My XX deal with Sister Nero

On the other side, near the Circus Maximus.

"The fire is finally under control." Looking at the fire that was no longer spreading, the commander of the fire brigade finally breathed a sigh of relief. Holding an empty wooden barrel, he said to Bruce, the commander of the Guards standing next to him.

"Yes, the fire is finally under control." He glanced down at the weeds in the cracks of the bricks that were drooping due to the heat and sighed.

The entire fire brigade, together with the Guards and the Royal Guards, nearly 15,000 people participated in the firefighting. It took a whole night and finally... brought the fire under control.

"Let's work harder and try to put out the fire as soon as possible. Your Majesty... Your Majesty probably hasn't slept all night." Looking in the direction of the palace, Bruce shook his head.

Like Seneca, Bruce was also Nero's teacher, but compared to Seneca, Bruce didn't teach Nero for a long time. After all, as the commander of the Guards, he could only teach military strategy, and Nero... a young girl, unless she was a Paradox player, how many girls would be interested in military strategy? Not to mention that Nero wholeheartedly advocated art.

Having said that, as Nero's teacher, he still had some understanding of Nero and knew that Nero was a good emperor who loved his people like his own children. If Nero knew that the citizens of Rome were suffering from the disaster, then she... would definitely not be able to sleep because of the worry about everyone's safety.

Forget it. As a subordinate, all I can do is put out the fire as quickly as possible.

However, just when the fire was under control, a firefighter suddenly stumbled over from a nearby alley and shouted, "General! It's bad! There's a fire near General Tigenenus's house!"

what? !

Hearing this, Bruce subconsciously turned his head and looked in the direction of Tigenenus's house. Sure enough, the sky in that direction also turned red!

Damn it, what's going on? The fire clearly didn't spread over there! How could there be a fire over there? !

"General." Looking at the fire in the distance, the commander of the fire brigade gritted his teeth and said, "I'm afraid... our previous judgment was wrong. This fire was not an accidental fire. This time... it must have been set by someone deliberately."

"Yeah." Bruce's face was gloomy, but even if they knew it was arson at this moment, they were temporarily powerless to do anything. After all... the people could be caught later, but the fire had to be controlled immediately!

"Send some manpower over there to put out the fire!" Bruce took a deep breath and said to the fire brigade commander next to him.

"Yes!" The fire brigade commander nodded, and then dispatched two battalions to rush towards the direction of Tigenenus's house.

Race against time! Before the fire spreads, two fire brigades should be enough!

However, what the two fire brigade soldiers did not expect was that halfway through the journey, they were intercepted by a group of soldiers wearing Royal Guards armor.

"Where are you going?" A young man who looked like an officer of the Royal Guards stretched out his hand to stop the two fire brigades and asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"This... General, let's go put out the fire." Although the captain of the fire brigade is higher in rank than the officer of the Imperial Guard, but in terms of social status... the captain of the fire brigade is just a militia captain from the freed slave class, while the one opposite is the most elite Imperial Guard of the empire. This officer is either a person with a title or a distant relative of a big family.

It is precisely for this reason that the captain of the fire brigade always seems to be inferior to this low-ranking officer of the Imperial Guard when facing him.

"Put out the fire?" The guard's face changed slightly. He took two steps forward to the captain and said in a low voice, "Just pretend to put out the fire. Don't really put it out."

"What do you mean?" The captain asked curiously after hearing what the Guards officer said.

"This is His Majesty's intention. To tell you the truth, the arsonists were our own people, and the one who gave the order was His Majesty." The officer looked around vigilantly and then whispered.

"You mean..." The captain opened his mouth in surprise. Was this... was it His Majesty's idea to set fire to the city of Rome? Why did His Majesty... set fire to the city of Rome?

"Yes, Your Majesty, didn't Your Majesty create "The Fall of Troy" some time ago? In order to suit the occasion, Your Majesty ordered Rome to be set on fire, imitating the burning city of Troy at that time... You also know that Your Majesty admires art, this... should be the means by which Your Majesty pursues art."

"That's impossible. We are here to put out the fire under the orders of your Royal Guard Commander General Bruce."

