The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 77: First Step 2 >

“First of all, we need to cool down the current atmosphere that is reaching a climax of extreme confrontation. The leaders of both factions should stop their insults towards the other side. If this goes on, there is a possibility that one side will shed blood.”

“I agree with that. Lately, the mutual criticism has been crossing the line a bit.”

“Right. And we should also agree to restrain ourselves from making excessive promises using the aediles. If this situation continues until next year, can’t you see what will happen?”

Cicero nodded his head without hesitation.

He also strongly agreed with this second point.

The competition to win the hearts of the citizens was not beneficial for both sides.

In the long run, it would only harm the soundness of Rome by cutting off their own flesh.

Especially Marcus, who had to perform as an aedile, had no choice but to waste a lot of money.

Cicero thought that he could repay some of his debt to Marcus and make a good impression on him with this opportunity.

He never dreamed that this conversation was all discussed in advance.

“Yes, I think the Senate will accept these two proposals positively. We should compete, but we should keep a certain line. But do you have any other demands? These two seem a bit weak.”

Cicero did not show any signs of embarrassment that he had shown at first.

Caesar smiled faintly, confident that he had already half-persuaded him.

He exchanged a brief glance with Marcus and slowly opened his mouth.

“Oh, of course I do. This might be the most important agreement, depending on how you look at it. It will be a good offer for you too.”

Cicero’s body unconsciously leaned forward slightly.

Caesar’s whispering voice settled in his ears, filled with curiosity and interest.

“First of all, even if things go wrong for both sides, we should prohibit using private forces. This is too obvious, but it seems that the people think that this obvious thing might not be kept.”

“It’s lamentable that we have to agree on something so obvious… but I wish the whole Senate would agree on this.”

Caesar nodded his head readily, sensing what Cicero had in mind.

“Of course, we have to get Pompey Magnus’s consent too. If both the populares and the optimates agree, he will have no choice but to agree as well.”

“…But can you guarantee that you can control the people perfectly?”

“It’s inevitable that some angry supporters become violent sometimes. It’s almost like a constant. I’m not saying that you should control everything perfectly. Just don’t deliberately provoke the other side, as I said before. Wouldn’t this reduce the violence significantly?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

What the Senate feared most was Pompey summoning his followers and overthrowing Rome by force like Sulla did.

Caesar also could not ignore the possibility that some radicals in the Senate might act rashly.

Cicero did not know that Pompey was completely on Caesar’s side, so he did not find this proposal strange.

He turned his gaze to Marcus and asked him.

“What do you think?”

“It seems like a beneficial proposal for everyone. Above all, the Senate can get rid of their anxiety towards Pompey, and Caesar can regain their trust. The people can rest assured that there will be no bloody battle. It’s a way that everyone can be satisfied with.”

In fact, it was Marcus who suggested this agreement to Caesar.

The triumvirate never intended to use force from the beginning, but the people did not know that.

And Marcus recognized the Senate as a group that could run wild at any time.

Of course, in terms of force, the triumvirate was superior with Pompey on their side.

The problem was that the Senate did not know that Pompey was on Caesar’s side.

Some extremists who believed that Caesar was trying to destroy the republic might have some strange thoughts.

People with blind faith did not care about hurting themselves.

Caesar dismissed Marcus’s worries as unfounded, but Marcus insisted strongly on his opinion.

It was necessary for stabilizing public sentiment anyway, so Caesar eventually agreed.

Cicero also found Caesar’s proposal very reasonable.

The mediation seemed to show that Caesar did not intend to submit to the Senate yet.

But because his intention was so clear, it felt more trustworthy.

It was a proposal to compete, but to keep a certain line while doing so.

And the person who led both sides to this precarious balance point was none other than Cicero himself.

If next year passed safely, it would be Cicero’s merit for successfully mediating between the two sides.

Finally, Caesar said that he would listen to Cicero’s advice even after becoming a consul.

Cicero, who had completely lowered his guard, accepted Caesar’s request and immediately met with the optimates.

The leaders of the optimates naturally reviewed Caesar’s proposal positively.

To them, the Senate was in a position of absolute strength.

The essence of the mediation that Cicero brought was to eliminate variables.

The stronger party, not the weaker one, would benefit more from eliminating variables.

They also found it attractive to get a firm promise from Pompey not to overthrow Rome by force.

But only one person, Cato, was convinced that Caesar had some ulterior motive.

“It may seem favorable to us at first glance, but we must not forget that the person who proposed it is none other than Caesar. He must have some trick up his sleeve.”

