The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 233. Triumph 2 >

Marcus Junius Brutus was the son of one of the most prestigious families in Rome, recognized by everyone.

He was not only from a noble lineage, but also cheerful and upright, with an outstanding intellectual ability. 

He was widely praised as an excellent young man.

His only flaw was his lack of military skill.

This was not a minor defect in Rome, where martial spirit was strong, but Brutus’s merits were enough to compensate for his shortcomings.

He was not even 40 years old yet, but he had experienced major positions and gradually built up his reputation.

Both the aristocrats and the populists tried hard to attract him to their side.

Brutus was a fervent republican, close to the aristocrats, but he was not estranged from the populists either.

That was because of his mother, Servilia.

She was Cato’s niece and Caesar’s half-acknowledged lover.

Servilia had been in a relationship with Caesar since he was only 15 years old and continued it even after they both got married.

Even Caesar’s current wife, Calpurnia, knew well about their affair.

At this point, it was hard to call it a secret rendezvous.

In fact, Servilia got along well with Calpurnia and was also close to Caesar’s daughter, Julia.

Brutus had a crush on Julia when he was young.

Naturally, he was also close to Caesar, who was his first love’s father and his mother’s lover.

He got along well with his uncle Cato, while being friendly with Caesar.

He also had connections with Cicero and Marcus.

With such a wide range of friendships across all factions in Rome, he was definitely a talent that everyone coveted.

But even he had some troubles with his relationships.

The problem that bothered him was related to Caesar.

Caesar had taken care of him exceptionally since he was young, perhaps because he thought Brutus was Servilia’s son.

It was so excessive that people around him found it strange. 

He had received Caesar’s favor abundantly.

Brutus thought it was because he wanted him as a son-in-law candidate.

But the reactions of others were different.

“Isn’t Brutus’s real father actually Caesar?”

“Servilia kept sleeping with Caesar even after she got married. Isn’t it obvious who Brutus’s real father is if you think about it a little?”

Brutus had to endure these rumors endlessly since he was young.

Still, their relationship was not so bad personally.

After all, Caesar consistently helped Brutus and cared for Servilia not to be uncomfortable.

It was hard to harbor hostility towards someone who showed unchanging kindness to him and his mother for decades.

And unlike the original history, Brutus did not side with Pompey in the civil war in this era.

He was originally a passionate republican who agreed with Pompey’s cause of defending the republic and followed him.

It was a case that showed Brutus’s personality of valuing public justice more than personal relationships.

But even he did not join Sextus in this era.

There were several reasons, but the core one was this:

The civil war between Sextus and Caesar was not for maintaining the order of the republic, but more like a power struggle.

Servilia even urged Brutus to side with Caesar.

According to her judgment, Sextus suffered a terrible defeat by Caesar and soon lost his life at the hands of the Huns in Greece.

And Caesar, who became the victor, returned to Rome with an enormous power that no one could stop.

Brutus was more troubled by the dinner he had with Caesar yesterday.

“Have you still not made up your mind?”

His mother Servilia clicked her tongue impatiently and gulped down her wine.

“His offer is nothing but good for you. I don’t understand why you are hesitating. Other people are anxious because they can’t catch his eye.”

“You know my position. I can’t easily take someone’s side.”

Brutus felt suffocated too.

Caesar visited Servilia right after returning to Rome and meeting his family.

They had dinner together and talked about various things.

That included Brutus’s future career.

“If you can be a praetor after being an aedile and then act as a governor in Gaul, it will be very helpful for you. You might think Gaul is a barbarian den, but you have to look at the future, not now.”

“I know that. Gaul is close to Rome and I heard from people who actually went there that the land is incredibly fertile. It will change completely in ten years.”

“That’s right. So you have to secure your influence there beforehand. Anyway, there are not many provinces where you can become a governor whether you are an aedile or a praetor.”

“But that won’t last forever. When their governorship ends, it might go back to how it used to be.”

Servilia’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her son.

He sighed and nodded at her contemptuous gaze.

The truth was, he just said it to try it out. 

He knew very well that the future of the republic would be different from what it had been so far.

One of the most obvious changes was the weakening of the governorship.

Originally, Rome sent two consuls and eight praetors every year as governors of the provinces.

In the past, there was enough room for all these people to be governors.

But after going through various special situations, the places to send governors gradually disappeared.

Right now, Gaul and Britain, Germany, and all of Hispania were secured by Caesar.

And all of North Africa, Greece, Asia Minor and Syria were in Marcus’s hands.

In this situation, there was no place to send governors even if they wanted to.

As a last resort, the Senate created a position called deputy governor and sent them under Caesar and Marcus.

Of course, their actual authority was much smaller than that of the governors, and even then they needed the approval of the two men for anything they did.

As things were like this, the atmosphere of wanting to go to rich regions like before had largely disappeared.

They could only go there and do what they were told without any hope of embezzlement and come back.