"General Bruce... Your Majesty wants to burn down Rome. Is it possible that General Bruce knows about this?" The officer snorted. "General Bruce is your Majesty's teacher. Would you tell your teacher if you wanted to set a fire? Only General Tigenenus knew about this. Otherwise, why do you think the fire started near General Tigenenus's house? Moreover... Your Majesty also plans to take this opportunity to clear a piece of land to build the Golden Palace."

Golden Palace?!

Hearing this name, the captain was stunned at first, then he understood something.

As mentioned before, the Roman Empire was different from the East. Every emperor or head of state would choose to build his own palace after ascending the throne, and the same was true for Nero.

Not long after the coronation ceremony, Nero ordered the construction of the Golden Palace, but the project was soon suspended because there were many residential houses on the land chosen for the construction of the Golden Palace, and these residents... had no plans to move.

Considering that Seneca and others were still alive, it was difficult for Nero to use coercive measures, so secretly ordering arson... seems understandable?

Chapter 418 Ah, my head hurts

The two fire brigades that went to put out the fire near Tigenenus's house were suddenly caught in a dilemma.

What this small group of troops wearing the armor of the Royal Guards said... makes sense. This... Your Majesty does have reasons to do so.

But the question is, was this done by Your Majesty?

I... can't go to His Majesty to ask for confirmation, right?

After thinking for more than ten seconds, the captain finally discussed with another captain and decided to send one person to report the news to Bruce first. As for the rest of the people... put out the fire first!

It is my duty, Your Majesty. You will not punish yourself for this, right?

"I'm really sorry, before receiving orders from our superiors, we...we are firefighters, and it is our duty to put out fires, so...please make way, we need to put out the fire first."

"It's my duty?" The junior officer of the Royal Guards shrugged and said, "It's my duty, so I won't make it difficult for you, brothers. Make way and let this fire brigade pass."

As he spoke, the Royal Guards officer came to the captain again and whispered, "Brother, I understand you, but I can't go and put out the fire like you, because I also have my own responsibilities."

"...Understand." The captain nodded, expressing his understanding of the officer's words.

If what he said was true, then his job was indeed to set fires, not to put them out.

"Well, goodbye." The fire brigade captain sighed, and with his subordinates and fire trucks, he bypassed the guards and rushed towards Tigenenus's house.

"They hesitated..." Looking at the fire brigade's receding backs, the Guards officer suddenly grinned and said to himself.

That's right, he stopped the fire brigade not to prevent them from putting out the fire, he had only one purpose, which was to tell the fire brigade that the one who ordered the arson this time was our Majesty.

I don't need you to believe it, I just need to tell you this, that's enough.

Soon, a piece of news spread like wildfire in Rome.

"Have you heard that this arson was ordered by His Majesty?" Early that morning, a Roman citizen was standing on the street and whispering to another Roman citizen.

"How is that possible, brother? I tell you, spreading rumors is against the law." Another Roman citizen said without raising his head while sweeping the floor.

"I also find it strange, but I heard that the fire brigade that went to put out the fire near Tigenenus's house last night was stopped by the Guards. The Guards said that His Majesty secretly ordered Tigenenus to set the fire, so that His Majesty could take the opportunity to build the Golden Palace."

"This... this is impossible?" Seeing his friend's words were so convincing, the Roman citizen who was sweeping the floor subconsciously put down his broom, looked at the few blocks not far from where the fire was still raging, and said in shock, "Now that you put it that way... it seems to make some sense."

"What a bastard! What a bastard!"

On the afternoon of the second day after the fire in Rome, Tony, who was far away in the Upper Germania province, finally received the news of the fire in Rome. He was a little puzzled as to why Rome suddenly caught fire. When he learned that the fire started in the commercial street near the Circus Maximus, he, who was familiar with history, instantly knew the cause and effect of the incident.

This should be the Great Fire of Rome which would happen nine years later!

Regarding the Great Fire of Rome nine years later, there are three different versions in history. The first is the most widely circulated version, that is, Nero ordered the fire, and the second is the official historical record of Rome, which shows that it was an accidental fire. As for the third version...it is that Christians set the fire secretly.

