My XX deal with Sister Nero

But no one expected that this would be a case of much ado about nothing. They said they would investigate Florus thoroughly, but in reality... they just criticized him symbolically, and then our governor is still acting arrogantly.

So what role can this little prince play here?

"My brother contacted them yesterday. They said they could form a united front with us and the Christians. However, the Christians suggested that we first eliminate the forces at the inner gate of the city."

"Earth Gate?" The middle-aged man with a beard was stunned for a moment, and said in a strange voice: "I remember this Earth Gate... It seems to be a religion that has only emerged a few months ago? The main active place seems to be Rome? How come there are traces of Earth Gate believers in Caesarea? And... why do we have to fight them?"

"I don't know either." The young man in the white toga shook his head. "Anyway, I heard that there have always been conflicts between the Dimen and Christians in Rome. Maybe they want to take the opportunity to wipe out the Dimen believers in the Jewish province? Well, there aren't many Dimen believers in Caesarea anyway, so it doesn't matter if I agree to them."

"Okay, then today, let's start with the followers of Dimen." The middle-aged man nodded.

Although there are not many followers of Dimen, maybe only a dozen or twenty people, but no one knows why they have a grudge against Christians. If there is a grudge, then... if they cause trouble for the Great Cause, it will be very troublesome.

……

"Judaism, Christianity, and the remnants of the Herodian Empire..." After listening to the chief executive's report, Tony stroked his chin and pondered for two seconds: "It's a bit troublesome. Now they haven't rebelled, so we have no reason to take action against them... But if they launch a rebellion... With the legion I have now, I'm afraid I won't be a match for the rebels..."

Just as Tony said, before the rebels rebelled, they were still citizens of the Roman Empire. Since they were citizens, the daggers in the hands of Roman legionnaires could not be waved at them.

But the problem is, Martha will not lie to him, a rebellion is about to happen, and he can't let it happen...

"Ah... so annoying!" Tony scratched his head with a headache and muttered irritably, "If only I could find a reason to arrest them!"

……

Late at night.

In front of a house in the eastern part of Caesarea.

Unlike the Eastern Han Empire, where each family had their own house and yard, very few families in the Roman Empire had their own house and yard. In comparison, their living pattern was more similar to that of later generations, such as several families living in one building.

This house is a typical Romanesque building, a two-story building with two families living on each floor. According to intelligence, the male owner of the family on the left side of the second floor of this building is a believer of the Earth Gate.

"Go ahead." The two young men in black robes looked at each other. One of them took out a set of simple lock-picking tools from a small bag on his waist and fiddled with the lock on the wooden door. He easily opened the door to the stairwell on the first floor.

"I'll go first, you cover me." The young man who was unlocking the door lowered his voice and took a look at the wooden ladder in front of him in the faint moonlight.

"Understood." The young man in charge of guarding the rear turned his head to look at the street outside the door, quietly took out a small dagger from behind him, and slowly climbed up to the second floor with his companions.

There wasn’t much nighttime entertainment in ancient times. Except for the nobles, common people in any country basically maintained the habit of working from sunrise to sunset, so at this moment... their target... had already fallen asleep.

Quietly opening the door of the house on the left side of the second floor, the two young men searched the house with daggers held backwards. After confirming the room where the male owner was, they quietly moved to the bedside and waved the daggers at the necks of the two people lying on the bed.

……

"Hmm? Murder?"

The next morning, Tony, who had just finished breakfast, looked at the chief executive of Caesarea standing in front of him and said in confusion: "Does the murder case... have anything to do with me?"

"..." Looking at Tony's cute little face, the Chief Executive almost spit at him.

What kind of words are these? What do you mean it has nothing to do with you?

Seeing the Chief Executive's expression was not right, Tony realized that he had said something wrong and coughed awkwardly, "What I mean is, logically speaking, this should be left to the local judicial authorities to investigate and solve the case, right? Why are you reporting this to me?"

Chapter 589: The Murder Case in Caesarea

"Your Highness, I don't want to report the case to you. The thing is, based on our visits and investigations of the deceased's neighbors, we found that the deceased had an identity that we have always been unknown to us. He was a religious believer, and the religion he believed in was called Dimen. I don't know much about this religion, but I heard that there is this religion in Rome. So I want to ask Your Highness, do you know anything about this religion?" The chief executive took a deep breath, slightly bowed his body and spoke to Tony in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Earth Gate believers? Hearing this key word, Tony subconsciously raised his eyebrows.

Dimen is a universal religion secretly organized by Tony to fight against Christianity. Although it is a universal religion in name, in reality... Dimen is still too young at the moment. It has only been established for a few months and has not even spread to the city of Rome.

