"Mother, Appis now completely ignores my opinion, he spends his money without sparing, on Cicero, he doesn't know how much, but you know, Cicero is not worthy of such attention. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoHe's just a gossip politician who only deceives people with clever words. ”

In winter, when the charcoal is constantly burning in the warm fire, young Tertila snuggles up to his mother, Seville, and pours out the anger he has received at home these days. Appis's way of doing things had become unbearable for her. It's a family, but the two have many points of discord.

"My dear daughter, Apis is not such a simple man, he does everything with great thought, and his thinking is always ahead of his time, when he went around raising money to establish the Iris Guaranty Agency, many people also called him crazy, but after a few months, people saw the formation of a huge aristocracy. Even, it's a new industry. Cicero may have been a man of the wind and a politician who was not liked, but his reputation in the Senate was still very high. And, crucially, Cicero was the only one who was very close to both Caesar and Pompey, he was not offended on either side, and he was a good man on both sides, so Caesar needed him. Apis's investment in Cicero actually not only tied Cicero's interests to Caesar, but also, Apis paved the way for his own future, yes, if it went on like this, Cicero would be his best eyeliner in the Senate. It's a strategy that kills two birds with one stone, and it's a good strategy. My daughter, you can't see the inextricable connection behind it, but I can understand it. So, sometimes, you don't have to embarrass Appis too much. He does this, does that, and naturally has his ideas. ”

In the face of Tertira's coquettish confiding, Sevilla gently explained to her daughter. I have to say that there are many aristocratic women in the city of Rome, why did Caesar choose Seville as his lover? There's a reason for that. Men always have confidants, and Seville is wise and Caesar appreciates. And the complexity of Roman politics was far beyond Tertilla's imagination and understanding.

"I see...... However, I don't want such a complicated, intriguing life......"

After listening to her mother's answer, Tertila suddenly felt a feeling of remorse, however, the stubbornness in her heart made her look forward to another result.

Just after listening to his daughter's answer, Sevilla suddenly felt a sense of loss. At the beginning, he asked Appis to promise not to bring dirty politics to Tertilla. But how could Apis alone have such ability?

"But my daughter, you have no choice, Appis's abilities and his position in the legions doomed him to the shadow of Roman politics. I was still wrong, I underestimated Appis' prestige in the Legion, even though he was only twenty-six years old at the time. I should have thought that if you followed him, you would also be caught in the endless strife of the Roman upper class, and Apis also knew that his fate could not be chosen, so he had to fight, and every moment he had to watch out for those dark eyes hungry for power and wealth, alas, in short, I didn't want you to be polluted by politics, but the result is, born in such a family, you can't escape after all. ”

When Seville finished speaking, Tertilla looked very annoyed. She remembered that what Apis had said was almost the same as what her mother had said today. There is nothing wrong with the mother, she protects the family and prospers the family. She was one of the most illustrious and shrewd women in Rome.

……

"My friend, Cicero, the land near Port Corinth has doubled overnight, and the money we invested in the beginning will not only be recovered, but also a good profit."

"That is, my young fellow, you are simply the shrewdest merchant in Rome, those who trade in slaves and goods, and who have toiled all year without a tenth of what we have gained."

On the outskirts of Rome, in Cicero's private villa, Apis sat on an ornate chair carved with peacocks and talked to his friend Cicero. Compared to the city of Rome, a dozen miles away, the environment here is quiet and quiet, surrounded by greenery, and the stream is diverted, flowing through the courtyard of Cicero's mansion, and in the middle of the quiet courtyard, there is even a school of exotic fish brought from around the empire. Obviously, there is no better place to make small talk than here.

"My old friend, in fact, when I invested, I didn't intend to raise the price of the land there, only to let it appreciate naturally, but you know, since the last incident with the land in the slum of Pilia, almost overnight, all the nobles of Rome knew about our tricks, so you don't need to, but you can't do it."

Appis muttered.

"It's not worth blaming yourself, the laws of natural business, the law of the jungle, you didn't do anything wrong, Appis."

Cicero replied happily.

"There's something I want you to do with me."

Seeing that Cicero was in a happy mood, Apis threw out his plan at the right time.

"Say it."

"I think that next month I will take a tenth of all the profits we have in Corinth and hand them over to Domitius, the governor of Corinth."

"Why?"

After Appis finished speaking, Cicero turned his face in surprise and asked.

"Cicero, my old friend, let's put it this way, in Rome there are fewer and fewer areas and properties to invest in, and most business activities are starting to become more competitive. Corinth is a new Roman city, Caesar is going to build it into the largest port trade center in Greece, in the future, we will invest a lot in this city, and give some benefits to the local governor and administrator in due course, so that we can invest much easier overseas and in this city in the future, at least, not let the local officials come to us for trouble. Do you understand? Although you and I are one of the famous figures in Rome, we also have many enemies, and our investment is not a legitimate business to be honest, if we go too far, many people who oppose us will seize our handle, saying that Caesar told us the information in secret, so we have made a fortune, and even those who are jealous of us and want to defeat Caesar will say that Caesar is not building Rome, he is only planning for his own family interests. Yes, today, this has not happened, but I can't guarantee that it won't happen in the future. And bribing the local governor at the right time will also make us profit from our investment, and he will be more willing to open up a financial road for us. With just a little generous spending, you can save a lot of trouble in the later stage, so why not? ”

Appis said to Cicero with a smile.