Rome must fall.

Chapter 399: Caesar, the Roman Consul

At the beginning, although the bill proposed by Pompey to "distribute land to veterans who participated in the Spanish war under his command" was passed, it had never been implemented. This time Pompey brought up the matter again, but the senators claimed that there was not enough land to distribute and it could not be implemented.

In addition, when Pompey conquered the East, he enacted some laws to maintain the stability of the newly occupied territories. Although his legislative work was done very well, he was not given the power to legislate, but instead acted first and reported later, for which he was criticized by the Senate.

Lucullus, whose military power was taken away by Pompey, finally found an opportunity for revenge. He, Cato, Metellus (Muzia's half-brother) and some other conservative senators discussed each regulation that Pompey had formulated for the East separately and dealt with them one by one.

Pompey, who was a powerful figure on the battlefield, fell into a quagmire after returning to Rome and felt unable to move forward.

He attempted to become a member of the inner elite circle of the Senate to improve his predicament, but was collectively rejected by the senators headed by Lucullus and Cato, because they regarded Pompey, who had extremely high prestige and was deeply supported by the people, as a threat to the Roman Republic.

Pompey's former rival Crassus also ran into trouble, and the senators who opposed Pompey were equally keen to obstruct his plans.

Especially Cato, the moral role model of the Senate, looked down upon Crassus, who liked to plot behind the scenes but did not have the courage to face up to accusations. Therefore, he repeatedly hindered Crassus in the Senate, especially firmly opposed the demands of the tax farmers, causing Crassus, who had a close relationship with the tax farmers, to suffer considerable losses in his financial career.

In the summer of 60 BC (the 13th year after the establishment of the Nyx tribe), Caesar resigned from Spain and returned home. He was just 40 years old that year and was eligible to run for consul the following year.

At the same time, he also applied to the Senate for a triumphal ceremony based on his outstanding military performance in Spain.

Caesar wanted to increase his chances of winning the election through triumphal victory parades and celebrations.

Caesar’s calculations were very clear, but now his opponent in the Senate was no longer the old and clumsy Catullus, but the shrewd and stubborn Cato.

With Cato's manipulation, Caesar's application for a triumphal procession was approved, but the date for the triumphal procession was set after a meeting held in the Roman Forum that all candidates for consul had to attend in person.

According to Roman tradition, Caesar could not cross the sacred borders of Rome before the triumphal ceremony, and if he could not attend the meeting, he would not be qualified as a candidate for consul.

So Caesar asked the Senate to change the venue of the meeting of consul candidates to a temple outside the sacred boundaries of Rome. However, Cato used his eloquent ventriloquy at the Senate meeting, talking from morning to night, so that at the end of the meeting, Caesar's application had no chance to be discussed at all, and he could only wait until the next regular Senate meeting.

But time was very tight. Although a triumph was the highest honor for a Roman citizen or a Roman family, most Romans could never enjoy it in their lifetime. It was extremely rare for Pompey to hold three triumphs. Caesar was certainly eager for a triumph, but he knew the essence of power better than Pompey. When he could not have both a triumph and the election for consul, he resolutely gave up the triumph and went into the city to participate in the election for consul.

Caesar's return to Rome boosted the morale of Pompey and Crassus, who were in trouble due to oppression by the elite group of the Roman Senate.

Pompey would not forget that Caesar had been advocating for him in recent years, and Crassus would not forget the good years when Caesar worked closely with him in the Senate in the past few years, so both of them provided great help to Caesar in his campaign for consul.

Conservative senators such as Cato did not expect that Caesar would give up the triumphal procession to participate in the consul election, so they quickly took remedial measures and also put forward a candidate to compete with Caesar.

The person they chose was Cato's son-in-law, Marcus Bibulus.

This person had a close relationship with Caesar. They had both served as aldermen and legal officers at the same time, but each time Caesar completely overshadowed them. This time, both of them were running for consul at the same time.

Caesar had no doubt that he would be elected. Besides his own influence among the Roman people, he also had the help of Pompey and Crassus, and he had connections and money. It could be said that as long as he signed up, he would be consul the following year. This was why he dared to give up the triumphal procession. Before entering the city, he had already seen the political situation in Rome clearly.

Sure enough, on election day, Caesar easily won the first place, and Bibulus won the second place with the support of many senators.