Before arriving in Caesarea, Tony had heard that there were also Dimen believers here, but their number was not large, no more than fifteen in total. The Dimen believers in the Jewish province were actually the wedges that the Dimen leaders had driven into the core area of ​​Christianity.

"Ah, I know that the Earth Gate...had a conflict with Christianity in Rome. Before I left Rome, the Earth Gate basically wiped out all Christian forces in Rome." Tony originally wanted to directly explain his relationship with the Earth Gate, but when the words came to his lips, in the end...he took them back.

He didn't know the governor very well and was not sure whether he was still loyal to the Roman Empire at this moment.

"So, this could be a religious war?" The chief executive frowned. Judging from what His Highness said, there was a conflict between Dimen and Christianity in Rome, and after Caesarea learned about this, did the Christians here launch a revenge against Dimen?

You know what, this is really possible!

Although the Chief Executive thought so, Tony...didn't think so.

In a sense, the conflict between Dimen and Christianity was planned by Tony. To some extent, the Dimen believers in Rome can be said to be Tony's die-hard fans, from the core leadership "Innocent Amongst the Stained" to the lower-level cadres. These people were all former freed slaves. They knew that if it weren't for His Highness, they would probably still be in a state of having no food to eat.

Although the freed slaves were freed from their status as slaves, their social status was still very low. There were not many jobs they could do in the city of Rome, so a family of three from the freed slave class... could only barely make ends meet.

Until... Tony and Nero planned to support the freed slaves to fight against the aristocracy headed by the Senate.

The freed slaves have low sexual desire and are easy to control. You only need to provide them with the same living standards as normal people, then... they will work for you wholeheartedly.

This is what the Claudius family, led by Nero, did.

On the one hand, Nero and Tony vigorously built customs and Visi (street offices) to provide new job opportunities for the freed slaves. On the other hand, they opened up manors and adopted a system of employment to let the freed slaves serve them. At the same time, Tony also persuaded Nero to take out some land that the empire could not take care of and give it to the freed slaves, and rented out the land to them for cultivation. Therefore, these freed slaves can really be said to be loyal to the empire, His Royal Highness the Prince and His Majesty.

It is precisely for this reason that when Tony secretly instructed them to deal with Christianity, they would carry out Tony's orders without hesitation.

To some extent, Tony's approach is similar to that of Christianity, both of which are to win over the lower class people. However, the difference between them is that Christianity wins over the lower class people by making big promises, while Tony gives them real benefits.

Therefore, the cohesion of Dimen is very strong at this moment, because the believers of Dimen know that if they follow His Highness, they will have food to eat, and they will do whatever His Highness tells them to do!

The conflict between Christianity and the Earth Gate in Rome has been going on for at least half a month. According to Tony's guess, there are magicians among the agents of the Christian Cathedral Church, which means that they should have some special channels of communication through magic. Other small places are fine, but for strategic locations for Christianity such as Rome and the Jewish province, the Christians will definitely establish corresponding communication channels in these two places.

To put it bluntly, if they really established a communication channel through magic, then when the Earth Gate attacked Christianity, the Jewish province should have received the news. If they really just wanted to retaliate against the Earth Gate, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?

And the most important thing is that we just arrived in Caesarea yesterday, and last night some followers of Dimen were killed by Christians. What is this? A show of force?

If this is true, then... Christians should know their relationship with the Earth Gate.

"Tsk, looks like there's a mole on my side." Tony touched his chin and muttered to himself after waving away the chief executive.

Many people know about the relationship between Tony and the Earth Gate, but not many either.

Apart from Tony himself and Nero, only some senators in the Senate, some senior officials in Rome and the mayor of Ximu Town knew about it. Nero would definitely not betray him, and the mayor of Ximu Town probably would not do so either. Therefore, the only ones who could betray him were some senior officials in Rome.

"Let's first see if this chief executive is trustworthy." Tony took a deep breath, stood up, called Mary who was standing nearby to come over, and whispered a few words in her ear while standing on tiptoe. Mary nodded to Tony and left.

On the other hand, although this murder was defined as a religious war, it did not mean that the Caesarea officials could allow Christians to murder the followers of the Earth Gate. He had no control over what was happening inside the city of Rome, but here, he was the guardian of the city's law and order!

Now that we have identified the suspect, the next thing to do is to thoroughly investigate the Christians!

Soon, under the high pressure of the chief executive, Caesarea officials arrested more than ten Christians during the day. The chief executive's purpose in arresting Christians was simple. A religious war like this was definitely not spontaneously organized by one or two people. It must have been a premeditated and organized gang crime. To put it bluntly, this was most likely directed by the top brass of the Christian Caesarea branch!

Therefore, he had only one purpose in arresting Christians in large numbers, which was to interrogate and find out the identities of the top leaders. As long as the top leaders were caught, everything would be easy.

