The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 34

Although he believed Talogren’s word that he would get warriors willing to go south and help defend against the Carthaginian invasion, Ky wasn’t sure he’d actually been successful until the first of those men started to arrive at the border. By the end of the morning of the third day, when they needed to march, he had even managed to beat his own estimate with the final total coming to just over five-thousand one-hundred. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the fighting men. Many of them had brought their wives and children along, as well as quite a number of camp followers looking to sell wares, or themselves, to the horde of men.

Ky knew that this was a phenomenon with all armies of the time, including the Romans, but since they were pulling people out of their villages and having them move into an area that would have been hostile to them that they could not scavenge off, Ky had thought they might not be an issue this time. Vibius had recommended that the women and children, at least, get turned away and sent back to their villages, but one ride among them was enough for Ky to decide to let them come. The men were all healthy, but many of the women and children were malnourished and their clothing tattered to the point of being rags. If they were forced to go back without their breadwinners, many of these people wouldn’t live through the winter.

Ky knew this would make his job harder when he arrived at Devnum, but he couldn’t say no. In the end, almost ten thousand people would be headed south. Ky took a century from Vibius to work as police and assist in providing for the horde. Every day he sent them out to buy food and supplies to bring back, although much of that with tokens that the farmers could redeem instead of hard currency.

Ky reassured them that someone would return with money to pay these people, so they didn’t have to travel to the capitol to get reimbursed, but they had heard that before. This far from the Capitol, Ky’s reputation didn’t mean as much, and the people were warier. Ky also sent two of his men ahead to have food and supplies collected in Devnum and a small supply train driven up to meet them halfway, to help alleviate the strain on the countryside.

Even on the cut ration, the Picts were ecstatic. Many of the women and children were eating better than they had in their lives, which in turn made the men happy and more compliant.

The trip wasn’t without incident, however. Despite Talogren’s warnings and then Llassar’s repetition of those warnings that violation of Roman law would come with Roman penalties, including death for serious crimes. Despite those warnings and the patrolling Roman soldiers, a handful of warriors had to be punished before they reached Devnum, including two for rape and one for murdering a farmer when he tried to protect his daughter.

Ky stopped the march for two hours while he held court with both Romans and Picts passing judgment. The three men were found guilty and lined up in front of the watching Picts. Ky made sure everyone involved was one of their people, from the men guarding the prisoners to the executioner standing behind them.

“I promised Talogren and your chieftains that I would treat you fairly and that you would be equals with the Romans, not their subjects or slaves,” Ky said to the assembled mass, standing in front of the kneeling prisoners.

While Ky could make his voice project far, with this many people less than a third would actually hear what he was saying. The rest would have to hear it repeated by their countrymen who were standing close enough to hear.

“I meant that in every way. You will have the same opportunities as any Roman. The same privileges as any Roman. And … you will have the same obligationsas any Roman. By your laws and by the Romans’, what these men have done is wrong and they must pay the price for their actions. What happens now, I don’t do out of hate for your people … or malice … or anger. I do it because it must be done.”

With that Ky stepped back and pulled his sword. Ky dispatched each man as quickly as he could, his sword decapitating them one by one. When it was done he ordered that they not be defiled or hung up as an example and instead had their bodies disposed of in the traditional Pict manner, by burning on a pyre. Most of the Picts returned to the camp they had set up the night before to prepare for that day’s march, but some stayed to watch the bodies burn.

Llassar, who Ky found to be reasonable if gruff, agreed to keep an eye on the rest and tell him if the execution caused any unrest. He seemed unphased by it and from what Ky had been able to pick up, the Picts generally had much harsher ways of dealing with criminals.

Word did spread among the Roman farmers and stead holders as they marched about the crimes and how quickly the perpetrators had been executed. While many had fled at the throng of barbarians, when the expected pillaging and death did not appear, most returned. Some even joined the Pict camp followers to try and profit from men and families that needed supplies and entertainment. While they didn’t have Roman money, enough barter was found that, by the time they reached Devnum, more than a hundred Romans were following the Picts.

Ky was met a few miles from town by a reception party made up of both allies and detractors. While he was thankful to see Aelius and Velius, he could have done without the likes of Silo and Pius, both of whom looked at the Picts with a mixture of hatred and disgust.

“I’m glad to see you,” Ky said to Velius when the men rode up to him.

“I wish I could say the same,” Velius said. “Your messengers told us what you were bringing, but I didn’t truly believe it until this moment. You have brought the entire north with you.”

“Hardly the entire north. I’d planned on bringing just warriors that their Chief could spare, but they wouldn’t come without their families. This is Llassar. He was sent to lead them and is their commander, more or less. Have them set up a camp between the seventh and ninth legions and get supplies for them.”