Bibulus snorted and shrugged his shoulders.

“Isn’t Caesar’s intention obvious? He is afraid that we will use the final veto. We can’t use the veto against a consul, but he is anxious that he might end up like Catiline, since there is a precedent.”

Metellus Scipio also agreed with Bibulus’s opinion.

“That’s right. And his request to stop abusing the aediles for populist promises also shows his intention clearly. Who are our aediles? They are none other than the Crassus family. How can Caesar’s faction compete with us in a spending contest? Even if they scrape together all the money they have, it won’t be even a tenth of what our Marcus can mobilize.”

A sneering laughter flowed among the optimates senators.

It seemed too obvious what Caesar’s intention was when they heard it.

“Then shall we reject Caesar’s proposal? It’s a loss for us, isn’t it?”

“Bibulus, it’s not that simple. First of all, it’s great that we can tie Pompey’s feet with Caesar as an excuse. What do we have to fear if we exclude Pompey’s military power?”

“Will Pompey obediently accept your request when he is not Caesar’s subordinate?”

“If he goes against the whole Senate’s oath, he will only prove that he has a bad intention.”

Metellus’s confident words made Bibulus stop arguing.

On the other hand, Cato, who could not shake off his uneasiness, tried desperately to find a justification for rejecting this proposal.

“Everyone. Caesar’s second demand could be very disadvantageous for us. As Metellus said, we can have an overwhelming advantage in the aedileship.

And didn’t Marcus agree to neutralize the side effects of using the veto by spreading populist policies? But if we accept Caesar’s request here, we will lose one way to appease the people’s discontent.”

“Ah…”

“Now that you mention it…”

Bibulus and Metellus widened their eyes with surprise.

But Marcus, who intervened at the right time, restored the shaken atmosphere.

“I never intended to win the popularity of the people by distributing grain or holding gladiator games. I have already prepared a plan that can lead to public support by serving Rome’s public interest.”

Bibulus brightened up and asked him with trust.

“Really? Do you have such a trick?”

“Of course I do. I have to spend money, of course. But I won’t open my pocket just to gain popularity in a short-sighted way. I plan to do something that will definitely help Rome’s public interest, so it won’t conflict with Caesar’s request either.”

“Oh, you’re reliable as always. He says so much, so we have to trust him too.”

As soon as the public opinion was decided, Cato could not raise any more objections.

And if Marcus really had a clever plan, Caesar’s proposal would be beneficial for the Senate, not harmful at all.

As long as they did not abuse populist policies, the aediles naturally had to focus on their main duties of managing public facilities and executing administration.

But if only Marcus could win public favor with an innovative policy, the Senate’s superiority would be more solidified.

Cato also came to the conclusion that it would be better to accept Caesar’s proposal after thinking hard.

But he was still cautious and asked Marcus one last time.

“Are you really confident that you can win the popularity of the people?”

“Of course I am. If I fail to get their response, I am ready to take responsibility.”

“Okay. Then I’ll trust you.”

Cato decided to follow the opinion of the optimates with half anxiety and half expectation.

And Marcus proved on January 1st of 60 BC, as soon as the new year dawned, that his words were not empty.

※※※※

The main duty of the aediles was to manage public facilities and execute administration.

Modern bureaucracy required the approval of the superiors even if they had their own main duties, but Rome was different.

The matters handled by the responsible officials were entirely at the discretion of the officials.

It meant that the praetors or consuls could not interfere with the actions of the aediles, even though they were higher positions.

The aediles could renovate public facilities or hold events whenever they deemed necessary.

Of course, they had to go through a review to execute with a budget, but they could skip that process if they used their own money.

Marcus had no intention of wasting time to get a budget from the beginning.

He executed his plan separately from the other aediles.

First, he held a public hearing every day at the Forum Romanum and explained the necessity of his policies.

He did not forget to use intuitive figures to make it easy for the people to understand.

“Dear citizens, Rome is currently surrounded by invisible dirty miasma. I believe that many of you do not understand what I am saying because it is unfamiliar. So I spent a long time researching to make it easier for you to understand.”

Marcus snapped his fingers and Spartacus and Septimus, who were waiting behind him, unfurled a huge roll of parchment.

“For us Romans, the bathhouse is an inseparable part of our life. Of course, I love the bathhouse too. But what if the bathhouse becomes a breeding ground for diseases?”

The faces of the citizens were filled with curiosity.

Until now, the Romans had firmly believed that washing with water was a way to reduce diseases.

Some of them naturally expressed their displeasure.

