Chapter 148: The Counterattack of the Nobility
< 148. The Counterattack of the Nobility >
Cicero did not board the ship to Antioch as soon as he arrived in Brundisium.
He could not let go of the faint hope that the situation might improve.
But he did not waste his time indecisively.
He first sent a letter to his slave, explaining the situation and telling him to go to Antioch ahead of him.
Then he stayed in Brundisium, waiting for his friend Articus’s contact.
He had no choice but to hide far away from Rome for now, but he did not think that this situation would last forever.
He believed that his fellow nobility members in Rome would somehow rescue him.
However, things did not go as optimistically as he hoped.
The letter he received from his friend Articus shattered Cicero’s vain expectations.
<Things are going wrong here. Clodius seems to interpret your departure from Rome as his victory. He is completely arrogant and rampaging with his supporters. Your mansion has already been ransacked by thugs, and many statues have been damaged or stolen. I managed to move some of the small valuables beforehand, but there was nothing I could do about the rest.
The other nobility senators are also afraid to act rashly, lest they get burned by the fire. The populist senators are just watching, and they don’t seem to have any intention of stopping Clodius. I’m sorry, but it seems that it will take some more time before you can return to Rome. I will keep talking with Piso and Calvinius, so please wait a little longer.>
After reading the letter to the end, Cicero felt so dejected that he could not hold himself up for a moment.
“That bastard Clodius…”
It was hard enough to accept the humiliation of being driven out of Rome, but on top of that, he heard the terrible news that his cultural assets were destroyed.
He was especially heartbroken that the statue of justice that the Sicilian people gave him after his victory in the Verres trial was also broken.
“What are the other senators doing? They are such cowards.”
He also felt a tremendous betrayal from his fellow nobility senators.
They urged him to stop the populist when it suited them, but they turned a blind eye when things got bad.
Cicero decided that there was no need to hesitate any longer and left the Italian peninsula by boat.
Marcus would never ignore a colleague in trouble.
With his last hope, Cicero arrived at the port of Antioch.
And fortunately, this time his expectation was not wrong.
Marcus ordered his subordinates to prepare for Cicero’s arrival as soon as he received the letter.
He personally went to the port to greet Cicero and welcomed him warmly.
“Welcome. You must have gone through a lot of hardships.”
“Marcus…”
Marcus deliberately mobilized a regular legion to hold a welcome ceremony for Cicero.
It looked like he was welcoming a general who returned from a war.
“I heard everything that happened in Rome. You almost got hurt for sticking to your beliefs and justice. It was a brave act, even though you did not achieve any results. Which politician could maintain their position in such a situation?”
“What’s the use of paying such a price and ending up here?”
“I think the process is more important than the result. Come on, get on the carriage. You must be very tired. We can talk more after you rest.”
Cicero got on the luxurious carriage with Marcus.
The procession centered on Cicero entered the palace with dignity, like an army of a victorious general.
The citizens who came out to see them looked at Cicero sitting next to Marcus with envy.
And they announced that they would hold a festival to welcome the distinguished guest from Rome.
Of course, the citizens cheered and happily accepted Cicero’s visit.
Cicero knew very well that Marcus was doing this out of consideration for him.
He was an excellent politician, but he had more human emotions than anyone else. He felt tears welling up in his eyes.
The fellow senators who stayed in Rome were busy finding their own way out and did not take sides with him.
But as soon as he came to Antioch, he received a completely different treatment.
A true friend is someone who stays by your side when you are in trouble.
Cicero did not express it directly, but he vowed to repay Marcus’s kindness today.
“Shall we discuss our plan now?”
After sleeping soundly for two days in the Antioch palace, Cicero felt like he was reborn and attended the meeting.
In the large room used as a meeting room, there were only four people: Marcus, Cicero, Cato, and Crassus.
Cato and Crassus offered their sincere condolences to Cicero as soon as they saw him.
“Cicero, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I should have stayed in Rome and protected it…”
“No, it’s not your fault. How could you not attend your son’s wedding?”
“I thought we had some time until Pompey returned. I never imagined things would go this way.”
“Everyone in Rome must have felt like they were hit in the back of the head.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Cicero’s lament.
Even Marcus did not expect the situation to unfold so quickly.
He bet on the outcome of the war with Surenas.
Both of them bet on Pompey’s victory.
