In the 12th year of Hongwu, that is, in 312 AD, Constantine the Great, the future overlord of the West, finally ascended to the throne he dreamed of and became the true overlord of the West. He was six years older than Sima Shu in age, but their origins and experiences were similar, and Constantine's mother, Helena, was also from humble origins.

Constantine's current Helena came from humble beginnings, she was originally a waitress in an inn or tavern, and it was at the place where she worked that she first met Constantine's father, Tius. Where, or when, after their first encounter, Helena must have joined Constantius' military career.

From 271 AD onwards, Constantius's career began to flourish. First he served as an imperial chamberlain under the Eastern Emperor Aurelian, and later rose to the rank of tribune.

Between 284 and 285 AD he was a Guardian of Dalmatia (a provincial governor of a lower rank than a consul).

Between 258 and 293 AD, he was captain of Maximian's Praetorian Guard.

Thereafter, Constantine's father, Constantius, was promoted to Caesar on March l, 293.

However, Constantinetius's promotion to Caesar did not bring any glory to Helena's mother and son, because his father abandoned them for the sake of power and married Theodora, the daughter of Maximian.

Constantius then retained Gaul and Britain as one of the four emperors and gained control of Spain.

Italy, Africa and Pannonia were divided among Severus.

Galerius chose Asia Minor and the Balkans beyond Pannonia.

The eastern provinces were assigned to Maximinus? Daya.

However, relations between the four emperors were strained, especially between Constantius and Galerius. Constantines in the East. With Galerius, life was extremely bad.

In 305 AD, Constantius became increasingly ill, and in order for his son to succeed him, he had to ask Galerius to reunite his son. Galerius agreed, and Constantine hurried back to his father before Galerius could repent.

Constantine joined his father at Gasoriacus (present-day Boulogne) and crossed the Channel together to assist him in his fight against the Picts (the people on the other side of the walls of Hadrian, Scotland, today). Then, on 25 July 306, Constantius died at Ibraku (present-day York). The soldiers immediately elected Constantine as their Augustus. This was something that the Roman army had done a lot in the past.

From then on, Constantine made July 25 his Imperial Day, and thus officially accepted the illegal act of the officers and soldiers. Knowing what had happened, Galerius offered a compromise condition: Severus was entitled to the status of Augustus. But Constantine could have become Caesar. Constantine temporarily acquiesced to this condition.

But no one knows that this peace and the third four-headed rule will not last long.

In Rome there. The Senate and the Emperor's Guard had long been indignant at their loss of power, prestige, and privileges. They found an ally. It was Maximian's son, Maxenti.

On October 28, 306, they proclaimed each other emperor, with the status of "first citizen". Then the Maximian, who was reluctant to abdicate, returned. Not only did he support his son, but he also claimed to regain power in Augustus. Severus was incapable of an effective act of resistance against Maxenti and Maximian. He had always been unpopular in Italy, and his army had been weakened by desertions.

Eventually he had to retreat to Ravenna, and in the spring of 307 he surrendered to Maximian, although Maximian promised him to keep him alive and soon forced him to commit suicide.

Since Maximian and Constantine had reached a tacit understanding, Constantine did not come to the rescue of the besieged Severus Augustus. In 307 AD, Maximian and Constantine jointly claimed that they were consuls, but they were only recognized in their respective spheres of influence.

In September 307, Constantine married Maximian's daughter Voshuan in Trier, and his mistress Minavina had bore him his first son, Crispus, but she was still put aside.

When Maximian and Maxen were at odds, Maximian took refuge in Constantine in Gaul. Galerius tried to get rid of Maxentius, but was unsuccessful, and Maxenti called himself Augustus on 27 October 307.

Although Constantine offered Maximian a refuge and married his daughter Fus, he was wary of Maximian and did not allow the old man to have any power.

However, Maximian was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and not only did he ignore their kinship, but in 310 he was ready to try to seize power again. At that time, Constantine was fighting against the barbarians on the Rhine, and Maximian had stolen Arles' treasury and once again claimed to be Augustus.

