Chapter 186: Shaking Balance 2

Chapter 186: Shaking Balance 2

< 186. Shaking Balance 2 >

Caesar did not ignore Marcus’s request to meet and talk.

The two agreed to have a meeting in Lucca, a city on the border between Rome and Gaul.

Lucca was a historic place where Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey publicly revealed their triumvirate in the original history.

But now it was just an ordinary and quiet forest city.Follow the latest novels on no/velbin(.)com

Marcus chose this place because he wanted to see this historic site at least once in this way.

He waited for Caesar’s arrival while enjoying the pleasant breeze on the banks of the Auser River.

Caesar showed up exactly half a day after Marcus arrived.

The cavalry of about a hundred men that he brought as escorts waited outside the building, creating a space for the two of them.

As Caesar entered, Marcus rose from his seat.

“Welcome. You must have had a lot of trouble coming here.”

“Trouble? You’re the one who went out of your way to come here. Isn’t this too far for a walk?”

Caesar asked with a playful tone.

Of course, he guessed that there must be a good reason for him to insist on meeting in person rather than by letter.

And he also had some idea of what Marcus wanted to talk about.

He had received his letter beforehand, and he had come here for a similar reason himself.

Caesar’s voice echoed lowly in the room as he leaned back on the prepared chair.

“I was hoping to have some time to congratulate each other on our achievements, but it seems like it’s not the right time for that. I’ve read your letter. You asked me to look into the situation on the east bank of the Elbe River, right? I’ve already sent some soldiers to investigate, as it happens.”

“Really? Did they find any strange signs?”

“No. I thought there might be something, but the results were nothing special. I was also uneasy about something, but it was unexpected.”

“Are you sure?”

Marcus did not hide his surprise.

He explained the situation in detail to Caesar, who seemed curious why he was so concerned.

Caesar listened carefully to Marcus’s words with a cautious face.

“I see... Do you think that the case of the nomadic tribes that invaded the Karen Kingdom is also related to the anomaly in eastern Germany?”

“You might think it’s a leap, but I think we have to check it out.”

Caesar scratched his head. He did not look completely convinced yet.

“...I understand what you’re worried about. But isn’t the Karen Kingdom too far away from eastern Germany? If you go around by land, it would take at least several weeks to ride there, right?”

“The nomads’ range of movement is very different from ours. It’s incomparable to Gaul or Germany.”

“I know that the Scythians were a powerful nomadic tribe in the past. But they couldn’t even destroy Parthia in the end, right? If we just look at them, I don’t think they’re Rome’s enemies.”

What Marcus was worried about was this gap in perception.

The most powerful nomadic empire in the east was the Huns, while in the west it was the Scythians.

But when Rome reached its peak, the Scythians were already in decline.

And it was the Huns who pushed them out of Central Asia and forced them to attack Parthia and Bactria.

The Huns were a nomadic nation that grew by fighting endlessly with China, and they were arguably the strongest nomadic nation in North Asia, if not the world.

Their territory stretched from the northern part of China to the entire Mongolian Plateau, southern Siberia and Manchuria in history.

The famous Great Wall of China built by the Qin Dynasty was also a barrier to contain the Huns.

Even the powerful Han Dynasty suffered defeat from the Huns and had to pay tribute regularly and lose control of the Silk Road.

But at this time, the Huns’ heyday had passed.

That’s why Marcus hadn’t paid much attention to the movements of the northern nomads until now.

But history was already branching off differently.

It could be a careless judgment to think that nothing would affect them as far as the distant northeast.

The nomads had the potential to grow into a disaster that swept the world at any time if a strong tribe emerged and united their forces.

This was proven by history as well.

The Huns at their peak did so, and later examples of Mongols and Jurchens conquering China proved it as well.

But Rome had no historical background to share this sense of crisis that Marcus had.

Caesar added a word with a subtle smile in his tone.

“I can’t accept that someone who can’t show his ability in such a matter inherits Magnus’ name. If Sextus shows a dependent attitude on you again, I’ll absorb Magnus’ power myself.”

“I have no objection to that part. But is that really all?”

It was unlikely that Caesar had arranged this for just testing Sextus’ caliber.

He revealed his intention to swallow him up if he judged him unqualified, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of acknowledging him even if he handled this matter well.

Caesar didn’t answer yes or no and kept silent.

Instead, he gave an answer that sounded irrelevant.

“Has Rome changed a bit now?”

“Yes?”

“Curio’s opinion is that Rome’s atmosphere has changed from before since Magnus died and the balance collapsed. He said that looking at Rome now is like seeing a couple who are trying to keep their marriage alive even though they know it’s already a disaster.”

“That’s a bit of a vague analogy.”

Caesar gave a bitter smile.

“You wouldn’t understand, since you’ve never had a relationship with a woman that went wrong.”

“Are you saying that you have such an experience, Caesar?”

“Not personally, but I’ve had to divorce because the situation didn’t allow it. There are times like that even in the problems between men and women. Regardless of the person’s true feelings, they join and separate. And that’s not much different from the state and the system. No matter how hard you try to bond and suppress, there will come a time when you have to wield a knife boldly.”

“I can’t decide on that right now.”

Marcus closed his eyes and shook his head.

He opened his eyes again.

And then he asked Caesar with a complicated look.

“I don’t want a civil war to break out. What are your intentions, Caesar? Are you willing to risk even a civil war for your ambitions?”

“If I have to, I will. But even if that time comes, I don’t want to clash swords with you.”

“I see your will. I’ll think more carefully about what you just said.”

“You shouldn’t take too long. I’m getting old too. All I can do is lay the foundation and prepare everything for the future. Don’t forget that the person who ultimately has to give the answer is not me, but you.”

Caesar concluded the main point.

They talked about a few more topics after that, but they were not very important to Marcus.

Caesar emphasized that the time of choice was not far away.

You haven’t made a decision yet?

That was not true.

Marcus already knew the answer and was ready to walk that path.

All he had to do was take a bold step.

The reason he couldn’t do that was maybe because the timing he thought of and the timing Caesar was looking at didn’t match.

Of course, it was still unknown which opinion was right.

History is ultimately determined by the logic of the winner.

※※※

Caesar didn’t hesitate to prove his words with his actions.

Gnaeus, who received his support, secretly entered Hispania and captured Pompey’s clients.

As Caesar said, persuasion was not very difficult.

Hispania was originally a region that preferred Gnaeus over Sextus, and they had a dislike for Sextus who favored the Greek world.

Of course, without Caesar’s secret support, it would have taken a long time for Gnaeus to swallow Hispania no matter how much he tried.

But Gnaeus, who had Caesar on his back, finished everything before Sextus could even respond.

In less than a few months, the whole of Hispania officially declared that they would follow Gnaeus, not Sextus.

“How can I acknowledge Sextus as the head of the Pompey family when he betrayed his political beliefs and clung to the aristocratic faction to maintain his power? As a brother, I have a duty and responsibility to discipline my brother who is walking on the wrong path!”

It was a near-far-fetched claim, but it was an internal matter of the family, so there was no reason for outsiders to intervene.

Naturally, Sextus was furious and swore that he would never tolerate Gnaeus’ behavior of ignoring the authority of the leader.

Finally, the false peace that had been barely maintained came to an end, and a flare signaling the beginning of a long period of chaos was fired.

< 186. Shaking Balance 2 > End