Chapter 283:

Chapter 283:

The crowds anger did not subside easily after they suffered huge losses from the sudden drop in flower prices.

It was not too bad, considering that they had burst the bubble when it was at its peak.

If they had left it alone until the bubble naturally deflated, the situation would have been much worse.

The knights, who usually strutted around as prisoners of Rome, kept quiet and did not even breathe loudly.

They only sensed the atmosphere.

They had to stay at their relatives houses for food and lodging, for fear of being beaten and killed by the enraged mob if they stayed at their mansions.

Even those who had sturdy guards by their side could not feel safe.

Some of the wealthy people who did not grasp the mood and wandered the streets had already met a terrible fate.

It did not matter if they protested that they had nothing to do with the flower frenzy.

The newspapers had continuously published articles that lowered the reputation of the knights to the bottom in the minds of the citizens.

Those who lost money blamed them for everything.

The rumor spread endlessly that all the wealth they had accumulated was stolen by inciting the innocent citizens.Yôur favorite novels at n/o(v)el/bin(.)com

A wave of madness that could not be called normal was sweeping over them.

When Caesar judged that the atmosphere was ripe enough, he sent his subordinates to bring the merchants who were in trouble.

They were all people who boasted that they had some power in Rome.

As soon as they saw Caesar, they begged him to stop the riot of the mob.

I pity your plight, but isnt it your own fault? Of course, I can suppress the citizens by force, but its a bit vague whether I should label them as thugs. On the other hand, cant they be seen as victims of a kind of fraud?

Fraud!

The face of the fat merchant who was raising his voice as a representative in front turned blue.

No matter how much wealth he had piled up in Rome, he could not be confident in front of Caesar.

But his voice, soaked with injustice, broke through the fear and exploded loudly.

This is clearly not our fault. Its all because of the newspapers that portrayed us as greedy scammers

Oh. Then are you saying that everything you said was true?

Uh? No, of course not everything was true, but commerce is

Its fine to exaggerate a bit when you do business. But isnt it fraud to mix lies?

Caesar already had plenty of evidence that the merchants had spread false rumors and incited consumers to raise the price of flowers.

Another merchant trembled and spat out a protest.

Didnt the newspapers also incite them? In fact, this is not our fault at all

The fat merchant quickly took over his words.

There were even rumors among us that someone was trying to pin all this blame on us and sacrifice us.

Pinning? Are you talking about me?

Caesar casually fixed his sparse hair and smirked.

Are you saying that I and the Senate are controlling the media and brainwashing people as we please? The law clearly states that Romes media has the right to be free from anyones interference. You are implying that I am a lawbreaker who violates the law.

No, no! That was not our intention at all.

We just wanted to tell you that the newspapers are attacking us maliciously

The merchants who realized that they had made a mistake bowed their heads and groveled.

As Caesar said, the media outlets that printed newspapers were independent institutions on the surface.

The merchants bodies stiffened on the spot.

Marcus

Hes not happy that you used him as a tool for making money. It would be one thing if you just made money, but you made his symbol out of something that was bound to crash later. I wouldnt have forgiven him either if I were him.

But I signed this contract here and showed signs of repentance, so I agreed to forgive him with difficulty. But if you dont like it, theres nothing I can do. I wont interfere with whatever punishment Marcus imposes on you.

Y-yes. We will sign it right away!

The knights feared Marcus not only because of his power.

He had an unfathomable amount of wealth and talent that no one else could compare with.

Marcus had the ability to bury any merchant without even using a little public power.

The merchants who signed with trembling hands looked up at Caesar with opposite eyes.

His eyes were as calm as ever.

Thanks to the commotion in Rome, the laws and systems related to finance advanced rapidly.

The biggest benefit was that Caesar and Marcus regained control of the reins of the merchants who had been growing their wealth and power.

People tend to grow their guts in proportion to their strength.

If they didnt press them down properly, they could cause unexpected problems later.

The commotion that had been disturbing Rome subsided as a large amount of money was distributed to the victims.

Some merchants vomited out all their profits until now, but the citizens praised Caesars decision rather than suing them.

On the other hand, there were people who were not happy about this commotion.

It was Cicero, who had returned to Rome after a long time.

He was a person of his caliber, but the only ones who welcomed him back to Rome were his family and close friends.

He was upset from the first day he returned to Rome, and he wrote his feelings down and sent them to Marcus.

It was a letter full of irritation, but that made it more fun to read.

Marcus was writing a reply to Cicero on a piece of paper.

Publius entered the room and sat down on a chair with a groan.

The envoys and merchants from Han have arrived. I just saw their faces on my way here.

Good job. There was nothing that I had to review personally, right?

Well, they always say the same thing. But this time, there were some people wearing costumes that I had never seen before. What did they say? They were foreign merchants who paid a huge amount of money to join the trade delegation.

Really? Thats interesting.

Seeing Marcuss interest, Publius tried to recall the appearance of the merchant he had just seen and gave a rough description.

He wasnt an envoy from Han, but he was wearing a white outfit that stood out. And he said he wanted to buy a large amount of sugar, which took him several years to get here.

It took him several years to get here? Where did he come from?

I just heard it from my subordinate as I passed by, so I dont remember it well. Ill ask him again. I think it was something like Buye?

Marcuss expression, who had thought he came from a country south of Han, hardened in surprise.

Buyeo?

End

Note:

Buyeo is a city in South Korea and was once the capital of the Baekje Kingdom in 18 BC.