A silent courtyard with neat marble tiles at its feet, geometric flower beds on all sides, high railings carved with tales of the gods, and the chirping of birds echoing in your ears.

In the middle of the courtyard is a small round table with a white stone chair on each side.

The servant brought two glasses of clear wine and placed them in front of the two people, one old and one young.

"Please use it. Theodore casually raised his hand, picked up the glass in front of him, and drank it gently.

"Thank you for your hospitality. The old man took a sip with a smile, closed his eyes as if aftertasted, and then put down his glass.

"Wine is intoxicating, but it's also a good medicine for sobriety. ”

"If you want to say anything, please say it. Theodore leaned back in his chair and smiled: "Your Excellency Domitius!"

"I have heard from your Minister of War, the centurion of the original Eagle Banner Centurion, Mehemus, that you have asked him what he thinks of the Senate. And now that's the question I want to ask you. Domitius sat up with his hands on the handle: "What do you think of the Senate?"

"Do you want to ask me?" or do you already have an answer?" Diodus asked rhetorically: "The Senate is a Roman tradition, deeply rooted in the hearts of the Romans, as inseparable as faith. ”

"Yes, it's tradition, but it's not tradition. Domitius nodded, then shook his head again: "Do you know the history of the Senate?"

"That is the history of Rome, my Caesar!" Domitius did not wait for Theodore to reply, and then took it himself: "The Senate was once the king's sage, the assistant to the king's ministers, and later the ruler of Rome, and the Senate became a superior qualification. Later, the Senate was transformed back into the king's ministers. But there were not only ministers of the king, but also the rope that sustained the country and the pillars of the traditions of the past. ”

"Since you once had power, you don't want to give it up!" said Theodore, who drank the wine from his glass and put it in his hand.

"So that's the crux of the matter, Caesar. The old man nodded: "You don't really see the Senate as your sage and minister, but as one who competes with you for power, but you have to borrow its liliang. Of course, there are also those in the Senate who think that you are planning to make the Senate disappear completely. Fortunately, there are not many people, and most of them understand what you are doing and are willing to support you, although your actions and words are a little excessive, but they are really thinking about Rome and all Romans. ”

"The old customs must be changed, and your way of doing it has struck us as new, that a post with a clear division of labour is indeed more efficient than that of the Senate, at least I think so. Domitius pondered the words and stroked his beard gently.

"Don't you feel sorry?"

"It's a pity?weishenme?For the sake of the Senate?My lord, if the disappearance of the Senate can make Rome rich and powerful, it is no pity. What's more......" The old man whispered, "The Senate won't disappear, it's just a change in appearance, isn't it?"

"Caesar, your Chancellor of the Exchequer, Antonio, begs to see you!" Valens's voice came from outside the courtyard, and he looked sideways to see a plainly dressed young man standing outside the doorway.

"Then get here first, Caesar, you still have a lot of government to attend to, so the old man won't bother. Domitius stood up, bent down slightly, and said with a little reluctance: "It's a pity that I only took a sip of that bottle of wine." ”

"Go and deliver the justice, and have someone bring him a full bottle of wine. Theodore chuckled and commanded the servants behind him.

The satisfied old man walked out of the courtyard with the wine bottle in his hand, and the new Chancellor of the Exchequer looked at him with trepidation, saw him coming, and hurriedly stepped forward to explain: "Yes, I'm sorry, my lord, I didn't know you were here, this is really ......"

"Don't be nervous, child!" patted him lightly on the shoulder, and the old man whispered in his ear: "You don't need to fear an old man like me, what you need to be in awe of are those who are still very young, but they are old and fine." ”

Antonio was puzzled, looked at him puzzled, and Domitius let out a long lament: "Forget it, don't care about my old man's boring nonsense, you just need to be down-to-earth and follow behind Caesar!"

"Thank you for your advice, I will remember it!" Antonio bowed deeply, and then trotted towards Theodore's place with a thick booklet in his arms.

The old man shook his head, looked at the bottle in his hand, let out a long sigh, and left the place.

Slowing his pace, Antonio gently walked up behind Theodore and took the book from his bosom.

"Old fox!"

Diodore angrily poured himself a glass, and instead of taking a small sip of it, he raised his feet and drank it down, and threw it to the servant who was standing aside.

"My lord, you—What did you just say?!" Antonio regretted as soon as he spoke, and quickly shrunk his neck.

"Ah, nothing!" Theodore then changed his mood and said tepidly behind him, "You probably misheard. ”

Theodore is not a politician, just an otaku who likes history, and thinks that he can be comfortable with a little more knowledge, but unfortunately, those old fritters are not ready to play against him, so there is this scene where Domitius himself goes.

The old fellows, after carefully reading his offer, regarded it as a young and vigorous Caesar's impatience to take control of his actions (which of course he did), and agreed to his request after believing that nothing would go wrong. Domitius's remark can be seen as the opinion of the majority of the Senate: your request is not excessive, and we know exactly what you want to do, and we will try to help you, but please consult with us next time before you make any of the moths.

Decentralization, or rather, Theodore wanted to disintegrate and split the originally integrated Senate into a "small" Senate with clear functions according to the details of power.

