For Antonio, Rome's chancellor of the exchequer, every time Caesar's plan, plan, or new project passed through a meeting of the Senate, it was the most painful time for him – it meant that it would cost again, and it would definitely cost a lot of money.

They all took it for granted that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had money to come up with, and that the Chancellor must have an endless amount of money to spend, and that none of them had ever considered how much gold Rome had to deal with all sorts of "great schemes" of great success—at least, in Antonio's eyes.

To be sure, Antonio was still grateful to Caesar – no Roman chancellor had ever had had the same power as him, or even the head senator Herodotus, which had previously been unthinkable. Of course, every time Caesar reached out for money, Antonio would still twitch all over, with all his reluctance.

Reserve army planning, the establishment of military academies, routine repairs of temples and roads, and regimental logistics...... In the new year, Caesar released too many new plans, and every time Antonio drew a horizontal line on the number on the ledger, his heart and liver would be like a knife.

And when Virgil, the ever-smiling Foreign Secretary, walked into his room, Antonio's heart trembled again, and when he saw the seal in his hand with the emblem of the Senate, Antonio became more and more desperate.

............ "This is the plan that Councilor Herodotus, after careful discussion with many colleagues in the Senate, came up with - all the arrangements of Caesar's triumphal arrangement. Naturally, this includes the coronation, the wedding with Her Royal Highness Helena, and so on. Virgil smiled, as if he didn't see Antonio's pale and trembling face: "Naturally, it's a huge expense. ”

"The Senate meeting?" Antonio glanced at him, "I haven't been informed." ”

"It's just an internal discussion. Virgil blinked: "If you want to determine such an important plan, you must go through a formal meeting!"

"It began with the triumphal ceremony and lasted for a whole month. Large-scale banquets, competitive competitions...... Ah, I knew that there would be this—that all Caesarea citizens would have free food at public banquets, and every Caesar loved to win the love of the people in this way. Antonio sneered, sweating profusely: "We also need to raise new funds and land - is Caesar going to build another temple?"

"Maybe it's a new palace. Virgil joked: "I'm sure it's all within this year's budget – there were hardly any new expenses for the first half of the year, and we only had one war." ”

"Thank you to the great Jupiter, you also know that we are in a time of war, and war means huge expenses, more overbudgets and supplies are difficult to balance!" Antonio rolled his eyes: "We have already overspent, and if we raise funds according to this schedule, I am afraid that the only thing I can do is to resign immediately to thank Caesar for such 'trust' in me!"

"Triumphant overhead. According to ancient Roman law, the applicant should have provided the funds, and there was no need for Rome to spend the money, but the plan had to be carried out. Virgil's voice was like a light breeze: "My dear Antonio, do you know what will happen in Caesarea in just a month's time?!"

"The whole north is watching, and Rome must show its wealth and strength in order for them to fall under the golden laurel crown of Rome in a happy manner, and for Roman rule to be stable. The young foreign minister sat down lazily in his chair: "Sometimes it is necessary to slap a swollen face and become fat, think about it if those nobles see a shabby wedding ceremony." They had plenty of reasons to vent their frustration to Caesar, and sometimes high-profile ceremonies were held to take into account the issue of identity and status. ”

"I will discuss these financial issues with all the merchants who have property in Rome, and I am sure they will be willing to do something patriotic. Antonio, helpless, sighed: "But we need more sources of funding, otherwise we won't be able to cope with the next reorganization plan - Mehemus has formulated a new corps structure." Rome will soon embark on a new plan to expand its army, and I believe that it must have been planned by Caesar a long time ago. ”

"When the new empire is established, and the tax rights of the whole north are all Roman, there will naturally be more sources of funds. Virgil waved his hand nonchalantly: "About the discussion with those merchants." I'll do my best to help you, but the plan must be executed according to the original settings!"

As he spoke, Virgil picked up Antonio's stamp and stamped it on a scribblesheet. With that helpless sigh, he walked out of the room.

Closing the door gently, Virgil breathed a sigh of relief: "Well, now that we have our dear Chancellor of the Exchequer, the next step is to convince Herodotus that guy - my dear Caesar, you have given me a rather difficult task!"

Virgil, with a calm face, walked towards the hall of the Senate, and as if by magic, he took out a wood-carved Senate seal from his sleeve and threw it into the small pond beside him.