The evidence supporting the first statement is that after the fire, Nero built the magnificent Golden Palace at the site of the fire, so many people believe that Nero secretly instructed Tigenenus to set the fire in order to build the Golden Palace.

As for the evidence for the third statement, after the fire, Nero ordered the arrest and mass execution of Christians. It is very likely that Nero did this because he knew something.

And Tony...is more inclined to the third statement.

No matter how evil Nero was, he was still the head of the Roman Empire and it was impossible for him to order the burning of Rome. In addition, he was on vacation at the seaside in Antium at the time of the incident. It was impossible for him to stand in the palace and sing "The Fall of Troy" while watching the fire as rumored, so this was obviously a rumor.

Then the only thing left... is that the fire was set by Christians or it was an accidental fire.

Why did Tony choose to believe the third statement? In fact, it is very simple. On the one hand, Christianity was in opposition to almost all religions at that time, especially Roman polytheism. The existence of Christianity itself was to some extent a denial of Roman mythology. On the other hand, and most importantly, Christianity had made relevant prophecies before the fire, saying that the fire was a sign that the savior would come to save them. Not long after, the fire broke out.

In this era, mysticism is often very popular. Miracles, after all, who doesn’t worship God?

And yet…Tony doesn’t worship God.

In his opinion, the Great Fire of Rome was most likely secretly caused by Christians. After all... they made the prediction and then the fire happened right after. This is either a miracle or... you are just playing tricks.

And the miracle... I have never heard of such a miracle.

But the problem is, even if Tony, who is far away in the Upper Germanic province, knows who is the murderer behind the Fire of Rome, but... but there is no evidence. What can you say without evidence?

Assi...

Tony rubbed his forehead with a headache and really felt that he had saved St. Peter in vain!

Tony led his personal guards to rescue St. Peter, on the one hand, because of Martha, and on the other hand, to gain favor with St. Peter and try his best to make him give up the idea of ​​burning down Rome. As long as they did not burn down Rome, their disputes with the Roman officials would always be just small-scale frictions. Tony could guarantee that in the decades he lived, as long as Christianity did not do anything illegal, he would turn a blind eye to Christian missionary activities.

But now, the Christians have burned down the city of Rome, which means that no matter whether Tony goes back or not, after the fire, the Roman Empire will inevitably launch a campaign to persecute Christians!

This is inevitable!

"...Sister Tita." After a brief pause for two seconds, Tony suddenly looked up and said to Tita who was standing beside him, "Help me pack up. I'm going back to Rome. As for this... Tell Sister Mary to pass on the order that the exercise will proceed as usual. All exercise reports... shall be handed over to Corbro, the commander of the German Legion. Corbro will supervise this exercise on my behalf!"

Chapter 419 Come on~ Come and hurt me~

Tony knew that even if he returned to Rome, he would not be able to change anything.

Truth cannot be hidden. The Christians secretly burned down Rome. They could not keep it secret forever. After all... it was the Christians who spread the rumors. The person involved was not a fool. Didn't she herself have done these things? Didn't she have Hercules in her heart?

Therefore, after the fire was over, Nero had to settle accounts with the Christians no matter what, and when Tony rushed back at this time, all he could do was to change the executioner who persecuted the Christians from Nero to him, Tony.

If he had stood on the side of the Christians and saved a large number of Christians from Nero's butcher knife, then in later generations, Christians would definitely praise Tony highly, and it is even possible that he would be canonized. But conversely, he would definitely stand against his elder sister, so...what else is there to say? Isn't it enough to just take the blame for his elder sister?

As for the comments of later generations... Well, there are only two reasons why Nero's reputation was damaged. First, in the later period of his reign, Nero was almost opposed to the entire Roman aristocracy. Second... Stupid Christians ruled the whole of Europe hundreds of years later, so they began to persecute Nero frantically.

To be honest, as far as Tony knows, in the nearly 100 years after Nero's death, neither the official historical materials of the empire nor the historical records written by folk authors, and even the Christian history books of the time, wrote that Nero set fire to the city of Rome. Only Tacitus vaguely mentioned such a rumor in "Chronicles". As for other people, they didn't even mention this matter.

After receiving the news that Rome was on fire, Tony packed his luggage overnight, wrote a letter to Nero, and returned to Rome overnight.

the other side.