Theodore, the white wolf with empty gloves, thought he had done a good job, and before he could get complacent, the old man Domitius gave him a slap in the face - even if the Senate was dissolved, it would still be the Senate.

The future was difficult, Theodore sighed, he finally saw that if an order could not penetrate the hearts of the people, it could only change the superficial things, as it is now: the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was obviously of equal status, was still trembling when he saw the Chancellor, just because the other party was the oldest member of the Senate. If you really want to make a radical change in the Senate, it is definitely not something that can be done in one generation, and it will also take time.

But fortunately, the last thing Theodore lacks right now is time. He was still very young.

"The Senate, in accordance with your instructions, issued a series of orders. Antonio put the thick, ledger-like object in front of Theodor for his inspection: "A total of ten farmsteads were built around Caesarea, according to the standards of the barracks where two centurians were stationed, and all of them had wells. ”

Theodore nodded, the construction of farms is extremely necessary, in fact, it is impossible for everyone to live in the city, the inhabitants of the city are generally merchants, artisans, government officials, and dignitaries, these people form a large consumer group, and the farmstead is responsible for providing food and various raw materials for the city.

But just an ordinary farm is absolutely not enough, Caesarea is now unknown to the outside world, once someone comes to invade, the surrounding paramilitary farms can become a bridgehead against foreign enemies, even in peacetime, fully defended farms can make bandits and robbers have no chance.

The population of each farm was about 300 households, and in ancient times the population was calculated on a household basis, so that it was convenient to arrange conscription, conscription, and other items, and the land in the countryside was still "state-owned", and the peasants received tools and seeds from officials according to the distribution, and had to pay 50 percent of the harvest as a tax.

"Lord Herodotus is discussing the construction of the town with the councillors. Antonio lowered his head and said, "This town was obviously once inhabited, but it has been abandoned, and there is an obvious sewage canal in the middle of the town, which can continue to be used as long as it is repaired by hand." On the left side of the town is a temple-like building that has been converted into a university and library by scholars, and the training ground by the city walls has been converted into a military barracks, which Lord Mehemus intends to use to train new soldiers, and regularly organizes peasant training. ”

"The temple has been converted into a university?"

"Yes, High Priest Flavi seems to be preparing to rebuild a temple. Antonio replied honestly.

"Caesarea was indeed quite rich in resources, not only in terms of timber but also in stone, and Dio and his laborers built two large lumber yards and a quarry nearby to supply the raw materials. Scholars at the university are also preparing to explore some of the distant lots, and the road between the port and the town is being built, which is the largest project to date. ”

"Can some of the camp laborers still be transferred?"

"I'm afraid not, in fact, the wood and stone alone require quite a lot of labor, at least until three or four months later, when most of the public buildings are repaired!"

"What about taxes?"

"There isn't much to come of it for now, because Caesar you have exempted the farmstead from the poll tax, at least until the first harvest in July. The realm has not yet established trade with any of the regions, and is only supported by the poll tax of the towns, which is about 150 gold coins per month, of course, after throwing out the army and officials. ”

"150 gold coins?" Theodore felt a tingling in his scalp, although this money was already a lot, it was still not enough compared to the current situation in the territory. Roads to be built, city walls to be repaired, public facilities, agricultural construction, private houses, there are too many places to spend money, Theodore suddenly understood that there was such a thing as forced labor in ancient times, the fundamental reason was that the money bag was too small, not enough to spend, so he had to hire migrant workers who did not need money, but it also cost money to transfer these migrant workers - at the very least, tax exemption was certain, and Theodore could not make such a lack of virtue as letting people work for him while saying that he would collect taxes.

Wait, migrant workers who don't want money?

Theodore remembered a group of people.

In Roman times, what was the most worthy of the Romans' boasting: the Arc de Triomphe, the Colosseum, the Pantheon? No, no, no, these are not, what really made Rome famous for centuries was its incomparably complex transportation system, the winding Roman Quartet that connected the entire empire!

All roads lead to Rome!

Who is it, who cultivated it?

It was our invincible Roman legion!!

These soldiers, known as the "Mules of Rome," are the ones who hold up the borders of the Empire! They are the ones who make the blood of the Empire unimpeded! It is they who make the Empire open its borders!

There has always been a famous saying in the Roman Empire: "You can't let the soldiers stop." "In addition to training, they have a lot of tasks to accomplish in peacetime. Almost every Roman soldier was a good builder, as Roman legions built barracks everywhere they went, and during their station, the local governors would always ask the legions to help build roads, dig canals, and even harvest wheat. With the exception of the Apennine Peninsula, most of the roads were built by Roman legions!

It can be said that if the People's Liberation Army is the children of the Chinese people, then the Roman legions are the children of the Roman Empire!

"Tell Mesimus, and say that I gave the order!" Diodore stood up with a smile, "Let the wings that do not patrol be responsible for the construction of roads and walls in order, and assist in the carrying work." ”

"The soldiers of the Romans naturally have to contribute to the Romans, and they can only be called the sons of the Romans when they go to the battlefield and go to the workshop!"

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