No matter how Herodotus was frightened by Theodore's joke, the Senate council went on as usual, and the fearful chief senator, Herodotus, could only hope that his young Caesar was only joking.

Perhaps it was the appearance of the Imperial Council that made the members of the Senate feel threatened, and the originally somewhat lifeless meeting suddenly became much more lively, and the senators in high positions stood up one by one, puffing up their chests as arrogantly as ancient Roman orators, opening their mouths full of quotations, and reciting long speeches in a subdued tone, and the meeting scene was suddenly full of passionate vitality, as if they had been reborn.

As Bran said, the current empire is still very unstable, the Senate will never see the new Imperial Council as a friend and partner, and the only way for the Imperial Council to gain more power is to seize it from the hands of the Senate, the relationship between the two sides is naturally antagonistic, and if you want to really balance, it is definitely not possible to balance the number of people on both sides.

And the best way to do this is to decentralize power - to control the power of the Senate in terms of administration, and the Imperial Council will become a tool to maintain the stability of the empire, it can be used as an absolute authority, rather than a tool to interfere with the Senate, Theodore has a very beautiful vision of the Imperial Council, if successful, this will become a "noble council" like an existence.

But this alone is not enough, and in order to appease the desires of the provincial nobles, the Senate will inevitably add more seats, and according to the previous design, at least one hundred to two hundred seats will be enough.

However, for the current Senate, these are not the most urgent things, and what they need to do now is to take advantage of the new establishment of the empire and hurry up to fight for the fruits of victory—the whole north is divided into twenty-one provinces, large and small, which will inevitably require a large number of departed officials to be in charge of management, and the road planning of the whole country must be unified. and even the Luka tariff. The senators were well aware that the governors of important provinces such as Salion or Larria had been predestined from the beginning, but there were still many important areas that could still be fought for.

Especially in the area of the Cwyn River, which Rome has spent a great deal of effort to protect from aggression, it is time to get paid. The fertile land and cheap seafood made many Caesarea dignitaries eager to invest in new estates in the area—the Roman aristocracy, with its new harnesses and seeds of fine crops, was so well-capitalized that they wanted to make a profit on the Croyn River and reclaim the original wasteland and woodland. As a result, the construction of roads and the elimination of bandits and unscrupulous mercenaries in the area became a new problem.

Cheap grain from the Kwyn River, cattle trade from Marions, precious spices from the Noldor Elves, gold and precious stones from the Black Rock Basin. Timber, ore, wild fur from the Far Arctic Ice Sheet...... Although the Romans had always despised merchants, that didn't mean they couldn't see the flowing river of gold. Thanks to the Radiant Cross and the orc-infested south, the Northern Realm became the center of the entire Realm, and the merchants of the Globe were either in Caesarea or on their way to Caesarea.

With the boom in trade was a serious need for roads, which in the eyes of the Romans were clearly unsatisfactory in the countryside, and the Holy Roman Empire was in desperate need of a way to communicate from New Gar to Caesarea to Marions. A blood transfusion artery that ran through the entire eastern and western territories of the empire.

The Romans were very strict about the roads. The pavement itself is paved with sand and gravel in four layers: the bottom layer is the foundation layer, which is paved with marl or sand and compacted to serve as a roadbed, and the second layer is paved with stone and ash. The stone blocks are about the size of a fist and are used to fill the pavement and maintain a certain height, while the third layer is concrete (or lime), which is glued to the lower layer and provides a solid base for the pavement.

Sometimes workers lay gravel or coarse sand mixed with marl. Then flatten it with a rolling machine. The last layer, the surface of the road where the military cavalry came into direct contact, was paved with smooth stones. The joints are tight, and the stones are neatly aligned, each about 1 to 1.5 meters long. The middle of the road surface is slightly raised, forming a small arc, so that when it rains, the water does not collect, but flows to the edge and disperses to the sewers on both sides.

The roadside is protected by stone masonry and has drainage ditches. The main military avenue is about 11.2 meters wide, the hard part of the road in the middle is about 3.7 to 4.9 meters wide for the infantry, and the outer side is the cavalry road, about 2.5 meters wide. The perfect road system was not only to smooth the trade routes, but also to strengthen the power of dominance, to ensure that the empire could put legions in any important town or fortress in the whole territory at any time, and a strong transportation system could allow Theodore to achieve the most effective control over the whole territory of Rome.

Naturally, such a road will take a lot of time to complete, and the amount of human and material resources required is destined to be astronomical - but if it can be completed, it will become a monument like the Grand Canal, which has been built by the ancient Assyrian Empire, and has always been an important link between East and West, and it is also a necessary route on the Silk Road, which can be used for thousands of years.

