At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

He has it all.

As a result, he became the chief of the Praetorian Guard, led the Praetorian Guard and became the real holder of the Roman throne, and in a certain sense had the right to auction the throne.

Still, he wasn't happy, especially during the period after the war between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire.

The reason for his unhappiness is because the prestige of the emperor he supports, Caracalla, is getting higher and higher, even showing signs of surpassing him.

Not long ago, he and Emperor Caracalla issued an order to mobilize the army almost at the same time.

His first, the emperor's second, and then the imperial guard obeyed the emperor's order and chose to act according to the emperor's order instead of his order.

This seemingly insignificant incident aroused his high vigilance.

It was not easy for him to get all this, and it cost him almost his entire life, so he cherished everything he got, and he cherished everything he had very much, and he would not allow himself to lose it all.

So when he noticed that the emperor's prestige accumulated through the victory of the war gradually overwhelmed his prestige, he panicked.

He clearly understood that although the Roman Empire treated Roman citizens preferentially, and he was also a Roman citizen, he was not a natural Roman citizen, and his former slave status also made many Praetorian soldiers have complicated feelings about him.

The Praetorian Guard is a noble military service, only Roman citizens can join, and it is definitely more convenient and easier to be promoted if you are a Roman citizen by birth, but Macrinus walks ahead of everyone with his own efforts and talents.

There are always those who have mixed feelings about him.

On the one hand, he admired his ability and force, and obeyed his leadership very much, but on the other hand, he looked down on his origin and felt that letting a former slave lead them was an insult to the noble Roman Guards.

How could they be ruled by a slave?

Among the previous chiefs of the Imperial Guard, it can be said that he has the weakest foundation and is the most easily shaken.

In the past, Emperor Caracalla had no military prestige, and he was not so worried, the Imperial Guards only listened to him.

But now, Emperor Caracalla has gained military prestige, led the army to win consecutive battles, brought a lot of wealth and benefits to the army, made the army very satisfied, and greatly increased their expectations and loyalty to the emperor.

In this comparison, he looked overshadowed.

If the emperor's prestige was really so high that he could even suppress him, wouldn't his existence be meaningless?

Wouldn't his existence be a hindrance to the emperor?

If the emperor wanted to do something to him, wouldn't it be easy?

Wouldn't he then lose all that he had gained again and become a miserable loser?

All kinds of painful experiences in the past reappeared in his mind, making him extremely fearful, worried, and hated.

No, never!

I will never go back to the state of the past!

Must find a way!

Macrinus decided to find a way to solve his crisis and defend what he had got.

The poor institution of the Roman Empire began to exert its power--

When a chief of the Imperial Guard wants to do something to his emperor, it is actually so simple and easy, and he just needs to pay a little price.

Because from the standpoint of interests, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard have unified interests, and those who want to be emperors are willing to pay a huge price for being emperors and give them huge benefits.

Maybe it's money, maybe it's privileges and status. All in all, with such a tradition, the Praetorian Guard is a high-paying unit envied by everyone in Rome, and it is also a unit with the best future prospects.

People who watched the various benefits and extra bonuses were stunned.

So when someone wants to launch a counterattack against such a tradition, it will naturally arouse the resentment and resistance of the entire Praetorian Guard group. If this person has no military foundation, he will definitely be overthrown.

Caracalla is different from other emperors. After all, he is the son of the former emperor Severus. He has a certain inheritance foundation. Now he has won so many victories and earned so many benefits for the Imperial Guards. The Imperial Guards are very sensitive to him. good.

But that doesn't mean he's absolutely safe.

Of course, this is also the root cause of Caracalla's usual eagerness to gain power.

He was eager to establish his prestige and establish his control over the imperial guards, so he was not so friendly to those who dared to offend him, and even killed them.

Kill them, deter the guards officers and soldiers, and gradually establish your unshakable authority.

He thought so.

There was a Praetorian soldier named Julius Matthiaris, who was a member of his guard. This man had an older brother who complained to Caracalla for not being rewarded for his promotion in time after his achievements in battle. , and was killed.

Caracalla couldn't allow someone to slander him behind his back, so many people knew it, he was very angry, tried him in public, killed him, and established his authority.

And the soldier who lost his brother didn't have any emotional fluctuations on the surface, but his heart was still full of anxiety, fear and resentment.

When his brother was killed, the Janissaries didn't feel much.

Perhaps it was because the emperor brought them a lot of wealth to satisfy them, and it was not a big deal to lose a colleague or two, so they sat back and watched.

But this is very disturbing for him.

He is a member of Emperor Caracalla's guard. If one day Emperor Caracalla asks about this matter, how should he answer?

Will it be killed?

Chapter 1489 One Thousand 390 Nine People Who Created Gods Are Really Geniuses

Macrinus is a person who is very good at observing words and expressions. In daily operations, he noticed the strange behavior of this soldier.

So one night, he asked his trusted guards to find Julius and let Julius go to him.

Julius found him anxiously, and was extremely horrified to learn that Macrinus hoped that he could assassinate the emperor as a personal guard.

Then, Macrinus can get the throne in the name of the chief of the Janissaries, and he can be rewarded as an officer at that time.

"No, no, how can I assassinate him?"

"Because he killed your brother."

"Then I can't..."

"Aren't you worried that after he knows you are his brother, he will become suspicious of you and then attack you? If he wants to kill you, it's as simple as killing your brother."

In one sentence, Macrinus hit on what was most worrying in Julius' mind.

"If you don't kill him, he will kill you. Only by killing him can you live and flourish."

Makrinus tempted him: "I am the chief of the Imperial Guard. Once he dies, only I can inherit his position. At that time, you will be safe, won't you?"

Julius was not a wise man, and he quickly believed that Caracalla was not dead, but he was the one who died.

