At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 622: The Split Between Old and New Rome
Rome's success gave Antiochus IV an extremely high example. He looked around his country and saw that Iberia in the north was being invaded by barbarians. This made him feel that this was a great opportunity. He could not defeat the Huns or the Romans, but he could still defeat the barbarians in the north.

So Antiochus IV assembled 30,000 new troops and obtained an invitation from the King of Iberia to go north to fight the barbarians.

At the beginning, it was extremely smooth. Antiochus IV's 30,000 new troops defeated the Sarmatians step by step and fought all the way to the Black Sea in the north, but Antiochus IV never expected that this group of barbarians actually had their own reinforcements. The army of the Northern Huns suddenly ambushed Antiochus IV's army, and more than 20,000 of his 30,000 new troops were annihilated. He only fled back to his country with a small number of remnants.

And this defeat became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Seleucid Empire. The domestic conflicts were like a volcano, and it was only the royal new army that suppressed the volcano. But now it could not be suppressed at all. The serfs in the Media region revolted. These serfs formed the Army of the Holy Word, proposed a policy of equal distribution of land and tax exemption, and attracted hundreds of thousands of farmers to join. The entire northern part of the Seleucid Empire was in complete chaos.

The Seleucid Empire was originally a multi-ethnic country, and the saddest thing about them was that even though they had been established for more than 100 years, the country had not yet achieved national unity, let alone economic, cultural, and political unity. Their rule had always been colonial rule.

Faced with the crisis of internal and external troubles in the kingdom, the local governors did not want to defend their country. Instead, the local aristocratic council and administrative officials joined together to formulate some kind of Seleucid Southeast Mutual Protection Treaty. As long as the peasant army did not invade their territory, they pretended not to see it. They also turned a blind eye to the orders issued by Antiochus IV, and lied that there was also a peasant army in their own territory that needed to be suppressed and they had no way to support it.

Now the only cities that Antiochus IV could control were the capital Antioch and the commercial city of Damascus. A regional power with a population of nearly ten million was in danger of extinction because of a serf uprising.

At this critical moment, Antiochus IV showed some political accomplishment. He sold all the factories that the Seleucid Empire had spent billions of dollars to build over the past decade to the nobles and big merchants in Antioch and Damascus at very low prices. He used this policy to buy off the nobles in both places. The local nobles also did not like the peasant army's policy of equal distribution of land and tax exemption.

The equal distribution of land is not just to distribute their land equally. If ordinary farmers are exempted from tax, who will pay the tax? The nobles of these two cities did not want the peasant army to invade their capital.

So the nobles of the two places contributed manpower and money to help Antiochus IV form a new army. In order to ensure control of the army, the commanders of this army were all descendants of nobles.

Antiochus IV stabilized the capital and Damascus, the two most important cities of the Seleucid Empire, with a population of nearly 200 million. Most importantly, these two cities have always been the industrial centers of the Seleucid Empire.

Relying on this simple industrial system, Antiochus IV re-manufactured muskets and artillery, recruited farmers to form an army and appointed nobles as officers. He fought a fierce battle with 5 peasant soldiers on the outskirts of Antioch, repelled the aggressive peasant army, and temporarily restricted the expansion of the peasant army. However, the entire Seleucid Empire was completely shattered as a result, and even Antiochus IV could only control one-fifth of the original country's power.

Zhang Pijiang naturally could not invest money to help Antiochus IV in such a chaotic situation in the Seleucid Empire. He said calmly: "The Seleucid Empire is in turmoil, and the railway issue is not urgent. Your country wants to buy arms, and I have no objection, but you have to pay for the goods. After all, given your country's current situation, our country is worried that once the loan is lent out, we don't know who to ask for the money back."

Demetrius said in distress: "Don't you have any sympathy? If the Seleucid Empire is really destroyed, the Huns' growth trend will be uncontrollable. Do you want to watch the Huns kill their way to the Mediterranean?"

He had been in the Han Dynasty for several years and knew that the Han Dynasty's top leaders were particularly wary of the Huns and planned to use one barbarian to control the other.

Zhang Pijiang said calmly: "This is the matter between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu Kingdom."

Seeing that Zhang Pijiang was not threatened, Dmitri said helplessly: "Our country will pay for the arms cost of 5 million coins in gold. The only requirement is that the arms be delivered to Antioch within half a month."

Zhang Pijiang thought for a moment and said, "Half a month? Will your country accept second-hand arms at only 70% of the price?"

Dmitri: “Sure!”

So Zhang Pijiang contacted Ding He, the governor of Yanzhou, and asked him to transport a batch of second-hand guns and cannons to Antioch.

June 45, 6th year of the Han calendar, Modena city.

At this time, the sky was cloudless and the sun was shining, making the climate slightly hot.

But the hot temperature did not stop the citizens of Modena from coming out to welcome their heroes.

Modena was originally a settlement of Ligurians. After being conquered by the Romans in 27 BC in the 183th year of the Han Dynasty, a military outpost was built. In September of the 39th year of the Han Dynasty, Claudius led two Roman legions to use it as a base for his northward advance. The city's population began to increase, and a military industrial base and a logistics base were established. Then it began to prosper.

