My XX deal with Sister Nero

"Oh?" As a Roman, especially a Roman noble, I am always curious about new things, and also about valuable things to a certain extent.

For example, Frentunus had heard that at the beginning of the year the great emperor had ordered a toga to be made for his brother, Prince Odenius, to wear after the war with Parthia.

Because His Highness is the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Legion, this toga naturally carries a certain meaning of "returning victoriously". And this kind of toga, which is only worn at triumphal ceremonies, first of all, is pure purple!

Don't compare it with the fancy clothes of today. In that era, it was not easy to color a piece of clothing. Firstly, the coloring steps were complicated, and secondly, the raw materials for extracting the color were expensive.

The purple toga that Nero prepared for Tony was, first of all, made of pure silk.

That’s right, silk from the Han Dynasty!

In the era when the Silk Road had not yet been opened, the price of one gram of silk was basically equivalent to one gram of gold, and a toga weighed about three to five kilograms. In other words, Tony's toga was probably worth at least three kilograms of gold.

Nero planned to dye this toga entirely "Tyrian purple".

"Tyrian purple" was the most expensive dye in the Roman Empire at that time, because the raw material of this color mainly came from living dye murex, and the purple mucus secreted by 30,000 dye murex could only make one gram of dye. So to be honest, this piece of clothing that Tony himself didn't even know he was making could basically be said to be priceless in the true sense.

After all, this does not include some spices and other things added in the later period.

"Senator?" Just when Frentunus was distracted, he seemed to hear Florus' voice in a trance.

"Ah... sorry, I was thinking about something else just now, so I was distracted." Looking at Florus apologetically, Frentunus nodded embarrassedly.

"It's okay, it's okay. Your Excellency the Elder must be a little tired from handling government affairs. It just so happens that the appetizers here are almost finished. It's time to let the slaves serve the main course."

As he spoke, Florus clapped his hands, signaling the slaves outside the door to bring the main course.

The Romans were very particular about the main course of their meals, but this particularity was different from Tony's.

Tony is particular about food, mainly in terms of taste and the degree of processing of the food. Although in his previous life Tony could only cook a few home-cooked dishes, it is undeniable that if Tony's cooking level in his previous life was placed in the Roman Empire two thousand years ago... Not to mention, the Roman Empire didn't even have MSG or soybean paste, so what good dishes could they make?

The Roman nobles were also very particular about food, but their particularity was in luxury.

Simply put, eat whatever is expensive.

Therefore, the dining tables of Roman nobles were filled with all kinds of strange and exotic things.

Peacocks are mainly distributed in the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. At that time, the largest importer of peacocks should be our Roman Empire.

The Roman nobles imported peacocks from Indian princely states not to raise them for beauty, but to eat them, to eat the peacocks' brains and tongues, or other exotic species that were not available in the Roman Empire.

Anyway, at that time, there was a logic circulating among the upper class of the Roman Empire, that is, only the poor would eat food from the Roman Empire, and the rich would eat imported food!

Of course, now that the dinner is underway, in addition to serving the main course, their performances should also change from the high-end, fresh and elegant poetry recitations and dramas to the main event.

That’s right, when the Roman nobles were eating the main course, the slaves would perform real-life gladiatorial combat or a buttery dance at the appropriate time. Only in this way would the host feel very proud.

Therefore, Tony, who had never really participated in a traditional Roman banquet, could not imagine how luxurious a real Roman noble was. Poverty limited Tony's imagination of the Romans.

Chapter 241: The Welfare of the Roman People

Nearing evening, Nero finally brought Tony to the outside of the wall of the Governor's Palace.

"Huh? Why are there so many people here?" Tony was stunned when he saw a group of raggedly dressed Jewish people gathered in front of the Governor's Palace. What? Are they petitioning or doing something else?

"You may not know this, brother." Nero glanced gloomily at the Jewish civilians present before lowering his voice and saying, "You have participated in traditional Roman noble gatherings, but you should have heard about it, right? These Roman nobles like to eat, and they like to eat a lot, right?"

