Chapter 400: Onomabaitis's Mission

At a meeting to discuss this matter, Lucullus spoke to attack Caesar.

Caesar attacked him with extremely fierce words and uttered a long speech, which frightened the senior tuna elder into a trance. In the end, he even prostrated himself on the ground and begged for forgiveness.

Lucullus's fragile performance marked the withdrawal of the group of people who occupied high positions in the Senate during Sulla's period from the center of Roman politics.

Pompey's Eastern legislation was passed, and then Crassus's goal was achieved with the help of Caesar, that is, the quota that tax farmers who had the right to collect taxes in Asia had to pay to the treasury was reduced by one third.

Of course, while working for Pompey and Crassus, Caesar did not forget to display his ambitions. In these passed proposals, there were some clauses that he wanted to change the ills of Rome.

But Caesar knew very well that although he had become a consul, his strength was still very weak and he could not change the current situation of Rome alone. He could only temporarily use the protection of Pompey and Crassus to do some minor repairs.

While Caesar was busy with legislation, he also did an important thing - arranging a wedding.

Because he and Pompey had divorced at this time, in order to consolidate the alliance with Pompey, Caesar married his only daughter to him.

Julia was young, beautiful, and kind-hearted, and inherited a lot of her father's charm, so Pompey was happy to accept her.

Caesar married Calpurnia, whose father was Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who was very likely to be elected consul next year. Caesar needed this successor consul to protect his interests.

After completing the marriage, Caesar still had an important thing to do - determine where to work after leaving the consul.

He certainly would not obey Cato's wishes and manage the villages and trails in Italy. This unprofitable position could not solve his huge debt problem, let alone realize his ambitions.

He looked to the north of Italy. After Rome pacified the Mediterranean region, there were few areas left where war was possible. He was well aware that war would bring both wealth and power.

So, the tribune Vatilius, who had a close relationship with Caesar, proposed a suggestion in the Senate: after Caesar stepped down as consul, he would be granted five years of special command, merge the provinces of West France and North Italy, and be governed by him. He also had the privilege of choosing the legion commander himself...

Although some senators objected, the proposal was passed with the support of Pompey and Crassus.

Not long after, the current governor of Illyria, Metellus, died of illness. The Senate voted again to expand Caesar's provincial jurisdiction to include Illyria.

A five-year term, a strong army, and the opportunity to make achievements throughout northern Italy and the Balkan Peninsula... These were what Caesar wanted.

As a younger brother, he fought for Pompey and Crassus this year, meeting all their needs and naturally receiving generous rewards.

In 58 BC (the fifteenth year of the establishment of the Nix tribe), Caesar went to the northern Italian province with high spirits.

He was not alone, but brought a team of staff with him.

In this team, there were many candidates for Caesar to appoint as legion commanders: Labienus, who had served as a tribune and had worked closely with Caesar. Caesar decided to give him the power of an independent senior legal officer in the province in return; the former tribune Vartius, who had made great contributions to Caesar's appointment; Caesar's old acquaintances Balbus, Mamula... and the young Publius Crassus, the youngest son of Crassus, the richest man in Rome, and another young man Brutus.

Among Caesar's candidates for legion commanders, there is a particularly striking point: except for Crassus and Brutus, who were born into prominent families and whose fathers had served as consuls, the highest official position held by the others before was tribune. Their families had not produced any great figures for several generations, and these people also lacked war experience, which was completely incomparable to the legion commanders under Pompey.

Members of the Roman aristocracy were unwilling to serve under Caesar, because no one thought that Caesar would become a great commander, and even speculated that he might be defeated and killed in the conflict with the Gauls.     …………………………………………………………………………

The Boii originally lived in the Po River Plain. They had repeatedly joined other Celtic tribes to threaten the safety of Rome in the south. When Rome became strong, they sent troops to the north for revenge.

Seeing their neighbors being exterminated by the Romans one by one, in order to survive, the Boii had to migrate as a whole tribe, and after going through hardships, they came to the plains on the north bank of the Drau River and the west bank of the Danube.

There were other Celtic tribes settled here, and if the Boii wanted to gain a foothold here, they had to compete with these native inhabitants for land.

In such a difficult environment, the Boii had to change their traditions. They elected a king for the entire tribe. This king had great power. In addition to the sacrifices being handled by the druids, he was also responsible for military affairs, diplomacy, and tribal affairs. As a result, the Boii tribes were united together, bursting out with great power, and eventually conquered other tribes, becoming the most powerful force in the western Danube plain.