Marcus deliberately waited for someone to raise an objection.

As expected, one of the citizens raised his hand and shouted.

“Are you saying that we get sick from going to the bathhouse? Do you have any evidence for that?”

“To be precise, it’s not that we get sick from going to the bathhouse, but from going to a dirty place. The human body gets infected by the dirty air that enters it. To prove this fact, I have been conducting research with many doctors for several years. Look at this.”

Marcus pointed to the large parchment with his hand and continued his explanation.

“I selected 100 citizens who go to the bathhouse every day without fail and 100 citizens who do not go to the bathhouse at all and wash at home, and observed their progress for a year.

Of course, there may be differences in the occurrence of diseases depending on the individual’s health status. So I tried to form a research group with people who have similar levels of living.

The only decisive difference was the frequency of going to the bathhouse. And surprisingly, those who went to the bathhouse more often had a 7 times higher chance of suffering from various diseases during the same period.”

“7 times?”

“That much?”

Even if there was a slight difference, they might have dismissed it as a coincidence, but when a figure of 7 times was presented, the citizens were shaken.

The young man who had objected earlier asked again with disbelief.

“So, are you saying that we should close down the bathhouse?”

“Not at all. As I said before, the reason why the bathhouse has become a source of disease is because it is too dirty.

The citizens are constantly exposed to dirty air, so the chances of getting sick increase. The solution is simple.

Clean and maintain the public bathhouse. I have prepared various improvement measures for this. But cooperation from the citizens is also essential. I will guide you on how to use the new bathhouse, so please make sure to inform your family and relatives so that it can be widely spread.”

Marcus decided to start by improving the environment that the citizens could see with their eyes.

The degree of perception by the skin would differ depending on whether it was visually noticeable or not.

Marcus first spent his own money to renovate the bathhouses in Rome.

Then he set a policy to subsidize maintenance costs from the national treasury if the effect was proven.

The Senate had no reason to refuse.

It was obvious that they should improve it if the bathhouse was really spreading diseases.

There was no reason to stop him from proving it with his own money. Marcus made sure to inform the people who entered the public bathhouse of how to use it properly.

In fact, from a modern perspective, it was not a very revolutionary reform.

The bath should be drained at regular intervals and cleaned once a day.

Before soaking in the tub, wash your body briefly with water.

Urinating in the bath is absolutely prohibited.

A certain amount of soap will be provided at each public bathhouse and use it to wash your body and hands.

These were obvious things when put together, but they were not well observed in ancient times.

It was not because ancient people were stupid, but because there was no concept of hygiene at that time.

In fact, there were many people who complained about why they had to do such annoying things.

But the good thing about ancient times for administrators was that they could use a somewhat coercive method when setting national policies.

Those who did not follow these rules were considered to be damaging public facilities and were immediately kicked out.

Especially those who urinated in the bath were threatened to drink that water.

This policy received enthusiastic support from ordinary citizens.

No matter how lacking in hygiene awareness they were, they knew that urine and feces were dirty.

The effect was immediate.

The citizens showed tremendous satisfaction with the greatly improved bathhouse.

They had to wait a little longer to confirm whether the incidence of disease decreased, but just having a clean bathhouse made them happy enough.

It was human instinct to prefer clean water over dirty water when soaking their bodies.

The stinky smell that came from the bathhouse disappeared, and they felt strangely refreshed when they washed their bodies with soap.

It was thanks to the rumor that washing their bodies with soap would reduce the chances of getting sick.

People tended to try hard to do anything that was good for their body.

It was even more so if it was certified by the state.

It was not difficult to follow, just wash their body with soap.

Having injected a minimum of hygiene awareness by improving the bathhouse, Marcus decided to start remodeling Rome in earnest.

The next project he started might have been more important than hygiene.

It was to improve the three-field system of farming that was spread throughout Rome to a four-field system.

But this was not something that could be enforced by law, nor was it within the scope of public administration.

It was clearly beyond the scope of what the censor could tell them to do.

But Marcus had a clever way to spread the four-field system widely with the authority of the censor.

He immediately announced that he would hold a large-scale festival throughout Rome.

The purpose of the event was to thank Ceres, the goddess who taught them the wisdom of a revolutionary farming method.

The rumor spread that it was a farming method that increased production by incomparable amounts compared to the existing one.

The farmers in Rome were skeptical but could not take their eyes off Marcus’s actions.

The genius who had already become famous for ‘Marcus’s reform’ was now known to almost everyone in Rome.

No one had noticed yet, but a new era was blowing around Marcus.

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