However, the conspiracy soon failed, and Constantine took swift and decisive measures to quell the rebellion. Maximian was forced to surrender at Massilia (present-day Marseille), and then attempted to murder Constantine, only to be forced to commit suicide shortly after the failure.

So there were only 5 contenders left in the Roman Empire: Constantine, Maxentius, Galerius, Licinius and Maximinus? Daya.

In May 311, Galerius was the first to withdraw due to a terrible illness, and he died in Nicomedia; He was not buried in the splendid mausoleum he had built for himself in Thessaloniki, but in Romulianu, where he was born, on the banks of the Danube. The remaining 4 emperors were suspicious of each other, and their status was Augustus.

During these turbulent times, Constantine had to contend not only with these potential actual challengers, but also with the defense of his territory. Deal with the barbarians on the border.

After he was proclaimed emperor in York on 25 July 306, he quickly settled the affairs of Britain and returned to the continent. For the next six years, he lived mainly in Trier, where he used Trier as his base of operations, successfully defeating the Franks in 306-307 and the Brooktri (north of the Ruhr) in 307-308.

In the previous battle he captured two Frankish kings, whom he threw to the arena of Trier to feed the beasts; In the latter campaign, he built a bridge across the Rhine at Colonia Agripina (present-day Cologne).

It was in Trier that Constantine was reunited with his mother, Helena. Since leaving Constantius, Helena has been living incognito, and this is when she can finally live a life of beauty with peace of mind and boldness.

Although Constantine and Maxenti were in-laws, the relationship between the two of them was strained. , Maxenti and Maximian were at odds, and Maximian went to Constantine for refuge. But after Maximian was killed at the hands of Constantine, Maxenti offered to avenge his father and deify him by the obedient Senate.

In late 311 or early 312, when Constantine betrothed his half-sister Constantia to Licinius, Maxentius felt threatened. Soon the statues of Constantine in Rome and elsewhere were demolished. The significance of this move was clear, and Constantine reacted quickly.

In the summer of 312, he led a huge army of 40,000 men across Mount Gerai through the Seni Pass. The fortress city of Segucio (present-day Susa) was on the path of Constantine's advance; Constantine raided and took the city, but did not destroy or plunder, in an attempt to encourage other cities in northern Italy to surrender.

Constantine defeated the enemy near Taurinorum (present-day Turin); Milan opened the gates to meet him. Constantine again triumphed outside Verona; The rest of northern Italy was brought into his hands.

Maxenti stayed behind the majestic Aurelian walls of Rome that he felt safe. Perhaps, just as Severus and Galerius had failed to get rid of Maximian, Constantine couldn't get rid of him.

However, as Constantine's army approached, the city of Rome was in turmoil, and the majority of the population did not support Maxenti's rule. And at this time, the Senate, which had always supported Maxenti, also began to secretly fall to Constantine.

Fearing a mutiny, Maxenti consulted the Book of Siblin and learned that "on October 28, the enemies of Rome will be destroyed." October 28 was his Imperial Day, and because of his superstitions, he decided to open the door to the enemy.

A boat bridge was hastily built near the Milvi Bridge, and his troops crossed the bridge to the right bank of the Tiber. Here Maxenti suffered a complete defeat. His troops were routed; Thousands of people, including Maxenti, drowned in the Tiber River. From Constantine's point of view, the "enemies of Rome" were indeed destroyed.

The next day, on October 29, Constantine entered the city of Rome. Maxenti's body had been found, and Constantine had his head stuck in a spear and marched through the streets; Later, he sent the head to Africa to deliver a powerful message.

Just a year earlier, the Senate had flattered Maxenti, and at that time the Senate immediately announced that Maxenti had been excommunicated and that Constantine had been elected Senior Augustus.

Constantine used five years to become the overlord of the West, and Sima Shu used the five years after the Great Northern War to recuperate and continue to consolidate the foundation of the Great Jin rule. Compared with five years ago, the current Dajin not only has a vast territory, but also after five years of sinicization movement, the population of Dajin has reached more than 16 million, and the economy has been greatly developed, and even the eastern Liaodong region has become a prosperous and rich place. (To be continued......)