Simulating the Universe, Starting with Speedrunning Greece

Damn——

Since the time when Carthage still existed, the command of the sea in the Italian waters has been in our (Rome) hands, hindering the Carthaginian army;

The soldiers on Spanish soil alone were no match for Rome.

but--"

Is it the Navy's inaction?

Rebels emerged in droves.

When did the Spanish rebels, who had always been suppressed and treated as younger brothers by Rome, become so powerful? It was obvious that their leader Carthage had been destroyed by Rome.

Although Tiberius did not continue speaking, Ye had already understood his thoughts...

This is a suspicion that something is wrong within Rome.

Someone betrayed them... embezzled military pay and supplies, and even allowed the rebels on Iberia to come from the sea to support Spain.

The enemy was stronger than us and we were weaker. In addition, Rome had no habit of hiring mercenaries and had to rely on its own people to fight wars without any reinforcements. No wonder it was beaten so badly by the Spanish rebels in one battle that it almost didn't recognize its own mother and returned in defeat.

The original history of the Spanish War did not give a specific description of the cause of defeat, but only said that the defeat was terrible and the main force was surrounded by the Spanish rebels.

Finally, they were released by the Spanish rebels only after they handed over their weapons and supplies.

I didn't expect there was such a reason behind it?!

Chapter 70: Rome, where soldiers had to pay for their own wars, was hopeless.

No, maybe it's more than that.

Ye suddenly thought that in addition to the defeat on the Spanish battlefield, a slave uprising also broke out on the island of Sicily at this time, and the Roman legion sent to suppress the uprising also returned in defeat.

This makes one wonder: just a few decades have passed, where has the Rome that dominated the Mediterranean gone?

There was something really wrong with Rome’s internal system…

Although Ye didn't know much about this historical transformation process, he knew how corrupt the nobles of this era were.

The root of their corruption requires a lot of money. Where does the money come from? !

Military expenditure——!

At this moment, Ye felt as if he understood why Rome kept losing.

Now, Ye summarized a few points based on the information currently available:

The inaction of the navy in Italian waters.

2. Rescue was delayed.

The three treasurers have no money, and either 80% of the military funds are embezzled, or Rome really has no money.

Ye had seen a post before traveling through time.

It is a discussion about how difficult life was for soldiers in Rome during this period.

It mentioned that because of the continuous wars, Rome needed a huge military expenditure. When the military expenditure was too high, soldiers were even required to bring their own money to buy equipment and join the army.

In particular, Roman wars often lasted for more than ten years.

At the end of the battle, the soldiers finally returned home, only to find that because of the lack of a labor force, the family went bankrupt, and even his wife and children ran away with other people.

The situation might be better for nobles if they had slaves to run their businesses, but if commoners went bankrupt, their families would be completely ruined.

This is the downside of a long war...

The soldiers became poorer and poorer as they fought, but the land and wealth they looted all belonged to the nobles.

When it comes to dividing the money, let them continue fighting and talk about it after the war is over.

They make big promises every day, but when it comes to money, there are only two words to describe it - none.

This level of black heart would make future capitalists cry...

This may be the reason why Tiberius only spoke half of his words, as if he was hiding something.

Perhaps he was afraid that after Ye knew the truth, he would shoot himself to death, and then take his soldiers to sing the songs of the emancipated serfs and join the glorious Spanish rebel army.

Although this probability is not zero, this time the simulation night is already prepared to bet on Tiberius, so naturally he will not leave Rome.

He didn't say anything, just nodded to show that he understood the situation.

This also made Tiberius feel relieved. He was really afraid that Ye would continue to ask him something.

It was at this time that the veteran Carcasses came over and sat down.

I just happened to sit down next to Tiberius, cough cough...!

The old soldier covered his chest and coughed twice, which made Tiberius's hair stand on end and he became a little nervous.

This man wanted to kill him not long ago, so he couldn't help but be nervous.

At this moment, Carcasses suddenly laughed: "Hey, boy. Are you afraid of me?"

"No, you no longer have any reason to kill me.

Why should I still be afraid of you..." Tiberius took a deep breath, gradually calmed down and said courageously.

He is the man who dares to do what others don't do in the future and has the courage to implement Roman reforms despite countless obstacles.

He was not afraid of death, but he was more afraid of dying meaninglessly.

Carcasses: “Carcasses, my name is… you can also call me Carle.

I'm sorry I was a little too harsh on you earlier."

Tiberius obviously didn't expect that Karl would actually apologize to him, and he was shocked and surprised.

Carl suddenly began to tell his story as if talking to himself.

He was a Roman veteran and, like Tiberius, had participated in the Third Punic War. Together with the legendary Roman god of war, he had witnessed the demise of the powerful Carthage.

Before participating in the Spanish War, his legion had won many victories, but even after so many victories, Carl was still just a veteran and his position had not changed at all.

In fact, the continuous fighting over the years has exhausted him physically and mentally, but the motivation for him to persist is his son who is far away in the capital of Rome...

