The Mad Tycoon of Rome

The first night in Rome was so enchanting that he wished it was a dream that would never end.

Tadius introduced Kashapa to the nightlife of Rome, while also letting him experience the advanced culture that Rome boasted of.

Kashapa was amazed by so many things that he felt like he came from a barbaric country that had not been civilized.

He was especially shocked by the newspaper that Tadius casually took out and read.

In the ancient times, before paper was invented, writing materials were one of the most precious things.

Even after paper was introduced, that fact did not change until the development of printing technology.

At first, Kashapa thought that the newspaper was a product that only the richest people like Tadius could afford.

But he was stunned when he heard that most of the people who could read in Antioch and Ctesiphon were reading newspapers.

“No… then how many people are writing these? And judging by the letters on this newspaper, they look like they were written by a master calligrapher. Each letter is flawless, clean, and straight. How can they employ so many master calligraphers…?”

“Haha, you might think that if you see it for the first time. This is not written by hand.”

“What? Not written by hand?”

“It’s printed by a machine that Shahanshah created. And this paper is also his invention. Thanks to him, we can easily know what happened in the city and the country every week.”

It was nothing but a series of astonishment and awe.

He was curious about what was written on it, so he asked Tadius to translate some of it for him.

Tadius gladly obliged and read out some of the headlines of the articles.

The most prominent articles were about Shahanshah and his family.

They were optimistic about his efforts to reform the inefficient administration and increase the productivity of agriculture.

Next, there were some major events that happened in Ctesiphon, followed by Antioch, Alexandria, and even Rome a few months ago.

The special feature of this month was about the Pharaoh of Egypt, and it seemed quite detailed.

The advertisements and job listings that were scattered throughout the newspaper were also fresh to him.

‘How big is the gap between our side and Rome?’

The more he saw, the more he felt that they had surpassed the level that he could catch up with or learn from.

Ten years, no, even a hundred years would not be enough for Satavahana to achieve such a system.

Tadius took Kashapa, who was almost overwhelmed, to a tavern.

“We’ve had enough of these headache-inducing stories for today. Let’s have some fun from now on. This place opened recently, and it’s popular among the upper class because the women here are beautiful and well-educated. Just keep in mind that touching them lightly is fine, but blatant harassment is prohibited.”

“Do they serve alcohol here?”

“Of course, they offer the finest wine.”

“I’m looking forward to tasting the famous Roman wine. Haha.”

In Satavahana’s state religion of Vedic Hinduism, drinking was not completely forbidden.

However, it was mandatory for the Brahmin class to abstain from alcohol in order to maintain their religious purity.

Since abstinence was a matter of respect, drinking was not very well regarded in society even if it was not legally banned.

That tendency became stronger after Buddhism emerged and spread its ideology.

The Kshatriyas usually served alcohol only when they had important guests, and they tried not to drink too much on ordinary days.

But there was no way that people with enough money and status could resist the temptation of alcohol.

Even if abstinence was a social norm, there were always people who drank secretly.

Kashapa, who was a Kshatriya from outside, was one of them.

So he was very glad to have a chance to eat and drink as much as he wanted.

Especially, the appearance of the women who served them was more than satisfying.

The women of Rome wore beautiful silk clothes, which Kashapa knew well.

Silk from China was a very popular product in India and traded at a very high price.

Rome had succeeded in producing its own silk, so it had been rapidly spreading recently.

And with Rome’s unique open culture, various kinds of silk clothes were being made.

The women who served Kashapa wore silk clothes that were so thin and clingy that they revealed almost everything. He could not take his eyes off them.

He wished he could buy several sets of those clothes before he returned to his country.

As he kept drinking the sweet and deep wine, he naturally became more talkative.

“So… I think I made a wrong choice. I should have gone to Rome instead of Satavahana. Then I wouldn’t have to come all the way to this foreign land and try to gain some profit by any means…”

“Life is a series of choices. No matter which path you take, you will always face moments of decision. It’s not too late for you, so don’t worry too much.”

“Sigh… You can say that because you live in this land of opportunity. Satavahana… no, not just Satavahana, but all the countries that follow Veda will never change. I realized that for sure today when I saw this city. They will only fall behind the progress of their surroundings with their rigid culture.”

What still troubled Kashapa’s mind was Surenas, whom he had seen during the day.

He was a noble from a foreign country that had been annexed, and he had resisted until the end without surrendering. Yet he had risen to such a position with his own ability.

His situation contrasted too much with his own, who had to run around in a faraway land.