Marcus predicted that the war would end in nine months, and Surenas predicted that it would end in six months.
In the end, they were both wrong, but the bet was won by Surenas, who was closer to the result.
But even after winning the bet, Surenas’s expression was not very good.
Marcus pushed Surenas’s face, which was burning with ambition, to the back of his memory and opened his mouth.
“It seems that the populists are dominating Rome right now. It’s a bit unfortunate that this happened even before Pompey or Caesar returned.”
Cato bit his lip and sighed.
“I should have gone back to Rome as soon as the wedding was over. I guess I made a wrong decision.”
“I don’t want to blame the two of them, but honestly, it’s undeniable that they influenced the situation. Cato, if you and Crassus had been in the Senate, I wouldn’t have been kicked out at the worst. But why didn’t you come back to Rome? I can understand Crassus, but you had no reason to stay here.”
“There was a big commotion that wasn’t announced publicly. The Parthians tried to assassinate Marcus without knowing their place. And Marcus asked me for advice on that matter, so I couldn’t go to Rome. It seems that it worked out badly in the end.”
“Assassination? I didn’t hear anything about it.”
Cicero’s eyes widened.
He looked around with a look of demanding an explanation.
Marcus briefly summarized the whole story as succinctly as possible.
Cicero scratched his chin and chuckled after hearing the whole story.
“Stupid bastards. So, you completely annexed Mesopotamia to Rome’s territory and couldn’t pay attention to anything else.”
“Yes. Thanks to them, things went much smoother. Mesopotamia is now a region full of pro-Roman factions, just like Syria. Peace has finally come to the region that was full of chaos.”
“Pax Romana (peace by Rome) has finally been implemented throughout the East. How did you deal with the nobles who were involved in the assassination?”
“I confiscated all their property and recovered it to the treasury. I was worried about where to get the funds to build a public library, but thanks to them, I got the money easily.”
The pro-Roman nobles who had settled in Mesopotamia were swept away by the assassination wave.
Intaphernes and Hidarnes were executed on the spot, and the other nobles were also executed without exception.
Marcus confiscated all their property, but he didn’t take everything for himself.
The rights and lands that the anti-Roman nobles had enjoyed were auctioned off and distributed to pro-Roman nobles at a reasonable price.
Of course, the pro-Roman nobles who got land and business rights at a bargain price swore eternal loyalty to Marcus once again.
Now there was no one who could oppose Marcus even if he molded Mesopotamia as he pleased.
The Mesopotamia province, which had been full of troubles and escapes, was completely stabilized by one assassination incident.
Marcus was sincere when he thanked Intaphernes for his hard work.
But not everything was over yet.
The reason was that Sanatruces of Parthia, who was identified as the mastermind of the assassination, was still alive.
Cicero seemed to not understand why this important issue did not come up in the Senate.
“Why did you leave Parthia alone? Did you think stabilizing Mesopotamia was more urgent?”
“There was that part too, but there is no solid evidence right now. And I thought it wasn’t a good time then.
What would have happened if I claimed that I had to attack Parthia when Pompey was about to start his expedition?
The populists would have thought that I was trying to start a war for no reason to compete with Pompey. If there was clear evidence, it would be different, but now it’s only suspicion.”
“I see… That’s possible. It would have been too much to raise legions in the east when there were already wars in the north and south.”
“Yes. I discussed it with Cato and we concluded that we should approach Parthia more carefully after gathering more evidence.”
No matter how much he caught fish, Marcus never acted recklessly.
That was his principle.
He never lost his legitimacy while taking care of his interests.
That was what made him come this far.
It wasn’t much different this time either.
Marcus tried to link the conflict in Rome with Parthia and pull it in his favor.
If he had rushed to attack Parthia, he wouldn’t have been able to seize this opportunity.
And now he didn’t need to do anything himself.
Cicero, who was burning with hatred for the populists, was looking for a chance to counterattack with fire in his eyes.
“Then isn’t it time for an opportunity? Pompey has finished his expedition in the south and is heading north. So it won’t be a burden on Rome if you attack Parthia.
The cost of the war can be passed on to Parthia. And Parthia is not the old superpower, is it? If you command it yourself, you can smash it in less than a year.”
