[Ancient Rome] How to Divorce the Tyrant Nero

Octavia's guess was right. Pallas's account books and the tax records found by Titus both showed that Appius the Younger's family had an extra income in the Germanic provinces, and the tax records of this income It only dates back to a year ago, which happened to be the time when Claudius was considering taking the younger sister Agrippina back to Rome.

"If I remember correctly, Aurus Vitellius was once a subordinate of Germanicus." Octavia has already begun to organize the property of the little Appius family, especially the finances of their members Status: "No wonder Aurus Vitellius wants his own brother to marry the daughter of Appius Jr. Are they trying to launder money through marriage?"

Although the property of Germanicus was supposed to be inherited by his children or brothers, his real estate in Germany and Gaul was divided among his former subordinates.

Limited by the shortage of talents and unstable status, Claudius was unable to ask for the land from the old department of Germanicus, so he had to use another way to make up for the loss.

special taxation.

Unfortunately, there is a law in the city of Rome, that is, since Matronas have no right to obey public office, the state should not levy special taxes on them.

Although Aurus Vitellius was born in a knight family, and his ancestors served as stewards of Augustus, his wife was the daughter of a tribune of the common people, so this tax avoidance law could not benefit their family .Presumably this is also the main reason why Aurus Vitellius was eager to marry his younger brother to the daughter of Appius the younger.

"This is really a model of getting rich through marriage." Octavia had no doubt that the Vitellius family could use this to avoid millions of taxes.

After all, their family has been in the army for three generations, and has produced several consuls and provincial governors. They can get fat to death just by fighting wars and eating empty pay, and they may be richer than the Flavius ​​family who got rich through lawsuits.

"Tell Narcissus about this, so that he can find an opportunity to talk to His Majesty the Emperor slowly." Octavia felt that she was not qualified to satirize the Vitellius family.After all, among the famous big shots, almost everyone relies on this to avoid taxes, including Claudius and Marcus Barbatus.

It's just that the situation of Orus Vitellius is quite special, and it is easy to arouse Claudius' anger.

"As for the son of little Appius..." If it weren't for the conversation with Scylla, Octavia would have almost forgotten the invisible third heir: "Let's find a chance to make little Appius drop it!"

Normally, Octavia would be the first to kill Appius' son.It's a pity that her recent actions are too big, so she has to adopt a soft policy towards other people in the royal family.

But for the current Octavia, there is not a big difference between whether to solve the little Appius or his son.Moreover, Brittanicus's sudden rebellion also made Octavia a little annoyed, and she even couldn't help but think of the lessons learned by Caligula and little Agrippina.

Octavia does not believe that the relationship between the royal siblings can be as harmonious and friendly as ever.

As virtuous as her great-grandmother, she had irreconcilable conflicts with Augustus.

Not to mention that the relationship between Octavia and Brittanicus is not deep enough to give unconditionally for each other.

Especially after the auction ended, Octavia had a deeper understanding of Brittanicus' rebellion.

I don’t know if it’s because of the broken halberd at Claudius’s place. Facing Octavia who presides over the overall situation, Brittany Kus not only didn’t give a good face from the beginning to the end, but even After the auction was over, he sneered at Octavia and said: "It's really great. It seems that the Romans also want to learn the old customs of the barbarians and produce a queen wearing laurel leaves."

"Barbarian?" Octavia didn't seem to understand the connotation of Brittanicus, and said in twos and twos: "Do you need me to tell you about the origin of the Ptolemaic Dynasty?"

"This is Rome, not Macedonia." Brittany Kus said coldly: "According to my father's rights, both you and mother should listen to me."

"The premise is that my spoiled brother can understand that everything he does is reasonable and measured." Octavia looked at Brittanicus who was at her level , said straight to the point: "Do you know why your father rejected your proposal?"

"Because you're talking nonsense there."

"No, you forgot that the emperor of Rome is the father, not you." Octavia felt that Brittanicus should be glad that he was born in ancient Rome and was the only son of the emperor.Otherwise, according to his willfulness, he would have been exiled or executed long ago.

"The land belongs to my father, and the money earned from the auction is also my father's. So why do you spend your father's money as a favor for yourself?" Octavia tried her best to make her voice calm and not ironic, forcing Bu Letanikus dodged a little: "Shouldn't fathers pave the way for their son's future?"

"The premise is that the funds for paving the road are not wasted in vain." Octavia is very clear that the structure of Roman society is that it prioritizes soldiers over merchants, and hatred of the rich is a common feature of every era.

"Do you still remember the story of the alliance between the great merchant Crassus and Caesar? And the first thing Augustus did when he first inherited Caesar's inheritance." He tried his best to reason with his stupid brother and stated the facts: "As long as you have an army, you will have wealth. As long as you have an army, you will have rights."

You must know that Nero in history was able to snatch gold from the temple and the house of the Roman senators because the followers of Germanicus and the Roman Guards gave him confidence.

"Instead of pleasing businessmen, we should please soldiers."

"Father needs the money from this auction more than you think. We have just finished the British Conquest, and we must prepare for the rebellion that follows."

"What's so scary about the group of rude people who are defeated." Britannicus sneered, "You also need to be careful with this?"

"Rude? You may have forgotten the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and the Gaul riots. These are what happened when the Romans established a province and had troops stationed there." Octavia wanted to pry Open Britannicus's head and see how much water is inside: "You are also a half-grown boy, you should know that the military salary is not in place, what will happen to our family?"

"As strong as Caesar, as confident as Mark Anthony, you don't even dare to test your status in the hearts of the soldiers. How can you compare with them?"

"Or, your charm is already great enough to rival Sestetti?" Octavia sarcastically sarcastically.

"Enough, I've had enough of you giving orders to me." Brittany Kus really hated Octavia like this.

Obviously he is the hope of the Claudius family, but from the parents to the servants, they all act as if they only discuss with Octavia.

Even when Claudius was drunk, Brittanicus could feel his father's disappointment in him and his expectation for Octavia.

"It would be nice if Octavia was a boy." Faced with a pile of government affairs, Claudius, who was exhausted | It's much easier now."

The author has something to say:

For those who can't remember their names, let me teach you a way.

First of all, find a bed (if you don’t have a bed, you can find a couch, or lay a yoga mat), then lie flat, relax, empty your mind, and finally accept and give up calmly.

How about it?Is not it simple.