"This is not Liu Huangdi's fault; you were only thinking of me!"

Seeing that Liu Bei had taken the initiative to accept the punishment, and that the purpose of the warning had been achieved, Kang Maode smiled.

Liu Bei also looked grateful: "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty!"

Kang Maode smiled and waved his hand: "By the way, Brother Liu, what do you think we should do if we want to take back the local power of the Gaul Province?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei feigned deep thought and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, if you want to reclaim local power, the first step is to control the local military, and then the noble lords who control vast amounts of wealth and land."

"As long as these two are in our hands, then the local power of the Gallic province will be directly under His Majesty's control!"

Commodus hummed in agreement, a hint of seriousness on his face: "Military matters are relatively easy to handle. Now that the Gallic province has been defeated, the remaining remnants of the army can be withdrawn at any time. It's just that the local noble lords are a bit difficult to deal with."

Liu Bei then said, "Your Majesty can simply order them to move their entire families to Rome!"

In this way, not only could they be freed from local influence and brought under control, but their wealth could also be used to make Rome even richer!

"Great idea!"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's suggestion, Kang Maode's eyes lit up.

Kang Maode looked at Liu Bei with eager eyes and asked, "Brother Liu, in your opinion, who should be responsible for this matter?"

Liu Bei thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to entrust this matter to the Senate. If it succeeds, Your Majesty can reclaim the rights of Gaul."

If this fails, Your Majesty can not only use this opportunity to cause trouble for the Senate, but also provoke a conflict between the Senate and the Gallic nobles, allowing Your Majesty to profit from the situation!

"That makes sense!"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's suggestion, Kang Maode nodded with delight.

Through his conversation with Liu Bei, Kang Maode gained a deeper understanding of the Han Dynasty's wisdom in politics.

After the banquet, Kang Maode also rewarded Liu Bei and the meritorious generals and soldiers who had fought in this campaign.

Egypt and the Arab provinces benefited the most from this war, not only receiving large rewards but also gaining absolute power among the provinces.

Three days later, Commodus dismissed the allied forces and sent them home.

Liu Bei, along with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and a group of Egyptian soldiers, sailed towards Egypt.

On the dock, Commodus's expression was unusually solemn as he looked at the massive fleet of the Egyptian province.

The strength of the Egyptian army had already made him quite wary.

The Gallic province was just the beginning; his goal was all the provinces, including the Egyptian province where Liu Bei was located.

This is why, despite knowing Liu Bei's talent, Kang Maode dared not give him a more important position.

Upon returning to Rome, Commodus, following Liu Bei's advice, entrusted the relocation of the Gallic nobles to the Senate.

As for disbanding the Gallic army, Commodus did not rush to implement it.

He wanted to keep the Gallic army so that it could contend with the Senate's army.

Although reluctant to receive Commodus's order, the Senate dared not voice any objections at this time.

After all, Commodus had just launched a military campaign against the disobedient Gauls, and if the Senate were to make any disrespectful moves, it might be forcibly dissolved.

After all, Commodus also commanded fourteen Janissary legions, and in terms of military strength, the Senate was no match for him.

Left with no other option, the Senate had to send some officials to the province of Gaul to carry out the relocation of the noble lords.

As the senators were heading to the province of Gaul, the governor of Gaul, Dacdo, also received a secret letter from Liu Bei.

In the letter, Liu Bei not only explained to Dacdo in detail Kang Maode's plan to reclaim local power in Gaul, but also told Dacdo how to break the deadlock.

After reading the secret letter, Dacto burned it and then summoned all the nobles and officials in Gaul.

He glanced at the crowd and said, “Gentlemen, I have received news that Commodus has sent members of the Senate to come and relocate all the nobles of our Gaul province to Rome.”

Upon hearing this, the nobles' expressions immediately changed, and they all realized that something was wrong.

A nobleman said in a deep voice, "Governor, is Commodus trying to imprison us all in Rome?"

Dacdo nodded: "That's right. In this way, we'll be fish on the chopping block. Whether it's the wealth we've accumulated over the years or our personal lives, it will all be up to Commodus."

Most importantly, if he succeeds, Gaul will become Commodus's private domain, and we Gauls will be utterly enslaved under his rule!

"Hmph, that's wishful thinking. Gaul is our Gaul, and even Augustus can't do whatever he wants with it."

If he really dares to do that, then I'll fight him to the death!

"Yes, let's fight him to the death! Even if it means our own deaths, we will never let him succeed!"

"That's right, we were only defeated, not wiped out!"

For a time, the Gallic nobles were also filled with indignation.

In the past, the reason they were willing to accept Roman rule was simply because Rome gave them enormous autonomy and various benefits, allowing them to act like local tyrants and lord it over their own little territory.

Now that Commodus wants to move them all out of here, it undoubtedly touches on their core interests.

Seeing the indignant expressions on the faces of the nobles, Dacto smiled slightly.

After everyone quieted down, Dacto said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, if we want to protect our lives and property, the only way is to unite all the Gauls together and do our best to resist Commodus and the Senate's oppression."

Even if it means death, we Gauls will never bow our heads!

"That's right, it's absolutely impossible to make us Gauls bow down!"

"Even if I die, I'll take a few people down with me!"

"good……"

Upon hearing Dakdo's words, the nobles present also voiced their support.

In their view, fighting back with all their might might offer a glimmer of hope, but if Commodus and the Senate were allowed to act recklessly, then death would be the only outcome.

After the meeting, the nobles began to contact the nobles in various cities and the lords in the countryside.

Upon receiving their message, those noble lords were filled with resentment towards Rome.

Especially for those lords in the countryside, their roots are there, and once they leave, their status is no different from that of ordinary commoners.

In a short time, all the minor and medium-sized nobles and rural lords in the Gallic province also contributed money and manpower to organize armed forces.