Chapter 205: Empire Rebirth Plan
Even the emperor himself had to go into battle to defend Siyuan City. The situation in the Bacchus Empire was certainly not as easy as Emperor Marius portrayed.
But Marius remained calm and composed. He even had the time to think about Arina's marriage...
This is probably the state of mind and confidence that an emperor should have.
He believed that as long as he didn't lose his composure, everything could be solved.
Moreover, everything has two sides, and destroying and then rebuilding is not necessarily a bad thing.
Besides, many things were expected.
For example, the gladiators in Siyuan City would take advantage of the chaos to revolt. This is not an accidental accident...
This slave uprising led by gladiators was originally the idea of Marius, but the plan was from Arina.
The gladiator who led the rebellion was named Brutus. He used to be an officer of the Immortal Legion under Emperor Marius. He had made many military achievements and became the small lord of Granmel Village north of Siyuan City.
Brutus' sister was named Elena. At a banquet organized by Justus, Elena met Luciana (now Alena), and she became Luciana's only friend.
Elena is the only girl of her generation Luciana has ever met who is willing to listen to her telling the official history instead of just blindly following what others say. Perhaps it is fate. They look very similar, so they have a very good relationship.
Luciana has now changed her name to Alina, which is also related to Elena.
Brutus and Elena, a brother and sister, got into big trouble some time ago. Of course, it should be said that trouble found them.
Brutus had rejected the Senate's bribery many times, and Elena had just rejected the marriage proposal of a senator on this year's Women's Day - Brutus was a new generation of lords who emerged from the reforms of Emperor Marius. He was a staunch reformer and would never defect to the conservatives.
There was no way Elena would marry a politician old enough to be her father, no matter how high his status.
And this firm refusal brought retaliatory consequences.
As the lord of Hira Yuzas, Brutus had to lead his troops to fight against the rebellion. However, not long after he left Granmayer Village with his troops, the entire village was identified as a "nest of snake worshippers"...
All the villagers, including Elena, are accused of being snake worshippers and will be enslaved!
This was certainly a wrongful case, and the cause of the injustice was easy to understand. Once Elena became a slave, the previous senator could naturally do whatever he wanted - Elena was abducted by him.
Of course Brutus would not give up. After all, no brother could tolerate such a thing. He withdrew his troops and led them to kill nearly 200 people of the senator's family and rescued Elena.
Brutus was unable to stop in anger, and he also had no choice but to kill in order to save others. He did kill too many people, and there must be some innocent people who died at his hands.
But in order to save my sister, there is no other way.
In any case, this matter has indeed become a big deal. No matter what the reason is, it is ultimately serious in nature.
In addition, they are people from the Senate. If nothing unexpected happens, all the conservative nobles will want to kill Brutus's entire family and the soldiers under his command.
So Brutus claimed that Elena was killed, and let his soldiers take Elena away quietly, while he himself went to the Royal Court of Siyuan City to surrender and took all the charges - he knew that the Grand Chancellor under the nose of Emperor Marius would be more fair, and might give him a chance because he was a member of the Immortal Legion.
The Royal Court of Siyuan City was indeed fair. After all, there were reasons for the incident, and Brutus had made military contributions to the empire, so he was only sentenced to slavery instead of death.
He also gave Brutus the easiest way to regain his freedom and become a warrior again - by making him a slave gladiator in the Royal Arena of Siyuan City.
This result is considered good, after all, he killed someone's entire family. In fact, most members of the Senate felt that the sentence was too light.
But Elena didn't want her brother to die in the arena, so she went to Luciana, hoping that Luciana could help and see if she could find a way to rescue Brutus.
Luciana, now Alina, is the daughter of Justus.
Since the matter involved the Senate and the Supreme Court had already made a judgment, Governor Justus originally did not want to intervene.
But Luciana thought this was a good opportunity, an opportunity to completely resolve the internal problems of the Bacchus Empire.
Justus himself was the biggest assistant in promoting Emperor Marius' reforms and the initiator of most reform policies. He certainly knew the two biggest internal difficulties that Emperor Marius' reforms faced.
One is the resistance of the old aristocracy - the conservatives hold more than half of the country's wealth and army in their hands, and they only want to guard their vested interests and live their comfortable lives. Even those conservatives who are willing to safeguard national interests are at most as strict in their personal ethics as Governor Kairos.
Another difficulty is the deep-rooted slavery tradition in the Bacchus Empire.
It was the slavery system that caused centuries-old ethnic conflicts between the Bacchus and the Pendes; it also provided the best soil for the expansion of the empire's biggest foreign enemy, the Snake Cult.
