Chapter 170: Clouds over Egypt
< 170. Clouds over Egypt >
Cleopatra and Arsinoe did not hesitate to tear down the customs of Alexandria.
Actually, that was an exaggeration.
What they did was mostly reviving the old traditions of Egypt.
Of course, they did not change everything to the Egyptian style.
The most important thing when taking action was to have a good justification.
Cleopatra knew that well from watching Marcus handle his affairs.
The parts where Cleopatra revived the Egyptian traditions were mostly areas that did not matter much.
The only exception was the royal attire and ceremonies, but most of the citizens did not know what was going on inside the palace.
Cleopatra followed Octavius’s advice and took the initiative before the Macedonian faction could incite the people.
The herald Apollodorus, dressed in traditional Egyptian clothing, promoted the new policies of the Pharaohs every day in the square.
“From now on, the poor of Alexandria will receive the minimum amount of food they need to survive. The two Pharaohs, who are the incarnations of Horus and the daughters of Amun-Ra, have declared that they will no longer tolerate the sight of their people struggling in poverty.”
“Wow!”
“Great Pharaohs!”
Needless to say, there were more poor people than rich people in the world.
The new policies of the Pharaohs received absolute support from the poor of Alexandria.
And they did not just spend money for the poor.
They also provided entertainment for the people, suppressing their discontent.
Naturally, all this was copied from what they had seen and heard in Rome.
Cleopatra studied with Cicero at his house and had deep discussions with him.
Although Cicero was a bit self-indulgent and emotional, he was one of the best scholars in Rome, recognized by everyone.
The experience of talking with him every day was invaluable for Cleopatra.
Politics was a kind of engineering that ran on sophisticated calculations and formulas, even if it did not seem so.
There were limits to relying on innate intuition and intelligence.
Cleopatra’s insight was much deeper than in the original history, having experienced two different political systems: monarchy and republic.
Octavius, who debated with her every day in the palace, often admired her talent.
Arsinoe sometimes felt left out of their conversations and threw a tantrum, but Octavius patiently explained to her and she eventually understood.
“So, what are we going to discuss today? You said you were going to change the way officials are appointed?”
In the luxurious palace garden where the sun shone brightly, Arsinoe asked in fluent Latin.
“Yes. We need to completely change the way officials are selected.”
Cleopatra also answered in Latin.
They were talking like this not to accommodate Octavius.
It was because if they used Greek, there was a chance that the content would leak out through the mouths of the soldiers or heralds who served them.
It would be awkward to dismiss everyone and have a secret meeting with just three people every day.
So they just talked openly in Latin in front of everyone.
“By the way, how do you select officials in Egypt?”
“It’s a lottery system among the candidates. Of course, only those with high-ranking Macedonian blood can enter as candidates.”
“…You mean you draw lots for officials? The Pharaohs don’t appoint them?”
“Of course we have positions that we can appoint. But positions like recorders, accountants, judges or arbitrators are all drawn by lot. That’s how Alexandria works.”
Octavius looked at Cleopatra as if he thought Arsinoe had misunderstood something.
When Cleopatra nodded her head to confirm that Arsinoe was right, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“I’ve heard that some city-states in Greece divided their positions by lot, but Egypt… Well, it’s cheaper than elections. So how are you going to change this? Are you going to appoint them all yourself?”
“No. That would make me look like I’m oppressing the Macedonian faction too much. So I’m going to introduce elections,”
Arsinoe cautiously raised an objection to Cleopatra’s bold declaration.
“Do you think it’s possible? This is not Rome…”
“It’s possible enough. First of all, we’ll leave the positions that we can appoint as they are. The positions that will be subject to elections are only those that are currently drawn by lot. And we have enough justification. It’s absurd to decide important positions in Egypt by lottery.”
“That’s not bad. Most of the citizens of Alexandria will like it. They will feel like they have some choice. And if I may advise you, you can easily win their support by giving examples of how the lottery was rigged as a harm of the draw.”
“That’s a good idea. And I think the candidates who are confident of winning the election will lean towards approval. The ones who oppose will be mostly those who have no reputation or wealth. Naturally, there will be divisions among the upper class. That’s what I’m really aiming for.”
“I think it’s a good move. But what about the scope of suffrage? If you make voting exclusive to the citizens of Alexandria, the native Egyptians who are now hopeful will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you give them suffrage, the citizens of Alexandria will be displeased.”
Octavius’s point was valid.
But Cleopatra had already anticipated that and gave an immediate answer.
