Rome must fall.

Chapter 447 Caesar's New Decree
After hearing this, the senators were relieved, but at the same time some of them couldn't help thinking: It seems that Caesar has completely controlled the rich Egypt, and his strength will probably become even stronger!

What Caesar said next made the senators worried again.

"However, since Egypt has just ended its civil war, its wheat stocks are almost exhausted, and food supplies can only be replenished after the harvest. There will be a few months of food shortage in between. If Rome cannot survive these few months, conflict and chaos will occur again, and will be more intense than now. So how to solve it?"

The elders looked at each other and no one answered.

Caesar looked around at them and gave a cold answer: "Seize the property of traitors like Pompey and Cato and nationalize it. All the food they have stored will be used to supply the people in the city who are short of food. You can also use part of the money you have confiscated to buy more food from wealthy towns in the south to help the people of Rome get through this period of food shortage!"

Pompey was as wealthy as a country, and although Cato lived a frugal life, he was actually a large landowner and owned a lot of fertile land in Latium and Campania.

Most of the senators who continued to oppose Caesar with Cato, such as Metellus, came from prominent Roman families. After decades of management in the Senate, it can be said that each of them was extremely wealthy. After confiscating their property, it would be enough to immediately fill the treasury that had been emptied by Caesar. However, in the meeting hall, except for Caesarian senators such as Opius, Balbus, Trebonius, etc. who shouted "good idea" loudly, the other senators were all terrified and silent.

In the past, even if a Roman senator committed treason and was executed or exiled, his family would not be confiscated and his property would not be publicly confiscated. After all, the noble families in Rome had developed for hundreds of years, and their relationships were complicated and their interests were intertwined. Even if there were political struggles, there was room for each other. It was the first time in Roman history that a large number of enemies of noble families were completely overturned and defeated, and mortal enemies were made like Caesar. The senators could not help but be shocked.

However, the tactics Caesar had used before frightened them, and no one openly expressed opposition, so Caesar's proposal was passed.

So Caesar struck while the iron was hot and then proposed: "We in the Senate must not only solve the problem of food for the refugees, but also their accommodation. Now a large number of northern Italians have entered Rome. They have no place to live and can only sleep in squares and streets. A large number of various items are piled up in public places in Rome, and a large amount of excrement is piled up in every corner of Rome, making Rome even dirtier and more crowded. This is also one of the important reasons for the conflict...

In order to restore order in Rome as soon as possible, temporary accommodation must be arranged for these poor northern Italians! Traitors such as Pompey and Cato own many farms in the suburbs of Rome. After they are nationalized, they can be temporarily settled in these farms. "

Since the senators had already agreed to the proposal of "confiscating the property of Pompey, Cato and others", it didn't matter if they agreed to one more. Moreover, doing so would make them live more comfortably in the city.

Unexpectedly, Caesar did not stop there, and proposed one thing after another: recruit the poor and refugees to form more new legions, which could not only reduce the occurrence of conflicts in Rome, but also strengthen Rome's military strength to cope with the next series of military operations; reduce the debts of debtors to a greater extent, so that they can live a stable life during this turbulent period, thus reducing unnecessary chaos; clarify the execution time of the previously passed "Land Law" and the specific areas of land distribution, so that the veterans who have been following Caesar in battle for many years can obtain enough land to live in peace in their later years...

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

But after these proposals were passed, Caesar proposed again: In view of the massive invasion of the barbarians and the turbulent situation, someone must be responsible for the defense of Rome to ensure safety.

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

Once Caesar went to war, the life and death of Rome would be in the hands of Trebonius. How could this defeated general take on such an important task! ... Some senators and even Caesar's men were unwilling to accept this.

But in Caesar's view, among the senior Roman officials who followed him, some were mediocre or indecisive. There were not many who were truly talented and worthy of his trust. Antony was one, but unfortunately he died. Trebonius could barely be considered one, and he was a defeated general who should have been condemned. But now he was promoted instead. How could he be more grateful!