"Here they come!" The citizens soon discovered that a cavalry unit appeared in the distance. They were well-equipped and had a strict formation. Every advancing soldier was in high spirits.

When the soldiers of this army arrived near the city gate, the citizens threw flowers at the soldiers and cheered in unison!
The soldiers were also greatly encouraged and excited, and marched forward with their heads held high.

"Claudius, Claudius!" All the citizens cheered the name of the commander of the army.

This time, the northern expedition army expanded the territory to the north by hundreds of miles, which was enough to create tens of thousands of citizens.

Claudius waved to the welcoming citizens and shouted: "Citizens of Rome, the new Rome will be built in our hands."

"New Rome, New Rome!" All the citizens cheered in unison. Most of the Roman citizens here had lost their land in the south, and might even have owed usury. After fleeing to the north, the Datong Society distributed farm tools and oxen to them, and gave them one juge of land, allowing them to become Roman citizens again. Therefore, they highly recognized the political declaration of building a new Rome.

In recent years, because the Roman legions have won many battles, advanced thousands of miles northward, conquered three provinces, and annexed millions of Gauls, Modena has become a commercial city with a population of more than 100,000. It has also become the economic and political center of the entire northern Roman Empire.

In this emerging city, almost everyone was a Roman citizen. In six years, the three northern provinces produced more than 6 citizens for the entire Roman state, almost half of the number of Roman citizens.

In order to limit the power of the Senate, the members of the Roman Council, led by Claudius, created a large number of knights. A large number of grassroots officers who had made contributions were appointed as knights. There were more than 3000 citizens with knight titles in Modena. These people became the managers of the entire Modena, and these knights were led by the Roman Council. Relying on the continuous victories in foreign wars and the wealth created by the development of land, the emerging cities represented by Modena have become the land of hope for Rome.

Because the citizen class of Rome was constantly decreasing under the industrial impact of the Han Dynasty, the knight nobility was also affected, and if they could not keep up with the tide of the times, their families would decline.

The impact of industrialization on Rome was all-encompassing. Even with the expansion of the three northern provinces, the Roman Empire was barely able to survive.

Only on this emerging land could Roman citizens, Roman knights and even nobles be continuously created. Because of these three provinces, Pax Romana became the hope of Rome, and Claudius became the new generation of Roman hero.

But there are gains and losses. The Pax Romana received support from the entire Roman civilians, citizens, knights, and a small number of nobles, while the Senate was extremely wary of the Pax Romana. First, politically, after the end of the Roman monarchy, the 300 senators in the Senate were the rulers of the country. They were extremely wary of people who could threaten their rights, so there were two consuls in Rome, so that the Roman senators could divide and rule, and the term of office was only one year, so the consuls had no way to place people to cultivate their own power. There were also restrictions on the consuls by the tribunes. Even if there was a dictator, the senators would not appoint a dictator unless it was a critical moment for Rome's survival.

Now Claudius was a hero to the common people of Rome, but to the Roman elders, he was a potential dictator and a huge threat to their power. The Pax Romana was even more of a thorn in the side and a thorn in the throat for the Roman elders. This was an organization that could replace their Senate. To the Roman elders, the Pax Romana members wanted to establish another Rome.

The three provinces opened up by the Datong Society in the past six years were occupied by the Datong Society, which further exacerbated their concerns in this regard. With Claudius' current prestige, he led the northern expeditionary army into Rome. I am afraid that the Roman mob will support Claudius as the dictator of Rome, and the Datong Society can even replace their Senate. All the Roman senators shuddered at the thought of such a scene.

Therefore, the Roman Senate restricted the logistical support for the Northern Expedition Army in recent years. Unfortunately, it was too late. The Datong Society had already established a small military-industrial system in Modena. At the same time, the continuous expansion of territory in the north not only ensured that they did not lack food, but Rome needed the food and cotton from the three northern provinces as a trade balance to maintain the economy of the south, so that it would not be drained by the Han Dynasty and the country would not collapse.

Economically, the Pax Romana and the Senate were also enemies. Claudius led the army to the north and conquered millions of Gauls. The Roman senators were extremely excited at the time. A slave was sold for 3 coins, and a million slaves could be sold for 300 billion coins. Each senator could get million coins from this huge wealth.

The Roman elders were so busy beating their abacus beads that smoke was coming out, and the cake was cut piece by piece. In the end, Claudius and his men only transported some Gaul leaders and their families, and sacrificial monks. All of these people added up to less than 10,000 people. Some were old, some were young, and some were ugly. How could they be sold for a good price?

Just as they were planning to send envoys to condemn Claudius and transport these Gauls back to Rome to sell them.

They heard a shocking piece of news: Claudius, in the name of commander-in-chief of the northern expedition, released the Gauls he captured and the Gauls who surrendered to him as civilians, and said that slavery was an inhumane and evil system.

