According to the conventions of war, the victor can dominate the defeated side as he pleases.

- Gaius Julius Caesar (Roman dictator)

Looking at Quintus's suddenly depressed mood, Oscar naturally knew that he remembered the death of old Scipio again; Oscar didn't know how to comfort Quintus, so he could only stand up and pat him on the shoulder as a sign of comfort. However, Oscar had to praise Quintus for what Scipio the Elder taught him back then:

"Old General Scipio is worthy of the title of Conqueror of the Republic! This kind of words is the real way to be a general, everyone knows the sentence of knowing oneself and knowing the other, but how many people can really understand this sentence? Only a handful of people have been doing it for a long time. Knowing oneself and knowing oneself is the basis of knowing oneself; Quintus, if you can do this, I think the old general can be proud of you in the spirit of heaven. ”

Oscar's unflattering words did not improve Quintus's depression, but made Quintus say something like this: "Where can I be proud of my father, before I became the commander of the legion, my father ordered me to stay in the streets of Rome for five whole years; During these five years, I worked in a variety of occupations in the city of Rome, including what I had always thought of as a lowly trade.

So, at that time, not only did I not appreciate my father's nurturing of me; On the contrary, I have been hating my father in my heart. I hate him for not giving me the opportunity to go to the battlefield to make a contribution, I hate him for forcing me to do things I don't like, and I hate him for making me the person I ever hated the most. However, one day I became a Roman general myself, and served as a legionary commander; That's when I understood what my father meant.

At that time, because I was young and vigorous, I didn't confess to my father that I was ignorant back then, let alone apologize to my father in person; As I grew older, I decided to formally apologize to my father. Originally, I had intended to formally apologize to my father after the victory in the Third Punic War, but I never had the opportunity to apologize to him in person; It's me who is sorry for him......"

At this point, Quintus was already in tears; Looking at the grief-stricken Quintus, Oscar's soul also became sad. Oscar knows that this is the emotion that belongs to the 'real Oscar'; It is the remembrance and longing for his deceased father. Oscar felt like he couldn't control the emotion anymore. I can only let the tears flow out of my eyes; At this moment, Oscar's heart remembered his father in the original world.

Neither of them spoke again, and both missed each other about their father; The first to wake up was Quintus, who was relatively psychologically mature. Looking at the distracted Oscar and the tears on his face. Quintus thought that Oscar also remembered his father, who had died in battle; So, Quintus said apologetically, "I'm very sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned these things; It's me who lost my temper. Shall we move on to the matter of Rome? ”

Distracted by Quintus's apology, Oscar just nodded mechanically, indicating that he agreed with his suggestion; But my mind is still full of the shadows of my parents. Quintus knew that Oscar wouldn't be in the mood to speak for a while. He continued: "The former Roman kingdom absorbed many subordinate city-states in its expansion, which we now call provinces; Among them are the Greek descendants of the south and the Etruscan descendants of the north. They come from different regions, speak different languages, and have different customs and religious beliefs. In administering these conquered peoples, the Romans gradually improved their urban-based lifestyle.

The nobles of the occupied lands found that the Romans respected their beliefs and customs, and they accepted Roman citizenship with ease. Following the example of the Romans, they began to enjoy the pleasures of luxurious country houses, which were generally twice the size of large farm centers. Before the arrival of the Romans, the three southern provinces of the Apennine Peninsula had already completed the process of urbanization, while the urbanization of the two northern provinces was laid by the Romans.

It started as a military colony or barracks. Around these military installations, civilians gradually settled. The tribes were encouraged to stay there on a regular basis, and the recreational facilities built for them by the Romans soon turned this man-made central settlement into a real city. The conquered Etruscans were completely assimilated by the Romans, and even the Upper Sicilians in the hot regions were keen on a country house-style lifestyle.

Tacitus, the famous historian of the Republic, reveled in the pride of the Roman Republic and preached political freedom that he had never explained. He wrote of the Romanized Upper Sicily: 'Those who refused to learn Roman are now fluent in Latin. The costume of our nation became fashionable, and the toga robe can be seen everywhere. Upper Sicilians gradually indulged in the pleasures created by the Romans: lounging under arched bridges, going to public baths and elegant entertainment venues. These naïve people still see this as a way of life for superior people, but in fact it is only part of trying to enslave them. ’

The Romans found some of the local magnates keen on this way of life, so they brought them not only urban life. They were also happy to practice oligarchy, keeping the region under the rule of elites, including the Romanized aristocracy, so that they could easily interfere in the affairs of the cities. Each city of the Roman Republic had its own senate and local governors, who built public buildings. And it is written in flowery words, indicating that they are proud of their city.

At the time of the founding of the Republic, the citizens of Rome were also peasants, and they were able to write and fight, much like the industrious Cincinnatites, who endured hardships and stood hard work. Thrift. They like to live a self-sufficient life of male farmers and female weavers. If the republic needs it, they will also lay down their plowshares, take up arms, and defend their homeland. When peace comes again, they will be disarmed and return to the fields and live an idyllic life.

