Chapter 182: Waves of Revolution
< 182. Waves of Revolution >
“Then we will adopt Cato’s proposal for the food distribution issue.”
The booming voice of the consul, Aemilius Lepidus Pius, echoed in the newly expanded senate house.
It was a building that Marcus had built to restore the dignity of the senate.
It was more magnificent and spacious than before, enough to overlook the whole of Rome.
Considering the conservative tendencies of the elders, he had also placed sculptures that were at least 100 years old.
Marcus had renovated the senate house because he believed that Rome should look more splendid than cities like Athens, Alexandria, or Antioch.
Rome, the center of the world, and the senate house that led Rome, had to have a dignity that matched them.
Marcus’s argument received a lot of support from the conservative elders.
The new senate house was much larger than before, so it could accommodate more people.
The senators were happy to use the space more comfortably, but it was a design that also considered the possibility of increasing the number of senators in the future.
Marcus decided to spend some money and renovate the forum beyond the senate house as well.
He paved marble on the vacant lot, and erected eye-catching statues and pillars on all sides.
In the center fountain, he placed nymph statues made by famous artists with great care.
At first, the senators were suspicious of his intentions, but they were greatly satisfied with the majesty of the completed senate house.
In fact, the number of travelers and merchants coming to Rome from the wealthy east was increasing day by day.
They often ridiculed the senate house as a shabby place.
It was a huge insult to the proud elders that Rome was regarded as a barbarian with only strength.
Fortunately, the newly completed senate house was so majestic that even the arrogant rich men of Alexandria would stick out their tongues.
Marcus strengthened his influence again by establishing the prestige of the senate in these small places.
Sextus sneaked up and sat next to him, who was leisurely watching the progress of the meeting from behind.
“Are you not going to express your opinion at this meeting?”
“The meeting of the senate should be led by the consul. I intervened too much before, so it’s better to have a cooling-off period like this. This way, they won’t suspect me if I keep some distance from them.”
“But didn’t you propose the initial plans for expanding food distribution and building a library? It might look like other senators are taking credit for your work.”
“That’s why it’s better. The people and nobles are not fools. They know who is really leading these projects, no matter what name is attached to them.”
Sextus tilted his head with a vague expression.
Marcus sighed inwardly at Sextus’s reaction.
At Pompey’s request, he agreed to look after Sextus for two years.
The rumor that Marcus recognized Sextus as Pompey’s successor had a tremendous impact.
The governors who were looking around immediately bowed their heads to Sextus and pledged their loyalty.
They were people who had been evasive even when he visited them personally.
They changed their attitude as soon as they sensed that Marcus was on his side.
Sextus felt the harshness of reality.
He decided that it was time to lie low for now.
He deliberately stuck to Marcus’s side and asked for his advice on almost every issue.
It was more to show his friendship with Marcus than to really need help.
Marcus knew this too, but he still gave him sincere guidance.
But as he spent more time with him, he naturally got an estimate of how much Sextus could handle.
He couldn’t help but compare him with Octavius, who was improving every day.
Even now, it was like that.
If it were Octavius, he would have understood what Marcus intended and raised more advanced questions or topics for discussion.
Sextus couldn’t expect such a brilliant talent from him.
Of course, Sextus was not incompetent or mediocre at all.
He was a capable young man who could hold a decent position in the future.
But if he asked if he had enough capacity to succeed Pompey, he couldn’t answer with certainty.
He had a good head and drive, but that was it.
Pompey had a military talent that compensated for his relatively weak political skills, but Sextus was a bit mediocre in that regard too.
Especially since Caesar’s Germanic expedition was almost over already.
What if Caesar returned to Rome and faced Sextus?
He could easily imagine what he would think.
‘I need to prepare some more safety measures.’
As Marcus pondered over various problems that would come up in the future, Aemilius’s loud voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Marcus Mesopotamicus, would you please explain to the elders the new form of books that will be placed in the library?”
“Of course.”
Marcus stood up from his seat for the first time at today’s meeting and exercised his right to speak.
He showed them a sample of a book that was different from the scrolls that people usually used.
It was a codex book that bound sheets together and allowed them to be turned over one by one.
This was not something that Marcus had invented.
Historically, the codex was introduced to Rome around the first century AD.
But the Romans preferred to use scrolls that they were familiar with, and it took hundreds of years for the codex to become mainstream.
Marcus planned to completely change the standard of books from scrolls to codices by using the opportunity of building a library.
He looked around the senators and explained why they had to fill the library with this new form of books.
“First of all, I think many of you have already seen this codex book. I have also been using scrolls until now, but scrolls are not only less readable than codices, but also take too long to find the information you need.”
“But isn’t it too undignified for the elders of Rome to flip through the pages of a book like beggars?”
Vibullus showed his discomfort.
The reason why the Roman nobles preferred scrolls was not actually practical.
It looked too shabby to flip through a codex book compared to reading a scroll.
