Chapter 153: Back to Rome
< 153. Back to Rome >
Around the time Marcus first encountered a Han in Akbatana, Caesar was on the verge of completely conquering Britannia.
Unlike the original history, the Roman army was strong with proper information and perfect armament thanks to Marcus’s support.
The southern part of Britain became Rome’s territory in the first year of the expedition.
Caesar continuously sent supplies from Itius Port and occupied Wales.
Thanks to his moderate conciliation policy that did not abuse the defeated tribes, the local assimilation was also achieved at a fast pace.
Caesar granted Roman citizenship to the influential people of the local tribes.
And he actively married off women with outstanding appearances to Roman men.
As Gaul was pacified early on, Caesar kept pushing northward.
After conquering the England region, Caesar faced a choice at the isthmus between Solway Firth and Tyne River.
Historically, Rome never reached Caledonia in the north of this region.
Instead, they built Hadrian’s Wall and prevented the Picts from coming down from the north.
During Domitian’s reign, Agricola attempted an expedition, but it ended in failure due to being summoned back to his homeland.
In fact, it was a solid achievement to conquer up to the England region.
But Caesar did not stop his march.
Unlike history, he now knew that Britannia was an island and Caledonia was the northernmost region of Britannia.
He decided that there was no need to leave a rear guard when he had enough power and deployed his legions to annex Caledonia.
And finally, before 52 BC came to an end, he was able to finish the last battle with victory.
“You have done well. You are the soldiers of great Rome. You have achieved a great feat that will be recorded forever in Roman history. When you return to Rome, everyone will praise your deeds and you will receive a reward worthy of them.”
Caesar’s legion, which achieved an unprecedented feat of completely subjugating Gaul and Britannia, left Britannia proudly.
The common perception was that Britannia and Gaul, which had nothing but barbarians, were not wealthy, but this was not strictly true.
To be precise, they did not enjoy a wealthy life, but they had surprisingly a lot of wealth accumulated so far.
The income from selling slaves who refused to be assimilated into Rome went entirely to pay off Caesar’s debt, but the rest was not.
He had a great talent for winning the favor of his subordinates and promised to share the numerous spoils with his soldiers.
The legion that fought under Caesar for seven years was practically his private army now.
They openly said that they would vote for whatever Imperator did when they returned to Rome someday.
Caesar arrived at Itius Port and gave his soldiers a rest first.
And he read the piled up letters and sorted out what he needed to know and what he needed to review.
“Labienus, were there any movements in Gaul or Germania while I was annexing Caledonia?”
“There were none. Gaul seems to be fully regarded as Rome’s territory now.”
Caesar entrusted two legions to his trusted lieutenant Labienus and asked him to watch over Gaul’s situation while he was away.
He said to send a messenger if it was really urgent, but fortunately nothing happened.
It must have been because he had thoroughly smashed them beforehand that the rebels did not dare to stir up trouble.
“That’s good. What about Rome? I heard that Magnus’s expedition ended successfully.”
“That part would be better for you to read for yourself. I have sorted out the reports for you. And of course I left your personal letters unopened.”
“You did well. You are always flawless in your work.”
Caesar smirked as he looked at the huge stack of senatorial letters.
The distance from Itius Port to Rome was over 1,000 kilometers.
With the current administrative system of Rome, it took more than two weeks for a report to arrive even if it was fast.
That alone was amazing enough.
Marcus in Antioch needed much more time than that to receive news from Rome.
Thanks to that, Caesar was able to know relatively quickly about Rome’s latest trends while he was in Gaul.
But now he had been away from the front for a long time and had no idea what had happened in Rome recently.
“Let’s see… The war with Parthia ended and Marcus started reorganizing his provinces? This could overlap with our triumph schedule if we do it wrong. We’ll have to adjust the timing a bit so that doesn’t happen.”
“Are you going back to Rome right away?”
“Well. I haven’t decided on that yet. I could go back now without any problem, but I have to give up my imperium if I want to go back to Rome.”
“Why don’t you ask for the same treatment as Pompey Magnus? The populist will surely agree and the optimates won’t dare to refuse.”
Caesar had also thought of that method.
He was also considering returning as one of his options.
“But it’s not without any problems. The optimates will surely make all kinds of nonsense and hinder me. First, let’s see if the achievement I made really doesn’t fall behind Magnus.”
“Gaul was an enemy that threatened Rome for hundreds of years. And you succeeded in completely conquering Britannia, where no Roman had ever set foot before. I don’t think this falls behind the achievement that Magnus made.”