“I’ll give suffrage and citizenship in different levels. Rome does that, right? The vote of a rich person is not equal to the vote of a poor person. I’ll use that as a reference and give suffrage to the Egyptian hybrids and natives, but make sure that most of the results are decided before they exercise their rights.”
Octavius was quite surprised this time.
The remark he had just made was something that only a person who had studied the Roman electoral system in depth could say.
“I look forward to seeing what kind of Egypt you will create, Cleopatra. I will do my best to help you, even though I am powerless.”
“If you sincerely help us, I will feel reassured. Please don’t have any other thoughts and lend us your wisdom as best as you can.”
“I don’t understand why you sometimes warn me, but I am completely on your side. After all, if I distance myself from the two of you who are favored by Marcus, it would not benefit me at all.”
Octavius’s clever attitude made Arsinoe tilt her head and ask Cleopatra.
“What’s wrong, did you doubt Octavius? Why are you so suspicious of such a nice kid?”
“I didn’t doubt him. It’s just that he’s smart but still young… He might make mistakes or go astray, so I don’t want him to rush ahead and trip over himself.”
“Oh, I see, is that so.”
As Arsinoe nodded her head peacefully, Octavius and Cleopatra’s eyes met with her in between.
The eyes of the young boy looked so innocent that Cleopatra wondered if she had overreacted.
In fact, Cleopatra’s suspicion that Octavius might have some hidden agenda was nothing more than a guess.
So far, Octavius had not shown any signs of such behavior, let alone any strange hints.
‘…Maybe I’m just being too paranoid?’
Cleopatra didn’t know why she was so conscious of Octavius.
They were not on bad terms and they communicated well, but she just felt uneasy.
To put it bluntly, it felt like their personalities didn’t match well.
In the end, Cleopatra suppressed her complicated feelings by gulping down wine.
But even then, she couldn’t take her eyes off Octavius’s face as he talked with Arsinoe for a long time.
※※※
Regardless of Cleopatra’s check on Octavius, the situation in Egypt went as expected.
The citizens gave their unconditional support to the two pharaohs’ reform policies that were friendly to them.
Especially the poor class who worried about their daily meals became loyal followers of the pharaohs.
And as the lives of the poor stabilized, the various accidents that occurred in the city also noticeably decreased in frequency.
On top of that, Octavius asked Arsinoe to spread a rumor naturally.
The rumor was that the reason why the pharaohs could implement such friendly policies for the people was entirely thanks to Marcus, the governor of the East.
This was not just a baseless rumor, but a solid fact.
Marcus had conquered the Mesopotamian plain and developed new farming and irrigation methods, which increased Rome’s food production immensely.
Thanks to that, the amount of food that Egypt had to sell to Rome at a low price also decreased significantly.
The trade route through the Red Sea was completely stabilized, which boosted the economic activities of the merchants.
Above all, Marcus was on friendly terms with the pharaohs, so there was a hopeful speculation that Egypt would continue to enjoy many benefits in the future.
So it was inevitable that most of Egypt supported the current pharaohs.
But in contrast, the resentment of the Macedonian elite grew worse day by day.
Not that they were in a situation where they could do anything right now.
Rather, they were tormented by nightmares every day.
In their dreams, the two pharaohs betrayed Alexandria and gave it to Marcus.
Marcus led his well-trained Roman legions and stormed into Alexandria.
The pearl of the Mediterranean, Alexandria, burned and Roman flags fluttered above it.
The pharaohs dressed in Egyptian costumes flaunted their arrogance next to Marcus without any shame.
Marcus sentenced the Macedonian nobles to death with the pharaohs on his sides.
The Roman soldiers with cold weapons mercilessly cut off the necks of the nobles.
“Ugh! No, no!”
The nobles woke up with cold sweat and checked if their children’s necks were still attached every dawn.
All they could do was gather with others who were in similar situations and exchange opinions.
The nobles who had dark eyes beat their chests as if they were frustrated and drank only sour wine.
“We can’t live like this anymore. The pharaoh has been pressuring us day after day…”
“Does anyone have a good idea? I can’t sleep because I’m worried that our generation will end Macedonia’s legacy.”
The nobles felt more and more that Cleopatra was trying to get rid of them.
At first, they thought it was just a trick to ignore the tradition of Macedonia and win the hearts of the native Egyptians.
But it was not just that.
As the reform progressed, there was no evidence, but the suspicion became more and more certain.
The only ones who were isolated in Egypt now were not of Macedonian descent.
