Chapter 447 Caesar's New Decree

After hearing this, the senators felt relieved, but at the same time some people couldn't help but think: It seems that Caesar has completely controlled the rich Egypt, and his strength may become stronger!

What Caesar said next made the senators' hearts rise again.

"However, because Egypt has just ended its civil war, the wheat stocks are almost exhausted, and the food supply can only wait until after the harvest. There will be a period of food shortage for several months. If Rome cannot survive these few months, the conflict and Chaos will still happen, and it will be more intense than now, so how to solve it?”

The elders looked at each other, but no one answered.

Caesar looked around them and gave the answer with a cold expression: "Search the properties of traitors such as Pompey and Cato and take them into national ownership. All the food they hoard will be used to supply the people in the city who are short of food, and part of it can be confiscated." Use your money to buy more food in the wealthy towns in the south to help the people of the entire city of Rome survive this period of food shortage!”

Pompey was extremely wealthy, and although Cato lived a frugal life, he was actually a large landowner, owning a large amount of fertile land in Latium and Campania.

The senators who continued to fight against Caesar together with Cato, such as Metellus and others, were mostly from famous families in Rome. After decades of running in the Senate, it can be said that all of them are wealthy and have spent all their property. After checking, it is enough to make the The treasury that had been emptied by Caesar was immediately replenished, but except for Opius, Balbus, Trebonius and other Caesarist senators who shouted "good ideas", all the other senators in the venue showed their faces. Frightened and silent.

In the past, even if a Roman senator committed treason and was executed or exiled, the crime was not as serious as that of his family, and his property would not be publicly confiscated. After all, the famous Roman families had developed for hundreds of years, and their relationships were intertwined and their interests were intertwined. Even if there were political disputes, they would still leave behind each other. There was room for it. It was the first time in the history of Rome that Caesar had completely overthrown and defeated a large number of famous enemies and made deadly enemies. The senators could not help but feel alarmed.

However, Caesar's previous methods made them fearful, and no one publicly expressed opposition, allowing Caesar's proposal to be passed.

So Caesar struck while the iron was hot and then proposed: "Our Senate must not only solve the problem of food for the refugees, but also solve their accommodation problem. Nowadays, a large number of people from North Italy have entered the city of Rome and have no place to live. They can only sleep in the squares and streets. A large number of Various items were piled up in public places in the city of Rome, and large amounts of excrement were piled up in every corner of the city, making the city more dirty and crowded. This was also one of the important reasons for the conflict...

In order to restore order to the city of Rome as soon as possible, temporary accommodation must be arranged for these poor northern Italian people! Traitors such as Pompey and Cato owned many farms on the outskirts of Rome, and they could be temporarily resettled in these farms after nationalization. "

Since the senators had already agreed to the proposal of "confiscating the properties of Pompey, Cato and others", there was no need to agree to one more, not to mention that doing so would make them live more comfortably in the city.

Who knows, Caesar is not done yet, and proposes one after another: recruiting poor people and refugees to form more new legions, which can not only reduce the occurrence of conflicts in Rome, but also strengthen Rome's military power to cope with the next series of military operations; Reduce the debtor's liabilities to a greater extent, so that They can live a stable life during this turbulent period, thereby reducing unnecessary chaos; it is more clear about the execution time and specific areas of the previously passed "Land Act", so that veterans who have been following Caesar for many years can obtain Enough land to last you through your old age...

As these suggestions were put forward, the hearts of the centrists and conservative elders in the venue gradually sank, but still no one dared to raise objections.

But after these proposals were passed, Caesar proposed: In view of the large-scale invasion of barbarians and the turmoil, there must be a dedicated person responsible for the defense of the Roman city to ensure safety.

This time he did not let the senators vote, but directly appointed Trebonius as the Roman city defense commander and responsible for the recruitment and training of new regiments.

Once Caesar goes to war, the life and death of the city of Rome will be in the hands of Trebonius. How can this defeated general be so virtuous as to take on this important task! ...Some senators, even Caesar's men, were unwilling to do so.

But in Caesar's view, among the high-ranking Roman figures who followed him, they were either mediocre or incompetent, and there were not many who were truly talented and worthy of his trust. Antony was one, but it was a pity that he died, and Trebonius also He can barely count as one, and he is a defeated general. He should have been condemned, but now he has been promoted. How can he be more grateful!