“I think so too. But showing such a reaction itself is falling into their trap. They want to make us clash opinions on who has more merit and drag us into a futile argument. But if we don’t want to get involved, we need to make one more military achievement that no one can deny.”
“Do you mean to strike at Germania?”
Labienus narrowed his eyes suspiciously as if to gauge Caesar’s intentions.
“Do you think it’s impossible?”
“Germania is vast. It might be too much to subjugate it completely.”
“What if we limit it to the Elbe River basin?”
“That might be… possible enough. Then do you plan to spend this winter in Rome and start a new expedition next year?”
“I’m still thinking about it. I’ll decide whether to go back or not after watching Rome’s reaction a little more. Anyway, I’m planning to spend this winter dealing with the backlog in Britannia and Gaul.”
Caesar kept reading the reports while talking with Labienus.
“Oh, this. Clodius is doing something incomprehensible again. He sued Metellus, a prominent member of the optimates? Is this true?”
“It is true. He made a big fuss that he sexually harassed his wife Fulvia.”
“Fulvia is an attractive woman indeed. But she is from a venerable patrician family. Unless Metellus had a spear stuck in his head, he wouldn’t have tried to harass Fulvia, would he?”
“I think so too. Metellus claims that he only complimented Fulvia’s beautiful appearance at a party. Personally, I have a feeling that Clodius is throwing a wild card.”
Caesar skimmed through the materials related to this case with a frown.
Clodius was a reckless person even if he was an important member of the populares.
If he really went to trial and lost ridiculously, it would have a significant negative impact on the populares.
If there was no chance of winning, he needed to make him back off.
“Magnus will be coming to Rome soon, so it would be nice if he could control Clodius… but that’s unlikely. He’s a person who lives with a wall between him and politics.”
“But if Caesar asks him to stop Clodius from making trouble, wouldn’t he move?”
“Clodius knows Pompey well. He will pretend to listen once or twice and then cause trouble behind his back. Pompey doesn’t like such mudslinging fights, so he won’t intervene actively.”
Caesar still couldn’t guess why Clodius was doing such a thing.
He was somewhat hot-blooded, but he was not a stupid person fundamentally.
It was too little information to judge whether it was a simple rampage due to his blood or a staged act with some ulterior motive.
Eventually, Caesar decided to watch the situation a little more and opened his personal letters.
His wife Calpurnia sent him letters almost every month and his mother Aurelia sent him one two months ago.
Among them, what caught Caesar’s eye was the letter from his daughter Julia.
Caesar unknowingly smiled brightly as he thought of his daughter’s young face.
The letter contained her trivial daily life and stories of her growing grandchildren.
He read several times the words that asked him not to get hurt and stay healthy until they met again.
“Haha, this child must have been worried about her father. But I wonder if our cute babies remember this old grandfather.”
“Didn’t you say you last saw them when they couldn’t even walk? Of course they won’t remember.”
“…Then I need to bond with them before it’s too late. I hear that kids these days are different from our time and hard to deal with.”
“That’s true. But Julia must have educated them well, so your grandchildren won’t be like today’s kids. The kids of this generation are too rude and immature. Sometimes I worry about what Rome is trying to become.”
Caesar nodded as he thought he had heard similar words when he was young.
His mood rose greatly by the letter from his daughter and he picked up the next letter.
The thick scroll that his wife sent most recently caught his eye.
He thought of his wife’s fresh face, younger than his daughter, and frowned slightly as he unfolded the thick letter.
Unlike her usual neat and tidy handwriting, it looked like she scribbled hastily.
There were also spots where ink seemed to have spilled as if she had spilled some water while writing.
But soon Caesar realized that it was not water that had spilled and bit his lips hard.
The atmosphere in the barracks changed in an instant.
Labienus was confused by the sudden chill and looked at Caesar’s face.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
Caesar’s eyes were fixed on his wife’s letter as if they were nailed, and he did not say a word.
No, he did not even blink his eyes.
“Caesar?”
“…I want to be alone. Come back in an hour.”
Caesar spoke in a tone that was no different from usual.
But Labienus, who had watched him for a long time, noticed that Caesar’s voice trembled slightly.
Labienus had never seen him like this before.
Labienus did not ask any questions and got up from his seat and left the barracks.
A drop of ink fell from the pen that was writing the report until a moment ago.
When there was no one in the barracks, Caesar put down the letter and covered his eyes with his hand.
He wished that the letter he had just read was a lie.
How nice it would be if he was too tired and saw something wrong.
But no matter how many times he looked, the content of the letter did not change.
He even slapped his cheek hoping it was a dream, but only the pain on his face was vivid.