Tony nodded. He knew that the Roman nobles loved to eat. He even knew that if these nobles were full, they would choose to bite their throats to make themselves vomit so that they could continue eating.

It is precisely because of these disgusting behaviors that Tony has always had a vague aversion to this traditional Roman banquet.

"But brother, do you know? What should we do if...there is too much food to finish?" Nero asked Tony with a blank expression.

"Put it in the freezer...throw it away?" Tony subconsciously wanted to answer that he put it in the refrigerator, but considering that there were no refrigerators in this world and this era, he thought about it...should he just throw it away directly?

"No." Nero shook his head and said, "Those food scraps are naturally eaten by the common people. After all... if these guys want to enter the Senate, they need votes. How do they get votes? Of course, they give welfare to the people."

???

This is a shitty benefit!

In his previous life, he had heard that Nero built a bathhouse in order to gain the support of the people. After all, the bathhouse was a serious welfare measure of the Roman Empire, so Tony in his previous life thought it was quite normal. But how can giving the people leftovers be considered welfare? !

Are you afraid that you have some misunderstanding about welfare?

But for the Roman people of that era, this was indeed a benefit.

At the banquet, the food these Roman nobles ate was something that not only Tony had seen in his previous life, but even high-ranking officials from various countries might not have eaten much before.

Who the hell would treat a guest to peacock brains? !

So even the food scraps were delicacies that these Jews had never eaten before.

"Sister, what should we do?" Looking at the group of Jews standing around the gate of the Governor's Palace and looking eagerly in the direction of the Governor's Palace, Tony scratched his head and asked at a loss.

"Of course I went in." Nero said to Mary beside him with a gloomy face: "Mary, take your people and open the way for me!"

"Yes!" Mary nodded, and walked forward with more than a dozen subordinates, pushed away the Roman Jews who were blocking Nero, and forcibly opened a path wide enough for two people to pass.

"Open the door." When Nero arrived at the door of the Governor's Palace, he looked at the soldiers guarding the gate with a bad face and said in a cold voice.

"Who are you? Why should I open the door for you?" A soldier took two steps forward to Nero and said in a deep voice.

“How dare you!” Mary glared, took two steps forward to the soldier, and took out her Royal Guard badge: “Who gave you the courage to speak to Her Majesty…Miss like that?!”

The Royal Guards?!

As a soldier, this soldier naturally understood that the badge of the Royal Guards was genuine. The female Royal Guards...could they be the legendary personal guards of His Majesty?

If this is true, then the identity of the lady she is referring to is naturally self-evident!

His Majesty!

"This..." The soldier looked at Nero, who was wearing ordinary clothes, with some embarrassment, gritted his teeth and said, "Then... I'll open the door for you."

Frentunus and Florus never dreamed that His Majesty and His Royal Highness would interfere in today's dinner.

"Are you okay?" After pulling a female slave over and wiping his hands on her beautiful long hair, Florus grabbed an apple from the table and asked with a smile.

Traditional Romans basically ate with their hands, but Tony was not a traditional Roman, so when he was in the palace he asked someone to make a small knife, fork and chopsticks for him, and he even brought his own knife, fork and chopsticks every time he went out.

Of course, someone may ask at this time, don’t the Romans think it’s dirty to eat with their hands?

Dirty, of course it’s dirty!

Although there are some differences in the living and hygiene habits of ancient and modern people, it does not mean that they will not be disgusted by dirt. For example, the Romans also disliked dirt, but what should they do if their hands are dirty? It's simple, just call a slave to wipe their heads.

The slave's hair is used to wipe hands!

So this is why when Tony first arrived at the palace, his hands were dirty while eating and he wanted to find a piece of cloth to wipe them, but a little girl came and squatted there.

Well, we've gone too far off topic.

"Well, I think we can get down to business now, right?" Frentunus chuckled, put down the fruit in his hand and said to Florus.