And what he heard was that Surenas was not the only one, but there were already several local nobles who had entered the Senate.

When he saw Rome’s superior culture and drank wine endlessly, the thoughts that he had hidden deep in his heart began to take shape.

What if he could do the same as Surenas?

He would not mind being the tail of a dragon instead of the waist of a snake, if he could escape from his current reality.

But he only thought about it, and did not dare to say it out loud.

It was easy to make a fool of himself if he blabbered his fantasies.

It would be better to speak up when he had raised his value enough.

Even as he got drunker, his eyes did not lose their sharpness, but rather glowed with a strange heat.

※※※

Tadius entertained Kashapa generously until the next day, and then officially made a contract with him.

It was an agreement that he would provide convenience and mediation for Rome’s merchants to enter Satavahana, and share a part of the profit in return.

Both sides were very satisfied with the negotiation, and Tadius even arranged for someone to escort him safely across the border.

After parting with Kashapa and Gatam, Tadius went straight to the palace of Ctesiphon.

The guards recognized his carriage and let him in without any obstruction or inspection.

“Is Publius inside?”

“Yes. He’s in his office right now.”

“Then lead me there.”

Following the attendant to the office, Tadius saw Publius pouring coffee into two cups.

There was only one person in this East who could make him serve tea or coffee by himself, even though he was in the highest position in Ctesiphon.

Tadius moved aside slightly and bowed deeply to the person who was hidden behind Publius.

“I greet the great Shahanshah. I apologize for my rudeness for not being prepared to welcome you, as I did not hear any report of your arrival in Ctesiphon.”

“You don’t have to be so formal. I was supposed to arrive three days later anyway. I’m planning to relax a bit and check on the progress of our plan before then.”

“Then I’ll explain everything here. First of all, as you ordered, I captured one of Satavahana’s nobles.”

“Is he worth using?”

Tadius nodded immediately at Marcus’s question.

“He seemed to have enough value to use. He looked very dissatisfied with the rigid dynasty. I deliberately adjusted the date of our meeting and showed him Aqulanus’s march. His expression was quite amusing then. You could see his emotions in his eyes when he looked at Surenas.”

“I can guess what kind of discontent he has accumulated. He could be very useful indeed.”

“But don’t you think we should also help Tadius when he works in Satavahana? That way, we could proceed more efficiently.”

Publius put down his coffee cup on the table and sat down.

There was no tension or anxiety in his tone, as if he was not worried about anything.

After all, Rome had no enemies in southern India, as long as it was not a unified dynasty.

They were confident that it would not be a big problem even if it escalated into a war, since they had completely dominated the sea and land routes.

Instead of scolding his brother’s overconfidence, Marcus corrected his thinking.

“Publius. It’s not that simple. And if you think about our plan, it’s better not to reveal that I’m behind Tadius. It would look better if he was just a Roman merchant who was active in that region.”

“That might be better if we consider the later justification, but wouldn’t that delay the work a bit?”

“No. It would actually be faster. If they knew that he was a merchant who had the glory of Shahanshah, they would naturally be wary of him. They would feel reluctant to touch him, and they would be careful with their attitude.”

“I heard that there is a caste system in India. It’s much more strict and closed than Rome’s class system. According to the Indian noble I captured, they might look down on me, who is not a noble, in their country.”

Publius’s face hardened slightly at Tadius’s explanation.

“Do they dare to look down on a Roman citizen? They must be crazy…”

The power of Roman citizenship was absolute in the lands where Rome’s influence reached.

Especially for those who were born as Roman citizens like Tadius, they were even more special.

Rome did not tolerate any foreign country that ignored their citizens.

That would be even more true if the target was one of the giants who represented Rome.

But that was only Rome’s situation, and India’s culture was different.

Marcus knew that from the beginning.

“Caste and jati are the absolute truths in their culture. They probably think that we should have sent a noble who considered their culture. Well, culture is relative anyway, so I can’t say they are wrong.”

“But that doesn’t mean we have to cater to their whims, does it?”

“You’re right. So just keep going as it is. Everything is going according to plan.”

“From their perspective, I’m just a merchant who is not even a noble. And they don’t even know that Shahanshah is behind me. The noble who mediates for me is not someone who can exert strong influence in the center either. There will be no end to the troubles.”

Tadius sighed exaggeratedly and rubbed his forehead with his palm.

“Oh, I see. I get it now.”

Publius nodded as if he finally understood everything.

“Yeah. You get it now, right?”

Marcus smiled slyly and finally revealed the whole plan.

“The core of this plan is to cause trouble.”

End