Moreover, Trebonius, under his instruction, proposed a motion to "give Pompey, Cato and others the crime of treason", which would inevitably be hated by conservatives, centrists, and even a few Caesarist senators. You can only survive in the dangerous Roman political arena by relying on his protection!

Seeing Trebonius's extremely excited expression, Caesar felt that he had made the right move.

Then Caesar nominated personnel to seize the properties of traitors. This was a fat job, but he did not fully take care of his own people. Half of the candidates were centrist and conservative senators, headed by Cicero.

Cicero decisively refused, and some of the named non-Caesarian senators followed suit, but some neutral senators chose to acquiesce.

Then, Caesar nominated candidates to provide free food to the refugees and settle them in farms. Cicero was still at the top of the list. He also emphasized that this position was an important task to restore Rome to its former peace, and no senator who loved Rome should refuse it!

Cicero hesitated for a moment and finally chose to remain silent. He did love Rome, but he knew better: if he could do this well, the countless poor people in Rome and the exiled people in the northern Italian province would be grateful to him, which would be very helpful for him to regain his foothold in the turbulent Roman political arena in the future, just like Sicily in the past.

Caesar finally smiled.

After the meeting, some senators who walked out of the Senate were in a very complicated mood.

But Caesar's scheduled plan would not be delayed because of them. Just one day later, he convened a citizens' meeting.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the meeting, Caesar sent a large number of soldiers to maintain order, and also asked some veterans to wear civilian clothes and join the meeting to play a guiding role.

The citizens who attended the conference were not only residents living in Rome and its surrounding areas, but also many northern Italian citizens who were exiled to the city and were Roman citizens (there were many Roman colonial cities in the northern Italian province), making the number of people in this conference larger than before. However, the Roman citizens who had tasted the "iron fist of Caesar" were full of fear of this ruler and did not dare to make trouble in the conference hall.

On the contrary, Caesar, who was in the center of the conference hall, was serious as before, and smiled and told the citizens loudly: a series of bills he submitted to the Senate and passed.

He first announced the "Bill to Reduce the Debts of Debtors". The citizens present could not believe their ears. Most of them suffered from usury, and many of them went bankrupt and became refugees. Usury has become the biggest chronic disease in Rome.

Last year, Caesar's "Effective Debt Reduction Bill" won the hearts of the people. Caelius, who opposed him, only verbally declared that "debts should be reduced more significantly" and attracted a large number of supporters. Now that this bill came out, the originally quiet conference hall burst into cheers, resounding throughout the city of Rome.

Caesar then announced the new "Land Law". The veterans in the meeting hall and the soldiers who were maintaining order around him were extremely excited, and even shouted in unison: "Caesar! Caesar!!!..."

Solve the food supply in Rome so that all the people can have enough food; solve the housing problem so that the refugees can have a place to live... When these new measures and bills were promulgated one by one, the whole meeting hall was boiling.

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The citizens have forgotten their previous complaints against Caesar, and also forgotten the resentment when they were suppressed a few days ago. They danced and shouted Caesar's name like those veterans, and were extremely excited.

Therefore, when Caesar announced that "Pompey, Cato and others have been identified as traitors by the Senate", no one in the meeting hall expressed opposition. Instead, they expressed support and even cursed them for causing harm to the Republic!

When Caesar announced that he would "recruit soldiers and form new legions", the audience also responded enthusiastically. Many northern Italians took advantage of the lively atmosphere to ask Caesar: "When can we repel the invading barbarians and return home?!"

A senator also raised this question in yesterday's Senate meeting, but Caesar did not answer it on the grounds that "this issue is not within the scope of today's discussion."

But today, facing thousands of Roman citizens, he looked resolute and declared loudly in a sonorous tone: "Three months! When I gather the army and prepare supplies in three months, I will lead the army north, not only to defeat the invading barbarians, but also to completely destroy their nests, so that northern Italy can gain permanent peace!"

The cheers lasted for a long time.

Since Caesar detonated the Roman civil war, his reputation among the Roman people has plummeted. When the two provinces of northern Italy and western France fell, it can be said that it has reached its lowest point. However, he not only won back the support of the people through this series of bills, but also surpassed it before.

Of course, there were a few people who hated him even more, not only the nobles, but also the wealthy new rich who were engaged in money lending.

Caesar didn't care about this. In the next few days, he pushed for the implementation of various bills. When he had free time, he would meet with Olivia to improve his relationship with Brutus.