Under the temptation and threat, in order to save his life, he finally nodded in agreement with the request, and then decided to find a chance to assassinate Caracalla.

This opportunity is not hard to find.

The army was always on the move. One day, on the way to lead the army, Caracalla heard that there was an ancient temple nearby. On a whim, he decided to take the guard members to have a look.

He ordered the troops to rest where they were and wait for his return before advancing.

Julius realized that this was a good opportunity to strike.

At that time, Makrinus was beside Caracalla, temporarily commanding the army instead of Caracalla who was traveling.

The two looked at each other in the army.

The opportunity is here.

Macrinus' heart was beating violently.

Julius' heart could only beat faster than his.

When Caracalla decided to go to the temple, she took Cao Chongzhi with her.

Because she hoped that he would stay by her side to advise her, Karakala cared about Cao Chongzhi very much, and took him with her wherever she went, as if she couldn't live a normal life without him.

Same this time.

Cao Chongzhi does not believe in God, and his belief is slightly different from that of the Romans.

Of course, Caracalla herself didn't believe it, but out of the necessity of ruling, she pretended to believe it.

If it is found that he doesn't believe it himself, the problem will be big, and it will be very troublesome to rule.

On the way, he continued to communicate with Cao Chongzhi about this issue.

"The so-called gods are actually created for the convenience of governing the people. I have personally seen those miracles and oracles being fake. When I reach a certain position, I know that those things do not exist.

But we have to pretend that they exist and believe in them, so that the people can follow along with them. If the people believe in them, they will regulate their own behavior and will not make trouble. Piety], you can control them to death, and dare not resist until death. "

Caracalla talked disdainfully about her views on the belief in gods.

"They didn't know who killed them until they died. They still thought that they were impious and made mistakes, so they were condemned by the gods and suffered such disasters. In fact, where is the god? Kill them Yes, they are all powerful people."

Cao Chongzhi nodded silently.

"So, the so-called gods are nothing more than tools for ruling."

"Yes."

Caracalla liked Cao Chongzhi more and more, and said with a smile: "If there are no gods, if they are not allowed to believe in gods, they will know that it is us who make them miserable and deprive them of their lives, and they will resist. Is there any danger?

But if we let them believe in gods and let them know that they are guilty of original sin, then they will think that all their experiences are their own mistakes, and it is their own mistakes that lead to their miserable experiences, not our greed and oppression. of. "

"There is no more convenient and efficient ruling tool than gods."

Cao Chongzhi rode forward with Caracalla, and said with a smile: "The group of people who created the gods are really geniuses. What kind of whimsical ideas do they have to think of using gods to rule people?"

"Hahahahahaha! Genius? Maybe."

Caracalla laughed endlessly: "Speaking of which, it seems that the country you were born in didn't have such a god belief?"

"Not at all."

Cao Chongzhi recalled the Yellow Turban Uprising: "But people in our area like to regard themselves as gods, and then encourage people to rebel. The methods are often very violent, so they usually arouse the government's high vigilance and resolute crackdown."

"Isn't your place safe now? Are there any similar gods?"

Caracalla asked with great interest.

"There seem to be many specific gods, but most of them are relatively nihilistic, not a specific god. For example, we believe in the sky, which is the sky above our heads. The sky is responsive. If we do something wrong , Heaven will send down punishment, such as floods and droughts.”

Cao Chongzhi thought about it carefully, and then said: "Apart from this, there are no other specific gods who are very influential, and there is no starvation or cold that is my fault, caused by lack of piety... "

"Isn't that a big problem? Once someone starves and suffers from cold, there will definitely be violent turmoil, and some people will definitely rise up to rebel. Why doesn't your emperor use gods to help rule?"

Caracalla was still interested.

"I don't know the specifics, but I know that once something goes wrong, His Majesty the Emperor will find out and kill the officials who caused this situation... really killed many, many officials, so at present, there is no trouble people appear."

Caracalla was a little surprised.

"Oh? To use such a way of ruling? No wonder...then isn't he very tired?"

"I don't know, probably, His Majesty the Emperor has never talked about any topic related to the gods, and even the official is not allowed to raise such a topic. If there is a problem, it is to trouble the officials and punish the officials. It seems that there is no creation. God's idea."

Cao Chongzhi explained in this way.

"That's really unexpected. But all the people in power in the countries I know believe in gods, and they also require their own people to believe in gods. This is indeed very convenient."

"However, Your Excellency, the church can make people believe in gods and make people pious, but once something really bad happens and the belief in the gods can't solve it, wouldn't the church use this method to do something that you don't like?" What would you like to see?"

Cao Chongzhi raised his own doubts: "The gods that the people believe in, the spokesperson of the gods is the church, not you. Although you can control the church, will this control never change? What if the power of the church Bigger and bigger, then..."

Caracalla slowly restrained the smile on her face and took a deep breath.

"There will be no such day. If there is such a sign, I will use the army in my hand to let them know what is the most powerful ruling tool. It is not the gods, but the sword in our hands."

Bloody suppression?

That might not be the best way.

After Cao Chongzhi came to Rome, he saw the piety, longing, and even fanaticism of those believers, and felt that the way of believing in God might not be a perfect way of ruling.

The church can make them believe in God, and naturally they can also make them believe in the church.

So in the end, will the imperial government dominate everything, or will the church dominate everything?

When there is a conflict between the imperial government and the church, will the identity of the believers prevail or the identity of the people of the empire prevail?

Cao Chongzhi always feels that these guys are going to get rid of this ruling model, and sooner or later they will overturn.

The best thing to control is the human heart, and the hardest thing to control is also the human heart.

But observing whether a certain country has a god widely believed by the masses and regards it as a standard can probably explain whether the ruler of this country has a minimum conscience.