It seemed like a silly reason, but appearance was very important in the ancient society that valued dignity.
Knowing this well, Marcus did not emphasize only the practical aspects and suppress the opinions of other senators.
“I see your point. I also think that general books should have some elegance, not just reports.
But we have to consider the realistic problems. The new Marcus Library that is being built will have more books than even the Alexandria Library.
Thanks to the paper and printing press that I developed, the price of books has become cheaper, but we still can’t ignore the economic aspect. Codices can record characters on both sides, so they are much cheaper than scrolls, and they are also easier to distinguish from other documents. Naturally, they are also easier to store.”
“Hmm… If that’s the reason, then we have no choice.”
Marcus also explained many other issues related to the construction of the library one by one.
The senators all agreed that Rome needed a large library as well.
Especially scholars like Cicero and Cato welcomed it with open arms and looked around with fiery eyes to see if anyone would oppose it.
Marcus tied up several public policies at once and passed them together with the construction of the library.
First of all, the biggest enemy of maintaining a library was fire.
The city of Rome was prone to fire because of its high-rise buildings and insula houses that were crowded together.
There were firefighters, but they were not public servants, but rather private businesses that charged money to put out fires.
The Crassus family alone had a lot of private firefighters, and they had made a lot of money by using them.
Marcus argued that security and fire should be handled by the public sector for the benefit and advancement of society.
If it had been before, it would have been a nonsense that no one would listen to, but now Rome had enough budget to afford it.
He also increased the number of jurists to conduct trials more quickly, and clarified the scope of application of laws to make it harder for people to escape legal nets like eels.
Most of these issues were not led by Marcus as he said before.
Most of them were naturally derived from the process of senate meetings.
Marcus intended to propose agendas only when absolutely necessary.
For several months, Rome’s political situation was peaceful without any trouble.
The citizens marveled at the majesty of the huge library that was being built and eagerly waited for its completion.
He intended to watch the atmosphere for a while like this, but unexpectedly he had to step up sooner than he thought.
He convened a senate meeting after receiving a letter from Antioch.
The senators who saw Marcus sitting on his high seat felt that something very important would be discussed today.
Marcus confirmed that more than enough people were present and started the meeting.
“I think many of you are curious about why I convened this meeting.”
Marcus finished his prayer before starting the meeting as short as possible and went straight to the point.
“The delegation from Han arrived from where we agreed to exchange last year. They are not satisfied with just looking around Syria, but they want to see Rome in person. We have some time until they arrive in Rome by boat, so we need to check again on the scale and schedule of the welcome ceremony, as well as how to treat them.”
The senators looked at each other with embarrassed expressions.
Among them, there were few who knew exactly what country Han was and where it was attached.
Marcus had reported several times about related matters, but there was no serious discussion about it.
“I reported last year that I sent a delegation there. And I got an answer that I should handle it at my discretion.”
“Ah, is it that great country that is farther east than India?”
“I think we just decided to leave everything to Marcus because we were so busy at that time…”
The senators seemed to remember it as if they had just remembered it.
Marcus bit his tongue softly at their reaction.
“Han is the country with the strongest power in the far east. They have population, technology, and culture that are comparable to Rome, so we need to maintain a friendly relationship with them. Considering the distance between the two countries, there won’t be any direct conflict anyway.”
Cicero stood up as a representative and asked a question.
“Isn’t that the place where the silk fabric that is popular these days is produced?”
“That’s right. We mainly import silk from Han and they import wine and sugar from us.”
“Doesn’t that mean that the reason why the delegation came here is not simply to exchange friendship, but to dig out the sugar manufacturing method?”
“Maybe they have that purpose too. They won’t do anything obvious like trying to dig out the manufacturing method right away, but they might have some idea of getting a clue.”
Cato sneered and shook his head.
“Then isn’t it rather good? There is not a single person in Rome who knows the sugar manufacturing method… No, there is only one person.”
There was a burst of laughter among the senators.
As Cato said, sugar manufacturing was virtually monopolized by Marcus.
If Han had really wanted to get the sugar manufacturing method, it would have been better to search the East, but they had no way of knowing this fact.
This was not a matter of mocking Han’s ignorance.
It was common sense that usually the most information was concentrated in the capital of any country.
The delegation that Marcus sent to Han also went to the capital, Chang’an.
“Then there is no need to worry. Let’s treat the envoys from Han as the best guests and take them wherever they want to go. We just have to be considerate so that they can enjoy Rome’s culture as much as possible.”
Cicero smirked and winked as he said.
“After all, what are you worried about when you don’t know any secrets to leak even if you want to? It would be better to discuss what we can dig out from them instead.”
“I agree with that.”
Piso readily agreed with Cicero’s words.
Finally, Cato scratched his head and asked Marcus.
“By the way, who did you say was in charge of the delegation you sent to Han? Is he trustworthy?”
“I sent my brother Publius. He will probably come back with satisfactory results that you will all be happy with.”
< 182. Waves of Change > End
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