Caesar stared blankly at a phrase in his wife’s tear-stained letter, trembling his lips.
<Oh, Caesar. What should I do? Mother has passed away.>
Caesar’s mother Aurelia was already over seventy years old.
Considering the lifespan of ancient people, she was an age that could be considered to have lived a thousand years.
Caesar did not know, but Aurelia lived two years longer than in actual history.
It was because she did not suffer from mental pain due to Julia’s death.
But no words could comfort Caesar.
His mother had died.
She was his mother who had refused to remarry despite receiving countless proposals after losing her husband in her early twenties, and only looked at her son.
She devoted her entire life to her son from beginning to end.
Caesar was prepared for this to happen considering Aurelia’s age.
But he never imagined that he would hear the news of her death when he had successfully completed all his expeditions.
He wandered around the barracks for a long time to calm his emotions and barely managed to read the next part of his wife’s letter.
<Mother’s last moments were peaceful. The gods must have favored her too. She showed no signs of pain. She left her last will clearly in front of me and the Vestal Virgins. The words about you came last, and she said ‘Caesar, I was happy to be your mother.’
And then she closed her eyes and quietly passed away. Father will be responsible and prepare for the funeral. The populist also said they would pay attention as much as any other person, so don’t worry. The gods always give great trials and sorrows to those who will become heroes. I hope today’s sadness does not hurt your heart too much and leads to tomorrow’s glory.>
After reading all the contents, Caesar quietly put down the letter on the desk.
He tried to reach for the letter that his mother had sent two months ago several times, but repeated to stop himself.
“I only gave you troubles all my life, but you were happy… You’re hurting me more.”
He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and tears welled up.
That was the last tear Caesar shed.
He folded the letter that Aurelia had sent and carefully put it in his purple-striped toga.
When Labienus came back into the barracks, Caesar was back to his usual self.
“It seems you received bad news.”
“Mother has passed away.”
“Ah… That’s… regrettable. I express my condolences.”
Labienus bowed his head, not knowing what to do.
“It’s okay. Mother lived more than 10 years longer than others.”
“There must be a place for her next to the great gods. She was an inspiration for all Roman noblewomen.”
“Thank you for saying that. By the way, about our legion’s policy. I just decided for sure. I’ll give orders to the legionnaires right now, so tell them to gather here. We’re going back to Rome.”
Labienus asked with a worried face at Caesar’s decision.
“Are you making an impulsive decision?”
“Do I look like I can’t make a rational judgment because I’m drowned in grief?”
“That’s not it. But didn’t you worry earlier that the optimates would cling and drag you down?”
“I did. But now that this letter has arrived, the situation has changed.”
Labienus scratched his head and tilted his head as if puzzled.
Caesar did not blame him and kindly explained his plan in detail.
“The hero who brought great benefits to Rome is not even attending his mother’s funeral. It’s Rome’s law, so there’s nothing we can do about it. But Pompey already made an exception, and I’m also someone who can claim that qualification. But do you think the optimates can oppose it openly? In a little while, my personal matter will spread throughout Rome and win the sympathy of the citizens.”
“…They can’t. Even if they try to oppose it, they’ll get booed for not knowing how to choose their time and situation.”
Labienus secretly stuck out his tongue at Caesar’s plan.
How long has it been since he heard the news of his mother’s death and he thinks of using it for his own benefit?
At first glance, it seemed like a madness, but Labienus knew it was not.
Aurelia lived for Caesar and thought of her son until the moment she closed her eyes.
If her death news could create a situation that was even a little favorable for Caesar, she would be happier than anyone else.
“I have the right to preside over the ceremony for the person who left the world as the highest official. If the optimates don’t read the mood and get in the way… I’ll teach them a thorough lesson that they should choose their time and place this time.”
“I will follow the imperator’s will.”
“Good, then call the legionnaires before you call Curio. I need to write a letter to send to the Senate.”
Labienus did not hesitate and ran out of the barracks.
And a few minutes later, Curio, who was appointed as Caesar’s spokesman, drove his horse at full speed and left the camp for Rome.
Caesar’s legion, which sent Curio first, slowly descended to northern Italy, Gaul Cisalpina.
At almost the same time, Pompey, who returned to Rome, was surrounded by tremendous cheers and prepared for a triumph.
Marcus, who left Parthia and returned to Antioch around the same time, also arranged a ship to go to Brundisium.
The three huge storms that swept the western world were slowly narrowing their distance toward the eye of the storm, which had been the only one out of their influence until now.
< 153. Back to Rome > End
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