The two consuls for the next year were thus determined.

Caesar finally climbed to the highest administrative post in Rome at the age of forty, but he soon ran into trouble.

Cato did not want to see his old rival succeed in politics, so he made a suggestion at the Senate meeting: In view of the fact that the Italian countryside had suffered too much trauma in recent years due to wars and other factors, he hoped that the next two consuls would be sent to manage Italy's woodlands and country roads after leaving office.

The motion was passed.

This motion was obviously aimed at Caesar, because according to convention, consuls were sent to serve as provincial governors after leaving office. If he could not serve as provincial governors and obtain a large amount of money, the creditors' demands for repayment might make Caesar bankrupt. Although Caesar was angry, he did not show it. He was quietly doing something - uniting Pompey and Crassus to deal with the conservative group in the Senate.

Although Caesar cheated on Pompey and Crassus, which made both of them a little unhappy, these two big men had suffered setbacks in the past two years, which made them realize that their wealth and influence were not enough for them to get everything they wanted. Therefore, they needed a consul who was more talented, resolute and courageous than their subordinates to do things for them. Caesar proved with his past performance that he was the most suitable one.

The feud between Pompey and Crassus had lasted for many years, and it was not easy to put aside the past grudge. Caesar made great efforts to persuade the two of them. In order to cover up his tracks, he mostly mediated through letters.

Common enemies and common interests eventually brought these three people together.

Of course, Caesar, the weakest one in the three-man alliance, was the younger brother and a tool of the other two, who had to seek benefits for them during his tenure as consul.

On January 1, 59 BC (the 14th year after the establishment of the Nyx tribe), Caesar and Bibulus officially took office.

As the one who received the most votes in the election, Caesar was given priority, so he immediately proposed a new "Land Bill" at the Senate meeting the next day.

But just as the discussion was getting underway, his old rival Cato once again used his ventriloquism skills and spoke eloquently for several hours, wasting a day and causing the Senate to not vote on the Land Bill.

Cato thought he had won, but he forgot that his opponent was Caesar.

Caesar publicly announced that since the Senate would do nothing, he would appeal directly to the Roman people.

So the next day, Caesar convened a meeting in the forum and asked Bibulus what he thought about the Land Bill in front of thousands of citizens.

Bibulus shouted stubbornly: This year's bill will never pass, even if you all want it!
Bibulus' words reflected the attitude of Cato and other senators. They tried their best to obstruct the passage of the Land Bill, while Caesar and his supporters behind him would never compromise.

Soon, Caesar convened another citizens' assembly in the forum. This time he did not invite his colleague Bibulus, but invited Pompey and Crassus. This was the first time that the three showed their close relationship in public.

Caesar asked the two men to stand on the stage. Every time he read out a clause of the Land Bill, he asked Pompey next to him: "What do you think?"

Pompeo, who was not good at speaking at public gatherings, finally had room to perform. Every time he said "I agree!", the people cheered.

The warm atmosphere also made Pompey's blood boil, so when Caesar asked him: "What if someone took up a sword to obstruct the bill?" He was passionate: "I will take up sword and shield and be ready!"

Crassus then expressed his support for the Land Act, which made the people happy but also made many senators uneasy.

However, in the face of the people's calls, Cato and others remained stubborn, preventing the Land Bill from passing in the Senate.

Caesar then appealed to the citizens and finally decided to hold a tribal meeting on the last day of January to vote on the Land Bill.

When the day arrived, supporters of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus occupied key positions around the forum, including some veterans of Pompey's army, who even carried weapons.

When Bibulus attempted to speak against Caesar's Agrarian Bill, he was pushed off the platform, his clerics' fascist batons were smashed to pieces, and a basket of excrement was poured on his head.

There was some rioting throughout the venue, and Cato and others were forced to leave the venue. Although some people were injured, no one was killed. Caesar and his allies controlled the violence well.

After that, the Citizens' Assembly officially began and passed the Land Bill by a majority vote.

Devastated by this humiliation, Boralus never appeared in public again for the rest of his consulship, instead using various underhand tactics to oppose Caesar.

But this had little effect on Caesar, and after completing the Land Bill in favor of Pompey, he convened a tribal council for final approval of his Eastern legislation.

(End of this chapter)