At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

"He is just a guard, not an important person, nor an officer. Why did he assassinate you? What benefits can he get after assassinating you? Who can give him such benefits? And what kind of status is the person who can give him benefits? Can you promise to him? If you are assassinated to death, who can get the most benefit from the chaos?"

Cao Chongzhi asked Caracalla to calm down.

He thought about it carefully, and felt that what Cao Chongzhi said made sense.

A mere guard, why must he take a huge risk to assassinate him?

What is the motive?

Spontaneous or instigated by others?

If spontaneous, why?

If instigated, who instigated it?

Who has that prestige and that capital to get the most benefit after his death?

Who would most like to see it all?

The enemy, the Parthian Empire, Artaban V would definitely like to see this.

But could they hook up with a guard?

So how far did they have to infiltrate the Roman army?

Infiltrating to that point, he should be finished.

impossible.

So next, who is the second suspect?

Chapter 1491 One thousand four hundred and one I ask you!Who are you following?

Caracalla gradually had some ideas about the identity of the second suspect.

But there is no proof.

There is only one person who can provide proof,

Cao Chongzhi provided him with a method.

"In the State of Wei, there was a special punishment for the most heinous people, which was called car cracking, which meant that five horses were tied with ropes, and the other end of the ropes was looped around the criminal's neck, two wrists and on both ankles.

Then let the groom tell the five horses to run in different directions. The five horses work hard together. The greater the strength, the better. In the end, the sinner can be pulled to pieces, and the kind that is broken into living pieces is very scary. I I've only heard about it, I haven't seen it with my own eyes. "

Cao Chongzhi probably spoke loudly in front of Julius.

Caracalla understood what Cao Chongzhi meant, and at the same time, became interested in this punishment.

For those who dared to threaten him, he felt that cruel punishments should be used to deal with them, the crueler the better, so that everyone who saw them would have fear and dare not disobey him, otherwise something would happen.

After being the emperor for so many years, it is unimaginable that someone still dares to threaten him to assassinate him!

He felt that he needed to do something to consolidate his power and status—this time, he had to do it when he returned from the war!

"What you said sounds very interesting. I haven't seen it either. Why don't I see it today."

Then Caracalla waved his hand.

"Take him out, according to this method, find five horses!"

Caracalla decided to carry out a wave of car cracking torture on the spot to cooperate with Cao Chongzhi's strategy.

Sure enough, upon hearing such a statement, Julius, who was only injured but far from dying, was suddenly trembling with fright, unbelievable.

The guards also felt sad, but they didn't dare to resist the emperor who was in a rage, so they did according to the emperor's order.

They carried Julius out of the woods, found a clearing, found five similar horses, and then found five very thick ropes, and put Julius first.

According to Cao Chongzhi's technical guidance, they bound Julius' neck, two ankles, and the wrist of his left hand and tied them tightly, but his right hand was cut off and could not be bound.

The guards looked at Cao Chongzhi.

"Forget it, the four sides are the same, so there are four horses, just give him one less piece to tear."

Cao Chongzhi used the penalty of quartering the body by four horses and lost one horse.

Julius was so frightened that something was wrong, he was chanting words, and no one could understand what he said.

The four soldiers with excellent riding skills were ready to execute the execution. Cao Chongzhi walked up to Julius, knelt down, and patted his face.

"This is your last chance, just say it, if you don't say it, it will be too late."

Julius stared at Cao Chongzhi for a while, as if he wanted to say something, but he trembled for a while, as if his mouth was pouring, and he didn't say anything.

Caracalla had lost her patience.

He wants to make this traitor pay and warn others.

So he ordered.

"Go!"

Cao Chongzhi shook his head, stood up and walked away a little bit - he didn't want blood to splatter all over him later.

But he still wanted to fight for it one last time, so he suggested to Emperor Caracalla, to deal with this traitor, try to pull it first, and don't start the horse to run.

If the killer is killed at the beginning, he will be torn to pieces soon, and he will be of no value. It will be difficult to find the mastermind who intends to kill the emperor.

Caracalla felt that what Cao Chongzhi said made sense, so he ordered four guards with excellent riding skills to incite the horses to stroll around the courtyard for a few steps.

So the four war horses began to walk in different directions.

Pain can lull anyone, including Julius.

The power of a war horse is far greater than that of a human being. When a war horse runs at full speed, it can easily kill a person, and the force of pulling can completely tear a human body apart.

Feeling the severe and uncontrollable pain hit, his brain instantly became extremely clear. The severe pain stimulated his nerves and made him feel boundless fear.

This fear penetrated his defenses.

He cried out in fear.

"Your Majesty! Spare me! Spare me Your Majesty! Officer Macrinus made me do this! He made me do this! I'm just scared! I'm just scared!!!"

He called out the name loudly and clearly.

Caracalla didn't seem to be too surprised, it just seemed to confirm one of his thoughts.

"Stop!"

Four guards stopped the horse.

Julius' life was temporarily secured.

Caracalla walked over.

"Maculinus made you do it?"

"Yes."

"why?"

"Because my elder brother was killed by you, I am very worried that you will kill me later. I am very afraid. Chief Macrinus said that by assassinating you, he can be emperor, he can pardon me, and let me do Officer! Nothing will happen to me!"

