Rome must fall.

Chapter 409: Claudius, the Top Roman Noble

Maximus was surprised by Burebista's proposal, because the territory of the Tauricius was not on the west bank of the Danube, but on the east bank, located at the northern end of the Danube Plain. The remnants of the western end of the Carpathian Mountains wrapped it on land, and the Danube River served as a barrier to the west. The land inside was not small and fertile, so the strength of the Tauricius was not weak.

Seeing that Maximus was a little confused, Burebista explained frankly: "The Tauricians frequently harassed our Dacian tribes on the east bank of the Danube in the past. They are accomplices of the Boii! I tried to lead the army to seek revenge on the Tauricians twice, but they relied on mountains and rivers for defense, and I returned empty-handed in the end.

You, the Nix, have a large fleet. You were able to successfully cross the Drao River and defeat the Boyi before. This shows that you are also very experienced in landing operations. I believe that it will be easier for you to attack Taurisi from the river bank.

Moreover, the Taurissi are also a branch of the Celts, and we Dacians are incompatible with each other. On the contrary, you, the Nix, have a lot of experience in conquering the Celts, so it is undoubtedly the most appropriate to hand over the Taurissi to you, the Nix, to deal with. This will prevent the Taurissi from causing trouble behind our backs when we go to war with Rome in the future."

Maximus looked at the roughly outlined Mediterranean map on the table. There was no Tauricius on it, let alone the forces to the north of the Tauricius territory. But he had already found out that Tauricius, like the Boii, was adjacent to the fierce Germanic tribes to the north - the Quadi and the Oxys. The two sides had conflicts from time to time, so Brebista's proposal was also selfish...

However, Maximus was not going to reveal this matter. He said with a smile: "Thank you for your generosity! In this case, after destroying Boy, Nix will consider destroying Taurisi to ensure the peace of the entire Danube Plain."

"Okay, let's sign the covenant now!" Brebista said straightforwardly.

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After the two sides reached an alliance, they returned to the shore.

On the way, De Cheneu couldn't help but sigh.

"What? Are you still worried about us going to war with the Romans?" Burebista comforted him, "Captain Maximus and I have just discussed that it is not just the Nyx and Dacia that will fight Rome. When the time comes, Maximus will send people to unite the Gauls and Germans, and we will also find a way to persuade the Parthian Kingdom and the wandering Pontic nobles...

We will try our best to unite all the forces that hate Rome, and then we will be more likely to win when we fight the Romans who are caught in civil war! "

"I am a little worried about fighting the Romans in the future, but I understand that we have to do it to avoid being enslaved by the Romans in the future." De Cheneu sighed, "I am just surprised that Maximus, the leader of the Nix tribe, is only a slave, but he knows the situation in the entire Mediterranean so clearly, and he knows the situation inside Rome like the back of his hand. It's really... really... shocking!"

"No matter what, now the Nyx and Dacia are allies. In order to defeat the powerful Romans, our two tribes must rely on each other and unite as one!"

Burebista said in a deep voice: "And according to the agreement I made with Maximus, if a civil war breaks out in Rome, the Nix army will cross the mountains to the west and enter Italy, and we will go directly south from the east, first enter Odrysia, and then go straight to the Roman province of Macedonia...

Italy is the Romans' stronghold, so the enemies encountered by the Nix army must be strong. It is much easier for us because we have to face the loose Odrysian tribes.

We can take this opportunity to implement the plan we are preparing to implement and incorporate all the Thracians who speak the same language and have similar traditions as us into our tribal alliance. Our strength will certainly be greatly enhanced, and when we fight against the Roman provincial army, I am confident that I can defeat them!"

De Cheneu was silent for a moment, nodded and said: "Perhaps you are right, we should form an alliance with the Nixes and give up the territory of the Tauricians, so that the Nixes can become a barrier to block the Germans in the north for us, so that we will have no worries.

If the Roman civil war really breaks out, we can do our best to conquer Odrysia first... No matter how the war with Rome ends, we Dacia will surely become the most powerful force in northern Greece. By then, we Dacia will not be afraid of any country, including the Knicks."

"Yes, that's right!" Burebista looked back at the boat that Maximus was on, which was heading to the other side, and a sense of heroism arose in his heart.