Would all the provincial governorships become vacant when Caesar and Marcus’s terms ended?

He thought about it coldly and there was no such thing.

The war with the Huns had ended in victory, but the aftermath was not completely over yet.

They said that only about 80,000 out of 200,000 Huns survived and returned, but in fact 80,000 was still a very threatening number.

They would not be able to relax completely until they went back to where they came from.

Besides, Greece and Germany had not fully recovered yet and wanted to stay under Caesar and Marcus’s influence.

Even if the two men tried to step down, they would never let them go in various regions.

Servilia knew this well, and so did Brutus.

“Think about it, boy. Who is the real power in Rome right now? Caesar and Marcus. But Marcus spends much more time in Antioch than in Rome.

And I hear he has already established a solid base in Syria. So the person who can have more influence on Rome can only be Caesar. Just look at the physical distance between Gaul and Antioch. There’s no comparison.”

“I’m not unaware of that. But I still have some relations with the aristocratic faction… And I think I need to meet Marcus and hear his story.”

“Are you willing to go with him if he backs you up?”

“Well, wouldn’t Marcus be more faithful to the values of the republic than Caesar… I mean, I have some thoughts like that.”

“Did Cato nag you again? He doesn’t get tired of it.”

Servilia frowned and emptied the wine left in her cup.

She did not get along well with her younger brother Cato, unlike Brutus.

To be precise, Servilia unilaterally ridiculed Cato.

It was not pleasant to see a brother who constantly criticized and slandered the person she loved.

And she did not like that he educated her son as a hardcore republican.

“So you’re saying you think it’s better to side with Caesar than Marcus?”

“I didn’t say that. If I have to choose one of them, I think it’s better to go with whoever treats you better. In that regard, I can only recommend Caesar.”

“…You can’t help but think that way.”

“It’s not my subjective opinion but an objective fact. To Caesar, you are his lover’s son and his nephew whom he has seen since you were young. But to Marcus, you are nothing more than a slightly close brother at best. The only connection you have is that you used to have a crush on his wife, but that’s not a very good advantage.”

“No, why does Julia’s story come up here…”

Brutus scratched his head in confusion as Julia’s story came up.

Seeing her son like that, Servilia tilted her head and asked.

“You don’t still have feelings for her…?”

“No! I’m already married. What are you talking about?”

“It’s not uncommon for people to have affairs with others even after marriage in Rome. If you still have such feelings, it might be a problem. Whether it’s Caesar or Marcus, never reveal your feelings.”

“I don’t! Of course I still like her but it’s not a romantic feeling but just a humanistic affection!”

“What kind of humanistic affection is there between men and women? Anyway, I don’t think you’re stupid enough to show such feelings. Caesar asked for an answer by this month’s Ides. Make a wise decision.”

There were less than ten days left until the Ides.

Brutus sighed deeply as if he wanted the ground to swallow him and left his seat.

He shuffled his body and headed to the newly built library.

The library, which was newly built under Marcus’s initiative, was also a resting place for many scholars in Rome.

‘I have to cool my head by reading books today.’

Brutus’s recent daily routine was to avoid Rome’s hot afternoon in the library and return home when the weather cooled down.

One of his few hobbies was to look at the stars in the night sky and immerse himself in meditation.

‘Come to think of it, the young people of Rome these days are a problem. Instead of accumulating knowledge and cultivating their spirit, they only have conquest and domination in their minds.’

He did not hate the martial spirit that was rampant in Rome.

He just disliked that they were too focused on force and neglected other values.

This war was a case in point.

Caesar and Marcus, who defeated the Huns and brought glory to Rome, became invincible beings in Rome.

The soldiers who followed them on the battlefield were the same.

The soldiers who returned to Rome were hailed as heroes who saved the country.

Brutus also thought they deserved such treatment.

But because only the glory of the victors was highlighted, those who lost in Greece were living in a thorny situation.

The Larissa rotation was undoubtedly one of the worst defeats in Roman history.

It was a shameful memory and a history they wanted to erase.

Was that why?

The soldiers who participated in the Larissa rotation and lost could not even reveal that fact.

The families were ashamed rather than proud that their relatives fought bravely and died.

‘This trend is not fair. They also fought and sacrificed their lives for Rome.’

It was shocking that Pompeia, Sextus’s sister, ran away to Greece as if she couldn’t stand the people’s backs.

‘I wonder what those two think about this issue…’

Among the commanders who died in the Larissa rotation, there were many who were close to him.

They were all proud friends who went to the battlefield willing to give their hearts for Rome.

Shouldn’t they respect their spirit even if they suffered a historic defeat?

Brutus regretted that he did not ask Caesar this question yesterday.

Perhaps if he sided with someone, it would be someone who could give him a convincing answer to this problem.

And surprisingly, the answer came quickly.

Two days after Brutus was lost in thought.

Marcus, who left Antioch after receiving a letter from the Senate, finally landed in Brundisium.

< 233. Improvement 2 > End