At the same time, the Datong Society continued to publicize the brotherhood between the Gauls and the Romans throughout the Mediterranean region, and also conducted very rigorous research, while bribing scholars throughout Rome to speak out and cheer for them.

This kind of fighting style was the first time that the Roman senators encountered it. At first, they regarded it as a joke. How could the Gauls and Romans be brothers? This was a huge joke.

But soon they stopped laughing, because the whole of Rome and the Mediterranean were promoting this matter. And in the second year, Claudius announced that the three northern provinces of Rome would completely abolish the slavery system. This cut off the Senate's financial resources and aroused the anger and hatred of the elders of Rome. At the same time, the elders of Rome suddenly realized that all this was the work of the Datong Society.

The Senate began to fight back. They issued an order to remove Claudius from his position as commander of the Beijing army and ordered him to lead the army back to Rome. They also spread rumors throughout Rome, saying that Claudius was not a hero at all, but a dictator who wanted to be the dictator of Rome. The Roman elders wanted to use the pressure of public opinion to force Claudius to return to Rome. This was also the way the Roman elders dealt with other consuls with military merit. As long as these commanders left the army and returned to Rome, the Roman elders had 1 ways to deal with them.

But it was clear that the enemy the Senate encountered this time was completely different from the previous consuls. The Datong Society was an organization, and the Roman elders were useless against Claudius alone. The members of the Datong Society had completely mastered the political and military rights of the three northern provinces, and even the right to public opinion was controlled by the Datong Society.

Members of the Pax Romana constantly publicized Claudius's military achievements through the Roman Weekly, letting the whole of Rome know about his achievements and building momentum for his bid for the consul. They also began to introduce the political system, economic development, and land system of the three northern provinces, especially emphasizing that in the three northern provinces, 30 Roman civilians had become land-owning Roman citizens again, and more than ten thousand had become Roman knights. The three northern provinces were the hope of Rome, the new Rome.

This caused a sensation in the entire Roman Empire. You should know that even in the city of Rome, there were only tens of thousands of citizens. The number of citizens in the entire southern Roman Empire had dropped to 28. It is no exaggeration to say that the three northern provinces are the new Rome. The number of Roman citizens in the three provinces has exceeded that of the south.

The key point is that the Datong Society’s propaganda war has not yet ended. The Datong Society has absorbed the essence of the Han Dynasty’s public opinion war. They use the current situation in the three northern provinces to publicize the benefits of abolishing slavery.

The disadvantages of slavery were promoted using the current situation in Rome. Why was the number of citizens in Rome, which had a population of six million, always decreasing? Why was the number of citizens in the south not even 30? The Datong Society also used tables to let everyone intuitively feel how many citizens Rome lost every year.

Then they pointed out in the newspapers how many Roman senators were engaged in usury, foreign trade, and slavery. After the economic downturn in Rome, these three industries became the most hated industries by all Roman citizens, because the Romans believed that these three industries were making their lives increasingly difficult.

The public opinion offensive that the Roman senators had used before was now being used by the Datong Society, and it was even better than before. This made them very passive, because in the previous hundreds of years they had been collectively dealing with one person, and they could use all kinds of means to achieve success.

But now they were suddenly faced with a collective attack, and they didn't know how to defend themselves. These Roman senators were dazzled by the Datong Society's punches, but their first reaction was: How dare you fight back?
They now even dared not dismiss Claudius from his position as commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, because the Datong Society was already promoting the appointment of Claudius as consul.

Moreover, the consul Claudius was completely different from the previous consuls. He had already promoted his political ideas in the Roman weekly. First, he wanted to reform the consul system, changing it from a dual consul system to a single consul system. The consul of interior affairs would be changed to the Roman prime minister, who would obey the orders of the military consul and would be appointed by the military consul. The tribunes would also have to be strengthened, and they would have their own offices and subordinates to vertically supervise the officials of the entire Roman state.

At the same time, the term of consuls should be strengthened. The term of consuls should be changed to 5 years. If they do a good job and the Senate agrees, they can be extended for another term. During wartime, they can be re-elected unconditionally. After the war, new consuls will be re-elected. In the future, slavery will be abolished, civil rights will be expanded, industrialization will be developed in the economy, northern land will be opened up, wealth will be created, and the northern expedition will be held in the military to expand Rome's territory.

It can be said that among all the consuls elected by Rome, Claudius was the first one to use the Roman Weekly to make his political ideas known to the entire Roman Empire. The citizens of Rome had long been dissatisfied with the decline of Roman handicrafts, the loss of wealth, the downward economy, and the decline of class.

But the Roman senators may have the idea of ​​changing this status quo, but they are weak and unable to fight against the general trend. For other Roman senators, the current situation in Rome can bring them huge benefits, so they naturally do not want to change the status quo.

Faced with the dissatisfaction of Roman citizens, they could only find scapegoats to vent their anger, but they could not change the status quo in Rome. Now the methods and directions of reform that Claudius wanted to promote have been spread throughout Rome.

(End of this chapter)