Unlike other countries, slavery in the Bacchus Empire is almost deeply engraved in the bones of every Bacchus person.
The Kingdom of Sarleon and the Kingdom of Ravenstern also have slaves, but they are basically indentured servants, that is, they are sold into slavery and can be redeemed.
They should actually be called servants or maids - in fact, Klose and others were originally Leon's indentured servants.
However, the master cannot execute such servants at will, and will pay them some wages, depending on the contract.
In most of the kingdom's noble territories, farming is done by letting commoners who have lost their land rent the land as tenants, which is also a form of contractual cooperation.
In other words, the slaves and tenants in Sarleon, Crowstern, and other countries including Firdsvain were essentially in an employment relationship, or at least a binding contract signed on both sides based on treating the other party as an equal "person".
But the Bacchus Empire is different.
The slaves of the Bacchus Empire were purely tools that lost their personal freedom and performed unpaid labor. They could not even be called human beings.
Most of the nobles of Bacchus used serfs to cultivate the fields, and it was not a transaction like selling oneself into slavery, but forced slavery.
That means lifelong unpaid labor, and the next generation will continue to be slaves, and all descendants will be slaves. There is no contract and no way to redeem themselves.
This is the real lowest level of society. There are no human rights at all. Even eating depends on rewards. They live worse than pigs and dogs.
In the current Bacchus Empire, nearly one-third of the people are still such slaves, and most of them are native people of Pendor.
In fact, Emperor Marius had abolished the Equality of Citizens Law twenty years ago, and the new Citizenship Law also stipulated that everyone has equal citizenship rights, but twenty years was indeed too short and people's concepts have not changed yet.
Besides, every policy has its own countermeasure - the emperor said that the Bacchus and the Pendes are equal citizens, so okay, citizens are citizens and they must respect His Majesty the Emperor.
But criminals and heretics can't be equal citizens, right?
In addition, Emperor Marius also issued a decree to crack down on the Snake Cult. Anyone who joined the Snake Cult would be considered a slave - this was allowed by policy.
As a result, numerous snake worshippers appeared in Bacchus...
Anyway, as long as the noble lord or tribune said that a person was a snake worshiper, then this person would most likely become a slave.
There are certainly many more false cases than real snake worshippers, but no one would risk overturning the case of a slave who was identified as a snake worshipper.
The result is that, not much different than a hundred years ago, the Bacchus, who own the land and power, can still force the Pende into slavery.
And the nature of the situation now may be even more severe. They are directly labeled as followers of the Snake Cult, and have lost all hope of turning things around. They cannot even flee abroad - if they flee to other countries with the identity of a Snake Cultist, they are considered heretics and will be burned to death...
This resulted in many people who originally did not believe in the Snake Cult, because they had become slaves, actually joining the Snake Cult and fighting against the Empire.
Of course, the slaves were not completely hopeless, as Emperor Marius' military reform included a provision that allowed gladiators to join the imperial legion after fighting a certain number of matches. Once they completed their service, they could become free men, and if they made meritorious services, they would have the opportunity to be promoted and make a fortune.
Therefore, a large number of slaves who were unwilling to join the Snake Cult became gladiators, hoping to regain their freedom through slave fighting.
Gradually, the influence of Bacchus' slave gladiatorial games became very great, and Emperor Marius and his reform policies were also regarded as the only hope by the slaves.
But, but.
Most of those who controlled the arena and gladiator training camp were high-ranking officials from the traditional conservative faction who wanted to protect their own interests.
In fact, only a very small number of people were able to leave the arena and join the legion, and it was difficult for gladiators to live to see the day of freedom .
Because, although Marius's policies were fine, the people who implemented them were problematic...
In just over a decade, the reform policy regarding slave gladiators was played out in new ways by slave traders and various gladiator training camps.
Originally, slaves who were sold to the arena would be registered for battles by the arena. After reaching a certain number of battles, if the gladiator was still alive, he would join the various legions of the Bacchus Empire and become a warrior.
This was a mandatory restrictive policy issued by Emperor Marius in order to select outstanding soldiers from the gladiators, and it was also equivalent to training soldiers through the arena.
To this end, each legion would pay a certain amount of training funds to the gladiator training camps and arenas to subsidize the costs of the training camps - the gladiator training camps also paid to buy these slaves.
If this policy had been implemented well, everyone would have benefited in the long run.
But in order to make the best gladiators become long-term cash cows and to gain greater profits, slave traders, gladiator training camps and arena owners started to work closely together and began to constantly tamper with the gladiators' files.
As a result, in recent years, most gladiators have gradually lost their names and are left with only a code name.
After completing the required number of matches in one arena, the player will be assigned a new code name and transferred to another arena...