Only the high-ranking nobles of Macedonian blood were gradually pushed away from the mainstream.
“We should have all opposed it when they said they would hold an election…”
Some of the influential nobles who had supported the electoral system blushed and avoided their eyes at the muttering of a noble.
The judge who had met Cleopatra a while ago and returned without any gain sighed and looked around.
The faces gathered here were clearly the ones who were at the center of Alexandria.
Until recently, whenever they had a meeting, the place was packed with people.
But now, some of them had stopped attending.
They didn’t have to see it for themselves to guess where they had gone.
The judge gritted his teeth and pointed at an empty seat.
“So Ganymedes has decided to pledge his loyalty to the pharaoh, huh?”
“It’s stupid to suck up to the pharaoh now. He won’t give up any of his power anyway.”
The archivist who was in charge of the royal records rubbed his irritated eyes and asked Achillas, who had command of the army.
“Do you think there is a chance that the pharaoh will listen to us if we show our strength?”
Everyone’s hopeful eyes focused on Achillas.
Achillas shook his head slightly with a bitter expression and sighed.
“I’m sorry, but the chances are low. There are already some generals who have sided with them. Even if we mobilize our troops, we can’t overwhelm them by much. And if we raise an army, that’s treason. Marcus’s Roman legions will come down to Alexandria as if they were waiting for it.”
“Damn Rome. They are the biggest problem. At least the previous generation didn’t act so brazenly because Rome had their back…”
“Cleopatra has a much bigger ambition than the previous generation. She must be planning to take over Egypt’s power by excluding us all. What’s the point of electing officials through an election? She’ll just put her followers on the ballot anyway.”
The angry nobles didn’t hesitate to condemn the pharaoh.
But none of them dared to challenge the pharaoh in public.
They would have to face Rome and the people as enemies if they did.
The judge who had been silent for a while opened his mouth cautiously.
“What if we can’t do it alone? What if we bring in some allies? Sextus Pompey, the second son of Pompey, has come up from Acre to congratulate you on your coronation.”
The archivist replied with a negative tone. It was a voice full of reluctance.
“Didn’t you see what happened to those who conspired with his elder brother? The second son is in power now thanks to his brother’s mistake. I don’t think he’ll make the same mistake.”
“Then the only thing left is to harass the two pharaohs?”
“Yes. That’s still the only solution. It’s hard, but it’s not impossible.”
“They say Marcus doesn’t care much about Egypt right now and is more interested in other matters. We should take advantage of this opportunity. There’s a Roman boy who follows the two pharaohs around. Maybe we can use him. Someone should try to contact him.”
The archivist nodded slowly, recalling Octavius’s neat face.
“He might be the clue to solving this situation. I’ll try all possible means. Cleopatra might be difficult, but Arsinoe might listen to us if we do well.”
The nobles who refused to give up their power put their heads together and devised a plan step by step.
They wouldn’t back down easily.
The power struggle that was going on under the surface was fierce even before the real curtain rose.
Meanwhile, as the nobles were having a secret meeting, Cleopatra received an unexpected visit.
Sextus Pompey, who had also been mentioned by the nobles, requested a private meeting with Cleopatra.
“I received your congratulatory gift well. Please tell your father thank you.”
“Yes. My father also wanted to attend the funeral of the previous pharaoh who helped him in his expedition and express his condolences. But he couldn’t make it due to unavoidable circumstances, so I apologize once again.”
“There’s no need to apologize. It was a sudden funeral, so it’s not unreasonable that he couldn’t attend. Instead, he sent you and such a generous gift, so I should be grateful.”
Sextus bowed his head with an emotional face.
After exchanging formal greetings, Cleopatra tapped her throne lightly and asked Sextus what his real purpose was for coming to Alexandria.
“But if you just wanted to deliver a gift, you could have sent an envoy instead of coming yourself? I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but I have a lot of problems to deal with right now and I can’t afford to spare much time.”
She pressured him to get to the point without beating around the bush.
Sextus looked around and opened his mouth cautiously.
“Please don’t misunderstand me and listen first. Unlike my foolish brother, I have no intention of opposing Marcus.”
“That’s natural, since you saw what happened to Gnaeus.”
“Yes. Once again, I’m saying this as a premise. Pharaoh, won’t you form a cooperative relationship with me?”
‘What is this…’
Cleopatra’s eyes showed a thin tremor at the unexpected request.
< 170. The Clouds Looming Over Egypt > End
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