Potenzaeladisciplinanonèlaprosperità comuneconildeposito (Power and discipline cannot coexist)

– Gaius Julius Caesar (Roman dictator)

When Decius tells the annual military budget for each legion, Oscar wonders if there is something wrong with his ears; A legion of less than 7,000 people spends as much as 70,000 gold coins every year! This was simply unthinkable before; It seems that Marius really wants to comprehensively improve the combat effectiveness of the Roman legions this time, otherwise he would not have given such a high military spending.

It is no wonder that Decius said that the entire Roman Republic could only afford these fifteen legions, and these fifteen legions alone would need a full 1.5 million gold coins a year! No wonder the major families are allowed to raise their own legions; With such a high military budget, which family can afford to raise several legions? However, this kind of high military spending is not all disadvantages; At least while bringing huge financial pressure, it also increased the combat effectiveness of the corps.

In any case, there is no objection to this measure anyway; In this way, today's Supreme Military Council concludes all the agendas. Just as Oscar was about to leave the conference room with Quintus, Marcus tugged on Oscar's sleeve and motioned for Oscar to stay first. Oscar knew that Marcus must have called him down for his marriage to Prisca, so he had to stay.

Soon, four of the other three families and Marius left the room, leaving only Decius and his two sons and Oscar. Looking at the atmosphere of the scene, Oscar suddenly felt like an ugly daughter-in-law seeing her in-laws, and she was uncomfortable and embarrassed. may have seen Oscar's unnaturalness, Marcus let his father and eldest brother go back first; Only himself and Oscar were left.

When everyone else in the conference room was gone, Oscar finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Marcus, "Thank you so much for your understanding, Your Excellency, this kind of occasion is really embarrassing for me!" Marcus's words made Marcus happy, and Marcus teased: "Unexpectedly, His Excellency Oscar, the youngest triumphant of the Republic that we showed off on the battlefield, was also scared!" ”

Oscar was even more embarrassed to say this; You know, this is the first time Oscar has talked about marriage in two worlds! Can he not be nervous? After the joke, Marcus got serious; He said to Oscar, "I guess you know what I'm going to say, I was going to get you engaged only; But my father thinks things are different now, and wants you to have an engagement tomorrow and get married before you go on the expedition. ”

Actually, Oscar didn't want to get engaged and married so soon; But none of this is up to him to decide. You must know that marriage etiquette is produced with the emergence of marriage, and it is not just an empty form in people's hearts, but has a very important practical significance. In various rituals, people's various mentalities are more or less accumulated, such as sadness and anger; Some contain people's joyful emotions. The marriages, customs and taboos of different ethnic groups reflect the cultural psychology of different ethnic groups.

Generally speaking, marriage etiquette is a long-standing habit, which will reflect the marriage consciousness of the nation and reflect the social life of the times. The marriage etiquette of the Roman Republic contains rich cultural connotations, such as: marriage is carried out according to etiquette, marriage is heavy on etiquette and light on love, and marriage reflects hierarchical differences and class restrictions. Because of the different forms of marriage, some details in the Roman marriage etiquette are different, and the spread of Roman folklore and the spirit of Roman culture can also be seen from the marriage etiquette.

Because Oscar himself is not a member of this world, and there is no family elder to teach him at such a time; So, Oscar doesn't know a lot about this stuff. Marcus's shrewdness can naturally be seen in Oscar's embarrassment; So, Marcus carefully explained:

"Oscar, I know a lot of things you don't understand; It's okay, I'll teach you. In Rome, although from a legal point of view, the existence of a marriage does not depend on the performance of any special ceremony, it is common for certain procedures and arrangements to accompany a marriage. It is usually up to the parents or guardians to choose the object of engagement, and the first question to consider is whether the two parties are the right person, and whether there is an imbalance in the social status of the engaged parties, which is very important!

Another important factor is that the betrothed parties can bring benefits to their respective families, usually through marriage between the two families for the purpose of forming a political alliance or obtaining financial benefits, so the process of finding the right person is extremely tedious and complicated. Initially, there was no minimum age limit for engagement. Later, the republic promulgated laws; Provisions: If the girl is less than 10 years old, the betrothal is null and void.

The betrothal ceremony takes place under the direction of the girl's future husband, the girl's father or guardian and does not require the consent of the man and woman. With the waning of parental power, a new law stipulates that a parent must not object to the engagement of his or her offspring, but a woman cannot refuse a husband chosen by the parent or guardian for her, except for the person who is stigmatized or engaged in undignified employment.

In the aristocratic circles of the Republic, betrothal was an informal agreement of marriage, requiring the presence of witnesses; Witnesses often include family members or other nobles, and sometimes marriage contracts are also made. The betrothal ceremony was not a mandatory procedure for marriage, and it was customary for the nobility to get engaged before marriage, which was becoming more and more popular in the republic. In the provinces under Roman rule, a number of special marriage covenants were also preserved, one of which was as follows: the wife promised to stay at home, obey her husband, not to seek a lover, not to disgrace her husband; The husband undertakes to support his wife, not to abuse her, not to have children with other women.