"Of course, that's right..." Just as Florus opened his mouth to say something, the door of the living room was suddenly pushed open, and a girl of about seventeen or eighteen walked into the living room with a child of twelve or thirteen with gloomy faces.

"Who is it!" In the corner of the living room, two soldiers reacted instantly. They quickly pulled out the daggers hanging at their waists, held the swords in one hand and rushed towards the direction of Nero and Tony.

“Your Majesty?!” Seeing the gloomy girl, Florus and Frentunus stood up subconsciously, then stepped forward in panic, pushed the two soldiers away, knelt on one knee in front of Nero, and shouted: “Your Majesty, we are here to see you!”

Nero looked at the two people kneeling in front of him with a gloomy face, without saying a word.

"Plop." He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead without leaving a trace. Although he didn't know why His Majesty suddenly appeared here, but... the atmosphere at the scene was obviously too depressing. He could tell with his big toe that His Majesty's coming here this time was definitely not for any good thing!

"You...why don't you clean up the vomit on the floor first? It makes me uncomfortable looking at it." Tony first glanced at his sister with a gloomy face, then glanced at the vomit next to the table not far away, and said with a frown.

"Ah... yes, Your Highness." Frentunus subconsciously turned his head to look at the pool of vomit not far behind him, then reached out and poked Florus who was kneeling beside him.

Of course, Florus heard what the prince said, so he quickly called a few slaves and cleaned the living room before asking, "I wonder what your majesty is here for this time?"

Chapter 242: I can’t save you. Wait for death. Goodbye! (Additional update 50)

"Brother, you talk." Nero pulled over two stools, put one of them behind Tony and sat down. His expression was still not looking good.

Oh no, cool!

Frentunus secretly glanced at Nero's expression, and his heart immediately sank.

Although Frentunus was only a senator without voting rights, he was one of the senators of the Senate after all and had more contact with Nero. Nero was usually extroverted and energetic, and basically had nothing special except his love for luxury and self-expression, so once he showed coldness... then you had to be careful.

Nero is not cold now, right? Judging from her attitude, she doesn't even want to talk anymore, right?

This Governor... Frentunus glanced at the Governor who was kneeling like himself without leaving a trace.

I can’t save you, just wait to die, bye!

"Ah..." Tony sighed, sat down on the stool, looked at the two people kneeling in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency Governor Florus, right? I hope I didn't get your name wrong."

"Yes, Your Highness." Florus nodded, carefully raised his head and looked at Tony, and said, "Florus, the Governor of the Jewish Province, greets Your Highness."

"Your Excellency Governor Florus, the king and His Majesty came here because we received news that King David and King Solomon of the ancient Jewish Kingdom, who were buried in the suburbs of Jerusalem, have been resurrected?" Tony first glanced at his sister, then asked Florus.

"Ah... Your Highness, we don't know whether these two ancient kings have been resurrected, but what is certain is that the tombs of these two kings, which were originally located in the suburbs, have indeed been damaged by human beings, and... the coffins have indeed been opened, and there are no bodies of the two kings inside."

Florus breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied.

Seeing His Majesty's stinky face, Florus instinctively thought that His Majesty must have come to pick a fight with him for some reason, but he didn't expect that he was just asking about the two Jewish kings.

So why should I be afraid? It's not me who dug the hole anyway.

"That should be it." Tony nodded.

Logically speaking, these two kings should not have built a fake tomb for themselves, and even if they did... I don't think any Jew would be so stubborn as to dig up the graves of their ancestors.

"But speaking of it..." Florus frowned and thought for a while before saying, "I heard from my subordinates that some time ago there was a man wearing the armor of a general of the Royal Guard who seemed to be very concerned about this matter. He went back and forth in front of the two tombs several times. Is it possible that this matter is related to him?"

What the hell!

Tony secretly curled his lips. He could tell with his big toe that it must be his heroic self jumping back and forth in front of the grave.