“Consul, I’ll do whatever you order,” Aelius said. “But that is a lot of people and a lot of mouths to feed. This is almost as many as our two legions combined and it’s winter. How will we find the supplies for them?”

“I’m headed to talk to the Emperor now. We can pull from the imperial stores for now, and we’ll figure something out after that.”

“We do not want to live off of others,” Llassar said. “The warriors are here to train and fight, but our people can work.”

“Put out the word,” Ky said to Velius. “Since so many slaves have left for the legions, I’m sure there are people looking for workers. Send someone to talk to Hortensius and have him start working on the problem.”

“You know there will be a backlash to this,” Velius said, eyeing Silo and his entourage.

“I’ll deal with that when I have to. We need men, and we have a full legion worth of additional warriors ready to fight. Now go, get the camps ready. Llassar, Velius will show your people to a place where they can set up camp and get them supplies.”

Llassar, his one sentence for the day said, just nodded and rode to follow Velius.

“Keep an eye on them,” Ky said to Carus, indicating Silo and his party. “I want to know what they do when they leave here.”

Carus nodded and rode to talk to his men. Ky knew he’d been pushing them all too hard over the last several days, but he had to get the Picts settled and the status clear before everything fell apart. Had he thought this through more, he might have sent word ahead to take care of a lot of these details before he arrived, to make the process go more smoothly, but this wasn’t a thought-out plan. He thought he’d made the right call, especially when he considered he added almost twenty percent to his effective fighting force, since he knew he couldn’t count on either the first or second legions to support his strategy. They’d needed men, and this plan so far had given them just that.

Ky rode into the city, passing crowds that had started to gather to gawk at the foreigners as they marched around the city and towards their temporary home. Considering all of the commotion, Ky wasn’t surprised to see the Emperor on the steps of the palace, waiting for them.

Lucilla saw him too, hopping off her horse and running up the steps to embrace her father. Ky followed slowly behind them, giving the father and daughter time. Although he hadn’t spoken to the Emperor before his rushed departure, he had sent word back about the abduction and again after they’d brought Lucilla back safely.

“When I named you Consul, I never imagined you would keep things so interesting,” the Emperor said, releasing his daughter and putting a hand on Ky’s shoulder. “Thank you for bringing my daughter home safely, although I could have done without the rest.”

“When you named me, I told you I would do everything I could to find a way to protect Rome and make it prosper. This is part of that.”

“I have heard some of the deal you offered the Pict leader. I’m not sure I agree that this will do either.”

Ky wasn’t surprised that the Emperor already knew some of the terms he’d given to the Picts. Ramirez would have certainly had people among the third legion and kept a close eye on the situation.

“All I ask is that you hear me out,” Ky replied.

“Fine. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Lucilla left them to ensure the people who’d gone to the oracle with her got the treatment they needed while Ky followed the Emperor into the Palace.

Already assembled were Ramirez and the Senators Taenaris and Lurio. Ky had expected to see Ramirez, who kept his hand in about everything, but the senators were a surprise.

“From what we’ve heard, I thought some of the senators should be present to hear what you’re planning since, if I understand it correctly, you’re suggesting a major change to the very building blocks of the Empire.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m suggesting changes to the building blocks of the Empire. What I’m going to propose is drastic, but I think it’s needed if you hope to survive.”

“I think there might be a limit to the number of times you can use that as a reason,” Lurio said, much more hostile than he normally was.

“Senator, I say this will all due respect. But do you think Rome is safe? Even if we defeat the army that will be coming for us in the spring, do you believe that Rome can then live out its days in peace and prosperity? Even if we kill every single man the Carthaginians send at us, there will be more coming. And even if we kick them off this island, they won’t be finished with Rome. In fact, the more you survive against their efforts to stop you, the more they will send against us. They will have to! Because they rule over a vast empire they could not control if it rose up against them in mass. Rome defying their attempts to conquer it is an existential threat to the control they have to maintain. They will never stop trying to destroy you. The only way to survive is for Rome to find a way to not only protect itself but to defeat the Carthaginians themselves. You have to see that.”

“I think some of that might be exaggerated,” Lurio said, somewhat less hostile. “But yes, I see your point. The rest of the Senate will need more than that if you are going to keep introducing these new ideas.”

“Maybe we should hear his actual proposal before we start telling the Consul it won’t work,” the Emperor interjected.

“Thank you, Emperor. I want to start by saying that, although this came about when the opportunity presented itself, it wasn’t something I came up with then and there. It’s been obvious for some time that for Rome to actually defeat Carthage and end it as a threat, you’re going to need allies. I know there are many of you whose dream is to one day bring Rome back to what it was, a nation of Roman citizens ruling over a vast expanse of subjugated territories, that must swear allegiance to Rome and live under its rule. I can tell you that, even if Carthage is wiped off the face of the planet, that will not be possible.”

