In Rome, any family with some status and wealth would keep some slave soldiers in their mansion.
After all, force is the most effective means to protect one's wealth and status.
Although these pro-war individuals did not keep many slave soldiers in their personal residences, they still had a large number of people.
There were at least two hundred families of minor nobles, merchants, and slave owners in the entire city of Rome. If each family only needed to contribute fifty people, then the total number would be over ten thousand.
Although the dozen or so slave soldiers kept by the senators and nobles were numerous, they could only barely hold off so many people.
Although each of them had a legion of more than 10,000 men, those legions were stationed in various provinces to maintain their local rule, and were not in the city of Rome. They were like distant water that could not quench immediate thirst.
Most importantly, they were certain that if they dispatched troops to suppress the unrest, those war-mongering factions, who had gone mad, might actually dare to burn down their residences and cut off their heads.
Therefore, in this chaotic conflict, the pro-war faction gained an absolute advantage. The nobles of the Senate suffered heavy losses, and some families were even directly attacked by the pro-war faction, who stormed into their homes and smashed them beyond recognition.
Fortunately, these pro-war faction members knew the importance of the matter and did not harm the lives of those top nobles.
This also greatly frightened the top nobles in the Senate, since no one could guarantee that they would be able to remain calm and restrained if it happened again.
Faced with the chaos in Rome, Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, ordered all his guards to remain inactive and chose to stand by and watch.
He had heard Li Boming tell stories about Confucius and learned from them what it truly means to win people over with virtue.
Sometimes, when dealing with those guys in the Senate, you have to resort to force. Only after you've used force should you try to reason with them.
The chaos in Rome lasted for more than ten days before Marcus Aurelius sent his guards to quell it.
Of course, this was not because Marcus Aurelius was kind-hearted, but because he had received letters of request for war from the governors of other provinces.
In the petitions for war, the governors of the various provinces were in complete agreement: either Augustus and the Senate would agree to war, or each province would organize its own forces to fight against Parthia.
Marcus Aurelius was well aware of why the governors of the various provinces were so adamant.
It was simply because the merchants of the Han Dynasty had signed a trade monopoly agreement with the governors' offices of various provinces.
In future trade between the Han Dynasty and Rome, goods would first pass through the governor's office, and then be distributed by the governor's office to the nobles and merchants under its jurisdiction.
As a result, the governors of the provinces would naturally not be satisfied with just maritime trade, since ocean voyages require waiting for monsoon weather every year and have limited transportation capacity.
Only by opening up land trade routes can goods from the Han Dynasty flow into Rome in a continuous stream, allowing the governors' offices of various provinces to earn more profits.
These governors, who were similar to local warlords, were naturally unable to remain calm when faced with such enormous profits.
After the unrest in Rome had completely subsided, Marcus Aurelius invited the noble members of the Senate to the palace and presented them with the petitions for war from the governors of the various provinces.
Marcus Aurelius glanced around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, the matter of going to war with Parthia is no longer something we can decide. You all know what those governors are capable of, don't you?"
The noble members of the Senate exchanged glances, their faces showing a hint of solemnity.
They also knew that these governors each commanded legions of 30,000 to 50,000 men, and that if they united, they would be fully capable of waging war against Parthia.
Once these governors achieve victory, the prestige and military strength of each province will be greatly enhanced, and at that time, the governors will be even less likely to take Rome seriously.
At that time, both Augustus and the Senate will become mere figureheads, like the Zhou emperors of the Warring States period, as described by Han scholars.
This was unacceptable to everyone, but they were helpless. The governors of each province were the most powerful local nobles. No matter how noble your Senate was, if they ignored you, there was nothing you could do.
The patriarch of the Verick family, Kverla, rose and said respectfully, "Your Majesty Augustus, what are your plans?"
Marcus Aurelius solemnly declared, “I have decided to grant the requests of the provincial governors to wage war. Except for the Germanic provinces which are guarding against the northern barbarians, each province shall send a legion of ten thousand men to be under my unified command.”
Of course, each family present should also send a legion, and I will also lead the fifteen legions of the War Alliance to participate in the battle.
This way, we can prevent the spoils of war from falling entirely into the hands of the local provinces, and instead secure the greatest benefit for Rome and all of you.
"Of course, to prevent any minor disturbances from the various provinces while I am on campaign, I will grant each of your families a new legion designation!"
Upon hearing this, the nobles present were immediately intrigued.
Kveira then asked, "Your Excellency Augustus, what should be done about that pro-war alliance?"
Everyone looked at Marcus Aurelius with serious expressions, after all, it was an alliance with fifteen legion designations, which was also a great threat to them.
Marcus Aurelius waved his hand: "The pro-war alliance was formed for this war, and it will naturally disband after the war ends!"
Upon hearing this, the nobles breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
To be honest, they also wanted to open up land trade routes with the Han Dynasty.
After all, as the top nobles of Rome, they could obtain far more profits from trade than the lower and middle nobles.
The reason they had previously refused to go to war was because they feared that Marcus Aurelius would use the opportunity of war to seize their military power.
Now that Marcus Aurelius has promised to add new legion designations for them, he has relieved them of their worries, so naturally no one will refuse.
Marcus Aurelius quickly reached an agreement with the Senate.
Each family sent a legion of soldiers to be under the command of Marcus Aurelius, and acknowledged the legitimacy of the pro-war alliance. In return, Marcus Aurelius added a legion designation to each family.
On the surface, it appears that the families of the Senate members have gained legion designations and their strength has been further enhanced. However, in reality, it is Marcus Aurelius who has suddenly gained fifteen more legions.
As for the earlier mention of dissolving the alliance, it was just a word game played by Marcus Aurelius. He only said to dissolve the alliance, but he didn't say he wanted to dissolve the legions.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
