"Who are you, Secrius? The Triumvirate is bent on gaining your support and hopes that you will be on our side, but you, again and again, have done things for the Senate, and have repeatedly embarrassed Caesar and Pompey's side, you should not think that without you, Crassus, Caesar, Pompey they cannot achieve the final victory. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

The splendid mansion of Secrius, the always gentle and elegant Bartinius, who could not tolerate his repeated visits and exhaustion of his benefits, but the bad old man was always sneering and unwilling to cooperate with him. Like a clown flattering a noblewoman, only to be met with a look of disdain, Bartinius laughed at himself.

"Batinhos, my colleague, my friend. We used to be so close friends who talked about everything, when you were chased by creditors, it was I who took the initiative to take out my own money to settle those creditors' thugs for you, when you wanted to pursue Victoria, but suffered from no assets and identity, it was I who came out to contribute funds, and spoke for you, and said all the good words in front of Victoria, so that you could marry that woman. But what was our original ideal? What was our common pursuit? It's a republic! Rome has gone through the era of kingship, and everyone knows that a country cannot live without democracy for a day, and the Senate represents such a democracy, turn back, Batinius, it seems that we are still close friends, do not let me fight against you. Don't get carried away by your desires. ”

In the face of Batinus's gaffe yelling, Secrius also sincerely persuaded him. However, who cares whose feelings? Desire makes people lose themselves, and the environment makes people accustomed to the status quo, and numb their former wishes and ideals. When the aroma of wine and the softness of mink wear down the human will, what can remind one of those years of hard work? Those beautiful vows that were once made have long been corrupted by money and greed.

"There is no more republic, Secrius! Now is the age of giants, and the tomorrow of Rome will belong to one of Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, republic, forget about it. ”

Batinius continued to shout. The servants were already trembling outside the door. They don't know what's going to happen next? In recent days, there have been a lot of bloody cases in the city of Rome, and there is a lot of violence and bribery behind the scenes of those so-called democratic elections. Those who still want to stick to their beliefs and positions have long been buried by blood.

The whole city of Rome was bloody and bloody, but no one could see its dark tide on the surface.

"No, I will never compromise, I will fight for the cause of the republic all my life!"

Secrius stood up, his not majestic body was like a poplar tree in the twilight of his life, and although he had long been weathered on the outside, he was extremely pious and heartfelt on the inside. The elders of the Senate were powerless about what was happening in the city of Rome.

"Alright, alright, let's calm down. Let's talk about what democracy is. ”

Batinius suppressed his anger and gradually calmed down, as is the case in Rome when politicians talk about facts, and sometimes even in the lobby of the Senate, bloodshed is not news. People discuss their ideals together, but there will always be disputes, and when the conspiracy fails, all that remains is bloody and open violence.

"Senate, he represents the republic. He was the goal of countless Romans. ”

Secrius started with that.

"Okay, since you said that the Senate represents democracy, let's take a look at how many times in history have disputes in the Senate been caused by undemocratic and unfair disputes, and even bloodshed?"

Batinius took a sip of water and continued-

"The Senate in fact represented only the interests of the aristocratic class. Do you agree that the commoners and knights did not have much power to speak in the Senate? My dear friend, Secrius. ”

Seeing that the older senate member did not speak, Bartinius continued to ask—

"The entire Senate seems to have debated many topics for a long time, but in fact, there is only one core in the end, that is, when encountering things, whether to put the interests of the aristocracy first, or the interests of the commoners and the public. Secrius, my old friend, you say that the Senate is democratic and just, and I ask you, which side is the Senate on every time such a thing is to be discussed? What was the final outcome of the discussion? Eighty percent of the people in the Senate were nobles, and the result was obvious. Although there were tribunes, their term of office was only one year, and in a short period of time, how many people could really think about the common people of Rome? ”

Batinhos kept asking questions, pressing forward step by step. Secreus was speechless for a moment. This is no longer a matter of conspiracy power, but a fundamental question of Roman social governance, which is also a historical legacy. I have to deny that there is some truth in Batinhos's words.

"Well, Councillor Batinius, while there is some truth to what you say, the future of Rome must not be in the hands of a few, and that would be almost the same as going back to the days of kingship."

Secrius still insisted on his position, since the two could not distinguish between high and low in the conspiracy duel, and they each stood on their own positions emotionally, so they could only rely on debate.

"The times are calling for heroes, my Secrius. At the time of Pompey's crusade, there were many voices in the senate who objected, believing that he supported his own army and used his military power to threaten the fundamental system of Rome. Five years later, however, Pompey had not only defeated the pirates, but also opened up the trade routes. Also conquered dozens of tribes, towns in the East. Expanding the territory of Rome by a third, and doubling the revenues of the whole of Rome, how could such an achievement be achieved by the chatter and controversy of the Senate? ”

Battinius spoke with the facts, and continued to pound on the tense nerves of Secrius—

"History needs to move forward, and the times are different, and the system changes accordingly. In the past, Rome was only the size of a city-state, and the senate republic could handle the matter at hand, however, after centuries of expansion, Rome has now become a world power, such a large territory, complex affairs, the old system can no longer adapt to such a large country. So, we need heroes, and Pompey, Caesar, or Crassus are the masters of this era, and whoever can bring prosperity and prosperity to Rome is the master of this era. Moreover, from the point of view of war, the system of the Senate was only adapted to peacetime, but since the founding of Rome, how many years have been spent in peace? Few, very few, annual consuls, simply could not have so many wars. So Fabian was born, Scipio was born, Marius was born, Caesar and Pompey were born. So many facts have proven that Rome needed to change. My friend. ”

Battinius said everything in one go, and when he said everything, Secrius felt haggard, even if this was the reality, but the reality was not supposed to be like this, while the war brought great wealth to Rome, it also corroded the industrious and simple character of the people, and when the consuls left office and stopped cultivating the fields, the country had already embarked on the end of greed. Arrogance and lasciviousness are not eternal, after the gorgeous appearance, there is a crisis, a depravity.