This is probably the earliest transfer transaction between clubs.
If the gladiators do not cooperate with the transfer, the final battle may be an extremely unfair melee, or even a battle with lions and tigers.
Anyway, the uncooperative gladiators would most likely die in the last match, and the bosses would earn enough profit with the completely unfair fight - there were many Bacchus nobles who liked to watch the few versus the many or the battles between humans and beasts, and this unfair battle seemed intense and exciting.
The bloodier the scene, the more eye-catching it is, the bosses earn more, and the influence of slave fighting is further enhanced.
If the gladiator is 'willing to cooperate with the transfer', then at least most of the time he will face relatively fair battles and can survive for a while by relying on his own fighting power.
In this situation, it is obvious what kind of mentality the gladiators will have.
They are all warriors struggling to survive between life and death. What will they do when they see no real hope at all?
Those serfs did not have the courage to resist, so they could only join the Snake Cult to seek the power of the evil god.
But gladiators will not worship evil gods, these warriors will rely on their own strength!
Luciana saw this, so she hatched a big plan.
She planned to let Brutus lead the gladiators in a rebellion, and then, with the cooperation of Governor Justus, launch a large-scale slave uprising, using this uprising to make all Bacchus understand that the slavery system must be changed!
Then let this rebel army deal with the Snake Worship Cult and clear the rebel army of the charge of rebellion.
Finally, the empire enacted a policy to abolish slavery, fully implement the contract employment system, and incorporate this slave uprising army.
Brutus, who has made great contributions to His Majesty the Emperor, will naturally be able to clear his name and become a lord again, and maybe even become the commander of a legion.
However, Governor Justus felt that the plan was too risky and that if something went wrong it would be difficult to control, so he did not agree to his daughter's plan.
As a result, Luciana secretly ran to Siyuan City and told Emperor Marius the plan directly.
Justus and Emperor Marius were close friends. It could be said that Marius watched Luciana grow up and was even her godfather - really just a godfather. Marius and Justus Dukes were old friends before he became emperor.
Moreover, Luciana was born on the same day that Marius ascended the throne, so Marius treated her as his own daughter.
So, Marius knew Luciana.
This girl has been a famous prodigy in the city of knowledge since she was young. She could read the epic poems of Bacchus when she was three years old. Before she was six years old, she could translate seven ancient poems from the Noldor literature... This is an incredible ability. Of course, this is also because her father Justus is indeed knowledgeable.
From the time she was twelve, she had become the largest customer of the candle merchants in the City of Knowledge—Luciana's annual order of candles was enough to support an average family for seven years, and she would always sit there alone, poring over endless ancient scrolls and manuscripts, with candles burning all night long.
Even Justus and Marius were not sure whether she slept at all, but it was certainly very little. She liked to use her nights to take notes in ancient manuscripts and was always studying Madigan's prophecy.
Luciana was about to turn twenty years old, and it was rare for aristocratic girls of that age to remain unmarried.
But she is still single because all the men in the empire are afraid of making a fool of themselves in front of her, and no one even dares to date her - the knowledge she possesses is indeed not on the same level as that of most young people.
Emperor Marius even felt that her talent surpassed Justus, but she just had no political experience.
The plan that such a girl dared to propose to the emperor was actually very feasible and very much in line with Marius's temperament.
Therefore, Emperor Marius and Luciana worked together to perfect the plan, which was generally similar to Luciana's design, except that it involved some more specific actual situations.
While the rebels of Shira Yuzas are causing chaos, let Brutus, a trustworthy immortal, be the leader and lead a slave uprising from within Siyuan City. This will let everyone see that the slavery system must be changed!
Then, let the rebels first eliminate those conservatives who are the least cooperative and whose behavior is the most rampant - or let these conservatives who do not support reform "annihilate the rebels".
Luciana will pass on first-hand intelligence to the rebels, and whoever goes to suppress them will die...
After no one dared to suppress the rebels anymore, they let the rebels cooperate with Marshal Kairos to wipe out the rebels of Shira Yuzas in one fell swoop - the rebels of Shira Yuzas rebelled in order to establish a deeper slavery system, and they and the slave rebels were natural enemies!
After this, Marius would announce a complete transition from slavery to indenture employment, which would curb the development of Snake Worship at its root.
Finally, Marius would personally lead the rebels to fight against the Snake Cult, and then recruit this rebel army that had been tempered in battle, adding a powerful legion that supported reform to the empire.
This is a means of killing two birds with one stone, and it may even bring light to the entire Bacchus Empire and give it new life!
This plan was also named "Imperial Rebirth Plan" by Marius.
