CH 58

Chapter 58: The Aftermath Of The Incident >

“This has put me in a really awkward position.”

Catiline cut to the chase without any hesitation. It was a sign of how restless he was.

“I can’t think of a way out of this mess. No matter what I do, whether I follow the wishes of my supporters or go against the Senate, I feel like there is no escape.”

“I can imagine your frustration. People tend to be sensitive when it comes to money matters.”

“I didn’t expect that becoming a praetor would provoke my clients so much. I feel like I’m sinking into a swamp that I can’t get out of…”

Catiline sighed wearily and bowed his head.

Marcus looked at Catiline, who had lowered his eyes, with a cold glint in his own.

He had not yet decided for sure how to deal with Catiline.

But he still had to choose one of the three options he had in mind.

The first option was to help him solve this problem and bring him to his side.

The advantage of this option was that he could have a noble from a prestigious family as his subordinate.

He would also be able to recover the money he had lent him for the election.

But unless he reconciled perfectly with the Senate, there could be trouble in the future.

The second option was to use Catiline moderately and make him cough up the money he owed him and then cut him off.

This option had the least risk, but also the least benefit. At best, he could only get some interest from the money he had lent him.

The third option was to coldly discard Catiline and use him as a stepping stone to gain popularity among his supporters.

He would not be able to get back the money he had lent him, but he could expect the most similar effect to his original plan.

However, since Catiline had become a praetor, he needed to revise the details of his plan.

None of these options were easy to decide on right now.

He still didn’t know how capable Catiline was as a person.

If he was more talented than expected, it would be a waste to use him as a mere scapegoat.

But if he was incompetent, there was no reason to keep him at the risk of danger.

And from what he had seen in their brief conversation, Catiline’s judgment was not very good.

He should have anticipated the consequences of becoming a praetor after making such an absurd promise.

It was too late to complain now. It only showed his lack of ability.

‘This is a good opportunity. I have to take advantage of it and dig into his weaknesses.’

Marcus poured some diluted wine into the cup in front of Catiline and asked,

“But wouldn’t it have been better if you had gone to Cicero first? If you could get his help, he is the current praetor after all, it might be possible to make peace with the Senate.”

Catiline’s face twisted at the mention of Cicero’s name.

“You want me to beg that upstart from a plebeian background? No way.”

“He may have been born a plebeian, but he is now a noble and a praetor.”

“He is still nothing but a newcomer from a plebeian background. I don’t consider anyone who is not from a noble family for at least three generations as a noble. How can someone who was born and raised as a plebeian become a noble just by getting a title? That’s ridiculous.”

Marcus got a rough idea of Catiline’s personality.

His arrogant aristocratic attitude was well-known in history.

Because of this, he had clashed greatly with Cicero, who was a newcomer from a plebeian background, and even mocked his origin in public speeches.

The reason why he was friendly with Marcus was because he inherited the blood of the famous Licinius family.

Catiline could not accept that someone like Cicero had such a great influence on politics.

“So you think that plebeians should be excluded from Rome’s political arena?”

“Plebeians have their own roles, and nobles have their own roles. Why do you think there are assemblies and tribunes for plebeians? Plebeians should act in their own spheres, and the Senate should be led by noble families with prestige.”

“Then I take it you have no intention of allying with Cicero.”

“Of course not. The reason why I came to you is because I needed someone who could talk to me on the same level. I thought you would understand me, since you are from the noble Licinius family.”

“Well…”

Marcus gave a vague answer.

There were quite a few people in the Senate who had the same mindset as Catiline.

Catiline had actually worsened his relationship with Cicero after becoming a praetor.

Marcus had to get along well with the republicans led by Cicero, so he had no reason to hold on to a bomb like Catiline.

Catiline’s aristocratic thinking was also far from the direction that Marcus envisioned.

If he had some ability, he might have found a way to use him, but he didn’t seem to have that either.

“Please tell your father for me. If I can get the help of the Crassus family, maybe I can find a way to cooperate with the Senate.”