“If they abandon their capital and run around fighting, it might be difficult to conquer them in a year. But there will be no defeat.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. If you push Parthia away, all the problems will be solved. You can regain some of the support from the citizens who have gone to the populists, and your reputation will rise even higher. Parthia is the country that corresponds to the old Persia, isn’t it? If you conquer Parthia completely, you will achieve the same feat as Alexander the Great. There is no better material than this to promote to the citizens.”
Cato also agreed with Cicero’s opinion and stepped forward.
No matter how he thought about it, the only way for the aristocrats to get out of their predicament was to sacrifice Parthia.
And it was only fair that those who led the assassination should pay the price.
He thought there was no reason to hesitate.
“Right now, the populists have passed a special law that allows Pompey to enter Rome while keeping his governorship. Isn’t this crazy? Do they want to make Pompey a king?”
“Of course not. And even if they do, Pompey won’t accept it.”
“Right. I don’t think Pompey has any ambition to become a king either. But what about Caesar? What do you think will happen if Caesar enters Rome while keeping his governorship of Gaul and Britain? Don’t you see it coming? I’m sure he’ll declare himself a dictator right away.”
Marcus thought that Caesar wouldn’t make such a foolish move, but he didn’t bother to say it out loud.
It was rather helpful for Marcus that Cato was so wary of Caesar.
“As long as they successfully passed the special law to treat Pompey, Caesar will also receive the same treatment. They have to treat them equally in order to avoid a split in the populist power structure.”
Marcus’s cold analysis made Cicero slam his desk with a loud noise.
“They specified that their imperium would be suspended while they were in Rome, but that’s just a word game. If Pompey or Caesar need an army, they can just go outside Rome and summon their soldiers. How can we possibly oppose them then? Marcus, tell me honestly, did I say anything wrong in the Senate?”
“Of course not. You said what someone had to say.”
“Right? Anyone who truly cares about the republic should have agreed with me, shouldn’t they?”
Cicero’s fist trembled and his eyes turned red as he recalled his escape from Rome.
He was so frustrated that he asked Marcus, Cato, and Crassus one by one.
Only after he received their confirmation that he didn’t say anything wrong did Cicero’s expression relax a bit.
Crassus reached out and patted Cicero’s arm lightly.
“You are one of the great men who love the republic more than anyone else. No one will deny that fact.”
“I have always lived with that pride. But that bastard Clodius is insulting me with his absurd accusation that I am undermining the values of the republic.
And even worse, the people are siding with him. He doesn’t know anything but bribing and inciting the people. He is preaching me about the values of the republic. I have never experienced such humiliation in my life.”
Blood dripped from Cicero’s clenched fist.
Marcus had never seen Cicero show such intense emotion before.
The cause of his anger was not simply being exiled from Rome.
It was the fact that his pride as a defender of the republic was tarnished.
Marcus decided to let Cicero vent his feelings for a while.
He calculated that it wouldn’t bring any negative consequences for him.
“The first thing we need to do is to restore your honor. Then you and Cato can voice your opinions effectively in the Senate.”
“I agree. I can’t do much by myself in the Senate. I’ll just be pushed back by the populists like Cicero.”
“Then we need to silence Clodius first. My father can do that for us.”
“Me?”
Crassus was surprised by Marcus’s suggestion, but Marcus gave him a slight wink.
Clodius was under Marcus’s influence anyway.
Crassus remembered that fact and nodded his head casually.
“Now that I think about it, I do have a good idea. Fine, I’ll take care of Clodius.”
Cicero asked him doubtfully, seeing how easily he declared it.
“Are you sure? Clodius is not a reasonable person.”
“Don’t worry. I have a good plan.”
No matter how fierce a dog is, it won’t bite its master.
If it bites its master without knowing its place, it’s time to put it down.
Marcus was ready to use the influence of the triumvirate if Clodius didn’t listen to him.
He could easily get rid of Clodius with Caesar and Pompey’s help.
He could also help Cicero return to politics without much trouble.
And most importantly, he needed to secure a way to return to Rome while keeping his governorship like Pompey.
To do that, he couldn’t resolve the conflict in Rome at once.
He needed to keep the conflict at the brink of crisis as long as possible.
‘Maybe it’s time.’
Even though he was sitting face to face with them and having a discussion, Marcus saw a different scene than Cato or Cicero.
In his mind, a new order that was not accepted by Rome was taking shape.
It was time for the triumvirate, which had been hiding in the shadows, to reveal themselves on the surface.
< 148. The Counterattack of the Aristocrats > End
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