Several of the men present, including both Senators, began talking over each other, trying to argue the point. While Ky let them go one for a few minutes to burn off the shock of hearing they would never get their hearts’ desire, he couldn’t help but notice that both the Emperor and Ramirez were silent. Both men had a solid understanding of how the world actually works and were smart enough to do the math and figure out the position that Rome was in. The ones that were upset were too focused on Rome itself to see the reality of the world beyond it.

“I know those are hard words to hear, but they’re true. Rome doesn’t have the population to support that kind of global contest and any allies Rome might get would turn against you if you started trying to subjugate the rest of the world, because they would rightly realize that eventually, they would themselves become a target. Even if you did manage to bring the Empire back to the glory of the past, it wouldn’t last. It was already getting too large to manage as it was when Carthage pushed you off the continent. Had Germanic tribes not been pressing down on Rome, weakening it, you might have been able to fight off Carthage, but that pressure will continue. There will be other waves of migration out of the lands north of Persia that will push Germanic tribes south, because that is how migration patterns have always been. You might be able to fight off one or two, but eventually one will come at the wrong time, and the Empire would fall again.”

“It sounds like you have an alternative solution,” the Emperor said.

“I do. Rome will stay Rome. When we push the Carthaginians off of Britannia, Rome will stretch from the border of the Picts to the southern tip of the Island. You will continue to rule the lands as you see fit, under your own laws, as you’ve always done. The only thing that will change is a new, higher form of government. It would have the Emperor as its head, but it would be made up of, for now, Rome and the Picts, or at least those we can unite into a single government. This higher level would have a Senate, just like the Roman Senate, but it would be made up of equal representation from all members. While right now, that would be the Picts and the Romans, hopefully, we will bring in more allies that will become additional members. Each member would have complete autonomy in their own lands, as long as none of their laws violated a law passed by the greater Empire’s senate. Any conflict between the members would be arbitrated by the greater Empire’s senate.”

“Why would we agree to let barbarians get a say over what happens to Rome. We might be equal at first, but if you bring in a third member, they can get together and force Rome to do their bidding.”

“The same would be true for them if Rome makes an agreement with another member against the third. Remember though, that a Roman Emperor would still be the head of this greater Empire, or whatever we end up calling it. He would have the same veto power that he has now. Rome would maintain an advantage, although that might have to have some kind of limit on it, depending on the final negotiations.”

“Why would our allies agree to something like that, even if there were limits,” Ramirez asked.

“Rome already has significant technological advantage over most of the people who would be willing to join you in an alliance. Over the next few years, I hope that advantage will grow even larger. Rome will be providing that technological lead to them in exchange. And since I know what the next question would be, why should Rome give away its advantage, when they could always leave the alliance and take that technology with them, there is always risk in everything. These people will be providing most of the manpower that Rome will need to defeat the Carthaginians and then maintain this greater Empire into the future.”

“What if Romans want to travel north and set up an industry extracting the resources from their territory.”

“They would have to do so under Pict law, since they would be living in Pict lands. The same is true of Picts who come south looking for work. There would be free travel between the lands, but when you cross into the allies’ lands, you would have to abide by their laws and they by your laws. Trade can flow easily between the two without restriction and it’s up to the greater Empire’s senate to set rules for trade with other civilizations.”

“So Rome is still Rome, but Picts or any other allies could decide to move into Roman territory and live?” Taenaris asked.

“Yes, but again, under Roman law. They couldn’t just decide to take a piece of land and claim it as their own, unless they follow Roman rules in doing so. Most, I imagine, will be moving to the cities, finding lodging, and working in the mills and foundries, which are places that need the manpower desperately. I understand this is hard to grasp, because it is so different than what you’ve ever experienced before, but it will work. I think you will be surprised if you looked ahead several generations and found that people saw themselves not as Romans or Picts, but as members of a larger Empire.”

The questions continued into the night, but the main objection always came down to one thing. The Romans were concerned about allowing people they saw as inferior to become some kind of equal and were afraid that eventually, Rome would stop being Rome.

Ky knew it was a lot to swallow, since the Romans liked to believe they were something that hadn’t existed in a hundred years. Ky had watched enough of them and read enough of their histories to realize that they differed as much from the Romans who had lived on the Italian peninsula, as the Picts were from them. Had they traveled back in time and faced their ancestors, they would almost certainly be treated as barbarians. To keep up their populations, the Romans had brought on Gaul’s and Iberians as they moved west and then north, intermarrying and adapting pieces of their culture.