“That might be possible. But how do you plan to cooperate with the Senate?”

“That’s…I don’t know yet. Do you have any good ideas?”

Marcus’s evaluation of Catiline plummeted vertically.

This situation was not only a test for Catiline, but also for Marcus.

He had to prove his ability to solve the problem when the actual flow diverged from history.

How could he climb to the top of Rome if he couldn’t even control this minor variable?

For now, Marcus decided to rule out the first option.

Catiline’s ability did not seem worth keeping him at risk.

He could guess why his thinking was so rigid.

It was a common case among nobles who had fallen economically.

They inherited the blood of prestigious nobles, but reality did not follow, and they had no hope of restoring their former glory.

“There are many things we can think of. The most urgent thing is to prevent the anger of your supporters from exploding.”

“That’s what I don’t know how to do. That’s why I’m so worried.”

Marcus looked at Catiline, who was beating his chest in frustration, with a sharp gaze.

He had to make a decision soon.

So naturally, he envied and resented the successful newcomers from plebeian backgrounds.

His feelings had grown stronger while he had accumulated a huge debt to run for the election.

The reason why he listened to Marcus was not much different.

The Crassus family, who had wealth, power, and honor, was the ideal image that Catiline wanted to achieve.

He could have manipulated him like a puppet, but that made him less attractive.

Then all that was left was a choice between two options.

‘Should I use him moderately and then discard him, or…’

Marcus glanced at Catiline, who looked desperate.

Even if he had no value to keep him until the end, it might be too hasty to discard him right away.

He might surprise him with his ability when he was cornered.

“What you need to do is buy some time. And while doing that, you need to calm down your supporters gradually. Of course, you can’t completely appease them, but at least you can control them so that they don’t cause a riot.”

“Buy some time…do I just stay still and not propose any bills?”

“Then your supporters won’t stay still either. You have to propose a bill at least. Otherwise, you won’t be able to avoid the criticism that you made a false promise to become a praetor.”

“But even if I propose a debt cancellation bill, Silanus will immediately veto it, won’t he?”

“That would be the normal flow. That’s why you need to talk to the Senate. I’ll give you a bridge, so you just have to ask for their help yourself. You don’t really want to cancel the debts, but you have no choice but to propose a bill because of your position. So please cooperate so that the social chaos doesn’t get worse. If you say something like that, the Senate won’t have a reason to refuse, right?”

Catiline straightened his posture and nodded his head. It sounded plausible.

Strictly speaking, Marcus’s advice was not a perfect move.

It was only a makeshift solution that could have various variables and side effects.

No, it was inevitable that something would go wrong somewhere.

If nothing unexpected happened, Marcus was even willing to intervene himself.

He also intended to test Catiline’s ability.

If Catiline proved his ability here, that would be fine.

But if he showed his limitations, Rome would fall into a great turmoil.

The situation could be worse than the original history, since the current praetor was at the center of the incident.

Then Marcus would step forward under the pretext of resolving the chaos.

If he could explode the social problems of Rome with Catiline, it would not be a loss for Marcus either.

He might even get more than he had planned at first.

He needed to prepare himself for any direction the situation might take.

Catiline left with a relieved expression as if he had gotten rid of a burden.

Marcus’s eyes flashed with a hint of ambition as he saw him off.

It was not enough to stay behind someone anymore.

The time when he had to come forward was slowly approaching.

※※※※

As promised, Marcus connected Catiline with Crassus.

With Crassus’s mediation, Catiline had a secret meeting with Silanus, the next praetor.

Silanus wanted to invite Cicero, the current praetor, as well, but Catiline adamantly refused.

Catiline was unaware that he was lowering his own evaluation.

Anyway, Silanus understood Catiline’s situation and agreed that his proposal was reasonable.

After meeting with Catiline, Silanus met with Cicero separately and told him what Catiline wanted.

“So he wants us to pretend to fight over the bill.”

“That’s right. Catiline is not stupid enough to want to confront the Senate head-on.”

