even though she had only one piece left on the board.
“You’re right. Time flies so fast. The kids have grown up so much.”
Julia’s soft voice gently wrapped around his ears.
Her warm and calm voice always had the power to make him feel at ease whenever he heard it.
Marcus looked up at Julia and smiled faintly.
“But you haven’t changed at all. No, you have changed. You’re more beautiful now than when we first met.”
“You’ve changed too. You’ve learned how to say nice things.”
“Really? I thought I was always active in expressing my affection.”
“Maybe in action, but not in words. You were a bit clumsy at that. You’re very different from your father in that respect. Of course, if you were exactly like your father, I would have had a hard time too.”
Julia lowered her head and lightly kissed Marcus’s forehead.
Then she stroked his hair, which was resting on her lap, and smiled softly.
“Let’s try to live more leisurely like this from time to time. The kids will like it too.”
“I wish I could do that too. But I still have a lot of work to do. For one thing, this city of Antioch itself is…”
“Don’t say that. At least when you’re resting like this, get rid of any thoughts about work from your head.”
Julia lifted her index finger and lightly touched Marcus’s lips.
He felt his emotions rise at the touch of her soft skin.
If it weren’t for the kids nearby, he would have already kissed her and embraced her body.
Julia seemed to sense his mood and whispered in his ear with a smile that said she couldn’t stop him.
“Just hold on until the kids go in.”
“I know. I have that much sense.”
The two of them looked at each other silently for a moment.
They say that a truly intimate relationship is one where even the silence that surrounds them is not awkward.
They can read each other’s minds with just a few words, or sometimes just by exchanging glances.
For some reason, the memory of their first night, which was fresh and sweet, came to both of their minds at the same time.
The short but intense moment when they became one for the first time.
Julia, who suddenly remembered that time, slowly opened her mouth.
“You may have already heard this, but we were actually debating whether to choose Pompey or you at that time.”
“Yeah, I heard it from your father. He said you liked me a little more.”
“It wasn’t just because of the age difference. How should I put it… I had this feeling from the first time I met you. Ah, this is the person I should follow. I don’t think I’ll ever regret it. Should I say it was a hunch?”
“So you don’t regret your decision then?”
Julia answered without hesitation to Marcus’s question.
“Of course not. I never regretted it for a single moment.”
Julia smiled brighter than ever.
Marcus reached out his hand and hugged her body.
Behind a large tree that no one could see, their endless kisses continued.
※※※※
Marcus enjoyed the lavish life that being a governor brought him for a while.
The local nobles of Antioch held luxurious parties every day to please the new governor.
It was confirmed that he would stay for more than five years, not just one year, so everyone was anxious to win Marcus’s favor.
The nobles from nearby areas came every day and made a scene in front of the governor’s office.
It was not only the nobles near Syria who tried to get along with Marcus.
The pro-Roman nobles from Armenia and Mesopotamia also brought gifts and came to visit him.
Marcus built rapport with them while refusing excessive bribes.
There were so many people to entertain that there were more days when parties were held than not.
Surrounded by countless nobles, Marcus’s dignity was enough to be called the emperor who ruled this region.
Yet he was not arrogant and showed a polite attitude.
The proud nobles of the East grew more fond of Marcus.
They secretly expected that Marcus, who had become a governor, would reveal his true colors unlike before.
But he didn’t change much from when he was acting as a governor.
He maintained his dignified appearance while not forgetting to be considerate of the local nobles.
He even gave more rewards than he had promised to the nobles who had helped him in the Parthian expedition.
The nobles who received a hefty interest praised Marcus’s virtue and swore their loyalty without changing.
Everyone welcomed the new governor’s arrival so warmly that there was no room for discord.
But this comfortable time didn’t last long.
A pile of papyrus documents filled in a cart arrived in front of Marcus.
“These are the documents that you must sign, sir.”
“Is this all?”
Marcus, who was about to go out to enjoy boating on the river, looked at the cart with disbelief.
He had seen people carrying documents on carts when he had too much work to do in Rome.
But he had never seen anyone bring documents filled in a cart before.
Of course, he had been neglecting his administration for a few days while enjoying the life of a powerful man, but this was too much.
“Isn’t there some mistake? I told you that you could handle any non-urgent matters at your discretion, didn’t I?”
His voice naturally lowered and one of the officials bowed his head deeply.
“I’m sorry. But there are many cases of confusion as work is concentrated from five provinces. In such cases, everyone asks for coordination from your side, but we don’t have a system to cope with that yet.”
“So you’re saying that all the work piled up and piled up until it finally came to me?”
“Yes.”
Marcus took off his thick cloak and buried himself in a chair.
He was so excited by the fact that he had become a governor for the first time that he completely forgot what it meant to have five provinces under his control.
When he was acting as a governor before, he had a much smaller area to manage, and he shared the work with Crassus.
But now he had to take responsibility for everything by himself alone.
And two of the five provinces were newly formed ones.
It was a time when he had to actively pursue local assimilation policies, so there were bound to be various frictions.
It was not strange at all that documents piled up enough to be transported by carts in just a few days.
But Marcus, who had suffered from an enormous amount of paperwork in Rome, knew a sure solution to overcome this problem.
He had to bring in experienced professionals who had been honed by rich experience.
Marcus summoned Septimus and Danae, as well as Publius, and engaged in a battle with the documents piled up like mountains.
Danae, who had been playing with Trajanus, sighed deeply as if the world had collapsed.