Tony naturally noticed the actions of the chief executive. Although judging from his actions, the chief executive should still be loyal to the Roman Empire, but... it is far from enough. At least Tony will not trust him until he really catches the person in charge of Christianity in Caesarea.

Chapter 590: Rebellion in the Jewish Province!

Tony knew that he could not intervene in the murder case in Caesarea. As for the assassination of the followers of the Earth Gate, it was very likely that the Christians had done it. After all, some of the rules and regulations of the Earth Gate led by Tony imitated the Earth Gate he knew in his previous life, that is, to be self-reliant and have enough food and clothing for oneself.

Therefore, apart from military organizations like the Hall of Light, other followers of the Earth Gate are really very Buddhist and will not take the initiative to cause trouble.

And in the city of Caesarea, there happened to be no Temple of Light.

To put it bluntly, in the city of Caesarea, the followers of the Earth Gate will basically not take the initiative to provoke Christians.

"The Christians assassinated the followers of the Earth Gate when I had just arrived in Caesarea. This shows that the Christians should have known about the relationship between me and the Earth Gate, so this provocation was probably directed at me..."

Touching his chin, Tony suddenly turned his head to look at Mary standing beside him and said, "Sister Mary, pass the order down and order all the Vici in Rome to maintain a high-pressure policy and arrest the Christians in the city. At the same time, order the Earth Gate to withdraw elite personnel and let the Magic Association assist them to rush to Caesarea as quickly as possible! I have a hunch that here... I'm afraid there will be some major changes!"

Tony guessed correctly.

The murder in Caesarea did not attract the attention of the citizens.

It's not that everyone is cold-blooded, but the Jewish province has been poisoned by Florus for too long, and the residents here are most concerned about their own food and clothing. Apart from that, they no longer have the energy to pay attention to other things.

Just as Tony was calmly arranging for Mary to withdraw the troops from the Earth Gate, on the other side, in a small village about seven miles east of Caesarea.

"Are you saying that a follower of the Earth Gate was killed last night?" A woman dressed as a dancer asked, looking thoughtfully at the young man kneeling in front of her.

"Yes, Your Highness. Right now the chief executive of Caesarea is arresting Christians in the city. I believe this incident is related to Christianity." The young man knelt on the ground and lowered his head.

"Of course this matter is related to Christianity. It is said that the Earth Gate attacked Christianity crazily in Rome before, and it is reasonable for Christianity to retaliate against the Earth Gate here." The being called the princess shrugged and said, "But they are taking revenge now, which is... a bit interesting. The Earth Gate believers in Rome attacked Christians more than two months ago. If Christianity really wanted to retaliate against the Earth Gate believers in Caesarea, they should have done it long ago, and there was no need to wait until now. Why did they choose to kill a Earth Gate believer on the first day that His Royal Highness arrived in Caesarea... Why is that?"

After thinking for a while, the princess suddenly had a guess that she thought was more reliable: "The expansion speed of the Earth Gate is too fast, so fast that it has far exceeded the normal development level of a religion... They can develop so fast, and there is intelligence that they have the support of the empire behind them? If this is true, then... the supporter behind them is very likely this Prince Odney!"

You know what, this is really possible!

When the Christians started the Great Fire of Rome, the imperial officials arrested Christians on a large scale, which eventually led them to take the risk of assassinating His Highness at his engagement ceremony. From then on, Prince Oddney and Christianity had a feud.

Considering this point, Prince Odney had good reasons to establish the Earth Gate to check and balance Christianity.

"What an interesting man~"

While the militias of Caesarea were hunting down Christians, Christians also responded appropriately.

A Christian suddenly appeared in the square in the city center, stood in the middle of the square and shouted: "The Roman Empire supported the Dimen and suppressed various religions. This time, they killed a Dimen believer to frame us Christians. Their purpose is to take the opportunity to destroy Christianity. Brothers and sisters, since the Roman Empire took over the Jewish province after the death of King Herod the Great, from Governor Florus to local governors and garrisons, have they ever treated us Jews as human beings?! Everyone! They dare to frame Christianity with false charges today, and they will dare to massacre Jews with false charges tomorrow! Brothers and sisters, why are you still standing there! Why don’t we work together to overthrow the rule of the Romans!"

"Huh?" Tony, who was standing by the window on the second floor of the Chief Executive's residence, looked at the indignant young man in the square, and his expression suddenly became gloomy.

"Order the Imperial Army to enter Caesarea. The local militia will cooperate with the Army to prepare to... suppress the rebellion!"

Just as Tony finished speaking, a very sharp whistle suddenly came from the west of Caesarea. Hearing this sound, Tony's face changed color on the spot!