So Luciana changed her name to Arina, served as Emperor Marius' intelligence officer, and together with Elena, they served as liaisons with Brutus, one openly and one secretly, and began to implement the plan.
This talented woman is so famous that if she didn't change her name, everyone would know that it was Marius and Justus who were causing the trouble. The gladiators might not be willing to believe her...
And following the name 'Elena', changing it to 'Alina' would make perfect sense - the names were only one letter different, and they looked like two sisters, so everyone would think she was also Brutus' sister.
Brutus was a very capable warrior. With the cooperation and remote control of Emperor Marius, he successfully launched the gladiator uprising and led a large slave uprising army.
However, plans cannot keep up with changes, and this originally good plan for the revival of the empire was encountered by the cross-sea invasion of the Snake Cult.
This is indeed a surprise...
Emperor Marius and Arina both anticipated that the snake worshippers in the country might take the opportunity to cause trouble, and they made corresponding arrangements in advance.
But no one expected that the snake worshippers who were causing trouble this time were not only from the territory of the Bacchus Empire, but most of them came from the snake worship headquarters in the Amala continent...
The descendants of the conquerors now face the invasion of another, more evil conqueror.
At the same time, no one expected that the rebels of Shira Yuzas would suddenly receive a huge amount of money, food and supplies, greatly increasing their strength.
Emperor Marius's deployment was also disrupted.
According to the original plan, after the rebels killed those stubborn conservatives, liberated a large number of slaves and established their reputation, Brutus should lead the rebels to cooperate with Kairos to eliminate the rebels of Hira Yuzas in one fell swoop.
Then Marius would grant amnesty to the rebels for their great achievement in eliminating the rebellion, and abolish slavery at the same time - this would seem reasonable and no one would object.
Anyone who dares to disobey can be attacked by the rebels. By the way, it can also make Kairos, the conservative military leader, understand that sticking to the old system will only lead to waves of uprisings.
But this matter must be promised by a high-level person, and some loyal troops must be sent to lead the rebels, otherwise a group of rabble might fight with Kairos...
Marius originally planned to do this personally, but because the rebels of Hira Yuzas suddenly gained strength, they not only defeated Kairos, but also advanced to a position only thirty miles away from Siyuan City. The Snake Cult army that came across the sea from the south was also approaching Siyuan City. Under this circumstance, Marius really couldn't leave Siyuan City.
This also caused Marius and Arina to temporarily lose contact with Brutus and Elena some time ago. As a result, the rebel army got a little out of control, and its scale grew larger and larger. It headed straight for the city of Boshi and besieged it...
At the same time, Marshal Kairos's anti-rebel army could not be contacted at all. The only thing we knew was that the last place they appeared was the village of Finrad - and this was when Agathon was recalled and met them halfway.
Marius realized that it would be difficult for Brutus alone to fully control a legion of tens of thousands of people under the current circumstances, and the plan had to be changed.
Because this is a risky thing to begin with. If something goes wrong, it might turn from a 'rebirth plan' into a 'death plan'...
Therefore, we cannot let Brutus lead the troops to eliminate the rebellion now. We can only let him cooperate with Governor Justus to see if he can recruit them on the spot in Boshi City.
In addition, the southeastern region has been attacked by the Snake Cult, Malasburg has been captured, and all news from the east has been cut off.
Once the Imperial Port falls, the Snake Cult will continue to land from the Imperial Port, just like when General Osa invaded the Pande Continent.
So Emperor Marius recalled Agathon from the Rella Fortress and ordered him to return to recapture Malassos and rescue Imperial Port.
Abandoning the Leila Fortress is of course very risky, as it means that the capital Siyuan City, which is facing enemies on both sides, will no longer receive reinforcements.
At the same time, General Titus of the Sava River Castle had been recalled a few days ago, and Emperor Marius asked him to contact the Ash Empire to fight against the Snake Cult together.
The Ashborn Empire is a country rebuilt on the ruins of the destroyed old Bacchus Empire by those who were unwilling to succumb to the Snake Cult on the continent of Amala.
But Marius did not ask General Titus to ask for help.
On the contrary, he asked Titus to take the warship across the sea directly to the Amara continent, to join forces with the Ashborn Empire and destroy the Snake Cult's port on the Amara continent!
He wants to cut off the source of the problem!
Emperor Marius did not ask for help from anyone because of the crisis encountered by Siyuan City, and all the troops that could support Siyuan City have been sent out by him.
Not only that, he also took the initiative to stand at the outermost defense line of Siyuan City, which was the front line facing the rebels.
"I am Marius! Emperor of the Empire! I am right here! Come on, traitors, charge at me!"
