Chapter 59: Boiling anger

Chapter 59: Boiling anger

“Debt cancellation? That’s nonsense!”

As soon as Catiline finished speaking, the senators rose up like a swarm of bees.

Not all the senators knew about the secret agreement between Silanus and Catiline.

The reason was simple.

It would be troublesome if the story leaked out somewhere.

The senate had 600 members.

There was no guarantee that all of them would keep the secret.

So Silanus and Cicero only told this fact to a few trustworthy elders.

Those who didn’t know that it was a planned act expected Silanus to exercise his veto power immediately.

But Silanus, who got up from his seat, moved contrary to their expectations.

“Catiline, why did you propose such a frivolous bill? Explain your reason.”

“Silanus! What are you talking about!”

“What reason! There is no need to listen to such nonsense. Just exercise your veto power!”

“Consul, isn’t this the same as last year!”

As things went differently than expected, the senators reacted desperately.

It could be serious if Silanus, whom they trusted like a rock, did not exercise his veto power.

Especially the senators who had many debtors were ready to grab Silanus by the collar.

If it weren’t for the lictors who were guarding him, a fight might have broken out.

Cicero and Crassus persuaded the excited senators to calm down and listen to the rest of the story.

It took some time for the noise to subside.

When the meeting hall regained its silence, Silanus looked around at the senators who were glaring at him and continued his speech.

“Calm down, my dear fellow senators. I want to make it clear here that I have no intention of supporting that absurd bill.”

Some of the senators sighed in relief, and Cato rose from his seat to support Silanus’ opinion.

“That seems to be the best way to minimize the chaos. Of course, if the other consul also agrees to the debate.”

This time, all eyes were on Catiline.

He had not said a word since he proposed the bill, and he coughed a few times before opening his mouth slowly.

“Uh... of course I agree. Rome is now boiling with the groans of people suffering from countless debts. I will do my best to help them.”

“Does that include yourself among those suffering people?”

“It seems obvious that you are trying to save yourself first.”

Catiline did not answer to the murmurs of several senators.

Those who knew Catiline’s personality were puzzled by his strange behavior.

He was a proud nobleman who was overly sensitive to ridicule directed at him.

But now he did not utter a word other than what was necessary.

Some of them who had quick minds seemed to have noticed something weird.

‘What a stupid man. I told him to act as usual.’

If he acted so conspicuously, he would naturally arouse suspicion.

‘I have to tell Silanus to warn him again.’

Cicero did not like Catiline more and more as he saw him.

If he wanted to look down on the commoners, he should have at least the ability to match his high pride.

Cato was also a possessor of a noble character, but he was one of the best intellectuals in the senate.

Of course, Catiline was not stupid or incompetent either. If he was completely incompetent, he would not have made it to praetor.

He had an average intelligence among the senators.

But he did not have the ability that matched his prideful self-esteem that scorned the commoners.

‘If I were consul when he did such nonsense, I would have buried him completely.’

Cicero hid his regretful feelings and expressed his agreement with Silanus’ opinion.

Then, starting with Crassus, the elders of Optimates also agreed, and other senators followed suit according to the trend.

It was as planned.

Catiline’s acting skills were not very satisfactory, but there seemed to be no big problem so far.

The debate was scheduled to be held in Forum Romanum after a sufficient publicity period so that citizens could also watch it.

Catiline also accepted this request from the senate without doing anything else.

He kept silent throughout the meeting and left as soon as time ran out as if he had been waiting.

The young senators who did not know that Catiline had made a deal with the elders of the senate blinked their eyes suspiciously.

“Cicero, do you think Catiline has some other scheme?”

“Don’t worry too much. Catiline is not the kind of person who can come up with such a cunning scheme.”

“But wasn’t he too quiet?”

“He must have been scared because he started something he couldn’t handle.”

The new senators of plebeian origin, including Cicero, looked at Catiline’s powerless appearance with satisfaction.

Even Silanus, whom he trusted, suggested to wait and see a little longer.

One third of them did not realize the seriousness of the situation, another third knew it but did not feel the need to change it, and the last third did not want to give up their privileges at all.

There was no solution in this situation.

In the end, Cicero could only pray to the gods that nothing would go wrong.

But Marcus did not intend to let it go.

There was nothing good for him or Rome if this ended like this.

If he did not cut off the rotten part boldly, soon the other organs would become useless.

Marcus immediately mobilized people to spread a plausible rumor.

The rumor he spread quickly spread by word of mouth.

The content of the rumor was very credible and provocative.

‘The citizens are being deceived. Catiline has no intention of passing the debt cancellation bill. He only used them to become consul with a false promise. The senate is the same. They have no intention of listening to the citizens’ opinions. Catiline and the senate are playing a scripted act.’

This story seemed very plausible to the citizens.

It explained why Catiline was so passive and why the senate was unusually friendly to the citizens.

The rumor that Marcus spread was embellished and modified with various additions.

It had already spread all over Rome, so it was impossible to know where it came from.

To make matters worse, a decisive fact was revealed that struck the last blow to Catiline’s supporters.

‘The senate has appointed Catiline as governor of the most prosperous eastern province.’

Catiline’s supporters exploded in anger when they heard this rumor.

This was clear evidence of collusion.

Even a three-year-old child in Rome knew that the eastern province was the most desirable place for consuls and praetors.

It was a dream area that both consuls and praetors wanted to go to.

Of course, those who had high reputation and good relations with the senators were usually assigned there.

But Catiline, who had confronted the senate head-on, was appointed there.

It was impossible without some kind of deal.

There were shouts of denouncing Catiline and the senate everywhere.

Violent incidents occurred one after another in various places in Rome.

Catiline’s house was surrounded by angry supporters and he could not even enter or leave.

The guards of the consul were also overwhelmed by the momentum of the crowd and could not disperse them.

It was almost a riot, but no one could stop them.

“Catiline! Did you really deceive your supporters!”

“Did you use us for your ambition to become consul!”

“Explain yourself!”

“Explain yourself, Catiline!”

Scared out of his wits, Catiline stayed locked up in his house and did not move an inch.

He could not communicate with anyone outside because his house was completely surrounded.

The senate also did not act rashly because of this unexpected situation.

Of course, there was also an aspect that they thought it served him right even if he went wrong.

If Catiline had any ability to deal with this problem, he should have presented his own vision at this point.

He had enough time to think about it, and he could have pressured the senate by using his position as consul.

But he failed to prove his ability.

Catiline had no choice but to make a choice for his survival right now.

He did not know what would happen if his collusion with the senate broke down, but he had no time to think about it.

He was about to die at the hands of angry citizens right now, what did it matter if he had an agreement with Silanus or not.

He justified his actions to himself.

He had done his best.

It was the fault of the senate who had not presented a proper solution until now.

So the responsibility to resolve this situation was also on the senate.

Catiline, who had rationalized himself, had nothing to lose now.

An absurd spectacle of a consul inciting the citizens to oppose the senate was unfolding in Rome.

It was the situation that they feared when Catiline was elected.

No, it was worse than that.

It was not just a conflict between debtors and creditors anymore.

Through the debates and opinion gathering activities, the citizens also recognized debt as an important social problem.

They thought that debt cancellation was an extreme method that was not right, but they still had to solve it.

Above all, the anger of the people behind Catiline had grown stronger.

The stage was finally set to explode the resentment and sorrow that had accumulated over decades due to the twisted economic system.

The senate, who had turned their eyes away from reality, would soon realize the need for reform.

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