Their philosophy of life is transcendent and intellectual, close to the most devout of the gods; Not only does it refuse luxury, it refuses to enjoy, but it also does not accept comfort. They use primitive tools to dig food from the soil, know the hardships of farming, advocate economy, and oppose extravagance and waste. Later, as Rome expanded on a large scale and the country grew stronger and richer, this quiet and peaceful paradise also changed. But in the eyes of the Romans, the countryside was still loyal and simple; The Romans at that time did not value money very much, and they believed that if they owned land, they would gain money and status.

Years of war also changed the status of agriculture, and the crusades against Carthage and other enemies had serious consequences for the Roman Republic. Natural disasters** caused severe crop failures, and wealthy merchants set up large estates, which were managed by the court's guardians. A large number of slaves toiled on the estates. Large-scale production and cheap labor put the estates in an advantageous position to compete with the small producers, many of whom went bankrupt as a result, so that the estates could continue to expand.

However. The peasants and tenants who settled with the immigrants were spared. As the population of the republic skyrocketed and the population reached unprecedented saturation, the estates found a solid market for grain, olives, fruit wine, vegetables, and other products; Despite large-scale production, it was not enough to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population, and agricultural reforms were being carried out in various localities. In this way, we can solve the problem of food and clothing for residents in various cities.

Some Romans were not interested in the economy, preferring the idyllic life away from the hustle and bustle and summer heat: red wild cherries, wild plum trees, tall oak trees, holly and so on, and clouds of sheep gave the Romans an idyllic mood.

Generally speaking, there is a large workshop in a large estate, which is fully equipped with a threshing floor, a grain hoard, a wine press, a wine cellar, a stable, a barn, and a house where the overseers and slaves live. In some large estates, the manor's house and workshop were separated, so that the manor could leave all the work to the overseer. So that you can enjoy yourself with ease and ease. Discipline in the manor was strict and demanding, and the neighbors of the hard-working slaves were rich and powerful.

One phenomenon that should be noted is that many Roman peasants in the countryside now consider the cities to be hotbeds of spiritual crisis, where there is a great variety of entertainment, especially during fairs and festivals. Many farmers like to watch performances in the theater, and they are addicted to watching them, and they don't want to work in the fields during the busy season. Many peasants were even obsessed with prostitutes, eating, drinking, and bathing, and had no intention of working in the fields. “

At this point, Quintus ended his narrative at Oscar's suggestion; Oscar had already collected his mind in Quintus's narrative. So. When Quintus said this, Oscar once again asked his own question: "Do you mean that the pompous pleasures that prevail in Rome today are in fact the tools created by the ancestors of the Romans to corrupt the enemy?" ”

"Not bad! All the lavish pleasures we now know were tools created by our ancestors to corrupt the elite of the enemy society; It is a pity that later with the gradual expansion of the republic and hundreds of years of peace. Let these good strategies to control the enemy become the poison of the Romans themselves to corrupt themselves. It's not just the city of Rome that has a large number of unemployed vagrants and poor families, the entire republic is full of such people. ”

"Isn't there a way to deal with them? Keep their presence, and sooner or later they will become the greatest burden of the entire republic; Is there no majestic figure in the history of the republic who can see the hidden dangers brought by these people? These people live on the handouts of the Senate and the gifts of others, and when the day comes when the republic is unable to pay for their minimum necessities, they will become the greatest trouble of the republic! They are the real henchmen of the republic! “

Oscar's radical words made Quintus sigh helplessly, and then explained: "Oscar. Do you think these problems are the only ones you and I can see? Not to mention the others, even the elders of the Senate can see the dangers of these people; However, no one can solve these problems. Do you know how many such people there are in the city of Rome? The total population of Rome was only more than 2 million, of which more than 300,000 were people.

Of the more than 4 million people in the Latin provinces, more than 500,000 are jobless and landless; Not counting the provinces of Upper Sicily, which had already been occupied by Hannibal, the total population of the remaining six provinces of the republic was about 20 million, of which the total number of jobless vagrants and poor landless proletarians would not be less than 2 million! Among these two million people, even excluding the elderly, children, and women, there are at least nearly 400,000 people in the prime of life; Who can easily change the existing policy? “

Quintus's explanation leaves Oscar speechless; Indeed, as Quintus said, who can easily change the existing policy? In other words, who would dare to change the existing policy so easily? Once the policy changes, if these 400,000 idle prime men put up the banner of the rebels; Is that a rebel army of 400,000 troops in the Republic of China in an instant?!

When the time comes, the Roman Republic will not need to call up legions to suppress it at all, and it will simply disintegrate. (To be continued.) )

PS: There is no text recommendation today, and chasing the wind can only be helpless in the face of the stingy recommendation of the starting point; It may be that the update speed of Chasing the Wind is too fast, or it may be that the starting point can't read my book. In short, there are very few recommendations for chasing the wind, only two; This book is no longer a luxury to chase the wind, I hope everyone can support chasing the wind.