After a day and a night of emergency rescue, the fire in Rome was finally put out. Of the total fourteen blocks, three were completely burned down and seven were affected to varying degrees. After making sure that the fire was completely extinguished, our Majesty Nero ordered the arrest of Christians while rescuing the victims!

In almost one day, the Praetorian Guards captured dozens of Christians alive under Nero's orders and executed hundreds of Christians. For a time, the entire city of Rome was filled with blood and gore.

The dozens of Christians who were arrested were straightforward. Basically, they were not tortured, and several Christians admitted that they did it.

They confessed not because they were afraid of death, but because, in the eyes of these fanatics, destroying Rome was exactly what they should do.

According to later research, early Christians were very much looking forward to the end of the world. To these fanatics, the free Rome under Nero was just like Sodom and Gomorrah described in the Old Testament, a city full of decadence that should be destroyed humanely.

However, their God did not destroy the largest city in Europe.

Since God didn't destroy it, let us do it for him!

Regardless of whether it was an accidental fire or arson, the Christian fanatics who firmly believed that the fire was a sign of the destruction of the world madly took all the blame and waited for Nero to crucify them all.

So sometimes, no matter which religion it is, I really don’t know what’s in the minds of these fanatics.

After learning that it was the Christians who did this, Nero really wanted to order all of these people to be hanged or crucified, but... Tony's letter abruptly interrupted Nero's actions.

The content of the letter was very simple, asking Nero not to act rashly for the time being and to wait until he came back before deciding on anything.

If someone else asked Nero not to take action, Nero probably wouldn't pay any attention. But since his younger brother has spoken, then... it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with locking these people up and waiting for his younger brother for a few days?

Tony did not disappoint Nero's wait.

Almost at full speed, five days later, Tony returned to Rome.

"Are you tired, brother? Why don't you eat something and take a bath first?" After helping his beloved brother get off the carriage, Nero looked at his brother and asked attentively.

"Ah... my back and waist do hurt a bit, but sister, now is not the time to talk about this. Those Christians are still alive, right?" Tony stretched and moved his neck slightly.

"Well, my brother said to keep them for now, so I didn't do anything to them. But brother, you..." At this point, Nero paused, and suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Brother, do you believe in Christianity?"

In this era, Christianity is a religion that everyone hates because of doctrinal conflicts and the existence of certain fanatics. However, it is undeniable that there are also many admirable people in Christianity.

For example, Martha.

In Nero's view, Tony had been with Martha for quite some time when they were in the province of Macedonia, and later he brought his personal guards to rescue Simon Cephas, so... it was possible that his younger brother had converted to Christianity.

If that's the case, then... then Nero really doesn't know what to do.

"What are you thinking about, sister?" Tony sighed. Converted to Christianity? What a joke. Even if I converted, I would convert to the Flying Spaghetti God, right?

The reason why she was allowed to keep Christianity was of course because of this blame...it would be better for her to take it herself.

In fact, Tony had already figured it out on the way.

This... is probably an open conspiracy!

Christianity is one of those religions where the more you persecute and suppress them, the more they will stick together. The more you do this, the more they strengthen their faith, believing that this is a test from the Lord, and that death is simply a reward to them.

So, even if the fire in Rome was an accident and not caused by them, they will admit that this is what we did, come and let us be martyred~

That’s right, this was an open conspiracy, a Christian conspiracy. What they wanted was for the Roman Empire to persecute them. Only in this way could they strengthen the faith of those living Christians and tell them that this was a test from the Lord, and that when they go to heaven, there will be seventy-two... cough cough, sorry, anyway, when they go to heaven, the Lord will reward them.

The Roman Empire was a universal empire, and Christianity was a universal religion. If possible, Tony really wanted to abandon Roman polytheism and establish Christianity as the state religion, but... this is not more than three hundred years later, and the time is not yet ripe to establish Christianity as the state religion.

Besides... Cyprus is still here, what the hell is Christianity?

Since Christianity cannot be established, the only option is to suppress them.

As for how to suppress it specifically... forget it, let's talk about it later. The most urgent task now is to take the blame first!

Chapter 420: Raising the Knife Against Christians