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Caesar made rapid progress on the battlefields of Gaul and won many victories. However, in the years since he left Rome, the political arena in Rome has been turbulent and full of ups and downs.

Publius Claudius Pulcar was born into the Claudius family, one of the greatest aristocratic families in Rome. For hundreds of years, this family has always been at the core of the Republic and has produced many consuls and famous politicians. Of course, there were also some mediocre people among them who were laughed at by the people.

For example, an ancestor with the same name as him led a Roman fleet during the First Punic War. Before the battle, he performed divination with the sacred chicken according to tradition, but the sacred chicken did not cooperate. In a rage, Publius threw all the chickens into the sea and declared, "If they refuse to eat, then drink." As a result, the Roman fleet was defeated.

A few years later, when Publius' sister was blocked by the crowded crowd while riding a sedan through the streets of Rome, she shouted "I hope her brother can drown some of these poor ghosts", which shows how arrogant and domineering the Claudius family was in Rome. This generation of Claudius family had six brothers and sisters, all of whom were famous in Rome for their moodiness and dissolute nature. Claudius was the youngest, but his behavior was the craziest.

Lucullus was his brother-in-law. When he followed him to serve in Asia Minor, he actually incited the soldiers to mutiny against his brother-in-law, causing Lucullus to hate him to the core.

After returning to Rome, he cuckolded Caesar again during the festival of the goddess of goodness.

In addition to Caesar's wife, he also had affairs with many married women, but what was widely circulated among the Roman people was that he had incestuous relationships with his three sisters.

For this reason, one of his brothers-in-law, Lucullus, could not bear it and finally divorced his wife and publicly announced that "she had committed incest with her brother Claudius."

Claudius was not ashamed, and then he did something that shocked the nobles. In order to gain power, he changed his status from aristocrat to a commoner under the arrangement of Pompey and Caesar, and was elected as the Roman tribune in 58 BC.

After he took office, he first did a few practical things to help the people, such as ensuring regular free food supplies to the poor... After gaining their favor, he began to show his power.

He attacked Cicero for violating Roman tradition in executing Catiline's conspirators, and asked the Senate to convene a public meeting to discuss the issue again.

The Claudius family had accumulated deep connections and retainers throughout Rome over hundreds of years. Therefore, many important senators who had close relations with Cicero were unwilling to offend Claudius in order to help a "newcomer" because of their connections with the Claudius family. In the end, Cicero had to flee Rome and go into exile.

Claudius then passed a bill formally exiling Cicero and confiscating his property.

So Claudius had his supporters burn down Cicero's mansion and build a sanctuary to the Statue of Liberty on its site.

Claudius's fierce methods frightened the senators.

Then, he used clever tactics to force Cato out of Rome and asked him to supervise the annexation of Cyprus, because Cyprus was a wealthy kingdom. Taking it would fill the Roman treasury and provide funds for the newly passed law of "providing free food to the citizens of Rome."

Cicero was exiled and Cato was transferred away. The two important conservative figures left the Roman political arena, which seemed to be a clear proof that Claudius stood on the side of the triumvirate.

But what happened next proved that this view was wrong, and Claudius did everything just for himself.

First, the annexation of Cyprus was an insult to Pompey, which changed his previous plans for the East.

Then, the Armenian prince, who was held hostage and imprisoned in Pompey's house, was secretly released by Claudius.

Then he had his lackeys beat up the consul Gabinius, smashing his fascist shackles and destroying his dignity, just because Gabinius was supported by Pompey and tried to hold Claudius responsible for the escape of the Armenian prince.

Claudius even had one of his slaves deliberately drop a dagger at a public gathering, and during interrogation he claimed that he had been sent to assassinate Pompey.

Pompey was brave on the battlefield, but he was very afraid of assassination because he had such experience when he was young and it scarred his heart. For this reason, Pompey was so scared that he closed the door to visitors and did not go out for several months.

Furthermore, Claudius openly questioned the legality of decrees enacted by Caesar while consul, and summoned Bibulus to testify against his former colleague at a public gathering.

The senators breathed a sigh of relief when Claudius stepped down as tribune.

But they were too happy too soon. Claudius still controlled a large number of thug supporters based on guild associations, and often used these thugs to threaten political opponents or disperse gatherings.

(End of this chapter)