However, King Boi is not hereditary. If he dies due to illness or makes a major mistake that causes dissatisfaction among the tribes, the leaders of each tribe will apply to the Druid Priesthood and hold a tribal meeting to elect a talented person from the leader. The one who has both becomes the new king...

So when the negotiations with the Nyx tribe failed, the Boi people resolutely gave up their king who caused the tribe's defeat and became a prisoner, and re-elected a new king.

The new king of Boi promised the people: He will definitely try his best to defeat the Nix people and rescue those captured compatriots!

This means that the war between Boi and Nix will continue. However, due to the strength of the Nix navy, which controls the entire Drau River, the Boi people are unable to send large troops across the river to fight, and small groups of troops can only sneak across. Once the harassment has a little effect, there is often no return.

Therefore, there were few land battles between the two tribes, but there were many water battles, with the Boi losing more than they won.

Compared with the proactiveness of the Boi people, the Knicks tribe seemed very quiet. They focused their main energy on absorbing and digesting the new territory.

In 60 BC (the thirteenth year after the establishment of the Nix tribe), the Nix tribe once again moved its main stronghold. The location of the new main stronghold was the original main stronghold of the Peruste tribe, located on the south bank of the Drau River.

Maximus made this decision without hesitation, firstly to gain faster and better control over the territories of the three original Pannoni tribes in the north, and secondly to use actions to express the next step of the Nix tribe to the people. The goal of expansion is the determination of the Boi people.

One day in February of 58 BC (the fifteenth year of the establishment of the Nyx tribe), Maximus was handling tribal affairs in the main house. An attendant came in and reported: The leader, Onoma Baitis of the Ministry of Commerce, asked to see him.

Why did Onoma Baitis come back so soon this time? ... Maximus thought: "Let him come in."

Onomabaitis, an Illyrian, was once a member of the pirate group of Chalsippons. Later, Pompey launched a military campaign to exterminate pirates throughout the Mediterranean. They were forced to flee back to the mountains and settled in Chalsippons. At Paz's suggestion, he joined the Nix tribe and became a tribesman. He was assigned land and houses, and his life was much richer and more stable than before.

But not all pirates can adapt to such a life of leaving early and returning late, eating in the soil. For example, Onoma Baitis, who has been a pirate for more than ten years, has long forgotten how to farm, even with the Ministry of Agriculture. People came to teach farming techniques, but he didn’t learn it too seriously, and now Nepal The territory of the Kesi tribe is getting wider and wider, and the population is increasing. The foreign auxiliary people have to complete the tribe's public projects, such as bridges, roads, dams... and also help the officials who are busy with tribal affairs farm the land. It is really difficult. There is no extra manpower to help ordinary people cultivate their fields.

Although the ordinary people of Nyx will hire their people to help farm the fields due to their friendly relations with the Yabod, Aldiyi, and Skodisci tribes, the problem of labor shortage has always existed.

Onomabaitis has been wandering in the Mediterranean for many years and has seen the world. After discovering the existence of this situation in the Nyx tribe, he plucked up the courage to ask for a meeting with Maximus and proposed his own solution - to go out of the mountains and go to towns in Italy. to buy slaves.

"Buying and selling slaves" is a taboo word in the Nyx tribe, because the senior tribesmen who hold high positions in the tribe have experienced this pain. However, Maximus is not sensitive to this. On the contrary, he is very happy with Honor. Mabaitis had this idea, and even went out of his way to convince the department chiefs in the political hall: "What we do is not to help the tyrants, but to help those slaves escape their suffering."

After the pirates hijacked the ship, in addition to asking for ransom, they also sold the stolen goods and sold prisoners who could not pay the ransom... Onomabaitis used to be responsible for this aspect among the pirates, although now he has to change from "selling to buying". ", but it is undeniable that he has rich experience. For this reason, Maximus directly promoted him to the Ministry of Commerce, specifically responsible for purchasing slaves, and assigned him several subordinates.

The banknotes circulated by the Nix tribe cannot be used outside. Fortunately, the Nix tribe now produces more and more abundant products. Cloth, pottery, wood carvings, furniture... can be exchanged for various raw materials provided by surrounding friendly tribes. , so there was still money left from the original looting from Italy, Maximus asked Onomabatis to carry some gold and silver coins with his subordinates, and also sent a group of legionnaires to act as escorts, pretending to be a caravan .