"A new tax plan?" Theodore frowned and looked at Antonio, the chancellor of the exchequer standing up across from him, the young Roman senator who had recently lost a lot of weight and looked like he was overworked, "Wasn't the way Rome used to collect taxes, or did it come to the time when the tax rate needed to be adjusted?"

"It should be said that it is both, my noble Caesar. As a Roman senator and an extremely traditional and conservative Roman, Antonio was still not accustomed to the title of "emperor", insisted on calling Theodore "Caesar", and bent down very proudly: "The current Rome is already the master of the entire Anthropocene realm, and the past way of collecting taxes can no longer adapt to the state of Rome." ”

"Originally, we insisted on suppressing the sale of agricultural products, especially large quantities of grain, because Rome had a small territory and had to support a strong legion, and even had to prepare reserves for possible crises, but now it is different, the whole north has become Roman territory, and these territories are rich and poor, and if they are taxed in the original way, it will inevitably have an impact. Antonio's slightly hoarse voice echoed through the solemn Senate chamber, and the thin Chancellor of the Exchequer behaved modestly and without procrastination: "At the River Kwyn the peasants can produce a good harvest with little management, but at Mistermai the peasants there can hardly bear fruit after a year's toil, and they are your people, Caesar!"

"As for the way taxes are collected, it's time to adjust. Antonio paused slightly, and after seeing that Theodore was not displeased (he remembered that the original method of taxation was formulated by Theodore himself), he continued: "It is indeed a very good idea to set the rent price of the bunks so that the merchants can pay taxes, and then pay the taxes at the gates of the city through the high and low of the goods, but for Rome now, there are still too few areas that can implement such strict taxation methods, and in many smaller towns there is no such enforcement capacity." ”

The thin Antonio stood in the center of the Senate Chamber and talked eloquently, and the senators around him also nodded slightly, obviously what the Chancellor of the Exchequer said was very much in line with their hearts.

Antonio was not a fool either, and as a traditional Roman nobleman, he knew very well what he wanted to do, preferably in the interests of the majority, and then try not to go against Caesar's wishes. It was clear that the opening of the grain trade and the reform of the tax system would have benefited many of the Roman nobles who had cultivated new farms on the Cywyn River, and Caesar, who had a host of new plans to implement, would also need more sources of taxes.

“............ Thus, in most of the important towns, the present system of taxation could be continued, while in the remote and smaller areas we could introduce taxes in kind, symbolic taxes, and even charter taxes, so that the merchants and local lords of the countryside could go to places beyond the reach of Rome to collect taxes—to set a certain amount for them, and then to contract the work according to the year. ”

"In this way, at least Rome's tax revenue will be guaranteed and there will be enough resources to prepare for the next plan. Antonio breathed a little excitedly, and said nervously: "Of course, how it is carried out must be carried out according to your wishes, my Caesar!"

"Very good plan, my dear Antonio!" said Theodore, with an exaggerated smile, "it seems that the selection of you as Chancellor of the Exchequer may be one of the few most correct moves I have made." ”

"However, just a verbal speech is not enough to convince me, and you need to come up with a sufficiently detailed plan, which must not be difficult for you. Theodore stepped down from his seat and patted him on the shoulder: "If you continue like this, I may have to raise your seat in the Senate, Rome needs a good chancellor like you to make her blood flow!"

"I am ashamed of your words of praise, noble Caesar!" Antonio lowered his head with a red face, wanting to laugh but afraid that he would be too rude, so he had to shrink his neck: "It is my honor to be able to do my duty for Rome!"

"It is an honour for all of us, including me and ......, to be able to do our duty for Rome All the elders here. Theodore raised his head and looked around at him: "No matter how she changes, she is Rome, our Rome! Make her strong, rich, and prosperous, and it is the glory of each of us, and her glory shines on each of us." Long live Rome——!!!!"

"Viva Rome——!!! Viva Rome——!!!! Viva Rome——!!!!..............."

(Thank you Sukhoi Pasha (this name is so catchy that I can't help but read it a few more times, and there is a kind of cool and easy to drag the foot~) Children's shoes family reward~ Yesterday's subscription is crazy, I can't help but want to write one more chapter, but it's a pity...... Hehehe...... When the summer vacation comes, I really want to play more, after all, this is one of the choices to draw inspiration...... Alas, you say that if I use the word "suck", will it seem a little more evil) (to be continued......)