[Ancient Rome] How to Divorce the Tyrant Nero

Once the news of Octavia's arrest spread, all classes in Rome were in chaos.

Gacius Florus never imagined that he would face so many lobbyists.

From the members of the Senate who could not understand Octavia, down to the retired soldiers who had been treated by Octavia, they all flocked to Palatine Hill, trying to get Nero to release Octavia.

This made Gacius Florus, who had a bad start, so angry that he was half dead, and even ordered Vepasian who came to persuade him: "I really didn't expect that a man in Rome would be filmed by a little girl." so restrained."

Relying on the emperor's favor, Gacius Florus has also received a lot of money recently, and even spent a huge sum of 20 sesterces to buy a luxurious residence in the golden area of ​​Rome.

Wei Paxiang's face was gloomy, as if he had used his face to penetrate the ash pond, and even lowered his voice a little: "I just asked you to force Octavia back temporarily, and didn't ask you to imprison her."

Thinking of the arrangement these days, Vepasian wanted to hang Gacius Florus up and beat him: "You imprison the stove-keeper, the Lepidus family and Valerius The family will never let it go, and those rich Matronas are also frequent visitors to Octavia's salon, so they won't give you any face."

"Don't give face? If you don't give face, I will let them know what it means to have no eyes in a sword." Gacius Florus has always implemented a high-pressure policy in the Jewish province, so he disdains the way of the Roman lady. : "It's just a group of nobles with delicate skin and tender flesh. As long as I bark my teeth at them, they will be so scared that they will fill the whole room with gold coins."

Hearing this, Wei Paxiang not only furrowed his brows deeper, but he couldn't even restrain the anger in his voice: "The group of nobles with delicate skin and tender flesh are not lambs to be slaughtered by you, don't forget the previous independence| How did the officials die, and Octavia's identity is too sensitive, she is not only a descendant of Augustus, but also the daughter of the previous emperor."

"You should be very clear that Nero didn't want to divorce Octavia, and he didn't even get tired of Octavia."

"As long as that little girl from the Claudius family coaxes the emperor after being released, you and I will be the next to receive an arrest warrant." Wei Paxiang almost yelled out these words at the end of his speech.

To make matters worse, during the first week of Octavia's captivity, Boudica, Queen of the Issenes of Britain, revolted against the Romans.

Because of the bloody rule of Britain by Gaicius Florus' good friend Polynus, the British natives not only had to suffer heavy corvee and military service, but also, like the Jews, were blackmailed by Polynus twice in three days some.

Especially after the death of King Prasutagus of Essini, Polynus not only took possession of the legacy of the old king in public, but even beat Queen Boudica in public, which caused | Exploding the anger of the British natives, they captured Colchester in one fell swoop.

Even though Polynus mobilized Welsh troops to suppress the uprising Essini, but because of the Dionysus, many of the stationed legions returned to Rome, so Polynus and Queen Boudica The war stalemate, and then sent messages to Rome every now and then, asking them to send troops to increase money.

But Rome...how could it be rich?

Nero's money is in Octavia's hands, as for the treasury...

The very embarrassing Senate stated that they have not redeemed the property in the hands of the Matronas so far.

As for using your own money to subsidize military expenses...

The nobles in Rome seem not to be that noble, and Nero's appeal is not enough to carry out war taxation, let alone how many war taxation have they engaged in in the past few years?

No one can bear to throw money into it year after year.

"Is there no other way?" Gacius Florus, who was urgently summoned to the palace, listened to his confidant's report with a gloomy expression, and the latter's expression was not as good as that of Garcius Florus. how much.

"In addition to war taxation, we also conducted war donations, but those Matronas ignored us at all, and even the virgins of Vesta did not respond."

"The amount of money is obviously wrong." Gacius Florus thought of the Lepidus companies and the seals of Valerius all over the place, so his eyes lit up and said: "The Lepidus family and Valerius Didn't the family say that? Their two businesses are all over Rome, so it's impossible that they only have this amount of money.

"But the problem is that the head of the two families is the woman imprisoned by you. According to Roman law, it is impossible for us to tax non-specific women." Lourus is even worse.

Because of the death of Marcus Barbatus, he is a veritable leader, instead of being a mascot in the Senate and the Citizens Assembly as before.

But now, Octavia's arrest made Vipasian see clearly the contempt of the upper echelons of Rome.It also made him understand that Octavia was not only a hindrance in front of him, but also a person who tightened the reins of those nobles.

Once the shackles of Octavia are gone, the executive power will follow.

As for legislation and military power...

The figures of Nero and Galba flashed in Vepasian's mind, and his face turned ugly.

Now, even if he didn't want to acquit Octavia, that was impossible.

If Rome loses Britain, which Claudius conquered during his tenure, then coupled with Octavia's identity, it will definitely cause a lot of riots, and some people will even take the opportunity to let the emperor and them all get out.

Vepasian knew very well that they were able to control Octavia, all relying on surprise and Nero's permission, but they would not actually deal a heavy blow to Octavia, and it was even very difficult to bring Octavia to justice in the trial. Davia was sentenced to death.

However, even so, a queen who has been in the dock will eventually leave an indelible stain on her life history, so Vepasian and Gacius Florus wanted to use this to force Octavia to surrender. The influence in the political arena, like the former Livia Drusus, retreated behind the scenes.

Of course, Gacius Florus must have thought more beautifully than Vepasian, and even had the idea of ​​taking away Octavia's property.

But now...

"Can it be delayed until a public trial? Or let the emperor sign a permit for an early trial." Gacius Florus, who calmed down, thought about the final measure: "If Octavia is really allowed to avoid the trial , then none of us will end well.”

"Do you think it is realistic for the emperor to sign this edict?" The decadent Wei Paxiang said without raising his head: "The emperor has already regretted arresting Octavia, if he knows what happened in Britain, it is not guaranteed He will release Octavia for this, and even put the blame on us."

Compared with Gacius Florus, Vepasian had a clearer understanding of Nero's character, so he said in his heart: "If that time really comes, prepare a scapegoat. In short, we must not lose Britain. .”

Otherwise, the counterattack within Rome alone would be enough to make Vepasian and the others die without a place to bury them.