Sololepersonecoraggiosepossonogoderediunamortealtaeonorevole (Only the valiant can enjoy a noble and honorable death)

- Dionysus (tyrant of the ancient kingdom of Syracuse)

After following his father back to the family mansion from the Senate, Marcus was summoned to his study with his brother and two adoptive brothers; After a while, his brother-in-law, the head of the Eagle Legion, Marius, also came to the study.

After everyone had arrived, the leader of the Decius family spoke, "Marl, why did you suddenly change your mind today and change the plan you had discussed with the other three families? Don't you know that this will cause the three major families to be hostile to us? Moreover, have you considered the family's position in such an arbitrary way? I need you to give me a reasonable explanation. “

Hearing his father's questioning, Marcus not only did not feel afraid, but felt a pang of sadness in his heart; Although his family firmly controls the power of the Senate and the military and political power of the Latin provinces, the talents in the family are really withering day by day. Not to mention the two adoptive brothers who watched their jokes on the sidelines, even their eldest brother and father couldn't see the strange situation in the republic clearly; The only thing in the whole family who can see everything as clearly as himself is probably his brother-in-law Marius.

However, this brother-in-law of mine was only concerned with his eagle army all day long; He wouldn't say a word about other things even if he understood them, this was because he hadn't fully regarded himself as a member of the Maxentius family! Is it true that the Maxentius family, with its centuries-old glorious history, is going to decay in the hands of our generation? ……

Just when Marcus was distracted and worried about the future of his family; Decius found that after he finished speaking, his son, who had never dared to disobey him, was actually distracted, which was simply unimaginable for himself, he was the supreme leader of the entire family and his father, how could he do this! Is he still his meek, sensible and obedient son? ……

So, the more he thought about it, the more angry Decius became, and angrily said to Marcus, who was still in a state of distraction: "Mal! Are you flouting my authority as the head of the family and your father? Don't be there thinking about your mess, get my questions answered! Awakened by his father's sudden anger, Marcus immediately realized his mistake, and immediately bowed to his father and said, "Father, I am not despising your authority; I'm just thinking about how to explain it to you. Because the relationship behind these things is so complicated, I don't know where to start, so I want to clear my mind before I want to report to you. I didn't expect you to keep my father waiting, so please forgive me for my mistake. “

As soon as Marcus finished explaining it, Iulianus interjected, "Yes, Father. You better forgive Second Brother Mar; After all, Second Brother Mar is the only wise person in our family who can see clearly what path the family should take in the chaotic situation in Rome. The family is inseparable from Second Brother Mal, and all of us need Second Brother Mal to teach us how to deal with ourselves. ”

"Yuria, you've gone too far! Mal is also for the sake of the family, you don't have to say these ugly words; If you have the wisdom of Marl, the family will obey you. Before Decius could speak, Sevious, the heir of the family, reprimanded Julianus. Looking at the grateful look that his second brother conveyed to him, Sevious returned a supportive smile to his second brother.

For Sevios, he himself knew that he did not possess the wisdom and ability of ordinary people; And the reason why he can become the heir of the family is nothing more than because he was born a few years earlier than his second brother Marcus. His second brother is a person who really has great wisdom, and he is his own younger brother; Therefore, when my father adopted two more adopted sons, I would always appropriately suppress those two guys who had nothing to do and liked to provoke the relationship between my father and Marcus. After all, the identity of the heir of his family made these two restless guys dare not act rashly.

Hearing that his sons were attacking each other again, Decius said impatiently, "All right, all right! I'm not here today to watch you yelling at each other like shrews. Sevi, too, and Yulia and Kaisso, after all, are your brothers, and you must love them as much as you love Marr; Don't scold them all the time! I don't want to hear anything more from you, Mal, explain quickly; I still have a banquet to attend in the afternoon, and I can't afford to delay any longer. ”

Marcus looked helplessly at his father, who was obviously biased towards the two adopted sons, and said softly: "Father, for the family; Whether it is the threat from the continued growth of the Augustan family, or the threat of the expansion of the power of the other three families, it is essentially the same, and it is all compressing the living space of our Maxentius family.