"I hope Antonio doesn't go to those old guys now—well, Mercury bless!"

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By the afternoon, the vanguard of Theodore's army had arrived in Caesarea, and the Roman cavalry, dressed in red robes and well-armoured, had just entered the city and were greeted heroically by the citizens!

The high-spirited General Belisarius walked proudly at the front of the queue, smiling and raising his hands to the citizens on both sides of the street, the knights were like proud roosters, holding their spears high and looking up, seemingly not looking away, riding a happy war horse and stepping one after another, but the eyes were sweeping the passionate cheering people, especially when they saw the girl they liked, they were even more happy.

It won't be long before the story of their conquest with Caesar will be passed down to the bards, and their triumphant appearance will be painted in a beautiful mosaic.

The lively procession followed all the way to the front of the temple steps, and the young and vigorous Belisarius jumped from his horse to the temple steps, not paying the slightest attention to the bearded and glaring expressions of the priests behind him. Belisarius, who believed in Mars, never seemed to take the fear of the gods seriously, for what he was about to announce next would be more pleasing to the heavenly gods than that.

The battle against the Broken Mountains, the victory over the orc tribes at the Kwyn River, and Caesar's imminent co-lord of mankind and his coronation as Emperor!!The atmosphere in the square became more and more intense, and when Belisarius spoke of the Orc tribe of Severcro being burned to the ground by the thunder of Jupiter, the crowd immediately erupted in louder cheers.

The strength of Rome and the richness of Rome are closely related to every Roman, and the more titles Caesar has, the higher the status. Every Roman is honored, this is a national feeling, and the more people live in the center of power, the more they feel this way.

"Every time I hear the cheers of the people, I feel really old, so old that I can't even get excited by such an impassioned cry - I don't look like a Roman!"

In the crowd, the elderly Roman Archime looked at the cheering crowd around him, the knights who were cheering and whipping, and the high-spirited Belisarius on the stage, and muttered to himself. Antonio, who had just come out of the house, stood behind the old man like a junior, bowing his head humbly.

"You are the rational of Rome. Master Domitius. Antonio lowered his head and said, "Because of your existence, our Caesar will not be carried away by young and vigorous energy and passion. ”

"Oh, don't say that there, I hate it when people say it!" said Domitius, who didn't give him a good look. The old man's tone was a little cold: "You look very much like those students who are still stinking and have not dried up, thinking that human affection can be settled with just two words of flattery." I'd rather hear people say, 'You old fool, why are you going to go against Caesar?!' at least I know he's telling the truth!"

Either way, Caesar's intentions were clear—or he had no intention of concealing them at all. He wanted to bring all the northern nobility together—perhaps to form a new parliamentary body, perhaps to increase the number of seats in the Senate, but the latter had little hope. Once the empire was formed. The Senate was the core institution of Rome, and Caesar would not allow too many provincials to enter the Senate to divide power, but it was likely to add a few more important positions in order to strengthen relations with those who were friendly with the real power. Domitius meticulously analyzed: "The situation is still developing in a favorable direction. ”

"This morning Virgil asked me to sign a document on a series of celebrations of Caesar and the rest of the expenses, etc., Lord Domitius. Antonio hesitated, "To be honest, I suspect this guy is doing something - although it does have the stamp of the Senate." But he's Virgil, I can't believe what this guy says, he's so slippery, I can't trust him!"

"I think you did as well as you could, and if it wasn't for the promise of the Senate, then he must have received an order from Caesar in private. The old man shrugged his shoulders, shuddered, and walked behind him: "Virgil is slippery, but he is more loyal than anyone else, because he knows very well who gives him power. ”

"Know where the power comes from in your hands, then you can do anything!"

(First of all, I want to thank Sister Cat ~ for the monthly pass, and then the Sukhoi Pasha (foreign friend ~) children's shoes reward, I haven't rewarded for a long, long time, and it's really exciting to suddenly have a new book friend!But it would be better if there were more subscriptions~.)

Do you hate the character of the old prophet?It seems that there are not many chapters where he appears.,It's like a plague god.,Anyway, I was a little proud when I designed this character.,To some extent, this guy is equivalent to my stand-in in the book.,The image of a bystander.,Since you don't like it.,This guy will try to avoid it in the future.,The prophet who was originally designed was a big beauty who was convex and backward.,Later, I found that it was super unsightly and replaced by an old man~) (To be continued......)