“I thought I wouldn’t have to sort out documents when I came to Antioch…”
“That’s right. It seems like we can’t escape this fate until we die.”
“No, I’m a cavalry captain…”
The whispers of the three people who were talking softly pierced Marcus’s conscience.
But what could he do?
The documents piled up faster than he could handle them by himself.
Marcus smiled awkwardly and added a few words of excuse.
“I didn’t expect the administration to be so outdated. I have to fix the administrative system as soon as possible. I need to make the responsibilities and authorities more clear and increase the number of bureaucrats…”
“That’s a great idea. Of course, that means we have to keep suffering until everything is perfectly set up, right?”
“Well… that’s…”
Marcus scratched his head and got up from his seat.
Danae, who was showing a miraculous skill of reading documents with her left eye and glancing at Marcus with her right eye, asked.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to meet the Parthian envoy. Sorry, but can you take care of this for a while?”
“…”
The silent answers of the three people made Marcus leave the office with a stiff walk.
This was not him running away from his work and dumping it on his subordinates.
It was also an important task for the governor to handle diplomatic events.
As soon as Marcus entered the reception hall, the Parthian envoy who had been waiting in advance stood up and greeted him politely.
“I greet the great governor of Rome, Marcus Mesopotamicus.”
He didn’t show any trace of the stiff attitude he had before the war.
Maybe he sensed Marcus’s mood, which was not good due to the recent heavy workload.
The envoy looked around nervously, worried that he might offend Marcus’s feelings.
“Right, did Shahanshah send you? Tell me what you came for right away.”
“Yes. Shahanshah is curious about when Rome will be able to send reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements?”
“Didn’t you sign an agreement to cooperate in conquering the Indus region?”
The envoy bowed his head deeply and lowered his posture as he saw Marcus’s eyes glow strangely.
‘Look at these guys? Do they really want to cross over to Indus?’
Marcus fell silent for a moment and tried to guess Sanatruces’s intentions.
‘He’s a smart guy, so he wouldn’t think he could hold on to the Indus region for real… Or is he trying to move the foundation of his country there? If he moves the center of his dynasty to the Indus region and gets support from Rome, maybe he could succeed.’
Usually, one wouldn’t gamble with the fate of their country.
But Parthia’s situation was quite bleak.
They had lost Mesopotamia, the core area of agriculture, to Rome, and their territory had shrunk to outside the Zagros Mountains.
If Rome didn’t keep selling them food, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their country stably.
And it was unrealistic to wage war with Rome and reclaim Mesopotamia.
Once the border was drawn along the natural barrier of the Zagros Mountains, it was very difficult to cross over and invade Rome.
The public opinion of Parthian citizens and nobles was deteriorating day by day.
Sanatruces needed to divert the internal discontent to the outside.
It would be nice if he could really conquer the Indus region, and even if he lost it again, it would be enough to buy some time.
Of course, Marcus had no intention of joining such a clown show.
He had to send reinforcements since he had signed an agreement, but he didn’t set a specific date or time.
He could delay it as long as he had a reason.
“Of course I have to help you. But I want to make sure that everything is ready before I embark on an expedition where precious Roman citizens’ blood could flow. You can understand that, right?”
“Of course. That’s why Shahanshah wants to know when both sides will be able to finish their preparations.”
“Well… I wish I could tell you clearly, but no one knows for sure yet.”
“What? But you clearly agreed to cooperate in the Indus expedition.”
The envoy’s face turned pale as Marcus smiled kindly and waved his hand.
“Don’t misunderstand. You don’t think Rome would break a contract once it’s made, do you? It’s just that I think it’s unrealistic to cross over the rugged mountains to Indus. I’m worried about the morale of the legion, the securing of supply lines, and various difficulties that can be expected. No matter how rich Indus is, we can’t get everything locally. So we decided to change our perspective a little. If it’s hard to break through by land, why not use the sea?”
“Huh? The sea?”
As Marcus gestured, one of the officials unfolded a map that showed the route from the Red Sea to India.
Marcus pointed to the Ethiopian region with his finger and continued his explanation.
“Look. The great hero of Rome, Pompey Magnus, is going to conquer this evil dynasty in a few years. Then Rome will have complete control over the Red Sea and be able to use the sea route here as we please. That means we don’t have to supply through the harsh mountains. We can just load food from Egypt and Axum and send it to Indus.”
“Oh, if that happens…”
“Right. Then we can ‘really’ conquer the Indus region. Tell Shahanshah that.”
“I understand. I will deliver your words exactly as you said.”
The Parthian envoy left with a satisfied face.
Marcus gave him a meaningful smile as he watched his back.
As he got up from his seat, he stretched out and asked his aide who was standing next to him.
“Is there anything else left for today?”
“No. The official schedule is over for today.”
“Good. Then let’s finish sorting out the documents quickly and spend the rest of the time with Sophia.”
He was excited to play card games with his daughter after a long time.
It was then.
The officials rushed in with an urgent expression, opening the door with a bang.
Marcus frowned at the untimely noise.
“What’s this? There shouldn’t be any more work left for today. What’s so urgent…”
“It’s a riot! The Jews have started a riot, sir!”
“A riot?”
His dream of spending some quality time with his daughter shattered into pieces.
Marcus looked up at the sky and tapped his forehead.
A lament mixed with anger naturally came out of his mouth.
“These guys, as soon as I see them…”
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