One" Nevia. ”

"Oh, father......"

Walking through the courtyard of his home, Appis stopped Nevia, who was watching a slave performance. Tertila doesn't know where to go, so she can use this time to have a good talk with her daughter.

Nevia was happy to see her father coming, she was proud to have a "sensible" father, and Apis didn't put any pressure on her, including academics and socializing. Those who like to deal with each other will deal with them, and those who don't like to deal with them will not have to pay attention to them. This has allowed Nevia to live happily and carefree days all the time, and her only worry may be that she will worry about her father's safety when he goes out to fight.

"My daughter, look, you have grown into a little beauty now, as beautiful as your mother."

Looking at Nevia's young and beautiful appearance, Appis was quite gratified, and he had always hoped that his family would live a happy and happy life, and not follow his own old path. Now it seems that in addition to suffering with herself in her early years, Tertila is now living comfortably enough. And Nevia lives more freely than her peers.

"Nevia, I've always had a question for you."

Sitting with his daughter watching the slave show, Apis asked, consciously or unconsciously.

"Speak, Father."

"Father knows that you have always had a good relationship with Teretus and Tiberius, then, if you want, tell your father which one do you prefer? Or rather, who is more comfortable talking to you and them? Who are happier to be with? ”

Apis asked with a smile.

"Why do you ask? Father? ”

Being asked so suddenly and directly by Appis, Nevia looked a little embarrassed. But he soon let go of his heart and replied—

"If I had to choose, I would choose Tiberius. I prefer Tiberius to Teretus. ”

Nevia said, a girl's crimson cheeks on her face.

"Why?"

Appis continued to smile and asked.

"I can't say why, in short, it's just that I'm happier with him, and I'm more interested in chatting and playing."

Nevia replied innocently. At the age of fourteen, when a girl was in her teens, she was enthusiastic, innocent, and had a special curiosity and affection for boys. The first love was fifteen or sixteen years old, and seeing the performance of his daughter, Appis knew that Nevia liked Tiberius nine times out of ten. But Tiberius thought so too? Or was it at the behest of his mother? Appis didn't know that.

"Well, then you can always tell me how you felt with Teretus and Tiberius, right? Which of them is more cordial, and who leads the way when they play together? Who's making trouble? ”

Appis then went on to test his daughter.

"What it feels like to be together...... Tiberius would have been a little more gracious, he was more attentive and easy-going. Tretus was more of the eldest of the three of us, he always liked to be the leader, leading us here, where we went, doing this, doing that. Sometimes Tiberius didn't like it, so they fought, but Teretus was stronger and older, so Tiberius always couldn't beat him, he always compromised, and every time I was very ......angry."

Nevia said innocently as she ate the grapes. Appis, on the other hand, sat and "giggled" as his daughter recounted their childhood and teenage years.

……

"I'm going to take Tiberius as my adopted son, what do you think?"

In the evening, Tertilla returned from the street, and Appis had been waiting in the hall for a long time. He had to discuss this decision with his wife. Although it is okay to make your own decisions, but for the sake of respect Tertira. Because this matter also involves Nevia. their daughter.

"Tiberius? Oh! How did you suddenly think of recognizing this boy as an adopted son? His mother, Lilia, had proposed to us before, but you refused. ”

Tertila was visibly surprised by Appis's proposal. She didn't react for a while, wondering why her husband suddenly thought like this? Could it be related to this Germanic campaign? But all I heard was how Teretus behaved, and there was nothing to Tiberius about.

"Behold, my dear, we have no son, only one daughter. Rome has just been rebuilt, and in the future, both internally and externally, there will be great pressure, and the war will continue. The struggle will continue. I am about to be forty, and I will not be able to sit in the position of Roman ruler forever, and when we grow old, the country needs to be maintained, and our daughters need to be protected, look at Nevia now, she has grown up almost in a pure environment, she has not experienced the sinister of the human heart, how will she face the intricacies of struggle in the future? So, in the big picture, I need an heir, and in the small sense, we need someone to protect our family and protect our daughter for a long time to come. ”

Appis walked over, sat down beside Tertilla, and said softly. This decision was indeed unexpected, and Appis guessed, and even Tiberius himself did not expect that he would be noticed and appreciated, and that he had achieved almost nothing in the campaign to destroy the Germanic peoples. If there is an heir, it should be Traitus.

"But why Tiberius? Is Tretus bad? I have heard that Teretus was very conspicuous and brilliant in this Germanic campaign, while Tiberius was like a child, hiding behind his soldiers and not daring to attack, and he was unknown. Gone unnoticed. ”

Tertilla reluctantly accepted the idea that Apis wanted an heir, but why Tiberius? Tertira couldn't understand this.

"Why Tiberius? Well, that's what I'm going to focus on you today. Rome is no longer the Rome of the past, and the current Rome, except for major reforms and changes, other affairs are basically my final say, to put it bluntly, it is a dictatorship, but everyone is unwilling to pierce this layer of paper. In the future, the heir must also be in this position, maintaining and ruling Rome well. So, what kind of qualities are needed to maintain this vast empire? It is not the so-called benevolence and kindness, but the insight to judge the situation and the ability to deal with problems decisively. I saw this in this battle, and everyone praised Teretus for his intelligence and bravery, but if the situation had been me, I would have taken Tiberius's advice, because that was the definitive way to settle the rebellion, and a great power could not always rely on bribery to achieve victory. As for cruelty, dictators sometimes have to be cruel in order to make the country strong, so that they can achieve something. Before there is no way to solve the problem of the distribution of interests of the nobles, the brutal suppression of foreign races may be the best way, if we are too strong and deal with all the nobles who make trouble, then the other nobles will unite, and there are thousands of nobles in Rome, and we may be overthrown and tripped up at that time. So to run the country, you need to find a good balance between the two. Tiberius had this in mind. ”

Sitting beside Tertilla, Appis spoke slowly. But after saying that, Tertira was obviously still a little dissatisfied.

"You're right, I understand. But I always feel like it's too early to make an heir......"

Tertilla was still muttering.

"Not early at all, my wife. When Octavian was a child, Caesar chose him as his heir. As a result, Octavian was grateful to Caesar from the bottom of his heart for his respect and appreciation, and he was also loyal to Caesar. Vowed to the death to fulfill his wish. This is what holds people's hearts. Although Tiberius is young now, it is the best time to appoint an heir. He was at a crossroads in his life, full of confusion and confusion. I will lead him to the path of life, like his mentor and guide, and even like his father, what does that mean for a boy who is only fifteen years old, you say? He will, of course, be fully grateful and loyal to us. ”

Seeing that Tertilla was still a little entangled, Apis took a small sip of water and continued—

"Actually, there's another reason I didn't tell you. Our daughter, Nevia, loves Tiberius. ”

"What? Did she tell you? ”

Tertila was surprised.

"Yes, that's one of the reasons why I finally decided to choose Tiberius as my heir."

Appis stood up, worried. And continued—

But there is a question, why did Tiberius have these ideas at such a young age? I suspect his mother, Lilia, did it. Lilia seems to be a quiet woman, but we don't know what kind of scheming she actually has. Perhaps Tiberius was born with such qualities and insight. However, we must guard against all unknown risks. In order to isolate this risk, I will deliberately take Tiberius with me in the future, to cut off his contact with Lilia. ”