His ancestors were once nobles with powerful family names and descendants of heroes.

For some reasons, I have now been deprived of my surname and can only use my given name.

This is not uncommon in Rome…

Many descendants of nobles who made mistakes would lose the right to own their surnames.

But most of those people became slaves... People like Carl were very lucky to be able to continue serving as soldiers on the battlefield.

What Karl had always hoped for was to return to Rome after making enough military achievements on the battlefield and take back his own surname.

Even if he cannot get his surname back, he must ensure that his son has enough money for a happy life in the future.

He dedicated his entire life to the battlefields of Rome. Such a life was hard enough, and he didn't want his children to follow such a path.

Therefore, he couldn't afford to lose.

It would be fine if Rome kept winning battles, but once it lost, it would need to recruit more soldiers.

During the Second Punic War, Rome needed too many troops and kept lowering the minimum conscription limit, allowing many poor people who originally did not need to be conscripted to join the army.

Carl didn't want his son to be forced into the army one day.

Ye, who listened to all of this, quietly felt the sorrow of the little Romans of that era, but he did not expose Karl's unrealistic fantasy.

In fact - after fighting for so many years, he should understand that as long as the world is not unified, Rome's pace of conquest will never stop.

Even if Rome stopped expanding, it would occasionally be caught up in civil wars caused by rebellious forces such as the Social Wars.

Under such conditions, except for the nobles who had the right to be exempted from conscription, the common people had no choice but to go to war when they were conscripted.

Carl: "So, I absolutely cannot become a deserter...

I'm not saying all this to gain your pity.

I apologize for my previous impulsiveness. I hope you can understand the excitement of an old father and don't care about what happened before.

I won't hit you again, even if it's because of your promise. Instead, I will protect you from now on."

Karl looked at Tiberius. This young man in his twenties, almost thirty years old, was still just a child in Karl's eyes.

Such a young child...there are some things Karl really can't say.

In fact, as a veteran he also had his own pride. Although he said that he did not want Tiberius' sympathy or pity, he actually hoped that the other party would not hold a grudge after hearing his story.

It doesn't matter if he dies, even if he is branded as a deserter. At this age, he has already looked down upon all honors and regards them as shit!

The kind of things that nobles use to make big promises and fool young people are no longer popular among him. Or maybe Carl's passion has long been drained away!

But Tiberius at this time was very silent and uncomfortable.

Karl greatly underestimated the man's breadth of mind. He thought that the man might not be able to understand the sadness and helplessness of a small person.

Tiberius understood it better than anyone else.

Chapter 71 We are clearly fighting for our country, but why——

Some people may be born saints.

They were born into wealthy families, but they were still able to humble themselves and listen to the sufferings of the common people.

When a war is lost, others may look for the reasons in the army. Is it a problem with the formation, tactics, or the soldiers' weapons?

But only Tiberius saw the bodies and minds of those soldiers who were devastated and extremely exhausted by the long war.

And those soldiers who were forcibly conscripted and whose families were destroyed were just a drop in the bucket to fill the economic gap in Rome.

As a poor person himself, because of his poverty, his recognition of the country is also very low.

People with better economic conditions will also identify more with their own country.

It is difficult for people who have trouble even getting enough food to recognize this country. How much fighting spirit do such soldiers have when they are recruited?

Roma's defeat was not unfair.

Perhaps those Senate nobles far away in the capital thought that these one or two defeats were just accidents.

But some people feel that this is not just a beginning, but an outbreak of the drawbacks and disasters that were buried in the past.

As the only person who knew the future development trend, Ye, who was more awake than anyone else of that era, understood that Gracchus was right.

Rome was too cruel to these soldiers...

Just as they never valued the human rights and dignity of slaves, the nobles actually didn't care about the lives of the soldiers at all.

Even if the common people's homes are broken up and their families are killed, they still party every night to maintain a false prosperity and power.

Perhaps for the Senate, if the upper class lives well, then the country will be prosperous.

A few civilian casualties are not the beginning of decline.

After this night, Ye felt a little heavy in his heart.

As an egoist, I believe that only if I live a good life myself, I am qualified to extend a helping hand of kindness and compassion to others.

He is not a saint and does not have any great ambition to change the world by his own efforts.

I am not a hero either. I will not fight for a group of unrelated people, risking my life and regardless of my own safety.

It’s just that some things are really hard to watch.

If given the chance, Ye wouldn't mind cleaning up the corrupt Senate. There was no other reason - doing so would make him feel very happy, and this reason was enough.

However, he also knew the consequences of this reckless impulse. Apart from making himself physically and mentally happy, it would not have any effect on changing the country.

When one group of senators dies, a second group of senators will appear.

Even if all the Roman nobles were killed, new nobles would emerge from among the common people.

Only by fundamentally changing the Roman system and making everyone obey the new rules can limited justice be achieved.

At least like the Greek heroes, in the name of heroes, they can barely restrain those shameless evil dragons.

"When this war is over - can we go home then?"