"Legal, litigation, and civil property disputes. Let's explore these specific questions. ”

In the bright light, Appis sat in a chair in the middle of the Great Hall, and spoke solemnly about one topic after another. Obviously, this meeting was carefully prepared by Appis, and the content of the discussion was almost all about the most practical social contradictions and problems of the moment. In other words, the strips are dry goods. This made many officials present dumbfounded. It seems that their workload will be doubled next...... The days of leisure have come to an end.

"The law must be perfected. All loans must be signed by the borrower himself, with a fingerprint, and a citizen above the knight level must be accompanied by a ring drawing. Only if all three pieces of evidence are present can the lender lend the loan to the borrower. And, unless the borrower transfers the funds to the dependents, the dependents should not be liable. This is easier said than done, and I am well prepared, but it still has to be implemented. The law must be improved, albeit with great difficulty. ”

The difficulty that Appis said was understood by everyone as soon as they heard it. If the former article is implemented, it can still be operated, but the latter article will be difficult. In the end, many creditors could not find the borrower, so they took the borrower's family and forced the borrower to show up and repay the debt. Although ancient Rome was ahead of other kingdoms of the era in terms of legal construction, many private loans were actually full of brutality and blood. Although loan sharks have a bad reputation in society, it is normal for gangsters to force them to repay their debts. After Caesar unified Rome, he once regulated the maximum interest rate for private loans, but in the end, before this policy could be fully implemented, the great emperor was assassinated. Appis now reintroduced the bill and demanded that the borrower's family not be held liable without their knowledge, in effect protecting the interests of the common people, since the lenders were mostly nobles or wealthy knights and merchants. So, the resistance is huge. Moreover, in order to be implemented, security forces must be sent to protect the families of borrowers. It's scary to think about how much resistance there is to implementation. But it still has to be implemented, even if it's just a little bit of an attempt.

"I know what you're worried about. We will encounter great resistance, but in order to solve a series of social contradictions, we must grit our teeth and carry it out. Even if it will offend the interests of some people. Gaul had to be reformed, or the problems here would destroy us before Rome was unified. Look at the bloodshed that happens on the streets every day, it's worse than we think. The reform must continue, and only if the people of Rome, the people of Italy, see the advancedness, the superiority of our law, and the future, will they support us. War is the last resort, and the lowest means, and it is best if it can solve the problem without bloodshed. ”

Appis continued. And some officials have begun to sit still, fearing that if such a policy is implemented, the society will be more unstable, and even interest groups will unite against the Lugdurum government.

However, for the sake of the smooth progress of the reform, Apis was also prepared for the worst, and the cabinet behind him, as well as the heavily armed Roman Janissaries outside the Great Hall, were actually prepared for this before the implementation of the reform. Levius suddenly admired the Roman in the prime of life in front of him. Every step he takes is purposeful and intentional, not just superficial. Just like in the next big game of chess, each move is carefully planned, prepared, cast the net, laid out, then proceeded, and finally closed the net. He set up a cabinet and a Praetorian Guard, and then went to Spain and Aphilia, and used his time in the south to train the cabinet's ability to manage administrative work, and to train the Praetorian Guard's actual combat ability with the Praetorian Guard. Then, conquest and war brought slaves, so that the nobility could buy cheaper slaves, pleasing the nobility, and then began a new round of reform. Supporting the transformation of civilians who contracted land. Balance the interests of all parties.

During this period, an efficient cabinet and a Praetorian Guard corps with actual combat experience were trained to withstand many unexpected situations at that time. The failure of countless reform experiments over the years has taught Appis to be patient and take precautions. As for why the reforms were introduced at this time, because by this time, Octavian's threat had basically been lifted, and Antony's confrontation with him in Italy made it impossible for him to withdraw and peek north. And Agrippa has been captured, there are no generals, even if Octavian defeats Antony, it will be difficult to go to the north and defeat his own legions, only need to let Maxim lead the team to the front, it is enough to deal with Octavieturius, who has no military talent. External stability gives internal problems a chance and time to be resolved.

"So, are these revised laws going to be posted and announced?"

Maxwell then asked.

"Of course, we have to follow tradition, and all the laws that have been changed must be posted and published, and many of these laws have been changed in the interest of the common people, so that the people can see that we care about their suffering. You know, many of the residents of Lugdurum immigrated from Rome and Italy, and they care about the change of living environment, and they come here because they want a better life, otherwise, there is no need to travel far from home to this place that is not prosperous. ”

Apis replied dullly. And, without waiting for others to come up with their opinions, we moved on to the next topic—

"When the law has been changed, the corresponding provisions for the execution of the law must also be perfected. As we all know, when the commoners of Rome encountered lawsuits, it was usually the commoners who sued the commoners, the commoners who sued the commoners, and the commoners who rarely sued the nobles, why? Could it be that the commoners and the nobility have never been at odds? No, on the contrary, the most contradictory contradiction is often the contradiction between the commoner and the aristocracy. But many commoners were reluctant to sue the nobles, or were intimidated, or knew they could not win against the nobles. The aristocracy was backed by abundant wealth and even power, and many of the nobles themselves held some official positions in the city, as well as other people in the family, or bribed some of them to the judges, and the lawsuit was over. In the face of the law, the common people are always on the weak side. And what we need to do, what we want to change, is this situation. We must set up an official lawyer's body to help civilians who cannot afford a lawyer to fight and defend themselves. These lawyers will be drawn from all walks of life, and the costs of defence and prosecution will be provided by the Treasury. Of course, the identity and assets of these civilians must be reviewed and it is determined that they do not have sufficient funds to hire a lawyer before this assistance can be implemented. ”

As soon as Appis finished speaking, the audience was in an uproar again. Obviously, these policies are so incredible that they are simply a clear incompatibility with the aristocratic class.

"I say it bluntly, Appis, if all of the above are implemented, I'm afraid some people will be dissatisfied."

Attorney Urinas said tactfully. And some of the people he is referring to, not to mention, everyone knows who they are referring to.

"Dissatisfaction is inevitable, but it cannot be stagnant because of the dissatisfaction of some people, and Caesar's reforms of that year also caused discontent among the aristocracy, and it has been proved that nothing cannot be overcome as long as you take a firm stance, but the implementation process should be carried out gently. Don't implement it all at once, it will offend the interests of too many people, some regulations are just superficial articles, and you can discuss practical problems. ”

Appis replied with a strange smile. Now, Levius understood the meaning. For example, the law just mentioned can actually operate a lot of space, helping civilians hire lawyers to fight lawsuits, but it does not stipulate what kind of lawyer to hire, and the price difference between a good lawyer and a bad lawyer is even several times, and the result is naturally self-evident when it comes to defense, so if you encounter a strong force obstruction, and you have to give an explanation to the civilian, at this time, you can make a fuss outside the provisions of the law. In other words, these laws were ostensibly for the common people, but behind the scenes, there was a lot of room for manipulation, and Apis deliberately made loopholes in the provisions of the law in order to make their implementation more flexible. Boiling frogs in warm water, many things need a process, and large-scale propaganda is just another means to win over the hearts of the people.