Moreover, under his instruction, Trebonius proposed the motion of "charging Pompey, Cato and others with high treason", which would inevitably be hated by conservatives, neutrals, and even a few Caesarian senators. They could only rely on his protection to survive in the treacherous Roman political arena!

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

Then Caesar nominated people to confiscate the property of traitors. This was a lucrative job, but he did not completely take care of his own people. Half of the candidates were neutral and conservative senators, led by Cicero.

Cicero decisively refused, and some non-Caesar senators who were named followed suit, but some neutral senators chose to acquiesce. Then, Caesar nominated candidates to provide free food to the refugees and resettle them on farms. Cicero was still at the top of the list. He also emphasized that this position was an important task to restore the peace of Rome, 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 understood more clearly that if he could do this well, the countless poor people in Rome and the exiles in the northern Italian provinces would be grateful to him, which would be of great help to him in regaining his foothold in the turbulent Roman political arena in the future, just like Sicily did back then.

Caesar finally smiled.

After the meeting, some senators walked out of the Senate with mixed feelings.

But Caesar's 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 conference, Caesar dispatched a large number of soldiers to maintain order, and also asked some veterans to wear civilian clothes and join the assembly to play a guiding role.

The citizens who attended the assembly included not only those who lived in Rome and its surrounding areas, but also many northern Italian people who had fled to the city and were Roman citizens (there were many Roman colonial cities in the northern Italian provinces), making the number of people attending this assembly larger than ever before. However, the Roman citizens who had already tasted "Caesar's iron fist" were full of fear of this ruler and did not dare to cause chaos in the meeting place.

On the contrary, Caesar, who was in the center of the meeting hall, was in contrast to his previous seriousness. With a smile on his face, he loudly told the citizens about a series of bills that he had submitted to the Senate and had been passed.

He first announced the "Law to Greatly Reduce the Debts of Debtors". The citizens present could hardly believe their ears. Most of them suffered from usury, and many of them went bankrupt and became refugees. Usury had become Rome's biggest chronic disease.

Last year, Caesar's "Effective Debt Reduction Bill" won great popularity among the people. Caelius, who opposed him, only verbally declared that "the debt should be reduced more significantly" to attract a large number of supporters. Now that this bill has come out, the originally quiet meeting hall suddenly burst into cheers, echoing 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 problem in Rome so that all the people can have enough to eat; 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.

The citizens had forgotten their previous complaints against Caesar and the resentment they had felt when they were suppressed a few days ago. They danced and shouted Caesar's name like old soldiers, 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. On the contrary, they expressed support and even cursed them for bringing harm to the Republic!
When Caesar announced that he would "recruit soldiers and form a new legion", the audience responded enthusiastically. Many northern Italians took advantage of the lively atmosphere to ask Caesar: "When can we repel the invading barbarians and return home?!"

This question was also raised by a senator at yesterday's Senate meeting, but Caesar did not respond on the grounds that "this issue is not within the scope of today's discussion."

But today, facing tens of thousands of Roman citizens, he declared loudly with a resolute expression and a sonorous tone: "Three months! Once I have assembled the army and prepared the supplies in three months, I will lead the army northward, not only to defeat the invading barbarians, but also to completely destroy their nests, so that northern Italy can have permanent peace!"

The cheers lasted for a long time.

Since Caesar triggered the Roman Civil War, his reputation among the Roman people plummeted, and it reached its lowest point when the two provinces of northern Italy and western France fell. However, by passing this series of bills, he not only regained the support of the people, but also won it even more than before.

Of course, there were a few people who hated him even more, not only the nobles, but also the moneylenders and the wealthy upstarts.

Caesar didn't care about this. In the next few days, he worked hard to promote the implementation of various bills. Whenever he had free time, he would get together with Olivia to improve his relationship with Brutus.

(End of this chapter)