In the end, the Emperor agreed, because he didn’t have a lot of other choices. Even if the first and second legions stood with them, which right now seemed unlikely, they needed more men. Not just for this fight but for the ones to come. Ky believed his plan to deal with the army they’d face would work, but as with the battle in front of Devnum, there would be heavy casualties. Even with the freed slaves and soldiers that decided they’d rather join the Romans than go back to face the penalty for failure, it was unlikely they’d be able to replace all those losses. They needed manpower to survive, and that was all there was to it.

Although the Emperor did sign the agreement with only a few alterations that Ky thought the Picts would accept, he asked that Ky remain behind when the rest of the men who’d assembled left to start working on getting others in their coalition to accept the deal.

“You know there is going to be a backlash to this,” the Emperor said when only he, Ky, and Ramirez remained.

“I don’t doubt it, but we don’t have many choices. It’s either this or Rome gets crushed under the weight of the Carthaginians.”

“I think what the Emperor is trying to say,” Ramirez interjected. “Are that many of the people who oppose the changes you have introduced, are seeing it as taking us away from what it is to be Roman. With each change, you have pushed further and further against what little remains of Rome’s past. I agree that we have little choice and a different Rome is preferable to none at all, but they will not see it that way. So far, it has been posturing and words, but everything my agents find, leads me to believe that time is quickly coming to an end. There have been other times in our past where a vocally opposed faction with legions that supported them resorted to open rebellion.”

“Is there anything you can do to keep this from spilling over into violence?”

“Maybe. I am putting my people in with the legions that have shown open support of Silo’s faction, but they will be able to do little more than notify me if Silo or his legates decide that words are no longer enough. The men in both legions are loyal first to their legates, and the system of rotating men from across the legions has not happened in either. If it comes to it, those men will fight.”

“Can we arrest the leaders now, since we know they are talking openly about rebellion?”

“They have a lot of support among the people. They have had men in the streets talking about your tyrannical rule and saying you plan on taking over Rome for yourself. Right now, you are still fairly popular among the mob, but something like that will convince at least a portion of them that Silo was right all along. I fear that would push us into all-out civil war.”

Ky pursed his lips, frustrated. “So there’s nothing we can do but just wait for them to make the first move?”

“We can prepare some. I know the Praetorians are still in training, but they were partially picked because of loyalty to the Emperor. If possible, I would like to bring some of them in to help guard the palace complex, just in case.”

“Talk to Faenius and see how many he can spare. Most of his recruits are out of the legions so they can guard the palace without additional training, although that means it will be longer before they can start performing their actual duties.”

“I’ll talk to him. Maybe he can rotate the guards so they all still get a chance to train. I just want to make sure we have enough manpower on hand in case something happens.”

“Fine, if that’s what you two think is best,” the Emperor said. “Ky, I know everything you’re doing is to protect Rome, but I think we need to slow down how many changes you are introducing. At least until the masses can come to terms with what you’ve already done.”

“Do we have time for that?” Ky asked.

“We’ll have to find time. Civil war right now would be as bad as not having the manpower to face the Carthaginians. You need to keep enough of the people on your side that Silo and his faction don’t decide they have enough support to take things further.”

“And you’re sure not having the support of the people would stop him?”

“It should,” Ramirez said. “He isn’t foolish enough to think he can overthrow Rome with just two legions, which not only have to defeat the other legions, but also have to then keep the mob under control.”

“I hope so,” Ky said. “For now, this should be the last major change. I will get the forces that traveled south with me settled in and their training begun, and then go back north. Once Talogren has agreed to the details we hammer out here, I’ll use the fourth legion to help him bring those tribes who don’t agree to follow his lead under control. After that, it’s up to him to keep his area under control. I’m not sure he’ll be able to supply more men, but it will open up a new labor source, and allow us to pull the fourth legion home in time for the coming battle.”

“Are you sure pulling the fourth legion off the border is a good idea?”

“As with everything else, we don’t have a lot of choices, but I think it will be fine. The border tribes have almost entirely gone with Talogren and sent the bulk of their free men with me, so there aren’t that many men to raid south if they chose to. Besides, we’ll allow their people to travel freely across the border, just as they will allow Romans to travel north. We will have the Praetorians set up patrols on the border, just to help keep the peace and begin recruiting Picts to extend their patrols into those lands using native enforcement so it doesn’t feel like an invasion. I think, given all of that, we should be fine. The whole point of this is to free up manpower, and a trained and already formed legion isn’t something we can just leave on the sidelines.”

“Fine,” The Emperor said, pushing himself up. “I will work with the Senators to work out the details. It will probably take a few weeks before you can go back north.”

“I know and I warned Talogren it would take time. Just be aware it has to follow the general pattern that I laid out, or we’ve done all of this for nothing. Now I have to go see to the men and families who traveled south with me and find out how we are going to feed this many people.”