This is the sound of a sidewinder!

The rattle arrow is a standard weapon. This weapon has been used by the Imperial military since Tony invented it. But now... Mary has not left yet, the Imperial Army has not entered the city, and the militia has not assembled. Then, who fired the rattle arrow? !

As if in response to Tony, accompanied by the sound of falling rattlesnakes, at the end of the road west of the central square, hundreds of young men dressed in various styles and holding a variety of weapons rushed towards the Chief Executive's residence shouting.

"Your Highness!"

Beside Tony, the chief executive of Caesarea looked at the rebels rushing towards them and said quickly: "Your Highness, this place is dangerous, let's retreat quickly!"

"Danger?" Tony sneered, and with Mary's help, he took off his toga, revealing the dark brown leather armor underneath. He took a Roman dagger from Mary and gently waved it twice, saying, "I have been on the battlefield before. Do you think I will be afraid of these hundreds of rebels?!"

"Your Highness!" Although Tony was not afraid, the Chief Executive was afraid. On the one hand, he was afraid of death, and on the other hand, he was afraid that Tony would die. If anything happened to His Highness, then His Majesty would make his life a living hell!

"Sister Mary, gather the guards and follow me!" Tony snorted, and while holding the sword in his right hand, he waved his left hand, intending to command the guards to resist the rebels' attack.

"Your Highness!" At this moment, not to mention the Chief Executive, even Mary was shocked.

His Highness... is he serious about this?!

Although Mary had followed Tony to the battlefield and knew that he had seen big scenes, she was not there when Tony fought Tiamat, so she didn't know that Tony's fighting ability was far beyond that of ordinary humans.

She previously thought that His Highness just wanted to act like a hero or something, but now it seems that His Highness... is planning on being serious?

Chapter 591: I’m worried about you, silly kid!

"What's wrong, Sister Mary? Looking at your expression...you don't believe in my bravery?" Tony snorted and said to Mary with a very cocky expression on his little face.

"Your Highness is a brave man. Of course I know that." Mary said anxiously.

If Your Highness really wants to show off his prowess, why not just wait until you are safe and fight him, and then pretend to be defeated? Why bother with all this?

"Since you know that I am brave, then, Sister Mary, follow me to kill the enemy!" At this point, Tony blinked at Mary: "Don't worry, Sister Mary, you will be safe with me~"

…I want you to be safe, stupid kid!

Mary took a deep breath and forced herself to hold back these outrageous words.

The entry standards for the Praetorian Guard were very high. In addition to physical requirements, there were also cultural requirements. Therefore, generally speaking, the main source of soldiers for the Praetorian Guard came from the citizen elites of the Roman Empire.

In comparison, Nero's personal guards had higher requirements.

Like ancient China, the Roman Empire did not pay much attention to women's rights. In the Roman Empire, the daughters of nobles were still okay, but the daughters of commoners... sorry.

Because of his special status, Nero had been a citizen very early on. However, according to the Roman Empire's "Law of Nations", except for Nero, all women in the empire were not considered citizens. Therefore, the status of women in the Roman Empire could be said to be very low.

After Nero became an imperial princess, because of her status, she recruited many women to form her own personal guards, which made these women have a very high status in the empire. They also understood that everything they had was given by His Majesty, so they could sacrifice their lives for His Majesty, and of course, they could also die generously for His Majesty's favorite brother.

Mary was not afraid of death, but she was worried about Tony. She had been with the little prince for so long. Publicly, Tony was her superior, her protector, and the man she believed could bring glory to the empire. Personally, Tony was younger than her. When Ola was away, she was responsible for Tony's safety as well as his daily life. So in Mary's view, to put it a little presumptuously, she treated Tony as her own brother.

So no matter in public or private, she will try her best to protect this little prince!

"Your Highness, listen to what I have to say. Although you are brave, the enemies are too numerous. For your safety, you'd better retreat with me first!" Mary said anxiously as she watched the rebels getting closer and closer to the Governor's residence.

"But..." Tony opened his mouth, looked at Mary's anxious face, and finally sighed and said, "Well, since Sister Mary said so, then... I'll retreat with you."

After hearing Tony's answer, Mary and the Chief Executive standing not far away breathed a sigh of relief. At least their heads were saved for the time being.

Under the protection of the personal guards led by Mary and the Chief Executive's guards, Tony and his party evacuated the Chief Executive's residence and retreated towards the military camp.

Christianity's actions quickly aroused a response from Judaism.

Under the instigation of Judaism, most of the Jews in Caesarea who had weapons took up their weapons, and those who did not have weapons picked up stones and sticks from the roadside and followed others into the streets to fight with the militia in the city.

But how many of these militiamen are willing to suppress the rebellion?