But then again, I don't know why, when I told the Heroic Spirit Tony that I would come with Nero in two days, this grandson quickly replied that he had something to do and left first. Considering that it takes time for the familiar to deliver the letter... Well, he replied to me almost as soon as he received the letter, as if... as if he was avoiding me or Nero?

Forget it, leave him alone.

"Okay, let's put this matter aside for now..." Tony stood up and looked at Florus, and said condescendingly: "Then next, we should talk about the issue of the Jewish province."

"The Jewish province...what's the problem?" Upon hearing this, Florus broke out in a cold sweat!

As the governor of the province of Judea, he certainly knew what the province of Judea under his governance was like!

"Let's not talk about religious conflicts for now. After all, I don't think you can solve this. As for other exploitations... If I ask you not to exploit others, I think... relying on your low salary, it shouldn't be enough to cover your huge expenses, right?"

As he spoke, Tony glanced at the Governor's Mansion and smacked his lips. "Sure, it's a courtyard-style residence with Ionic columns. I don't think you can afford to build it with your meager salary, right? So... your exploitation of the Jewish province seems to be justifiable? After all, the Governor has to eat, too."

"Yes, Your Highness really understands us." Florus nodded quickly and said to Tony.

Don't say anything more. Just based on what Your Highness said, after I get through this crisis, I will definitely give Your Highness a 0.5-hectare house outside of Rome.

However, before Florus could finish his words, Tony changed the subject and continued, "Although I can understand your exploitation, I want to ask you, isn't your exploitation... a bit too harsh? Look at the Jews outside! Look at what they eat! Look at what they wear! Do you have the nerve to say you are the governor here?!"

"Be good, brother. It's not nice to swear." Nero said calmly, patting his brother's back gently.

"Hiss..." Tony took a deep breath and looked at Florus and said, "Based on what I have seen and heard along the way, I suspect that if this continues, this Jewish province will probably be on the verge of a riot, right?"

"They dare!" Florus subconsciously looked up at Tony and said loudly.

"I don't know if they dare to do it, but I know you dare to push them towards rioting!" Tony suddenly smiled, and then looked at Florus with a deadly look: "Enjoy it, your last... career as governor."

Seeing that Tony had almost finished speaking, Nero stood up and said to Frentunus, "Frentunus, I have a suggestion for you. In the future... you'd better avoid hanging out with questionable people."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Frentunus quickly lowered his head and replied. This Governor Florus... I really don't know where he offended Your Highness... Well, no matter what, judging from the degree of favor Your Majesty has for Your Highness, the career of this Governor is probably over.

Just like Tony said, the salary of Roman officials was not too high. If it was just to feed people, this salary would be enough, but the empire was corrupt, who wouldn't want to make more money? Everyone had only one purpose for being an official, that is to make as much money as possible, and then use the money to open the way to the Senate.

Although the current Senate is far inferior to the Senate during the Republican period, it is undeniable that the current Senate is still a very glorious existence.

It can be said that among the dozens or hundreds of governors in the Roman Empire, none of them was clean, and the only difference between the governors might be the amount of corruption they had committed.

Although Florus's exploitation was indeed a bit cruel, it does not deserve the death penalty. At most, he will just be warned and fined.

But judging from what His Highness meant...he wants to hang him directly!

"Brother...you seem to be a little disgusted with this governor?" Nero looked at Tony curiously and asked as he walked out of the Governor's Palace.

"Yeah." Tony nodded lightly without saying anything.

Tony didn't realize who Florus was at first. But when he walked to the gate of the Governor's Palace and saw those ragged Jews, he suddenly remembered that Florus was the governor who caused the Jewish War!

Just like what Tony said, the religious conflict between monotheism and polytheism is something Tony can’t do, and neither can Governor Florus. Everyone can understand this, and even your exploitation of the local people is understandable. Everyone wants to climb up, but don’t exploit them too much! Look at these Jews, how poor they are!

PS: I don't know why I can't read the previous author's words, so I can't count how much I owe now, and I'm not sure where the previously counted data has been counted, so I won't count it for now, and I'll tell you after Orange replies to me tomorrow.