If the family really wholeheartedly cooperates with the three major families and tries their best to suppress the Augustan family; Then, before the House of Augustus is completely suppressed into a third-rate family, our own family will also be reduced to a second-rate family. After all, it is also a heavy price to suppress a family that claims to be powerful, and our previous cooperation with the Augustan family for hundreds of years has also tied the fate of the family to the Augustan family to a certain extent.

Once the four great families join forces to fight the House of Augustus, we will suffer huge losses in all aspects of ourselves. What is even more terrifying is that the roots of the House of Augustus are in the city of Rome; Therefore, it will be up to us in the House of Maxentius to withstand all attacks from the remnants of House Augustus. Besides, no other family in the Republic will dare to cooperate with us in the future; You know, even if the Augustians have not been loyal to us so far, at least they have done their best.

The negative impact on the family will seriously hinder the family's external relations and future development; In this case, the entire plan to suppress the Augustan family will not only cost us a lot, but we will also bear all the consequences. For the family, this is irrational and unacceptable. We cannot blindly adopt the wrong plan because of the alarmism of the three major families. “

After hearing Marcus's words, before Decius could speak, Savius asked eagerly, "Then what do you think?" What the three great families said is not unreasonable, the increasingly powerful Augustan family will sooner or later become our common confidants; If we don't do anything, what will we do when the day comes? “

Looking at the trace of dissatisfaction in his father's eyes because of the eldest brother's questioning, as well as the silent Marlius and Yulia and Kaisso, who had been silent, Marcus sighed in his heart, how could his family be so disunited in such a critical situation and compete with other families? Thinking that now was not the time to think about this, Marcus sorted out his thoughts and continued: "The statement of the three major families is indeed true, the increasingly powerful Augustan family will sooner or later become the family's henchmen; But if both the family and the Augustan family lose, then the three families will definitely work together to annex us and the Augustan family. The so-called four major families are the four families who are of equal strength, and no one can help anyone, in order not to cheapen others.

Once the power of our family is greatly reduced, the other three families will not hesitate to turn the four major families into the three major families; We will not only face a threat, but the survival of our family! Therefore, the best way for us is to give up unnecessary thoughts about the Augustan family and find a way to integrate the Augustan family into our family.

As long as the family absorbs the House of Augustus, then everything of the House of Augustus will become ours; We will become a superfamily above the three great families of Rome. Moreover, every little thing we give to House Augustus now will be repaid to ourselves in the future; This is the real decision and plan of the family. “

Marcus's strategy stunned everyone present, not only because Marcus had a picture of a future that everyone thought was beautiful, but because everyone felt that Marcus's plan was too whimsical. How could the House of Augustus be absorbed by our family? If there really is such a method, someone used it a hundred years ago, how can it be left to the present.

Suddenly, Sevious had a flash of inspiration in his mind, and he couldn't help but lose his voice and said, "Mal, you don't want Prisca to marry Oscar, do you?" This method was used by the ancestors of the family a hundred years ago, but it didn't work at all?! When everyone heard Sevios say this, they turned their attention to Marcus, hoping that Marcus would give everyone a reasonable explanation. Marcus met everyone's eyes and said calmly: "Yes, it is to let Prisca and Oscar marry!" However, the strategy after the marriage will change; Let them get engaged before Oscar goes on the expedition, and let them get married after the battle plan is over. After Prisca successfully gave birth to the heir of the House of Augustus, he appointed Oscar as the governor of Sardinia, and let him continue the march to Carthage with the two legions of the House of Augustus and the new legions of our family.

In this way, we took Prisca and her children back to the family on the grounds that Oscar was absent from the mansion for many years; Brainwash the child from an early age, and raise the child to be a puppet loyal to the Maxentius family. In this way, after Oscar's death, the child would become the new head of the House of Augustus; At that time, the Augustan family was really one family with us. Moreover, Oscar himself will do his best to help the family train three legions with excellent combat effectiveness! “