“We don’t mind that either. To be honest, I’d rather make all of Catiline’s supporters angry at him, but oh well.”

“Hmm…but isn’t it better for us in the long run not to cause such chaos? Let’s just think that good is good.”

Silanus smiled with relief as if he had lifted a heavy burden off his shoulders.

But Cicero felt an inexplicable uneasiness that he couldn’t shake off.

“But will things go as planned? The citizens are not fools…”

“That’s why we have to act well.”

“And I don’t trust Catiline at all. He might stab us in the back while pretending to cooperate with us.”

“Don’t be absurd. Why would he do such a reckless thing?”

“You never know. Catiline might be overestimating himself too much.”

Even though the consul was the highest office in Rome, the consul was not a king.

If Silanus, who had equal authority, decided to block him, Catiline’s options would be extremely limited.

Of course, in that case, Catiline would also hinder Silanus, which would result in a deadlock.

That would mean the end of Catiline’s political life.

If he was abandoned by his supporters, he could not win the election, but if he was abandoned by the senate, he could not even run for the election.

The senate would never allow someone who had paralyzed Rome’s politics to participate in the next election.

Silanus asserted that Cicero was worrying too much.

“Catiline demanded the governorship of a wealthy eastern province as a condition for cooperating with us. That alone shows his intentions clearly. He wants to minimize the anger of his supporters and go to the east to scrape up money. If he really aimed for debt cancellation, he wouldn’t need to go to the rich east.”

“Yes, I understand. But Silanus, Catiline’s proposal is not a fundamental solution at all. You know that, right?”

“Of course. We have to do something about the debts of the struggling citizens. But it’s a very sensitive issue involving too many interests…”

If the people who were in debt had borrowed money for a luxurious life, they could be considered as getting what they deserved.

But Rome’s social problem was not that simple.

Among those who were suffocating under huge debts, there were many ruined farmers.

The sound and simple farmers had fallen not because of their faults.

It was largely due to the repeated wars and the large-scale farming using slaves from there, and the nobles who monopolized the spoils of victory.

They had to borrow money to survive and eventually lost their lands.

Their anger was not light at all.

But easing their debts or reforming the land law was also impossible in the current situation.

As Silanus said, it was a very delicate issue that affected many people’s benefits.

Especially, it mattered that the ones who would lose were the privileged class.

Which politician would propose a bill that directly opposed the interests of the privileged class?

It was unreasonable considering the precedent of the Gracchi brothers.

Silanus was aware of the problem, but he had no intention of solving it.

Not only Silanus, but also all those who had become consuls so far had done so.

In other words, all of Rome’s politicians were pretending not to know about the social contradictions that were accumulating while playing hot potato.

Eventually, the senate failed to come up with a clear solution until the end of the year and continued meaningless discussions.

They proved again that they lacked both ability and will to solve the problems that were bursting out.

Thus, unlike the original history, without any bloodshed, the year of 63 BC came to an end.

There was no big commotion.

Both those who wanted debt cancellation and those who said it was impossible kept silent for now.

But all of Rome’s people knew well that this stability was nothing but calm before the storm.

The two consuls alternated in commanding the army unless one of them left the capital.

And they took turns in charge of administration for a month each. In 62 BC, it was Silanus’ turn first.

Silanus finished his month without any noticeable actions.

The moderate citizens who wanted stability waited for the next month when Catiline would take charge with anxious expressions.

Catiline’s supporters who were in huge debts roamed around the square as if it was their world.

And as soon as he started his consul duties, Catiline accepted his supporters’ wishes.

He finally proposed a bill that would plunge Rome into chaos in the form of consul legislation.

“I will cancel all debts that Rome’s citizens have incurred so far. All debts incurred until this bill is proposed will be nullified and naturally citizens will not have any obligation to repay them. Anyone who tries to forcibly collect money will face the severe judgment of the law!”

The senators who watched Catiline’s speech closed their eyes tightly as if they knew it was coming.

The assembly was also turned upside down by the news.

The promised storm of chaos was about to sweep over Rome.