In an engagement ceremony, the girl's father or guardian makes a promise of marriage to her future husband's father. The fiancé usually wears an unadorned iron ring on the third finger of his fiancée's left hand, and the fiancée will also wear the same ring on the fiancé's hand; Because it is often thought that the nerves in this finger communicate with the heart. During the Roman kingdom, the custom of giving engagement rings to fiancées by men was widespread in all Roman provinces; Later, most places changed to exchange rings.

At the engagement ceremony, the amount of the dowry and dowry is fixed, paid in installments after the engagement, and finally the guests are entertained. In the Republic, the betrothal parties are free to break the marriage, as the betrothal is not a legally necessary procedure. With the prevalence of non-husbandly marriages, binding marriage contracts guaranteeing marriage lost their meaning, and betrothal developed into a matter of simple consent. Of course, this is just an ordinary family; For the true Roman aristocracy, it was not allowed to settle the marriage contract after the engagement, which was a common rule among the nobles.

Of course, there are exceptions; In the upper classes, perhaps the marriage of the parties at the time of engagement was quite satisfactory, but due to the change in the political situation; Such an engagement, based on political or economic interests, would lose its original meaning. Therefore, there will also be a certain family that loses ground after the engagement; The phenomenon of another family tearing up the marriage contract; In order to avoid the engagement being completely reduced to an appendage of political and economic interests.

The Republic has enacted special laws for this purpose, which provide for different treatment methods according to the reasons for non-performance of the marriage contract and the party who proposed the violation: if the man breaks the contract without justifiable reasons, he shall lose the dowry and the full dowry shall be returned to the woman; If the woman breaks the contract without justifiable reasons, the dowry shall not be withdrawn, and in addition to the return of the bride price to the man, a fine equal to the bride price shall be paid.

If a man and a woman dissolve their marriage for legitimate reasons, such as clergy, illness or undignified employment, the bride price and dowry are reciprocated. Although engagement is not a legal procedure, in order to avoid being used as a bargaining chip for political or economic interests by people with ulterior motives, the state has issued a decree to strictly regulate it.

After the engagement, it is time to have a wedding; The timing of the wedding event is chosen, and the choice of the right day for marriage through divination or other methods should be regarded as a matter of vital importance for both parties to the marriage. In the republic, not every day is a wedding; The Romans had many forbidden days, and only the reckless would arrange weddings on ominous days. People always try their best to choose an auspicious day, but also divination. The results of the divination must be announced at the time of the engagement ceremony.

For example, to avoid the festival of the deceased, weddings cannot be held from February 18 to 21; There is also May, the month when the Latins offer sacrifices to the dead; The first half of June is also an unlucky period, as it does not end until June 15 when the cleaning of the Temple of Vista is completed, throwing dirt into the Tiber. The second half of June is the harvest season and is known as the Wedding Month. It is unlucky for a first-time person to marry on a festival, but it is suitable for a widow to remarry.

In short, a one-third of the year when the wedding cannot be held due to various reasons. Superstitions about weddings, like marriage ceremonies, are a relic of the ancestral life of the Romans. Because the ancient Romans were farmers and lived on the land, the gods of marriage, Cyris, Terus (Syreus is the goddess of cereals, Terus is the goddess of the earth) and so on belong to nature and the land. ”

When Marcus wanted to continue, Oscar couldn't help but interrupt Marcus's tirade; It's too complicated for Oscar to listen to. So, Oscar asked directly and frankly: "Your Excellency Marcus, you can tell me directly whether tomorrow's engagement ceremony will be held in the Augustus family or in the Maxentius family; Also, what kind of dowry does the Augustan family need to prepare to appear to match your dowry. “

Marcus's recklessness makes Marcus helpless, but considering that the Augustus family really has no one to teach Oscar this; Marcus silently forgave Oscar for his recklessness in his heart, and replied sincerely: "Oscar, because you Augustus family no longer have suitable elders; So, the engagement ceremony will take place tomorrow morning at ten o'clock in our family's mansion. At that time, you only need to prepare a bride price of about 100,000 gold coins; As for the dowry of our family, in addition to the money on the surface, we will surprise you in private. “

Marcus's so-called surprise Oscar couldn't guess what it was, and he didn't bother to guess; After determining these necessary things, Oscar flew out of the conference room. Looking at the Oscar in the distance, Marcus showed a knowing smile; My little sister has found a good home!

With the current Oscar performance and the momentum of the Augustus family; The conspiracy of the four great families against the Augustus family would definitely go bankrupt, and Marcus knew this. Now Marcus's hope is that Oscar can not be hostile to the Maxentius family after accepting the family's surprise and marrying his younger sister; Since you can't destroy the House of Augustus, let's unite with them.