"So it's like this...he wants to be the emperor? Well, that's great."

Caracalla's eyes were full of frightening coldness.

Julius explained everything.

Cao Chongzhi felt very tricky.

The guards looked at each other in blank dismay.

Although it is said that Macrinus is the chief of the Praetorian Guards, and the Praetorian Guards have held the right to trade the throne for a long time, Caracalla has benefited them a lot and led them to many victories. I began to lean towards Caracalla.

If Macrinus and the Emperor were to break openly, which side would they take?

Some of the guards were confused.

Caracalla herself felt a little unsure of what to do next.

If Macrinus wanted to kill him, he would absolutely not tolerate him, but after all, Macrinus was the chief of the Imperial Guard, and it was still a question of whether his prestige could compete with Macrinus.

So he looked at Cao Chongzhi, thinking that this smart young man from the state of Wei would definitely be able to give him an objective suggestion.

"Chongzhi, next, what do you think I should do?"

Cao Chongzhi looked around at the group of about 500 guard soldiers, and after seeing the hesitant and confused look on their faces, he realized that this might be the hope of Caracalla's comeback.

Right now, his safety is tied to Caracalla. Although the chief of the imperial guards may not dare to attack himself with a special status, it is hard to say what will happen to the chaos in the event of chaos.

Moreover, once an accident occurs in Caracalla, the political situation in Rome will definitely become chaotic, which is not in the interests of the Wei Empire, which is trying to open up the Roman market.

After finally establishing friendly diplomatic relations with the central government of Rome, the goods of the Wei Empire are being dumped on a large scale in Egypt and Italy, and the Roman nobles are flocking to the goods of the Wei Empire.

Without Caracalla's low-tariff or even tariff-free policy, all this might not go so smoothly.

For another emperor, who knows if he is willing to continue Caracalla's policy?

A slight fluctuation will seriously violate the interests of the Wei Empire, and it will also impact the domestic manufacturers and industrial workers, and there is a danger of losing their vitality.

These are all the economic knowledge he learned in the elite tutoring class. He knows how much the political situation of the Roman Empire, which is thousands of miles away, has an impact on the economy of the Wei Empire and those practitioners.

That's the problem with an export-oriented economy...

Cao Chongzhi couldn't help but feel that such a problem is really big, and the risk is also high, and it is easy to lose everything.

No wonder Guo Peng wants to set up an office in Rome in order to reduce the risks brought about by such things as much as possible and escort overseas trade.

However, the profits are huge, and the income from one round trip is so high, let alone a single person, the government of the Wei Empire cannot resist such a temptation.

The income of a round trip is so high that even the treasury cannot refuse, let alone businessmen and practitioners?

Those who pay to eat meat, the workers below can also drink soup, right?

Many people in the Wei Empire survived by trading with the Roman Empire.

Tea from Yangzhou, silk from Yizhou, lacquerware from Jizhou, and iron pots from Qingzhou were exported to Rome in large quantities, and the profits earned were enough to allow these people to live a prosperous life and nourish countless people.

Losing this trade route will not make people unable to survive, but they will definitely lose their current good days.

that feeling...

Cao Chongzhi is not incomprehensible.

Therefore, as a loyal subject of the Wei Empire, Cao Chongzhi felt that he had to do something to help Karakala stabilize the situation and indirectly protect the interests of the Wei Empire.

"Your Excellency, right now, I think we have only one way to go."

Cao Chongzhi pointed to Caracalla's guards: "Rely on these brave fighters, kill them back, let them protect you, and then let this traitor point out Macrinus's despicable treasonous behavior in front of everyone, you are the emperor after all, Is the supreme ruler, with your bravery and prestige, take him down and kill him!"

Cao Chongzhi clenched his fists.

Caracalla frowned and looked at the guard soldiers beside her.

Perhaps realizing that this was his only chance, Caracalla made up his mind to give it a go here. If he wins, he will really be able to control the Imperial Guard.

At that time, he will take advantage of the opportunity of the war to be the chief of the Imperial Guard himself, take this opportunity to completely control the Imperial Guard, and become an emperor with a solid power base in the true sense.

At that time, it might be the beginning of my own road to centralization!

The quick-going, bad-tempered Caracalla has never been a coward.

He looked at his guard soldiers.

"Your officers are going to kill me and replace me as emperor! My soldiers, I ask you, would you rather have a lowly man who came from a slave be your emperor, or let me, my father, the former The emperor's son is your emperor?"

He gave a speech loudly.

"Are you willing to obey the orders of a slave? Or obey the orders of my emperor? Let me ask you! Who are you going to follow?"

Confused soldiers, you look at me and I look at you, not knowing how to answer.

Seeing that the situation was about to fall into a cold spot, Cao Chongzhi stood up decisively, walked in front of the soldiers, drew out his knife and stuck it on the ground, and knelt down on one knee towards Caracalla.

"I am willing to obey your orders! Follow you and fight against traitors with rebellious hearts!"

The confused soldiers saw someone take the lead in making an oath, and it didn't matter who it was, as if they had a backbone, they pulled out their weapons one after another, plunged them into the soil in front of them, and knelt down on one knee .

"I am willing to obey your orders! Follow you! Fight against traitors with rebellious hearts!"